This letter is in regard to the proposed closing this year of the Farmers Home Adminstration office in Van Buren.

Currently, the Van Buren area and west, to and including Madawaska, is serviced by the Van Buren FmHA office. From Frenchville west to the Fort Kent area is serviced by the Fort Kent sub FmHA office. If the Van Buren FmHA office were to close, then the proposed scenario would have Grand Isle, Van Buren, Hamlin and Cyr all being serviced by the Fort Fairfield FmHA office and Madawaska and Frenchville being serviced by the Fort Kent sub FmHA office.

Apparently the three current central Aroostook FmHA offices in Caribou, Fort Fairfield and Presque Isle would remain open. Why should not the St. John Valley have even one full-staff FmHA office when the central Aroostook area would have three?

The towns of the St. John Valley are contiguous and are all a part of the same demographic area and should all be serviced by a full staff office in the St. John Valley.

Van Buren is especially dependent upon having an accessible FmHA office because of the depressed economic character of Van Buren. In my 19 years selling real estate in the St. John Valley I have had quite a few potential home buyers in Van Buren who did not have transportation. These buyers would have had real problems if they were expected to travel to an office in central Aroostook. John R. Shaw Madawaska