Letters to the Editor
What is the objection?
Dear Independent,Thanks for the "hit the nail on the head" editorial on the outcome from the Feb. 26 Board of Selectman meeting!! Unfortunately, I personally was unable to attend but was able to watch the meeting via TV. As a longtime resident and surfer in York, I have great interest in any positive outcome that will benefit the surfing community and the community in general.
After the meeting I immediately E-mailed David Ballou, who has spearheaded the drafting of the ordinance, and echoed the same sentiments that you expressed in your editorial. The heart of the proposed ordinance on surfing is Paragraph C. And as you have stated, Mr. Bardwell, along with Mr. Dorrian, expressed the desire to delete this part of the ordinance and were able to affect a 4-0 vote with this deletion.
Before this deletion there was a 2-2 vote. From what I could ascertain - only watching on TV does not help to see all that happens - I saw nor heard a legal or logical objection to this paragraph beyond what could be interpreted as personal; i.e., "I just don't like it."
So I ask, help me - and the community - by clarifying your objections. My question now is just what do you, Mr. Bardwell and Mr. Dorrian, see as either a legal or a logical reason for deleting this paragraph? And, if possible, can you state these objections publicly and before the meeting of March 26 so the community will know?
Thanks,
Dave Carson
York
Highland Towing closes
Dear Independent, On behalf of the Grasso family, I would like to thank all of the local businesses, community members, police, EMS, fire department staff and civic organizations for their support over the years and for making my family's business, Highland Towing, successful.The business opened in York in 1992 and had grown into one of the most successful and larger towing companies in the area. However, with the passing of my father, Domenic, last July, and the more recent, unexpected death of my brother, Jon, we are sad to say we have had to close the business after 15 years of service to the local communities.
Highland Towing became a household name with their slogan, "better to know us and not need us than to need us and not know us" and the ramp trucks and wreckers became familiar sights around town. They will be sorely missed in the community.
The Grasso family thanks everyone for the heartfelt stories of tows, jumpstarts and lockouts; and the overwhelming outpouring of condolences as we deal with this tragedy.
Thank you all.
Dawn (Grasso) Fernald
Cape Neddick
No reason for Article 17
Dear Independent,"What were you thinking?" This is the question I posed to the Ogunquit Selectmen at the public hearing on March 6, 2007. It was during the discussion of Article 17, "Amendment Title VII - Animal Control." This article, endorsed by the board without prior public hearing, is on the ballot for the Town Meeting, April 7, and there is no explanation of what it means or its implications.
If passed, this modification to Title VII would prohibit dogs from being in any beach parking lot and on land adjoining those lots, with the exception of Beach Street, between April 1 and Sept. 30. The hardship this would place on the many local dog owners - of which I am not one - during the summer season was clearly voiced during this meeting.
The rationale for approving the warrant is apparently more a bureaucratic attempt to neaten up the Municipal Code than a common sense approach to solving a problem. In fact, the discussion during the meeting revealed that no problem existed that was not already covered by both state and municipal law. The only problem that exists is one of enforcement. By passing Article 17, the enforcement issue will be highlighted and expanded. This could likely result in additional costs to the town for signage and additional police officers.
Had the Board of Selectmen held a public hearing prior to placing the warrant on the ballot, the implications and consequences would have been apparent. Ogunquit dog owners should not be penalized for a non-existent problem. Vote NO on Article 17!
Sincerely,
Herbert J. Hoffman
Ogunquit
Surf ordinance was best plan
Dear Independent,After attending the selectmen's meeting on Feb. 26, I wanted to thank everyone who was in attendance: the Board of Selectmen, Park and Recreation Director Mike Sullivan, Chief Doug Bracy, all the dedicated surfers, reporters and the general public. I especially want to thank Mike Sullivan for an unbelievable job of answering all the questions and showing how all this could be a win-win possibility. He was great. Next, I have to say thanks to Dave Ballou for all his efforts and hard work. And to Chief Bracy. Well done, all of you. We all came in willing to give and take with our previous surf drafts. I think the latest draft that was presented (untouched) offered the best possible solution to the beach/surf solution.
I was concerned to learn after we left the meeting that a few selectmen voted to change some of the wording we had with this latest draft. This wording is an integral part of the draft. This Part C, during inclement weather or dangerous swimming conditions to surf beyond the limits of the area, was in there to offer flexibility to the people in charge of day-to-day operations and the ones who have to enforce these rules. I implore you, the selectmen, to reconsider this. This is the single most important issue in the last 40 years of surfing on York Beach, dating back to when the late Mr. and Mrs. Bud Peters first introduced mainstream surfing to the public with this surfing area and their Bikini Surf Shop. It means that when it is pouring outside, and waves are huge and only a few are on the beach, we can surf unrestricted, and from a safety standpoint. This is a no-brainer. Someone will be in the water to save a possible life in danger. It's that simple. It is foolish to think that this in some way, shape or fashion intrudes on anyone at the beach. I was surprised by this action considering that most of you don't deal with these beach issues on a regular basis, but the two men who presented the surf draft do.
Would you be willing to reconsider these changes and take the advice of the two in charge, Mike Sullivan of York Parks and Recreation and Chief Doug Bracy? This, after all, was what the real intent of the ordinance was. Flexibility and safety, and a willingness to make everyone who enters the ocean feel safe, to coexist together, to enjoy swimming, surfing, bathing and all water activities at York Beach in the summer months.
Thanks,
John J. Clancy
York Beach
Don't expect much from town
Dear Independent,I would like to address Barbara Smith's letter from last week in The Independent.
After reading your letter, I decided I just had to write this. I am glad you're using your right to freedom of speech, because the government hates it.
I lived in York for 30 years. For 22 of those years I lived on Greenleaf Parsons Road. On the road were drainage ditches that were owned by the town of York. Four times a year I would clean out the ditches and every time I'd try to improve them, I was screamed at by Captain Marvelous from the DPW. For 22 years, all I heard was, "We're going to be working on them."
I finally told Captain Marvelous to go stick it and had them cleaned out at my expense. Now, I paid taxes for 30 years to that little, white building on York Street, I think it is called a country club, and didn't get much. But don't worry. Sanford also has a building where we drop money. I don't know what it's called yet, somewhere along the lines of the Franklin Park Zoo.
If Rogers Road was in York Harbor, it would have been fixed a long time ago. So take my advice, don't waste your time with these airheads in government. We should give Maine back to the Indians and ship Maine revenue and Maine taxation and Maine government back to Russia and start over again. In case you haven't figured it out yet, government thinks we're there for them. I don't know what happened to government for the people and by the people, but that went out the door years ago.
So spend your time teaching a child to read or an adult how to read and write. It amazes me how many adults in this great country of ours can't read or write. Join a club that improves things instead. If you want something done, do it yourself, because as you already know, the powers that be don't give a damn and never will. Trust me; it took me 30 years to figure it out. I finally got smart and moved on to something better.
Sincerely,
Allen Hall
Sanford
Help stop global warming
Dear Independent,Sitting in my Maine home and looking out at a sunny, snowy morning, it is hard to imagine that we do have a global warming problem. In very fact, we do!
What I find upsetting and serious is that we are not acting as though we believed or understood this. I have listened to James Hansen of NASA, seen the Al Gore movie "An Inconvenient Truth," and noted the strengthening of our storms. These scientists have researched the issue extremely carefully along with scientists around the world. They are truly alarmed. We are not!
Many are, however. What we need is advice and guidance.
Help, please.
Most sincerely,
Carol Gronquist
York
Re-elect Selectman Abbott
Dear Independent,My wife and I are pleased John Abbott is seeking re-election for a second term as one of Ogunquit's selectmen. We have watched John share ideas with the board that are indicative of an individual who has a great deal of experience in making business decisions. John is articulate in the manner which he explains his thoughts and concerns during meetings. His discussions with other members of the board show John is well prepared and understands the issues.
During many of the meetings we have watched, Selectman Abbott has been the member of the board who will first attempt to find resolutions thorough negotiations. Aggrieved citizens, lawyers, department heads, committee members and contracted professionals present a great number of facts and plans of implementation to the board. Mr. Abbott demonstrates the ability to work diligently with the issues and the individuals involved while actively assisting the board to negotiate the best resolutions for Ogunquit.
Again, we believe John Abbott possesses the business skills essential to municipal decision-making. These skills, combined with John's impressive leadership roles as an elected officer and appointed official, make Vice Chairman John Abbott the incumbent candidate of choice.
Please join us at the polls on April 7 or by casting an absentee ballot and vote to re-elect John J. Abbott, Ogunquit selectman!
Sincerely,
Jerry Barzata
Ogunquit
A surfer's perspective
Dear Independent,I must say that I have wrestled in my mind whether or not a response to the incendiary letter that Mr. Thomas Keith wrote and was published in the March 7 edition of The York Weekly was needed. But it got the best of me and there is a need for response.
First of all, Mr. Keith, I respect your opinion and will back the right that you have to express that opinion. But I also respect the right that we all can disagree with said opinions. I can write and pontificate about many areas here but the last thing we as a surfing community want is to get into a "tit-for-tat" situation. There are two parts of your letter that I would like to comment on.
First is that it continues to perplex me that some people, yourself included, in the community have this misconception that surfers here in York are non-contributors to this community. Our surfing community is quite diverse in who we are, and there are many of us. There are many professionals in this community who surf and who you may have contact with on a daily basis and not even know that we surf. The doctor that you may go to for your health, the lawyer you may get advice from, the insurance agent who helps you with your needs, the car salesman you purchased your last vehicle from, the young lady at the restaurant who waitressed your last time there, the lobsterman/fisherman who brought in that catch that you so enjoyed at last night's meal, the lifeguard who puts his life on the line daily - in other words, Mr. Keith, I could go on and on about the upstanding members of this community who just happen to have a passion for surfing.
These people live here on a daily basis, also pay their real estate taxes, shop in the local stores, buy their vehicles from local industry, eat in the local establishments - again, I could go on and on. In other words, I believe it's a moot point to have a turf war about who should get the upper hand in how to enjoy our beaches or whether or not they are contributors to this area. Even if there are those that do come here on a daily basis to surf or choose to vacation here and surf, they still contribute to this community in many positive ways. The local and non-local surfing community's desire is to see that all who wish to enjoy York's beaches can do so and we can all do so with compromising as to how and let those that are in charge of the management of the recreational areas of the town manage in the best interest of the whole community.
Secondly, Mr. Keith, I would like to praise your aunt for doing what she does. I only hope that, as I get older and hopefully reach that age, I will still be able to enjoy my passion for surfing and I know that I will always continue my love for the ocean/beach. What I gathered from your brief description of your aunt is a lady of tolerance. "In truth, she'll probably make that walk without a fuss; she's just that way." What do you think here, Mr. Keith? You think that you and the rest of us might learn from your aunt about tolerance? I will tell you that I would be proud to catch a wave right alongside her and I would be happy if you would let her know that she is an admiration to all of us who enjoy the ocean. And you know what? I'll bet you she would fit right in with us!
P.S. By the way, Mr. Keith, with your thought process of getting a tax abatement because of the perception of inconvenience of use of the beach, do you think that the town would give my surfing family - and many others in this town who surf or have children that surf - a break on our taxes because our children go to Berwick Academy or other private schools? Probably not. Another moot point.
Sincerely,
Dave Carson
York
Chairman endorses Abbott
Dear Independent,It has been my pleasure to serve on the Ogunquit Board of Selectmen with John Abbott for the last two years. Without reservation, I heartily and sincerely endorse his candidacy for another three-year term.
John is vice chairman for the present Board of Selectmen and is the incumbent candidate seeking re-election.
John Abbott has brought to the board his intense sense of responsibility and his attendance, at any hour, to attend special meetings and workshops is irreproachable. I would ask the voters of Ogunquit to support John Abbott and to not add a new individual without John's strong background and knowledge of what lies ahead for the town.
The current board has begun to function as a team in recognizing future needs and will continue with John's help to best serve the citizens of Ogunquit.
John F. Miller
Chairman, Board of Selectmen
The Independent Letters Policy: The Independent welcomes letters and opinions on any subject. We do not accept anonymous letters. Letters should be 200 words or less. We reserve the right to edit submissions for length, accuracy, and/or legal reasons and to reject any material considered unsuitable for publication. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of The Independent or its staff.
Send your letters to the Editor at PO Box 6, York, ME 03909 or via email to editor@yorkindependent.net. Deadline for publication is 12:00 noon on the Monday prior to that week's publication
