To the editor:
There is no reason Caribou cannot financially support the Nylander Museum. I am angry every time I see this come up, and now the city is again trying to make it happen in the near future.
The new librarian has a job and a half just keeping the library going. This plan to have the library take over management of the museum is just one step away from them deciding to close the museum because the librarian can’t handle two jobs.
When we get rid of our history (the museum) we will be getting rid of our reason to exist as a community. A city that cannot afford a little museum of our entire past is not a real city. I will bet within another couple of years the council will try to close the library again. A city that cannot afford a library would be disgusting. And who would want to live there in spite of the new school?
Both the museum and the library have been considered for deletion in the past to save money, and it is now being presented in a different but sneaky way to slide it past voters.
Cut the fat out of the budget, not the meat. These entities tell us who, what, why and how we became Caribou and so much more. Even Stockholm and New Sweden have museums. We need to tell our dedicated city councilors that they can’t spend the city out of debt and they have no right to delete our history, either.
How much does the town provide for the existence of the museum? Who is in charge of the money donated to it? Let’s have a report of donations and a list of expenses.
Did councilors verify if it was the wish of Caribou citizens to dissolve the Nylander board? Which cultural or educational situation will they put in place once they slide this disaster through and leave a total cultural and educational hole in Caribou?
Hopefully, enough citizens will start calling these councilors. Not the city office, the councilors. We have to speak up. This is our town.
Norma Milton
Caribou
