Nature builds and destroys. The evidence is all around us, in streams and rock formations. In fields and forests.

The Old Man of the Mountain, a strong and defiant rocky profile protruding from a mountain in Franconia Notch State Park, was considered the enduring symbol of New Hampshire. It collapsed last week, victim of years of freezing temperatures, high winds and heavy rain that worked together to grind and shift the rocky ledge.

There is quiet talk now of rebuilding the Old Man to secure the tourist draw to Franconia Notch.

It’s a bad idea.

What made the Old Man an attraction was that it was real. Unlike the deliberate commercial attraction of Mount Rushmore, the Old Man was a marvel of nature.

While unfortunate that the Old Man is lost, it was an eventuality. Rock just cannot withstand the constant wearing of wind and rain. Even sculptor Gutzon Borglum acknowledged his memorial to the ideals of freedom and equality embraced by Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt will eventually succumb to natural forces that define the Rockies.

There are greater tragedies cast by the hands of Mother Nature, including the death and massive destruction of some 80 tornadoes that touched down in the Midwest over the weekend. There is little doubt that the people of Pierce City, Mo., will rebuild their homes and businesses because they must.

There is no such mandate to rebuild the Old Man of the Mountain. The formation need not be forgotten, but rebuilding it dishonors the planet’s ever-changing face.


Standards for hire


The Workers’ Compensation Board splits on nearly every decision, getting very little work done.

Last fall, board disagreements were so intense that members couldn’t decide which hearing officers to re-hire and which to let go, creating a politically motivated standstill on workers compensation claims.

A bill now before the Legislature would ease some of the political pressure and advance the work of investigators.

L.D. 550 would take the responsibility of hiring hearing officers and mediators away from the constantly-at-odds Workers’ Compensation Board and place that responsibility in the hands of the executive director.

Although the Committee on Labor passed this bill along to the floor with majority “ought-to-pass” support to hire hearing officers for five-year terms, the Maine State Chamber of Commerce opposes the measure.

It shouldn’t.

The executive director for the Workers’ Compensation Board is appointed by the board and conducts board operations in accordance with policies established by the board. The director is considered an unclassified employee “serving at the pleasure of the board.” Whatever control management interests may want to have over hearing officers can be maintained through the board-appointed executive director by instituting standards for hire.

Shifting responsibility for hiring or contracting for hearing officers may not satisfy this argumentative board, but it will allow the state to investigate claims – uninterrupted – of employees seeking workers compensation and ensure that businesses are protected from unwarranted demands for payment.

Removing a dysfunctional board from the hiring process fairly serves the divergent interests of labor, management and claimants, and Chamber members should not stand in the way.


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