Letters to the Editor

To the Editor:

Elsewhere in the [hard copy] issue is a paid advertisement, assembled by a group of concerned citizens, including myself, suggesting that a 5% increase in the Gray municipal budget would be much more appropriate than the 14% increase which is found in the Town Meeting Warrant and endorsed by the Town Council.

The figure of 5% was derived as follows:

2.0 % increase based in estimated CPI for FY 04-05
1.5% growth based on estimated population increase in Gray
1.5% growth in services offered to citizens in Gray

This advertisement addresses only Article 3 of the Town Warrant. When that article is taken up by the Town Meeting, a number of citizens hope to amend both the numbers -- the appropriated amount and the raised amount -- in the town budget.

If you agree that the current budget is too high, then you should
attend Town Meeting and vote for an amended Article 3 with a lower town budget.

Alison A. Brown, Gray

"Revenues are increasing. More money is already coming into state government. Unfortunately, we are spending it faster than it is coming in. The spending cap is the best tool..." (Rep.Sue Austin)

Well, thank you Rep. Austin for wanting a spending cap. Why doesn't this apply to the Legislature?

Thank you for wanting not to vote for a state budget that would INCREASE funds to local schools, while now wanting to go back into special session this summer to complete the work you ALL failed to accomplish - tax reform! Where is support for a spending cap here?

Maybe revenue is coming in at at better rate than expected, but this citizen is not inclined to spend it on salaries for a Legislature that had the chance to do their job and did not. Why is it okay to call for spending limits on important and vital programs, but permissible to spend money on a special session? Is this the best jobs program the 121st could come up with?

Why should tax payers give legislators more of our money to sit around and fight, then sue one another (another potential cost to taxpayers of a million plus dollars, endorsed by your leadership)? Why should we pay you again for a job you should have already completed? "Believe in ME" on this one, I say we impose the your spending cap option on the legislature, the same as your votes imposed on education, health care and job creating bond packages.

Donnie Carroll
Gray, Maine

Have you seen New Jersey's ubiquitous suburbs lately? How about those of New Haven, Boston, Long Island or even Scarborough, Maine? If not, you might just be able to see what they are like without even having to leave Gray. This may be our fate if the Town Council grants a developer with their desired zone change for a 102 acre parcel between Route 115 and Colley Hill Road. (And we think the traffic at the intersection is congested already?!)

The developers are seeking a zone change for the 102-acre parcel of woods and blueberry barrens from Rural Residential and Agriculture to Medium Density Residential. Two questions come to mind. What are zoning laws for if a simple request from a developer can change them to suit his or her needs? Secondly, doesn't the Town of Gray Comprehensive Plan determine zoning to achieve the desired future character, growth, and mix of activities allowed in town?

I am a professional forester and I recently met with a landowner about reclaiming an old farm pond. The number of hoops, steps, permits, and roadblocks is unbelievable. It amazes me that right next door to this old, overgrown farm pond is a new subdivision with half-million dollar houses. Did this subdivision not cause orders of magnitude more environmental change and degradation than cleaning up a farm pond? I truly hope that Scarborough's fate doesn't meet all the towns in southern Maine over the next few years. Yet I believe granting zone changes to developers is heading us in that very direction.

Of course some will argue for economic growth and development. Study after study has shown that residential development is a net cost to town governments. The costs of roads, plowing, sweeping, waste management, recycling, schools, busing, etc. far outweigh the increased property taxes.

Michael Maines, Gray

To the Editor:

Wow, is it just me, or does anyone else see terrific irony in the fact that our representative wants another shot at tax reform this summer? The voter mandate was clear, tackle tax reform above all else. And it didn't happen. Our elected officials didn't grasp the reality that lack of compromise will lead to a referendum on tax reform. The MMA proposal is on the table at our election in June, and the tax cap proposal is on the table at the November election.

And did anyone else see irony in a legislator wanting a tax cap, when that very legislator refuses to say WHAT she would cut? Tax caps lead to cuts. That's fine; just identify the cuts thank you very much. We've had years of rhetoric about making tough choices, but no tough choices emerged this session.

Thanks but no thanks for the offer to go back and try again.

Sarah McCleary, Gray

Our local representative wants to go back for a special session to deal with tax reform? I think not.

Our legislators and our governor had ample time to deal with tax reform, and they blew it. Was there nobody in Augusta who could stand up and say, look folks, if we can't compromise, we all lose? Seems not. No majority could be reached, not by party, not by region, not by temperament.
They had their chance in session, and they had their chance in "special" session. Now it's up to the voters. Sorry, Sue, this time there's a consequence to the collective inaction of our legislators.

Michael C. Mills, Gray

Dear Editor:

I am very happy to learn that Gary Foster is running for the Gray Town Council. He certainly meets the highest standards of honesty and integrity that I look for in a candidate. And I have no doubt that Gary would be more than an elected official, he would be a true public servant. We have had numerous in-depth conversations on various issues and his ideas are just what this town, and the entire state for that matter, are in desperate need of.

Unlike others, however, Gray Foster is much more than someone who talks about good ideas. He actually does something about them. He is active in the state-wide group Common Sense for Maine Taxpayers whose objectives include safeguarding the rights of property owners, controlling government spending at all levels, and providing accurate information to Maine citizens.

To this end, Gary was instrumental in bringing two tax seminars to Gray, both of which were very informative and beneficial to all who attended or watched on cable TV.

We definitely need to vote for someone who will do a little more than just go to meetings, 'second' other councilors' motions, and occasionally say "we should do something." We need someone who works effectively with others, someone who has good workable ideas of his own and can advocate effectively for them, someone who takes action, someone who can lead. Gary Foster is the one.

Janet Neal, Gray

To the readers:

A letter in the Opinion section on May 20th by Mr. Paul Proudian of Gray has piqued my political curiosity.

The issue raised once again, is the contention by Democrats that President Bush did not "legally" win the election in Florida, and therefore did not "legally" win the National election.

If that position is true, and the Gore/Lieberman ticket is what the people of this country truly wanted, and if Bush has done such a terrible job as President as the Democrats claim, why then wasn't the Gore/Lieberman ticket again the Democratic choice for the 2004 election?

If the 2000 Democratic ticket was the Peoples choice, why did Joe Lieberman do so badly for the 2004 Presidential nomination. He would have been the #2 man had they won in 2000.

The rhetoric that Mr. Proudian puts forth has little validity to this voter. I believe that the facts he presents are missing some key elements. What about the absentee military ballots that the Democrats successfully prevented from being counted? What about all of the potential voters who returned home without casting a ballot? Does Rev. Jesse Jackson's concern about disenfranchised voters hold any truthful meaning for all voters or is it only for Democrats? When the elite news channels called the election for Gore before the polls closed in the panhandle zone? If Ms. Harris truly did "illegal" things to control the outcome, as Mr. Proudian claims, why then wasn't she prosecuted and further, if these claims are true, why then was she elected to the Congress by the people of Florida? These are the questions in my mind when I hear Mr. Proudian's claims.

For the record I'm a registered Independent, USMC 'Nam vet, who votes my conscience and has supported candidates of both parties. This year, It's Bush.

Bob Tayman, Gray

Letter to the Editor:

Let me begin by commending your paper for a fine article which published on May 20, 2004 entitled "Law Enforcement: a perplexing issue." I believe that there is much more of the story to tell and hope that more is revealed in part two of the series.

I believe that you should point out that though there exists a State Police substation in the town of Gray there are very seldom any troopers in that station and that the few troopers that are on duty have an enormous area to patrol. You might also point out that the state troopers go home and are on call after midnight (last time I checked crime is not on call after midnight).

I hope that you mention that the County Sheriff's Office does not have a dedicated patrol to the town of Gray and one officer may be patrolling as many as 10-12 towns at once. Gray is one of the largest towns in southern Maine without an organized police patrol system. I would also like to mention that there exists a rather large problem with illegal drug use here in the Gray area and that most people are unaware of it.

Gray is a direct route between two of Maine's largest cities, which increases traffic as well as the potential for crime. I hope that you mention these items before it takes a law enforcement agency 45 minutes to get to a call and someone gets seriously hurt or even worse.

Thank you for your consideration.

Craig Messinger, Raymond