Several Farwell school fourth-graders in Dee Dion’s class made astute observations Thursday when they talked about why they’re writing letters to ExxonMobil protesting high gas prices.

Among them was Sade Dennis, 10. Dennis said she’s concerned that high gas prices mean the cost of everything will go up, leaving more people unable to buy things, which could lead to another Great Depression.

Her comments prompted me to look online for the top causes of the Depression. According to Wikipedia, causes included an unwillingness by the Federal Reserve to supply reserves when banks faced a run on withdrawals. Other causes were: a combination of high consumer and business debt, ill-regulated markets that permitted malfeasance by banks and investors, a growing inequity in wealth, and natural disasters.

Hmmn, little Sade knows her history.

– Bonnie Washuk

New math in Monmouth?

The Monmouth School Department issued a public statement Wednesday calling attention to the $99,078 “net reduction” in the budget that will be going to voters June 30.

Voters rejected a proposed $7.4 million budget at the polls June 10, so the School Committee sharpened its pencils and came back with a $7.6 million budget for voters’ consideration. Not exactly a reduction. And not exactly the figure the selectmen had hoped for.

Selectmen support passage of a $7.4 million budget, the figure voted at the annual town meeting June 2.

The revised budget the school department will present to voters, despite citizen action to trim it earlier this month, will be $500,000 more than the current budget, a 75-cent increase per $1,000 of assessed property value, or $75 more on a $100,000 home.

Rather than use the $7.4 million budget as a starting point, the School Committee skipped over every citizen action in June and returned to its original budget, crafted in April, to make revisions.

The result is a proposed $500,000 increase over current spending, not a $99,078 reduction. No matter how you do the math.

– Judith Meyer

Leading the e-records pace

Maine is a far cry from Massachusetts. Farther, still, than New York.

Far ahead in embracing electronic medical records, that is.

According to a story published in the New York Times, a New England Journal of Medicine survey found that even though U.S. doctors “overwhelmingly” say that electronic medical records improve quality and timeliness of health care, “fewer than one in five of the nation’s doctors has started using such records.”

It’s not that doctors can’t appreciate having electronic records and the ability to write e-prescriptions, drawing from a commonly accessible database of patient files, it’s just that the cost for the computer systems is exceedingly expensive, never mind having to translate all that paper to a database.

The affiliated practices of Central Maine Medical Family, including Central Maine Medical Center, and hospitals in Rumford and Bridgton, are 90 percent electronic record-keeping, according to Chuck Gill, spokesman for the health care system. The system is close to becoming entirely electronically-based, allowing primary care doctors and specialists access to patient medical records, including lab reports and prescriptions, without having to move around paper files.

E-files cut down on administrative costs and, according to the New England journal, doctors say e-records improve quality of clinical decisions, help avoid medical errors and improve delivery of preventative care. What’s not to like?

St. Mary’s Health System is keeping pace with CMMC and its affiliates, with 95 percent of its primary care practices using electronic record keeping, along with 50 percent of St. Mary’s Hospital and 100 percent of d’Youville Pavilion.

According to Jennifer Radel, spokesperson for St. Mary’s Health System, d’Youville’s records have been fully electronic for at least five years, and the remaining members of the health system will be caught up in the spring of 2009.

– Judith Meyer