Currently a resident in Farmington, I’ve lived in western Maine for 31 years; 28 of those years in the Rangeley area. During that time, I feel fortunate to have lived part of that time on the most amazingly and usually peaceful Saddleback Lake.
While in the Rangeley area, I have experienced Patriot Cruise Missiles quietly zoom past over the treetops above, witnessed training exercises with helicopters and accompanying jet fighters in the woods surrounding me (actually waving at the pilots of those jets a few hundred feet above me, while standing on the dock at water’s edge), gun fire for days at a time as the Navy conducted training exercises at nearby Redington Survival Training Facility, and was deafened by the sound of the low level flights that occur regularly on the lakes (Mooselookmeguntic, in particular) surrounding the Rangeley Region.
At times, I imagined this noise was a bit like living in a war zone, minus the tragedy, death and destruction. It was an awesome experience in some ways but frightening in many others. It is NOT something I wish for all of Western Maine!
We have much to protect here, a peaceful corner of the state where people and animals thrive. We have an environment very dependent on others coming to enjoy what we enjoy on a daily basis. Let’s not destroy it. We’re having a hard enough time economically surviving as it is!
Nancy E. Teel
Farmington
