Appeals Board Appeal: The Town of Edgecomb needs two more members of its Appeals Board! This is probably the easiest Town board or committee to join. It meets three regular times a year, with appeals cases as needed, and follows strict legal guidelines which are well spelled out for you. Some training will be provided. Please call or e-mail the Selectmen (I'm a Selectman) with your interest! We need you!
Attention, River Roaders! If you are residents of the Damariscotta River Road in Edgecomb, Newcastle and Boothbay, you may want to attend the Edgecomb Selectmen's meeting of March 3 at 6:00 p.m. to partake in our meeting with State Representative Jonathan McKane and a representative from Maine's Department of Transportation, to discuss the condition of the aforesaid Damariscotta River Road, and what can be done about it.
Nomination papers for Town Officers will be available from the Town Clerk from Monday, February 25 at 7:00 p.m. They require 25 valid Edgecomb resident signatures, and the deadline for turning them in is April 3. Positions open are one Selectman for three years, one Planning Board member for three years; one School Board member for three years; one Town Treasurer for one year; one Town Clerk for one year; one Tax Collector for one year; one Road Commissioner for one year.
Before I let go of official Edgecomb business, one more item on the docket: The Greening of the Town Hall! Members of the Midcoast Unitarian Universalist Fellowship came to the Feb. 11 Selectmen's meeting to introduce Paul Kando of the Midcoast Green Coalition who runs energy audits for interested parties. The Selectmen unanimously voted to have an energy audit of the Town Hall, although we are shaking in our shoes at the thought of all its 150+ gaps and fissures! The audit will report three levels of need, from small things which can be immediately addressed through to serious problems which will take monies no doubt to be approved by a Town Meeting. Mr. Kando invites anyone interested in the process to visit while it is going on. When he lets the Selectmen know his beginning date (probably not until warmer, more reliable weather!), I will relay that info in this column. He says it will take probably less than a week to complete
Meanwhile, swap your sweaters and longjohns for the swish of grass skirts! The Edgecomb Eddy Parents and Teachers' Club will hold a Family Hawaiian Luau Dance from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 29. That should cut the ice! LOL, as the bloggers say.
And save this date: Friday, March 7, for the Poetry Slam at the Edgecomb Congregational Church! More about this as we roll along towards March!
Pink Collar Power! Anent the call in last week's column about donating used cell phones for use by victims of domestic violence, I spoke to Janie Good, proprietor of Hair It Is in Southport, who is on the board of directors for New Hope for Women. She is coordinating 13 beauty parlors on the Boothbay Peninsula, including Bonnie Erskine's A Cut Above in Edgecomb. These shops, from the date of the first publicity, have already turned in to New Hope for Women over 200 cell phones from their patrons alone! This is an on-going effort, so, next time you feel shaggy, wander in to one of these good people with your outmoded or "redundant" cell phone(s) and contribute!
Hot off the E-Mail: Proud papa Troy Hersom tells me, "We took Sam {his daughter Samantha) over to Chewonki for her stay at the "Maine Coast Semester" on Wednesday, Jan 30th. Her first couple of weeks have been great and academically challenging. Here is a link to the MCS web site if you still have questions as to what this Chewonki Winter Semester program is all about: www.chewonki.org/mcs/ and here are some pictures of her class: www.flickr.com/photos/chewonki_mcs/collections/72157603850797799/.
Now, here is a really long-range alert! According to the Maine State Library, "At midnight on Tuesday, February 17, 2009, all full-power television stations in the U.S. will stop broadcasting in analog and switch to 100 % digital broadcasting. Digital broadcasting promises to provide a clearer picture and more programming options and will free up airwaves for use by emergency responders."
That is, "unless your set is connected by cable, satellite, or other pay TV service, such as those with rabbit ears or rooftop antennae, you will not be able to receive any programming unless you purchase a TV converter box."
However, you may be able to get help from the federal government. The MSL continues, "Congress created the TV Converter Box Coupon Program for households wishing to keep their analog TV sets after February 17, 2009. The Program allows U.S. households to obtain up to two coupons, each worth $40, that can be applied toward the cost of eligible converter boxes."
So, you will have a number of options, from 1) keeping your analog TV and purchasing a converter box which, when plugged into the old TV, will let it continue to receive programming after February 17, 2009; or 2) connecting to cable, satellite or other pay service, or 3) purchasing a TV set with a digital tuner. This last is apt to be very expensive, at least until digital TV becomes standard equipment. Additional information can be obtained from the government's converter requirement website, www.DTV2009.gov. Those without access to the internet can do so at the Skidompha or other libraries at no cost. The web site answers questions, and lets interested persons download the $40 coupons toward a converter box to send to the government.
Curious Jo: How, exactly does one celebrate Presidents' Day? Martha Washington Cake? Dolley Madison ice cream? From our colonial beginnings, there was always Hasty Pudding (aka cornmeal mush): Put a cup of yellow cornmeal into maybe 1 ½ cups boiling salted water and then turn off the heat. When the water is absorbed, about five minutes, either dollop it on your plate as a side with plenty of butter, or, more elegant, serve it with the syrup, topping and/or ice cream of your choice for dessert, or, more Lucullan still, put it in a loaf tin and refrigerate overnight. Then, for breakfast, slice it, fry it quickly in a white-hot cast iron skillet, so hot the butter skitters over the surface, and pile it on plates with maple syrup.
Slurping it up at 234 River Road, 633-2978, jocam@midcoast.com. This column appears in several local papers, and at www.Edgecomb.org.