Archive for ‘Opinion’

  • Small World: Two tales of winter

    By Henry Precht BN Columnist This past week witnessed two events that merit examination both from behind and from the front: the President’s State of the Union address and the Super Bowl. Let’s take the second first. The most impressive feature of the game for me was the enormous bulk and evident great strength of […]

  • Earth Notes: U.S. losing 40 acres per hour

      By Bob Casimiro Guest Columnist I wish to thank Sally Chappell for permitting me to be a guest columnist for Earth Notes. I wanted the opportunity to acknowledge the contributions made to the column by Ken Roy, who recently relocated to South Carolina. Ken and Diane put their 73-acre property in Center Lovell into […]

  • Small World: War as a way of life

    By Henry Precht BN Columnist Over 100 people were killed and another 150 badly wounded in a Taliban suicide attack in the Afghan capital Kabul last week. A terrible toll, but not surprising in one of the longest, deadliest, costliest wars the United States has ever engaged in. So far, the 16-year, undeclared conflict has […]

  • Small World: Life-shaping influences

    By Henry Precht BN Columnist Most of us, at least those of us with still-functioning memory cells, can recall those voices from the past whose warnings, instructions, or unique behavior are still with us, still working their effects. With some of us these influences are benign, but I suppose there are others who came under […]

  • The Black Side: A little more consideration, pleaser

    By Perri Black BN Columnist I heard that, in addition to the standard New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, get in shape, and save more money, this year many people were expressing the intention to “become a better person.” I’m not sure what has prompted this — perhaps the political situation, climate change, or any […]

  • Small World: Our president — a pre-mid-term peak

    By Henry Precht BN Columnist We’ve had a year of his leadership now and if we’re honest with ourselves, there is only one conclusion we can reach: The presidency of Donald Trump is bad for the United States. The foundation idea of this country is not too complicated. We learned it in high school civics […]

  • Small World: Another Iranian revolution? Nope

    By Henry Precht BN Columnist By the time you read this these words, street demonstrations against the Iranian regime may have run their course and everything that might be said or written about those events is on the record. Please, however, before a war with North Korea diverts your attention, give me a small moment […]

  • Online burn permit system should be safe, free, accessible

    By Doug Denico
 State Forester 
Director of the Maine Forest Service It may be difficult to appreciate the need for the Maine Legislature to address the online burn permit system in these cold and snowy months. Nevertheless, wildfires will reoccur in Maine with the start of spring. In fact, Maine averages 500 wildfires each year […]

  • Problems on Stevens Brook also faces lakes

    By Colin Holme LEA Assistant Director A recent water quality analysis of the Stevens Brook has described troubling findings. The town of Bridgton hired engineering firm Woodard and Curran to test for E.coli and optical brighteners along Stevens Brook, which revealed both of these pollutants in the stream. This has sparked public concern, and was […]

  • Earth Notes: Saving a Dam for a Change

      By Price Hutchins The removal of a dam in Maine is environmental progress. But in one case saving a dam in Lovell preserves our local environment. The recent engineering study completed by HEB Engineers of North Conway was thorough. You can find this survey on the Town of Lovell’s web page, www.lovellmaine.us. The survey […]