Food self-sufficiency law beneficial to Aroostook economy
To the editor:
As a resident of Aroostook County, I feel Maine’s new food self-sufficiency law is going to be very beneficial to our economy.
Elderly and low-income supplemental food programs will now be stocked with healthier and local grown products, which is going to help keep our farmers in business. It is also going to help with the shortage of workers our farmers are experiencing by linking up available workers with the farmers.
With the bill requiring the Department of Agriculture to purchase food that is grown, harvested, prepared, processed, and produced in Maine for the emergency or supplemental food programs for elderly or low-income people whenever possible, there will be many beneficial outcomes. The programs will have healthier food for its recipients leading to healthier lives. This will also bring in new business and create reliable partnerships for our farmers to keep their farms alive.
The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is directed to develop and administer an agricultural jobs network. This is going to be a very easy way for farmers to find available workers. More people in our community will find employment and more farmers will have capable workers.
I think it’s a great idea for the bill to also encourage people to grow their own gardens, raise their own animals, and preserve food that they have grown themselves. Freshly grown and preserved foods made in our own homes are so much better for us than food we can buy at a store.
I think this new law is going to do great things for our state and more specifically our county. As the saying goes, growing your own food is like printing your own money, I think Maine should be printing more of its “money.”
Bridgette Carrier,
UNH student
Durham, N.H.
Cancer hits hard, invest in research to fight back
To the editor:
Each of us is only One Degree from someone with cancer. We all know someone who’s battled this disease, and many of us have fought cancer ourselves. I traveled to Washington, D.C. in September to represent the voice of cancer survivors and patients in District 2. When I met with Senators Collins and Poliquin, I explained to them that there is perhaps no better way for Congress to support the fight against cancer than by funding that fight.
By increasing medical research funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by $6 billion over the next two years, including $1 billion for cancer research at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), we can move closer to world with less suffering and death from cancer.
Unfortunately, without adequate federal funding, new breakthroughs in treatment and prevention may languish in labs across the country while cancer patients sit waiting.
Nearly 15 million cancer survivors are living, and thriving, in America today thanks to past investment in research that led to innovative treatments and therapies. Add your One Degree at www.OneDegreeProject.org and join me in asking Congress to increase funding at NIH and NCI. I know our conversation made a difference in the halls of Congress, and I encourage you to add your voice. Visit www.acscan.org to be connected to people like me in your community.
Karin Howe, volunteer
American Cancer Society
Cancer Action Network
Wade
Bank remains humane in digital world
To the editor:
A few years ago I wrote in your letters section a public thank-you to a local bank for not charging a big punitive fee, like my previous bank did, if my checking account slipped below $100.
Now I’d like to thank my bank for their surprising response to my request to no longer send me a monthly paper statement, because of the service fee of $2.95.
When I told the officer on the phone that I was not online, she told me that they don’t expect me, at my age (77) to go out and buy a computer and go on the Internet just to get a monthly statement. So she changed my code to no-fee for future statements, and reversed the charge for my current paper statement.
She even apologized for her “age discrimination.” I told her, “At least it’s a positive discrimination.” We exchanged a chuckle.
My local bank is not only a good commercial bank. It is also a humane bank — with a free-spirited staff. Thanks again for looking out for the little guy.
Val Vadis
Westfield
Solution to affordable housing shortage
To the editor:
Maine has a significant shortage of affordable homes for our older residents, and our housing stock, like our population, is among the oldest in the nation. We now have the opportunity to address this issue and expand the availability of acceptable, affordable, safe and convenient housing so that more Maine residents can remain in their own communities as they age.
The Senior Affordable Housing Bond will be Question 2 on the statewide ballot this coming Tuesday, November 3. The bill would authorize the sale of $15 million in general obligation bonds to be used in combination with more than $22 million in leveraged funds. Together, the funds would support the construction of affordable, highly energy efficient homes for Maine’s seniors in strategic locations across the state.
In addition, the funds would support the repair and weatherization of existing homes across the state. Four projects would be slated for Maine counties with populations under 100,000 so Aroostook would likely be on that list.
This initiative won bipartisan support in both houses of the Legislature. It has been endorsed by a wide range of organizations representing a multitude of sectors including aging, housing, construction and economic development.
Let’s not miss our chance to invest in an effective solution to our housing shortage. Please vote “Yes” on Question 2 on the Statewide Ballot on Election Day.
Gail Maynard
Woodland
HHS supporter or antagonist?
To the editor:
This letter is in response to a letter from C.J. Virgie recently published in your newspaper.
I am not sure why Ms. Virgie indicated that she, her husband and the other individual that were asked to leave were the only true supporters of HHS [Houlton Humane Society] in attendance.
The ride and rodeo that the bike riders/owners participated in were both events that we registered for and paid a fee to do so. We bought a lunch, bid on items in the silent auction (some of them actually won), bought 50/50 tickets, with the winner donating the money back to HHS. I don’t believe Ms. Virgie, her husband or the other individual purchased a lunch, bid on any items or bought any 50/50 tickets.
My husband and I are both supporters of HHS, financially when possible, and in other capacities, again when possible.
Yes, this event was a public function, advertised as such; however, it is my opinion that they were not there to support HHS, but antagonize HHS staff and volunteers and then make others believe that they were the injured parties.
Rebecca Graham
Houlton
Soldiers’ monument a centerpiece
To the editor:
I am writing with the thought in mind that we do not really see or appreciate that which we see each day.
Houlton is fortunate to have a downtown public park which is truly used by the public. The centerpiece of the park is the monument to the Soldiers of Houlton who fought in the Civil War over 150 years ago.
Over the last several years the granite pieces have become very discolored along connecting lines and under projections.
A few weeks past, I noticed that the discoloration was virtually gone. Quietly and without fanfare the Civil War Soldier was cleaned and restored to be an object of beauty.
Our Civil War Soldier stands tall and again is the object of appreciation both objectively and subjectively. A nice job was done by the Parks & Recreation Department.
Dick Rhoda
Houlton
International Appalachian Trail
To the editor:
This letter is in response to an article in the Oct. 7 Aroostook Republican written by Anthony Brino regarding the International Appalachian Trail, or IAT. Although the article gave a mostly good description of the trail in Maine, there were a few things that weren’t quite accurate and some additional information might better describe it for potential hikers.
First, the IAT in Maine begins or ends at the Katahdin Lake East access to Baxter State Park in the southeastern edge of the park, not the southwestern edge, as stated in the article. Heading north, the first 31 miles, or the East Branch Section, runs through beautiful remote Maine woods to Grand Lake Road near the outlet of Matagamon Lake and parallels the east branch of the Penobscot River for much of its length. There are four IAT lean-tos in this section and two MFS campsites, as well as easy access to Bowlin Camps and Matagamon Wilderness Campground & Cabins.
From Matagamon to Houlton, the trail follows gravel and paved back roads through rural areas, with one lean-to and other lodging options. There are less than five miles on Route 11 and less than seven miles on Route 2. The Maine Chapter has been diligently working to get trail sections off the roads, especially off Route 11 and over Mt. Chase, but permission has yet to be granted by property owners.
Second, the trail from Houlton to Mars Hill does not follow Route 1, as indicated in the article, but is instead 28 miles of wooded multi-use trail on the former B&A Railroad bed, with lean-tos at the Meduxnekeag River in Monticello and on Mars Hill, as well as other lodging options.
Lastly, hikers should notify the Fort Fairfield Border Patrol before hiking on the “Border Trail” and, if you enter from the U.S. side, you can go into the U.S. at any point along the trail. Also, there is a flagged dry path on the U.S. side of the abandoned side-by-side beaver dams in Easton and the 11-mile section following the international border from East Ridge Road in Mars Hill to Sam Everett Road in Fort Fairfield offers primarily great hiking with gorgeous views of fields and forest.
If you’re interested in learning more about the IAT in Maine or elsewhere, there is a Trail Guide with invaluable information and maps available on the Maine IAT website www.internationalatmaine.org, with a link to other trail sections and IAT chapters throughout the world ( http://www.iat-sia.org/), including Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Wales, France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco!
Also, please feel free to contact the Maine Chapter (contacts are listed on the website), join our membership, and/or attend the annual meeting to be held at UMPI from May 6-8, 2016. We’re always looking for new members and trail crew volunteers. Or you could just head out on the trail for a great fall hike in northern Maine!
Cheryl St. Peter,
IAT-ME vice president
Cross Lake
