CRITTER CHATTER: Remembering Amy at the rehab center

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Photo of Amy taken July 1, 2010. (Photo courtesy of Duck Pond Wildlife Center Archives.)

by Jayne Winters

It is with much sadness and great appreciation that this month’s column is written in memory of Amy Messier, who passed away unexpectedly on December 4, 2021. Amy had been a volunteer at Duck Pond Wildlife Rehab Center, in Vassalboro, for almost 20 years. Although unable to work most of this past year due to a couple of surgeries, she was looking forward to resuming her critter care this coming spring.

Amy was born in Rhode Island, in June 1962, and is survived by two sisters, two brothers, and several nieces and nephews. According to her obituary, she held various clerical and administrative positions, including as a Human Resources Director, but her passion was her deep love for animals. She volunteered as a wildlife rehabilitation technician at several wildlife rehab centers across the country before moving to Vassalboro, where she met Don and Carleen Cote at Duck Pond.

She devoted countless hours cleaning and disinfecting cages, as well as feeding and tending to the needs of hundreds of young, sick, and injured wildlife.

I met Amy in late 2019, when I began writing Critter Chatter following the passing of Don’s wife, Carleen. If I remember correctly, Amy was preparing meals for resident opossums and porcupines, but it didn’t take long for me to learn that her favorite critters were the young raccoons. From several posts I’ve seen on FaceBook, she was always willing to help other rehabbers learn ‘tricks of the trade’ and her passing is truly a loss not only to family and friends, but to the wildlife community.

I recently asked Don if he had any special stories about Amy. He said when she first started as a volunteer, she worked very closely with Carleen, as they both had a fondness for raccoons. He remembered a five-year period when there was an explosion of injured, sick and orphaned raccoons, ranging from 135 to a high of 194 admissions annually. Amy and Carleen certainly had their hands full and their common interest led to a special friendship. After Carleen’s passing in 2018, Amy was in charge of the coon admissions and oversaw their care.

In addition, she was the computer whiz kid. Don doesn’t have a computer, but Amy used her own to set up an email account for Duck Pond, as well as a FaceBook page (neither are currently monitored or maintained, so please do not use until further notice). Don noted that Amy often used the internet to order various supplies, query diseases and treatment information, and established multiple, invaluable contacts with other rehabbers.

While looking through some of Carleen’s older columns, I found one from 2008 in which she wrote the following: “A volunteer, Amy, and I check all the tarps to cover the pens for tears to see if they need to be repaired or replaced. In years past, we have attached the tarps with bungee cords. These became playthings for the coons to chew on, then with a strong wind, the tarps would blow off the pens. This year we changed our game plan. We would anchor the tarps with wire.

“We gathered up all the needed materials, opened the tarps and decided which way they go over the pens (most of the time, we get it wrong, putting the short side over the pen and having to start over again!). This whole process requires climbing up on ladders. One day, after having to climb across the top of the pen, then moving back to the ladder and attempting to step down, the ladder fell over. Hanging by my elbows, I screamed for Amy to come to my rescue! Of course, the curious raccoons wanted to join in the fun and grabbed at the tarps and wire and played with my hair.”

It’s easy to envision this scenario playing out, I’m sure with laughter punctuating the yells for help.

I didn’t know Amy well, but our love for animals was obviously a common denominator. We had texted right before Thanksgiving and she was upbeat, anxious to resume tending to her furry friends and offering the TLC she so generously provided. She will be greatly missed.

The continued assistance from other rehabbers is truly appreciated as Don has had to cut back on admissions and long-term residents. We ask that you check these websites to see if there is a rehabber closer to you to help make critter care at Duck Pond more manageable: https://www.mainevetmed.org/wildlife-rehabilitation or https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/living-with-wildlife/orphaned-injured-wildlife/rehabilitation.html

Donald Cote operates Duck Pond Wildlife Care Center on Rte. 3 in Vassalboro. It is a non-profit state permitted rehab facility supported by his own resources & outside donations. Mailing address: 1787 North Belfast Ave., Vassalboro ME 04989 TEL: (207) 445-4326. PLEASE NOTE THE EMAIL ADDRESS IS NOT BEING MONITORED AT THIS TIME.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Not too early to talk about browntail moth caterpillars

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Webs can be seen high in the crown of a tree.

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Last summer we experienced a season of discomfort with multiple rashes brought on by the browntail moth caterpillar. Personally, I suffered through it no fewer than six times. Yes, it is only January, but the old saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

It’s not too early to begin looking for signs of the pesky critters and make a strong attempt to eradicate them early, to either eliminate or, at least, limit the amount of those irritating little brown hairs.

According to the Maine Department of Agriculture Conservation and Forestry, follow the “Four Rs to Knockout Browntail In Our Communities and Reduce the Itch!”

In a press release, they advise that encounters with hairs from browntail moth caterpillars can cause mild to severe rashes and respiratory issues. Browntail moth caterpillars overwinter in webs that may have from a couple dozen to several hundred caterpillars each. Some people say they experience itching with fewer than 10 webs per tree or shrub; others say they have no symptoms from heavier infestations around their yards.

Webs can look like fist-sized clumps of leaves tied together tightly with silk, or like single leaves hanging onto twigs.

Winter is the best time to spot an infestation and take steps towards controlling the caterpillars and reducing the itch.
Use these Four R’s to get you started:

  1. Recognize: Learn how to tell if the trees where you live, work and play have browntail moth. Their winter webs can look like single leaves hanging onto twigs, or fist-sized clumps of leaves tied together tightly with silk. Knowing where the webs are in your yard or town can help inform your management decisions.
  2. Remove: With permission, use hand snips or extendable pole pruners to remove webs within reach from the ground and away from hazards such as powerlines. Protect your eyes and skin from hairs that might be present from past caterpillar activity. After removal, destroy webs by soaking or burning.
  3. Recruit: Hire professional help for treatment of webs out of reach or near hazards on property you own or manage. Line up help during winter. Licensed Professional Arborists can remove a limited number of webs in larger trees and shrubs in the winter. In trees where the caterpillars’ hairs cause a nuisance and where it is not practical to remove webs, Licensed Pesticide Applicators may be able to use insecticides during the growing season to manage browntail moth.
  4. Reach Out: If you find browntail moth in your neighborhood, let your neighbors and town officials know. The more that neighbors, businesses and others get together to respond to the problem, the better the results.

They invite you to join in scheduling awareness-raising events and promoting management of browntail moth this winter, with a focus in February. Use #KnockoutBrowntail on social media. Efforts could include organizing groups to map infestations on town and school properties, hosting public service web-clipping events, hosting contests for the most webs clipped or other community and knowledge building activities.

For more information, contact 211 Maine for answers to frequently asked questions on browntail moths: Call 211 or 1-877-463-6207, text your ZIP code to 898-211, or visit our website. While you are there, sign up for the new Browntail Update Bulletin.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

What was the closest score in a Super Bowl game?

Answer can be found here.

FINANCIAL FOCUS: Should inflation affect your investment moves?

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submitted by Sasha Fitzpatrick

As you know, inflation heated up in 2021, following years of pretty stable – and low – numbers. And now, early in 2022, we’re still seeing elevated prices. As a consumer, you may need to adjust your activities somewhat, but as an investor, how should you respond to inflation?

First, it helps to know the causes of this recent inflationary spike. Essentially, it’s a case of basic economics – strong demand for goods meeting inadequate supply, caused by material and labor shortages, along with shipping and delivery logjams. In other words, too many dollars chasing too few goods. Once the supply chain issues begin to ease and consumer spending moves from goods to services as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, it’s likely that inflation will moderate, but it may still stay above pre-pandemic levels throughout 2022.

Given this outlook, you may want to review your investment portfolio. First, consider stocks. Generally speaking, stocks can do well in inflationary periods because companies’ revenues and earnings may increase along with inflation. But some sectors of the stock market typically do better than others during inflationary times. Companies that can pass along higher costs to consumers due to strong demand for their goods – such as firms that produce building materials or supply steel or other commodities to other businesses – can do well. Conversely, companies that sell nonessential goods and services, such as appliances, athletic apparel and entertainment, may struggle more when prices are rising.

Of course, it’s still a good idea to own a variety of stocks from various industries because it can help reduce the impact of market volatility on any one sector. And to help counteract the effects of rising prices, you might also consider investing in companies that have a long track record of paying and raising stock dividends. (Keep in mind, though, that these companies are not obligated to pay dividends and can reduce or discontinue them at any time.)

Apart from stocks, how can inflation affect other types of investments? Think about bonds. When you invest in a bond, you receive regular interest payments until the bond matures. But these payments stay the same, so, over time, rising inflation can eat into your bond’s future income, which may also cause the price of your bond to drop – a concern if you decide to sell the bond before it matures. The impact of inflation is especially sharp on the price of longer-term bonds because of the cumulative loss of purchasing power.

However, Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) can provide some protection against inflation. The face value, or principal amount, of each TIPS is $1,000, but this principal is adjusted based on changes in the U.S. Consumer Price Index. So, during periods of inflation, your principal will increase, also increasing your interest payments. When inflation drops, though, your principal and interest payments will decrease, but you’ll never receive less than the original principal value when the TIPS mature. Talk to your financial advisor to determine if TIPS may be appropriate for you.
Ultimately, inflation may indeed be something to consider when managing your investments. But other factors – especially your risk tolerance, time horizon and long-term goals – should still be the driving force behind your investment decisions. A solid investment strategy can serve you well, regardless of whether prices move up or down.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor. Edward Jones, Member SIPC.

Give Us Your Best Shot! for Thursday, January 27, 2022

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To submit a photo for this section, please visit our contact page or email us at townline@townline.org!

MA’S SQUIRRELS: Susan White sent this photo of squirrels holding a feeding frenzy. They do this everyday, but have to clean up what’s on the ground as they can’t get to the bird feeders.

FROZEN CIRCLES: Barbara Lawe, of Fairfield, photographed the Kennebec River outside her home. What appears is an unexplained series of circles in the frozen ice.

GROWING YOUR BUSINESS: What do your customers want?

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Growing your businessby Dan Beaulieu
Business consultant

The best way to know what your customers want is to ask them. One of the biggest disconnects between your company and your customers is not having a comprehensive agreement of what services the customer expects from you.

I have found that a clear understanding of what a customer’s expectations are goes a long way in you being able to meet or even exceed those expectations.

I know it is not always that easy. That customers are not always clear in expressing their needs. And sometimes they are not even sure themselves what they want which might lead you to assume what they want…and that leads to very dangerous ground indeed.

In the end it is so much better to take the right amount of time to have a good discussion with your customer and this way create a clear and concise understanding of what those expectations actually are.

Here are a few tips on guiding that discussion with your customer to make sure you get a complete understanding of what they expect from you:

  • Listen carefully when the customer tells you what they want.
  • If you do not yet get exactly what they want, ask more specific questions.
  • Once they answer you, repeat what they told you so you both know that you both understand.
  • Sometimes a customer says one thing but really means another. Ask again for clarification.
  • Dig in to make sure that what the customer is asking for is really what is going to solve their problem. This is especially true when you are brought in for home repairs like plumbing or electrical work. Find out what the real problem is rather than what the customer wants you to do. What they want you to do might not be the right solution for their problem.
  • And always not only listen but actually hear what your customers are telling you.
  • Once you’ve had your discussion with the customer and you feel that, yes, you have a good understanding of exactly what he or she wants from you, then it is a good idea to document it. Depending on the complexity of the project or the product, write down exactly what you understand the customer wants and give it to them to review, agree with and sign. When working extensive home improvements projects for example, this is a must.

The success of your product and service is based on whether the customer is happy or not. In the end it doesn’t really matter if your product is perfect, if it’s not what the customer wanted then you all lose.

Having a good and clear understanding of what your customers’ expectations are and meeting those expectations is, in the end, the best way to grow your business.

I’M JUST CURIOUS: My latest favorites

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by Debbie Walker

I do love these little tidbits of information (hacks) that show up online on the computer, things from my newsletters from The Farmer’s Almanac, advertisements for Joey Green’s latest books usually have a few tidbits. (If you check out Joey Green’s list of books you will find some easy to follow instructions and usually an entertaining read.)

Tonight, I got excited because I read the advertisement for Joey Green’s book The Wacky Uses for Elmer’s Glue. (I am on his emailing list). It listed 14 uses and my favorite was about sewing on Scout badges, but it has so many possibilities . So easy, you use a white glue-like Elmer’s, glue the patch or badge on the garment where you want it. Let it dry. Stitch it in place. When you wash it the glue will wash out. There must be other uses like this that we can come up with.

I was out with my daughter and granddaughter one night when they were looking for one of those exfoliating things for the face. I watched as they covered their face with it. They laughed and sent out funny pictures of themselves, but I got to see them as they were removing it from their face! I didn’t know at the time that they could have used a paintbrush to put the white glue in place of this special fancy stuff they bought. And I would have gotten even more laughs out of the experience. No, I didn’t feel like giving up any layers of my face at the time.

I read an article the other night about how to be a good guest in your adult child’s home. Some tips from experts being a gracious guest:

A. Before you visit have a discussion about what I refer to as “House Rules”. We laughed about it but we both knew it was a good idea.

B. Be a helper but respect how they want things done.

C. Bring a gift that reflects your host family’s interests, not yours.

I found a new years resolution I could probably live with. 1. Put on at least 30 pounds. 2. Stop exercising. 3. Procrastinate more!

I really only have one resolution: to discover the difference between wants and needs. May I have all I need and want all I have.

I have always had very thick hair. Guess what, to me it is feeling much thinner, and I am not happy. Tonight, I saw this idea and I may try it. When you cook pasta keep the water you cooked it in. Pour the cooled pasta water, from roots to ends of damp hair, let set for 10 minutes. Rinse. Wait till I tell my hairdresser I tried this one!

If you want to pack for a trip and you want to know an easy way to handle the jewelry: Use a thin carboard, lay jewelry on it and cover with Press and Seal. A thin gold chain you can just feed through a straw to keep from knotting.

I’m just curious which of these you will find interesting. Contact me at DebbieWalker@townline.org. with any of your questions or comments. Thanks for reading and have a great week!

REVIEW POTPOURRI – Author: Eleanor Sterling

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Internet photo: Auckland Museum, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Eleanor Sterling

The 1987 anthology Maine Speaks contains the short story “Whale!” by Eleanor Sterling, originally published in 1974 as part of a Yankee Magazine collection. It depicts, as the author beautifully puts it in her opening paragraph, the following situation:

“On an afternoon in mid-August, a very large gray whale appeared up out of Casco Bay and swam between the rock ledges off Harpswell Island, scattering the perched seagulls to the winds, and washed ashore finally in little Dingley Cove; there it lay on its side like a stone half in and half out of the water, blowing lazily and dreamily through the opening in its head.”

This paragraph is not just good writing; it’s very good writing. It quietly, almost unobtrusively, sets the scene for a momentous event in this bucolic location on the Maine inlet waterway.

The second paragraph then lists the floating trash that had wound up on the cove in the past…”strips of old linoleum, spars, wooden crates and kegs, broken lobster pots, buoy markers, plastic beach bottles, dead fish of all kinds, and once even a dead seal pup all fat and spotted, but never before a whale.” The Coast Guard’s already on its way along with most of the Harpswell citizens.

The story then shifts gears to the point of view of a little boy Willan, whose family has lived on the island for generations and whose own personality is one of “laconic” reserve as were his ancestors and so many New England Yankees such as former President Calvin Coolidge. But, as was Calvin, he is observant and curious about everything and is already soaking in a lot of information through reading, overhearing conversations and asking his Mam lots of questions, most of which she answers endearingly and affectionately.

We find out that Mam is Willan’s guardian since his mother died the previous year, that she owns the Island’s only diner and that Willan helps her with picking blueberries for baking pies to sell and with other chores.

Meanwhile as the gray whale is in its death throes, a baby calf emerges from the side crying for its mother. Willan is suddenly thrown back to the painful memories of when his own mother died and is fearful something terrible will happen to the calf if it sticks around trying to arouse its mother. Willan was with his mother when she died and empathizes with the calf’s desire to stay with its mother but knows it too must leave for its own survival, as Willan had to go live with Mam.

The brief biography of Sterling in Maine Speaks mentions she was born in 1937 in New York City, moved to Maine in 1961 as a wife of a Bowdoin College professor, wrote about Maine people and happenings for the former Brunswick Record and, as of 1987, had moved just north of San Francisco, California, where she and her husband bought a farm, growing grapes for wine and raising German shepherds for physically challenged people.

I have not been able to glean any information on her whereabouts since then.

In July 2020, a woman was mauled and killed by a Great White Shark while swimming 20 yards from shore on Bailey’s Island in Harpswell. It was the first such fatality in the island’s history.

SOLON & BEYOND: Continuing with events at Solon Elementary School

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Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percyby Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy
grams29@tds.net
Solon, Maine 04979

This is a continue of Solon Elementary School news:

Winter Session of After-School Program To Begin: This program will run on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays from 2:30: 4: 15 p.m., at the school. This program is run by a partnership between the Town of Solon and RSU #74 for students in grades K – 5. Participants will have healthy snacks and will engage in fun and educational activities focused on reading and math and hands-on crafts and cooking projects geared around a weekly theme. We hope to get students outdoors for some winter fun activities as well.

The theme of the first week is Weather. The After-School Program staff members are Mrs. Jen Mello, Mrs. Ellie Howell, and Mrs. Melisa Dube from the Town of Solon and Mrs. Jen LaChance, Mrs. Mary Keenan, and Ms. Samantha Taylor from the school. The program will run for five weeks starting January 11 and ending February 17. There will be no sessions the week of January 31. Permission slips are going home with students this week. Parents will need to pick up their child or children after the program at 4:15 each day. If you have questions, please call the school at 643-2491. We also plan to run a spring session, which will probably begin in March.

Principal’s Message: I want to wish all of our students and families a Happy New Year. I hope you had a festive holiday season and some special times with family and friends during the Christmas break. The Christmas spirit was alive and and well in our community this year! Many generous individuals and organizations supported our students and families during the Christmas season by donating food baskets, Christmas gifts, winter weather gear, and other items.

We thank all of these wonderful people: Solon Congregational Church, New Hope Church and Homeless Shelter, Mrs. Ann Jackson, Mr. Leland McDonough, Mrs. Peggy Luce, Mrs. Terry Hoops and Embden Town Office. On January 5, our school board will consider extending their mask mandate through March 4 as a way to curb the spread of COVID in our schools and reduce the number of students and staff who have to quarantine .

During the month of January we will be administering the NWEA assessment to students in grades K-5. Students took these tests in reading, language, use, and math in October and will take them again in May. The winter assessment helps us to check students’ progress and make adjustments in there instruction if needed.

Now for one of Percy’s memoirs: Everyone one in life goes through a hard time sometime, but you can’t let that define who you are. What defines you is how you come back from those troubles and what you find in life to smile about. So onward and upward, with renewed spirits.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: What is a white squirrel and where did they come from?

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Albino squirrel: Note the pink eyes.

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

I ran into an acquaintance at a local supermarket last week, and he commented on my articles on black squirrels, and told me he had heard that a reported albino squirrel had been spotted in the central Maine area.

We’ve talked the gamut about squirrels, grey, red, black, white-tipped tails, so let’s dive into white and albino squirrels.

First, is there a difference between an albino squirrel and white squirrel?

There is, in fact, one true squirrel for which a white coat seems to be a characteristic of the entire species, at least in parts of its range. Its an Oriental Tree Squirrel found in Thailand and other parts of South East Asia. Another belongs to a yet undescribed species recently found on Palawan Island, in the Philippines, and thought to be endangered. So if you sighted a white squirrel here in North America outside of captivity, its almost certainly a color variant of one of our native species.

But, let’s talk about local squirrels.

Squirrel coats have a wide variation in color. There is much variation in squirrel coat color both locally and regionally. The general pattern of brown/gray on top and white below (counter shading) is considered the wild type from which other variations arose.

White Squirrels are just another color variant of this variable species. The most common sightings of white squirrels are of isolated individuals with a completely white coat but dark eyes. This variant appears to spring up sporadically all over the species’ range and then dies out, only to pop up again somewhere else.

Still rarer seems to be the type of coat pattern we hear about in Brevard, North Carolina. The coat is mostly white but there is a distinctive head patch and dorsal stripe that broadens in the shoulder region. The head patch can be solid, horseshoe or doughnut shaped; it may resemble a triangle, a diamond, deer tracks or even a widow’s peak (Count Dracula). There is some evidence that this pattern is inherited. Although there is much variation in the amount of pigmentation, these white squirrels definitely can produce melanin (a brownish-black pigment found in skin and hair in animal tissues), not just in the eyes but in hair cells as well. The region of white hair, normally restricted to the abdo­men in a gray squi­rrel, is expanded at the expense of pigmented regions.
Albino squirrels can’t produce melanin.

In addition to the white coat color, another variant in the Eastern Gray Squirrel can be found.

One additional variant should probably be mentioned here. Its not uncommon to observe a tan, ochre, or “blond” Eastern Gray Squirrel. This condition is thought to occur when the black/brown color is “diluted” by a preponderance of a yellow/red color. The color coat is not a factor when squirrels mate. Mating between coat color variants is probably random or non-assortative. Coat color is not nearly as much a factor as hormonal attraction. Squirrels have two breeding seasons per year, one in winter and one in summer; within those periods, each mature female will enter estrus on a different day but only for that one day. When a female enters estrus, interested males come from hundreds of yards away and camp out at her “door step” (outside her nest) before dawn without ever seeing her coat color. Most accounts of “courtship”, itself, are brutal with little opportunity for females to be selective by any means, let alone coat color. Fortunately for her, she is only “receptive” and pursued by males for that one day during each breeding period. During that time, she may be impregnated by several different males, none of which help raise the young. That is one reason piecing together the genetics of coat color variation in squirrels is so difficult.

For many of us the existence of a white squirrel is difficult to imagine, but it is not as uncommon as you may think! Populations of white squirrels can be found in places across the United States and sightings of these mystical creatures are becoming more common. There are over 200 species of squirrels and only one subspecies is found to have white as a primary color morph!

The easiest way to know if the white squirrel you spotted is albino or a rare morph is by its eye color. Albino squirrels are completely white with red or pink eyes. This unique eye color is found in all albino animals and is a result of a lack of melanin​ pigments that produce eye and coat color. Albinism is a genetic condition caused by a recessive gene. This means that both the mom and dad squirrel have to be carriers of this gene in order to produce albino offspring. This is what makes it so rare! It is estimated that 20-30 percent of white squirrels in North America are albino.

The rare white morph of the eastern grey squirrel has black eyes and can have a mix of white and grey coat. Similar to albino squirrels, white eastern grey squirrels owe their unique coat color to their genes. But, unlike albino squirrels who have a mutation on the gene coding for pigmentation, western grey squirrels actually have a gene that codes for a white coat! Despite having this ‘white coat’ gene, it still only occurs very rarely because being so brightly colored makes a squirrel less able to blend in amongst the trees and thus more visible to predators.
​
Catching sight of these rare variations of squirrels is tough unless you know where to find them. There are five main cities that claim to be the official ‘home of the white squirrel’.

1. Olney, Illinois
2. Marionville, Missouri
3. Brevard, North Carolina
4. Exeter, Ontario, Canada
5. Kenton, Tennessee

Traveling to one of these locations will greatly increase the success of your white squirrel sighting adventure!

In a map created by researcher Rob Nelson, and Roland Kays, a zoologist at North Carolina State University, shows two sightings of white squirrels in Maine, one in central Maine and the other DownEast – both identified as the white morph variety, and not albino.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Of the eight remaining NFL teams in the playoffs, name the three that have never won a Super Bowl. (Tennessee, Buffalo, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Green Bay, Tampa Bay, San Francisco, Los Angeles Rams.)

Answer can be found here.

OPINIONS: Is there a cynical plan to bankrupt USPS? Sen. Susan Collins’ response

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Susan Collins speaks to local media outside the McDonald’s in Winslow. (photo by Eric W. Austin)

Community Commentary

In last week’s issue, we printed a letter from Eugene Bryant, of Palermo, to Senator Susan Collins regarding the United States Postal Service. The following is her response:

Dear Mr. Bryant:

Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns about the United States Postal Service (USPS). I appreciate your taking the time to write this thoughtful letter.

I am a long-time supporter of the USPS. Especially in Maine, the Postal Service and its employees are a critical lifeline to our rural communities, connecting our loved ones and delivering crucial items.

I am an original cosponsor of the bipartisan Postal Service Reform Act (S. 1720), introduced by my colleagues Rob Portman (R-OH) and Gary Peters (D-MI). This legislation would eliminate the pre-funding requirement for health benefits, improve transparency, and increase accountability by mandating that USPS send biannual operational and financial reports to Congress. This would also require the Postal Service to maintain a delivery standard of at least six days per week. While this legislation includes reforms that are necessary to ensure the long-term financial liability of the Postal Service, I look forward to working with my colleagues on a bipartisan basis to protect the USPS. Please know that I have consistently opposed changes that would reduce service to the public or lead to privatizing the Postal Service.

The Postal Service Reform Act builds on the relief I helped secure for the Postal Service as part of a year-end legislative packager, which became law in December 2020. That bill forgives a $10 billion loan extended to USPS in the CARES Act.

As Congress debates how to best reform our postal system, I believe that putting the USPS back on a financially stable path cannot come at the cost of short changing service to the public. Again, thank you for contacting me.

Sincerely,

/s/ Susan M. Collins
United States Senator