It’s been a memorable year at The Forecaster.
New ownership, new reporters, new columnists, and a new partnership between our four legacy editions and two former Current Publishing papers – the American Journal and Lakes Region Weekly – kept us from getting too comfortable with the status quo.
What has remained constant, however, is our commitment to local news. Here are some of the stories we found most memorable in 2017 (hopefully you did, too):
In the Portland edition we documented how, despite Maine’s Freedom of Access Act, Mayor Ethan Strimling conducted city business via a private email account when he participated in the (successful) campaign for the city’s four-school renovation bond.
Our Northern edition told the story of a young Cumberland firefighter who lost his life after a two-year battle with a rare form of cancer, documented how Durham school sports boosters handled the mismanagement of club funds, and, on the lighter side, covered a Falmouth cop who “arrested” an escaped pig.
In the Mid-Coast edition we looked at the problem with promises businesses make about job growth, and obstacles facing fishermen young and old.
Southern edition readers followed Scarborough’s almost never-ending school budget saga, learned why a City Council vote in South Portland was probably not legal, witnessed the end of an era with the demise of the Griffin Club in Knightville, and celebrated the comeback of Knightville favorite Taco Trio.
The American Journal pulled back the covers on unsavory antics in the Westbrook library, and told the story of a retired U.S. Air Force nurse honored for her work at war and on the home front.
And in the Lakes Region, Standish town councilors dealt local sportsmen a setback in their plans for an outdoor shooting range, and the internet went nuts about a parody recruitment video set to rap music by New Gloucester Fire and Rescue.
Your letters to the editor were another constant reminder that what we do has an impact, and we appreciate hearing from you.
We also recognize that it takes effort and confidence to compose a letter for publication – especially at a time when so much of our local and national discourse is colored by anger, emotion, insensitivity, disrespect and, too frequently, hate. People who write and sign letters deserve our gratitude because they’re willing to speak their minds without hiding behind the anonymity of online commenting.
So thanks to the writers listed below, who shared their opinions with the rest of us this year. And Happy New Year to all our readers; here’s hoping 2018 is even more memorable – and more civil – than 2017.
Heather Abbott, Yarmouth
Michael Ahern, Portland
Stephen August, Bath
Ross & Jo Anne Babcock, Yarmouth
Cass Baker, Yarmouth
Ann Bainbridge, Westbrook
Sarah C. Barnes, Yarmouth
Stan Baron, Portland
Robert E. Barton, Westbrook
Stephanie Bath, Portland
Art Bell, Yarmouth
Nat & Jen Bessey, Yarmouth
George C. Betke Jr., Damariscotta
Peter Bollen, Bridgton
Sharon Bondroff, Gray
Eric Bowie, Durham
Mike Boyson, Portland
Whitney Bradford, Falmouth
Sarah M. Braik, Portland
Wanda Brochu, Westbrook
David H. Brown, Raymond
Rachel Burger, South Portland
Elizabeth Burrows, Yarmouth
Jeff Christiansen, Gorham
Frank Carner, Falmouth
Kevin Carolan, Yarmouth
Millard and Mary Carr, Waldoboro
Gerald Caruso, Falmouth
Meghan Casey, Yarmouth
Matt Chappell, Yarmouth
Chad Coffin, Freeport
James T. Cook, Orr’s Island
Patricia Council, Portland
Phil Coupe, Scarborough
Michael Cutting, Portland
Laura Cyr, Portland
Janet Daigle, Portland
Kymberly Dakin, Yarmouth
Kimberly Darling, Falmouth
Isabel Denham, Falmouth
Maryallyn Dennison, Freeport
Deborah P. de Rivera, Brunswick
Joyce Devine, Phippsburg
Rick Diamond, Topsham
Cate DiMarzio, Yarmouth
Art DiMauro, Scarborough
Bill Donovan, Scarborough
Barbara Doughty, Portland
Adrian Dowling, South Portland
Peter Doyle, Portland
Karen B. Drapeau, Scarborough
Mary Drymon, South Portland
Duncan Dunscombe, Falmouth
Russell Dupree, Freeport
Larry Dyhrberg, Falmouth
David Eaton, Portland
Jane Eberle, South Portland
Sam Eddy, Yarmouth
Carol Eisenberg, Peak’s Island
Scott Elliott, Portland
Burt Epstein, Portland
Joleen A. Estabrook, Yarmouth
Tom Ewig, Raymond
Karen Farber, Falmouth
Patricia Farrell, Yarmouth
Michael Fasulo, South Portland
Mary Jane Ferrier, South Portland
Richard Flowerdew, Falmouth
George Fogg, North Yarmouth
Noah Ford, Brunswick
Rick Foss-Lacey, South Portland
Brad Fox, South Portland
Russell Frank, Gorham
Ellen Fraser, South Portland
Penny Gage, Yarmouth
Bill Gardiner, Yarmouth
Shannon Garrity, Freeport
Jesica Garrou, Yarmouth
Dennis Gildart, Yarmouth
Jane Gildart, Yarmouth
Robert Gillies, Yarmouth
Susan Gilpin, Falmouth
Lorraine Glidden, Westbrook
Geoff Godo, Topsham
Susan Goodwin, Brunswick
Gregory Greenleaf, Harpswell
Jocelyn Grega, Yarmouth
Stephen Gorden, Yarmouth
Mark D. Gover, Gray
Tom Grant, Gorham
Rose Greely, Falmouth
Jacqueline Guyol, Portland
Susan Hamill, Scarborough
Steve Hanly, Scarborough
Millard Hanson, Scarborough
Chalmers Hardenbergh, Freeport
Nancy Harman, Yarmouth
Maurice Harmon, Scarborough
Phil Harriman, Yarmouth
Barbara Campbell Harvey, Portland
Keith Heldenbrand, Freeport
Steve Hendrickson, Scarborough
Peyton Higgison, Brunswick
Bill Hill, Freeport
William Holland, Freeport
David Holman, North Yarmouth
Lois Howlett, Yarmouth
Carla Hunt, Yarmouth
M. Roberts Hunt, Falmouth
Leslie Hyde, Yarmouth
Tony Ickes & Susan Holland, South Portland
Melissa Walsh Innes, Yarmouth
Karen Jacobsen, Falmouth
John Jones, Georgetown
Philip Jones, Yarmouth
Bob Kammann, Wiscasset
Wayne Keown, Yarmouth
Jeff Kew, Yarmouth
Lt. John Kilbride, Falmouth
Robert D. King, Falmouth
Susan Deborah King, Cumberland Foreside
Ryan Kittle, Bowdoinham
Jerry Klepner, Harpswell
Kris Eric Kucera, North Yarmouth
Ernie Lamarre, Brunswick
Elizabeth Lantz, South Portland
Mary Ann Larson, Portland
Mark Lawrence, Portland
Michael Layton, Cape Elizabeth
Bruce LeClair, Windham
Pauline Levin, Scarborough
Juliana L’Heureux, Topsham
Joanne Libby, Freeport
Robert Libby, Chebeague Island
Laura Ligouri, Yarmouth
Jose Linares, Yarmouth
Matt Loosigian, Brunswick
Jacquelyn Deegan Lortie, Gorham
Robert Lynch, Scarborough
David MacLeod, Scarborough
Erica Magnus, Windham
Cristina Malcolmson, Portland
Doyle Marchant, North Yarmouth
Lee Margolin, Harrison
Ted Markow, Brunswick
Martha F. H. Mayo, Bath
Mark McCain, Portland
Ed McCartan, Brunswick
Mike McClellan, Raymond
Chris McDuffie, North Yarmouth
Stephen McKay, Brunswick
Callie McMahon, Brunswick
Doris Meehan, Windham
Danielle Meltz, Portland
Lincoln J. Merrill Jr., North Yarmouth
Ray Monahan, Windham
Fran Monroe, Gray
Amie Moore, Yarmouth
Bil Moriarty, Portland
Roland Morin, Falmouth
Ann Morrill, South Portland
David W. Mortimer, Lewiston
Jacqueline R. Moss, Cumberland
Julie Motherwell, Falmouth
Joan Mueller, Pownal
Anne Nanovic, Falmouth
Patricia O’Connell, Brunswick
Nancy O’Hagan, Portland
James O’Keefe, Yarmouth
Stephanie Paine, Freeport
Donna Palmer, North Yarmouth
Nick Pappas, Cape Elizabeth
Isabella Pardales, Yarmouth
Will Parker, Brunswick
John R. Pasch, Falmouth
Linda Pearson, Gorham
Stephen Perazone, Portland
Heather Perkinson, Cumberland
Gay Peterson, North Yarmouth
Nicole K. Petit, Scarborough
Val Philbrick, Scarborough
Allan Phinney, Windham
Jeff Pierce, Windham
Rep. Teresa Pierce, Falmouth
Steven C. Pomelow, Gorham
Sammy Potter, Yarmouth
Elizabeth Pratt, Yarmouth
Skye Priestley, Portland
Gene Proctor, West Bath
Jerry Provencher, Bath
Erica Rafford-Noyes, Yarmouth
David Ray, Yarmouth
Philip Reed, Scarborough
Rachel Reed, Falmouth
Tracie J. Reed, Portland
Sally Regan, Portland
John Rensenbrink, Topsham
Tammy Richards, Yarmouth
Judi Richardson, South Portland
William Robitzek, Hallowell
Bonny Rodden, Falmouth
Sally Rollins, Portland
Emma Rotner, Portland
Paula Rowe, Falmouth
Rose Marie Russell, Westbrook
Sarah Russell, Cumberland
Rabbi Jared H. Saks, South Portland
Leah Salow, South Portland
Rep. Heather Sanborn, Portland
Ronald G. Sawyer, Yarmouth
Andrew J. Schaefer, Yarmouth
Anne Schlitt, Phippsburg
Russ Schmidt, Pownal
Steve Schnapp, Phippsburg
Peter Scott, Cumberland
Lynn Shaffer, Cape Elizabeth
Dr. Peter K. Shaw, Falmouth
Hillary Shende, Brunswick
Dugan Shipway, Bath
Craig Sickels, Freeport
Drew Sigfridson, Portland
Peter Silbert, Standish
Mackenzie Simpson, Portland
William H. Slavick, Portland
Stan Small, Leesburg, Florida
The Rev. Allison C. G. Smith, Harpswell
Barbara Smith, Yarmouth
Carl Smith, Brunswick
Sarah L.O. Smith, Freeport
Mike Soucie, Naples
Bruce Soule, Yarmouth
Charles Spanger, Scarborough
Geoff Sparrow, Windham
Phil Spiller Jr.
Jon Spinner, Scarborough
Sue Stableford, Brunswick
Anne Staples, Falmouth
Barry Stephens, Scarborough
Benjamin Stevens, Yarmouth
Bob Stevens, Freeport
Matthew Stevens, Yarmouth
Valy Steverlynck, Freeport
Sylvia Stocker, Brunswick
Lucille Stott, Bath
Marlise Swartz, Yarmouth
Dave Tanguay, Windham
Nils Tcheyan, Orr’s Island
Stan Tetenman, Poland
George Thebarge, Falmouth
Andrew Tonks, Yarmouth
Bea Trumann, Portland
Andrew Turcotte, Westbrook
Maureen Turgeon, Orr’s Island
Dolores Vail, Falmouth
Gary Wagner, Portland
Cornelia Walworth, Portland
John C. Ward, Ontario, Canada
Patricia Washburn, Portland
Paul Weiss, Cumberland
John D. Wentworth, Pownal
Ted Westerfield, Yarmouth
Lori Whitlock, Westbrook
Jack Wibby, Gray
Jenifer Wikstrom, Portland
David Wilson, San Clemente, California
Jason Wilson, Gray
Kathy E. Wilson, Brunswick
Lisa Wilson, Yarmouth
Madeline Winkeler, Falmouth
Ann Wrobel, Westbrook
Charlotte Youkilis, Brunswick
Patricia Youland, Westbrook
Mo Mehlsak is executive editor of The Forecaster, American Journal and Lakes Region Weekly. He can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 107 or mmehlsak@theforecaster.net. You can also follow Mo on Twitter: @mmehlsak.
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