PERSPECTIVE FROM AFAR

I received a long email today from a friend in Oregon who reads the blog regularly. Of course, since she, too, is a writer we share long emails from time to time about writing, family, frustrations, political perspectives, etc. I thought one of her recent comments interesting (and something only a friend would write) when she pointed out that the people in Afghanistan are dying for the right to vote - are suffering the loss of their purple stained fingers (a sign of having voted) to the Taliban - and here I am writing about the blatant apathy of the people here in our small town who can't be bothered to vote in local elections. It's no wonder our so-called elected representatives feel no obligation to comply with guidelines mandated by the voters. So few voters will ever know what the Selectmen do since hardly any of them ever attend a Selectmen's meeting. And the Selectmen never publish their actions to the voters.

(I thought the Selectmen's agenda and meeting Minutes were going to be published on the town's Website. What happened? Did they block that? The quarterly newsletter certainly won't publish that information since everything in the newsletter has to be approved by the Selectmen before it goes to print.)

When the subject of the Eddington newsletter came up, along with the contest to choose the newsletter's name from several names submitted by readers for consideration, the Chair (not too subtly) stated she'd prefer the name of the newsletter to be the Eddington News and then complained because it couldn't. (God forbid it sound as though the town government was promoting this blog. :-). Those who tarry, lose, Madam Chair.) Readers can go back to the first posting to see why this blog was started in the first place and who made it necessary. But "Don't cry for me, Argentina."

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There were LOTS of homemade jellies, fudge, fresh vegetables and perennials at Virginia Doyle's table at the Farmers' Market this morning. And Lore, the Market organizer had lots of company at her table including Joan Brooks, Selectmen Chair. There appeared to be maybe four vendor tables with goods for sale.


Unfortunately, two of the three signs posted along Route 9 in East Eddington promoting the Sunday Farmers' Market were taken by an unauthorized person sometime after 1pm (and before 1:15pm). One was taken from in front of the Eddington Post Office. The second was taken from in front of the New Hope Hospice. All six signs, which are placed along Route 9 each Sunday morning before 10am, are the personal property of this writer. The aluminum A-Frames, to which the posters are attached, are the personal property of a friend who lives in Clifton and were loaned to this writer only for the time period of this year's Farmers' Market.

A theft report was filed with the Penobscot County Sheriff''s Department shortly after 1:30pm today when it was determined that the signs had been removed.

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Tomorrow night's School Board Meeting (6:30pm at Holbrook Middle School) should have several items of interest to parents and the public alike. There are new teachers to be introduced, the District 2007-08 Audit was received after the Board went on vacation in July, and a proposal from the Town of Holden to take over certain parcels of school district property which the towns of Eddington and Clifton have opposed in the past are just a few items. And then there are the issues of who (if anyone) is going to be appointed to the District's RSU and teacher contract negotiations committees.

It will be interesting to see how the School Board intends to explain the authority the Interim Superintendent thought he had to give the new Part-Time librarian at Holbrook School a Full-Time position. When the budget was proposed to the voters last May, it was clearly explained that the previous volunteer position was being proposed to be changed to a part-time paid position. That is what the voters approved. The voters did not approve a full-time position. A full-time position requires additional compensation and benefits which were not approved in the budget. How does the Interim Superintendent have the authority, without either School Board or voter approval, to change the budget or the position? Don't voters (aka taxpayers) have any authority in these towns? - other than the forced responsibility to pay the ever-increasing bill???

One can hope members of the Eddington and Clifton Boards of Selectmen will be in attendance to represent their respective taxpayer residents. It would behoove the members of the School Board to remember that it is the taxpayer residents of all three towns who do pay the bills associated with the School District.