Recent letters to the editor in the Dec. 30 and Jan. 6 The Lincoln County News contain emotionally charged brouhahas about whether to “keep Christ out of Christmas” (H. Falconer) or “keep Christ in Christmas” (M. Bourland and R. Crabtree). Their thoughts on the subject are interesting, provocative and sometimes absurd.

The handwriting is on the wall. The economy is horrible. Federal and state budgets are going to be sliced, which will have a major impact on small towns. Newcastle’s administrative budget has exploded in the last few years and is out of line with other small towns its size.

On Jan. 13 the RSU 12 School Board shocked the Wiscasset community and nearly everyone else who had been watching, by voting to “immediately” and “permanently” remove the term “Redskin” from any and all schools within the district.

For some reason, we have received quite a few comments, pro and con, written and verbal, regarding our placement of Rev. Kevin Haj’s Christmas message on the front page of The Lincoln County News Dec. 23, 2010 edition.

The premise of “The Polar Express” is to believe in the magic of the season – I believe! I believe!

It is Christmas Day as I write this letter. My family is scattered far and wide and I live alone (by choice) in Jefferson. Last night, by the light of the near full moon and the fresh white snow on the field behind my house, I swear I could see Santa’s sleigh zoom across the sky headed South with a tremendous load of gifts.

If you want a cause to chuckle, and who doesn’t need one these days, try giving some small children a simple cardboard box and watch what they do with it. In short order, they could turn it into a fort, or a plane, a boat or a place to hide.

The Dec. 5 Christmas Town & Craft Fair hosted by Jefferson Fire & Rescue was a great success. A record number of crafters and artisans filled the apparatus bay at the firehouse, as children enjoyed Christmas Town and a visit with Santa.

One would think, at my age, I would have learned not to be surprised at the human propensity for parochialism. Yet, I was amazed at last Wednesday night’s spectacle at the urgently reassembled Midcoast Bypass Task Force meeting at the Edgecomb Eddy School.

I recently read a news article that had words to the effect of “Christmas is winning this Christmas.” It grabbed my attention and I wanted to know more.

Thanks to an eagle with a sense of time and place, Maine may now seize the opportunity to re-evaluate what’s needed to improve the flow of traffic through Wiscasset during the summer months. However beneficial a by-pass may appear in theory, a four mile, 250 foot wide, $100 million by-pass simply is not worth the cost in money, environmental destruction and human misery.

Wiscasset High School has come up with a wonderful way to teach our children about intolerance. By insisting on continuing to use the Redskin “mascot” name for their sports teams, they have clearly taught us all some lessons.

With the retirement of our oldest employee last year, there isn’t a single person currently working for Lincoln County Publishing who was alive when Pearl Harbor was attacked Dec. 7, 1941.

On Nov. 26, Lincoln County and the State of Maine lost Donald M. Bisset, retired State Fire Marshal. Don had a lengthy career in public service, which included serving his country actively in World War II, many years in the Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office, serving as the first State Fire Marshal from 1975 to 1991, and as a Jefferson selectman after his retirement from the state.