I was having a conversation over dinner recently on a subject that was simply startling. The conversation consisted of some grumbling by a few individuals in our town over the school budget and the belief that our teachers are overpaid. Frankly I find the mere notion to be absurd. When I pull into our school every day I don’t see a line-up of Mercedes Benz, Audis and BMWs in the teacher parking lot.

The Lincoln County News is currently engaged in a polite, but pointed, standoff with Two Bridges Regional Jail officials regarding our request for a probable cause statement related to a recent arrest.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all the people and businesses that made it possible to supply 235 Lincoln County families with Thanksgiving dinners. In order to make this happen, it takes not only a lot of planning, but also a lot of help.

Damariscotta’s municipal parking lot is being considered for major renovations by town officials. The extent of the proposed renovation varies but all the options are expensive.

In his latest submission for our pages, My Two Cents columnist Bruce Hardina adroitly states the case for buying local.

Sheena Bellows, Democrat candidate for U.S. Senate describes herself as a “libertarian progressive.”

It seems no matter where you are in the political spectrum you might be forgiven for thinking the country is going to hell in a hand basket.

The Waldoboro Board of Selectmen has called a third referendum style special town meeting for Tuesday, Nov. 5, to hopefully finalize the FY2014 Waldoboro municipal budget.

This Thanksgiving our family is especially grateful. We want to thank the Alna Fire Department and Wiscasset Ambulance Service, particularly first responders Mike Trask, Marcie Lovejoy, and Herman Lovejoy. These volunteers made a great impact in our lives on Aug. 24 by responding to a life threatening situation with calm professionalism.

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.”