Good luck to the class of 2016. You were babies when this country was attacked by radicals back in 2001 and you and those older than you have learned to live not so much in fear but in a cautious…

Work hard and you’ll achieve great things. That has been the message our young people have been taught for generations, and it’s no different this year for the class of 2016 as they officially…

Next Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. will be 12 of the most important hours in Wiscasset’s foreseeable future.

The arguments raised both for and against each of the Maine Department of…

Yee hah! The unofficial start of summer is here. According to (somebody?), Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer — sunshine, shorts, cold beverages, relaxing on the deck or the beach, and…

Why, in the next meeting after yet another vote barring Wiscasset firefighters from washing their cars at the station, would selectmen require direct deposit for firefighters?

I get the…

It’s the time of the year when many young people will be celebrating their own graduation, or that of friends. For some, it’s the end of their formal education, while for others, they are a step…

What does Memorial Day mean to you? To me, it is a time to reflect on my freedom and to remember those who fought in foreign lands to protect our freedom. Some of those fighters sacrificed their…

Some folks just aren’t cut out to be criminals, or so it would appear. We may be wrong, but we always felt to be successful at it, you have to try to outwit law enforcement. Most fail, but you…

Two business representatives from Boothbay Harbor have written a press release this week asking for help in identifying spaces where downtown employees can secure parking during the busy summer…

Sometimes, it’s difficult to follow the rules of etiquette your mother taught you.  You do your best, but occasionally, you stray. Of late, we’ve found ourselves…

While spring has taken its time in coming this year, with crossed fingers we’re all hoping warmer weather may be on its way — an added incentive to turn to outdoor…

For a town rich in opinions and concerns, Wiscasset is in an interesting boat: The June 14 ballot will have more openings than nominees for selectman and the school and budget committees. So few…

Spring is in the air, or so we like to think, and we’re all looking forward to spending more time out of doors. For some, it’s time to stoke up the grill, soak up …

I don't want to be a firefighter.

And I probably wouldn't be good at it.

Most people aren't firefighters, because of the physical, time and training demands, and the risk of dying or…

My week started with a little bit of stress (personal cell phone died with all my phone numbers), then, as Monday arrived, got even more stressful. By Wednesday morning, the stress level had…

Nearly every day, we watch refugees from one Mideast country or another, be it Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan or Eritrea, trying to escape their war-torn communities and…

Most of us don’t think often about state troopers. After all, we usually don’t see them every day in our own local communities, and we take it for granted that we…

The 2016 Major League baseball season is barely a week old and already the Boston and Portland sports radio personalities are calling for Red Sox Manager John…

What a wonderful NCAA men's basketball championship game on Monday night! It was great to see the tournament end with one of the best college basketball games I've ever seen (remember Duke winning…

It’s a wonder we’re all alive, if we’ve taken any prescription drugs. Can you believe the attorneys’ advertisements encouraging those who have taken one medication…

We learned this week that what we know about Maine’s unorganized territories would fit on a pin head. Our former superintendent of schools and noted Maine history…

The following quote has been attributed to the famous martial artist and actor Bruce Lee: "If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you'll never get it done."

I agree. Every week I…

We agree with this week's decision by the Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor Community School District School Committee to allow Wiscasset high school students to participate on the Boothbay Region High…

We all need safe drinking water to survive, and often take its availability for granted. Once in a while, however, we’re reminded what happens when we can’t easily…

Walking is good for you but not enough people do it on a regular basis.

Whenever we go to Target or Walmart, or to any "big box" store, all the parking spaces closest to the building are…

We applaud Maine Department of Transportation’s proposals for downtown Wiscasset. If you missed the news, MDOT has offered to spend up to $4 million to $5 million on traffic improvements.

…

As caucuses and primaries continue throughout the country, predictions of record turnouts are holding true.  Voters are showing they fully intend to exercise their…

The public service campaign, “It’s 11 o’clock. Do you know where your children are?” asked parents a serious question that should still be asked today. But like so many other ads and PSA’s over…

We’ll be perfectly honest up front: We hate snakes, even if they do play some sort of role in the environmental scheme of things.  We’ve never oohed or aahed over a…

The ongoing fight between the FBI and Apple has folks taking sides as to whether or not the FBI should be able to access the iPhone records of the late Syed Farook…

Writing this week’s piece on Wiscasset’s new harbor master Preston Dunning, we thought about noting that, as a lifelong Wiscasset resident, a Wiscasset High grad and ambulance service volunteer,…

We’ve found ourselves a bit envious of our neighboring New Hampshire residents of late. Why? They get to personally meet — or at least see and hear — most of the…

At any municipal meeting, things get talked about that are on the agenda and, quite often, ones that are not.

It might happen during the public comment portion most panels provide at one end…

It’s time for some trash talk. While winter isn’t over, we’ve had a lot of bare ground this year and the view out the car window of our roadsides isn’t pretty.…

Halleluja! Old Man Winter has traveled south and north of us this year. And Punxsutawny Phil is predicting an early spring.

Either my memory is going or I just can't remember a winter like…

One of the most routine parts of a Wiscasset School Committee meeting comes when policies are passed. They can be boiler plate and numerous, especially due to the newness of the school department…

A television news item last week, as well as recent written articles, got our attention since it was all about seaweed, something with which all Maine folks, and…

Death is not a topic of everyday conversation, though it is inevitable. As a music fan of the '60s and '70s, death has struck us rock fans hard so far in 2016. Two rock heavyweights have left us:…

With all of the important issues facing Maine folks, we couldn’t help but be a little disgusted when we learned recently that the Legislature’s Government Oversight…

The number of deaths due to drug overdoses for the first nine months of 2015, as recently released by Maine Attorney General Janet T. Mills and the Office of the…

Thirty-one of the region’s talented young Y-arts performers will be on their way to Atlanta this weekend to take part in the 11th annual Junior Theater Festival.…

There was only one advantage to being out of work with the flu on Monday; the newspaper paginators left me with only this amount of space for an editorial.

It is just enough space to thank…

After unbelievably beautiful autumn weather, winter finally arrived shortly after Christmas, only a week later than its official calendar date. Here on the Maine…

Through the wonder of technology, I was able to work at home on Tuesday. Getting through my second week with a cold, I didn't want to spread any more germs to my co-workers, managed to get a…

We’re sure Edgecomb selectmen weren’t at all surprised when Maine Department of Transportation state traffic engineer Steve Landry told them on December 21 that…

Tying any big change to a calendar date seems arbitrary enough to doom it, but we figured if people can have New Year’s resolutions, why not towns.

Here are some for 2016:

Wiscasset,…

While there are probably a couple of exceptions, most of you have your Christmas shopping all done, and are busy making plans for Christmas Eve, Christmas morning,…

For some reason, the fast, fun toboggan ride down the hill of our backyard 40 years ago almost didn't seem worth the substantial trek back up through the snow to do it all again.

That was…

We know many Maine residents make day trips to the Boothbay peninsula in the summer, but in December? Who would believe it? Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens has…

Having been involved as a player, fan, coach, fan (again) and reporter at Boothbay vs. Wiscasset boys basketball games since about 1971, it has been interesting to see how the "rivalry" has…