Last week Damariscotta residents vetoed the proposed $1,713,896 secondary school budget. We don’t blame them really.

The recent commentary by Haley Holland Graves (“Autism awareness through the eyes of a teen,” 04/23/15 LCN) prompted me to learn a few things about autism.

We all look forward to this Sunday, May 10, when we celebrate Mother’s Day and the cherished bond between mother and child. Ironically, dairy cows, world-wide symbols of motherhood, never get to see their babies.

The newborn calves are torn from their mothers at birth and turned into veal cutlets, so we can drink the milk that nature designed for them. The distraught mothers bellow for days, hoping for their return.

In Lincoln County, when you talk about cycling, riding a bicycle for whatever reason, most people you talk too, if they are not cyclists themselves, usually look at you sideways.

The week of May 6 marks National Nurses Week. This year the American Nurses Association has declared the theme of Nurses Week as “Ethical Practice. Quality Care.”

I attended last week’s Damariscotta school budget meeting to learn more about the circumstances reported by the LCN leading to a huge increase in the special education component. I came away disappointed, but in agreement with a clear majority of voters who signaled that major, multi-year taxpayer commitments should not be approved on blind faith.

As you are aware, I originally proposed utilizing the Woodend Fund to help build up our surplus fund. This Saturday, we have the opportunity to determine how the Woodend Fund is utilized to best impact our community’s needs. I strongly support the Woodend – surplus fund proposal.

As a former President of the Friends of the Wiscasset Public Library, I was stunned to learn the Wiscasset Budget Committee had unanimously recommended against town funding for the library this year. It also shocked me to read a recent letter to the editor which asked “Who goes to the library any more?”

The Great Salt Bay Parent Teachers Organization did a wonderful job last week acknowledging the efforts of the teaching staff during Teacher Appreciation week May 4-8.

We count 15 weeks between Memorial and Labor Day 2015. One hundred and two days, as a matter of fact, between our publication date this week and Labor Day, which falls on Sept. 7 this year.

On May 19, Jefferson held a town meeting to discuss the school budget. After AOS 93 Superintendent Steve Bailey presented the budget overview, the moderator presented the articles for a vote.

The Pew Research Center recently conducted a brief survey asking “What is a parent’s responsibility” in terms of what they leave the family as they age, and what is the responsibility of the children in the care of parents when and if it is needed?

The children at our church take a “noisy offering” once a month to aid some nonprofit group, an individual or a community organization that has a need for financial support.

April is Autism Awareness Month and I’m on the autistic spectrum. Life is hard for people like us. A lot of people try to fix us. You can’t fix us. The only way you can “cure” us is by being our friend.