Dear Editor:

As I continually read the support of Dik Brackett, I wonder what is wrong with the people who support him. Although he may have done "wonders" for the community in the past years, (and I am sure he did), does that give him the right to do harm? People's lives change; it causes them to change as well and get drawn into situations that they normally wouldn't. It does not give them the right to take advantage of people who trust and know them, especially in the medical field.

I am sure that our law enforcement agencies have done an extensive investigation of the situation and wouldn't have gone to the extent they have if not for a search for the truth and penalty for breaking the law.

It all comes down to one question; did Dik Brackett violate any Maine state laws as a P.A.? If he did, then I believe he is accountable for his actions. I do not know the Maine state laws that govern physician's assistants or D.O.s, but it seems that we have had our share of problems in this town and state- wide regarding guidelines and follow-up with professionals who are trusted. It is about time that as a community we look at all health care professionals out there and make sure they are accountable for their actions and are practicing within the legal description of the law especially if they are not an M.D. I, personally, would not consider going to anyone for medical treatment unless they were an M.D. A doctor of medicine has gone through intensive training and although they do make medical errors (they are human), that's why we have second opinions available. For the many who don't have health insurance, this can be a problem, but the out-of-pocket one pays to a trusted person can add up to be the cost of a health insurance plan -- don't be fooled. All I know is no one can be turned away for proper medical care anywhere in this country regardless of insurance.

It is a shame that this community depended on a man that "helped" the financial indigent but at the same time took advantage of the people holding hard, cold cash. The fact that he didn't charge some is nice but how about the insurance claims to Medicare that were not justified? If this is true, we all pay for this. Does anyone think Dik Brackett was just out to make a living?

In the eight years that I have been here I have seen and heard many professionals come and go in the medical field who have lost their license to practice for one reason or the other. As a community we need to support our fine hospital, St. Andrews, and the doctors who work so hard to provide us with excellent medical care.

Re: Channel 7 Telethon

Dear Editor:

Although it's taken a couple of weeks to get all the paperwork assembled and collated, get the checks in the bank and, generally, re-establish some sense of order in the studio, we didn't want to let another issue of the Register appear without offering a heartfelt public "thank you" to everyone who contributed to the success of our third annual fund-raising telethon.

We realize the list of individuals and businesses is too long to publish here, but to all of you who answered phones; manned the studio; installed and un-installed the auction items (not to mention taking time to make sure the winning bidders got their items); contributed food and drink to sustain our volunteers for 24 hours; appeared on the air to entertain, educate and enlighten viewers; hung up flyers all over town; made pledges and/or bid on auction items; donated auction items; offered financial support in the form of underwriting; grilled burgers and dogs; set up, filled, drained and hauled away the dunk tank (and who may have agreed to take a dip, to boot); participated in the walk-a-thon or the three-point shootout; or, any of the countless other tasks which contributed to making this event so successful, we say...THANK YOU!

Every one of us who was involved in planning and executing this year's telethon has been filled with awe and amazement at the way the myriad elements that were gathered to produce this show combined to create an atmosphere of goodwill, solidarity and wide-spread community support for our grass roots attempt to maintain a TV station that truly represents the best of our community.

It's not always pretty and it's not always up to network standards, but it's ours, and thanks to the generous support of everyone involved we can continue to make improvements in training, equipment and the quality and diversity of the programming we offer to our friends and neighbors in what is, truly, one of the most special communities to be found in these United States.

Nonsense on the 'Net

Dear Editor:

The Internet is just millions of different computers belonging to all types of people. We need to verify any "information" that we find there. A good example is a recent letter to this column about democracy and the Bush/Gore election. This "information" is just nonsense that has been going around the Internet for years.

There is no such person, "Alexander Tyler," who wrote any such statements about the "Athenian Republic." There is also no such professor, "Joseph Olson," who wrote any such statements about the Gore/Bush election. The so-called "fact" that the murder rate in Gore counties is six times that of the Bush counties is total nonsense. The Web site of the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data will show that the murder rates for both Gore and Bush counties are close to the national average of 5.2.

It is true that the Gore counties were more populated than those won by Bush. The original author of this nonsense is trying to get people to believe that populated counties (Gore counties) have horrible people who just want the government to do everything for them.

The Web site of the U.S. Census shows that the truth is just the opposite. The most recent year for statistics on who gets assistance is 1999. In metropolitan areas, 12.3 percent got some form of public assistance. In non-metropolitan areas, 16.2 percent got assistance. Therefore it is people in the less populated areas that more often ask for money from the government.

However, a much more important factor than where you live is your amount of education; 28.2 percent of those with less than four years of high school got public assistance, but only 5.0 percent of those with just one year of college got assistance.

It also isn't lazy horrible people in cities that are the cause of dictatorships. The overwhelming evidence is that the primary causes are lack of education and group hatred. These two factors are both quite evident in that previous letter to this column.

John Pankowicz

Boothbay Harbor

Cheers for volunteers!

Dear Editor:

We, at the Southport Memorial library, would like to thank the intrepid four from KeyBank who gave their afternoon last Thursday to volunteer at thee library.

Thanks to them the jungle in front of the children's room looks more like rhododendrons and the box full of donated audios, videos and CDs have pockets and cards and are on the shelves for your listening and viewing pleasure. New books received their plastic covers, the plants were watered and the children in grades Kindergarten through third had stories read to them.

This community service program is a great idea and we'd welcome the KeyBank volunteers back anytime. Thanks!

Linda Brewer

Librarian

Day of Peace

Dear Editor:

This Thursday, September 21, is the annual United Nations International Day of Peace, which will be celebrated worldwide as a day devoted to working towards a more peaceful co-existence with all peoples of the world and the environment.

Locally, several events will be held today Thursday, and community members and visitors are encouraged to participate. A Chalk For Peace will be held at 3 p.m. at the "Y" Teen Center where children of all ages are invited to graffiti artwork expressing their ideas on peace.

Due to its overwhelming global success, "An Inconvenient Truth," an award-winning documentary about global warming and the alarming state our planet is in will be shown for the second time this season at the Harbor Theatre at 7 p.m. The movie is not a political movie, but reaches across party lines and is an eye opener that will scare you about the planet's state and will make you wonder, what can I do to help?

One quick easy solution is to stop idling your car while waiting at the drive-up window, the Southport Bridge, picking your kids up at school, or warming your car up in the colder months. Just five minutes of idling one car a day wastes 30 gallons of gas and releases up to 300 pounds of CO2 into the ozone annually, and is also very bad for your engine components. Look for the Cool Community and Clean Air Zone initiatives to start soon in the Boothbay region, or call me at 633-5459 or 633-4443 to volunteer to help or find out more about the programs.

The day will end with a candlelight and drumming vigil on the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library lawn at 7 p.m.

For me personally, the U.N. International Day of Peace will be one of prayers that one day the global community will evolve into a sustainable culture that lives in peace and respects all the world's peoples and creatures. I hope that someday, the United Nations International Day of Peace is not calling for peaceful ends, but celebrates peaceful beginnings.

Please take a moment today to think about how we all can bring peace into our community, into our world, and to our planet and environment and join in our community's activities to observe this important day. If we all act with more stewardship towards humanity and the earth, together we can make a difference.

Laurie Knowlton

Saucy Contessa

Boothbay Harbor

Political signs

Dear Editor:

Driving along the highway recently I have observed political signs of candidate Bill Bailey. As I find them attractive, I question the legality of timing. The rules indicate that political signs can only be placed on public land six weeks before the election. I am aware signs can be placed on private land anytime at present, however the differentiation of lands that are private or public are determined in deeds, and land closest to the highway is in question. I hope Mr. Bailey has checked this out thoroughly and is adhering to the rules.

Sandra Rumery

Boothbay

In gratitude

Dear Editor:

We would like the public to know of the generosity of the Boothbay Fire Department. The Boothbay Region Senior Citizens Club was in danger of dissolving because of limited funding when the Boothbay Fire Department came to our rescue. They very graciously donated the use of their meeting room for our meetings and for this we say "thank you." Our first meeting at this facility will be on September 27 and we welcome all seniors.

Rosalie Hasenfus

Secretary

Boothbay Region Seniors