Today the Edgecomb Historical Society is meeting at 2:00 p.m. once again at my house, 234 River Road, to hear Nick Dean report on his inventory of industrial sites along the Damariscotta River and elsewhere in Edgecomb.

Next Wednesday is May Day. Does anyone hang May Baskets any more? We used to pack small baskets with flowers, candy, maybe a silly little gift. We'd go around the neighborhood, ringing on doorbells, and then we'd run, yelling "May Basket!" at the top of our lungs. The person opening the door had to run after us and try to catch us. When my sister Anni went maybasketing, all her pals were down with chickenpox. You know, sick but not sick, yucky-looking but going stir-crazy. They were glad of a chance to chase her. Anni ran no particular risk, because she'd had chickenpox a couple of years before when we were living in New York state.

I have developed a logo for the projected Wiscasset Bypass: the infinity sign (lazy 8) with a Moebius half-twist. Anent the most recent meeting of MDOT and the several towns' selectmen, April 18th, anyone who attended the very hopeful Bypass Workshop on March 30 will be shocked to hear that its findings have not yet been examined by the Wiscasset Board of Selectmen, hence never sent to the Maine Department of Transportation. Wiscasset assured us that a summary of findings was in the works, for review by their Board on April 23rd.

When the MDOT representatives were asked about baseline statistics about actual traffic flow, time spent in congestion, etc., they appeared most uncomfortable. What's so difficult about laying a pneumatic tube across the roadway, attached to a counter? It's done all the time to monitor speed limits! Maybe we should do it ourselves?

Early warning: the Edgecomb election is 1:00-7:00 p.m., May 17 and the Town Meeting, starting at 10:00 a.m., May 18. Come out and vote! And then come out to make the vital decisions facing our Town in 2002-2003.

Next Thursday, May 2, from 12:45 to 1:45 p.m., the Eddy School is holding a Visiting Day for children entering kindergarten this fall, and their parents. Screening for the K-crowd will be Friday, May 10. For details, call Judy Reid at the school, 882-5515.

Belated congratulations to Ragnhild Baade, recently named Outstanding Educator for 2002 by the Maine Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German. Mrs. Baade has taught German at Boothbay Harbor High School for 25 years. She also offers classes in the Boothbay Region Adult Education program.

Stars in the news: Not celebrities but planets. On May 5, Mars, Saturn and Venus will form an equilateral triangle. On May 10, Mars and Venus will be so close to one another they will appear as one huge star! Haul out your telescopes, binoculars, field glasses, spyglasses! Mine will be trained on the heavens from 234 River Road, 633-2978, bonesukl@midcoast.com.

This column appears in the Boothbay Register, Lincoln County News, Wiscasset Newspaper, and the new Edgecomb website, www.Edgecomb.org. The Wiscasset Newspaper wants its Edgecomb readers to know that the paper is now available at the Boothbay Harbor Shop'n'Save.