6 years ago Arbitrators of life and death The pulse of life. Heroic emergency workers will fight to try and save it. Medical advancements are made in a desperate search to heal and prolong its energy.
6 years ago Abortion fight could spark national political firestorm No one can say for certain whether the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court is willing to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that guaranteed the right of women to receive an abortion. But Republicans in Alabama and Georgia and liberals on the court itself seem to think it’s a real possibility.
6 years ago Logging bill can help correct a long history of injustice in Maine woods Logger and Maine Senate President Troy Jackson recently introduced LD 1459, a bill that would, for the first time in history, give Maine contract loggers the legal right to collectively bargain for fair compensation. This bill is being introduced as rising demand for shipping supplies might revitalize production.
6 years ago Commons Threads — The Commons at Central Hall nears one-year anniversary Just about a year ago, The Commons at Central Hall reopened after a 10-year hiatus from public view. It had been a public hall and served as town offices. Class plays were held here. They even had minstrel shows here. And they played basketball here for 75 years.
6 years ago Abbot Route 6/15 project cut Last Thursday, May 9 we received the terrible news that the $7.1 million highway reconstruction project scheduled to begin in Abbot has been pulled. My first reaction, perhaps like yours, is "why us -- how come we never get anything!" That is a natural reaction. In reality, these constructions decisions are made using set criteria.
6 years ago My heart attack To park on the street I turned my car steering wheel right and felt a new chest pain. “Heart," was my first instinct. But, since I have never had heart problems, I considered other possibilities like indigestion.
6 years ago ‘Gun Day’ bills not necessary in Maine Friday, May 10 was “Gun Day” at the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. On this day, the committee held public hearings on 11 firearm-related bills. Ten of the bills sought to restrict Second Amendment rights while one bill would expand them.
6 years ago Thanks to Mayo employees for a delicious dinner On behalf of the community of Dover-Foxcroft and the surrounding communities, I want to thank the ladies of Mayo Regional Hospital for putting on a delicious dinner at the Dover-Foxcroft Congregational Church Monday night, May 6. The meal and services were wonderful.
6 years ago Let teachers teach, and pay the best ones It is pretty hard to find someone more sympathetic to the plight of teachers than me. My wife has worked for years as a teacher in kindergarten through second grade.
6 years ago Legalized betting on sports is coming; let’s get it right It’s a good bet that Maine is going to join the growing list of states that allow gambling on sports. I don’t like gambling. It’s too hard to make money to give it away to someone else for a few minutes of excitement.
6 years ago Citizenship clues may become trickier There’s a lawsuit in the courts now regarding whether it’s legal to ask a person’s citizenship status in the upcoming U.S. Census. Historically, the question of whether a resident was an “alien,” naturalized, or when they came to this country has been asked in censuses back to the first one in 1790. But in today’s political climate it’s much trickier than it was in prior years.
6 years ago Bill would address climate change through ‘fee and dividend’ Climate change is such a polarizing issue that passing bipartisan legislation to address it has been out of range, till now. Citizens Climate Lobby, a national nonpartisan organization, recently helped introduce the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, by a bipartisan group in the U.S. House of Representatives. Enacted into law, this bill would reduce carbon pollution and bring climate change under control by charging a fee on fossil fuels. The idea is called “fee and dividend.”
6 years ago The unnoticed work of our community churches North Turner Union Presbyterian Church (NTUPC), a mile-and-a-half east of where I live at Camp Marlene, is set on a raised plot of land beside a two-lane country road. The 125-year-old white clapboard steepled church building looks similar to hundreds of white clapboard churches throughout Maine, especially rural Maine.
6 years ago Mayo merger concerns I was one of the four people that voted against the Mayo Regional Hospital-Northern Light Health (NLH) merger at the Sangerville special town meeting.
6 years ago Desire for escapism fuels success of superhero films Like the rest of America, I spent last weekend at a movie theater with two of my kids, watching the latest Marvel movie, “Avengers: Endgame.”
6 years ago Time to end the anti-vaccine trend in Maine Maine has an unusually high number of kids who are entering school without vaccinations – and the number is rising.
6 years ago Thank you Sen. Davis for vote on polystyrene ban On April 25 the Maine Senate passed a bill that would ban polystyrene, or Styrofoam, cups and food containers by 2020. The bill now goes to Gov. Janet Mills’ desk for her signature. Thank you Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville for understanding that solving the plastic pollution problem is not a partisan issue and voting ‘yes’ on the polystyrene ban.
6 years ago Is online learning the future of higher education? This morning’s tv news story about a “dire forecast” for brick-and-mortar New England colleges has me thinking again about learning alternatives to colleges. WMTW-TV’s reporter said two New England colleges shut down recently, and four more New England colleges are closing their doors this month. The tv reporter said an “alarming number of schools are going out of business, affecting thousands of students.”