Tell It To George is a collection of thoughts from here and away, from people who want to get their two cents worth in, without using their names.

Will all of you - or two of you - or however many of you there are who write about the stupid salt shed on Westport Island please just stop it? You have said everything over and over and 99 percent of the people who read this column don't know anything about the stupid salt shed and we don't give a fig.

Remember when they wanted to build a two-county jail in Wiscasset - way bigger than anything we needed - going from 20 prisoners to a couple hundred? Remember they told us it would be cheaper in the long run? Remember?

How about that headline last week - the budget's going from $4 million to $6 million in one year. What a crock. But it's our own fault for believing anyone in government ever tells the truth.

My favorite part of the Wiscasset Newspaper is "Tell It To George," so please tell the guy who suggested canceling it that there are too many of us who like it, and I bet he or she secretly likes it too! If they don't like what's in it, they don't have to read it, but don't take it out just because somebody doesn't like it.

I especially like the funny stuff like the guy who called to say he found all that stuff on his way to school! (gas, pack of butts, dope, etc.) This is why it is a good column - it lets these funny things get in that wouldn't get written about because people would be afraid to give their names. They know if they gave their names on something like finding that stuff they would be getting a knock on their door, and it would be Lieutenant John Allen…

The [Two Bridges Regional] jail's budget proposal is outrageous! $7.8 million for 150 inmates works out to be $52,000 per inmate.

Am I missing something here?

Somebody needs to read the book "America's Toughest Sheriff" by Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona.

Government spending (from local to national) is going to bankrupt us all!

Reflections from away on driving through town the other day

Karen now holds court at the former Miss Wiscasset Diner. Norm's used car lot is approaching the size of Wiscasset Ford. Mrs. Skillin's fruit stand has at last given itself up to the elements. A good portion of the Wiscasset Motel was waiting for the spring thaw that would take several feet of snow from the steps of some of the rooms.

Shaw's and Big Al's brought me up to speed again. Store coupons for Cocoa Puffs and made in China respectively. Huber's Market… since 1964 or was it `67… I can't remember what the t-shirt said. The Italians were just as good, and I suspect some of the employees were second generation. I took my Italian to go, as well as the Wiscasset Newspaper.

Arlene's Diner gave way to Callahan's some years ago and then a resale shop and what is it now? Can't recall. No new Fords behind the former Haggett house. The town hall looked good… a solid fixture it seems.  No traffic light at the intersection of Route 1 and 27 but I wondered if it was coming.

Pendleton's, Whitfield's, Flood's all a flash from the past. The Railway Express Agency and agent Everett Jackson now both deceased. Guess someone puts the worms on a bus or a truck.

A right at Red's (only slightly discolored in my mind by the Food Channel) took me past Wiscasset Lumber, sort of…. to the town dock. I shared lunch with the gulls… looked across at the new condos… grey against a darkening sky…a lone lobster boat bouncing on its mooring.

Pretty nice overall in spite of the school issues I read about, the bypass yet to be resolved, and the Route 1 detour. I headed out of town and on a whim stopped at the former Gardiner Savings Bank, now sporting a new name, and opened a savings account… no particular reason, other than to make a connection with the past, present and future. I'll be banking by mail for the most part, but look forward to flashing an ID at the teller someday and taking out 50 bucks for who knows what.

Send "Tell It To George" entries clearly marked (this way, we won't use your name) for the "Tell It To George" column, by mail at P.O. Box 429, Wiscasset, ME 04578.

Or hand carry them to our office on at 47 Gardiner Road (don't mail them to Gardiner Road, because they will be sent back to you by the post office); just put them in our mailbox right next to the front door.

Or, walk right in and give them to us.

Or, send them to us by E-mail, at wiscassetnewspaper@verizon.net.

Or, fax them to us at 882-4280;

Or, if you're not good at writing, leave us a voice mail on our answering machine after hours, at 207-882-6355 (speak slowly and distinctly). Please make sure your entries a r rive by noon on Tuesday for publ i cation in Thursday's issue.