Confined to a wheelchair, a local woman could not leave her own home without assistance. For five years, the only times she went outside was when she was taken to the doctor. A donation of $10 a week to the United Way paid for the supplies to build a ramp onto her house.

The United Way is a good investment in the community. We encourage as many businesses and individuals as possible to participate in the organization’s annual fund-raising campaign.

In Androscoggin County alone, the goal for this year is $1.8 million. That money goes to fund more than 50 individual programs and provides support to 32 member agencies, directly improving the lives of more than 31,000 county residents.

It’s easy to make a contribution. Many employers offer a payroll deduction that spreads the sting of contributing out over an entire year. A donation of just a few dollars a week is significant by the end of the year.

Donations can also be made on the Internet at unitedwayandro.org and all of the gifts are tax deductible.

Our local United Way is well run, depending on volunteers for much of its muscle. The staff keeps administrative costs low – under 14 percent of revenue – and 92 cents out of every dollar raised stays in our community.

Right now might be a tough time to give. There’s a lot of uncertainty over jobs and the economy, and the holidays are coming up. But with contributions from local, state and federal governments being curtailed, the member agencies of the United Way need help more than ever.

Donations help people who have lost their jobs, seniors who need a hot lunch and kids who need a place to go after school. We shouldn’t forget about our neighbors in need. The United Way hasn’t. Now’s a good time to lend a hand.


Shades of Gaza


After one of the deadliest periods to date in the occupation of Iraq, the U.S. military is borrowing a page out of Israel’s playbook. Respond with massive force.

It’s working for the United States almost as well as it has for Israel.

Attacks on Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, renewed air strikes and increased raids on suspected militants are meant to demonstrate America’s resolve. But they also resemble the incursions of Israeli soldiers and bulldozers trying to ferret out Palestinian suicide bombers in Gaza and the West Bank.

For every militant killed or captured with tactics that harm civilians, the military risks creating scores of replacements. With every house that is destroyed, a new family questions U.S. intentions.

A CIA report leaked last week presents the dilemma. The more aggressive the military reacts to attacks, the more fertile the environment becomes for insurgents, who must rely on anti-American feelings among the populace for protection. Regular Iraqis are losing confidence in America.

The more we empower Iraqis to take control of their future and actively participate in the rebuilding of their country, the better off our forces on the ground will be. The Bush administration is right to release its stranglehold on authority, and promote a faster timeline for self-governance in Iraq.


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