Thumbs up to all of the organizers and participants of local 9/11 anniversary events and ceremonies. About a dozen different ceremonies, shows and remembrance events were planned over the weekend to honor those who died in or in relation to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks as well as current first responders, service members and veterans.
These events were an important reminder of those who lost their lives and the continuing efforts to honor their memories.
Thumbs up to Erin and Ryan Donlon, twin brothers from Biddeford, who are working toward becoming Eagle Scouts. Both have earned 57 merit badges, and each has undertaken a community project to earn the highest rank of the Boys Scouts of America. Erin’s community project was renovating Jubilee Park in Saco. He and his crew built bird and bat houses, cleaned up brush, planted a garden and chained down park benches that were overturned. For Ryan’s project, he chose to beautify St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Biddeford by removing rust and painting the fence there. We wish these young men well and congratulate them on all their hard work.
Thumbs up to officials in Old Orchard Beach for planning ahead and designating Old Orchard Beach High School as a temporary warming and cooling shelter. The town council approved $12,000 to retrofit a generator to Old Orchard Beach High School last week, which will help ready the school to become a temporary shelter if power outages affect the town in future storms or inclement weather. Although it cannot be an overnight shelter, the kitchen and bathrooms would be of use to residents who need something to eat, a place to clean up and just a few hours of warmth or air-conditioning. We applaud officials in Old Orchard Beach for planning ahead to make facilities available in the event they are needed.
Thumbs up to councilors in Old Orchard Beach and Biddeford for sending a variety of bond issues to the voters. Whether the funds are approved or not, sending the questions to voters is the right thing to do. If the voters reject bond items, they can only blame themselves if city buildings fall into disrepair or roads do not get paved. In Old Orchard Beach, voters will be asked to bond $2 million for a library expansion, while in Biddeford, voters will consider a $4 million bond for road and drainage improvements; $2 million to conduct sewer and storm water separation; and $470,000 to fix roofs at the Public Works Department, the J. Richard Martin Community Center and the Teen Center. No matter the outcome, the decision of whether to spend or not to spend should lie with the taxpayers.
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Thumbnails is a Monday feature of the Journal Tribune’s opinion pages. If you would like to respond, please write the Reader’s Forum via e-mail at jtcommunity@journaltribune.com or by dropping your letter off at our Biddeford or Sanford offices.
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