EVENTS: Understanding land surveying

A landscape painting by Uliana Fournier, Winslow High School, grade 10. (contributed photo)

An Understanding Land Surveying workshop will be held at the Benton Grange Hall, 29 River Rd., Benton, on Wednesday, April 17, 6:30 – 8 p.m.

The sight of land surveyors peering into tripod-mounted equipment by the roadside is common enough, but what are they actually doing? Frank Siviski, a professional land surveyor with more than 30 years of experience, will shed light on the seemingly mysterious world of boundary determinations. Siviski has taught survey-related courses at Unity College, and is formerly an instructor at Kennebec Valley Community College, in Fairfield. His talk will help landowners understand how surveys are created, standards that are applied, and how landowners’ goals shape the outcome. If you have questions about boundary surveys, this is an opportunity to have those questions answered.

EVENTS: Bird migration in central Maine

These eastern bluebirds huddle in an attempt to stay warm. (photo courtesy of Massachusetts Audubon Society)

A bird migration in central Maine lecture will be held on Thursday, May 9, at 6:30 p.m., Unity Community Center, 32 School St., Unity

The Sebasticook River watershed provides a diversity of habitats that host well over 200 species of birds annually. Although many nest here, species composition changes throughout the seasons due to migration. Tom Aversa will lead in an evening of fun and exploration as they learn when and where to find this vast array of species. Aversa enjoys birds year-round while serving as the SRLT chairman. He has studied our avian friends for over 50 years, having penned several books on birds, serving on the Maine Bird Records Committee, and traveling worldwide in pursuit of natural history.

EVENTS: Safe, practical storage and display spaces for historic objects

Conservator Ron Harvey of Tuckerbrook Conservation. (contributed photo)

Explore the best ways to care for your personal or museum collections. Come join this free workshop Monday, May 6, 2024, Safe, Practical Storage and Display Spaces for Historic Objects Workshop, at the L. C. Bates Museum at Good Will-Hinckley. This collections care and storage workshop will provide training on how to better care for your historic objects or family treasures. The National Endowment for the Humanities sponsored collections workshop will be led by renowned conservator Ron Harvey. The L. C. Bates Museum workshop will cover the basic needs and care of collections and include hands-on activities led by the conservator. There will be time to ask the conservator about your special collections and their care. A take home archival storage container will be provided for all participants. The May 6 workshop will run from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Please email (lcbates@gwh.org) or call (207-238-4250) the museum for additional information or to register for this engaging program.

 

 

 

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Bar Harbor Bank & Trust accepting scholarship applications

Bar Harbor Bank & Trust is currently accepting applications for the Bank’s 2024 Career & Technical Education Scholarship. The $1,000 scholarship is awarded to income-eligible high school seniors who attend a technical career program as part of their high school curriculum and are planning to attend a college or technical school in the academic year immediately following graduation.

Students must reside in counties in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont where the bank has a branch location. Applicants selected to receive a 2024 scholarship will be eligible to apply for an additional $1,000 scholarship in 2025 to be used for their second year of college or technical school.

The deadline to apply for the 2024 Career & Technical Education Scholarship is May 1, 2024. Interested students can visit www.barharbor.bank/scholarships for more information about eligibility and to download the application.

The Bank established the Career & Technical Education Scholarship in 2018 and has awarded 84 scholarships to date.

Bill to protect veterans unanimously clears key legislative committee

Veterans in Maine may soon have more financial security after a bill providing protection from fraudulent and predatory claims practices cleared a key legislative committee last week. The bill, LD 2259, was sponsored by Sen. Brad Farrin, R-Somerset, and provides increased protection for veterans who are applying for U.S. Veterans Administration (VA) benefits.

The predatory practices, which according to the VA are conducted by people or organizations whom they call “Claim Sharks,” include aggressive and misleading tactics aimed at veterans, their families, survivors and caregivers. These practices often result in hefty fees to “assist” or “consult” veterans and survivors with the filing of their VA benefits claims.

During an awareness campaign launched last year, the VA said unaccredited claim sharks have no formal training in the VA system and operate outside the law. The Federal Trade Commission estimated that such scammers cost veterans and their families about $292 million in losses in 2022.

Since the passage of the PACT Act in 2022, which was the largest benefit and health care expansion in the VA’s history and now covers veterans who were exposed to burn pits and toxic substances, activity by claim sharks and other scammers has only risen. The sudden spike led to the introduction of competing U.S. House and Senate bills that will reinstate fines and jail time, which were suspended during the pandemic to aid the VA to catch up on benefits claims. Both bills have very strong support.

Typical tactics used by such predators often include offering a consultation from their own network of doctors while promising an expedited examination and guaranteeing an increased disability rating or percentage increase to their benefits. Claim sharks then apply hefty fees for their assistance or demand a high percentage of the veteran’s earned benefits.

The VA says veterans are never required to pay for benefits they earned. They launched a website to help veterans prevent fraud and how to report it and seek help if it occurs. They also have an online tool to aid veterans who are searching for accredited Veterans Services Organizations (VSOs) to help with various services.

“My bill will provide an extra wall of security for our veterans, further protecting them from predatory and deceptive practices that target their hard-earned monetary benefits. Veterans should never have to use their benefits to pay for these predatory practices; and I thank the Veterans of Foreign Wars for bringing this to my attention,” said Farrin. “Veterans did their duty for our country and deserve the greatest protections possible. It is our duty as a country and as a state to provide them with that security and provide as much information about VSOs as possible.”

The bill now moves to the Senate and House chambers for final passage.

SMALL SPACE GARDENING: 2024 winning flowers for your garden and containers

Sweetheart Kisses verbena attracts pollinators and brings a vibrant mix of red, rose, pink, and a bit of white to gardens or containers. (photo courtesy of All-America Selections)

by Melinda Myers

Make some room in your garden or containers for the new All-America Selections 2024 National award-winning plants. These winning varieties are tested in trial gardens across the United States and Canada. Volunteer judges rate entries based on their improved performance, flavor, disease resistance, and other unique qualities related to their performance in gardens and containers.

Celosia burning embers was selected for its bronze foliage with dark pink veins that contrasts with its vibrant pink flowers. Like other celosias, this variety is heat, humidity, and drought tolerant. Grow it in a container or garden bed in a sunny location. Grow plenty as you will want to pick a few to add to summer bouquets and dried arrangements.

Siam Gold marigold is another season-long bloomer that thrives in full sun and tolerates heat and drought. The three-to-four-inch double flowers top 18 to 20″ tall plants that do not need staking. Purchase transplants or extend your planting budget by starting these seeds right in the garden.

Interspecific Solarscapeâ XL Pink Jewel impatiens offers a tropical look and feel to full and partly sunny locations. You’ll enjoy flowers all season long as well as this plant’s superior disease resistance, including resistance to downy mildew disease. Grow this in mass in garden beds and borders or in a few containers on your patio, deck, or balcony.

Sure ShotÔ White Petunia can tolerate crazy weather conditions including heat, cold rain, and sunshine. This petunia hybrid grows eight to ten inches tall and works well in containers, hanging baskets, and garden beds. You’ll enjoy the lightly fragrant flowers that help attract bees and other pollinators to your gardens.

EnVivaÔ Pink petchoa is a cultivar of a petunia and calibrachoa hybrid. This variety wowed the judges with its mounded habit that persisted throughout the growing season. The bright pink flowers with yellow throat held up through heat and rain. Grow these in containers, hanging baskets, and garden beds.

Sweetheart Kisses verbena adds a vibrant mix of red, rose, pink, and a bit of white to full and partly sunny spots in your landscape. The airy foliage creates a nice backdrop for the flowers. Use it as an annual groundcover, edger in a flower bed or mixed border, or in a container alone or mixed with other annuals. Then watch for the butterflies and bees stopping by the flowers.

Big EEZE Pink Batik geranium’s unique pink and white mosaic blooms perform as well as other members of the Big EEZE series. The plant produces an abundance of flowers of equal size and coloration. It performed well in full to part sun in containers and garden beds.

Combine these winners with your other favorite flowers to create a stunning landscape and eye-catching containers this growing season.

Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” instant video and DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. Myers’ website is www.MelindaMyers.com.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: The squash (pumpkin) bug; you don’t want this fella in your cucurbits

Squash bug

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Have you ever heard of a pumpkin bug? Well, neither had I until someone asked about them.

The pumpkin bug, or squash bug, are also called stink bugs, but are not the traditional stink bug. Although some pumpkin bugs are called stink bugs, not all stink bugs are pumpkin bugs. If you ever spot a sizable green stink bug, there’s a good chance that it’s a pumpkin bug. They are similar in appearance to stink bugs because they both have a foul odor when squashed. However, stink bugs are wider and rounder.

The squash bug, Anasa tristis, is common throughout the United States. It primarily attacks squash and pumpkins but can also attack other cucurbits, such as cucumbers.

They are the bane of a gardener. They are difficult to kill and can cause a lot of havoc.

The adult bugs are somewhat flat, large insects, measuring 5/8 inch long and 1/3 inch wide. They are usually dark gray to dark brown. The edges of the abdomens protrude beyond their wings and typically have alternating orangish and brown stripes. They are able to fly, however they often simply walk around on plants.

These bugs overwinter as adults in sheltered places, such as under plant debris, around buildings, or under rocks. When adults emerge in the spring, they fly to growing cucurbit plants to feed and mate. Females lay eggs individually in small clusters of about 20 commonly on the undersides of the leaves, especially between the veins where they form a V. The females usually begin to appear in gardens in early June, and continue to lay eggs through mid-summer.

These bugs have piercing-sucking mouthparts they use to suck the sap out of leaves. This process produces yellow spots that eventually turn brown, and disrupts the flow of water and nutrients, which can cause wilting. Young plants are more susceptible to extensive damage. Larger, more vigorous plants are more tolerant of feeding damage, although they can also be injured or killed if they are severely attacked.

These bugs inject a toxin into the plant and suck the sap right out of it with their sharp mouthparts. This causes yellow spots that eventually turn brown. The leaves will wilt because the damage prevents the flow of nutrients to the leaves, and then they will dry up and turn black.

The most important times to control squash bugs are when the plants are young seedlings and when they are flowering. Early detection is important because adult squash bugs are difficult to kill.

Remove or knock off and kill nymphs and adults by dropping them into a bucket of soapy water. This can be challenging because the bugs hide under leaves and move quickly when disturbed.

Crush the eggs that are attached to the undersides and stems of leaves.

Trap the bugs by laying out boards or pieces of newspaper. The bugs will congregate under the boards at night, and then can be collected and destroyed in the morning.

Check your plants daily. If there are no more than a few vines infected, keep collecting and destroying the bugs and crushing the egg clusters that you find.

Insecticides are not generally needed to control these bugs. They can be used if cucurbits are found wilting early in the season. Carbaryl/Sevin, is most effective if applied when eggs are hatching. Consult your local garden center for controls that are locally approved. When using an insecticide, make sure to read the instructions well.

Planting time is approaching. Make sure your garden is free of these little pests. There is no worse feeling than seeing your plants being destroyed and you have no idea what is causing it. Check under the leaves.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Which MLB pitcher owns the distinction of having won the most games, and having lost the most games during his career?

Answer
Cy Young’s career record was 511-316.

Local students named to dean’s honor list

Zachary Craig, of Benton, Catherine Estes, of Sidney, and Rebecca Riley, of Chelsea, were named to the dean’s honor list at Cedarville University, in Cedarville, Ohio, for Fall 2023.

Emma Concaugh named to College of the Holy Cross’ dean’s list

Emma Concaugh, of Oakland, a member of the class of 2024, was named to the College of the Holy Cross dean’s list, in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Oakland bike group takes the plunge for charity

From left to right, Lynn Woodard, Director Megan Bragdon, Nick Leavitt, Road Captain Dawn Brasil, Treasurer Brad Wing, and Assistant Director Mark Spence. (photo by Sharon Roode)

On March 16 the American Legion Riders of Decker-Simmons Post #51, Oakland, along with other groups from the area gathered at the boat launch in Oakland for the Polar plunge to raise money to help fight food insecurity at the Alfond Youth and Community Center. They raised $1,986 with a grand total over all of $30,000.

Director Lynn Woodard was quoted saying “Motorcyclists sometimes, we don’t get a good reputation. So we’re here for the community. Our group, we’re not like a motorcycle club, we’re just riders, we represent the American Legion. A lot of our activity is just for the veterans, but today it was for the children.”

“That’s what life’s all about, helping everybody else,” added Assistant Director Mark Spence.

The group is taking the plunge to help fight food insecurity at the Alfond Youth and Community Center. (photo by Sharon Roode)