To the citizens of Boothbay Harbor:

I am writing to you from St. Ignace, Michigan (pop. 3000) to tell you how your town inspired me and our area to recognize our fishermen.

While I was visiting my son in Old Orchard Beach, we drove over to Boothbay Harbor, and while driving around, happened on the overlook of the bay and your monument to drowned fishermen. I thought what a good thing you've done. I felt our people should do the same.

Mackinac County (pop. 10,000) has a long history of fishing as it is located on two of the Great Lakes - Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. I personally could think of 10 fishermen who had drowned, and research found 25, one dating back to the 1800s.

A committee of seven, mostly fishermen, was formed who discovered there was a great deal of enthusiasm and support for the project. Without any money or plan, both were acquired, and the monument was in place on the waterfront of St. Ignace within seven months.

Shirley Bentgen

St. Ignace, Michigan

Dear Editor:

Congratulations to the Boothbay Region Land Trust for the great outing on Saturday at the Oven's Mouth East trail.

There was an open fire surrounded by kids and adults cooking hot dogs on sticks, a simmering pot of beans, hot cider, cookies and brownies and an ongoing logging demonstration. This involved a team of draft horses hauling logs out of the woods to a large band saw, which immediately sawed them into planks.

With the sun shining, a crowd of half adults and half kids (and a couple of dogs), it was the kind of scene Norman Rockwell used to paint for Saturday Evening Post covers. If you remember those, you're as old as I am.

Jerry St. Clair

Boothbay Harbor

Dear Editor:

I'm writing to thank everyone "in this great community of ours," who supported "The Old Time Opry" this past Saturday night. Wow! Once again it was sold out. I'd like to thank the Opera House and staff for all their preparation, and the volunteers for another wonderful job.

Thanks to all the sponsors (you know who you are) who really helped make this show possible.

Thanks to all the outstanding talent we have in this community that spent their time and efforts to put together such a pleasurable show. Thanks again to Mark and Bonnie Stover for having us into their home to practice the month of January. It was fun!

Thanks to the Silver Fox Country Dancers for kickin' up their heels. Good job!

Once again I'm always amazed to see such fantastic support for all our local talent. I'm proud to be part of this community. Hope to see you next year!

Noel Arrington, Director

Old Time Opry

Dear Editor:

Thanks to all the caucus goers that came to the combined Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor and Southport caucus at the American Legion Post this past Sunday. A record-setting 300 people braved the weather and endured the slowed caucus procedures to take part in an energetic and historic event. Passions were at a fever pitch as citizens spoke on behalf of presidential candidates, but some of the greatest applause came when some speakers echoed the view that either Clinton or Obama were gifted candidates worthy of support.

While the lines were long and the delays were frustrating to all, we were dealing with a historically stupendous caucus throughout the state. The previous state-wide Democratic caucus attendance record of 17,000 was shattered by a whopping 45,000 in attendance on Sunday!

We apologize for the long procedural delays and appreciated the patience of those present. We will insist that on presidential election years, the caucus program be restructured to allow presidential voting to be one of the very first things we do to allow for an expedited event.

Dear Editor:

We, the 2008 youth summit planning committee, would like to publicly thank the Boothbay Region YMCA and the many community members and organizations that contributed to the success of this our third summit.

This was a student-planned event that met all our expectations. The YMCA graciously hosted our day's activities. Everyone from our role model panel, our volunteers, and our network fair participants were wonderful.

The role model panel was inspirational and was a great way to celebrate the important community members who help all of us become more resilient, healthy individuals. Over 32 organizations took time out of their busy schedules to share information and opportunities with us and to support us. The volunteers provided us snacks and lunch, helped us stay on schedule, and helped cleanup. The summit was truly a community event.

There are many 'asset champions' in this region and the youth are very fortunate recipients of their caring efforts. Thank you again.

The 2008 Youth

Summit committee BRES & BRHS students