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.

It seems that Jefferson finally got a new school bus. When it became known that the old bus would not pass inspection this February, attempts to seek emergency funding for a new bus began.

My mother taught me to write thank you letters, usually for a gift received. This is also a thank you letter for a gift received from my community.

If the matter weren’t so serious, the prospect of little Bremen standing up to the State of Maine over the maintenance of Route 32 might be amusing.

The gravel truck issue is back! Unfortunately, the glaciers piled gravel north of the Boothbay and Pemaquid peninsulas, so gravel will be trucked from Whitefield to both areas.

Each town on the way needs to deal with that traffic.

She isn’t mentioned in our front page story, but everybody in favor of buying local, eating healthy foods, and doing something in the best interests of children, owes a big debt of gratitude to Karen Kleinkopf.

Newcastle chef, author (and the LCN editor’s wife) Cynthia Finnemore Simonds was doing a cooking demonstration at the Maine Agriculture Trades Show Jan. 8 when she ran into Gov. Paul LePage.

A week ago Sunday, in the slush on Route 220, my Subaru drifted to the right, then described a slow arc left across the empty (thanks, guardian angel!) road, down an embankment and into a tree. After 50-some years of driving on snow and ice without any problem, I couldn’t have been more incredulous if it had taken wing.