I strongly believe that each citizen has an obligation to give back to the town in return for the services the town provides.

We write in response to the letter to the editor titled “Racism isn’t all about color,” by Jarryl Larson, of Edgecomb, dated April 16. We agree with Mrs. Larson’s premise that “Racism isn’t all about color.”

The children at our church take a “noisy offering” once a month to aid some nonprofit group, an individual or a community organization that has a need for financial support.

April is Autism Awareness Month and I’m on the autistic spectrum. Life is hard for people like us. A lot of people try to fix us. You can’t fix us. The only way you can “cure” us is by being our friend.

Money, a very wise man once said, is only important, not for baubles it buys, but for the thing it creates…

During this time of year, when town budget committees, boards of selectmen and town administrators are working diligently to craft a budget for their towns, Lincoln County Healthcare employees and administrators are likely to hear concerns that our organizations don’t pay property taxes.

The folks at the Lincoln County Communications Center are a daily part of life at The Lincoln County News. We hear their voices over the scanner as we go about our daily bustle. Most of the breaking news stories we write starts with them.

Lincoln Academy has been a pillar of this community for more than 200 years, and this Friday we celebrate the opening of two new buildings that will support our mission and greatly enhance our students’ experience.

We are not surprised to hear a local fire chief has asked his town to consider budgeting for a full-time fire department position. If anything, we are only surprised many other towns haven’t considered it before now.

On March 25, the Bristol School Committee and school administrators will convene a long range planning committee forum at the 1812 Farm on the Bristol Road in Bristol with the express purpose of discussing the educational direction of Bristol School in the next decade.

The derogatory “jokes” and statements expressing disdain for President Obama that Senator Michael Willette of Presque Isle has been posting on Facebook for the past several years have recently made headlines. The senator implies the president is a Muslim, is not a U.S. citizen, and is making common cause with ISIS, etc.

I will be retiring from the Newcastle Board of Selectmen after Town Meeting in June. Being on the board has been a very rewarding as well as challenging time in my life. I have greatly appreciated the support and encouragement that I have received from Newcastle residents.

Gov. Paul LePage’s move to withhold funds for conservation projects until the Legislature approves his plan to increase timber harvests on public land might otherwise have our support, except for one detail.

I commend Newcastle Selectman Pat Hudson for her political courage in speaking of the plight of town property taxpayers at a recent public meeting. Mick Devin, our State Representative, organized that meeting in February to discuss changes in our municipal property tax system.