The passing of Shirley Chadbourne brings to mind the downtown Damariscotta businesses of the 1950s and ’60s.

I believe Shirley was the last of the business owners on Main Street of that era. Anyone who grew up in Damariscotta during those years will remember The Woman’s Shop owned by Shirley and her husband Paul. After retiring from The Woman’s Shop, Shirley owned an antique business in Newcastle.

Who else is ready for mud season? We certainly are.

In fact, we are tempted to just skip ahead to break out the shorts and flip flops, except we know better than to be absolutely confident we have seen the last cold snap.

There are two kinds of people in the world – those who want a homeless shelter in their back yards and those who don’t. Anyone who does should let Stepping Stone Housing Inc. know they would welcome it.

Did you know that nearly one in four Maine children, about 24 percent, is food insecure? According to the Good Shepherd Food Bank, Maine ranks 18th in the nation and first in New England in terms of food insecurity. (http://www.gsfb.org/hunger/)

As a member of the Wells-Hussey American Legion Post 42 who has spearheaded the project to place flags in Newcastle and Damariscotta, I would like to report that enough money has been collected to not only purchase and place the flags, but also enough to pay for the required liability insurance for this year for the towns receiving the flags.

The Wiscasset custodial staff would appreciate your support at the Wiscasset School Board meeting, May 1 at 6 p.m.

Between the advance of spring and the retreat of winter there are generally a few weeks where the detritus of modern life is laid bare along the side of our roads.

When a leader takes money from the poor and uses nearly one million dollars to pay for fraudulent math to create a $400 million shortfall in Medicaid expansion and does so after having deleted 70,000 working poor from MaineCare access – do we applaud them or scratch our heads and wonder what they’re thinking?

I am compelled to respond to Larry Grimard’s letter, “We should be able to budget for buses” (LCN, 2/20/14, Page 4).

First, the things on which we agree: the safety of our students and the cost of repairs on an aging bus fleet does require vigilance. Second, the state Department of Education must approve bus purchases in order for the school to be reimbursed in future subsidies.

Mainers should be proud that we’re taking the lead on solving climate change, both at the state level and with small-business owners like me. It’s smart business, because climate change threatens Maine’s economy with more acidic oceans, unpredictable snowpack for our ski industry, rising seas that imperil coastal properties, and much more.

I have decided to stop editing letters to the editor that address the topic of abortion.

In response to Waldoboro’s Ray Perkins Feb. 6 letter, I gathered he is someone against killing and must be a pacifist. Pacifists do not believe in killing and become conscientious objectors to war, and capital punishment. Many are vegetarians or vegans and don’t eat meat.

If we had to pick one person to see an Unidentified Flying Object, it would be The Lincoln County News sports editor Paula Roberts.

Some words of caution if you are thinking about sending your child to the Center for Teaching & Learning in Edgecomb.