Editorials

11 years ago

Cup of Joe: White Christmas is all but assured

The first major snowstorm of the season hit Aroostook County Sunday dropping more than a foot a white powder on the area. The storm essentially ensures that we will most definitely have a “White Christmas” this year.
For many, Sunday was a day to sit back and watch the snow fall, which it did all day and into the evening. Church services were cancelled for many parishes, as the falling snow made driving conditions a wee bit dangerous.

11 years ago

Maine’s home to great innovators, entrepreneurs

I am frequently asked what the most limiting factor to innovation and entrepreneurship in Maine is. The truth is that our attitude and imagination are the only limiting factors, but creating a business friendly environment and supportive infrastructure are two important steps to unleashing great ideas here at home.

11 years ago

Life Lesson 53: It’s ok to love fruitcake

I guess I can pin the blame for loving fruit cake on Dale. You see, I was conditioned to believe that fruit cake was a joke of sorts; dry, shriveled slabs of dehydrated fruit surrounded by miniscule pieces of walnuts and pecans. Nasty stuff, I was told. And of course, with that preconceived notion, I ingested very little of this Christmas staple – until I met Dale.

11 years ago

Cup O’ Joe: Hooray for the holidays!

The holiday season is now in full swing following last weekend’s light parade, heralding the arrival of Santa Claus. The Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce once again organized a beautiful, and colorful, parade to officially kick off Christmas.

11 years ago

New anti-fraud hotline to help protect seniors

Our parents and grandparents worked hard their entire lives and saved for retirement. Unfortunately, there are criminals who are targeting them and who want to rob them of their hard-earned savings.

11 years ago

Christmas miracles

Though there was little room there in front of the window, all six children crowded around the tiny peephole that had somehow worked its way through the frosty film on the glass. This was the only window in their home that was not boarded up to ward off the bitter cold wind. Despite the efforts made to keep warm, the frigid fingers of winter slid their way in between the bruised and ruined wooden slats that clung to the side of the house. The children were cold and their tummies grumbled with the demand and the need for nourishment.

11 years ago

Life Lesson 50: Fill your heart with people

The sound of their laughter was alluring. He pushed his wooden chair closer to the door and peered through the crack and out into the hallway. The door to the adjacent apartment was wide open, as usual. A constant parade of relatives and fellow apartment dwellers marched in and out, carrying hot dishes, flowers, and early wrapped Christmas gifts that lit up the dim hallway in shades of bright red, green, blue, silver and gold.

11 years ago

Cup O’ Joe: What are you thankful for?

It is hard to believe but the holiday season is upon us once again. It may sound like a cliché, but time really does seem to go by faster the older we get. I used to think my parents were crazy when they would say things like “Just wait until you get to be our age … you’ll see.” They were right.

11 years ago

Alzheimer’s is an urgent national priority

It was President Ronald Reagan who first declared November as National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month in 1983. At that time, fewer than two million Americans had the disease. Today, that number has more than doubled-to nearly 5.4 million Americans. Based on current projections, as many as 16 million Americans over the age of 65 will have Alzheimer’s disease by 2050. In addition to the human suffering it causes, Alzheimer’s costs the United States more than $200 billion a year, including $142 billion in costs to Medicare and Medicaid.

11 years ago

Cup O’ Joe: Rotary auction time once again

It’s hard to believe, but the Thanksgiving holiday is fast approaching, albeit about a week later than it was last year. And going hand-in-hand with the holiday is the 58th annual Houlton Rotary Radio and TV Auction.