Let us give honor to our Armed Forces currently underway toward Baghdad, and in particular to those young fighters from the town of Edgecomb. One of the 849 Mainers who are part of this action is rifleman Corporal Maurice Hyson, Jr. with the 2d Battalion, 8th Marine Division. Let us also dip our flags in homage to the two Maine Marines who were among those lost in the helicopter crash March 20, along the Kuwait border.

If you have news you are willing to share about loved ones on the Iraqi front, please let me know. Another outlet is the Portland Press Herald's "Mainers at War" feature, e-mail mainersatwar@pressherald.com or call Jodi Hausen, 1-800-442-6036, ext. 6387.

Today, at 2:00 pm, the Edgecomb Historical Society is gathering at my house, 234 River Road, East Edgecomb, to work on our display of the town's educational history. Come and help us sort through our collection of material, and start planning the form this display will take. Call me at 633-2978 or Sophie Quinn at 882-9326 for details and/or directions.

Vital Deadlines: April 1 for Homestead or Veterans' Exemptions, April 10 for filing nomination papers for Town positions–call the Town Hall, 882-7018 for details. Less vital, but fun: April 22 for the Voices of Maine essay competition co-sponsored by Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, for one. Best source of information is the project's e-mail, mainevoices@tws.org. The coordinator's name is Jeremy Sheaffer.

Young Caroline Friedland of Wild Turkey Run off the River Road will be performing in the Basic Skating Skills Ice Show at Rockport's Mid-Coast Recreation Center on Saturday, April 5, from 4 to 6 pm. The show's theme (dig this!) is "Elvis is in the Building." Caroline and her friend Shanaia Creamer from Damariscotta will skate a duet to the song "So Wide, So Low, So High." The show is free to the public, and there will be open skating afterwards.

Dive Into Reading at the Edgecomb Eddy School Book Fair! This celebration, brought to you by the school's PTC, comes in two pieces. The first is Friday, April 4, 5-7 pm is Family Night. Come browse, buy books for your children, and munch on pizza in the Cafeteria! (Watch this spot for news about Part 2: Breakfast and Books, coming up Saturday, April 12!)

Saturday, March 29 is the Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association's Open House at their new headquarters, 624 Sheepscot Road in Sheepscot Village (3 miles north of Route 1, across from the Harriet Bird Playground). Join them from 4 to 7 pm. Call 586-5616 for details.

My sister Anni has entered the lists of the news mavens. She edits an on-line newsletter for the Marin County (CA) Humane Society, called Pet Pal, which gives obedience class news, profiles of desirable pets to take home, and what I enjoy, keeps track of them once they are with their new owners! Some examples: "Santino, the white fluffy ball of bounce, [a three-legged dog] went home with a very happy couple. He bounced out the door and didn't even look back!"

"Last November a little Catahoula hound mix named Marley went home. He is now back as Dusty, taking "Come On, Let's Go" class . . ." Pet Pals are volunteers who walk and exercise the dogs up for adoption at the Marin County animal shelter.

Came up short at this recent headline: "All Local Urine Drug Tests to be Done in Edgecomb." Who, us? But it only means that St. Andrews has set up their Occupational Health facility for this task, on Route 1, just north of the Davey Bridge.

The Friends of Fort Edgecomb will meet April 2 at 7 pm at the Sheepscot River Inn. For details, call their president, Matt Dunn, 377-5335.

Looking ahead to Monday, April 7, I will be the guest of the Twin Villages Women's Club meeting at the Lincoln Home Library, talking about (what else?) "Edgecomb's Schools, Past and Present."

OK, folks. Second time around for The Edgecomb Spot Spelling Quiz! How do you spell the name of that road which leads off Route 1 on its north side into the woods along Cod Cove, ending in Doering Point? Engelbrekt? Or Englebrekt? (The fate of a letterhead rides on this!) Since the sign is down once again, this is a perfect chance to commit ourselves, once and for all! Please contact this column via the various approaches given below with your preference. On Monday, March 31, I will count them up, and after informing the persons in charge of road signs, I will let y'all know which version wins! Hold your breaths!

Riding the whitewater rapids we used to call the River Road to and from good ol' 234, 633-2978, bonesukl@midcoast.com. This column appears in The Boothbay Register, The Lincoln County News, The Wiscasset Newspaper, and at www.Edgecomb.org.