Timberlake for MSAD 75 School Board

I hope you will consider voting for Mike Timberlake for Topsham’s MSAD 75 School Board seat. Mike Timberlake is a neighbor, a soccer coach and someone that I’ve had ample opportunity to interact with over the years. One of his three sons is about the same age as my son so I’ve also seen him as a school parent through Woodside Elementary years, to Mt. Ararat Middle School and now at Mt. Ararat High School. From Topsham Parks and Recreation soccer, to Merrymeeting soccer to Mt. Ararat’s varsity team, I have seen Mike’s interactions with our young athletes teaching them how to play the game the right way, to act as a mentor and demonstrating leadership.

And, while some may not think this is relevant experience, I do. Mike is an incredibly resourceful, and avid outdoorsman and can build projects from scratch. He regularly takes young people out to fish; his family camps in remote areas of Maine, and he built a canoe by hand. He and his wife have navigated a number of Maine’s whitewater rivers. When we talk about preparing our young people for future careers, I know Mike understands the value of strong education balanced with the ability to work with your hands.

In my professional career, I interact regularly with elected and appointed officials at the local, state and federal level. In my experience, the best quality someone can bring to any elected position is to listen to input from all sides and make the best decisions possible. Additionally, you have to be willing to ask questions, and bring your relevant life experience to the table. Mike has those qualities. All of Mike’s sons have attended MSAD 75 schools, and he comes from a family of educators.

If you don’t know Mike, reach out to him; get to know him and consider him your choice for Topsham’s seat on MSAD 75 school board. It’s great to live in a community where people like Mike are willing to step up and serve the community. I believe he will be a worthy addition to MSAD 75.

Curtis Picard,
Topsham

Spelke for MSAD75 School Board

This will serve in support of my niece, Amy Spelke, who seeks election to the MSAD 75 School Board. She is industrious, bright, accomplished, and courageous, unafraid of difficult decision-making. For Amy, student learning is always paramount; toward that end, she will secure the best and brightest teachers and administrators. What is more, Amy Spelke has always displayed a keen sensitivity for students with special needs.

Growing up in Maine and attending public schools, Amy was a student mature beyond her years—a high achiever academically and athletically. She is the product of a civic-minded family; her parents chose careers in teaching and coaching. The two Spelke children, renowned school citizens, graduated from Mt. Ararat. She and her family are long-term residents of Topsham,

Amy knows that public education must serve all students, including academic and technical. As a project manager working with a national transportation consulting firm in Virginia, she serves as a tireless problem solver.

In my heart of hearts, no person has more to offer.

Barry Lohnes,
Topsham

Money spent on CMP corridor could be put to better use

If anyone is looking for a reason to convert CMP to a public utility, I have an example. We have been waiting for months to have CMP come and upgrade our service entrance from 100 amps to 200 amps. I thought we finally had a firm date. The electrician came and started the process and got as far as disconnecting our power. He called CMP to check on them because they were late. They had canceled the appointment without telling the electrician. Despite the electrician’s plea, they would not come on the appointed day. They are now scheduled for next week. This has been going on since May. In the meantime, they are spending millions of our dollars on advertising promoting the corridor, something that benefits out-of-state customers not us. Why should a foreign-owned company be allowed monopoly control over a resource we all need? The money spent on the corridor could be put to better use, trimming trees and hiring workers, not enriching shareholders.

Bart Chapin,
Arrowsic

Hydro-Quebec no friend of Indigenous People

Celebrating “Indigenous People’s Day” shows respect for our indigenous neighbors, recognizing abuses they suffered as those with greater economic, military and political power seized their lands, livelihood, cultures and languages, even their lives. Many of us think this happened 200 years ago. Yet, many Mainers have lived through a recent abuse!

Asked to vote “No” on Ballot Question 1 to permit Hydro-Quebec to construct a corridor through virgin forest lands to run power lines to deliver “clean energy” to Massachusetts electrical consumers, hidden from our view is the history of Hydro-Quebec’s 1980s dealings with the indigenous Cree nation people. A devastating September 1984 Hydro-Quebec dam water release drowned 10,000 caribou, threatening Cree and Inuit livelihood and culture and wildlife crucial to Native American way of life. Hydro-Quebec’s response: “… mainly an act of God.”

Sacrificing thousands of trees, those same people who forever changed the land and lives of the indigenous seek to forever change our forested lands and lives for a few hundred temporary local jobs cutting and clearing the equivalent length of Interstate 295.

John Cuozzo,
Wells