It first hit me Sunday morning driving to the Dover-Foxcroft Fire Station. Temperatures dropped that morning to the point my Sport Trac was a little frosty. With the windshield defroster turned on, I began to think about the possibility of having to unearth my winter coat.
I didn’t want to do it. Heck, fall just started, didn’t it? I mean, the summer didn’t officially begin until mid-August or something like that and fall wasn’t supposed to be this short. I know I’ve had the heater on in the house a few times and installed a few heat-shrink plastic window kits in the house, but I just kept telling myself I was preparing for the that cold, post-fall season. It couldn’t be here already, could it?
When I went to grab the morning paper off the porch Monday morning and felt a cold chill rush down my spine, that’s when I knew it was inevitable. Fall seems to be coming to an end and the winter jacket was going to make it’s return.
Now I’m not the type of guy that will defy logic and wear shorts as long as I can like some people, or swear they will not wear a jacket to protest the cooling temperatures. I’ve seen people do that before, and it just seems to end them getting knocked out by a nasty cold. Nah, I’ll swallow my pride and reach for the Carhartts instead.
The weather forecast for the end of the week is calling for nighttime lows to drop below freezing and daytime highs edging close to 50 if not eclipsing it by a degree or two. Toss in those cold fall rains like we had on Tuesday and it’s that time of year where a good Saturday afternoon involves a seat on the couch, a blanket and a full day of college football or Season 4 of “How I Met Your Mother” (I’m hooked, what can I say?).
The thing is — and I hate to say this — but it could be worse. Family and friends back home in Wisconsin have reported traces of that dreaded white, fluffy stuff already. Nothing is sticking yet, I’m told, but that’s not that far away anymore either.
Oh wait, trees in Greenville have already been covered in snow and there were reports Tuesday of it falling with the rain in the Penquis region.
I guess the winter jacket is here to stay. Now, what did I do with my gloves?
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Texting ban to save us from ourselves
There are laws on the books for a wide variety of things. While many are much-needed and well-enforced, there are some that just make you go, “Wait, they had to make that a law?”
Case in point, President Barack Obama created a mandate that federal employees cannot write text messages while driving a vehicle. That’s on top of the bill considered by the Senate to ban texting while driving nationwide.
Every society has to create “common sense laws,” laws that everyone should know is wrong to do but have to be on the books anyway for the few that need to be protected from themselves. The text message ban falls into this category.
Driving isn’t the most difficult of tasks to complete, but most people nowadays are multi-taskers — me included. The idea of just chilling out in a driver’s seat and watching the open road come and go isn’t as mentally challenging as, say, writing a column while watching Sunday NFL pregame shows and reading stories on the Internet about Saturday’s college football games, but that doesn’t mean drivers should be playing with the radio while eating and texting family and friends about their every move. It’s not only foolish; it’s dangerous.
According to a national survey conducted by Ford Motor Co. and presented to the Senate in September, 86 percent of licensed U.S. drivers called handheld texting while driving as “very dangerous,” with 93 percent supporting a nationwide ban on texting. Also in the study, which was published in the U.S. News and World Report, research showed distractions that take drivers’ eyes away from the road for an extended period of time were a factor in nearly 80 percent of accidents.
I’d like to think we’d all say “Well, duh!” and stop text messaging people when we get into the driver’s seat of a car. There’s enough on the road to keep your eyes on, like other cars, deer, moose, and with winter coming, slick roads and snowbanks. If you want to text a friend, here’s three novel concepts: call them, pull over and text them or just put the phone down and wait.
It seems foolish at this time that the Senate needs to spend time creating a nationwide texting ban when there’s bigger issues, like health care reform, taxes, war, climate change and reduced government spending, that our elected federal officials should be focusing on instead. That said, sometimes we just have to be saved from ourselves.
Case in point, President Barack Obama created a mandate that federal employees cannot write text messages while driving a vehicle. That’s on top of the bill considered by the Senate to ban texting while driving nationwide.
Every society has to create “common sense laws,” laws that everyone should know is wrong to do but have to be on the books anyway for the few that need to be protected from themselves. The text message ban falls into this category.
Driving isn’t the most difficult of tasks to complete, but most people nowadays are multi-taskers — me included. The idea of just chilling out in a driver’s seat and watching the open road come and go isn’t as mentally challenging as, say, writing a column while watching Sunday NFL pregame shows and reading stories on the Internet about Saturday’s college football games, but that doesn’t mean drivers should be playing with the radio while eating and texting family and friends about their every move. It’s not only foolish; it’s dangerous.
According to a national survey conducted by Ford Motor Co. and presented to the Senate in September, 86 percent of licensed U.S. drivers called handheld texting while driving as “very dangerous,” with 93 percent supporting a nationwide ban on texting. Also in the study, which was published in the U.S. News and World Report, research showed distractions that take drivers’ eyes away from the road for an extended period of time were a factor in nearly 80 percent of accidents.
I’d like to think we’d all say “Well, duh!” and stop text messaging people when we get into the driver’s seat of a car. There’s enough on the road to keep your eyes on, like other cars, deer, moose, and with winter coming, slick roads and snowbanks. If you want to text a friend, here’s three novel concepts: call them, pull over and text them or just put the phone down and wait.
It seems foolish at this time that the Senate needs to spend time creating a nationwide texting ban when there’s bigger issues, like health care reform, taxes, war, climate change and reduced government spending, that our elected federal officials should be focusing on instead. That said, sometimes we just have to be saved from ourselves.
Elections, holidays loom large on the horizon
Yet another month on the 2009 calendar is coming to a close. October is here, bringing with it pumpkins and Halloween, some of the most magnificent reds, oranges and yellows as the Piscataquis woods change colors, and the two things no one wants to truly think about quite yet.
Elections and Christmas.
Yep, that’s right. I just linked the birth of Christ with something most Americans tend to avoid more often than bill collectors and root canals. That is, unless it’s a presidential or gubernatorial election, and luckily 2009 is not one of those years.
I may have just managed to get my name inked on two lists you don’t want to be on.
It’s true though. Election Day 2009 is coming up, and with it is a whole host of decisions that need to be made on a local and statewide level. Locally, residents in SAD 4 need to determine whether to close their final two elementary schools and consolidate resources into just Piscataquis Community Middle and High schools.
Come to think about it, the way the state’s running out of money and the way small, rural districts are getting hammered in this economic storm, how long will it be before one-room school houses become chic again?
Statewide, there’s a whole host of issues that are already polluting the airwaves. There are seven ballot measures for voters to choose from this year, from the repeal of gay marriage to the legalization of marijuana, from repealing the school consolidation law and to the reduction of automotive excise taxes, and there’s also the promotion of tax relief. All five of these topics The Piscataquis Observer will tackle in the coming weeks.
There are also two questions seeking approval for $71 million in bonds and for more time in seeking signatures on direct initiative petitions. Again, more to come in the coming weeks.
No matter how November 3 turns out, there will still be the two camps in our state that will have widely different takes on the outcome. The backlash and back and forth will carry us straight to Thanksgiving, and from there it’s a snowball’s throw to Christmas.
Speaking of November 3, that is Election Day. Even with this non-gubernatorial or -presidential election, go out and exercise your right to vote. It’s not just here to pick governors and presidents that we’ll all debate and scream about for the four years that follow. It’s about selecting town council members and selectmen, about deciding local issues and doing your part in this republic. OK, I’ll step off the ledge I call my soapbox now.
Now after the winds of school consolidation, gay marriage and taxes blow through and get people all wound up like that first cold October breeze, we can all get ready for Christmas, with all the stress and headaches that go along with it. Christmas is supposed to be about family, being together and enjoying each other’s company.
Oh yeah, and our Lord Baby Jesus being born. I can’t forget that or I will definitely be left off that list.
So here’s hoping for the best from now until New Year’s. We all deserve a peaceful and productive final quarter of 2009.
That way we can get ready for the gubernatorial race in 2010. There are 21 people currently listed as candidates vying for our state’s top spot, according to WMTW-TV 8 in Portland. That’ll surely be coupled with a half-dozen citizen initiatives on who knows what else.
Somehow I get the sense that Santa just put my name in permanent marker on his list for saying that. Well, at least the coal’ll be good for heating the home this winter.
Elections and Christmas.
Yep, that’s right. I just linked the birth of Christ with something most Americans tend to avoid more often than bill collectors and root canals. That is, unless it’s a presidential or gubernatorial election, and luckily 2009 is not one of those years.
I may have just managed to get my name inked on two lists you don’t want to be on.
It’s true though. Election Day 2009 is coming up, and with it is a whole host of decisions that need to be made on a local and statewide level. Locally, residents in SAD 4 need to determine whether to close their final two elementary schools and consolidate resources into just Piscataquis Community Middle and High schools.
Come to think about it, the way the state’s running out of money and the way small, rural districts are getting hammered in this economic storm, how long will it be before one-room school houses become chic again?
Statewide, there’s a whole host of issues that are already polluting the airwaves. There are seven ballot measures for voters to choose from this year, from the repeal of gay marriage to the legalization of marijuana, from repealing the school consolidation law and to the reduction of automotive excise taxes, and there’s also the promotion of tax relief. All five of these topics The Piscataquis Observer will tackle in the coming weeks.
There are also two questions seeking approval for $71 million in bonds and for more time in seeking signatures on direct initiative petitions. Again, more to come in the coming weeks.
No matter how November 3 turns out, there will still be the two camps in our state that will have widely different takes on the outcome. The backlash and back and forth will carry us straight to Thanksgiving, and from there it’s a snowball’s throw to Christmas.
Speaking of November 3, that is Election Day. Even with this non-gubernatorial or -presidential election, go out and exercise your right to vote. It’s not just here to pick governors and presidents that we’ll all debate and scream about for the four years that follow. It’s about selecting town council members and selectmen, about deciding local issues and doing your part in this republic. OK, I’ll step off the ledge I call my soapbox now.
Now after the winds of school consolidation, gay marriage and taxes blow through and get people all wound up like that first cold October breeze, we can all get ready for Christmas, with all the stress and headaches that go along with it. Christmas is supposed to be about family, being together and enjoying each other’s company.
Oh yeah, and our Lord Baby Jesus being born. I can’t forget that or I will definitely be left off that list.
So here’s hoping for the best from now until New Year’s. We all deserve a peaceful and productive final quarter of 2009.
That way we can get ready for the gubernatorial race in 2010. There are 21 people currently listed as candidates vying for our state’s top spot, according to WMTW-TV 8 in Portland. That’ll surely be coupled with a half-dozen citizen initiatives on who knows what else.
Somehow I get the sense that Santa just put my name in permanent marker on his list for saying that. Well, at least the coal’ll be good for heating the home this winter.
First blaze hits home for rookie firefighter
DOVER-FOXCROFT — When I was told a few months back that the Dover-Foxcroft Fire Department could use some help, I balked at the idea that I could make it on the department. For one, I live an hour away in Old Town. Two, I know nothing about fighting fires except what I saw in the TV show Rescue Me and the movie Backdraft.
The fact that I worked in Dover-Foxcroft meant I was eligible to join, and the department was looking for daytime help so my lack of skills would be offset by some training in the near future. All that the department was looking for was those who were willing and able to give it a try.
So most of my fire training was basically tied to my TV habits and a few parties in my high school years that included some pretty sizable wood piles.
Neither of those two really helped out much Friday when the pager went off at 9:45 a.m., the first time I was on hand to be called out for a fire in Dover-Foxcroft. All those thoughts of those high school burns and TV shows went right out the window as I raced to the fire station, hopped into my turn-out gear and jumped into the first truck headed to the Dyer residence on the Dexter Road.
I wasn’t naïve to think I would jump right in on my first fire call with little training and be on the front lines to save a home like that. There are plenty of firefighters from other stations in neighboring towns on scene to help fight that fire. In the end, my first fire call pretty much involved me spending more time watching those trained to fight fires do their job until the fire was put out. I got to help later on work through the home and make sure it wouldn’t flare up again, but the immediate action of fighting the fire was left to the seasoned volunteers from Dover-Foxcroft, Dexter, Sangerville and Guilford.
The thing I got from Friday’s incident was the impact such a disaster can have on the family. I saw the raw emotion that was visible on the faces of those who called it home once. It was heart-wrenching to see that, because you never want to see a family have to go through something like that.
Backdraft didn’t teach me about the emotional side of a fire call, but it’s one that has become a huge motivating factor for me. It drives me now more than ever to get my act together, get trained and become a valued member of the fire department.
Well, there’s that and the fact that Rescue Me does make it seem pretty cool to be a firefighter, and you can’t go wrong with that either.
The fact that I worked in Dover-Foxcroft meant I was eligible to join, and the department was looking for daytime help so my lack of skills would be offset by some training in the near future. All that the department was looking for was those who were willing and able to give it a try.
So most of my fire training was basically tied to my TV habits and a few parties in my high school years that included some pretty sizable wood piles.
Neither of those two really helped out much Friday when the pager went off at 9:45 a.m., the first time I was on hand to be called out for a fire in Dover-Foxcroft. All those thoughts of those high school burns and TV shows went right out the window as I raced to the fire station, hopped into my turn-out gear and jumped into the first truck headed to the Dyer residence on the Dexter Road.
I wasn’t naïve to think I would jump right in on my first fire call with little training and be on the front lines to save a home like that. There are plenty of firefighters from other stations in neighboring towns on scene to help fight that fire. In the end, my first fire call pretty much involved me spending more time watching those trained to fight fires do their job until the fire was put out. I got to help later on work through the home and make sure it wouldn’t flare up again, but the immediate action of fighting the fire was left to the seasoned volunteers from Dover-Foxcroft, Dexter, Sangerville and Guilford.
The thing I got from Friday’s incident was the impact such a disaster can have on the family. I saw the raw emotion that was visible on the faces of those who called it home once. It was heart-wrenching to see that, because you never want to see a family have to go through something like that.
Backdraft didn’t teach me about the emotional side of a fire call, but it’s one that has become a huge motivating factor for me. It drives me now more than ever to get my act together, get trained and become a valued member of the fire department.
Well, there’s that and the fact that Rescue Me does make it seem pretty cool to be a firefighter, and you can’t go wrong with that either.
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