LETTERS: Opposed to candidate because of past performance

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To the editor:

I feel compelled to write this letter to both the selectmen, the selectmen candidates and the residents of the Town of China. I am concerned that Peter Foote, a former selectman, may be a candidate for re-election as a selectman for the Town of China. My reason for concern is under the former town manager, when Mr. Foote was also serving as a selectman, he was asked to write a job description for a new position as public works director. He not only wrote the job description but he applied for the very same job. I feel persons involved, as the town manager as well as Mr. Foote, would have been aware that this was inappropriate and perhaps illegal. Many China residents attended a board of selectmen meeting to express their concern. To the very best of my memory, the town manager apologized and said he didn’t realize it, and it was an error. That particular job as director of public works has never been filled although they did hire a public works manager with a small monetary increase above fellow public works employees to compensate for the extra workload as well as the current job.

I believe the selectman that we vote in to serve the town of China should be there to serve all the residents as well as the residents who are employed by the Town of China. They should listen to the people they serve and be sure the people that work for the Town of China are treated and recognized as a valuable asset to our town.

It is important that they seek to lower taxes but not as their sole goal. We are all in hard times with the price of gas and groceries, etc. but sometimes the means of cutting taxes may be hurting the town’s future. I am referring to the sale of the town’s property, thinking they could earn money on taxes especially if it was subdivided into housing lots. I ask was this relatively small amount of money worth it in the long run when a group was trying to improve the town by adding a park for all residents and perhaps someday a community center that would be a safe place for teens to gather to play cards, chess, pool, ping pong, etc., and for residents to have a time to gather to do the same thing, especially senior citizens who need a place to socialize.

Summarizing I do not have faith in Mr. Foote as a candidate for such a trusted position. I also thank the selectmen who do put the Town of China residents and employees’ interests and well-being as the most important part of their service.

Thank you.

Marilyn Reed
China

LETTERS: Vote “yes” for better internet

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To the editor:

To the Town of China:

Please consider all the advantages of good internet service and how continued poor service could keep our town years behind the rest of the country. Internet is important in so many ways. Three come to mind immediately: education, business and personal.

The Town Line has been a helpful source of information on this subject and I specifically point to their October 14 issue.

The Broadband Committee has researched and proposed a solution of which we the citizens should favorably consider and vote for on November 2.

In person, or absentee ballot, please join me to vote, Yes, on China Town Question #1.

Fred Wiand
China

LETTERS: A thank you to the community, Supports Marquis for selectboard

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To the editor:

Dear Friends,

I would like to thank the Town of China for the many years of continuous support during my terms of office. After 22 years serving on the selectboard, I have decided it is time to hand over the baton to someone else. Jeanne Marquis has the same spirit for volunteerism and the deep connection to China as I have had over the years. She and I worked side by side picking up trash on Earth Day on the lakefront. Many people may recognize Jeanie for her articles in The Town Line newspaper, but you may not know she also spends many hours each month volunteering for the China For a Lifetime Committee.

When COVID first broke out, Jeanne organized a team of drivers to deliver groceries to the elderly so they could stay home. She gathered volunteers who like to sew to make and deliver masks before masks were readily available, and she helped to create outdoor classroom spaces in our China School Forest. Jeanne has and always will be there to help our town, so I feel strongly about supporting her to carry on in my place on the selectboard. Please vote for Jeanne Marquis on November 2.

In appreciation and love of the China community,

Irene Belanger
China

LETTERS: Marquis is superb candidate

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To the editor:

Dear Town of China Friends and Neighbors:

Good government in our community requires the election of outstanding candidates.

The best candidates offer personal qualities such as independence, non-partisanship, positivity, knowledge, balance and modesty. They also possess a demonstrated record of community achievement and action.

Jeanne Marquis is a superb candidate who meets that test; she is running in the November 2 election for a position on the China Select Board.

As a resident and registered voter in China, I will support Jeanne.

I respectfully ask you to consider casting your vote on November 2 for Jeanne Marquis; please also ask other residents you know to carefully review her background in order to make the best choice for the Town of China.

Thank you.

Stephen Greene
China

LETTERS: Jeanne is a darn good listener

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To the editor:

Over the past few years, I have become acquainted with Jeanne Marquis. I was informed recently she is running for the office of selectperson to serve the town of China in a leadership position. I find Jeanne to be a darn good listener and to have great loyalty to the town in which her family has lived for generations. She is bright, curious, mature, well-educated and offers good ideas and sensible suggestions. She is respected and will make a good addition to the board that provides stability and guidance to the town. I openly support her candidacy.

Richard Dillenbeck
Augusta, Georgia, summer resident on China Lake

LETTERS: Voting “yes” for better internet service

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To Town Line editor and the Town of China Residents:

Joann Clark Austin

Joann Clark Austin

I feel compelled to write to the Selectmen of China, and the townspeople.

The town selectboard asked in 2017….., that’s four years ago….., for help. The Town,….we…., needed some people who understand the workings of the internet to solve our connectivity issues. For many in our town Covid has made poor internet connectivity and poor internet speeds even more apparent. The selectmen asked folks to volunteer, to work for many years, to find the best answer to internet services in China. The committee has done that. That is what we are voting on on the November ballot.

The selectmen told this generous dedicated set of volunteers they not only had to find the right answer, but that they, the volunteer committee, also had to sell the idea to us town folks (who, speaking for myself, could never have found the answers and who has so little understanding that I didn’t care to go to the three explanatory meetings they have held as requested). I did get to one.

Then last week, the selectmen would not allow the committee to use their working funds to send out a flyer supporting their proposal, while at the same time, the select board gets to put a note on the printed ballot to vote “No”, with no reason given. Selectmen should have put a “Leave to Voters” recommendation with explanations of why three of them voted to not recommend going forward. At the end of that meeting my heart just ached for the volunteer committee. Why would anyone ever volunteer again?

I discovered by chance that Consumer Reports says that a municipality doing exactly what the Broadband Committee proposes is the best way forward…. That good utility services like electricity, telephone, and now internet are (and have been since the 1940s) best accomplished in more rural areas by municipalities. And even better, if we vote “YES”, but there are not enough townsfolk signing up for the lower cost, higher speed, more reliable service, then the town can reevaluate and pull out of further implementation.

Based on what I’ve been hearing and my own poor internet service over the years, I am definitely voting yes on the November Ballot question.

from Joann C. Austin (China)

LETTERS: Freedom has many meanings

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To the editor:

I am writing to you today to address the tone of discourse online when the subject of COVID-19 is mentioned in any way.

I have two concerns. One is that some people are horribly misinformed, endangering their own health and the health of their loved ones. Another is that loud, rude insistence on “being heard” makes others cower in fear of confrontation. My larger concern is that this is the intended effect.

On the information front, millions have received the vaccine and there has been no high incidence of side effects. Vaccinations have a long history of eradicating deadly diseases without a high incidence of side effects, and the COVID vaccines continue that history in spectacular fashion. Republicans such as former President Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have both encouraged everyone to get vaccinated. This is not a partisan issue.

For those who say “but vaccinated people still catch COVID,” I would point out that those people overwhelmingly do not end up hospitalized. They can manage their symptoms at home. Where there has been a vast deluge of hospitalizations, those are the same areas where vaccination rates are low.

On the “personal freedom” front, I completely agree that nobody should be forced to be vaccinated. However, employers have labor rules to follow and they are subject to litigation for failing to maintain a safe workplace. They have every right, reason and incentive to conclude that vaccinations are safe and effective, and to insist that their employees get vaccinated. In other words, if you defend personal freedom, then defend the rights of these businesses to make health and safety related decisions for themselves.

Freedom is a term that can be applied in many different ways. Would we be a free nation without a mandatory draft? We sacrifice individual freedom every day in many ways to keep our nation free and to preserve the common good, and if anyone has missed the connection between a runaway virus and a threat to freedom, I’d be happy to discuss it with you.

Behaving in the common good is what keeps us all free.

Thank you.

Walt Bennett,
South China

LETTERS: Sad day at Country Manor

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To the editor:

It is with a sad heart, tear in my eye and a lump in my throat that must let people know how heart breaking it is with the closing of what was one of the best nursing homes, or assisting living facilities around. That, of course, is Country Manor Nursing Home, in Coopers Mills. Words cannot describe the loving care given to its patients. I can attest to it as my beloved wife Diane was a patient there for the last two years. Over those years I never saw such devotion to their tasks as everybody at Country Manor. From top to bottom they made, at least for me, every day that I visited was like visiting old friends, which over the years they became. As I hugged and kissed my wife goodbye today on her journey to another facility, I am pleased to hear that some from Country Manor will be going where she is going. I could list everybody I knew but would take up too much space and want this letter to be published or at least hope so. I hope and pray as Governor Janet Mills releases that $146 million, she allocates some for nursing homes. Perhaps if she had done so earlier the labor shortages that is causing all these closings wouldn’t have happened.

I will close by reminding everybody that a medal should be given to everyone at Country Manor for all they did to keep COVID out of their facility. I’m sure God has a special spot for all you caregivers in heaven. Goodbye to you and God bless all of you.

I must add that for two years I visited my wife at Country Manor every day, and I feel like I am losing a family, also. I was 25 minutes away from Country Manor, in Coopers Mills. Now I must travel to Winthrop, which is 60 minutes away.

Frank Slason
Somerville

LETTERS: Just a reminder

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To the editor:

Just a reminder as nothing much was mentioned about this historic event. On August 6, 1945, Colonel Tibbetts dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Three days later, Major Charles W. Sweeney dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. These two bombings hasnted the ending of World War II. It should be noted that the warship which delivered the final components for the second A-bomb started from Taiwan and was torpedoes by a Japanese U-boat killing over 800 sailors. For a more understanding of the bombing, please read Wars End by Major General Charles W. Sweeney, USAF (Ret.). He and I spoke about this and corresponded many times before he died.

Frank Slason
Somerville

LETTERS: Seniors program does incredible work

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To the editor:

As the Senior Program Director of Spectrum Generations, the Area Agency on Aging that serves six counties in central Maine, I get to see firsthand the incredible work this organization does to support Maine’s disabled and aging population.

During the month of May, our community case managers provided social work services to 261 seniors and adults with disabilities, additionally, Spectrum Generations manages the finances for 80 of those most in need.

Through the Adult Day & Community Support program, 35 staff members at four of our facilities provided 1,434 hours of center-based care, and 1,817 hours of individual care to 67 people. This program creates a path to community inclusion and employment for consumers and it provides a safe place so family caregivers can work.

Our staff and dedicated volunteers also prepared and delivered 29,866 meals through the Meals on Wheels Program, and our Community Services staff provided support to 763 people calling for help.

Here at Spectrum Generations, our mission is to promote and advance the well-being and independence of older and disabled adults, with the support of their care partners, to live in their community of choice. I am proud to report that, thanks to our hardworking staff and caring volunteers, the month of May was an incredibly productive one.

If you would like to get involved, or you have any questions about the services that we provide, please give us a call at (800) 639-1553 or visit us online at www.spectrumgenerations.org.

Nate Miller, Senior Program Director
Spectrum Generations