Post Offices: A Recycling Idea

This is a quick and easy to implement idea for any post office. All you need are two boxes or plastic bins, one with a ‘Magazine’ label, and one with a ‘Catalog’ label. Post a notice about what you are doing.

When customers are done with their magazines and catalogs, they can put them into the appropriate bins. Customers are also allowed to go through each bin and choose whatever magazines and catalogs that they would like to read. When they are done, they can put them back into the bins and choose new (to them) ones.

Be sure to mention to customers that they should be sure to black out any personal information on the covers or ordering pages.

Shannon

Medical Identity Theft

Maine has more than its fair share of problems right now, economically. With all of the business closings, and more and more people out of work each month, it can be real tough to get by.

I wonder if there is any way in which we could really prevent this type of identity theft from happening here. What steps could be taken? Maybe photographs on medical cards? Or a photograph in the computer at each necessary office?

Pennie over at the Empty Nest blog had an post that is of interest to all of us on her blog on January 8th. It refers to medical identity theft, and tells us the basic events regarding her 6 year old granddaughter. You can read the blog here: http://empty-nest.contentquake.com/2009/01/08/medical-identity-theft/#comment-5544.

 

I thought that this was important enough to pass along to everyone. I couldn’t afford to pay off medical debts placed upon me in this way, and I don’t think that anyone else could either.

 

Shannon

Money Problems in Maine

Have you noticed that more and more Maine residents are needing help financially each year? This year has been especially bad. More people need fuel assistance. More people are going to food cupboards. More people are in need of other types of assistance.

Where are the jobs? I do not have a set-in-stone answer for this. I have noticed that more and more businesses are closing, but I have also seen, at one store in Bangor, a checkout line that is run by a computer. This means that there is no cashier. One is not necessary.

So, my question is, why would we have such a thing when there are so many people out of work? Someone could be feeding their family if they had the job that the computer in that store has.

If you think about it, there are a great many jobs in our beautiful state of Maine that computers could be doing. What would happen if those businesses switched to using computers instead of people? We would have more and more people who would be unable to pay their bills and purchase food for their families.

What we need are more jobs that are going to stay, versus new stores opening and then being forced to close. Why don’t we create new jobs that are going to last?

I believe that we should be concentrating on training and hiring people for jobs ‘of the future’ now. We are already there. We need jobs dealing with the use and maintenance of alternative energies and environmental issues. These are important.

I also believe that we should be bringing back the home crafts. We should be selling more home produced products, such as furniture, clothing, quilts, home canned goods, candles, soaps and more. Baskets are another good idea, and these are just the tip of the ice burg. Maine could be profiting from the home manufacture of these and other products.

I do believe that farming is an important aspect of Maine. I love the Farmer’s Markets. This is an important industry in that it is better for our environment than is bringing in products from other states and countries.

Maine people need jobs. I know people who have worked for years, and who have lost jobs that they cannot replaced. Welfare mothers who are willing and want to work, but who cannot get jobs, even though they have gone to school and have a lot of previous work experience. Then the welfare department punishes them because they are trying to find jobs but can’t.

Something has to be done. We need to consider the future of Maine, and begin to create jobs for this future.

Shannon

Fuel Assistance and Morals

On October 6th, I had an appointment to sign up for fuel assistance. I do not do this often. In fact, I have only done this twice in my life, when my daughters were just little girls. They are now 18 and 16. Not that I wouldn’t have qualified the other years, but I just knew that there were people who needed more than I did.

At any rate, this has not been a good year for me financially. We are getting through it, but we need a little help. I’m not sure if I have been approved yet, but I likely will be.

I was disappointed to learn, while filling out the paper work, that my oil company was not participating in the fuel assistance program. I had thought that all of the companies did, but I was obviously wrong.

I have decided that, come spring, I will be leaving my oil company and switching to Morin Fuel. I spoke to someone at Morin Fuel this morning, and he says that they will set me up with an account when I call them again, and they will accept the fuel assistance. Becausethey are willing to do this for me, I will be switching to their company for good when my contract is up with the other company.

I am disappointed that the company that I have been using for the last six years does not care enough about their community to accept the fuel assistance. I have to wonder why all oil companies have not signed the contracts with Penquis to do this.

To me, community is very important. When people are in need, it should be the community who takes care of them.

I think that it should be mandatory for all fuel companies to contract with Penquis to accept fuel assistance. It is a necessary program for so many people.

Shannon

Maine: State Wide Health Insurance

While I do not know how to work out a plan like this, I think that it would be beneficial for Maine to break free from the current health care crisis and come up with their own program. The plan would be for everyone, not just those who could afford it. Low-income. High-income. Everything in between.

Regardless of the many comments that I have heard about how not everyone deserves the best of care (low-income people are the undeserving, as far as I can gather from quite a few people), I do believe whole-heartedly that health care is a right and not a privilege. It is a sad thing when people stop caring about whether or not people get to be healthy.

As I said above, I do not know how to come up with the details for a state-wide health care plan. However, I do have a heart, and I do care about what happens to everyone. Each and every person in the world deserves the best health care.

What should this plan include for all Mainers?

• Doctors and nurses, all hospital and nursing home needs.
• Mental health.
• Specialists.
• Eye care.
• Dental care.
• And anything else that comes up having to do with the medical field.

Health care should not be a business. It should be accessible to everyone. (My opinion, not everyone has to agree.)

As should prescriptions. I recently learned that MaineCare will not even pay for the Gardisal series of vaccines. How sad is that? MaineCare patients are as deserving as anyone else. Are their other insurances not paying for this? Why?

Home Visits from Doctors

Up until a few years ago, Lincoln still had a doctor who made house calls. How wonderful was that. It showed that, at least in Maine, the service was still desired.

I don’t remember when there was a doctor in Milford who made house calls, but I am only 37. I wish there was one. I honestly believe that Maine would be better off with doctors who would make house calls.

Now, I realize that patients would still need to have a lot of their tests and things in a hospital/doctor office setting, but their is a lot that could be done in our own homes.

This would especially be beneficial for children, who may be uncomfortable in another setting, and for those who do not have transportation.

I also believe that we need more doctors in order to do this correctly. Doctors should not have so many patients that they do not have time to get to know each of them and keep up with their lives. Think of how much better treatment could be given if your doctor really new you and your life style.

I do not like that health care is treated more as a business than anything else. Patients are customers, and i think that we should be given what we want for our money.

Remember: Money and greed are not what is needed for a happy life. Loving and caring relationships are. They are what matter most.

Shannon

Recycling in Maine: Could We be doing More?

I believe that recycling is very important, though I do believe that reducing consumption is an important first step in the process. Everyone should jump on the bandwagon, if only for a more beautiful Maine.

I do not proclaim to be a big recycler myself. The recycling truck does not pick up in the trailer park that I live in. And, I do not own a vehicle to bring my recycling to the recycling center.

I recycle bottles and cans by bringing them to the redemption center every so often. I also pick up all of the returnables I find while on my daily walks. I try to remember my canvas bags when shopping and, if I forget, will opt for no bag when only purchasing a few things.

I cannot believe how little people seem to care about our beautiful state of Maine. My nephews and I have spent much time cleaning up trash off the sides of the road, and in the parks.

The truly sad thing is the convenience of trash cans in the parks. Why is this sad? Well, I’ll tell you. I will use last summer as an example:

On Monday, my three nephews and I would go to the playground. We would bring a picnic lunch. We would eat, then we would pick up the trash at the playgrounds and around our picnic area. It would look really nice when we were done.

On Tuesday we would go again, and there would be trash laying around again. A significant amount of it. So, we would clean it all up yet again.

And so on, all week, the next week, etc.

The picnic tables along the river all have trash cans right next to them and, yet, every day we would clean up the trash that people decided they did not want to put into the cans.

Disgusting.

Now, in other places in Maine there are recycling receptacles. In other states as well. People are expected to recycle and throw away their trash – not to leave the stuff lying around on the ground. This is as it should be. You use something, you take care of it.

We have litter laws, and yet we have all of this litter. Does no one ever really see the litterers litter? Hmmm…Something has to be done here.

People walk down the street and, instead of saving their trash until they get to their destination, they throw it on the side of the road. It is gross. People should be ashamed of themselves, really.

In my ideal Maine, people would throw trash in trash cans, and there would be statewide attempts at more recycling. Here are a few steps that could be taken to lessen the trash that we see when walking down the street or playing with our children at the playground:

• More trash receptacles. Even along the grass between the roads and the sidewalks. At the very least, this would be helpful to those of us who care enough to clean up after others.
• Recycling bins at different locations in all towns and cities, labeled for use.
• Ticketing of litterers. We have fines set in place for the purpose of battling this problem. Those fines could be put to use for city/town clean-up days. Possibly a barbecue for those who volunteer to come and help with the clean-up efforts. This could be done and spring and autumn.
• Mandatory recycling should actually be mandatory. Certain people should not be allowed to get out of it. If you own a trailer park or apartment complex you should not be exempt from this. ALL of Maine should recycle.
• Businesses of all types, big and small, should recycle everything possible. (Stay tuned for another post on how businesses could be helping to prevent wastefulness.)

 Source: Skye Buck, Maine Resident Copyright 2008

These are recycling bins that my daughter photographed. Cute, though I think that we could do with bins that go with the surrounding areas a bit better.

Shannon

Ideas for a Stay-cation in Maine

You will notice, on the sidebar, that I am adding some destinations for you stay-cation. I will be adding them a little at a time, as time allows, but will not be posting notices here when they have been added.

Keep checking back!

Shannon

Plan a Stay-cation

With gas prices as high as they are (even though they have gone down some recently), and the economy not being what it should, a stay-cation sounds like a great idea.

Think about it:

• If you would drive to an out of state location, you will save a lot on gas.
• If you were to fly, you would save on high air fares.
• In many instances, it is cheaper to purchase food in Maine.
• It would help our economy if stay-cations were planned, rather than going out of state.

Now, I am not necessarily saying that we should stay in our own towns, or even our own counties, for our stay-cations. As a matter-of-fact, I take a mini stay-cation each summer where I travel to Lee from Milford. A friend’s family has a water front camp in Lee. We can barbecue, make s’mores, swim, kayak and do other water activities for the cost of gas to get their and food to eat. Not a bad stay-cation.

There are many things to do in Maine, that make a stay-cation more than worth while. Different cities and towns have different things that you can do.  Different events and attractions that would be well worth your time and money. Do some research and see what you can come up with.

Here are some tips for a frugal stay-cation:

• Stay at a friends house or camp.
• Tent out in the woods of the back roads.
• Pack your own meals before leaving.
• Find out where along the way you can get gas the cheapest. Maybe keep a can filled to bring with you.
• Keep plenty to drink with you.
• Find free stuff to do.

Maine can use our business this year.