For over 20 years I have been happily retired in this beautiful Midcoast area. This past week, on Wednesday, Aug. 15, I had an unsettling and troubling event happen.

The Bristol Mills Dam was built in 1914, largely for industrial purposes. No longer needed for that purpose, it has become a Bristol icon because of the unique opportunity it affords thousands of families and children as a premier swimming hole every summer.

After serving on the Bristol Dam Advisory Committee for 15 months, I was surprised to discover I had not formed an opinion on the two options arrived at by that study. These are the two options up for a public vote next Tuesday, July 24.

We hope you’ve heard by now that the Olde Bristol Days parade is happening. We’re currently looking for your involvement. Do you have a business that you’d love to promote? Are you a family or neighborhood who’d love to create memories for your kids that they’ll remember for years to come? Are you one of our “summah” people who want to join in on the fun?

In a May 24 LCN article (“Lincoln Academy expects dip in boarding enrollment,” page 1), Lincoln Academy claimed that the school’s boarding program is highly profitable, and that any financial difficulties have been caused by unpredictable changes in the boarding market. Neither is true.

Before you ask, yes, I’m from away. I’ve been on Biscay Pond for over 30 years. The first 15 were in Bristol, near the outlet, then we moved to Damariscotta, on the west side, about 1/2-mile from the town beach. We spent every summer here and most weekends from mid-May to mid-October. Now that I’m retired, I spend a lot more time here. The winters are as beautiful as the summers, in their own way, and autumn, glorious autumn! Mud season, not so much …

I would like to take this opportunity to thank many people in our community. On April 27, while shopping in Hannaford, Damariscotta, with my granddaughter, I suffered a major cardiac arrest.

I am writing to urge Waldoboro voters to say no to the Ordinance Prohibiting Retail Marijuana Social Clubs and Retail Marijuana Establishments in the Town of Waldoboro.

Parts of the new CLC YMCA are opening for us day by day. I want to express my gratitude to management and staff for the planning they did for life during construction. They enabled many of us to keep at our routines – whether tennis, weights, treadmills, bikes, or Nautilus – surrounded by construction tarps and almost invisible working crews. This was an extraordinary feat and we, children and adults, have benefited from that planning.

This past weekend I had the privilege to chaperone the Lincoln Academy band trip to New York City. Our community should be so very proud of these kids. Not only did they perform beautifully at the Heritage Festival, where they competed against schools from across the country. They were respectful to each other and everyone, from the bus driver, hotel staff, fellow symphony and Broadway show goers and more.

The Maine Department of Transportation has disregarded the ordinances and historic zoning laws of the town of Wiscasset. The DOT has even gone so far as to turn down federal funds in order to openly challenge the town and its business community.

The end of the 2017-2018 school year will be a sad one for anyone associated with Nobleboro Central School. The departure of Ann Hassett as principal will leave a huge hole in the school and, more importantly, in the lives of the children. It will be a great coup for AOS 93 to have her begin what I know will be a successful tenure as their curriculum coordinator.

Over the next two weeks (April 14-30), patients and visitors to the Miles Campus will notice some temporary changes to our parking spaces due to the construction of the new Watson Healthcare Center.