I travel the highways of Maine quite frequently. I believe I am a pretty good observer of what lies along the sides of the road concerning debris.

Walking is always nice, relaxing, a way to think thoughts that are not about cold or mud. But walking in fresh summer is the best walking. The grass is green, greener than you recall. Flowers and wild plants are taking over, grabbing your attention, making you appreciate them all over again.

As Maine's legislative leaders bring us to the brink of a government shutdown, it is worth diverting our attention to some other places in the country that are shutting things down. One such place is Evergreen State College, in Olympia, Washington, where an increasingly aggressive group of student "protesters" have been on a mission to destroy the First Amendment.

We're being told the economy of the Northern Penobscot region is on the mend thanks to the new national monument. Truth is it's up a little; instead of five visitors a day to a local business, they can expect six now. If we're willing to settle for such a small improvement, let's sign up now.

Most of us believe majority rule is the basis of our democracy. However, in our state, majority doesn’t rule. “Plurality” rules, which means, for races with more than two candidates, the one with the most votes wins.

There is a therapy to be found in the woods. There is a simple, happy way of life as our early ancestors did among the streams and lakes. Maybe you should try this kind of life.

The Common Core State Standards, since their adoption in 2011, have been an expensive and harmful experiment that threatens Maine’s educational competitiveness. Unfunded mandates for local schools districts, excessive testing requirements, developmentally inappropriate material, and dubious data collection practices underscore how Common Core has caused, and will continue to cause, problems for Maine’s schools, teachers, and students.

On November 8, 2016, Maine voters overwhelmingly favored a citizens' referendum for Ranked-Choice Voting. Since that exciting moment in the political history of the United States (Maine being the first state to pass a referendum for the ranking of votes for state legislature, governorship and Maine's four congressional delegates), the Judiciary and Senate have done their part to put this bill before our House of Representatives for a two-thirds vote for a constitutional change.

This year, the Milo Board of Selectmen believe the proposed budget deserves a NO vote on June 29th.

The new Dover-Foxcroft Area Food Cupboard (DFAFC) consists of Bowerbank, Garland, Atkinson, Sebec, Willimantic, Sangerville, and Dover-Foxcroft and has been in existence for two years. We want to thank both the Congregational Church and the Town Office of Dover-Foxcroft for giving us storage space for our food items. These locations have allowed us to distribute food bimonthly.

Good morning from the shores of beautiful Moosehead Lake on this cloudy overcast summer morning as dawn has penetrated the night sky with the Lord’s glory, pray that He will bring abundance of sunshine and blue skies. To fill our hearts with love.

As everyone knows, the legislature is embroiled in an awful battle in an attempt to come up with a state budget. As a representative to the citizens of House District #119 I would like to share my perspective and some of my thoughts on the predicament that we find ourselves in.

The first referendum vote for the FY18 budget in SAD #4/RSU 80 has failed. A new interim superintendent and bookkeeper are about to take over on a part-time basis. The school committee must step up and pull itself together. The board’s leadership is critical going forward to make progress on both passing a workable budget and facing the need to improve instruction in the classrooms in the district, which happens to enjoy very favorable class sizes.

After dismissing Gov. Paul LePage's budget out of hand, and failing to arrive -- after six months -- at anything resembling a real budget framework to replace it, leaders in the Maine Legislature have decided to forego the typical process and rely on an appointed "supercommittee" of members from both houses, who will hammer out a final budget.

Since 2012, on average, 18 of Maine’s 25 community hospitals have operated with negative operating margins. Now, it seems that nearly every day there is news about a hospital or health system closing or reducing services to control costs.

It seems as if we forge some pretty amazing bonds with the libraries in many of the towns we move to. Certainly, it is the case with the Thompson Free Library here in Dover-Foxcroft. Let me explain.

It’s no secret to people who know me -- I oppose Donald Trump on just about everything. But the erosion of basic human decency since the election is at a level I’ve never seen before.

For the past decade, we have been hearing about the supposed "rebirth" and "revitalization" of Bangor. Yet, at the end of the day, it is all an illusion. For all the "Bangor is back!" talk of some kind of Queen City renaissance, it isn't reflected in the numbers. Bangor has lost 1,000 people in the past decade. Yes, Bangor's population is shrinking.