This past fall, my sons took part in their first soccer practices at Twin Brook Recreation Area in Cumberland. It was an amazing experience. The grass was green, the fields were perfectly manicured and the coaches and players were clearly excited to get down to fundamentals. However, as the cool autumn air hit my face, […]
Forecaster letters
Letter: Write-in Palmer for select board in North Yarmouth
Steve Palmer is, in my opinion, the right person to serve on the select board for North Yarmouth. He is incredibly invested in the town and this is evident in the “above and beyond” efforts he expends on any committee on which he sits. His leadership on the Living Well in North Yarmouth committee is […]
Letter: Reader grateful for Yarmouth emergency services
On Friday, Feb. 19, as I lay resting, my furnace was emitting carbon monoxide and I was falling victim to carbon monoxide poisoning. I am 70 years old and disabled. My house was filled with toxic fumes and I became extremely ill. By sheer will, I crawled out of bed and called the Yarmouth Police […]
Letter: Action needed on oil tank emissions in South Portland, state
I am a retired South Portland teacher. Having taught at James Otis Kaler School I experienced first-hand the fumes coming from the oil tanks. The tanks are in close proximity to the school and next to the playgrounds, bordering them on two sides. At the time (a period of seven years), I didn’t really think […]
Letter: Don’t be like Rush, the ‘happy warrior’
I’m constantly surprised by some folks’ tendency to worship bullies. Take, for instance, Mr. Balentine’s worship of Rush Limbaugh, calling him a “happy warrior.” (“Be like Rush, a happy warrior,” Feb. 26.) Balentine’s “happy warrior” was a mean-spirited bully, “happiest” when insulting others. Amongst the many, many insults, he once said this about 12-year-old Chelsea […]
Letter: Elections determine where America’s journey lies
Lao-tzu once wrote: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Today, in America, what is “the journey”? It appears to be a long and protracted movement toward a more just, fair and inclusive democracy. What is the “single step”? A society whose citizens will only accept truth and facts. In this […]
Letter: Limbaugh and Trump – one down, one to go
Jeez, now we see that Balentine must have changed his medication. It’s difficult to understand the rapture he feels for Rush Limbaugh – the very guy that spawned Trump and the ugly, name-calling techniques employed by folks that refuse to speak honestly and accurately. (“Be like Rush, a happy warrior,” Feb. 26.) Well, now one […]
Letter: Yarmouth Community Alliance for Racial Equity invites residents to join
We acknowledge we are writing from land of the Wabanaki people. In the aftermath of two racial incidents in our town, people have asked, “Is there racism in Yarmouth?” Members of the Black Student Alliance at Yarmouth High School have expressed dismay that little has been said and done to address these incidents. We believe […]
Letter: Maine tank farms need legislative oversight
Searsport, Bucksport, Hampden and South Portland are the ports through which bulk oil, petroleum and asphalt materials are shipped and stored. What materials these ports handle has changed over time, as have the impacts on citizens living nearby. I’ve lived in South Portland fairly close to tank farms for 45 years, but only noticed terrific […]
Letter: Limbaugh was the wrong kind of warrior
Rush Limbaugh was not a member of what he called the “long-haired, maggot-infested, dope-smoking crowd,” who, he said, should get jail time instead of treatment. (Here’s Something: “Be like Rush, a happy warrior,” Feb. 26.) He was a simple, narcotics-addicted Happy Warrior, who paid $30,000 to buy his way out of a felony drug conviction […]