Some years aqo Dover-Foxcroft residents voted for the annual town budget by a show of hands in open town meeting. In 2004 a couple of hundred strident and angry voices approved all the Warrant Articles and the town deepened the divide between two factions -- those for whom there never was enough spending and those desiring to retain their meager resources.

I see so much litter along the roadsides. The most noticeable are drink cups (coffee, soda ...). Perhaps cars and trucks need to have better, built-in trash receptacles.

I am very concerned and perplexed about Governor LePage trying to dismantle the Katahdin Woods and Waters Monument especially since it is already bringing increased travel to the economically battered region. This has brought more activity to retailers and campgrounds and has even increased property value.

Earlier this week, I found out that my email had been hacked. I was locked out of my email and unable to access my list of contacts. It was frustrating and it was scary.

Science has produced another marvel. It has created an artificial womb that can be used to provide a more suitable environment for preemie babies who cannot stay in the mother's natural womb. It's just one more way we as a race have advanced to better protect life.

In 1998, an ice storm swept through Maine, quietly burying roads and towns. Some communities became completely inaccessible. Without general aviation, many towns and island communities would have been cut off from resources for an unknown period of time. It was general aviation pilots who stepped up to the plate, providing a vital link to ensure transportation of emergency personnel, emergency equipment, and individuals requiring emergency care.

Currently, there are 1,845 Maine children in foster care. Children must be placed in suitable foster homes in appropriate locations, to ensure a child’s life is disrupted as little as possible.

Since the passage of Question 2 on last November's ballot, the debate over it has centered around the question of taxes. Does Maine want to have, depending on how you count it, the highest or second-highest income tax rate in the country? Is that what Maine people voted for, or were they just trying to vote for some vague concept of "better schools"? Just how bad will the flight of wealth from Maine to other states be? How many people will decide to never move here because of the new tax rate? What will be the impact on jobs?

They called him “The Junk Man” because his hobby was to pick up junk and restore it. For Robert Godwin Sr., the satisfaction of restoring all things junk was married into the life of leisure that retirement brings,

Is there really any logical reason for the Charter Revision Commission to eliminate the ability of Dover-Foxcroft residents to vote all budgetary Articles by Secret ballot in the privacy of the voting booth at June's municipal election?

Will your organization support the Moosehead Region Futures Corporation to prevent the building of two large windmill farms consisting of over 100 windmills? They will be built on Misery Ridge and on Burnt Nubble and Black Nubble.

The editorial piece written by Governor LePage that was published in the April 19th edition of the Observer is decidedly misleading. The Governor has a history of granting tax breaks to big business and the wealthy at the expense of education, the elderly, working families, the poor and the environment.

So we have our first officially credible candidate, State Treasurer Terry Hayes, of the 2018 gubernatorial cycle. Hayes is currently unenrolled and will be running as an independent. I say “officially credible,” of course, because she is not the very first human being to file for the race. She just happens to be the first one with a chance north of zero of actually being elected.

Democrats say they want to reduce property taxes. But they don’t have the courage to actually do it. You can’t talk about reducing property taxes without addressing state funding for education. Education costs are a major driver of local property taxes.

When fools build a caricature and call it a crown, Blindness is bliss in the new double down.

Democrat politicians in Augusta will take every opportunity to spend more of your money, and most Mainers simply can’t afford it.

When considering what to do about the Syrian situation, there are simply no good answers.

America’s rural hospitals are at risk. In fact, 80 rural hospitals in 25 states have closed since 2010. In Maine, 19 of the state’s 36 hospitals ended fiscal year 2016 with negative operating margins. On average half of Maine hospitals have reported negative operating margins annually since 2012.