As we look back at the headlines of 2016, the story of the year on the national level was a presidential race unlike any other in our lifetimes.
Lincoln County struck out when it came to presidential choices, going 0-for-3 with the selection of Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders in the caucuses and Hillary Clinton in the general.
Local voters did, however, follow another nationwide trend this year, sending Republicans to sweeping victories in local legislative races.
Locally, there were encouraging signs for the local economy in the form of small businesses opening or expanding seemingly every week.
We even saw signs of life for long-dormant sites like A.D. Gray and Fieldcrest Manor in Waldoboro and Mason Station and the former Wiscasset Primary School in Wiscasset. We hope for more of the same this year.
The year was notable for the loss of three educators whose influence continues to benefit the county and its children: Arthur Dexter, Ronald Dolloff, and Dick Kennedy.
There were too many tragedies this year – a series of fatal accidents along Route 1 and a terrible fire in Boothbay among them.
But when we consider the most significant news of 2016, the heroin crisis quickly rises to the top – not just the overdose deaths and crime, but the willingness of community leaders and local law enforcement in particular to consider new ideas in their response to the crisis.
We will continue to report on this issue in the weeks and months ahead. We hope 2017 marks the year Maine begins to reverse this destructive rise in opiate abuse.
