thumb”¢nail (thum’nail’)
…2. anything quite small or brief,
as a small drawing or short essay
Thumbs up to all of the local municipal officials and residents who spoke out in support of maintaining revenue sharing levels for the state’s cities and towns this year. Biddeford was well represented at last week’s public hearing on LR 2721, which would keep the current rate of revenue sharing at $60 million. Most spoke in favor of the measure, but some were in opposition. We support LR 2721, and hope the Legislature will keep the state’s commitment to Maine’s taxpayers. By continually reducing revenue sharing, property taxes have increased and will continue to do so until it is restored. The state is not “saving” money, because it is simply passing the cost onto municipalities, as it does whenever its budget is in the red. We urge local residents to contact their senators and representatives and let them know how important revenue sharing is to maintaining local services and keeping a stable tax rate this year.
Thumbs down to the handling of complaints from parents and a former worker at a Lyman daycare, where it appears there were a lot of incidents of ill treatment of children and possibly physical abuse. The now-defunct Sunshine Childcare and Preschool on Alfred Road in Lyman was issued a conditional license over the summer after an investigation into the complaints, which showed Cheryl Dubois, who owned the daycare with her husband, Dan Dubois, pulled a chair out from under a child and he fell, hitting his chin on a table; picked up a child by the biceps; put soap in children’s mouths; and force-fed children milk. The investigation also found an employee picked up a child by the arm and moved him to another part of the room, among other listed incidents. Despite these findings being made in July, parents whose children were enrolled in the daycare were only told about the findings in recent weeks, and the daycare was closed by the owners. Late last week, the director of the state human services division that oversees licensing of child care centers said this kind of information, until recently considered confidential, will now be shared with parents. It’s unfortunate that wasn’t the policy before and that parents were not notified immediately of the daycare’s conditional license. Even if all of the details were not disclosed, parents have a right to know about the a child care provider’s license status and the opportunity to inquire with DHHS as to why a license would be conditional.
Thumbs up to the opening of Spectrum Health Systems’ methadone clinic in Sanford ”“ the only one of its kind in York County. Although neighbors and some city officials were not thrilled at the prospect of having such a clinic within Sanford’s borders, it is a needed service and will serve a population that had to travel to Portland or New Hampshire previously for treatment. It is clear there is a major drug abuse problem in Maine, and proper treatment as well as the access to that treatment is key in getting people clean and keeping them sober. Dr. Jeff Baxter, who oversees all of Spectrum’s facilities, said the first day went well, and hopefully the facility will continue to operate without any problems and be an answer to those who have struggled to cure their addictions.
Ӣ Ӣ Ӣ
Thumbnails is a Monday feature of the Journal Tribune’s opinion pages. If you want to respond, feel free to write to the Readers’ Forum via email at jtcommunity@journaltribune.com or by dropping your letter off at our Biddeford office.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
