To the editor:
Over the past couple weeks I’ve been growing increasingly frustrated with what I’m seeing and hearing in Houlton. At the school board meeting which decided the fate of Houlton High School, there was a clear idea that something had to be done. Passions were running high and I’m sure most people left that night feeling full of Houlton pride and assured that this town would turn itself around. Amazingly, no one stepped forward to propose to the eager crowd a solution, and even more amazingly, no one since has made any progressive changes to fix the problems identified.
Houltonites seem to have a knack for identifying problems, problems that they think other people should fix. I’m not just talking about the education system in this town, I’m referring to the multitude of problems that need attention whether it be academics, the animal shelter, drugs and alcohol abuse, environmental issues, etc. Congratulations for identifying these issues people of Houlton, and for maintaining the bystander mentality that enables you to do nothing.
Why not go out and actually do something to change one of these problems? If you identify a need for pushing our youth academically, why not donate your time to a student that needs tutoring services? If you see that the animal shelter is understaffed and underfunded, why not volunteer every week to clean out cages? If you see that there is an issue with drugs in our community why not get involved in a Big Brother, Big Sister program that engages at-risk youth?
Through my time as an Americorps VISTA Volunteer I’ve learned the amazing impact that volunteerism has beyond just yourself. It’s through the initiative of students I have worked with that they started a 4-H Environmental Service Club, which all middle-schoolers are invited to join. This club has identified many environmental issues in the Houlton area and are taking steps to solve these issues by donating their time and energy. You’ll probably see us picking up garbage in the next few weeks.
If every single person that attended the school board meeting had the initiative to donate two hours a week to their community and to its youth, I would be encouraged to think that, yes, indeed Houlton can step up and transform itself. But I have not seen that day yet. If these kids have the mind to volunteer their time, what is holding the adults back?
One way to connect yourselves to businesses and agencies that need volunteers, and for businesses and agencies to advertise for needed volunteers is through the VolunteerMaine Web site: http://www.volunteermaine.org/.
We cannot continue our lives by dreaming that our problems will be fixed by someone else, especially if we are too proud to let them. It is time for people in this community to take some responsibility for their inaction and to move Houlton forward.
Alisha Targonski
Monticello
