A Yes On Question 1 Is A Vote For Rural Maine

From 1907 until 2014, East Millinocket was a booming paper mill town. In fact, the mill once covered 80 percent of the local tax base. But since 2014’s permanent shuttering of the mill, that tax burden has fallen onto the residents of our town. The town is involved with several projects to reduce that burden, and one of our top priorities is working with our neighboring towns to create an open-access fiber broadband network. With this in mind, the board of selectmen of East Millinocket enthusiastically endorses a yes vote on Question 1, which would approve a $15 million bond for rural broadband with a $30 million match in federal funds. Broadband is a driving force for any economy in the 21st century.