Thank you to a friend for shaking me out of my holiday haze and sending the YouTube video of the school board hearing the other night. I promise you it is not a waste of time to listen to it.

We are in a true decision crunch here. I am calling attention to my fellow voters and all who care about the future of our high school beyond the sports field. 

YES we want our school to be environmentally sound and free of disrepair (which the HVAC system and Strom are currently in).

To have to change filters weekly is a preposterous way to manage the current HVAC system-but it's happening along with other bubble gum and toothpick engineering fixes to keep the system running.

To hear that water is getting in through failed windows and siding means development of mold and that will mean unhealthy and unsafe conditions for the students, the teachers, and that will eventually mean abandonment of our community (I know, a truly dramatic take, but tell me that hasn't happened elsewhere).

The Five Towns is not made of Teflon and it's time to stop thinking these issues will just run off our backs.

YES we want our turf field and lights but there are people out there who are going to vote NO on this bond package based on this feature of the proposal alone because they do not see the necessity.

The 2022 senior football class had their senior day at Morse High School ON A TURF FIELD because the Don Palmer field was under water from torrential rains. It made me sick to think that if that had happened a year earlier that would have been the plight of my son and his teammates who had already lost their junior seasons to the pandemic.

We are on the Midcoast of Maine, this is our weather and we are a top 5-10 school every year in the state. We should look like it in all aspects, on and off the field. 

There are voters that feel turf field is unhealthy and unsafe. I won't belabor this point-sometimes people just need a reason which they can find in random articles on Google.

Colleges all over use turf indoors and outdoors. The PITCH has had indoor turf for 10 years — hundreds to thousands of kids and adults have gone through their great programs. I haven't read about any kids getting cancer because they played on this indoor field.

Injuries occur, it's part of sports regardless of type of playing field. I urge you not to listen to the excuse-makers. I quote the great George Costanza, "It's not a lie if you believe it."

There are voters that want this bond disassembled to vote on these items individually. This will raise costs of each individual project that much more over the next year or two because construction costs have no mercy over time. In other words, we will not get a better deal than what's on the table now.

There are voters that feel a YES vote is simply prioritizing a turf field over education. That is laughable and an insult to everyone's intelligence. The vote goes beyond the turf field.

Are we really going to say no to a failed HVAC system, and a building envelope that is digressing in front of our eyes? There are voters who think there are too many sports at the school and why do we need all of these sports and if we didn't have all of these sports we wouldn't need a new field because the wear and tear is less.

High schoolers are not going to just 'go out and play' as one speaker inferred the other night. Organized sports are here to stay, the days of the neighborhood gang getting together to ride bikes and play a random pick up game of baseball are over and have been for about 20 years.

It's unfortunate but this is what technology has done to our society. There are kids who I've seen come through these programs and have taken great pride in teamwork, work ethic, and accountability... relationships that have gone on well beyond high school, into college and into a lifetime. It has stemmed from the great coaches they have had as role models.

For those whose childhood and bringing up kids took place in a different generation, a different era, you will never understand. So please think beyond yourselves for just a moment.It is true, one way or another our sports communities will need to pay. Whether it be through our taxes or through our own fundraising.

The bond package actually calls for both if we want lights. Voting YES makes our work less cut out for us, but there is work to be done in the way of fundraising, regardless.

NO my family and I cannot afford another substantial raise in taxes on the heels of saying YES so many times and the revaluation that occurred in 2024. But we do not want to be faced with building another new school in 10-20 years.

Voting NO is delaying the inevitable.

Voting YES puts our school in a good spot for the next 50 years.

Please watch, listen to the YouTube video and make an educated decision for the future of our community, which would be a vote of YES on January 14.

Thank you.

Carl Chadwick lives in Camden