On Election Day I hope the citizens of Scarborough will cast their votes for the two candidates that will bring fresh ideas and new outlooks to the Scarborough Town Council. These two candidates are Peter Hayes and Liam Somers. During the very contentious dog ordinance vote both Peter and Liam were steady and levelheaded with […]
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Posted inAmerican Journal, Current, Lakes Region Weekly, Northern Forecaster, Web
DOWN THE ROAD A PIECE: Law and order, Maine-style
I was down at the store the other day having coffee at the counter with a group of local scholars, parolees and unemployed consultants, when Charlie Farron, our local sheriff’s deputy, walked in and joined us. Since being “down at the store” isn’t usually a violation of anyone’s parole conditions, none of the usual suspects […]
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Posted inAmerican Journal, Web
LETTERS: United community
On Nov. 5 the search will begin for a new superintendent for RSU 5, or for a stand-alone Freeport district, depending on the result of the election. The task of finding an experienced, visionary leader will not be easy: The Maine School Management Association projects 20 job openings for superintendents in the coming year, and […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Web
LETTERS: Restorative pathway
The RSU 5 arrangement originally was and continues to be fundamentally flawed. Consolidation was a legislatively imposed administrative and financial structure determined by nothing more than proximity on the map, and false threats of penalty. It is indisputable that consolidation was state cost shifting, numbers shuffled on spreadsheets to appear as administrative savings. Our three […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Northern Forecaster, Web
LETTERS: Right thing to do
As a reluctantly admitted member of Freeport’s senior citizen cadre, I am going to vote yes for withdrawal from RSU 5. Thinking long term, if we remain part of the consolidated district we risk losing more good teachers, more teacher support, and more good students as standards continue to decline. We can renovate the current […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Current, Lakes Region Weekly, Northern Forecaster, Web
POLITICS & OTHER MISTAKES: Smiling faces
In an attempt to ease the state’s severe cognitive-dissonance shortage, the arbiters of good taste have spent this election season beseeching candidates to practice both civility and sincerity. As any sensible person involved in politics knows, those qualities can’t coexist. It’s impossible to be considered honest if you’re caught pretending to be pleasant to your […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Northern Forecaster, Web
Football: Freeport loses Battle of the Bay
The Falcons welcomed neighboring Yarmouth for the teams’ annual Battle of the Bay on Saturday afternoon and gave it their all – but came up short yet again. Pete LaMagna notched a rush TD early for Freeport, but during the course of four quarters, the Clippers’ attack simply proved overwhelming. Led by Cody Cook, Yarmouth […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Southern Forecaster, Web
Halloween a hit on Westbrook's Main Street
Westbrook’s annual Halloween on Main Street event was busier than ever Friday, as hundreds of families packed the closed road between Spring and Mechanic streets. The event, organized by the Westbrook/Gorham Community Chamber, has been a Westbrook staple since the late 1990s. Last month, the chamber announced it would not be organizing the event in […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Lakes Region Weekly, Web
LETTERS: Time to rethink sports in schools
Let me begin by saying this – I firmly believe that sports/extracurricular activities have a solid purpose in making our children better people. I love sports and both of my children play sports, as did I. I believe that they are better children because of it and that organized sports (and unorganized sports…remember those?) play […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Web
Girls Soccer: Cheverus gallops past Westbrook, 3-1
Olivia Mull notched a pair of goals – two of Cheverus’s three – to give the Stags a first-half lead Westbrook couldn’t recover from on Friday, despite Emily Thornton’s offensive efforts to keep the Blazes alive. Thornton’s goal, Westbrook’s only point of the match, tied the game early, but while they stepped up their defense […]