Waterville scouts find new partner

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Scouts pictured are Nicholas Tibbetts, Mason Pelletier, Micah Waldie, Xander Dunton, Elijab Benn, Isaac Benn, Joshua Knight, Tucker Waldie, Malahki Kornsey and Sam Bernier. All are of Waterville except the Benns who live in Westbrook. (photo courtesy of Chuck Mahaleris)

by Chuck Mahaleris

After 89 years of partnership with the Pleasant Street United Methodist Church, Waterville Boy Scout Troop began 2023 with a new Chartered Organization.

“Fortunately, we didn’t have to hunt too long as we found the Waterville Masonic Lodge #33 as our new Chartered Organization,” Scout leader Bruce Rueger said. A chartered organization is a community-based group whose objectives, mission and methodologies are compatible with those of the BSA.

It agrees to use the Scouting program to further its mission to serve young people. The partnership is intended to be deeper than, say, a sponsorship arrangement between a youth baseball team and a local business. In signing an annual charter agreement with the local council, the organization agrees (among other things) to follow BSA rules, regulations and policies; maintain and support a unit committee made up of at least three persons for each unit; and ensure appropriate facilities for regular unit meetings. “They celebrated our new relationship by presenting the troop with a new troop flag recognizing our 90 years as a member of the Boy Scouts of America.” The Scouts received their new flag on March 21, 2023.

PHOTOS: Sheepscot boat parade enjoys good turnout

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Sheepscot Lake Association hosted their fifth annual boat parade on July 3. Despite the weather, this year’s parade was a big success, with 21 boats and a jet ski participating, and several camp residents along the lake cheering on from the shoreline. Tim Paul, former board member for many years, served as grand marshal (waving from boat). (contributed photo)

(contributed photo)

Scouts leadership group completes training

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Adam Wright, of Lewiston, Doug Woodbury, of Rockport, and Jon Martin, of Augusta, demonstrate round lashings. They learned the skill so they can then instruct their Scouts on the skill. (photo courtesy of Chuck Mahaleris)

by Chuck Mahaleris

Leaders from Cub Packs and Scout Troops around the area recently completed a variety of training programs. “It is encouraging to see so many scout leaders coming out to learn new skills,” said Walter Fails, of Farmington, who is the Chairman of Training for Scout Troops in Kennebec Valley District. “Every scout deserves a trained leader because trained leaders deliver better and safer Scouting programs.”

At Camp Boma­zeen, in Belgrade, 20 scouting leaders from across Pine Tree Council completed the Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation (BALOO) Training for Cub Scout leaders and the Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills (IOLS) Training for leaders in Scout Troops. The training courses were held over the weekend of May 5-7. Both programs provide an opportunity for leaders to learn how to offer Scouting’s outdoor programs safely. “We all had a great time sharing experiences and knowledge,” said Scott St. Amand, of Gardiner, who heads up Cub Scout Leader Training for Kennebec Valley District and was one of the trainers for the weekend. “It was great to see the camaraderie, and willingness to jump in and help each other learn new skills.”

Of those completing the leaders program, it included area IOLS Training: Christopher Bishop, of Whitefield, who is a leader in Troop #609 B(Boys), in Windsor, Jon Martin, of Troop #603 B, in Augusta, Stephen Polley, is a leader, in Vassalboro Troop #410, Shawn Hayden, of Skowhegan Troop #485 B.

Those locally completing requirements for the BALOO Training: Frederick Pullen, of Pack #445, in Winslow, and Christopher Santiago, of Pack #410, in Vassalboro. Santiago also recently completed more than 500 hours of online training to complete the District Committee functions. Chris Fox, of Mechnic Falls, is the Abnaki District Training Chairman and helped with the training at Camp Bomazeen.

Shelley Connolly, of Pittsfield, completed Short Term Camp Administrator training with Western Los Angeles County Council on April 29. Shelley is going to be running the Summer Camporee, at Camden Hills State Park, July 30-August 1, and she will be helping set up the schedule, program, etc., for the Scouts BSA Weekend at Bomazeen.

PHOTO: Giving a helping hand

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On Sunday afternoon, July 9, ten members of Dirigo Lodge #104 Masons, of Weeks Mills, gathered at the home of the widow of their former lodge secretary to split and stack winter’s wood into the woodshed. (contributed photo)

Pirates visit the China Village library to celebrate summer reading

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Pirates interact with local children at the ACB Library, in China Village. (contributed photos)

by Carla Gade

It was a quiet Monday morning, June 26 it was, when a pair of pirates descended on the China Village Library. Children and their parents and grandparents gathered to see if rumor was true, or was it mere hearsay? Would pirates really come to the village? By way of China Lake? Rumor had it that their ship was hidden in a cove somewhere, but to what end? In haste they ap­peared like an apparition before the group of young Bookaneers. Of those present, some donned pirate attire suitable for the occasion. Even the Librarians were costumed. One took her stance with books and a writing quill, armed with knowledge, you see.

(contributed photos)

Alas, it became known that Captain Scruffhook O’Tinkle and Miss Ruby Kidd had come bearing peaceful tidings. In fact, they had come to entertain! Captain O’Tinkle, Tink for short, regaled the crowd with true-ish stories of fabled pirates, Sam Bellamy, Black Beard, young John King, and the notorious female pirate, Zheng Yi Sao. Ruby Kidd delighted them all with stories from the book of Piratology. She also proved to be a master teller of riddles which the youngsters were quick as a whip to answer. The young Bookaneers each received a unique pirate name, learned of pirate ways (true and myth), handled a genuine compass and a leather treasure map. The generous pirates shared plentiful pirate booty from their treasure chest with all!

The pirates, O’Tinkle, aka Shana Tinkle, and Ruby Kidd, aka Annabelle Lisa, are pirate reenactors who came courtesy of Back and Forth Tours, of Belfast. Dressed in full pirate regalia, they enthralled the library visitors to help launch the library’s Family Summer Reading Adventure upon the frigate S.S. A.C. Brown. Children and youth ages 4 – 17 and/or family members interested in embarking on the reading adventure can join any time through the end of July.

The program runs through August 19 and prizes will be awarded at a pirate rendezvous at the end of August. This year, in addition to ice cream from The Landing, the Masonic Dirigo Lodge will provide “Bikes for Books” to several participants as a reward for their reading efforts. A treasure map of reading suggestions, activities, and a log to track the reader’s adventures. All family members are encouraged to participate. The idea is to make reading fun and to keep reading throughout the summer. Children of all age groups receive a pirate coin, prizes, and a raffle ticket for the bike drawing. The adult raffle prize is a coupon for bookstore. Participants should have a library card and new patrons are welcome to join.

During the summer, an inhouse treasure hunt will be an ongoing activity for all visitors who would like to participate. The China Village Library (ACBM Library) is located at 37 Main Street in China Village, ME. Facebook @chinalibrary, website: chinalibrary.org, email: chinalibraryacb@gmail.com.

How will new mooring ordinance impact recreation on Palermo waters?

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Margaret and Gary Mazoki, of Palermo, enjoy their pontoon boat during the annual July 4 boat parade on Sheepscot Lake. (contributed photo by Janet West)

Submitted by Pam McKenney,
Sheepscot Lake Association Board

In March 2023, Palermo residents voted to approve a mooring ordinance for lakes and ponds in Palermo. The ordinance and its impact on Palermo waters, including Sheepscot Lake, will be the focus of the Sheepscot Lake Association’s upcoming Annual Meeting on Thursday, July 20, 6 p.m,. at the Fish and Game Clubhouse, on Rte 3.

The guest speaker this year will be Shawn R. Hebert, Harbor Master/ Chief of the Marine Safety Division, Naples. For a combined 32 years of service, he has been involved in Public Safety and Emergency as well as the training and certifying Harbor Masters statewide. At our annual meeting, Shawn will help us to further understand the role of a Harbor Master on Maine lakes and ponds and to examine the impact of the new mooring ordinance approved by Palermo residents in March.

The new ordinance will manage the placement of moorings and houseboats on waters within the town. The purpose is to provide for safe navigation, to protect the rights of shorefront property owners, and to preserve the health of inland water ecosystems. This was necessary since the State of Maine does not regulate the placement of moorings nor the anchoring of houseboats on Maine lakes, great ponds, and streams within the Water Safety Zone. This zone is defined as the first 200 feet from the high-water mark of any shore or ⅓ distance to the opposite shore, whichever is less.

Before Palermo voters accepted the ordinance, the placement of moorings and anchoring of houseboats inside the Water Safety Zone was left up to the discretion of individuals. Municipalities have little to gain and much to lose if moorings and houseboats are abandoned or seep sewage or sink. Therefore, a committee of stakeholders, including SLA board members, examined ordinances from other Maine towns and developed standards for mooring and anchoring suited to Palermo. These standards ensure that mooring installation, use, and maintenance as well as overnight anchoring does not:

  • impair the public’s health, safety and welfare;
  • result in degraded water quality, loss of aquatic habitat, or interference with navigation;
  • infringe on the rights of shore land property owners.

Beyond human use and enjoyment, Maine waters sustain ecosystems vital to the health and identity of our state. Find out more at the Sheepscot Lake annual meeting and see the Town of Palermo website for a copy of the adopted ordinance which takes effect in 2024. Also, please consider supporting the Sheepscot Lake Association with your membership and attendance at the annual meeting. The meeting starts with a dessert potluck at 6 p.m.

A Summer Read: Fascinating new novel about Nazi hiding in post-war South America

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Published by Wicked Son Books, SOLIMEOS is available in paperback and eBook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, and all major bookstores.

A fascinating new novel about Nazis hiding in post-war South America is a great summer read.

(NAPSI)—A daring new novel called SOLIMEOS, by Rhoda Lerman, a critically-acclaimed author who passed away in 2015, imagines what life might have been like for Nazi officers and their families in South American exile after the Holocaust.

Wicked Son Books co-publisher Adam Bellow, who The New Yorker called “the hottest editor in New York,” is universally credited with knowing a good book when he reads one. When he learned that the deceased “authors’ author” Rhoda Lerman (whose work has been favorably compared to that of his father, Saul Bellow) had left an unpublished manuscript, he made it his mission to assure her literary legacy with the publication of what he believed was an “exceptional” novel.

In the waning days of World War II, fourteen-year-old Axel, his family, and their servants are cold and hungry in Pappendorf Castle. Baron Dietrich von Pappendorf, Axel’s father, is away, having spent much of the war traveling the world in search of an ancient, pre-Babel language that his occult-obsessed, Nazi masters believed would solidify Aryans as the master race. But when the baron returns to the family castle, it’s not in triumph. Axel and his family must flee Germany and embrace a life of luxurious exile in the Brazilian jungle. The von Pappendorfs take up residence in a gilded home originally built for Hitler that was carved from the hallucinogenic wilds of Amazonia.

Protected from Nazi hunters, the baron prepares for the Fourth Reich while Axel is guided by a shaman into the wisdom of the jungle. It is there the young man discovers ancient truths linking an Israelite king to a river known as Solimeos. Axel is also passionately in love with his father’s mistress: beautiful, Polish-Jewish Luba. He becomes torn between his love for his father, his desire for Luba, and the growing realization that he and his family can never atone for the past.

Utterly original, highly entertaining, and sometimes shocking, Rhoda Lerman’s SOLIMEOS – a provocative parable about the sins of the father visited upon the son – is a powerful and elegantly written story of family, fanaticism, and fate.

Highly recommended for book clubs and reading groups who enjoy historical fiction, SOLIMEOS—available in paperback and as an eBook—begs to be discussed.

The New York Times famously wrote: “Rhoda Lerman is a find. Go out and find her.”

BHB&T donates to numerous nonprofit organizations

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Bar Harbor Bank & Trust employees recently presented more than $19,000 in donations collected through the bank’s employee-driven charitable giving program, Casual for a Cause, to nine nonprofit organizations serving Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont residents. The recipients of the donations are: Eastern Maine Community College Foundation, Kennebec Valley Community College Foundation, Lubec Community Outreach Center, Machias Area Food Pantry, and Schoodic Food Pantry in Maine; Dismas Home of New Hampshire and The River Center in New Hampshire; and BarnArts Center for the Arts and Village for Paws Rescue in Vermont.

Employees participating in Casual for a Cause dress casually on Fridays in exchange for a bi-weekly payroll deduction made to a pool of funds collected during each quarter. The employees then vote on which nonprofits will receive their contributions. Employees have donated more than $220,000 since the program begin in 2018.

“We often say that our employees are passionate about the communities where we live and work, and Casual for a Cause is a testament to that,” said Jack Frost, VP Director of Community Giving at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. “The employees participating in the program give from their own pockets to support our neighbors and create better communities, and we are always amazed by their generosity.”

Local recipients of Q1 2023 donations include:

Kennebec Valley Community College (KVCC) Foundation invests in students, faculty, and programs to empower individuals and to build stronger communities. The nonprofit organization raises funds to promote and support all educational programs; provides state-of-the-art equipment and facilities; and ensures access through scholarship funds for students. Learn more about KVCC Foundation at www.kvcc.me.edu.

New Dimensions FCU receives award

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Carrielynn Reynolds

New Dimensions Federal Credit Union (NDFCU) has received CUNA’s 2023 Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award! Ryan Poulin, CEO accepted the award at the Maine Credit Union League’s Annual Convention awards dinner on behalf of the entire team and financial education department for their outstanding work around financial education. CUNA created the Desjardins program to recognize leadership within the credit union movement regarding financial literacy for all ages. Naming these awards after Desjardin emphasizes the movement’s long-time commitment to financial literacy.

New Dimensions is proud of its financial education department’s work headed by Carrielyn Reynolds, Financial Coach, who has led by instructing and crafting age-appropriate lessons to share with students from kindergarten through college levels. Reynold’s passion for financial education shows with every trip to a local school or business. Under her tenure, she has reached more students and school districts than ever before, and the feedback from educators has been overwhelmingly positive.

NDFCU commends all its staff for the teachable moments that educated a member on a product or service, provided credit counseling, helped members pay off debt, saved money on loan interest, lowered loan payments, or saved for their financial goals. Ryan Poulin states, “We are in the dream fulfillment business and help our members achieve their dreams. Every day we have multiple opportunities to provide a member, even our youngest members, with the sound advice, products, and tools they need to achieve their financial goals.

Legion Aux. collects items during youth month

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Madison American Legion Post #39 Auxiliary members at the Military Child’s table, from left to right, Harriet Bryant, Nancy Misiaszek, Jackie Pollis, Pauline Bell, Ann Cody, Robin Turek, Amy Washburn, Irma Fluet, Betty Price, Diane Pinkham and Tammy Giguere. (contributed photo)

The month of April is recognized as Children and Youth Month as well as the Month of the Military Child. In observance of both, members of the Tardiff-Belanger American Legion Auxiliary, Unit #39, Madison, collected many essential items such as clothes, Pj’s, toothpaste, toothbrushes, diapers, jackets, socks, hygiene products for the older children, coloring books, crayons, and toys.

These items benefit the children who will enter the Department of Health and Human Services System. Most children enter with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. With these items they can call their own in hopes that it makes the transition a little easier for them. This year with generous donations of items from the members of the local community, Girl Scout Troop #351, and American Legion family membership as well as the Auxiliary purchases, the Auxiliary delivered 464 items valued over $1,400.

Purple is the color for the Military Child, members wore purple for the April meeting. Purple indicates that all branches of the military are supported. Air Force blue, Army green, Navy blue, Marine red, and Coast Guard blue, all are thought to combine as a single color – purple. At the meeting, members set up the Military Child’s Table to be seen by all at the hall for the month of April.

The following are the items and their representations: The potted flowering plant symbolizing that a military child may flower and flourish where they are planted; the hand spade recognizes they may be transplanted to a new place in the world at a moment’s notice; the birthday hat and unlit candles, along with the baseball and glove, and ballet slippers represents special occasions that are missed; the family photo depicting a child with his/her uniformed parent demonstrates our country’s strength; the final touch to the table setting is the American flag to remind us that families are united in their commitment to national service, at home or away.

Contact Robin Turek, President at robinturek@gmail.com or at 696-8289.