Colby-Sawyer College, in New London, New Hampshire, welcomed 297 new students to campus, including first-year students, transfers and the college’s first cohort of graduate students set to earn a master’s of science in nursing.
Tiara Meng, of Athens, a member of the class of 2020 pursuing a B.S. in biology.
Haley Carver, of Sidney, a member of the class of 2020 pursuing a B.S. in nursing.
by Katie OuiletteWALLS and faithful readers, are we to be glad or frightened? Why the question? Well, I’ve just read much of a subject in National Geographic about what science is doing now. Then, my mind has been on a swing from the days I was in school and what was happening then and, heaven forbid, what is being discovered for the future. Well, maybe my mind is swinging into the long-long ago and happenings that took place as glaciers tore up the world and places have been created. Why do I know some of these things? Not from my schooldays, but from living in the midst of where changes took place. What’s more, even the recent Hurricane Matthew that swept through Florida’scoastal area and north have changed the world, a bit, as we learned it in school. No doubt about it, faithful readers, we have known so much change about so many things in our lifetime.
How many of you know about Herkimer diamond? Well, they’ve been called diamonds for centuries, but they really are not real diamonds, like one buys, unless, of course, you are in the market for what is known as a Herkimer diamond. Actually, I recently read an advertisement for jewelry made with Herkimer Diamonds. Somehow, I believe that those diamonds, big and small, were, maybe, made into what we used to call ‘jet’ necklaces, earrings, rings and bracelets. Yes, one day, when we were living next to Herkimer, New York, the man who owned the antique store in the downtown called to me, as he had something for me. Wow! That he did! He gave me a rock that had the largest Herkimer diamond in it that I had ever imagined. What’s more, another Herkimer diamond, though smaller, accompanied it. He said he was going out of business and he wanted that Herkimer diamond to be mine, because I had done so much since moving to Little Falls, New York. Yes, we used to take our grandchildren to where Herkimer diamond ‘rocks’ were often found and they probably still have their ‘collections’….though the diamonds were tiny. Yes, WALLS and faithful readers, those diamonds were a result of the glacier’s slow movement through the part of our world which is now upstate New York.
Last Sunday, television told us about robots that will do what many folks do now. What an enlightening but frightening program. Yes, we already have driver-less automobiles and, Sunday night, we found that those developments are only ‘the tip of what is ahead in a few decades’.
Yes, faithful readers, WALLS will enlighten you in another column soon. The minds of our youth are working for us and our world. However, we must know where we’ve been to know where we are going.
I have pretty much decided a large number of people who live in Massachusetts run away from home on the weekends. Add to that a long weekend and the group grows.
I don’t think they are fall peepers because we were in a beach town. I don’t think the beach is the reason for their visit in October, however, I do believe there were some kayakers in the group.
There was a stretch of I-295 in Freeport with some pretty colors. This is probably the peak weekend for color and the rain that came in Saturday night will probably knock some of those beautiful colors to the ground.
Some of the people may have been there to visit the unique shops for their clearance prices, best prices of the season! I am sure the eateries were thrilled with all the customers as well.
I can’t believe that we were in a restaurant for an hour and a half before we even got seated: Drinks often lessen the stress of a long wait. That was true in this case.
You might wonder why someone with my attitude would even be there in all the rat race, wait a minute! I just realized something. I’ll bet a lot of these Massachusetts people were trying to escape their home rat race by coming to Maine and, TA DA, another rat race.
OK enough of that. We were in the rat race so that Ken could visit with three of his children. Joe’s (a son) family was the host. Ken visited with daughter, Chris, and another son, Kenny. At this point I believe we were into the third day of celebrating Ken’s 75th birthday.
The birthday started a day early with a trip for Ken and his friend, Carl, to the Owl’s Head Transportation Museum. I knew all things transportation related would be of interest to both and would be Carl’s birthday gift, as well.
Ken’s actual birthday, Friday, was cake and ice cream for both the guys, with family and friends popping in and out. Saturday morning began the trip to the rat race, ooopps, I mean to southern Maine where he visited three of his children and grandson, Joshua.
All in all, I think Ken had a pretty busy birthday and a lot of people enjoyed their Maine weekend! We hope you enjoyed yours as well.
For now I’M JUST CURIOUS, what gets you curious?
Contact me at dwdaffy@yahoo.com subject line: Curiosity Have a great week!
Sung by Leslie Caron and Mel Ferrer; side B, Lili and the Puppets, performed by Hans Sommer conducting the MGM Studio Orchestra; MGM K30759; seven-inch vinyl 45; recorded 1953.
Leslie Caron
This ‘45’ features the lovely Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo from the 1953 film, Lili, itself available on Youtube for viewing . Side B has the music for a ballet sequence during the story.
Caron was most famous for An American in Paris and Gigi and, in 2007, received an Emmy for her appearance on Law and Order: SVU. Now 85, she still does a guest role once or twice a year.
Mel Ferrer
Copland: Appalachian Spring; Arthur Rother conducting the Symphony Orchestra of Berlin; Urania URLP 7092, 12-inch mono vinyl LP, released 1953.
A very fine conductor, Arthur Rother (1885-1972) was mainly steeped in 19th century German repertoire ranging from Beethoven to Richard Strauss, although he occasionally programmed works by Puccini, Britten, Tchaikovsky, etc. He was Director of the Berlin Deutsche Opera for at least a couple of decades and his name appears on many post-World War II radio broadcasts, transferred mainly to the Urania label and widely distributed here in the US. Finally and most importantly, despite working busily during the Hitler years, he also kept his hands clean.
Walter Piston
This pair of important orchestral works by Walter Piston, who was born in Rockland, and Aaron Copland are given very exciting performances here and the LP frequently surfaces on Internet sites.
No cd transfer as of yet !!
Linda Ronstadt, Asylum SD 5064, 12-inch vinyl LP, recorded 1973.
Now 70, Linda Ronstadt has ended her singing career due to suffering from Parkinson’s disease. But for over 40 years, her singing career was one ravishing success after another.
After her short tenure with the Stone Poneys beginning in 1967 and the launching of a solo career two years later with two or three LPs of merit, she hit the motherlode with Don’t Cry Now. The album was, is and will remain a classic, as will Heart Like A Wheel which was released shortly after.
I reheard both of these recently after a number of years and found them still very listenable, although my tastes are quite different from the ‘70s, when I played them much too often and got sick of them.
Even now, I could happily shelve them for another 10 years .
Linda Ronstadt
I recently read that Ronstadt is a huge fan of Maria Callas recordings.
During the last two weeks, I have been working my way through the three seasons of Black List episodes on Roku. As far as I am concerned, Reddington is the most fascinating “hero” since Dexter and Justified’s Raylan Givens.
The China Library Association holds its annual meeting at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library on Main Street in China Village. A business meeting including election of officers, amendments to the association bylaws and adoption of a budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year will be followed by discussion with Neil Farrington of plans for the 2018 celebration of the 200th anniversary of the creation of the Town Of China.
All residents interested in China’s local history are cordially invited to attend. Refreshments will be served.
The Sexual Assault Crisis and Support Center hosted its 17th annual Celebrity Dinner on September 17. The event was attended by more than 250 community members and raised over $53,600, an event record. One hundred percent of the proceeds from this event will assist the SAC&SC in providing services to individuals impacted by sexual violence. A fully-staffed and highly-trained Sexual Assault Support line available 24 hours a day, support groups, advocacy, school-based prevention education and Children’s Advocacy Center are all provided free of charge to the Kennebec and Somerset counties’ communities.
The Sexual Assault Crisis and Support Center is in its 29th year of providing services. Thanks to donors, supporters and community partners, SAC&SC added a multi-disciplinary program to provide services to the youngest victims of sexual violence. The Children’s Advocacy Center has served over 1,080 children to date.
The Sexual Assault Crisis & Support Center’s mission is to lessen the trauma-related suffering of sexual assault and promote healing by guiding those affected by sexual violence toward survival through support, advocacy, education and community collaboration.
Above, celebrity waiters, front row, left to right, Wes Huckey, Jay Hanson, Karen Kearney, Dr. Pamela Boivin, Maeghan Maloney, Donnie Whitten, Julie Buffington, Kris McCabe, Joy McKenna, Shon Theriault, Adrienne Bennett and Kevin Ostowski. Back, Mike Gilbert, Ryan Reardon, Randall Keaten, Jason Madore, Ross Cunningham, Jennifer Seekins, Tina Chapman, Jennifer Day, William Harwood, Sarah Fuller, Michelle Galego, Russ Murley, Hannah Longley and Kristen Murray-James.
Below, the staff, left to right, Deanna Walker, Sean Landry, Kathleen Paradis, Susan MacMaster Beaulieu, Jenna McCarty Mayhew, Samantha Marquis, Kathleen Auclair, Sara Bangs and Donna Strickler.
by Marilyn Rogers-Bull & PercyGood morning, dear friends. Don’t worry, be happy!
Historian Steve Pinkham will discuss the naming of the Carrabassett at the Stewart Public Library in North Anson on October 17, at 2 p.m. The public is invited to attend this well-researched topic.
Received an e-mail from the Somerset Woods Trustees…I don’t know about you, but every time I go to a store, I either have forgotten my reusable bags or I don’t have enough. Here’s your chance to stock up on a few extra to keep in your car so you will always have enough when needed and help Somerset Woods Trustees improve our preserves for you and our communities.
“Launch Day’ for the Hannaford Helps Reusable Bag Program was the first day of October. They have the entire month of October, in which they will receive $1 from each blue Hannaford Helps Reusable Bag purchased at the Skowhegan Hannaford location.
Please show your support by purchasing these beautifully designed, blue reusable bags with the good karma messaging at Hannaford! They can be found at the reusable bag rack and various registers.
These bags are much stronger than most and hold more groceries!
The ‘modest’ goal is to sell 1,000 bags but they have only the month of October. Went up to Bingham one day recently to see if I could find out information about the wind tower project. It is just about completed and was told that the small trailers used for offices will be moved and the building on Rte. 201 which was used as head quarters will be vacant by November 1.
The project to erect 56 towers took around two years to complete, and 80 percent of the workers employed were from Maine.
You can see many of these approximately 330-foot tall towers as you travel up Route 16 from Moscow to Kingsbury. They held up traffic in some of Maine’s rural roads, especially on corners, getting to their final destination.
I told two of the ones I talked to about going for a ride and seeing the huge blades turning very, very slowly when there wasn’t even a breeze blowing. How they laughed, they said up where the towers were there definitely was wind blowing!
One of the guys that I talked with was Dominique Cyr, he is the project engineer, and his words were, “It’s nice to see them all running when they are done.”
Don’t know how many of you may have seen Dan Cassidy’s column INside the OUTside, when he wrote about this same project in The Town Line. He called it, Bingham, Mayfield and Kingsbury become wind power sites in his article back in July. It was very interesting and informative.
Percy’s memoir this week is… New Beginnings. How often we wish for another chance To make a fresh beginning, A chance to blot out our mistakes And change failure into winning – And it does not take a new year to make a brand new start, To try with all your heart To live a little better And to always be forgiving And to add a little “sunshine” To the world in which we’re living – So never give up in despair And think that you are through, For there’s always a tomorrow And a chance to start anew. (words by Helen Steiner Rice.)
China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee canceled the meeting scheduled for Oct. 10. The committee’s next meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday evening, Nov. 9, in the town office. Updated plans for improved boating and fishing access at the head of China Lake’s east basin will be a major agenda agenda item. A question on China’s Nov. 8 local ballot asks voters to appropriate funds to buy a parcel of land as part of the project.
by Roland D. HalleeI was encouraged to hear recently of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s renewed effort to create more habitat for the New England Cottontail.
New England cottontails, Sylvilagus transitionalis, were once a common sight along the coast, but as old fields turned to forest, and farmland became developed, habitat for this distinctively New England species diminished and their numbers declined. New England cottontails need shrub lands and young forests to thrive.
At one time, the New England cottontail was the only rabbit east of the Hudson River, until the Eastern cottontail was introduced in the late 1800s.
Until the 1950s, the New England cottontail was considered the more abundant species in New England. By the 1960s, biologists noticed that the Eastern cottontail was replacing the New England cottontail throughout New England.
New England Cottontail
Today, the Eastern cottontail is far more abundant, except in Maine, where the New England cottontail remains the only rabbit. But, it is confined to southern Maine. It is still found in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York, however, the species range had been reduced by more than 80 percent by 1960. Today, the New England cottontail’s range is 86 percent less. The numbers are going in the wrong direction.
Because of this decline in numbers, the New England cottontail is a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Cottontail hunting has been restricted in some areas where the Eastern and New England cottontails coexist in order to protect the New England cottontail populations.
According to at least one study the cottontails’ historic range also included a small part of southern Québec, from which it is extirpated.
In order to merely survive, a single New England cottontail requires at least two-and-a-half acres of suitable habitat. For long-term security and persistence, 10 rabbits need at least 25 acres. Over the last 100 years, forests throughout New England have aged. As shade from the canopy of mature trees increases, understory vegetation thins and no longer provides sufficient New England cottontail habitat.
Eastern Top, New England below
It’s not easy to distinguish the difference between Eastern and New England cottontails. The New England cottontail has shorter ears, slightly smaller body size, a black line on the anterior edge of the ears, a black spot between the ears and no white spot on the forehead. The skulls of the two species are also quite different and are a reliable means of distinguishing the two.
The major factor in the decline of the New England cottontails is habitat destruction from the reduced thicket habitat. Before Europeans settled, the New England cottontails were likely found along river valleys, where disturbances in the forest, such as beaver activity, ice storms, hurricanes and wildfires promoted thicket growth. Development has eliminated a large portion of that habitat.
However, there are other factors in the equation:
That’s why the plan to create more habitat for the New England cottontail in the Scarborough Marsh Wildlife Management Area is a step in the right direction to restore the species to its historic numbers.
China selectmen continued to talk about potential services for senior citizens at their Oct. 3 meeting, while agreeing they could take no action until they see whether voters support their Nov. 8 request for $3,800 to fund a survey of senior residents’ needs. Board members Joann Austin and Neil Farrington reported briefly on a Maine Council on Aging conference they attended, sparking a discussion of possible senior housing or medical amenities China might develop.
Austin doubts a town as small as China would appeal to a commercial developer of elderly housing. However, she said, a representative of Volunteers of America, an organization that has two assisted living facilities in northern Massachusetts (but according to its website, none in Maine, New Hampshire or Vermont) expressed interest in talking with China selectmen and looking at the Fairpoint building on Route 3. Farrington has suggested the Fairpoint building could house a medical center, a day care for children and the elderly or both.
China officials are also discussing with Vassalboro officials provision of bus transportation for residents of both towns.
In other business Oct. 3, board members appointed two Palermo representatives, Cheryl York and Dwain McKenney, to the Transfer Station Committee. Palermo will begin using China’s transfer station in January 2017.
Town Manager Daniel L’Heureux said the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee has already spent “a few thousand” dollars of the up-to-$50,000 authorized at the March town meeting on planning and engineering costs associated with planned recreational development at the head of China Lake’s east basin.
He asked for and got from the selectmen approval to approve continued spending as engineer Mark McCluskey of A. E. Hodson organizes a meeting with state Department of Environmental Protection staff to discuss issues involved in applying for a permit for the work.
China voters are asked to express their views on this issue on Nov. 8, too. One ballot question asks voters to approve an expenditure of up to $12,000 to acquire a parcel of land for parking, as part of the plan; and proposed amendments to the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance include a change that would clear the way for the proposed fishing platforms over China Lake. Representatives of the State Police and Kennebec County Sheriff’s department attended the meeting to suggest additional ways to deal with mischief and nuisances on China’s back roads.
The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is the evening of Oct. 17. It will be held at China Middle School and will be preceded by a 6 p.m. public hearing on the Nov. 8 local ballot questions.