Tell It To George is a collection of thoughts from here and away, from people who want to get their two cents worth in, without using their names.

A former First Selectman, Ben Rines, Jr., (and a very good former first selectman at that), pointed out the obvious to the Wiscasset selectmen at their meeting last week: have the town attorney review this agreement before you sign it.

And the response from the selectmen?

Silence. Nothing. Nada.

They just kept right on going with their meeting, going on to the next item on the agenda, without so much as acknowledging that this might be a good idea.

I wonder if any of them know they can be sued, personally, for their actions. No - not just the town - they can be sued, too.

Next?

Whose idea was it to have the fireworks shot off at Point East? Will they be paying for the fireworks display? I hope that the hundreds of people who go to the Wiscasset Middle School and the Old Jail will know the location change because where will they go?

The waterfront and around town isn't sufficient for parking for that many people. Good luck finding a place to watch the fireworks this year! If it isn't broke don't change it, unless it was cheaper! Happy 4th!

I sat in disbelief at the last selectmen's board meeting on June 24 when they rushed to sign a two-year agreement with Pine Tree Waste, even though some citizens seemed to have legitimate concerns. It appears that they are willing to sell the town to anyone for a few bucks (selling our soul to the devil).

So I at least checked the Internet this morning. The selectmen have had a month to check the background of this company, but apparently won't do any investigation. Within a few minutes I saw enough to scare me, and feel violated by our selectmen.

In summary, over 100 towns in Maine have filed legal actions against the real owner of Pine Tree Waste (Casella Waste Management) for various things about the company's actual practices. Portland and many of our neighbors have "booted" them out of their towns, as they have had negative and other costly experiences with Casella/Pine Tree.

This company targets small towns to "manage" their waste, and eventually tries to take total control of all facets of it while increasing costs along the way. Many other towns in Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut have experienced problems with this company as well - in some cases, they were actually hauling in waste from other areas.

Once our "recycling" leaves, what really happens to it? Just because we think it's being recycled, doesn't mean it really is. How will we feel if we find out that most of what we thought was being recycled, really wasn't?

"Out of sight, out of mind" should be our motto. In fact, this is the way it often happens, the most valuable "trash" is lifted out and the remainder is simply taken to a landfill or burned in an incinerator - perhaps on the Maine Yankee land that Point East now owns? Or another incinerator elsewhere in Maine? This is why Eco-Maine was formed by communities in Portland - to replace the disputable practices by Casella Waste Management, the owner of Pine Tree Waste - and actually do "single stream recycling." Not just pretend to do it.

Once again our selectmen are willing to believe anyone from away - if it sounds too good to be true, then it must be - seems to be their practice. By making us totally dependent on an outside company, they are putting our town in financial jeopardy! When are they going to take some responsibility and get the real facts? Do we have another Point East?

Send "Tell It To George" entries clearly marked (this way, we won't use your name) for the "Tell It To George" column, by mail at P.O. Box 429, Wiscasset, ME 04578.

Or hand carry them to our office on at 47 Gardiner Road (don't mail them to Gardiner Road, because they will be sent back to you by the post office); just put them in our mailbox right next to the front door.

Or, walk right in and give them to us.

Or, send them to us by E-mail, at wiscassetnewspaper@verizon.net.

Or, fax them to us at 882-4280;

Or, if you're not good at writing, leave us a voice mail on our answering machine after hours, at 207-882-6355 (speak slowly and distinctly). Please make sure your entries a r rive by noon on Tuesday for publ i cation in Thursday's issue.