Back where he belongs

James Nilsen is back behind bars, which is exactly where he should be.

Nilsen is the convicted child molester who moved to Sebago earlier this year sparking nervousness among residents. His move to the quiet lakeside town also sparked a successful referendum effort to impose restrictions on where sex offenders can live within town. Voters overwhelmingly approved the ordinance last week, mainly out of fear that people like Nilsen could move next to a school or day-care center.

Though a sex offender ordinance is too punitive a measure, fear of sex offenders with multiple serious offenses like Nilsen is justified. The answer, however, isn’t an ordinance. The answer is a stronger justice system that is willing to keep dangerous people like Nilsen behind bars.

Sebago’s support of the ordinance was really a shot against Maine’s lax criminal justice system. Nilsen – who has nine previous convictions for sex offenses against minors and just last week got put back in jail for failure to register as a sex offender after moving to Sebago – clearly doesn’t belong in society; he belongs in jail or a mental hospital.

It’s understandable why residents, who are suddenly confronted with dangerous criminals moving to their communities, are taking the law into their own hands. They’re desperate. But they’re only desperate because judges hand out weak sentences.

Sadly, an ordinance won’t keep crime from happening. But keeping dangerous criminals behind bars will.

A veteran volunteer

The Windham Veterans Association deserves admiration for its efforts at buoying the morale of area veterans. Last Sunday’s Veterans Day ceremony was well attended and solemnly honored those who have fought for our country. And while it’s easy to take such events for granted, it’s good to remember all the volunteers who make such ceremonies possible.

In particular, VFW Commander Donald Swander of Windham should be praised for the effort he puts forth week after week on behalf of Windham veterans. In 2003, Swander ran for state representative but lost. His loss was the Windham veterans’ gain, however. For the past four years, Swander has given his all for the vets. He’s spent much time and money turning the veterans center into a welcoming sanctuary for members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion. He’s led efforts to redesign the grounds of the center as well as its interior. His four-year vision of beautifying the grounds, made possible by generous donations of labor and materials by local businesses like Roosevelt Trail Nursery and Busque Construction, is coming to fruition, as visitors on Sunday can attest.

His efforts have not been for his own glory, however. The modest Swander doesn’t want credit. His eyes are on his “men” and the goal of making a pleasant place for them to congregate. That makes his efforts all the more special and worthy of our respect.

-John Balentine, editor