From the editor

Emotions

Wed, 06/13/2018 - 8:30am

I know I wrote being melancholy last week, but this week was a roller coaster of emotions.

Wednesday, after the paper had been sent to press, we learned that Dan Gagnon of Brunswick, who grew up here in the Boothbay region, had been found and that he had died by suicide. Our thoughts and prayers go to his family and friends.

The day after, NAMI Maine (National Alliance on Mental Illness) sent out a press release, explaining about suicide and offering contact information if you are concerned about someone with mental health issues. The Maine Crisis line is 1-800-568-1112. For more information about NAMI Maine's training and resources, call 1-800-464-5767 and press "1".

By Thursday night and all day Friday, the region was celebrating its high school graduates. Wiscasset Middle High School held its graduation ceremony Thursday night and Boothbay Region High School held its Awards Night that night, followed by Class Day, Graduation, the Grand March and the Project Graduation trip on Friday.

Then late Friday, it was learned that a 15-year-old girl, Isabelle Manahan,  who had just completed her freshman year at Lincoln Academy, was killed in a car accident in Edgecomb Friday afternoon. A celebration of Isabelle’s life will be held outside, on the banks of the Damariscotta River, at the Damariscotta River Association, 110 Belvedere Road in Damariscotta at 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 14.

Then there was the national and state news.

What was President Donald Trump going to do in Singapore when he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un? CBS News reported Tuesday that Trump called it a success — we’ll see.

The state primary was on Tuesday. Who were going to be the Democrat and Republican picks for Maine’s next governor, in the state’s first-ever ranked-choice voting? Is using ranked-choice voting a good method? Will we use it again – that was up for a vote, too.

On Wednesday morning, we were still waiting for the official word from the Boothbay Civic Association that its annual Fourth of July Celebration, which has been held for 31 years, has been canceled – at least for this year. An email received from a member of the BCA indicated that it was due to the lack of energetic (younger) volunteers and that because the holiday is on a Wednesday, the arts and crafts vendors wouldn’t be set up. Nonprofits were invited to set up that day but only one responded.

Let’s hope the coming week is less emotional.