Dear Editor,
Please consider the message of this letter carefully,
considering it is something more personal than you might think, and may have a
substantial impact on your everyday life. This letter is written by students
from Windham Middle School who care about where our water comes from and making
sure that it is safe for our town. To keep our waters clean, there are ways
that you can help.
As you may already know, soil is Maine’s top water
pollutant. In addition, road care products, such as salt and sand, also have an
immense impact on the cleanliness of our drinking water. The road mix gets
washed away into our water every year, and the only way to prevent this is to
use less salt and sand on our roads. We cannot change the fact that these
products are necessary, but we can change the methods we use to clean up the
remnants.
While these pollutants have a huge effect on our water
quality, they are not the only problem. Simple things like trash, soap and lawn
care products have a negative impact as well. We need to start watching out for
not only our own waste, but also, each other’s. Picking up trash or planting
erosion buffers can make a huge difference protecting our water sources.
Conservation of Windham’s water is also critical. There
are a few methods you can use to conserve: Shut off the sink while brushing
your teeth, when not rinsing off in the shower turn off the knob, use a
dishwasher if you have one instead of hand washing, scrape your dishes clean
instead of rinsing, choose energy saving appliances, turn hose off when not
directly using it, take a shower instead of a bath, use rain barrels to collect
roof water or plant a rain garden.
If we all get on board, we will be able to protect our
water for future generations to come. Our WMS (Windham Middle School) team has
been collaborating with Portland Water District’s classroom program. We took
part in a campus clean-up day and we also were taught by a guest from
Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation. Our team designed brochures to
educate the public and in May will be placing a rain barrel on campus and
painting storm drains. It is our intention that these projects will help to
build school and community awareness. The rain barrels will conserve roof water
and keep bad pollutants from reaching watersheds throughout Windham. The
painted storm drains will bring more attention to the matter and persuade
citizens to keep from throwing items down the drains.
We thank you for putting thought to this issue and taking
action to support the quality and conservation of Windham’s water!
Sincerely,
Monica Agneta, Destiny Potter, and Camille Culpovich
Windham Middle School Triple Team 7
Dear Editor,
There is a
group of people in Maine who frequently go unnoticed and underappreciated. They
are the 178,000 unpaid caregivers who provide assistance to family members or
friends who can no longer take care of themselves.
As a caregiver myself, I want to thank Senator Collins
for working to address caregiving through the reintroduction of the Recognize,
Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act. AARP
has also endorsed this important legislation and is grateful to Senator Collins
for her efforts to work on a bipartisan basis to support family
caregivers. Most of us are, have been, or will be a family caregiver. Or
we will need help to live independently ourselves, making this is an ageless
and nonpartisan issue.
The RAISE Family Caregivers Act would require the
development of a national strategy to support family caregivers. The bill would
create an advisory body, to bring together relevant federal agencies and others
from the private and public sectors to advise and make recommendations. The
strategy would identify specific actions that government, communities,
providers, employers, and others can take to recognize and support family
caregivers and be updated annually.
By
supporting family caregivers, we can help people stay at home where they want
to be, helping to delay or prevent more costly nursing home care and
unnecessary hospitalizations, and saving taxpayer dollars. AARP appreciates
Senator Collins’ bipartisan leadership and is committed to working to pass the
RAISE Family Caregivers Act this year.
Sue
Hawes, AARP Maine Volunteer
Portland,
Maine
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