July 4, 2016 marks the 240th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence from England, but the holiday has come to symbolize and celebrate all the freedoms we enjoy.

The dedication and grand opening of the new Zimmerli Pavilion at St. Andrews Village on June 24 was a wonderful event. My sincere and heartfelt thanks go out to the anonymous donors, the community organizations who supported the project, and the many individuals whose dedication and hard work made the Zimmerli Pavilion a reality.

Numbers can be so instructive, yet they do not always register on everyday lives, as most individuals are concerned with their personal survival and their family’s well-being. Then, along comes a newspaper headline that reads “Unum may outsource hundreds of tech jobs.”

Good news for libraries is good news for all of us.

Civility and a focus on issues would be nice if the “game” always made it easy to separate the personal from the policy.

This past weekend the town of Waldoboro held its annual Waldoboro Day celebration. We certainly had ideal weather conditions for the event and the venue was perfect for our town and surrounding community members. At the event, the Soule-Shuman Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4525 had the opportunity to have a pig roast fundraiser to benefit our post home.

We require letters to the editor about candidates for public office to focus on the issues, and we call on the candidates themselves to follow the same rule.

In one of President George H.W. Bush’s speeches, he referred to all the volunteer community organizations we have in America and to America’s citizens as “little points of light” when describing how we help our fellow humans without government help.

Grief begins with a loss of breath as the news arrives and tears when memory floods our mind. I met my friend Donna Mates at BBN Technologies’ Massachusetts headquarters after being hired as their West Coast manager. She was an accountant, full of humor, with glimpses of personal pain and struggles. Four years later I moved east. We became friends, enjoying season tickets at the Boston Ballet. In 1989 I took in my first two refugees and she became Auntie Donna.

In the beginning I questioned the validity and accuracy of some of the statements of the Bristol Road Community Association, but initially did not comment because at first it seemed primarily a Damariscotta issue. But now the reach and goals of the citizens group have expanded well into the next town (mine) and I feel the need to answer their call for comments to the Maine Department of Transportation. This is, in fact, my written comment to the DOT, shared with the concerned citizens through the vehicle of The Lincoln County News.