Owing to an inadvertent but brief expiration of my poetic license, the line “And the same for the Steves – Kress and Spencer and White” should have been followed by “With their puffins, parks, paeans of sea-keeping delight” in a purported poem attributable to me on the back page of December’s Working Waterfront.
Anyone waiting for the other half of that exquisitely metrical dangling couplet to drop may now sigh with relief.
By the way, what are “humphs”? Any relation to the lark at break of day ascending, singing hymfs at heaven’s gate?
Happy New Year!
Ed Myers
Damariscotta
Inaccuracies
To the editor,
Once again I am writing to correct mis-information regarding Matinicus in your paper.
In the story “Matinicus: Nearly Crime-Free, Definitely Cop-Free” there are several inaccuracies, most of which I have called you (or your predecessors) to task for before.
First: Sheriff Davey has been to the island on several occasions. Most of them however were at the beginning of his reign as sheriff. The most recent one, a couple of years ago, at the request of the Board of Assessors (of which I was a member at the time), and in company with the County Commissioners, [was] to resolve questions of law enforcement (and the lack thereof) on Matinicus.
Second: He did have a deputy on the island for a while. But, as I stated the last time this issue came up in your paper, he left the island not because of his being a deputy but because of a previously demonstrated complete inability to get along with his neighbors; not only on Matinicus but in several widely separated areas of the country.
Third: The claim against the sheriff’s office resulting from that deputy had nothing to do with his chaining the suspect to a pole in his basement and had everything to do with the deputy pistol-whipping the suspect to the tune of 17 stitches in his scalp.
Fourth: There are more than occasional burglaries on Matinicus and almost all of them get reported; mostly for insurance purposes as everyone knows that the KCSD will only put in minimal effort to solve them. Besides, even if they get solved the DA and the judges will do little or nothing to the perpetrators regardless of their police records.
While there is a (small) group that doesn’t want a law enforcement presence on Matinicus for their own reasons, most residents and non-resident landowners, want the same thing that mainland residents want, a criminal justice system that works. The key word being system. We want a Sheriff’s Department that responds in a timely fashion, investigates crimes at least as diligently as on the mainland. We want a District Attorney who prosecutes the offenders (especially the repeat offenders) vigorously and does not go for the quick cure of a plea bargain to a much lower crime (again, especially the repeat offenders). And we want judges who impose meaningful sentences, which are not postponed to be served at the convenience of the offenders, which has all too often been the case in the past.
While it is true that getting a deputy to Matinicus can be a problem under certain circumstances, immediate response is seldom needed and people would understand if the KCSD doesn’t send a deputy to investigate a burglary until weather and other transportation considerations are met. What is unacceptable is it taking 4 hours to respond to a stabbing, which happened, in the not too distant past.
Sheriff Davey and the KCSD have been held in pretty low esteem for many years by the residents of Matinicus: to the point that Sheriff Davey was unable to win an election out here in which he was unopposed; out of 24 votes cast, one was for an island resident and 12 were for ‘anyone else’.
Also, my wife, Wanda Philbrook, who is quoted in the article, specifically asked your reporter not to use her name; not that we are afraid of payback but because we don’t want to be associated with an inaccurate quote or with being quoted out of context, a problem we have had in the past.
In closing I would like to say that I cannot believe that I am still correcting some of this information more than 12 years after the event and after I have done so on at least one occasion to this very paper. As I believe I said then, ‘…if you can’t get the facts straight just don’t run anything about Matinicus’.
Clayton L. Philbrook
Matinicus
Just tidying up the beach, officer
To the editor:
Your desire to receive news only of Maine islands is understandable but I have sent a number of stories from Working Waterfront/Inter-Island News to the Isles of Scilly off the southwest tip of England and I thought you may be interested in a story comparable to Steve Cartwright’s “Matinicus: Nearly Crime Free, Definitely Cop-Free”(Dec-Jan).
The Isles of Scilly are known, among other things, for their history of shipwrecks, including some notable New Englanders such as the GRANITE STATE, which sank in 1895, and the THOMAS W. LAWSON, lost in 1907. Just once in a lifetime there’s a “God-send,” a wreck that deposits usable and sometimes valuable cargo from which residents can benefit.
Such an event was the loss of the CITA, a 312-foot container ship of 3083 tonnes, run foul of the rock March 26, 1997. All seven crew members were saved, six by St. Mary’s lifeboat and one by helicopter. The ship’s containers, 187 in all, held a wide assortment of goods, and many broke away and came ashore. Products ranged from computers to plastic supermarket bags; automobile tires to children’s clothing.
The normal complement for law enforcement on the five inhabited islands – population about 3,000 – comprises a police sergeant and one constable, two special constables, a customs officer and a coastguard. Unfortunately the latter two had retired only days before and had not been replaced.
Police did their best to maintain law and order, to a degree. They handed out Coastguard salvage report forms to would-be salvors, but were surprised later to find so many returns made out in the name of the owner of the island of Tresco, the only privately owned island in the group. One of the special constables was seen interviewing a local councilman he had known for years as if he was a complete stranger. All the time the councilman continued to stack automobile tires, saying he was just trying to tidy up the beach. The regular constable was heard to declare he would book anyone he found the following week with bald tires on their vehicles.
Women worked valiantly laundering salvaged children’s clothing, most of which went to needy children in Romania. The only problem, there were so many washing machines running on St. Mary’s, the largest of the islands, the local power supply voltage was pulled down from 240 to 200 volts, causing much concern.
On April 8, whilst recovery options for the wreck were still being discussed, the CITA broke in two, the two parts sliding side by side into 145 feet of water, positioning themselves near the wreck of the S.S. LADY CHARLOTTE, which went down in the same spot May 14, 1917.
Thomas B. Bamford
Northport
Open up your lines!
To the editor:
Sometimes living on an island can make everyday life a little more difficult. A couple of years ago when I first went on-line with my business, I hooked up with the local phone company (TDS Telecom) for my internet service because they have their own internet services and won’t let any other provider access their lines. The service was $30 for 30 hours a month. Their competition was in the low $20s for unlimited service. The service was terrible and useless for a business. If you can’t keep a connection how can you keep your customers? I chose to go with another Maine company, paying them a provider fee and paying TDS a long distance fee just to get off the island. This has run into hundreds of dollars some months but I need reliable service and have no choice.
So here we are, Christmas of 2001. I buy my family a new computer with the promise that we would get on-line (the old one never got on line) after all. The talk was TDS service had improved. So I call TDS and talk to someone about getting hooked up. The new rate is $24.95 for 40 hours a month, $1 an hour after 40. I grumble and think to myself, three school kids and two adults, how long will 40 hours last? OK, hook me up. “Would you like to pay with a credit card or be billed sir,” the lady politely asked. “Bill me,” I answered, “I had a bad experience giving my credit card number to a company that helped themselves every time they thought they deserved it,” I explained. OK sir, we’ll bill you but that will be another $20. “Why is that” I asked. “Because I have to.” “Oh,” is my equally brilliant answer. Losing sight of all logic I say no thank you, good bye and hang up.
Here we are, no service without paying TDS one way or another. That’s the story. Here is the complaint. TDS being the sole owner of the only phone lines to these islands is now allowing any other provider access to their lines, forcing us to either buy their internet service or buy their long distance service. Win/win for them.
It seems to me that doesn’t make TDS a good neighbor. TDS, stop treating us like second-rate citizens, just because you have us where it hurts doesn’t mean you have to take advantage of us. Support the community that supports you. Our children and businesses would like every advantage to be able to compete as the next town would.
I urge you, TDS, to open up your lines to the world for us. I am sure you will still make a profit.
Les Ranquist, Underwater Taxi
Swan’s Island
Too much!
To the editor:
I guess my reaction was due to a cumulative influence.
Earlier in the day while at the post office, a couple I did not recognize came in saying “Oh how cute” as they marveled at the sparseness and lack of electronic scales and gizmos that define the Orr’s Island Post Office. The couple then asked our Postmaster for a padded envelope so they could “send back their old license plates by mail.”
Prior to my visit to the post office, I had driven by yet another building site where an existing home in which a friend had spent her youth, had been jacked up, a new foundation poured, the home then set down and razed, so that a new house could be built on the old footprint.
Upon arriving home I found a questionnaire from the Town of Harpswell asking my opinion on pedestrian safety along our roadways, and discussing a plan to pave shoulders and put in sidewalks. It was just too much for one day!
Sure, we’re connected to the mainland by bridges, I’m even a highlander transplant, but I have a profound appreciation for the lifestyle we have here, and a deep respect for those who make a living on the water. I do not want to see the value of property get so high that homes that have been in fishing families for generations get sold off! I do not want a modest proposal of sidewalks to send us the way of Boothbay Harbor.
A week ago I helped a 22-year-old man replace a prop shaft bearing in his first “real” boat. He had worked each season, saving and upgrading from a row boat to a skiff, with which he hauled by hand, to a center console with an automatic hauler, and finally to a 30-foot Canadian boat in need of a major repairs.
This, in my opinion, is what Island life is all about. It is a lifestyle that is clearly endangered, and faces extinction should the sidewalks and the “view homes” be permitted to proceed unchallenged…
I want to preserve for not only my children, but theirs, the working waterfront and the way of life we have here. Any suggestions, information, or strategies would be greatly appreciated.
Sean N. Hall
Orr’s Island
Stuart Pimm, please
To the editor:
I was pleased to see Philip Conkling’s very positive review of Stuart Pimm’s new book “The World According to Pimm,” but he changed the author’s name to David Pimm, who may or may not exist. Perhaps you would like to print a correction in the next issue.
Lois A. Levin
Waban, MA
(Done, and thank you. – ed.)
Iodine-tinged
To the editor:
I’m sure that I am not the first person to point this out but it just jumped outat me that WWF-IIN is filling the niche vacated when Maine Coast Fisherman went national. I took the latter sheet for years but gave up when they diluted the focus. Dud Sinker retired and they lost the local touch. Even “Perc Sane” couldn’t keep me on board. But now with the SUNBEAM news and Ted Spurling taking the place of the late lamented “Lighthouse Letter,” I feel I’m getting the real smell of the coast – that salty, iodine-tinged sniff.
Thanks lots and congratulations on a run well made.
John T. Weeks
Hanover, New Hampshire
Good job!
To the editor:
I just wanted to say that I am from Maine but have lived in Massachusetts for the past 30 years and I called my Mom today (Dec. 1, 2001) and she told me about the story of Ambrose Alley in the Waterfront. I am Amby’s sister. I thought I would check to see if I could find it on the computer to read the story. I did and I just wanted you to know it was a great story. It’s a tough job being a fisherman as I have seen it while living on Vinalhaven with a Dad and four brothers, all fishermen. I give each and every one of them my respect for what they do. To me, fishermen have the hardest jobs.
I have a couple [copies] of the Island Journal and want you to know it’s a wonderful magazine. Keep up the good work.
I love reading about Vinalhaven and its people.
Good job again.
Carol Sullivan
Worcester, MA