In view of the recent dose of real winter weather, it's time for a reminder: If you hear the schools are closed, then count on it, the Edgecomb Town Hall will be closed, also! Indeed, if the weather looks iffy or the roads are apt to be treacherous, call the Town Hall to make sure it is open before venturing out. (Remember, office hours are Mondays, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. 882-7018) However, both Claudia and Lee are glad to make appointments for people who need assistance but can't make the Town office hours.
Our thanks to Selectman Frank Perkins, Jr., for fixing the broken window in the Town Hall. It started with a blown-out pane of glass, but he discovered the entire sash was "original equipment," put together with wooden pegs, and generally frail. It took him a while, but the Hall's attic is once again tight before serious weather hits us.
Discussing this exercise in maintenance during a recent selectmen's meeting brought up the idea that we should probably have a Town Hall Maintenance Committee, in order to cope with other matters like replacing the flagpole with a lighted all-weather pole, or cleaning the overhead lights in the main room. At present the selectmen do what they can, but not all of them (i.e., me) are handy or knowledgeable about features such as boilers, etc. If interested in serving on such a committee, please come to any selectmen's meeting, Mondays at 4:00 p.m., to give them input on how to form it!
The next Chat and Check will be December 21, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Edgecomb Congregational Church vestry. These monthly blood pressure clinics come with Holistic Health presentations and a light lunch, with a chance to chat with neighbors. Call Gail Boudin, 882-7972, for more information, or if you need to arrange transportation.
More local Christmas giving ideas: check out the Maine Cheese Guild, www.mainecheeseguild.org, for samplers of cheeses made in Phippsburg, Georgetown, Westport Island, other nearby dairy farms! Ask for local cheeses at Treats in Wiscasset, Weatherbird and The Rising Tide in Damariscotta.
Website alert: If you are following the adventures of the Edgecomb TIF, hit our Town's site listed below, go to the Planning Board page for their minutes, which are up-to-date. The November 18 meeting, for instance, included initial plans by the new owners and managers of the Sheepscot River Inn complex.
Slow week, this chill dank icy rain not conducive to scaling mountains, rafting rivers or otherwise achieving fame. Hope you are all curled up in comfortable chairs with gripping reading matter and a fire crackling in the fireplace, as am I at 234 River Road, 633-2978, bonesukl@midcoast.com. This column appears in several local papers, and at www.Edgecomb.org.