Editorials

11 years ago

Confronting the heart of Maine’s energy challenges

This past January, with temperatures plunging into a deep freeze, the Governor’s Energy Office received a phone call on a Friday from an elderly veteran who was facing the chilling prospect of no heat for the weekend. He did not have the minimum amount of cash for an oil delivery of 100 gallons, so he was preparing to make the walk to fill his five-gallon kerosene can intermittently throughout the weekend to stay warm and avoid the bitter cold.

11 years ago

Life Lesson 17: Appreciate the blue of the sky, there is no imitation

I watched God complete a work of art as we drove home in the early evening. The sky clung unabashedly to that summer blue, all the while surrendering to the divine white brush strokes applied by the Master’s hand. I decided then and there that if I should ever lose my ability to see, the two things I would miss the most would be the sight of Mount Katahdin looming before me on I-95 and this perfect July 9 sky above.

11 years ago

Maine workers need our support

    I have served in the Maine Legislature since 2002. In my experience this has been one of the most challenging sessions, because despite the Legislature’s best efforts, the governor continued to block progress by putting politics ahead of good policy. At more than 80 vetoes, Governor LePage vetoed more bills than any governor in Maine’s history.

11 years ago

Lesson 53: You are and always will be exceptional

Once upon a time, I was a parade queen. Of course, it was the Maine Potato Blossom Festival Parade, perhaps the most beloved parade in all of northern and central Maine. The day is always hot and attendance is consistently high. If I was destined to become a parade queen, the powers that be chose the very best.

11 years ago

Cup O’ Joe: Beating the heat

“It’s too hot.” That was a phrase heard over and over again from my children during the holiday weekend.
With temperatures soaring into the 90s for the first time this summer, I’m sure many other parents were hearing the same thing from their children too. The funny thing is, it seems like it was just a month or so ago when we were all complaining about having to turn on pellet stoves and heaters to warm our homes.

11 years ago

Life Lesson 41: Forgive yourself

We all make mistakes. We say and do things in the heat of the moment that we immediately regret and we wish we could simply reach out and snatch the words or the deed right out of the air. Thankfully, the gift of humanity that grants us the privilege to stumble from time to time, also gives us the ability to forgive.

11 years ago

Cup O’ Joe: Happy Fourth of July

       Houlton’s Agricultural Fair opens this week and this year’s celebration promises to be full of fun and excitement.
The Fourth of July and Houlton go hand-in-hand. It is a time for family gatherings and barbecues. It is also a time for graduates of Houlton High School, as well as those from neighboring schools, to return home for class reunions and relive times from their youth. For many, coming home over the Fourth of July is a tradition like no other. Take a stroll down Main Street or over at the fairgrounds and you are sure to bump into someone you have not seen in years.

11 years ago

Conservation Corner: The low down on erosion

Planting season is behind us and we look for some good summer days for crops to grow. Recent tours of “The County” have produced evidence of too much rain at the wrong time.

11 years ago

Life Lesson 38 Revisited: Believe in a higher power

The road was a slick black snake before me; its brilliance challenging the glistening three-quarter-moon above. I was alone and weary from the week and the day itself; my mind a marathon of worry and deep contemplation.