Dear Editor:

BRAVO! "A Hollywood Holiday" was a great success because of the team of hardworking Boothbay Region High School seniors who committed their time and energy to put on a great show. Thank you, seniors!

But we must also give great credit to wonderful parents and teachers who were so generous with their talents and resources. Thanks to your efforts, the show raised over $400 for the Boothbay Region Student Aid Fund. For a Friday night, just before Christmas break--with other school activities being held--I'm thrilled with the results!

Special thanks go to: The Army/Navy Surplus Store for allowing us to borrow vintage pieces. They looked so great! Thanks to BRHS art teacher Manon Lewis for use of her room, her paint and encouragement. Thank you to Mary Miller who was helpful with providing the venue, lights and costumes. We truly appreciate it! To Paul Noah—we owe a big hand, for finding critical set pieces and for being our "go to" guy. Also, to Anne Barker, who spearheaded this whole project and whose masterful fingers were able to accompany our voices. We couldn't have done it without you. And finally, a big thank you to this wonderful community for your wonderful support.

If you missed the show, don't despair! You can still catch the legendary performances by purchasing a DVD of the production for $10. Contact Soren Barker at 633-1019.

Dear Editor:

The parade of boats last Sunday, January 6, in honor of the late Eric Hodgdon, fisherman, Boothbay selectman and beloved father and husband, was a truly spectacular and moving sight.

It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon. Thirty-four boats, led by Billy Sherman's "Lively Lady" carrying the Hodgdon family, wove a stately procession around the inner harbor. As a long-time summer resident, I have never felt so connected to this wonderful community. "This is the best of Booth-bay," Eric's good friend Sereno Brown said.

I am proud to be related to the Hodgdon family as the mother of Eric's son-in-law, Jonathan.

Ellen Baldwin

Capitol Island

Dear Editor:

Under the outstanding direction and musical support of Kjirsten (KJ) Barker and Anne Barker, seven remarkable Boothbay Region High School seniors - Soren Barker, Julie Higgins, Leah Hodder-Romano, Devin Mellor, Lexa Panagore, Kim Reed and Max Weiss - volunteered their time, endless energy and talent to put on what I thought was an incredibly well thought out and wonderfully choreographed program - and all to benefit the Student Aid Fund. The acting and singing abilities of these students is well above the norm of what you might expect from high schoolers and it was worth every penny of the $10 suggested donation to watch them perform.

As the mom of one of these multi-talented kids and a huge fan of all the others, I can tell you that more than just a few hours of rehearsing and set design was spent preparing for this fantastic montage of three of the most popular movies ever made - "The Wizard of Oz," "Singing in the Rain" and "White Christmas." The audience was obviously entertained as they laughed and applauded loudly at the individual skits and scene stealers.

It's too bad that more people couldn't have seen this Hollywood holiday production, but unfortunately it fell on the same night as an away game for the boys, a home game for the girls, and the start of the holiday break. If you didn't see this - you really missed something special. Hollywood should look out for this group! Bravo to you all!

Dear Editor:

Mary Brewer hits the nail on the head in her editorial, "Keep your eye on the ball (Augusta)" when she labeled consolidation as a "poorly conceived law."

The problem goes back decades (centuries?) ago when it was decided to give part of the money to operate the schools to the state and then ask them to give it back. That alone gives the state control of our schools.

Remember the Golden Rule: them that has the gold rules. If we really want to have control of our schools we will take the state out of the loop and keep our school money at home. Then, if two or more of our school districts want to get together and share some facilities and/or operations (like busing) to save money, they can do so.

The state should set some standards that education should meet, but no more than that. This would give us the ultimate in Local Control. So long as someone else has the purse strings we can not have true local control.

Don Hirsch

West Boothbay Harbor

Dear Editor:

The sixth annual Boothbay Region YMCA Penguin Plunge was very successful. Eighteen people participated and through the generosity of many donors raised $1,500. These funds will be used to offer scholarships to children for swim lessons at the YMCA.

The YMCA would like to thank the major sponsor, the Knickerbocker Group, the Boothbay Fire Department for setting up the heated tent, Tim Pinkham for being on duty in the water with a dry suit, and the Boothbay Region Ambulance Service.

We thank all the plungers, all the people who donated money, and the spectators who turned out to cheer everyone on. A special thanks to the Boothbay Register for all the fine articles publicizing this event and to the Boothbay Region Cable TV Channel 7 for filming the Penguin Plunge.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the seventh Annual Penguin Plunge on January 1, 2009!