Congratulations, Samantha Beam, Wiscasset High School Freshman of the Month! She is the daughter of Jim and Debbie Beam on the McKay Road. Check out Lindsay Leone, Bob and Carol Leone's daughter on the Wiscasset Road, who is a member of the Wiscasset Dance Team. They are performing today, March 11, at the Wiscasset Primary School Creative Dance Show at 12:45 p.m. Meanwhile, Center for Teaching and Learning students were prominent among the winners and honorable mentions in the "Living Soil" poster competition recently sponsored by the Knox-Lincoln Soil and Water Conservation District.
Is there anyone out there with memories or records of the Edgecomb Grange? 6th graders at Phippsburg Elementary School have a local history project, locating and gathering information on the 126 Grange Halls in Maine, all endangered historic buildings. I called their teacher, Merry Chapin, to tell her that at one time the Edgecomb Town Hall was a Grange Hall. Is it on her list? Yes. When did the Town take it over? Please let me know, and I'll inform Ms. Chapin. If you do not mind, perhaps her students could interview you. It is important in this class that the students do all the research work themselves. Personal and telephone interviewing is a very valuable skill in today's work world.
The second Edgecomb Planning Board informational meeting will be Saturday, March 13, at 9:00 a.m. at the Town Hall. The Planning Board invites and urges all Edgecomb people to attend, as public input is vital. Proposals to be discussed: Amendments to the Subdivision, Building Code, Land Use and Site Plan ordinances, minor changes to the Shoreland Zone ordinance, additions to Definitions, a new Resource-Based Subdivision Development ordinance. This meeting will be followed by a Public Hearing on Thursday, March 25, also at 7:00 p.m. at the Town Hall, to approve their final wordings which will appear in the 2004 Town Warrant to be presented at the Edgecomb Town Meeting, Saturday, May 22.
Nomination papers for candidates for town office to be voted on Friday, May 21, 2004, are available from February 26 to April 6 at the Edgecomb Town Clerk's Office, Monday evenings 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:30 to 5:00 p.m. Offices to be voted for are: one Selectman/Assessor of Taxes/Overseer of the Poor for 3 years; one Town Clerk for 1 year; one Treasurer for 1 year, one Tax Collector for 1 year; one Road Commissioner for 1 year; one Member of the School Committee for 3 years; two Members of the Planning Board for 3 years each. Call the Town Clerk during the above hours at 882-7018 for more information.
Come Tuesday, March 16, 6:30-7:30 p.m., to the fifth in The Morris Farm's Food for Thought Series, "Global Food Systems and Irradiation," presented by Jessica Bean and Craig Lapine from Cultivating Communities, an organization which works with youth toward awareness and support of local organic foods and healthier lifestyles.
The Damariscotta Farmers Market has room for a few good new vendors. If you would like to make a bit of money with your garden truck or baked goods over the summer, or pickles and preserves, get in touch with Terry Johnston at Broken Acre Farms, 563-1076 or broacres@gwi.net for details, such as insurance and licensing. The Market runs from mid-May through October, on Belvedere Road off Route 1, in the Assembly of God church parking lot.
And for those of you on the shorefront, here's a delicious way to idle your days away: Set up on your dock with a tall lemonade, a good thriller (from the Town Hall Book Exchange), tie a string to your big toe and start an Oyster Garden! An organizational meeting about this 18-month course about non-commercial shellfish aquaculture (fee $165) will be held Monday, March 15, 6:30 p.m., at the Damariscotta River Association offices, also on Belvedere Road. To RSVP or ask about details, call Dana Morse, Maine Sea Grant/UM Cooperative Extension, at 563.3146, x205 or e-mail: dana.morse@maine.edu.
Meanwhile, contemplating raising salsify, also known as oyster plant, at 234 River Road, 633-2978, bonesukl@midcoast.com. This column appears in several local papers, and at www.Edgecomb.org.