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

To the editor:

The recognition of Juneteenth as a federal holiday does not take away any of the significance of the 4th of July. What Juneteenth celebrates is the final end of slavery and the promise that all people are created equal, regardless of skin color.

When the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, and had officially outlawed slavery in the Confederacy, including Texas, enforcement of the Proclamation generally relied upon the advancement of Union troops. At the time, Texas was the most remote state of the former Confederacy and had a low presence of Union troops as the Civil War came to an end. It is not unimaginable that it took two years between the Emancipation Proclamation and General Gordon Granger’s Union Army regiment arrival in Galveston, Texas. He announced the General Order No. 3, which states: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.” Information and news took time to reach remote areas, and there was a low literacy rate among the general population of the United States.

The 4th of July celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Colonies formally breaking away from Great Britain. Juneteenth acknowledges the end of slavery and freedom for the enslaved. These are two different commemorations of independence in American history.

Jeanne Hanson
South China

To the editor:

In response to a recent comment in The Town Line regarding the need for “educational renovation,” I’ll submit the following comments: While there is no question that remote, on line learning has been vital during the COVID pandemic, it is not the perfect or ideal form of teaching or gaining knowledge. As a retired teacher whose classroom presence extended from 1974-2012 – 38 years – my experience covered a lot of changes.

I agree that technology continues to affect our lives and society and that change is inevitable. But, having worked with thousands of students during my career, I saw and dealt with a multitude of learning styles, skills and desires. Young people in our present world face multiple issues. These can include a lack of parental presence, support or compassion, bullying, uncertainty about the future in terms of finances or career goals, or simply frustration with that world they will be entering and spending their life in.

Many kids also question their own abilities and whether or not they have the skills or abilities they’ll need to succeed in life. While remote learning may be suitable for and benefit some students, just as many others still need the in-person interaction and support that the traditional classroom provides. A passionate, committed teacher whose focus is helping all students to learn, regardless of the positives and negatives in their lives, in a way that promotes direct, face-to-face communication and interaction, is the key to a beneficial and useful education experience.

Bob Bennett
South China

by Robert MacFarland
former chairman China board of selectmen

To the editor:

To the citizens and taxpayers of China, My concerns about the town’s decision to dispose of the town’s police department for a lesser service with the county sheriff’s office.

I have served the town on two full terms as a selectboard member and the chairman for the same boards. I was part of the appointed commission to start the police department structuring over seven years ago if my memory serves me correct. The taxpayers have voted to establish and fund our department so we had local control over the security of the community for its people. We have spent years and a ton of tax dollars on this department, and now we are just going to throw it all away.

The selectboard and town manager are unwilling to put the time and effort into continuing the building and supporting of our local law enforcement personnel and department. We, as a community, have decided to fund and build this safety and security for our town and now we do not even get the opportunity to say if we want to continue the service. They have, along with the budget committee, written it out of the next fiscal budget without asking the taxpayers. I for one has seen the department take steps forward and some back due to the staffing issues. This is a nationwide issue, not just one here in China, Maine.

We have up to this point only budgeted for part time officers and prayed that the full time ones had some extra time to cover our community to keep us safe. We need a full time officer and not just 10 hours a week from a part time sheriff’s deputy. I believe Chief Johnson would make a wonderful full time police officer for our town with his vast time in the law enforcement community and respect from his fellow constituents. Now is not the time to defund the police department.

I urge you to contact the town manager, selectboard and budget committee members to support Chief Johnson as a full time officer before it’s too late. Do not support the county sheriff’s position in the budget.

Let me make this perfectly clear for those who don’t know me. I have no ax to grind with the sheriff’s department. I sat on the budget committee for that board and support their cause 100 percent as with any other law enforcement agency in this state.