I was excited to see you had an article on Sir Harry Oakes in the Piscataquis Observer. When I was a teenager living on East Dover Road, my house was directly across the road from the lot where they were building his mausoleum. We watched with interest when they built the foundation.

The current administration was warned of the potential pandemic exactly like we are experiencing now. This pandemic has been predicted for years by the health professionals in this country and around the world including the World Health Organization (WHO). 

As the pandemic has unfolded, we have seen plenty from the executive branch. Gov. Janet Mills has exercised her emergency powers to undertake countless actions. Statewide closures and rural reopenings capture most of the headlines, but she has issued 40 executive orders since March 18.

As you research you will likely come upon situations that, for want of a better word, will trigger what I call the “ick” or “yuck” factor -- that is, things done commonly in the past found unacceptable, questionable or downright creepy today. Here are some examples.

There is a safe and secure way to act. Call the Maine Secretary of State election office at 207-634-7736 to ask for an absentee ballot (or if you have the Internet use your search function for “Maine State absentee ballot”). I urge you to request your mail-in ballot now. Absentee ballots must be returned to your municipal clerk by 8 p.m. on election day, July 14.

Secretary of State Matt Dunlap recently said that “unless something radically changes,” he doesn't expect Maine wouldn’t see a “major change” in the conduct of the July election.

On April 23, I published a plan for reopening Maine, outlining several steps for our economic recovery, including reopening rural counties first, looking to similar states like South Dakota.

On Tuesday, the Mills administration announced that gyms, fitness centers and (for some reason) nail salons would not be able to open up on June 1, as had been the plan, but would instead need to wait longer before they could reopen their indoor facilities to customers. The reason? Science, of course.

The state’s economy has fallen off the edge of a cliff. The only question is how far the fall will be.

Sen. Paul Davis represents District 4, and he recently published a joint letter with Reps. Higgins, Stearns and Foster about reopening the Penquis region. In response, my mother, who is immunocompromised, wrote him about her concerns of pushing ahead too quickly against the advice of medical experts. My mother received a reply, telling her to stay safe, but that “people are hungry” and “need to get back to work.” This very typical response fails to address key issues.

Maine is blessed with pristine vistas where souls can find their quiet repose and reflection. The soothing sounds of nature, while rejuvenating, prove to us that in the silence of the forest it is nearly impossible, even in the whisper of the wind and the chirp of the chickadee, to find complete silence. And yet, Rep. Jared Golden has managed to achieve the impossible.

While this global pandemic has already consumed many of our nation’s largest cities, as the recent Bangor Daily News OpEd “Coronavirus pandemic is exacerbating a rural access crisis” highlights, what has been overlooked is the profound and potentially irreversible effect of this crisis on rural communities around the nation.

The teaming frustrations aired by protesters demanding removal of restrictions to our daily lives due to the highly contagious COVID-19 virus is frightening. Why one would even consider endangering my life and yours by not following simple directions from our elected officials to promote safety?

This letter is in regards to a situation years ago when I first met then Cpl. Paul Davis of the Maine State Police, and now running for re-election in Senate District 4, Piscataquis County.

I am the daughter of a Maine public school teacher, so I know firsthand how important the work of Maine teachers is and the many challenges they have to overcome every day. Right now, our teachers and students are rising to meet an even greater challenge - adapting to distance learning amid this dangerous COVID-19 pandemic.

Mainers have always sought comfort in the great outdoors. We are a community of weekend warriors -- coastal explorers, peak baggers, backcountry hunters, and island-hopping sea kayakers. Our outdoor pursuits often define us, and they help to give shape and meaning to our lives.

With all the uncertainty and safety concerns surrounding the coronavirus outbreak, would you consider voting by mail in the July 14 primary election, using an absentee ballot? Imagine the satisfaction of having time to consider the issues, ask and research questions and vote from home.

Just a year ago, the BDN ran a pair of OpEds where I sketched three big resilience challenges facing Maine woods tourism: changing climate, changing markets and changing general economic conditions. The second piece highlighted farsighted initiatives by the Maine Woods Consortium and Northern Outdoors, anticipating and adapting to shocks and uncertainties.