Letters to the editor

To the editor:
Merry Christmas. What does that mean to so many? Apparently nothing; hence Happy Holidays. For myself and a few others I know, it means our Savior was born and that makes it a time of true celebration for us.     Gifts? The wise men brought Jesus gifts. Certainly none that would compare with the gift of salvation Jesus would give us. So we give tokens (gifts) to each other as a symbol of our love for each other. But we do that at Christmas time.
Now I look around and there seems to be very few stores or restaurants celebrating Christmas, only “holidays.” So this year I have decided to do my gift giving a bit differently. I am going to try and give gifts that come from the heart and not from stores that only sell holiday things.
Is the holiday New Year’s? That’s the only “holiday” that I can think of at this time.
Anyhow, for myself, and I hope for other believers, the most important gift will be the telling of the birth of Jesus Christ and why He was born. Any other gift is but a token. So maybe I should be thanking those who don’t want to hear Merry Christmas spoken. It has made me appreciate the true meaning of Christmas just that much more.
God has already blessed each of us with His most precious gift: His son. His gift is yours for the receiving, but it is your choice. I pray that you choose wisely. Merry Christmas.

To the editor:
There’s no denying that the economic downturn in this country has hurt everyone — from the retirees who try to get by on fixed incomes to the largest companies in the U.S. The price of petroleum has drastically affected the cost of transportation, food, electricity and everything we need and use on a daily basis. Thousands of people are losing their jobs and homes; and businesses – small and large – are closing at an astonishing rate. In rural communities such as Aroostook County, we are far more susceptible than our urban neighbors because of our distance from major markets and the balance of supply and demand as it is applied to pricing of products. Our future depends on working together through these difficult times and supporting each through the times ahead.
I have owned the Caribou and Presque Isle Inn and Convention Centers for many years and have made valuable contributions to the community through my ability to provide quality food, accommodations, and facility space for businesses, tourists and the local community. Many times over the years I have donated facility space and provided discounted food and room rates for various non-profits and other organizations and I have been happy to accommodate worthy causes and support our local community whenever possible. I have always kept my pricing for the services I provide reasonable, however as you can imagine, the state of the economy has had a major negative impact on my businesses.
I am writing this letter today because there have been many occasions, both recently and in the past, that local, regional and statewide organizations have contacted my facilities to request “special” or reduced room rate accommodations for their conference participants when the conferences are being held at other locations (mainly state or other government-funded facilities). The Caribou or Presque Isle Inn and Convention Centers could easily host these events however in most cases these groups have never even inquired about pricing for conference room rentals or catering.
These organizations are choosing to hold these events at state or federally-funded facilities that can offer lower prices making it impossible for me to compete for their business. This is having a significant negative impact on my businesses. This is like a double whammy when people ask for a discount on a room but hold the functions elsewhere. A package discount on rooms with the function may not turn out to be any more costly than the way they are doing it now and hurting all of us.
In closing, I would like you to consider the additional dollars my businesses bring into our communities. I pay over $150,000 in annual property taxes, not to mention an annual payroll of over $1.8 million that is spent by local staff in the community we are trying to build and sustain. Losing business to government-funded institutions will ultimately require me to lay off staff having a broader negative impact on the community.
My guests shop locally, buy fuel and enjoy our many amenities while here. If their conference or function space is being financed through government entities, it takes business away from taxpayers like myself who struggle to keep their business alive and profitable. If just one private business in our community loses patrons as a result; in time, that business may close affecting jobs, residents, taxes and amenities that sustain both our local community and the many tourists that come our way each year.

To the editor:
You make the difference, and we invite you to join us. Our mission is to build a world-class Children’s Discovery Museum for all children and families from near and far to enjoy. It will serve the needs of children, families and schools as a center for learning and discovery. With your help, we will make our dream a reality.
The Caribou Children’s Discovery Museum will encourage children’s desire e to explore and learn, promote positive family interactions, contribute to success in school, and pave the way for a life-long interest in cultural experiences. The exhibitions will draw thousands of visitors to Aroostook County, and build the Caribou Children’s Discovery Museum’s reputation as a popular tourist destination, contributing to the region’s cultural vitality and tourism industry. Help us provide a discovery museum and exhibits that will provoke curiosity and imagination — that will offer opportunities to explore, investigate and create in the arts, sciences and humanities. Museum guests will be inspired by the hands-on interactive environment that surrounds them and internally motivated to discover more about it. In this way, learning becomes fun and helps to develop a love for lifelong learning. The new Museum will be a place for families to gather and share experiences — a destination place for the County.
The new Museum will be a one-story, 10,000 square foot center with at least 15 indoor and outdoor learning environments that stimulate curiosity and discovery through play. Parents and caregivers can share moments of wonder with their children, away from the distractions of everyday life. Your help is essential to the success of this worthy community project. No children’s museum is to be found for more than 170 miles.
Census data shows that Aroostook County alone has more than 12,000 children under the age of 12. The Children’s Discovery Museum is about the future. When a community makes a bold commitment to create a children’s museum, it is opening its hands to hold and nurture their future: those future leaders, engineers, doctors, scientists, farmers, artists, teachers, and dreamers who are today’s children. The Caribou Children’s Discovery Museum will be a place of possibilities and promise, the very heart of the County. There is no better investment than in our children.
We appreciate all our volunteers – CCDM has been supported by a consortium of citizens from all over Aroostook County.
In response to a letter written by Mr. Wilfred Martin in the Aroostook Republican on Dec. 10, where he states that CCDM is being pushed by outsiders – one “outsider,” I assume is me – I lived in Caribou for 42 years. I don’t think that makes me an “outsider.” I am really hurt by that statement.
As far as the other comment that we got a few “lame brain locals to help push their agenda.” Our dedicated volunteers who have given thousands of hours toward making this family place a reality consist of professionals who have doctorates, masters and bachelors degrees – far from being “lame brain.” We also have received numerous donations from people from all over the Untied States, and have had positive results from several grants to date.
I feel really badly that Mr. Martin has chosen the Caribou Children’s Discovery Museum as a target of his unhappiness about taxation and the economy. He has never talked to me or attended any of our meetings. I would more than welcome him to attend. We need as many volunteers as we can get to make the Children’s Discovery Museum a reality. What keeps all of us dedicated to this project is the look on the hundreds of children faces that have come to our events that we have sponsored so far – one 8-year-old boy from Houlton who sang in our recent “Kounty Kids Got Talent” show stated when asked why he came all the way from Houlton to participate in this fund-raiser, stated, “I want to help however I can to build the discovery museum.”
Hasn’t Caribou’s theme for many years been, “Caribou Cares About Kids?” Let’s live that saying. We need your help to work together to make the Children’s Discovery Museum a reality. Please join us. We meet on the second Thursday evening of every month at 6:30 p.m. at NMDC. Our next fund-raiser is the Chocolate Festival to be held at the Caribou Recreation Center on Saturday, Feb. 14 from 10 a.m. to 3 pm. Thank you and have a wonderful holiday season.