Editors Desk - Racing into the Future

Living in rural Maine, it isn’t often that we get to celebrate being future-oriented. In the past week, however, at least two events have transpired that bring it to mind: the fiber optic broadband project and the Scarecrow Festival.

Fiber optic broadband is one of the fastest kinds of internet available. With the newly-received approval for the project, work will soon begin to provide residents of Calais and Baileyville with widespread fiber service at a competitive cost. The city council and its associated economic development committees are certain that the new infrastructure will be a boon for existing residents and businesses – including the financially struggling hospital, which has expressed that telemedicine will enable it to survive.

Downtown on Saturday, the largest turnout to date gathered to witness and participate in the casket racing competition – one of many events held as part of the city’s relatively new Scarecrow Festival. Holding public festivals and attracting more and more people downtown has been regarded as a primary method of sustaining revenue for the city without the need to raise taxes. As such, a revamping of the International Festival is already underway.

 With new technological infrastructure and a new approach to public activities, Calais is clearly embracing the theme of moving forward.