Central Maine Youth Hockey player Jamie Laliberty, 9, of Waterville, waits for the next line change during the last game of the season against the Gladiators on March 20. (photo by Sarah Fredette, Central Maine Photography staff)
Maine State Police Detective Hugh Landry was the guest at Augusta Cub Scout Pack #684, and showed the Cub Scouts how to get fingerprinted and spoke with them about forensics. (photos courtesy of Chuck Mahaleris)
Maine State Police Detective Hugh Landry and Augusta Cub Scout Pack #684. (photos courtesy of Chuck Mahaleris)
Porcupine.
by Roland D. HalleePorcupines. Nuisance, or ecological necessity?
It all depends with whom you talk. I know some people who are overrun by the animals to the point where they are raiding the gardens, and having to deal with their dogs being injured by porcupine quills due mostly to their own curiosity. While others find a use for them.
Simply put, porcupines are rodents. That puts them in the same class, and are actually related, with raccoons, rats and beavers. They are indigenous to the Americas, Southern Asia, Europe and Africa. They are the third largest of the rodents, behind the capybara and beaver.
They can grow in size to be 25 – 36 inches long with an 8- to 10-inch tail, and weigh from 12 – 35 pounds.
The common porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum, is an herbivore, so look out gardens. It eats leaves, herbs, twigs and green plants. They may eat bark in the winter, evidence of which I have seen in many places. The North American porcupine often climbs trees to find food. Like the raccoon, they are mostly nocturnal, but will sometimes forage for food in the day.
Because of the scarcity of predators, porcupines are plentiful and are not endangered.
The name porcupine comes from Middle French porc espin (spined pig). A regional American name for the animal is quill pig.
The porcupines’ quills, or spines, take on various forms, depending on the species, but all are modified hairs coated with thick plates of keratin, and they are embedded in the skin.
Quills are released by contact with them, or they may drop out when the porcupine shakes its body. The porcupine does not throw quills, but the flailing muscular tail and powerful body may help impel quills deeply into attackers. The quills’ barbed ends expand with moisture and continue to work deeper into flesh. Porcupine quills have mildly antibiotic properties and thus are not infectious. Quills, however, may cause death in animals if they puncture a vital organ or if a muzzle full of quills leads to starvation.
Once embedded, the hollow quills swell, burn and work their way into the flesh every time a victim’s muscles contract, digging a millimeter deeper each hour. Eventually, they emerge through the skin again, some distance from the entry point though sometimes they spear right through the body.
I have had first hand knowledge of how painful a porcupine quill can be. Many years ago, my children had chores to do after they got home from school. One of them was to make sure they picked up after themselves following their after-school snack. Upon returning home from work, I found a folded paper towel on the counter. I grabbed it to crush it into a ball to throw away when this sharp pain shot through my hand. When I unwrapped the towel, I found a porcupine quill inside, but now imbedded in my hand. It turned out my daughter had brought it home from school to show it to me. She obtained the quill from a “show and tell” session at school.
Because they have few effective predators, porcupines are relatively long-lived. The average life span of the porcupine is 7 – 8 years, however, they have lived up to 15 years in the wild, and 18 years in captivity. A predator needs to learn only once to leave a porcupine alone. Bobcats, great-horned owls, mountain lions, coyotes and wolves, when extremely hungry and unable to catch anything else, may give it a try, anyway. The fisher, however, is a skilled porcupine killer. It uses its speed and agility to snake around a porcupine’s rear guard defense and viciously bite its face until it dies.
Porcupine in a tree.
At one time, however, especially when game was scarce, the porcupine was hunted for its meat and considered a delicacy. A practice that continues in Kenya today. Because they are slow, and can remain in the same tree for days at a time, they are about the only animal that can be killed simply with a large rock. Native people of the North Woods also wove elaborate dyed quillwork decorations into clothing, moccasins, belts, mats, necklaces, bracelets and bags. Because the work was so time-consuming and highly valued, quill embroideries were used as a medium of exchange before the coming of Europeans.
When not in trees or feeding, porcupines prefer the protection of a den, which can be found in rock crevices, caves, hollow logs, abandoned mines and even under houses and barns.
Porcupines are highly attracted to salt. They may chew on any tool handle that has salt left from human sweat. They have even been known to chew on outhouse toilet seats. Road rock salt is very tempting to them, and puddles of water from the snow-melt in the spring are especially luring and could account for their high road-kill mortality rate. They have even been seen gnawing on automobile tires that have been exposed to rock salt.
In Maine, porcupines join a short list of other animals that are open to hunting all year, including coyotes, woodchucks and red squirrels.
So, are porcupines a nuisance, or do they have a role in the grand scheme of things, ecologically?
Which pitcher, who played for the Red Sox between 1977 and 1989, is the only player from the state of Maine to receive All Star honors?
Which pitcher, who played for the Red Sox between 1977 and 1989, is the only player from the state of Maine to receive All Star honors?
Bob Stanley, in 1979 and 1983.
by Marilyn Rogers-Bull & PercyReceived the following email from Carol Dolan and my many thanks for this recent news! She wrote: I’ve been asked to circulate the following from the New Portland Library Cutest Pet contest. Our activity for April is the “Cutest Pet” contest. Our pets have given us unconditional love, have been our faithful companions, and perhaps our best company over the past year. Pets include dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, pigs, you name it.
We are accepting entries throughout April; $5 per entry with a chance to win $25. Fill out an entry form telling us why your pet should win and submit a picture to the library. Winner will be chosen first week of May. The picture will be on display and will remain up for a time in the library to cheer us up.
They are located at 899 River Road, in New Portland. They are open Tuesdays and Saturdays 8:30 a.m. – noon and Sundays 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Call us at 628-6561. Sheila Atwood; New Portland Community Library.
The old news this week is from an Old Somerset Reporter: “Somerset County’s hometown paper for 145 years.” This one was published January 31, 1985, and I was writing for it at that time.
The following officers were elected at the annual meeting of the Solon Federated Church held Friday evening at the Methodist Church Vestry. Clerk, Constance Hopkins; treasurer, Ellen Hills; Finance chairman, Marilyn Rogers; spiritual advance chairman, Gordon Ripley; pulpit decoration chairman, Peggy Rogers; benevolence chairman, Catherine Starbird; music chairman, Gordan Ripley, Sunday School Superintendent, Mary Walz; auditors, Perley Loomis and Albert Starbird.
Other news in this paper was: The blood pressure clinic will be held Monday, February 4, from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Methodist Church Vestry.
That paper ended with these words: “Just want any of you who may have passed by last Thursday when I was stopped beside the road talking with that big handsome fella in the New England Tel. car to know I wasn’t having a secret rendezvous; that was my son, Mark! You know how gossip gets started.
This is going to be a rather mixed up column this week, I just came across an OLD Somerset Reporter, 1976, with lots of information about long ago river driving which I find really interesting, and hope you will, also. Won’t be able to get it all in this week. Will start with this story called Bert Morris remembers: Long logs and good men, West Forks – Bert Morris has lived his whole life near the Kennebec River. He was born close to its banks in 1889; he started driving logs in its headwaters when he was 15; he guided fishermen through its rapids and he still lives beside the river today.
If he was trying to be melodramatic, Mr. Morris might say he “loves” the Kennebec. But he doesn’t talk that way. His reminiscences are straightforward and factual. He talks about the river and the forests around it with an understanding that can only come from a lifetime of experience. He doesn’t need melodrama.
He started driving at 15 years old. Mr. Morris served as foreman for the Kennebec Log Driving Company for years. It was a post he earned. When he started, at age 15, he began at the bottom. “They started me out on a big, wide boom, maybe four or five feet wide. The logs went down a sluceway – long logs they were – and there were four or five men on each side with long pick poles to keep them straight. They could run a raft through pretty fast; everybody kept to his business,” he recalls.
That first job, with a driver named Daniel Burns, was at Indian Pond. After four years there, Bert Morris went to work for Jim Kinsley, on Moosehead Lake, a post he held for five years. “They towed the logs through Moosehead Lake with those big boats then. Then we’d sluice them into Indian Pond. That’s where the wind would start to work on them, and they’d pile up and jam, he remembers.”
That’s all the space I have room for at this time, if I’m going to get Percy’s memoir in. His memoir today goes way back in time also, and is called Practicing Penmanship : You may recall the copybook of schoolboy days with its well-worn look, And its rounded script of chaste design, That topped each page in graceful line. We took our stance all set to go, With a toe hooked firm in the seat below, And with vice-like grip on the old steel pen, We wrote up hill and down again, Carving our way at a creeping pace, With many a pucker and painted grimace, As over and under we wrote sage words, That meant far less than the singing birds, We could hear outside, as with labored scrawl, We did our stint at the master’s call.
ALBION – Betty K. Mason, 102, passed away on Thursday, March 25, 2021. Betty Knowlton Mason was born, in Albion, on July 11, 1918, the daughter of Cleve and Gladys Knowlton, of Albion.
She graduated from Besse High School, in Albion, with the class of 1937. She married Robert Mason; they were married for 61 years and raised two children, David and Valerie.
Betty was the cook for many years at Albion schools. Later she was cook at Bethany Nursing home until she retired. Betty was famous for her pies and biscuits. Meals without homemade biscuits were rare at the Mason home. She was all about family and her happiest times were family gatherings at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and whenever the family could get together.
She was predeceased by her parents; her husband; and her brother, Robert Knowlton.
She is survived by her son, David and his wife Margaret, her daughter, Valerie; her grandchildren, Monica Bennett and her husband Paul; her great-grandchildren, Noah and Elizabeth; her grandson, Andrew Mason and his wife Caralee and daughter Kaley; and her sister-in-law, Joanne Knowlton.
She held the Boston Post cane as Albion’s oldest citizen for nine years.
Burial will be at No. 4 Cemetery, in Albion. A celebration of her life will be held in July.
Arrangements are in the care of Lawry Brothers Funeral & Cremation Care, 107 Main St., Fairfield, where condolences may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the website at http://www.familyfirstfuneralhomes.com
WASHINGTON – Gwenith Neal Gee, 91, passed away Thursday, March 25, 2021, at Pen Bay following a period of declining health. She was born October 19, 1929 in Dexter, to Joel Neal and Doris Martin Neal; she was the youngest child.
After graduating from Hartland Academy, class of 1948, she married her high school sweetheart, Thomas B. Gee. Devoted wife, wonderful mother to her five sons and adoring grandmother to her five grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Gwen and Tom moved to Marblehead, Massachusetts, and raised their young boys. During the 20 years they lived in Marblehead, Gwen enjoyed playing softball with the women’s softball league and bowling with the women’s bowling league.
Gwen and Tom returned to Maine and operated their own business, Gee’s Egg Farm, in Washington, for many years. Family and home were the loves of her life and she took many family photos.
Monthly, she made sure to decorate her home for holidays, especially for Christmas with extensive decorations and lots of presents for all.
In her retirement, Gwen took pleasure in living on the lake, feeding birds, watching wildlife, and the arrival of ducks every spring. She enjoyed watching her grandson, Cale, playing in basketball games and watching many dance recitals of her granddaughter, Curry, and great-granddaughter, Avery Wing.
She is survived by her sons, Timothy Gee, of Union, Scott Gee and Julie Sells, of Rockport, Douglas Gee and his wife Joy, and Brian Gee, all of Washington; sister-in-law, Kitty Gee, Chesterville; five grandchildren, Thomas Gee, Adam and his wife Dawn, Katie Wing, Curry Jo Gee, and Cale Gee; five great-grandchildren; many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
She was predeceased by her husband, Tom Gee; son Randall Gee and daughter-in-law, Cindy Gee; infant brother, Harland, and three sisters, Velma “Binga” Sawyer, Geraldine Plummer and Pauline Stark.
a private graveside service will be held in the spring.
Arrangements are entrusted to Hall Funeral Home, 949 Main St., Waldoboro.
Condolences may be shared with the family at http://www.hallfuneralhomes.com.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to American Cancer Society or the American Heart Association.
BELGRADE – Margaret Ann Bowzard Marden, 83, passed away on Saturday, March 27, 2021.”Miss Ann”, was born December 11, 1937, to Lee Bowzard and Mae Bowzard, in North Charleston, South Carolina, where her father was employed in the Charleston Naval Shipyard.
At the end of World War Il, the family moved to Holly Hill, South Carolina, for Lee to become a dairy farmer and Mae to become an inspector in a sewing factory providing inventory for J. C. Penney. After graduating from Holly Hill High School, Ann entered the Orangeburg County Regional Hospital School of Nursing, acquiring her Registered Nurse diploma in 1958. Invited by Ann’s roommate’s mother, a German National, and her stepfather, a U.S. Army Major, to come to Germany and work as nurses for the Department of the Army, the girls moved to Wurzburg. During the few months to find clinical nursing openings, they organized and managed the first Army dependent Wurzburg Day Care on the military base. They then became employed at the U.S. Army’s 97th General Hospital, in Frankfurt, Germany.
During her service at the 97th, she had the pleasure of caring for Elvis Pressley, a victim of tonsillitis. At the Hospital Officer’s Club, Ann met Lt. Don Marden where they “Carolina shagged” the evenings away. She married Don in December 1961 during his first year in Boston University School of Law.
While in Boston, Ann continued her career as an operating room and ICU nurse at the US Public Health Service, Brighton Marine Hospital. They moved to Waterville upon Don’s graduation from law school where she spent the next nine years caring for the family of four sons. In June 1976 she acquired her BS degree, (summa cum laude) in Professional Arts, from Thomas College, in Waterville. Ann was a State Nursing Supervisor, Sales Representative and Nurse Examiner for Hooper Holmes/Portamedic during 1982-87. She was an agent for Dennis and Beedy Real Estate in 1987-89. In 1990 she was appointed Director of the Governor’s Office of Volunteer Services by Governor John McKernan. In 1993 she became Director of the Edmund N. Ervin Pediatric Clinic of the Thayer Hospital, located at the former Seton Hospital, in Waterville, a position from which she retired in 2003.
Along the way she, along with a group of friends, formed an Antique Club, a group which continues to meet, subject to the pandemic, on a regular basis. Ann was active in Republican Party activities working to support her husband’s successful campaigns for Mayor of Waterville and then Kennebec County Attorney.
She organized the first governor’s inauguration ball for Governor McKernan. While serving as a member of the Board of Directors of the Waterville Area Boy’s/Girl’s Club, she established a thrift shop to increase revenue. While her husband was a member of the Board of Directors of Good Will-Hinckley School, she originated the Festival of Trees as a Christmas celebration.
For many years Ann was a Docent at the Colby College Museum of Art. Her book Personal Records: The New York Times Book of Lifetime History, was published in 1979. In 1981, DownEast published her Shopper’s Guide to Northern New England and in 1983 her Shopper’s Guide to Southern New England.
She conducted extensive research on “coin silver” but was not published. Commencing in 2003, she fabricated and sold women’s jewelry under the name of Classic Jewelry by Ann Marden, primarily using imported and domestic beads.
Through it all, she was a true “southern lady.”
Ann was predeceased by her parents and brother, John Bowzard, of Holly Hill, South Carolina.
She is survived by her husband, of Belgrade; sons Lee, of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Don, Jr., of Marblehead, Massachusetts, David, of McLean, Virginia. and Ken, of Arlington, Massachusetts; grandchildren, Sean, Josh, Hannah, Jamie, Lindsey, Courtney, Milica, Mateja and Bailey; sister Carolyn, of Vance, South Carolina; sister-in-law, Libby; and daughters-in-law, Bonnie, Kristen, Mirjana and Laurie.
Private family graveside services will be held when appropriate. Memorial activities at the Pleasant Street Methodist Church at a later date.
An online guestbook may be signed, and memories shared at www.familyfirstfuneralhomes.com.
Arrangements are by Wheeler Funeral Home & Cremation Care, 26 Church St., Oakland.
WATERVILLE – Margaret Frances Doherty Straffin, 79, of Waterville, passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 27, 2021, at Country Manor Nursing Home, in Coopers Mills, following a long illness. She was born in Brockton, Massachusetts, on December 2, 1941, the daughter of John Henry Doherty and Alma A. Moquin Doherty, both deceased.
Marge leaves behind her husband of 45 years, Norman I. Straffin, who shared a long and happy marriage. Marge also leaves behind a sister Kathleen Ann Bunar, of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and a brother, John Michael Doherty, of Carver, Massachusetts; and many nieces and nephews.
Marge attended schools in Abington, Massachusetts, and at Massasoit Community College, in Brockton, Massachusetts, where she earned a degree in the field of accounting. This accounting degree served Marge well as she moved up the ladder from clerk to accounting and management. Marge used to kid around and say that she never met a job she did not like and this was the truth.
Marge met her future husband, Norman Straffin, at his Straffin’s Coffee Shop, located in Brockton, Massachusetts. This is the coffee shop she visited each morning for her coffee to sip on her drive to Boch Motors where she was employed as office manager. Prior to that Marge was employed in Boston, Massachusetts, by Industrial Finance Corporation.
In 1975, Marge and Norm left Brockton, Massachusetts, in a 31-foot Holiday Rambler travel trailer and traveled for several months extensively throughout the United States and Canada before settling in Hemet, California.
In Hemet they opened a restaurant called the “Bostonian” which became one of the busiest at that time in Hemet. After a few years of operation the property came for sale and they purchased the property which also included another fast food restaurant. They resided in Hemet for a few years while building their scenic mountain home in Idyllwild, California.
Marge loved to cook and over the many years many friends and family dinners were held at their mountain home in Idyllwild. They almost lost their mountain home in 1996 from one of the many wildfires that strike California during the dry and windy months. The home was evacuated for five days until the fires were brought under control. The fire came within one half mile of their home.
After operating the restaurant for several years the Bostonian Restaurant was sold and leased.
Marge obtained her California real estate license and sold real estate in Idyllwild for years. Meanwhile, Norm obtained his general contractor’s license from the state of California and was building homes in the Palm Springs/Coachella Valley area. Marge worked for a local broker in the Palm Springs area for a while until Norm obtained his broker’s license. A mortgage company was formed under Norm’s broker’s license which was called “Inland Cities Mortgage,” which provided new purchase loans and refinancing and this office was located in San Jacinto, Caliornia. This worked well for Norm and Marge and provided the buyers of homes with in-house financing. Over the years real estate holdings were acquired.
In 1999 Norm and Marge decided to make changes to the commercial property in Hemet. The Bostonian Restaurant was modernized and the fast food restaurant was taken down and rebuilt as a modern restaurant called “Frogs”.
This restaurant was set and operated by Norm and Marge for a short time before selling the business. This restaurant had a large assortment of ice cream products and a fast food restaurant with a drive-through. This became one of the most attractive restaurants on Florida Avenue, in Hemet. In 2004 the entire property was sold to a San Diego real estate broker who owned the property where the new San Diego Stadium now stands.
Between 2003 and 2004 Norm and Marge started to sell out of California and returned to the New England area, settling in Maine. A state they long cherished. This was accompished by 1,031 real estate exchanges of like kind properties. Rental properties were acquired throughout the Kennebec and Androscoggin counties. Marge was a member of “CAHA,” Capital Area Housing Association.
Norm and Marge loved boating and were active members of the Wiscasset Yacht Club. Marge was not a lover of the open ocean but with the yacht club located on Wiscasset Harbor and adjacent to the Sheepscot River, traveling the river and visiting Boothbay Harbor was always enjoyable. A common trip throughout the summer was going to Five Islands near the mouth of the river and ocean and enjoying the food from the Five Islands Lobster Company. A Five Islands yacht club mooring always seemed to be available when arriving. After taking a short dingy ride to the wharf a delightful meal was always enjoyed. If after a nice meal and watching the local lobstermen and other boaters coming and going sometimes they just spent the night there. Another ride they enjoyed was traveling the Sheepscot River and a narrow waterway over to the Kennebec River and a nice meal at the Kennebec Tavern, with docks on the river for tying up.
Norm and Marge owned time shares at the “Winner’s Circle”, in Solana Beach, California, and traveled throughout the United States, Hawaii and Canada with trading of their time share. An annual trip to the Lake Tahoe area every fall was most enjoyable. Which always included a little gambling on the Nevada side.
After returning to Maine, Marge became a licensed realtor in the state of Maine.
A private memorial service will be held later and burial will be in Melrose Cemetery in Brockton, Massachusetts.
Cremation services have been entrusted to Brookings-Smith, in Bangor, Maine.
OAKLAND – Ronald Lee Albair, 65, passed away Monday, March 29, 2021, at his place of work. He was born November 8, 1955, in Waterville, the son of Levi W. Sr. and Mona E. (Higgins) Albair.
He graduated from Messalonskee High School, in Oakland, in 1975. On May 17, 1986, he married Nettie Albair, in Skowhegan.
He worked the last 17 years for Hammond Lumber, at the Belgrade sawmill. From 1996 to 2004, he worked at Lucas Tree Company and from 1990 to 1996 he was at Tukey Brothers Sawmill, of North Belgrade.
Ronald enjoyed hunting and fishing. Whenever there was a family gathering, he would enjoy playing corn hole. When his wife was alive, they enjoyed camping. Every Sunday he looked forward to having coffee with his sister, Connie. He also enjoyed 4-wheeling and just using his side-by-side for yardwork.
He is survived by his daughter, Sara Borelli and husband James, of Oakland; three sisters, Connie Hartsgrove, of Oakland, Debbie Koss, of Newport, Trudy Albair, of Oakland; two brothers, Levi “Sonny” Albair Jr. and wife Lorraine, of Corinna, Bruce Albair, of Oakand; many nieces and nephews.
A graveside service will be held at the South Side Cemetery, in Skowhegan, at a later date.
Arrangements under the direction and care of Dan & Scott’s Cremation & Funeral Service, 445 Waterville Road, Skowhegan ME 04976.
In lieu of flowers, friends wishing may make donations in Ronald’s memory to the American Cancer Society New England Division, One Bowdoin Mill Island, Suite 300, Topsham, ME 04086-1240.
SOUTH CHINA – Nicholas S. Dudley, 33, passed away on Thursday, April 1, 2021, at MaineGeneral Medical Center, in Augusta, due to a severe case of pneumonia. He was born on April 5, 1987, in Augusta, the son of Raynold L. Dudley, of Vassalboro, and Suzanne J. Dudley, of South China.
He loved listening to music, drawing (very talented) and junking (metal) like his uncle Roger. He loved hanging out with his friends. Mostly, he loved running the roads – he could never sit still. Nick had a huge heart and was very passionate of those he loved.
He is survived by his mother and father; his brother Joshua Dudley; nephew Conner; and many aunts, uncles, and cousins.
A gathering in his honor will be held in late spring.
Vassalboro Historical Society
The town of Vassalboro will begin the celebration of the town’s 250th anniversary on Monday, April 26, 10:30 a.m., at the Monument Park re-dedication. The schedule follows:
Monument Park and the Vassalboro Historical Society, is located on Route 32, East Vassalboro. There will be a 100 person open air Covid limit. Masks are required.
by ryan griffis – originally posted to Flickr as Vidalia Onions, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
Covid may have cancelled last year’s fundraiser, but the Palermo Community Center is back in action, selling 25-pound boxes of fresh, sweet Vidalia onions from Georgia. They are still ripening, but are expected to arrive in Maine the week of May 10. The boxes cost $27 each, even though shipping costs have gone up, so this is the last time they will be offered at this price.
To order, please call Connie at 993-2294 or email pwhitehawk@fairpoint.net. Please be sure to leave your contact phone number, so you may be contacted for confirmation or a call when the onions are unloaded at the Palermo Community Center. Payment is needed at the time of the order, so please make the check out to “LCF” and address your envelope to: Living Communities Foundation, P.O. Box 151, Palermo, ME 04354. Orders and payment must be received by April 25.
Proceeds from the sale pay ongoing utilities and maintenance costs for the Community Center, which also hosts the Palermo Food Pantry. Your support is truly appreciated.
by Mary GrowThe transfer station was again the major topic as Vassalboro selectmen and budget committee members met sequentially at Vassalboro Community School the evening of April 1. The two boards seem to have reached agreement on a recommendation to voters at the June 7 town meeting
John Melrose, chairman of the selectboard, had condensed earlier discussions into a two-part recommendation. Phase one, to be done in 2021-22 if voters consent, involves buying and installing a new compactor that would supplement, not replace, the old one.
When selectmen and Road Foreman Eugene Field toured the transfer station the morning of March 24, Field pointed out that it was designed to have two compactors.
The second compactor Melrose sees going where open-top containers are now located, close to the current compactor. His plan includes the update to the electrical system that board members earlier agreed was essential.
Melrose recommends adding a hopper, a variable frequency drive, controls and a shelter for the second compactor. His proposal includes security alarms and gates and relocating the control building.
His estimated cost for the work came to $117,500. Reserve funds will cover about $95,000 of the total. Melrose recommended transferring $85,000 from surplus (formally called undesignated fund balance), with the hope that overfunding will give next year’s selectboard leeway to expand the project.
One suggestion he relayed from Field was to consider buying a skid steer instead of replacing the backhoe. The backhoe is used to compress materials in the open-top containers; the new compactor would minimize use of open-tops; and a more versatile skid steer should be more useful.
If the next selectboard chooses to do nothing more at the transfer station, the extra money can be put back into surplus. Selectmen and budget committee members agreed that the town’s surplus account is large enough to stand the withdrawal.
Town Manager Mary Sabins had prepared a revised budget sheet and revised town meeting warrant articles to match Melrose’s proposal. Selectmen and budget committee members supported them.
Budget committee members also supported selectmen’s recommendations on all other warrant articles for which firm figures were available April 1. They planned to meet next on April 6 with the school board.
In other business at the selectboard meeting, board members unanimously awarded two bids.
They sold the old fire truck to the highest of four bidders, Asian Auto Services, of Plaistow, New Hampshire, for $3,632.12. Firefighter Michael Vashon said the truck was sold “as is, where is”; he expects someone from New Hampshire to come and get it. Sabins said proceeds will go into the fire truck reserve fund.
For installing a new boiler at the North Vassalboro fire station, selectmen chose the lowest of three bids, $17,250 from Houle’s Plumbing and Heating, of Waterville, provided the price will hold and the company will wait for payment until the new fiscal year begins July 1.
After speaking with a Houle’s representative April 5, Sabins emailed that the company will buy the boiler right away, before any price increase, and will not expect the first town payment until July 1. The second payment will be due when installation starts and the final payment when the job is satisfactorily completed.
Should town meeting voters decide not to buy the boiler, Vassalboro will pay Houle’s a restocking fee, the manager wrote.
The selectmen also signed Sabins’ three-year contract renewal.
After the April 6 meeting, budget committee meetings are also scheduled for 7 p.m., Thursday, April 8, and Tuesday, April 13. The next selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Thursday, April 15; the agenda is supposed to include final review of the June 7 and 8 town meeting warrant. All meetings are currently scheduled to be held in person at Vassalboro Community School.
Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)
Meeting March 30, Vassalboro School Board members were still unable to come up with a final 2021-22 budget proposal. They intended to try again Tuesday evening, April 6.
Part of the hold-up was external, including lack of information on what Vassalboro can expect from new federal pandemic money and what restrictions will be put on spending it. Pfeiffer is clear that the federal money cannot be used to replace existing budget items; it is to be used for future oriented projects, he and Finance Director Paula Pooler agreed.
Vassalboro and other schools used some of the last round of federal money to buy new buses that otherwise would have been in future budgets. One question Pfeiffer and Pooler raised is whether federal money could repave the school parking lot, a project that is no longer in the board’s draft budget.
Another unknown as of March 30 was the 2021-22 increase in insurance costs. Pooler said she hoped to have a firm figure by April 5.
Yet another external issue that comes up every year is how much Vassalboro will owe for high-school tuition for the full fiscal year. Every year the state sets the next year’s tuition rate in December. Every year Vassalboro administrators try to determine how many students will be in high school and which of the schools allowed by Vassalboro’s school choice policy each student will choose; and to guestimate how much tuition rates will increase in December.
The major internal factor still in doubt was the special education budget, which Special Education Director Tanya Thibeau was adjusting as she accounted for expected needs.
In addition to the budget discussion, board members agreed on a schedule for April that includes going back to five-day-a-week in-school classes beginning April 8 and continuing after spring vacation week (April 19 through 23) “unless things go crazy,” Pfeiffer said.
Because of the vacation week, the April regular Vassalboro board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 13, instead of the usual third Tuesday of the month.