They said it couldn’t be done

To the editor:
    I’m one of the driving forces behind Aroostook Football’s effort to create a football facility for our area’s youth. I’ve been at this task since 2000. When the idea was first proposed, THEY said nothing like it had ever been done here and it just couldn’t be done.  But then the Cole family came forward and graciously donated 11 acres of land just off Highway One for the project. Still, THEY said it just couldn’t be done.
    However, Tom Griffin and Ross McQuade spent a fair bit of time trekking over the site, outlining what was required and how it needed to be approached in order to level the area for play. Then Janet Packard gave an initial plan for the field and Dick Engels took it to the Zoning Board of Appeals for approval. And THEY still said it couldn’t be done.
    That didn’t prevent Gary Giggey and Sharon Campbell from lobbying the Maine National Guard to provide the earthwork for construction of the field. The war in Iraq didn’t stop the Maine National Guard from committing to provide the necessary earthwork and transportation of light poles for the field. And John Michalowski still donated the architectural drawings for a future locker room facility, while Frank Pytlak provided preliminary drawings for a combination storage/bathroom facility (which the good people at Northern Maine Community College took and developed into appropriate drafting drawings for that structure). But THEY persisted in saying it couldn’t be done.
    Not to be deterred, the Presque Isle Rotary Club came forward on three separate occasions and provided money for goal posts, money for bleachers and a pledge to make the field project its “special project” for the annual auction this year. James Dee LaPointe offered his services to fabricate goal posts and support structures for a scoreboard out of steel he obtained at a discount. Then Mike Kelley Sr., from TD Banknorth offered money to obtain a state-of-the-art scoreboard; Dave Ayotte from Nevco (the premier scoreboard manufacturer) offered a bargain rate for that board. And THEY still said it couldn’t be done.
    So Carl Flora and the folks out at the Loring Development Authority provided eight poles on which to mount field lights. Tim Doak and the people of B.R. Smith Associates came aboard and provided surveying work, field designs, electrical and plumbing plans, all the work for every permit required from the state of Maine and coordination services none of the people from Aroostook Football knew how to perform. But THEY persisted in saying it couldn’t be done.
    So Carl Soderberg of Soderberg Construction and Tim Ring from Lane Construction offered an access road and parking area for an incredible bargain price. Lance and Greg Smith brought their equipment to the site and disced the field even as the Maine National Guard geared up to bring over 300 men and women to the area to do all the earthwork for the project. Kevin Tompkins offered to provide plumbing services for the price of materials and Steve Ayotte (from Madawaska) offered to organize a group to come down and provide electrical services for the price of materials. And THEY kept saying it just couldn’t be done.
    Then Tom Griffin offered to put in a septic system for the cost of materials and Scott Estey offered a discount on the cost of a well. Gervais Fencing offered a price break on part of the fencing and Larry Good offered to organize a group of parents to install all the fencing. Bruce Daigle offered to do all the grass installation for the cost of materials. Yet, THEY still said this just couldn’t be done.
    AroostaCast offered a price break on the large cement foundations for the light poles. Bub Anderson from County Electric offered to come out next year and go up and properly aim the lights once they were installed. Kevin Pelletier offered his services on a large crane to help take the poles down at Loring and put them back up at the site. But THEY kept saying it couldn’t be done.
    Lynwood Winslow offered to find a machine to screen the topsoil as the Maine National Guard moved it around. Our Board members stepped up and offered to donate $100,000 to make the numbers on the project manageable. Randy Wilcox of AIG stepped up and offered long-term financial support for the field. Milt and Derik Smith from KFC offered further financial support. Sean Martin from Apex Lighting provided discounted light fixtures for the field, technical assistance on the project and engineering reports on the impact of the lights on the surrounding neighborhood. Columbia Forest Products loaned the use of the sound meter they use to comply with OSHA noise standards to measure the noise impact of the project on the surrounding neighborhood. And still THEY said it couldn’t be done.
    Finally, about 70 concerned citizens gave up an evening to attend a meeting of the Presque Isle Zoning Board of Appeals in order to show how important this project was to them and their children. And Frank Bemis squeezed in time from his busy law practice to try to represent the interests of the project. But a pair of neighbors complained that, even if it was a wonderful project, this field shouldn’t be in “their backyard”; and, without even being willing to consider information that would have demonstrated that perceived objections to the project were not problems at all, the Chairman, Mr. Larry Perry, and Board members David Perry and Zachary Powers (in a 3-2 vote) said it couldn’t be done. And they were right!
    Along the way, in trying to make this football facility a reality, I was continuously in awe of the goodness and generosity of so many people who really didn’t seem to have any personal stake in the outcome of this project. Just about every problem we faced led to a kind person or group of people ready and eager to lend a hand with money, labor, materials and expertise. It really did reaffirm my belief in the fundamental goodness of humanity.
    I now cling to this and try very hard not to let a few selfish, shortsighted, unreasonable individuals destroy it. My anger and frustration will fade with time. What won’t fade is the fact that our kids won’t have a facility in which to play football and our community, despite so many great individuals’ kindnesses, will have an undeserved reputation for being anti-kid and anti-football. That truly is a shame.