Last time i drove though Downtown Skowhegan this is what i found as neighbors of the Maine Democrat office in the longheld Maine Democrat-controlled State.

2 Used clothes stores
2 Tattoo stores
1 'Hemp' clothing store
7 dilapidated vacant buildings
1 car dealer with a multiple gun shot holed vandalized store window
1 smoke shop
3 social service offices
1 biker gang clothes shop
1 drug store
1 rent to own ripoff business
1 closed down factory
3 barrooms,one with patrons hanging outside the doorway at 2pm on a weekday afternoon

Last but not least the local Skowhegan newspaper The Morning Sentinel had a story about Skowhegan wanting to close down the downtown from a day to a week to hold a Laconia New Hampshire Biker Celebration.

Skowhegan and Democrats,a reflection of each other.

Wow, you created quite a poor image of Skowhegan. A lot of people in Skowhegan have been working the past few years to improve the town's appearance, and I think they have succeeded. I have lived here all my life and never has the town seemed that destitute. Acutally, all the businesses in town seem to be doing quite well. Downtown seems to have a nice New England, small-town feel. There are a few drugstores that are few drugstores, clothes shops, Tattoo Parlors, Bars( only one is directly downtown), and a restaurant or two. The democratic office is a nice addition to downtown. The town might not be as prosperous as other New England town, but it is becoming quite a quaint place. Democrats in Skowhegan are involved in making it a better place, and it seems that they have done a very nice job. I would say that skowhegan and Democrats are a reflection of each other, but you have failed to portray Skowhegan correctly. Democrats of Skowhegan are responsible for the town's recent improvements, and they will be in the future.

Skowhagen becoming a 'quaint New England town'?

Skowhagen is the only community in Maine to have a genuine "teen crime wave". SKowhegan high school is the only town high school in Maine students have complained about gangs in the school. Somerset County/Skowhegan has the highest roadway fatality rate of all counties in Maine. Skowhegan has an unsolved murder of an 18 year old girl no one in the entire town has said squat about solving.

I distinctly recall one of my first posts in the Morning Sentinel forum about 3 years with the fact 35 convicted sex offenders lived in the town of Skowhegan,population of 9000. Today,2008, i just checked maine.gov.; 55 convicted sex offenders now live in Skowhagen. That makes ONE OUT OF EVERY 164 SKOWHEGAN RESIDENTS A CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER.

And last but not least,the Sentinel had a story on SKowhegan having a biker night to boost downtown business. How about having a tattooed-like a side show freak night in SKowhegan,that should bring up huge crowds of locals to the downtown.

Skowhegan a 'quaint town'? How many bottles of booze does it take to have that kind of an illusion