Here’s a look at what some members of our online audience had to say about stories in the news this week.
Readers were quick to praise the efforts of all those involved in rescuing a woman after she fell down a bank of the Androscoggin River in Mexico Tuesday.
Susan Byram of Mexico summed it up nicely when she wrote, “So grateful to have such a fine group of dedicated people. Great job Walmart, police, fire and MedCare. Can’t imagine what it must have been like for that poor lady wondering if she would be found. Great job people. Thank You!”
A Tuesday story about Gov. Paul LePage’s decision to revamp a proposal that would create a new state agency aimed at streamlining government grabbed several pointed comments.
“Nothing says streamlining government like adding more bureaucracy,” wrote Jason Theriault of Auburn.
As always, letters to the editor fetched numerous comments online this week, including one by Kathy Burnham of Greene who wrote to urge police to do something about cars speeding down her road. Worried about the safety of her son Burnham wrote, ” While I realize that the police may not have manpower enough to be a constant presence, I feel that something more needs to be done to curb the speeding before another tragedy occurs.”
Online reader Brad Alexander, now stationed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, shared this story, “When I was stationed in Virginia I saw a news article, relatively similar to this. A 10-year-old boy wrote to his local news agency and had the same song and dance. So he got himself a child’s version of a radar gun ($60-$80) used for kids sports.
He sat in a chair in his yard and clocked the people going down his street. Even though it’s not a, “certified” radar gun the people still slowed down, and the boy took down the plate numbers of speeders. The local police ACTUALLY backed the kid up and gave people warnings for speeding.”
A Sunday Sun Journal editorial argued crime fears in Maine and the increase in those seeking concealed firearms permits were unjustified by the state’s crime statistics, which show Maine to be the safest place in the nation.
The piece elicited more than two dozen comments, including a response from Andrew Jones of Auburn who wrote, in part, “Guns aren’t the problem, people are. Leaving your gun out where a child can get at it is stupid. Having one pointed at yourself or others while it is loaded is stupid . . .”
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Some comments have been edited for length, punctuation and spelling.
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