Next Tuesday, Nov. 4, Casinos, Racetracks, Tax Reform, oh my! Let's get out the vote, Edgecomb! Come all ye, come all ye to the polling place, the Edgecomb Town Hall. Polling hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

This coming Sunday, Nov. 2, at 9:00 a.m., the Schmid Preserve Committee invites you to try again for their Ancient Tree Pruning Workshop, led by arborist Barry Hathorne. Although they will have an array of equipment available, please bring any pruning saws and loppers you have.

Parents! The State Health Department reports an upsurge of Pertussis, familiarly known as Whooping Cough. At onset it may resemble an ordinary cold, but without prompt treatment, it will develop into a prolonged wrenching illness, with deep coughs that feel as if you were turning inside out. (I know! I had it as a child..) If you have infants and pre-schoolers, be sure to get the anti-Pertussis immunization; actually, get it at any age, and don't wait for a diagnosis to be confirmed. The disease is readily treatable, but very contagious.

The Schmid Preserve Committee wants a few good sign makers and wood workers. Signs in the Preserve seem to get damaged or disappear with frequency, so it would be good to have a regular source for replacements. If any Eagle Scouts or high school vocational students are interested, the Committee would like to have a kiosk built for informational brochures at the Old County Road entrance. For details about either or both these tasks, please call Committee Chair Bob Leone, 882-9613.

Don't forget to save your General Mills product boxtops and "School Dollars" coupons (printed on the backs of check-out tapes from any Hannaford's in the area) for the school, to help pay for classroom and playground extras. Call 882-5515, for details.

Please to remember the Fifth of November... Besides Guy Fawkes Day, it is the meeting of the Friends of Fort Edgecomb, who, at 7:00 p.m. at the Sheepscot River Inn, will gather for election of officers and to hold the Grand Annual Raffle Drawing for Sandra Griffin's beautiful painting of the Fort.

The Edgecomb Historical Society's next meeting will be Nov. 20, at 2:00 p.m. in the Town Hall. No meetings are scheduled for December, January and February because of difficult weather and distracting holidays, etc., but we will bust loose like a spring freshet in March! Thanks, Jim Wadlow, wintering inWaterford CT, for his suggestion of a possible location for the elusive Rosicrucian Spring. He and Neal Creamer looked for it many years ago within a triangle starting from behind the Lincoln County Animal Hospital and extending south between Middle Road and Route 27; although they found no sign of any spring, still.... Jim did an internet search, and besides my own plaintive bleat in a recent column (gee, 15 seconds of fame) uncovered a great crack by Ruth Bryant in 2000, "Should we dig out the Rosicrucian Springs, rebuild the resort and sell the water to help our tax base?" Way to go, Ruth!

Christmas Gift Suggestions: Bruce and I had a happy time at the recent Maine Cheese Festival in Unity, picnicking with friends, and pigging out on some really super-fine dairy products! We recommend you check out your local grocery stores for Maine's remarkable array of cow, sheep and goat milk dairy products. Meanwhile, I'm waiting for the Maine Cheesemakers Guild to try their hands at bleu cheese.

Quickly, in between power outages, I am sending this from 234 River Road, 633-2978, bonesukl@midcoast.com This column appears in The Boothbay Register, The Lincoln County News, The Wiscasset Newspaper, and at www.Edgecomb.org.