LETTERS TO THE EDITOR OF THE FALMOUTH FORECASTER
LETTER FROM NANCY HILL:
It is sad to see a new generation of pride and prejudice emerge on Cousins Island, as personified by Randy Perry's misguided musings printed in the Forecaster.
How insulting to imply that Chebeague Islanders haven't done the careful analysis undertaken by Mr. Perry to ascertain how expensive it is to live on an island! They know, believe me, they know.
It is further insulting to assume that everyone has "made a choice" to live on Chebeague. Many drew their first breaths there with little choice involved. But what is most insulting is to elevate oneself to the status of dictating what the cost of living on Chebeague Island will be.
Yes, CMP built the bridge. They built it with money from their ratepayers, hundreds more of whom lived on Chebeague Island than on Cousins Island in 1955.
They also improved the road on Cousins Island and gave that to the state as well. No, it wasn't Route 1, but it was designated as Maine Route 13A, recognizing its importance in serving the new power station on Cousins Island.
The travesty of Mr. Perry's viewpoint is to suggest that the benefits to be derived from the bridge and the road come to an end on Cousins Island and are not to be enjoyed by those who live a few hundred yards beyond its shores.
It is high time for Mr. Perry and any others of a similar mind to join their more enlightened neighbors and recognize that the common good must eventually outweigh the petty preferences of a passionate minority.