Dear Editor:

The rant under your heading 'Sad State of Affairs' in the 'Tell it to George' column (Feb. 21) is the poster child of what an anonymous author does to a community in a public forum.

Already rife with acrimony, the school issue takes yet another ugly head with such commands for "solidarity." No mention of the town budget already in big trouble. Not even a whimper about breathing reason and reality into the dialogue. 

It even makes the teachers look radical - and therefore not necessarily worthy.

I'm writing to ask that you discontinue "Tell it to George" in order to promote a greater level of cordiality. 

E. Davies Allan

Westport Island

Dear Editor:

I read your article in this week's paper about the "right to know law." It's a shame that MDOT and Miss Morris have to hide behind a law from something that everyone in Wiscasset should be aware of.

Even if the law says we don't have a right to know (then there's a law that needs to be changed), there's a moral or ethical situation here that should be regarded as such and made public.

It's interesting how these so called "public comment" meetings were all held before Christmas and now the public has been shut down completely. We don't hear anything from our town officials who represent us on this task force, and obviously there's no information coming from the newspaper.

Yes, I know that people can go to the task force meetings it they're able, or if the dates or locations aren't changed. We should be able to read about it in the paper. I'm sorry but we do have a right to know what's happening with something that might cut this town in half, or ruin people's livelihood, or make them sell their property and leave.

In the long run it is probably more upsetting because in the scheme of things, MDOT really doesn't care what people think. That was obvious at those meetings. Basically it would appear by the comments that were made by MDOT and Miss Morris, that MDOT really doesn't know how to fix traffic issues. All they know how to do is pour concrete. I wonder if Miss Morris who is paid by MDOT to say what they want her to say would feel the same way if something was going to cut her town in half.

It's really a shame that when the townspeople have voted a few times that they didn't want a bypass, and the town selectmen as a whole have said the proposed routes are not acceptable, that we the people who will ultimately pay one way or another now have no right to know what's going on. Sad world!

Frank Risell

Wiscasset

Dear Editor:

Every day another 1,000 kids become regular, daily smokers, and at least one-third of them will die prematurely as a result. Joe Camel might be a scheme of the past, but the tobacco industry continues to find ways to target children through product design and advertising.

A new report released by leading public health organizations, "Big Tobacco's Guinea Pigs: How an Unregulated Industry Experiments on America's Kids and Consumers," shows the extent to which tobacco manufacturers take advantage of the lack of regulation over its industry to find novel ways to entice new users.

Tobacco companies know that almost all new smokers are children. To attract children they add candy flavorings like strawberry and grape to their products. They also know that smoking is unpleasant for new smokers, so they carefully design the product to make it less harsh by adding sugars and chemicals that numb the throat. They even address how the cigarette should be designed so that the novice smoker can light it more easily.

Bipartisan legislation pending in Congress would grant the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco products. The FDA would gain the authority to require the disclosure of product ingredients, crack down on tobacco marketing, and take other steps to protect public health.

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in our country. It is time to stop our kids from being treated as guinea pigs and start holding tobacco manufacturers accountable. Maine's Senators and Representatives need to take a stand for our kids and support this life saving legislation.

Dave Cross

District Tobacco Coordinator

District 4, Midcoast Region

Dear Editor:

The School Committee says that it "cannot allow students to be adversely impacted by an illegal job action."  Apparently it can allow students to be adversely impacted by their own failure to value education and honor the findings of an objective panel as part of a legal negotiation process.  Furthermore, the School Committee does this on the taxpayers' behalf.  It tells us over and over that this is what we want.  This, even though all but one of the taxpayers who have spoken at the last three School Committee meetings have urged the committee to accept the fact-finder's report and resolve this dispute quickly. The sole dissenter was Doug Smith, a member of the School Committee, who complained about the taxes on his $629,700 home.

Mr. Smith says the townspeople are not wealthy.  One sure way to ensure this town gets even poorer is to rob its children of the chance for a quality education. 

Parents and community members, it's time to get involved.  School Committee meetings are the second Monday of every month at 6:30 p.m. in the High School library.  Come see what's going on and hold this Committee accountable for the process it ignores and the money it's wasting.  

This tax-payer, for one, would like the games to stop and urges the Wiscasset School Committee to listen to the objective findings of those outside the debate - now, before any more of our precious resources in money, time, and energy are diverted from our children and their education. 

The Wiscasset Teachers' Association and the School Committee have been unable to agree on contract terms after over a year and a half of negotiating. The parties went through a fact-finding process that cost significant time and money in order to present both sides to a three-person panel comprised of one member chosen by the board, one by the teachers, and one neutral. 

That fact-finding body issued a decision that reflected a compromise between what each side originally asked for.  

The School Committee rejected that compromise. In the meantime, the School Committee spent more time and money filing a lawsuit against the Wiscasset Teachers' Association and hiring additional legal personnel to support that lawsuit, which was later dropped. 

They also saw fit to give the superintendent, a man who has failed to make any efforts to bring the parties together and who prefers to polarize the sides with inflammatory comments, a second raise and cost of living increase in two years.

If the parties cannot reach an agreement soon, the matter will be brought to another neutral body in an interest arbitration proceeding - a proceeding that will continue to cost more time and money. 

It's time for the School Committee to stop stalling and to agree to the provisions of the fact-finding panel.  If it can't do that, than at least agree to make this upcoming arbitration decision BINDING so that we don't go through yet another costly step in this process for nothing.

Deb Taylor,

Wiscasset citizen and taxpayer

Dear Editor:

We have a subject that we need to let the general public know about. It's called hazardous materials and it can be a bit boring.

But, as employees of Lincoln County's Emergency Management Agency (EMA) and members of the Lincoln County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), we would not be doing our job if we didn't relate to our citizens the significance of hazardous substances and the effects they can have on the environment or someone's health and safety.

Don't ever think that a hazardous materials incident can't or won't happen in your neighborhood, because it can and when you least expect it.

Did you know that in 1986 the U.S. government passed into law what is known as the Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act (SARA Title III), also known as the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA)? Did you also know this law enables both communities and individuals the right to ask questions and receive answers regarding storage of hazardous materials where they work and live?

EPCRA requires facilities to submit certain information to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), State Emergency Response Committee (SERC), LEPC and local fire Departments. Within certain guidelines, this information provides the amount and types of hazardous substances stored at a particular site, whether or not a facility has had any release of hazardous substances and in some case made facilities develop plans just in case of a release.

EPCRA also requires the LEPC to develop plans should a hazardous materials incident occur within their communities. Each year facilities submit Chemical Inventory Reporting and Toxic Inventory Release forms to the LEPC and SERC reporting the quantity of hazardous substances they store at their site or transport.

Lincoln County has a comprehensive emergency management and hazardous materials plan. It's seven volumes full of information detailing the natural and technological hazards that can occur, preventative measures to lessen the impact of emergency, emergency notification procedures to the towns and general public, and much more! This plan is a matter of public record and we encourage the general public to stop by the EMA office, located in the Lincoln County Communications Building, Wiscasset, and review it along with facility plans. We're open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The next meeting of the LEPC will take place on Thursday, April 17, at 6 p.m. in the Conference Room of the Lincoln County Communications Center in Wiscasset. These meetings are open to the public.

Thank you for your time, and we hope we've sparked your interest to learn more about the hazards in your communities.

Ken Desmond

Lincoln County Emergency

Management

Wiscasset