Election editorials

To the editor:
    Highway safety is an important but often neglected issue in Maine. More Mainers lose their lives on the roads than from any other cause of accidental death.     In addition to passing good motor vehicle laws and enforcing them, the state can make a real difference in improving state highways that carry the vast majority of traffic. Substandard roads are far more dangerous than those built to contemporary standards. Yet half of Maine’s 8,000-mile state highway system has not been reconstructed in more than 50 years, and up to 2,000 miles is subject to weight limits every spring.
    The $47.8 million bond issue that we will be voting on June 8th is an important contribution to making Maine a safer place to live. It will not only boost the economy, but save the lives of many of our fellow citizens. It is hard to put a price on that.
    Additionally, there are important rail projects that must be completed, including keeping the Aroostook rail line operating so that it can continue to serve the nearly 25 shippers who use that line. It is an important lifeline for Aroostook County.
    Vote “Yes” on Question 3 for jobs and safety.

To the editor:
    Fraser Timber Limited strongly supports the Governor’s jobs investment bond proposal that provides funding to acquire the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway’s (MMA) proposed abandoned 233 miles of track in northern Maine and preserves a reliable rail service in the region. We ask for your support by voting “Yes” on Question 3 on June 8, 2010.
    Established in 1979 and located in Ashland and Masardis, Fraser Timber Limited is a lumber manufacturing company that employs approximately 250 workers when operating at capacity. Due to the current downturn in the U.S. housing industry, we are now operating at just 89 percent capacity at our Masardis facility, employing 143 workers, while our Ashland facility is presently idle.
    The company ships about 70 percent of its annual production of lumber by rail. Rail is more cost efficient than trucking as nearly four truckloads can be delivered by a single railcar. Approximately 2,500 more truckloads would travel across Maine and other U.S. highways if rail service were removed as nearly all our lumber is sold into the eastern and southern United States.
    Although Ashland and Masardis facilities are located in close proximity to an excellent wood basket, due to our long distance to customers, onsite rail sidings were built to accommodate five to six cars at a time. The MMA is the only rail carrier servicing our sites and without rail service we would be forced to ship all products by truck. Many large customers order high volumes of lumber that can only be shipped in a timely manner by rail. If we are unable to service these customers they would go elsewhere to buy lumber and we would permanently lose market share and revenue.
    The lack of rail service would make Fraser Timber Limited less competitive, as most other lumber mills are serviced by rail and all other shipping options will be more expensive. Being less competitive can lead to eventual volume curtailments and possibly mill closures. Reductions in wood consumption and the lumber by-products such as the bark and sawdust, would affect the local businesses using them for raw materials as well as the 438 Maine businesses currently supplying Fraser Timber Limited. We strongly request your support to pass the bond proposal containing provisions to preserve rail service in northern Maine.

To the editor:
    The fact that Maine State Senate President Elizabeth Mitchell is also a former House Speaker and the only woman in America to have been elected to both by her fellow legislators is a huge achievement. Leadership positions are acquired like every other election – one tough vote at a time. Elected women officials are still quite a minority despite our gender being 52 percent of the population.
    Once you know Libby and see her work, it’s easy to see the strengths people see in her. She’s knowledgeable, involved and non-threatening; she has been successful in her personal and private life because she works at it all the time.
    Watching and listening to her during another gubernatorial campaign swing through Aroostook County last week, I marveled at how graciously and thoughtfully she responded to challenges and issues raised by the constituency and how aware she is about the reality of life in the Crown of Maine. I was reminded that her approach up here was the same as when I saw her build consensus in the legislature. She respects the individuals in front of her, titled or not, regardless of income or popularity of their position. Her responses, always apropos, show the depth and range of her expertise, experience and thoughtful reflection on problems confronting Mainers.
    With Libby it’s all about making, resolving issues – a priority for the men, women and children of Maine – and she’s a girl!

To the editor:
    What seems like a few years ago, I had the honor of teaching a young man at Community High School in Fort Kent a subject in mathematics. At that time, I recognized the potential that this young man brought to the classroom: reliability, dependability, integrity and an extreme desire to be successful. As years have passed I now see this young man as a legal professional. He completed his undergraduate studies, graduated from the Vermont School of Law, successfully worked in New Hampshire as an assistant district attorney for a couple of years, and finally returned to northern Maine as an assistant county district attorney for eight years.
    On June 8, please help me endorse Todd Roland Collins as our next district attorney for Aroostook County. Excellence in jurisprudence will be the reward that we will all receive with his election. Thank you for supporting me in this “case.”

To the editor:
    We would appreciate your “Yes” vote on Question 2 on the June 8 ballot. Question 2 supports a $26.5 million dollars bond for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects connected to Maine’s public institutions of higher education. That includes Northern Maine Community College, the University of Maine at Presque Isle, and the University of Maine at Fort Kent.
    More specifically, $11 million of the Bond proceeds go to supporting the partnership between over 20 Maine businesses and the University of Maine for off-shore wind power projects. This research and development project offers exciting prospects for building a major renewable energy industry for Maine. That growth would benefit the renewable energy programs at UMPI and UMFK and the wind power technology program at NMCC. It also could make Maine a major energy producer with the jobs, business profits, and tax revenues that come with it.
    $14.5 million of the Bond proceeds support energy efficiency projects on the University of Maine System and Maine Community College System campuses. These projects — often with rapid paybacks in energy costs — improve campus operations and provide immediate jobs for Maine businesses and workers. All three County schools will benefit. UMFK and UMPI will each receive $475,000.
    NMCC will receive $685,000 to replace windows in Andrews Hall and improve the ventilation system in the welding and metal fabrication labs. The bond will also support improvements in the wind power technology lab to handle growing demand for the program.
    UMPI will use the majority of its dollars to replace a failing 43-year-old oil -burning boiler that heats one of the major classroom buildings. It may be possible to use renewable energy technologies for the replacement.
    UMFK will strengthen and re-roof the Sports Center for energy efficiency and improved building structure. A second UMFK project will sub-meter energy use in six campus buildings to allow more economical use of electricity.
    While these are tough economic times, we believe the voters of Maine should invest in Bond projects that bring immediate jobs to the County, provide prompt returns on investment or provide attractive investments in future economic development. Question 2 achieves these goals. We urge a “Yes” vote on Question 2 on June 8.

To the editor:
    I’m voting ‘Yes’ on Question 3 – the transportation bond — for a lot of reasons, but chiefly for a selfish one. Every day, I spend an hour driving on roads that are destroying my car and costing me money.
    Maine needs to make these investments in our highways and bridges, and I know there are thousands of Maine commuters who feel the same way I do.
    Let’s all vote to improve our highways and reduce the cost repairs to our cars. It will save us hundreds of dollars a year – and make the drive to work a lot better.
    Vote “Yes” on Question 3 on June 8!