It is unfortunate that even the major party candidates got stampeded into pledging to veto casinos anywhere in Maine before taking time to thoroughly research the issue, including determination of the preferences and needs of different communities in Maine. Just because several Southern Maine towns voted against casinos within their borders doesn’t mean that other counties and towns will do the same.

Calais voters overwhelmingly favored a casino within its borders when that question came up several years ago and its civic leaders confirmed their continuing interest only a few days ago.

The claims that casinos only bring bad things ring hollow to anyone visiting communities with the larger gambling establishments throughout the world. Monte Carlo Casino rescued the economy of the principality of Monaco.

Anyone who has visited Las Vegas can how gambling and entertainment made even the desert prosper.

The Downeast portion of Maine is slowly becoming an economic desert despite repeated visits and glowing promises of our elected officials. Gov. King has zoomed through the area on his motorcycle, shaken hands, posed for photos and offered encouragement but has left it up to his successors to do anything substantial.

The Downeast region has inconvenient and expensive transportation connections. However, it sits astride a major traffic artery between Canada and US. This includes trucking as well as a large number of tourists from both counties. A casino would provide a good stopover for many of these tourists, especially if the casino were supplemented with other recreational activities that take advantage of this beautiful area.

It is ironic that the state legislature has endorsed the concept of teaching Indian history throughout schools in Maine but does not provide much funding to do the necessary research or prepare the teaching materials. A well-designed, adequately funded Indian culture museum with active research programs, like the funded by Foxwoods Casino, would fill the void.

I hope candidates will be willing to debate Downeast representatives on this issue.

I also hope they will have the intellectual courage to change their minds about the usefulness of a casino if the Downeast representatives and voters make their point and continue to favor a casino in their area.

Roland D. Paegle, MD

Alexander