Dropping Out

Well, I was thoroughly trounced in the School Board race on Monday, and while I'd like to say it doesn't bother me, it does have a certain impact.  Losing is never something to relish, and I've experienced more than my fair share of losses over the years.  It's time for a change of course.

There is a lot to be learned from losing, and to be perfectly blunt I'm sick of the lessons.  It is clear at this point that running for office is a waste of my time.  It is a lot of hard work and it's not fun anymore, so I see no reason to continue on this fruitless path.  I doubt I will ever run for elected office again.

There are far better things that I should be doing.  If I weren't wasting time on these failed elections, I could probably write a lot more, or at least sleep easier at night.  So, I'm dropping out of the political pool.  I will leave the field to those more suited to the life, and more popular with the electorate.

It is good that I step aside now, before I am too worn down by political strife, for I could grow bitter and resentful were I to linger amongst the polls for too long, finding no victory in what I do.  For sure, I will find my fortune elsewhere, and I shall henceforth return to my writing exploits, where I truly shine.

In conclusion, I'd like to thank my supporters, as few and far between as they may be.  I am sorry I could not carry the day for you, and truly I hope you continue to support me in my non-political endeavors.  Remember, the winner in writing, as in politics, is not always the person with the best words or the right ideas, but the person with the most friends willing to campaign for them.  I have sadly been lacking in both fields for far too long.  It is time to redirect from the ballot box to the book rack.  Please, speak well of my published works, and grant me victory in the marketplace!

And remember, an Amazon.com review is a great stump speech for any book.  Visit my Amazon Author Page, and pick out one of my books to review!

Robbinston Votes Monday

This coming Monday, Robbinston will be holding town elections, and our annual town meeting, which addresses our annual town budget and other vital functions of local governance. It is a fairly straightforward procedure, and I don't expect a lot of controversy.

In past years, we've had lengthy debates over such controversial provisions as adding a locked gate to the school parking lot, and eliminating a street light. There was also the grand battle over the "early payer discount" for property taxpayers, which I waged for years on principle. I felt that those who saw fit to pay their taxes ahead of schedule deserved a 2% rebate, and there were a few years where this rate was approved. Before my efforts, the traditional rebate was 1.5%, so it wasn't such a big deal, and may have amounted to an extra thousand dollars for the town. This year, the rebate will likely end up being 1%, which is what it has been the last few years.

The only contested race this year is my own, for the School Board. I'm running against an incumbent who voted to close the school last summer, despite the overwhelming objection of the townspeople. Despite his actions, he still has a good chance of winning reelection, as he's shaped up in recent months and has a devoted block of supporters.

Hoping to drum up some last minute support, I've drafted the following letter, which I'm mailing out to a few people in town. My monetary situation is precarious at the moment, and I'm almost out of stamps, so I unfortunately can't send it out to everyone. I hope people will share this.


My Fellow Robbinston Residents,


I'm writing to let you know that I'll be running for the School Board this year, and I hope that you'll vote for me. I believe we have a good school here in town, and I'd like to see that it remains open, so our children can still be educated here in our own community. Growing up, I attended Robbinston Grade School, and I currently have 2 children there, so maintaining the school as a quality learning environment is vitally important to me.


My opponent for the board is Thomas Critchley, and while I'm sure he's a good man, we have had philosophical differences regarding the school. Last year, when our school was threatened with a funding problem, Mr. Critchley voted to close it, feeling our children could get a better education in Perry, Eastport, or Calais. It wasn't even a cost-savings measure, as the tuition we'd have to pay to send our kids to another school would exceed what we're paying to keep our hometown school open. Fortunately, the other two board members, with encouragement from the townspeople, voted to keep it open.


I know Mr. Critchley only wants the best education for Robbinston students, just as I do, but we clearly disagreed last year on where they'd get that best education.


I believe we need someone on the School Board who will not work to shut our school, but will work to keep it open and make sure it is the best place to teach our kids. That is why I'm running, to assure that we have another voice on the board that will advocate for the continued existence of our school, and fight to make it better. That may be tough at times, with limited resources and restrictive government mandates that often undermine rural communities, but I'm prepared to tackle whatever gets thrown our way.


I hope you will stop by Robbinston Grade School on March 26th to give me your vote, and encourage others to do the same.


Sincerely,






Martin T. Ingham

Forest of the Fall (Minstrel Mondays)

I've been busy this past week, so it's time to bring out a hunk of poetry from the grooveyard of forgotten favorites!



Trimble Mountain Summit (Left)
As viewed from my front yard
October 1997



Here's something I wrote ten years ago, reminiscing about the walks I used to take into the woods behind my home.  Trimble Mountain used to be covered with farms back in the 1800's, but it's now an unpopulated forest, with some cellar holes and a few relics of civilization around.  Some recent logging activity and 4-wheelers have changed the landscape up there since those days when I adventured into the wilderness, so the wilderness of my childhood memories has been lost to me.  Oh, well; everything changes.

For many an afternoon in my young life

I spent time away from all others.

Seeking solitude among a great forest,

old trees overshadowing ancient roads,

long overgrown with grass and molds.

A century had passed before my birth

since human life had flourished

in this fallow soil.

And I know as I walk these forgotten roads

that once proud farmers plowed these fields

and toiled honestly for their meals.

An amber leaf of an autumn maple

falls upon my hand

as I walk this row which once housed homes.

The abandoned homesteads

of this forgotten wilderness,

lifetimes ago, they bustled with life,

agricultural might,

but now they are lost,

forever silent,

only cellar holes remain.

The hillside I climb to reach the relics

of a forgotten farmer's pride.

The phantom image of once plowed fields

flashes over my eyes.

Yet those ghosts of the hills

are replaced by truthful chills,

that fields are gone forever,

consumed by the forest of the fall.

When School Boards Attack

On June 1^st, my little town of Robbinston had an important school board meeting.  Word was, they were going to close our grade school, which currently educates our K-8 kids.  Thankfully, that potential tragedy was averted, but it took 3 hours of debate and citizen outrage before the decision was finally made to keep the school running and begin budgeting.

After the meeting, I wrote the following letter that was published by local papers:

The latest Robbinston School Board meeting was certainly spirited.  Though, that's bound to happen when the school is threatened with closure.  I'm glad to say we avoided that unsightly circumstance, and that our little school will continue to give our kids a quality education in the coming year.

The harsh reality is, Robbinston property taxes will be going up, but this is not because our School Board decided to keep the school open.  In fact, it would actually cost several thousand dollars more in tuition to send our kids to another school, not to mention the cost of either maintaining or bulldozing the existing school building after we closed it.  The State mandated us to raise more money for the school this year (courtesy of School District Consolidation).  So, we're looking at a 7 mill property tax increase, no matter what.

The big question many of you may have is, if it'll cost less to keep the school open, why was the School Board proposing that we close it?  Well, they technically weren't.  They wanted to put it out to referendum, and let the voters decide, though that was a very risky thing considering the common perception that closing the school would somehow save money.  It wouldn't, and we'd be throwing away our local control if we ever did abolish our school.

We elected our School Board to make tough decisions, and that is what they did.  While they came into the meeting poised to send the closure referendum out to the voters, they heard the cry of the people in attendance, saw reason, and did their jobs.  The board eventually voted 2-1 to keep the school running and begin the next year's budget. 

When it comes down to it, the School Board had no desire to close our school.  Rather, they decided to use the threat of closure as a terror tactic, to get people's attention.  The board wanted to educate the voters about the ultimate costs involved with educating our children, and let them know they'll be paying either way.

Putting school closure on the ballot would have been a risky gamble, and I'm glad they recanted from it.  The Robbinston Grade School really is the core of our community, one of the last remaining pieces of infrastructure our town has.  To discard it would be foolhardy and devastating to the future of our community.

In the Cold of the Night

The last few weeks have been pretty noisy in my neck of the woods. Some loggers have been cutting trees in the middle of the night, revving and roaring with the tree-cutting machinery (not chainsaws, those are just too old fashioned). While it's nice to hear that people are working, especially in these tough economic times, it gets to be a bit much when a team of guys shows up at 2AM to start cutting wood a quarter of a mile from your house.

Yes, all you city people are probably laughing right now. "Noise? You think you've got noise from a few logging trucks? Look out my window, man!" I can understand that some places never sleep, and the sounds of the city at night are equally, if not more, raucous than these loggers, but that's one reason I don't live in a city. I like my peace and quiet, and would rather not have heavy machinery being run at midnight.

There are no noise ordnances in Robbinston (to my knowledge), so people can do pretty much whatever they want. I'm sure if you started making too much of a racket, a State Trooper might show up, but not if you're doing something legitimate, like clear-cutting a wood lot. So, until these folks are done, I'll just have to listen to the engines all night.

Nighttime noise is not something you generally have in a rural Maine town, though I recall a neighbor who used to turn on his headlights and target practice at odd hours. Though, I don't mind the gunfire that much, for it is generally brief. You get two or three shots, and then silence, not constant "rummmmmm-rawww-clunk-rummmm-ratttle-rattle-rummmm!"

At 19 years old,
I was a wood-cuttin' man!

I am not some tree hugger who hates loggers. I've cut plenty of trees over the years, and appreciate the hard work that's involved with this necessary vocation. However, I simply can't stand these ridiculous hours! It'll be nice when these particular loggers are done with my neighbor's wood lot. Then I'll be able to get some sleep again.