Another subdivision for Kennebunk

To the editor,

Another subdivision for Kennebunk. A proposal before the Kennebunk Planning Board is for a nine-lot, residential, subdivision located at 231 Alewive Road in West Kennebunk. The nearly 16-acre site extends from Alewive Road to Ward Brook. Kennebunk Elementary School is just south of this location.

According to the submitted plan, the proposed construction area contains “53,102 square feet of freshwater wetlands and two small streams that drain east to Ward Brook.”

Will everyone be happy when there are no upland woods, no wetlands, no vernal pools, no clean streams, and no wildlife dependent on these habitats in our town? That’s where we’re headed, friends. I see no other way as earth-moving equipment is everywhere you look and apparently wetlands and their related waterways are no longer even a bit sacrosanct.

Natural Kennebunk will consist of front yards, back lots and our few Kennebunk Land Trust properties. How does that sit with you?

Susan A. Bloomfield

West Kennebunk

Thank you to communities

To the editor,

The board of No Place Like Home would like to thank the communities of Arundel, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport for the wonderful support and growth we experienced in 2021. We are an all-volunteer group of community members serving our mission to help older residents live and thrive in their homes, by driving seniors on local errands as well as helping them with simple home tasks.

Last year we received 342 calls for rides and help in 2021, which was an increase of 61 percent over 2020. Due to the COVID pandemic and the temporary closure of The Center’s medical transportation program, NPLH expanded services and provided rides to medical and vaccine appointments. Volunteers gave rides or helped in homes of over 80 residents, many of whom were regular weekly users. Of the rides given 75 (28 percent) were for medical appointments or COVID-19 vaccinations.

This past fall NPLH secured a donation of space and moved our free Medical Equipment Loan Closet to the Spurling Infinity Center. We handled 387 requests for equipment loans and donations in 2021, loaning out 252 items and receiving 236 as returns or new donations.

We thank Spurling Fitness, Hancock Lumber and Cole Harrison Insurance for materials and support. Thank you as well to The town of Kennebunk, for continuing to provide backup POD storage for medical equipment so that we can maintain a broader inventory of items.

Over 20 No Place Like Home volunteers donated 960.95 hours of time in 2021. If this were reimbursed at Maine’s minimum wage, the cost would be $12,252.00. This is an 80 percent increase over 2020, when volunteers donated 533.5 hours. In addition, volunteers drove 4,356 miles at their own expense, a 55 percent increase over 2020.

We are grateful to the many individual volunteers who so generously provide their time, talents, and care to our community. Together, we are contributing to our neighbors’ ability to live successfully in our age-friendly communities.

Our 2022 goal is to continue to expand services to our older population and continue to build the community relationships that support them.

Board of Directors

No Place Like Home