The Wisdom of Our Youth

    “Presque Isle for me is a great place to live because it’s so small, everyone knows everyone … not a single person I know doesn’t want to help.”
    “The thing I like best about Presque Isle is the low crime rate.”     “What I like best about Presque Isle is that it has the best places in town, and Presque Isle has the nicest people …”
    “The best thing I like about Presque Isle is there is always somewhere good to go. There is a good place to go and eat, buy toys, and other stuff. But most of all, there is always somewhere to have fun. Presque Isle is the best because everything is close by so you could walk from place to place …”
    “Presque Isle makes me have a warm and safe feeling … Presque Isle is an awesome place to be.”
    Recently, students in elementary, middle, and high schools were asked what they liked best about Presque Isle. The comments listed above were from fifth-graders in Mrs. Martin’s class at Zippel Elementary School.
    One eighth-grader at Presque Isle Middle School summed up the good points of our city in this way:
    “Life is sweet here in the city of Presque Isle. We have a wide selection of places to eat out, a great place to catch up with friends. Our community is a safe one and has many churches. [There is a] huge variety of activities to choose from. It has also become relatively close-knit. The children are supported in Presque Isle … big time. Sports are encouraged; everyone comes together as a family to cheer the Wildcats or music, and plays are developed to enable the kids to show off their talents and add some excitement to any event. Our town is not too crowded, not too polluted, and not too busy. It’s a place where people come to relax, and a place where people stay to live.”
    It’s interesting to get the kids’ take on our city, our Main Street. Children see things that adults miss in the course of their busy lives. They “call it as they see it.” The way they see it is the truth, without the distortion and bias of adulthood. And the truth is that Presque Isle is a place that most of them like.
    Let’s support our downtown merchants and the revitalization of our Main Street. Let’s encourage others to do the same. Let’s build our economy and make things even better for these young people so they can stay here and build successful, happy lives. Let’s make it a warm, welcoming destination for all.
    Thanks to the students in Mrs. Martin’s, Mr. Lockhart’s, and Mrs. Cole’s English classes for their essays. Great job! We’ll have more comments from Presque Isle’s youth in our next column in two weeks.
    We welcome your thoughts and opinions. It’s your city. We need your input in order to make it better. You can e-mail us at pidrc@yahoo.com or write us at: The Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee, 411 Main St., Presque Isle, Maine 04769.
    For more information about the PIDRC, e-mail us at pidrc@yahoo.com or call Sandy Gauvin (764-0876), Cathy Beaulieu at Wilder’s Jewelry Store (764-0309), or Patty LeBlanc (769-7731), or you can contact us at the address listed above.
    We meet at the Presque Isle Area Chamber of Commerce on the Houlton Road at 7:30 a.m. on the first and third Thursdays of each month. Please join in our efforts to help our wonderful city.
The Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee is an ad hoc committee of the Presque Isle City Council