The week we lost faith

On behalf of everyone in the Lakes Region, we applaud the Clements-Bragdon family of Casco, who evacuated New Orleans just before Hurricane Katrina made landfall last August.

The family, complete with three children, has made our home their home and, according to a front page story this week, they are indeed blooming where they’ve landed. Their success in adopting their new Casco home is encouraging for all the rest of us who are either sojourning to find our true home or wondering whether we could survive total displacement, even to the point of witnessing the destruction of our homes and the lives we had built.

This week, we’re sure the Clements-Bragdon family as well as every American who saw either firsthand or on television the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, are thinking about Katrina’s scars. While New Orleans and the Mississippi and Louisiana coasts struggle even now to regain normalcy, we remember the week that changed all our lives.

This week, as well as the upcoming anniversary of Sept. 11, are tough weeks for us proud Americans. First, the radical Muslims struck us and then Katrina – a one-two punch within four years. But we’re resilient, and people like the Clements-Bragdon family help us remember that we can survive almost anything.

To be sure, that momentous week last August, a week in which many lost their lives and were left fending for themselves – stranded by every level of government – was a needed wake-up call. The lesson we learned is a lesson our forefathers knew before the brave, new welfare state comforted our minds. That lesson, namely that government cannot save us, is now fresh in our memories.

PWD praise

Well, we have the verdict, finally, about who owns the parking lot at the Standish Boat Launch. The winner, by a mile, is the Portland Water District. (Applause.)

But, while it may appear the only victor is the water district, the real winners are the people in the area who park and recreate at the Standish Boat Launch. For, according to the district’s spokeswoman, the parking lot will remain open. That is a true victory for anyone who loves Sebago Lake. (More applause.)

A winner is Dolores Lymburner, a Steep Falls resident and member of the Standish Town Council. She and her husband like to park at the boat launch and look out over the lake. Another winner is the fisherman who sets up in the Lower Bay to fish from shore for togue.

Many winners include all the boaters who frequent the Lower Bay in the summertime. The parking area is a prerequisite of sorts before they can get into their beloved lake.

In the winter, the winners will include all the ice fishermen who flock and park at the Standish Boat Launch to try their luck.

Also a winner in this is the town of Standish taxpayers who might not have to fork over money to retrofit the existing Northeast Road Extension, into which town officials were eyeing to stuff parking spots.

And, you know who else is a winner in all this? The Portland Water District. Because maybe now the townspeople of Standish will look a little more kindly to the utility, which could have shut down all their fun, but decided not to. The district receives much praise for their decision to keep the parking lot open, and we here at the paper, are happy, and quick, to offer it.