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.

I hope that you’ll accept a criticism from a loyal reader.

I found the headline that you attached to Dr. Falconer’s letter last week to be very eye-catching, but not very descriptive of the content of his letter. (“Let’s take Christ out of Christmas”) It was unnecessarily inflammatory and maybe even offensive to many mainstream church-goers. (LCN, Page 13, 12/30/10)

We would feel remiss if we did not join the chorus of concern regarding the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Ariz., Jan. 8.

A parent of a grammar school basketball team member confided to me in an email that their children’s team was promised, by the coach, to all get floor time during the game the previous day. None of them got any floor time. Half of the team is very disheartened and disappointed. Are they pouting or do they deserve to be “hurt?”

All my life we have heard the phrases “independent Mainer” and “local control.”

Thank you for the lovely column by Kelly Patton Brook, “All Four Feet”. It is a weekly surprise and delight to read such an insightful writer who clearly has such passion and concern for the well-being of our animal companions.

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.

This week we report two separate stories on two separate boards of selectmen sending two separate, strongly worded letters to the Dept. of Transportation regarding the potential cancellation of plans for the Wiscasset bypass.

The Waldoboro Food Pantry and the Waldoboro Lions Club want to thank those individuals and organizations who made generous money and food donations to the food bank in the recent months.