Letters to the Editor
Roof fix long overdue
To the Editor:
What a surprise! Dover-Foxcroft’s town administration may finally be coming to its senses. (See the front page story in Dec. 4 edition.) For years the roof on the Morton Avenue Municipal Building, formerly the SeDoMoCha school, has been leaking and just now the selectmen and the town manager have put together “ … a plan to deal with it”. Years ago former school Superintendent Dirnbauer warned the town, told the school board and even used the problem of leaking as a pretext to encourage construction of the existing school.
Yet, in its hell-bent frenzied rush to acquire the old school, the town administration either dismissed the problem as unimportant or they hoped it would just go away and magically repair itself.
Outright negligence is no excuse, and any attempt to dismiss a leaking roof as merely a minor inconvenience is a recipe for the problem to continue, and a guarantee that further damage will result. Any contractor, clerk-of-the-works or journeyman-carpenter would have addressed this problem before undertaking the interior renovations. As with any construction project, nothing is done until the structure is properly “dried in”. (That’s contractor language).
To have completed the interior renovation, right down to and including acquisition of new furnishings and the rental of surplus spaces before the selectmen were assured that the roof no longer leaked is a dereliction of responsibility. To have continued to inflict unnecessary liability on the town reflects a lack of management judgment, a disregard of priorities and the continued misapplication of limited financial resources.
Taxpayer-owned property requires better planning and an increased and more knowledgeable attention to maintenance. It is certain that if the town was being run like a business the roof problem would have been addressed first, rather than years later.
This paper’s Dec. 4 article raises a number of questions, the answers to which must be made transparently obvious to the public. First: why would the town hire an Augusta-based roofing company when several commercial roofers are available in Bangor? And, whatever happened to the town’s “shop local” request? Is there no one in Dover who knows how to fix a roof?
Second: just because G&E Roofing Company worked at Foxcroft Academy, greater accountability would suggest a proper bidding procedure be in place. Is town management so busy as to disregard the taxpayer or is an apparently unsolicited repair proposal, made to un-named town “officials” sufficient reason to approve a $147,422 expenditure?
Third: the town retains a contingency fund that, in the past, has been made available to address other projects, yet, a well-known ongoing problem with a leaking roof in one of the town’s most important buildings has remained unaddressed. What is wrong with this picture?
Fourth: wouldn’t it be more prudent and fiscally responsible to deal with the entire roof at one time rather than in three sections?
Fifth: the town manager apparently suggested that quotes for two of the roof sections might “ … be reduced slightly pending several conditions.” What are those conditions and how much is the possible “reduction?” Since there are unanswered questions about cost and the extent of repairs, would the town be well-advised to require a Performance Bond?
It’s time to restore common sense to the way the town does business. The sudden desire by town management to repair long-standing Town Hall roof problems raises real questions about integrity and fidelity to taxpayers and their investment.
Neglect of this magnitude exhibits a very clear example of misplaced priorities and an extraordinary contempt for all of us, the ones who ultimately pay the bills.
Don Benjamin
Dover-Foxcroft
Our natural heritage needs defenders
To the Editor:
Let’s talk about values. What is it that defines us as “Mainers”? Do we share common beliefs that bind us rather than split us apart? Why do we say “Maine-the Way Life Should Be?” Increasingly it appears that what I thought was a commonly shared appreciation for our greatest wealth, our natural heritage and our healthy environment has also become subject to the relentless divisiveness of our political system.
In the past legislative session Senator Doug Thomas has voted “No” to several bills related to environmental stewardship and quality of life for Mainers. These votes included a bill to direct the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to increase public participation in deciding where new wind projects can be built and to evaluate the potential scenic and wildlife impacts of wind power. The bill also protects the habitat of Bicknell’s thrush, a globally rare bird species remarkably found in Maine (LD 385, passed despite his vote), a bill to develop a plan for Maine’s response to climate change (LD825), a bill to strengthen protection from toxic chemicals in food packaging by requiring the disclosure of BPA use in food packaging by food manufacturers with more than a billion dollars in annual sales (LD 1181), a bill to protect water quality by strengthening protections related to open-pit mining which releases dangerous arsenic, lead, and mercury into the surrounding watershed (LD 1302), and a bill to develop recycling system for household paints to prevent environmental contamination (LD 1308 which passed despite his vote).
Our local House representatives did not represent our natural environment or our health much better: Representatives Paul Davis, Pete Johnson and Ray Wallace also voted down LD 385, LD825, and LD 1308 while Johnson and Wallace also voted down LD1181 and LD 1302 and Davis voted nay on LD 72 (a bill to reopen the St. Croix River to Alewives).
Perhaps they do not feel citizens should have input in DEP siting of wind farms, or perhaps they just do not feel scenery and wildlife are worth fighting for. Perhaps they don’t believe in climate change. Or perhaps they don’t believe it will affect them. Perhaps they are unaware of the known toxic effects of BPA or the prevalence of this chemical in food packaging. Perhaps they think their wells will be protected from the arsenic in their underground aquifers, or perhaps they don’t understand the implications of arsenic and lead in the water. I am at a loss to understand these votes against the healthy Maine we hold dear.
Perhaps we need to find new people to represent what Mainers value?
C. Diane Boretos
Sangerville
An open letter to the Maine Congressional Delegation
To the Editor:
The members of the Piscataquis County Republican Committee are writing you to express our outrage at the behavior of the Internal Revenue Service, the President of the United States, as well as members of the fourth branch of government — the unelected and seemingly unaccountable, bureaucrats and administrators who carry out the bidding of the Oval Office.
There is a certain irony to life in that every major societal change or revolution eventually comes full circle and ends up recreating what it had originally rebelled against. The American Revolution was less an attempt to throw out the British Monarchy than it was an effort to reclaim the autonomy and opportunities the citizens had come to enjoy in their new world. The colonists greatly respected the traditions of the English legal and governmental system, knowing the sacrifices that had occurred over the previous 700 years in order to get where they were. They were responding to the pressures that George III and his corporate and administrative hacks were bringing in order to suppress and control the rising American spirit.
Two hundred and thirty seven years after declaring that “we” weren’t going to put up with this nonsense and 230 years after throwing off the oppressive system, we find ourselves back at it. Only now the monarchy and administrative hacks are coming from Washington instead of London. There can be no doubt that the use of the IRS in order to harass and interfere with any political or policy opponents of the statists currently in Washington has the blessing if not the direct orders from the White House.
We find it odd that 40 years after Richard Nixon was forced to resign the Presidency when accused of similar behavior, that Congress does nothing to address the issue of governmental malfeasance. Sure, everyone is screaming their outrage at the behavior, but behind the scenes, it’s business as usual. The behavior that initially brought this to the public’s attention goes on unabated. The IRS staff allegedly involved is allowed to plead the Fifth but continue to draw their big salary and generous benefits at taxpayer expense or quietly retire with a big pile of benefits, while the powers that be simply wait for the public to forget — then it will simply be back to business.
In 1819 (when the citizens of Maine were struggling to write a new constitution and become a state, Chief Justice John Marshall famously stated that “… the power to tax is the power to destroy.” A government that uses its taxing and regulatory powers to control the people, to suppress opposition and to decide who will be successful and who won’t, is a tyrannical one. This style of governance does not belong here and it should not be tolerated by the Congress or the people.
Congress has a history of abrogating its power to the Executive and to the courts. It is time to lead. We remind you that you represent the voices of the people, who have expressed their outrage over this behavior. We expect you, as our representatives, to take an active role in righting this wrong and restoring the balance of power as outlined in the Constitution of the United States.
Piscataquis County Republican Committee
Andrew Torbett, chairman
Charles Shaffer, secretary
Help needed for Greenville fuel fund
To the Editor:
For a number of years, the town of Greenville has managed a fund strictly used to assist Greenville residents who are in need of heating fuel. This account is solely funded by generous donations by those who are able to help those in need. However, we are in a dilemma, as this fund is nearly depleted and we are just now starting the harshest part of the heating season.
Without these funds, we will have to either turn away citizens who are out of fuel or have them apply for help through our General Assistance (GA) program. While our GA program is here to help those in need, some people won’t apply for such help due to pride or embarrassment. Also, some people who run out of fuel are over-income for GA, but simply can’t afford an emergency fuel delivery.
Wintertime lay-offs, wind-blown cellar doors causing a furnace to run dry of fuel or the sudden loss of a car engine needed for work are all examples of reasons some people run out of heating fuel, and cannot immediately buy more.
Winter came early this year, as did sub-zero temperatures. Regardless of your circumstances, when you are unable to keep your home warm, nearly everything else in your life is negatively affected. Elderly people with circulation issues are particularly susceptible to hypothermia or frostbite from chronic cold conditions. School children struggle with homework in cold temperatures. Pipes can freeze and break, causing even more expense for low-income households.
Many of the people who have received help through our citizen’s fuel fund only require assistance one time in a heating season. Everyone has weeks when expenses exceed income, for whatever reason, and this fund has been there to help those people from going without heat for that short period until they can next purchase fuel.
If you would like to help some of your neighbors in this season of giving, please consider a financial donation to the town of Greenville’s Citizen Fuel Fund. All such donations are tax-deductible, and you can receive a receipt upon request.
Thank you for your consideration, and please have a happy and safe holiday season.
John Simko, town manager
Greenville
Supporting innovation for stronger rural communities
By Tom Vilsack
American innovation is one of our most special traditions, fueling our nation to new heights over the course of our history. Innovation is critically important in rural America, where research is helping to grow American agriculture, create new homegrown products, generate advanced renewable energy and more.
Continued research has the capacity to lead the way to economic opportunity and new job creation in rural areas – and USDA has been hard at work to carry out these efforts. But we need Congress to get its work done and provide a new Farm Bill that recommits our nation to innovation in the years to come.
First and foremost, research and innovation help agricultural production thrive. Scientists at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and outside researchers at Land Grant Universities have made incredible advancements in recent years, helping producers grow more on the same amounts of land.
Moreover, since 2009, awards to University researchers by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture have resulted in nearly 400 patent applications.
USDA scientists are developing new techniques in the fight against crop pests and diseases, new ways to increase drought resilience, and new understanding of multiple crop and animal varieties to boost production.
In the past few years, ARS research has found new ways to cook French fries in a way that reduces the amount of fryer oil the fries absorb.
Researchers are working on a fire-retardant material that could better protect houses from wildfire. They’re looking into the potential use of grapefruit essential oil for use as a better tick repellent – and these are just a few good examples.
When all of these benefits come to bear, it’s no surprise that every dollar invested in agricultural research returns $20 to the economy.
Innovation also has positive implications for the creation of advanced, homegrown products and energy in rural America.
Advanced new “biobased” products are being created across the country using homegrown sources from America’s farm fields. More than 3,000 U.S. companies are creating biobased products today and more than 1,000 products bear a new “Certified Biobased Product” label on store shelves.
Researchers at the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory are revolutionizing wood products for use in body armor, auto parts and new building materials — and in many cases, these products are stronger and better than what we use today.
Across the nation, advanced biorefineries are scaling up production to provide the renewable fuels of the future – and more than 9,250 farmers and rural businesses have implemented advanced energy efficiency practices to boost their bottom line.
All of this work represents the innovation of the future and holds promise for stronger rural communities. But once again, they rely in large part on a new Farm Bill.A new Farm Bill would enable public-private funding efforts to expand capacity for agricultural research, returning even more benefits to the economy.
It would support researchers at Land Grant Universities and USDA in their efforts to boost agricultural production. It would strengthen USDA’s BioPreferred Program, and extend the tools folks need in rural America to continue saving energy and creating advanced fuels.
I have no doubt that rural America can continue our nation’s long history of innovation. But to keep the momentum going, we need Congress to get its job done and pass a comprehensive Food, Farm and Jobs Bill without delay.
Tom Vilsack is secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture