The Maine Aqua Ventus I offshore wind project is being promoted by an individual who shares my name, which has motivated me to clarify my position on this issue.

We hope this Christmas season finds you warm and safe; accompanied by loved ones and fully sated with food and drink.

A Merry Christmas to you and all your readers and also a Happy New Year.

My heartfelt and sincere thank you goes out to all the kind and generous folks who gave their love and support to me after my recent accident. The benefit you arranged for me at Schooner Landing on Sat., Nov. 30 was a real extravaganza!

On Dec. 26, I was caught in the 4-8 inches of snow that “surprised” Lincoln County. I left my work in Freeport at 10 p.m. to make the usual trip up I-295 and Route 1. Nothing about the trip that night was usual. The Interstate was clogged with snow and Route 1 was barely recognizable.

While driving to Rangeley last Friday night we received a phone call saying that our friend, Rene Goulette’s Shop to Shore had burned to the ground. It was hard to believe.

Thanksgiving Day, despite its name, does not always evoke thoughts of giving thanks – at least initially. Depending on the person, the first thought of Thanksgiving can call forth images of football, a frosty morning in a tree stand, or a Rockwell-esque feast with silver dishes and all the trimmings.

Fifty years ago, on the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 22, 1963, I was six years old, sitting at my desk in the first grade at Saint Charles Elementary School in Boardman, Ohio. After all of these years I can clearly remember the exact moment when our school principal, Sister Dorthea, announced on the P.A. system that President John Fitzgerald Kennedy had been killed in Dallas, Texas.

We understand and respect the necessity of a businessperson doing all they can to stay in business. We understand that when your competitors offer an enticing sale to get customers in their door, one of your best options is to offer an equally pleasing enticement to attract customers to your door.

Opposers of Maine bear hunting reform think snare trapping, dog chasing and baiting bears is okay. The reason why they think it’s okay? “Because the Maine Inland Fish & Game biologists say so.”

A recent letter to the editor by Maxine Snow included a number of so-called facts regarding the efforts by animal rights organizations to eliminate baiting, hounding and trapping from Maine’s bear hunting regulations. (Bear hunting factual info,” LCN, 10/31/2013, Page 4) Many of these “facts” need further explanation and others cry out for correction.

Last week, Don Loprieno wrote another in a long list of columns promoting the recently announced efforts to ban bear baiting, hounding and trapping. He continued to repeat the emotionally charged talking points likely extracted from polling conducted by the Humane Society of the United States. In the column he chastised the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, SAM.

Lincoln County, as we all know, is a wonderful place to live. While it is unfortunately true that professional opportunities are scarce for people in the prime of their careers, it is the perfect setting for growing up and for growing old.

Apparently a number of elver fishermen in Maine are making thousands of dollars, reporting far less money earned and applying for and receiving welfare. Since being elected, Governor Paul LePage has attempted to do something about welfare fraud in the state of Maine.