The Morning Sentinel Golfer of the Year, Gavin Dugas, could not have been a better choice. As a member of J.W. Parks for the past several years, I have played golf occasionally with Dugas and watched him grow into a very mature young man and an excellent golfer. His attitude and focus on the situations at hand are exceptional. He is always a gentleman. Credit must be given to his parents, Mike and Dawn. His brother, Eric, is also growing into a mature young man and a very good golfer. This family owned golf course is an asset to central Maine and I have found it well worth it to travel 30 minutes to play a game I love, and played, for more than 60 years.

For most of us, thankfully, the election is over. For others, hope springs eternal.

“A majority of Maine people like the new direction of Maine’s government,” George Smith tells us (Nov. 28).

It was disheartening to read in the paper this morning (Nov. 29) that Rep. Susan Collins has jumped on the Republican bandwagon with her criticism of Susan Rice for her comments immediately following the Benghazi attacks.

Regarding the young person from Benton School who wrote about bullying (Dakota Crawford): This letter should be published on the front page from coast to coast. This young person is very, very wise. Every person is different in his or her own way.

It is amazing how fast things change and yet stay the same. For example one-third of our legislators are new to the State House and yet some of the same old issues are still there. I speak of the matter of safe foods and food containers. BPA is still there. A recent study showed that persons who consume five bowls of canned soup per week excrete one thousand times the amount of bisphenol than persons who consume homemade soup.