Enforcement of

no-wake zone needed

Saturday of Labor Day weekend, I was sitting on the jetty at Gooch’s Beach at low tide. A dolphin popped up near the edge of the wall much to the delight of a family standing near me. It swam out to the middle of the channel. A boat was in the channel at very high speed. I suspect it hit the dolphin.

A few minutes later there was a lot of commotion on the beach on the other side of the jetty. People were running to the water’s edge. The dolphin had washed up on the sand. A couple of quick-thinking people tried to push it back in the water. They called for a towel that they used on the back of the dorsal fin to usher it into waist high water. The dolphin revived and headed out into the surf.

I’ve kayaked up and down the coast of Maine for years. I won’t kayak in the river at the jetty. There is no enforcement of the no-wake zone. That being said, it’s a long harbor and the harbor master can’t be at both ends at the same time.

We have the technology to place a camera at the jetty so that the harbor master can see what’s happening in real time and enforce the no-wake zone rule.

Leo Ojala

Kennebunk

 

Actions result 

in lack of trust

The RSU 21 School Board rightfully asked for grace several times in the last year. Grace is a two-way street.

On Aug. 30 the school board held a meeting, leading to the board’s approval of hiring Dawn Therrien as the district’s new HR director. The agenda designated this as both a special and business meeting in the header, while one board member interjected, emergency meeting, during the conference. This matters as each of those meeting formats have different rules. This alone begs the question if this meeting should be invalidated as board members didn’t seem to know what kind of meeting was being held, while one community member stated she was on the website the day before – no meeting was posted, putting this special meeting in violation of policy.

Former board members must wait one year before being employed by the district. Placing former board member Therrien in the seat she established three years ago would not be a concern on its own.

Therrien assumes Dr. Harrison’s $137K salary going forward, the fourth-highest paid seat in the school district, much higher than the median pay for similar positions across the state. Adding Therrien to the agenda minutes before the meeting intended to hire special education teachers can be read as efficient, or sneaky.

If this was a one-off, the community should give grace. However, this keeps happening.  It’s one more thing to sweep under the rug. We need a bigger rug.

Four months ago, the public removed $400K from the budget in protest for skyrocketing administrative costs, including salaries for the previous HR director and communications director. At best, it’s a bad read of the room. At worst, it looks like favoritism and nepotism.

If communication, transparency and inclusion are values in this district, we would see supporting action. The appearance of hiding this until the last minute (regardless of intention) is action. Sending advance communication in good faith would have head off valid frustration felt through the community.

There’s no grace for teachers without contracts. There’s no grace for working families lacking bus service, or the drivers who are working so hard for our community. These issues didn’t trigger Friday meetings.

Pointing to policy while voting no to give more time for the public to speak about legitimate, piling concerns, instead of looking at what might be right in the moment, are antithetical to building trust.

My hope is the board can see how these actions look to a hurting community. Give us the room to be rightfully angry, grieve for community members who left this district, and the grace to do something to prevent issues like this in the future. The mess this district is in is inconvenient for some, and crushing for others, but sometimes the right thing isn’t found in a BDB line item.

Melissa McCue-McGrath

Kennebunk

 

Many reasons

to vote Trump

Remember the Biden/Harris unorganized and disastrous exit from Afghanistan. Vote Trump. Remember the prospect of peace in Israel. Vote Trump Remember peace in Ukraine. Vote Trump. Remember progress toward secure borders. Vote Trump Remember a vigorous, strong economy. Vote Trump.

For freedom, democracy and opportunity. Vote Trump. For a strong stance against Marxism in all its forms. Vote Trump. For a strong, prosperous. dynamic future America. Vote Trump. For prospects for peace throughout the world. Vote Trump.

Jane Evelyn

Kennebunkport

 

Ask questions about

town charter

On Nov. 8, 2022, the voters of Kennebunk were asked the following referendum question, ”Shall a Charter Commission be established for the purpose of revising the Municipal Charter?” Out of a total of 6,951 votes cast, 4,043 voted yes. I voted yes.

Unfortunately, my definition of revise (Merriam Webster); “to look over again, to correct or improve,” has proven not to be the Charter Commission’s definition of revise.

By the commission’s own admission the proposed charter is a significant departure from the charter under which we currently live. Point of fact, so significantly different that the commission states it is unable to comply with the provision of state statute that requires charter revisions to provide voters, “An indication of the major differences between the current and proposed charters” (Title 30-A Chapter111 2103 5D(3).

A practice known as, redlining. As voters we will not be provided a redlined copy to judge for ourselves the differences between the current and proposed charters.

Additionally, purportedly because the proposed charter is so different, the commission chose not to employ the option under state statute (Title30-A Chapter 111 2105 1A) “… modifications may be submitted to the voters in as many separate questions as the Commission finds practicable.”

Kennebunk has been presented with a 36-page document that is not redlined for comparison and will appear on the town ballot as a simple yes or no vote with no option to vote to adopt significant single sections of the charter.

A town charter is essentially a town’s Constitution. It proscribes how we live and work in our town. Most importantly, it proscribes how we interact with our town government. Contained within this 36-page proposed charter is a provision that the citizens of Kennebunk live under a new form of town government.

For every citizen of Kennebunk this should be a sit up and pay attention statement. The proposed charter moves us from a town meeting form of government to a town council form of government. This change results in yet another step away from the principal of one-person/one-vote in relation to critical town decisions. We will lose the vote on precisely those decisions that weave the fabric of Kennebunk.

Needless to say, passage of this proposed charter is a consequential vote.

Before you vote, talk to your friends and neighbors. Read the packet of information available through the town clerk’s office. Read the minority report. Attend upcoming information sessions. Ask questions.

Patricia Sass Perry

Kennebunk

 

Harris is an

effective leader

The ability to change your mind is an essential quality of leadership. Kamala Harris’ change of course on the fracking issue reflects her courage, strength and commitment to the people’s best interests in the face of new and better information.

A response I heard recently summed it up succinctly: “A good leader may not have the same view on Wednesday as they had on Monday, if they got new information on Tuesday.”

Her ability to evolve in her thinking in the face of new and better information is one of her best assets. A policy change is not a change in intent, if it enhances the odds of reaching the same larger, overall goals.

Flip-flopping is a derogatory term, a dig fired by campaign managers. Changing one’s approach, at the risk of political backlash, because it better serves the people’s interest is an act of courage.

Isn’t that who you’d want in charge of an international emergency, a leader with the courage to change course when necessary, no ego, no fear of political repercussions, just courage to act in America’s best interests? I sure do.

Jane Card

Kennebunk

 

Kudos to

town hall

Kudos to the folks in Kennebunk’s town hall for making the difficult decision to keep Summer Street open on Halloween and for proactively informing the community. With so many tradeoffs there were sure to be some disappointed citizens, but as people have pointed out there are many upsides to this decision.

Distributing the local treaters through the community should make for a safer evening and will mean that more households can be part of the fun.

After the Halloween party at the Waterhouse Center – which sounds like big fun – we’re looking forward to being haunted by lots of little ghouls and goblins on Winter Street. There have been a lot of spirited Halloween adventures in our neighborhood over the years and without the diverted traffic it will be even better.

Bring your little spooks to Winter Street; we’ll keep the torches burning, the fog machine on and the creepy sounds playing.

Paul Coughlin, Teri Collard

Kennebunk

 

Addressing policies

of concern to voters

On Aug. 30, Michael Turrisi, rebutted Kevin Kings explanation of why he is voting for Trump policies. This letter addresses policies of concern to most voters:

1. Why do you think the high inflation of recent years occurred? Prominent economists on both sides blame out of control spending that added over $10 trillion to our national debt. We watched Vice President Harris gleefully break the 50-50 Senate tie to spend, spend, spend. Now she blames greedy corporations.

2. Why do you think illegal immigrants are flooding our country? President Biden, Vice President Harris and team decided to undo Trump policies without consideration to probable outcomes, leaving the country with an enormous expense and clean-up.

3. There are fewer jobs created during the Biden/Harris administration, 818,000 fewer than expected.

4. Why do you think there are prominent defections from the Democratic Party, including Senators Sinema and Manchin, State Representative Shawn Thierry of Texas, Mayor Eric Johnson of Dallas and prominent former Democrats Kennedy and Gabbard? In a press release on X, Thierry said, “The Democratic party has veered so far left, so deep into the progressive abyss, that it now champions policies I cannot in good conscience support – policies like promoting sex changes for vulnerable children and dismantling Title IX protections for women in sports. … I have witnessed firsthand how the left stifles thoughtful debate, silences dissent and demands blind allegiance to an ideology that is anti-family and anti-children. If you question or disagree, they will cancel you.”

So, do you think out-of-control spending, a childish lack of forethought, an inability to count and an allergy to common sense are central to Democratic policies? If so, vote Republican.

Susan Boak

Kennebunkport