FOR YOUR HEALTH – Vitamins and Minerals: Fortifying Against Poor Oral Health

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Here’s advice you can get your teeth into: Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables for good oral health.

(NAPSI)—Practicing basic oral hygiene, such as brushing, flossing, and going to regular checkups with a dental professional are some of the most important ways to maintain oral health. However, if these practices are not paired with proper nutrition, oral health can still suffer.

Mindfully incorporating foods that are good for oral health can also contribute to overall wellbeing. Certain vitamins and minerals are particularly beneficial for teeth and gums. Many people take dietary supplements to improve their health or fill gaps in their diet. Supplements can also be a viable alternative for people with dietary restrictions or allergies.
Best vitamins and minerals for oral health and where to eat them

Calcium strengthens enamel, which is the hard outer layer of teeth. It is widely known that cheese, low-sugar yogurt, and other dairy products contain calcium, but many seeds, beans, lentils, and leafy greens are also rich sources.

Phosphorous works with calcium to build strong teeth, as well as bones. Meats like chicken, turkey, and seafood are good sources of phosphorus. Sunflower and pumpkin seeds and whole grains are rich in this mineral, too.

Iron is a mineral used in the production of hemoglobin and having an iron deficiency can lead to harmful consequences for the body. Teeth are no exception. Eggs, beans, meat, poultry, fish, and whole grains all contain iron.

Vitamin C helps to synthesize collagen in the mouth. Eating foods containing vitamin C help strengthen teeth and protect against gingivitis, an early form of gum disease. Citrus fruits, such as oranges, strawberries, and bell peppers, are some of the best sources of vitamin C. When taking vitamin C as a supplement, it is best to avoid liquid or gummies as they can erode enamel.

Vitamin K, and more specifically vitamin K2, helps re-mineralize tooth structure. Leafy greens such as spinach, and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and kale contain vitamins K and C, as well as phosphorous.

Vitamin B, and B12 in particular, helps the body absorb calcium. It is found in many animal proteins and some fortified cereals. For those who do not eat meat or have dietary restrictions, B-complex vitamin supplements are available in place of animal proteins.

Vitamin D, like phosphorous, helps the body absorb calcium. Few foods naturally contain vitamin D, the exceptions being fatty fish, egg yolks, and some species of mushrooms. Spending time in the sunlight and taking vitamin D supplements are proven ways to increase levels of vitamin D in the body.

Eating thoughtfully to support oral health

According to Dr. Greg Theis, Vice President, Dental Services at Delta Dental of Wisconsin, “Dietary choices play an important role in overall oral health, just like brushing or flossing daily. Taking care to eat foods that are rich in essential vitamins and minerals is an important step in keeping teeth strong and healthy.”

Ultimately, eating a vitamin- and mineral-rich diet not only promotes overall wellbeing, but directly affects oral health. Taking supplements to compensate for nutritional gaps is a great way to maintain appropriate levels of crucial vitamins.

REVIEW POTPOURRI – Singer: Hal Lone Pine; TV: Have Gun Will Travel; Movie: Amadeus; Author: Anne Bronte

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Harold Breau

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Harold John Breau

Born in Pea Cove, Maine, Harold John Breau (1916-1977), better known as Hal Lone Pine, was a popular country singer for almost 40 years, especially throughout Maine, New Brunswick and the Canadian prairies, and recorded several songs for RCA Victor during the early 1950s with his wife Betty Cody (1921-2014) . For several years, the couple was a regular on radio and TV in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

After the couple divorced in 1960, Lone Pine formed a partnership with Winnipeg singer Jeannie Ward; the two recorded an LP, Hymns and Heart Songs, in 1964 for the Toronto label Arc. As an example of the sacred music genre, the album is quite good and has a mix of such familiar hymns as Beyond the Sunset and Abide with Me, and some lesser known hymns.

Lone Pine and Betty had two sons who became successful jazz guitarists – Lenny Breau (1941-1984) and younger brother Denny, who is still performing in Maine venues.

Have Gun Will Travel

Richard Boone

I have started to watch episodes of Have Gun Will Travel, a popular western TV series that ran from 1957 to 1963. Richard Boone (1917 starred as Paladin, a man who was quick on the draw yet would not use his revolver for any gun-slinging purposes. He would simply have it handy if needed on his various good Samaritan trips.

Paladin is wealthy and lives at a luxury San Francisco hotel. He is also well read – in one episode he quotes the naturalist of ancient Rome, Pliny.

Guest stars have included Hawaii 5-O’s Jack Lord, Charles Bronson of Death Wish fame, and Claude Akins and Leo Gordon (both of whom portrayed cold-blooded villains in movies and television on numerous occasions) in somewhat ominous character roles, a couple of whom change for the better by the end of the episode.

Highly recommended for unpredictable storylines and morally uplifting situations.

Amadeus

The 1985 movie classic Amadeus centered on the relationship between the great composer Mozart and the not so great composer Salieri. One particularly memorable scene, and one which might not be true, has Mozart on his death bed, singing notes for his final masterpiece, the Requiem, as Salieri writes them down.

A 1986 CBS Masterworks cassette of the Requiem featuring a French early music ensemble conducted by Jean-Claude Malgoire (1940-2018) is a good one, but not as good as ones conducted by Davis, Giulini and Karajan with larger orchestras.

Back in 2000, a community chorus in Thomaston gave a very enjoyably spirited performance of the music.

Anne Bronte

Anne Bronte

The youngest of the three super talented sisters, Anne Bronte (1820-1849) published her 1848 novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, using the pen name Acton Bell be­cause of the condescending attitude then against women writers, as with sister Charlotte’s Currier Bell and Emily’s Ellis Bell.

The novel depicts a woman, Helen Huntingdon, who is fed up with the detestable behavior of her husband and abandons him to live the life of independence she finds well worth living.

As with Charlotte’s Jane Eyre and Emily’s Wuthering Heights, this novel has a searing power and originality that challenges the conventions of society during the mid-1800s.

In a July 22, 1848, preface to the second edition, the author stated:

“My object in writing the following pages was not simply to amuse the Reader, neither was it to gratify my own taste, nor yet to ingratiate myself with the Press and the Public: I wished to tell the truth, for truth always conveys its own moral to those who are able to receive it.”

Later in the novel itself, Bronte describes a countryside morning, “when roused by the flutter and chirp of the sparrows, and the gleeful twitter of the swallows-all intent upon feeding their young, and full of life and joy in their own little frames.”

When Anne was four years old, her father asked her what she most wanted. The little girl replied, “Age and experience!”

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Sidney ponds

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Messalonskee Lake

by Mary Grow

Here is the last article (for a while) on central Kennebec Valley ponds and people for whom they might have been named. This week’s topic is ponds in the Town of Sidney (which was until Jan. 30, 1792, part of Vassalboro, despite being on the other – west – side of the Kennebec River).

A map of Sidney shows a large lake, Messalonskee Lake (aka Snow Pond), along much of its western border with Belgrade. If the map is detailed enough, it will show smaller ponds scattered through town.

They include Lily (Henry Kingsbury spelled it Lilly in his Kennebec County history) Pond, in northeastern Sidney between Interstate 95 and the Kennebec River. In the southwestern corner of town are nine small ponds, some shared with Belgrade on the west and Manchester on the south.

Lily Pond appears as an oval running approximately southwest to northeast. Its outlet, from the northeast corner, drains east into the Kennebec River.

According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s (IF&W) summary report dated 1997, Lily Pond had an area of 44 acres and a maximum depth of 30 feet. The report called it “a shallow warmwater pond with many areas of aquatic vegetation that provides excellent habitat for pickerel and largemouth bass.”

The Lakes of Maine website agrees on the maximum depth but gives the area as only 26 acres. Aerial photos on two websites show large areas of brown surrounding the pond, as though the water level had dropped significantly and the exposed areas had not grown vegetation.

* * * * * *

The northernmost of Sidney’s southern ponds, Ward Pond, is northeast of Route 27, a main road that runs diagonally through the southwest corner of town. Ward Pond lies between two north-south roads, Pond Road on the west and Quaker Road on the east.

Ward Pond was probably named after one of Sidney’s Ward families, though your writer has been unable to determine which one(s).

The 1856 map of Sidney shows a Ward house on the west side of Quaker Road, a short distance south of the pond. The 1879 map reproduced in Alice Hammond’s Sidney history shows what might be the same house, with a blacksmith shop beside it, and another Ward dwelling on the east side of Quaker Road north of the pond.

John Ward owned land in Sidney by 1794. When the first 10 school districts were laid out that year, some of the boundaries Hammond quoted referenced his land, which was evidently several miles from the Kennebec.

Kingsbury listed among early settlers in western Sidney “Deacon William Ward and his father.”

In 1843, Kingsbury and Hammond (apparently copying; she included Kingsbury in her list of sources) wrote that “Asa, William and David T. Ward” were among organizers of what became the West Sidney Baptist Church the next year.

William was probably the Rev. William Ward, who married into the large Tillson (Hammond) or Tilson (Kingsbury) family. According to the Tillson genealogy that Hammond included, Holmes Tillson (born July 4, 1776) moved to Sidney from Massachusetts in 1805; he and his wife Olive (Packard) had 10 children, the five youngest born in Sidney.

Holmes Tillson expanded his land-holdings on both sides of the southern end of Pond Road. Hammond said his son Jason donated the land for the West Sidney Baptist Church building in October, 1845. Her 1992 book has a photo of the church building at 51 Pond Road, not far north of Route 27 and south of Ward Pond.

Holmes Tillson “and one of his sons” ran Tillson Tavern (Hammond gave no dates), in a building she wrote was still standing in 1992, at the Route 27/Pond Road intersection. Kingsbury said Holmes’ sons, Jason (1806-1865) and Anson (born in 1808), succeeded him as tavern-keepers; he too omitted dates.

Anson Tillson was the first postmaster when the West Sidney post office opened in December 1831.

Holmes Tillson’s second daughter, Mary (born in 1800), married William Ward. Their son, Anson T. Ward, served in the Civil War.

After the war, Anson married Mary (Robbins) Tillson, from Rome, Maine, widow of his uncle, Jason. Anson and Mary moved to Arlington, Virginia, after 1881.

Kingsbury’s list of town officials – selectmen, town clerks and treasurers – from 1792 to 1892 includes no Til(l)sons and only one Ward. Loren B. Ward was elected a selectman in 1865 and served five terms.

* * * * * *

The other eight southern ponds are south of Route 27.

Northeasternmost is Joe Pond, an irregular rectangle. Southeast of Joe Pond is tiny round Lily Bay Pond; southwest of Joe Pond, mostly in Belgrade, is Penny or Penney Pond, shaped vaguely like a bird with half its long, rounded tail in Sidney and its body and head in Belgrade.

North-south Gould Pond, south of the east end of Penny, is entirely in Sidney, as are the two ponds parallel to its east shore. The northern of these another source names Bean Pond. The southern one the detailed Sidney map calls Doctors Pond, probably erroneously; other sources name it Emery or Mud Pond. The real Doctors Pond is probably the one east of this grouping and even smaller than Lily Bay Pond, unnamed on the Sidney map.

South of Emery Pond, partly across Sidney’s south line in Manchester, is Silver Lake.

The IF&W web page says Joe Pond has an area of 40 acres, a maximum depth of 20 feet and very acidic water. It is described as “a typical bog pond with dense shoreline vegetation and sphagnum moss growing to the waters [sic] edge.”

Lakes of Maine, as usual, agrees on the maximum depth but lists the size as only 28 acres. An undated aerial view shows Route 27 not far east of the pond and “Jepsen Woods Ln” running west off the road across the north end of the pond. There is also a suggestion of an access – a break in the vegetation – on the east shore.

Lily Bay Pond is described by Lakes of Maine as covering only three acres; no depths are given. The Lakes of Maine aerial photo shows a wooded shoreline. IF&W has no website for Lily Bay Pond.

Penny Pond, according to the IF&W website, covers 44 acres, with a maximum depth of 38 feet. IF&W calls it “a small kettle pond of glacial origin.”

(A kettle pond or kettlehole is a reminder of the glaciers that once covered Maine. It is formed when a block of ice, left buried in the ground after a glacier retreats, melts and leaves a hole that fills with water. Windsor’s Donnell Pond, described by Henry Kingsbury [and cited in the Feb. 15 article in this series] as apparently having no bottom, is quite likely a kettlehole.)

Lakes of Maine says Penny Pond covers 39 acres and agrees on the 38-foot maximum depth. Its aerial photo shows “Jepsen Woods Ln” reaching – or almost reaching – Penny Pond’s east shore, in Belgrade, over the north end of Joe Pond. Penny and Joe ponds are less than half a mile apart, according to Lakes of Maine.

The IF&W website links Gould Pond with smaller Wellman Pond, northwest and almost entirely in Belgrade. Gould Pond, the website (citing a 2000 update) says, covers 19 acres and has a maximum depth of 34 foot; Wellman is only nine acres in area, but is 66 feet deep. These are two more kettleholes, IF&W says.

The Lakes of Maine aerial photo clearly shows the stream linking Gould and Wellman ponds. Lakes of Maine says Gould Pond is 23 acres, with a 34-foot maximum depth. (For Wellman Pond, Lakes of Maine’s dimensions agree with IF&W’s.)

The Sidney map with which your writer started this investigation shows Doctors Pond as the larger and southern of two ponds parallel to the east shore of Gould Pond. It is an irregular square with a “tail” extending south and turning southwest.

Lakes of Maine has a website for a two-acre Doctor Pond in southern Sidney, with an aerial photo showing a rectangular pond with no “tail.” This pond is said to be east of Gould and Lily Bay ponds; the Sidney map shows a small unnamed pond that fits that information. IF&W does not have a Doctor(s) Pond website.

After comparing sundry maps and descriptions, your writer decided that the two ponds within half a mile of Gould Pond’s east shore are Bean Pond (northern) and Emery or Mud Pond – not Doctors Pond — (southern). A stream connects the two.

Bean Pond covers four (IF&W) or five (Lakes of Maine) acres, with a maximum depth of 30 feet (both sources).

Hammond’s history mentions several people whose last name was Bean, including the James H. Bean for whom Sidney’s school is named. Most lived in the 20th century.

One exception was David Bean, who in 1843 sold land on Belgrade Road (now Route 27), reserving a piece for his use to bury the dead. Hammond said a West Sidney Cemetery Association was organized; some of its trust funds remained in town hands in 1992.

The photos and sketches of Emery Pond match the Sidney map’s Doctors Pond. Lakes of Maine says the area is eight acres; IF&W says nine acres; both give the maximum depth as 42 feet.

The Knowles or Summerhaven Road loops around the southern ends of Emery and Gould ponds, separating them from Silver Lake, which is shared between Sidney and southern neighbor Manchester.

Silver Lake is also called Figure Eight Pond; one website calls it a “two-lobed” pond, another refers to Upper Silver Lake. Lakes of Maine’s aerial photo shows how two peninsulas almost meet to divide the lake into larger northern and smaller southern sections.

Lakes of Maine gives the size as 34 acres (IF&W says 29 acres, as of 2000) and the maximum depth as 62 feet (IF&W agrees). There are roads and buildings around much of the lake, and IF&W says there is a small boat launch on the southwest, off Summerhaven Road, near the Sidney/Manchester town line.

Knowles Road, your writer guesses, was the early name for Summerhaven Road, and it might recognize an early Sidney family. According to Hammond, Holmes Tillson’s oldest daughter, Rhoda (born in 1799), married “Deacon Joseph Knowles, of Readfield, who was associated with the Rockwood Meeting House in Belgrade.”

Their homestead was “in back of Summerhaven on the Knowles Road,” Hammond said. Knowles paid property taxes in Belgrade, Manchester and Sidney.

Hammond called Summerhaven a part of Sidney with “natural resources which furnished recreational areas.” The ponds provided opportunities for boating, swimming, fishing and ice-skating, she wrote.

On line, Summerhaven is variously identified as a neighborhood and a recreational area. It is partly in Sidney, partly farther southeast in Augusta.

Several websites refer to motorcycle trails; one says they are closed and the site remains up only for historic reasons and to prevent people making wasted trips to the former site. Other websites mention a shooting range.

Main sources

Hammond, Alice, History of Sidney Maine 1792-1992 (1992).
Kingsbury, Henry D., ed., Illustrated History of Kennebec County Maine 1625-1892 (1892).

Websites, miscellaneous.

LEGAL NOTICES for Thursday, March 21, 2024

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STATE OF MAINE
PROBATE COURT
COURT ST.,
SKOWHEGAN, ME
SOMERSET, ss
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
18-A MRSA sec. 3-801

The following Personal Representatives have been appointed in the estates noted. The first publication date of this notice March 21, 2024 If you are a creditor of an estate listed below, you must present your claim within four months of the first publication date of this Notice to Creditors by filing a written statement of your claim on a proper form with the Register of Probate of this Court or by delivering or mailing to the Personal Representative listed below at the address published by his name, a written statement of the claim indicating the basis therefore, the name and address of the claimant and the amount claimed or in such other manner as the law may provide. See 18-C M.R.S.A. §3-80.

2024-061- Estate of ALAN C. HENSLEY, late of Moscow, Maine deceased. Susan Hovey, 42 Stream Road, Moscow, Maine 04920 appointed Personal Representative.

2024-068 – Estate of RAMONA B EVERETT, late of Anson, Maine deceased. Steven Everett, PO Box 198, Anson, Maine 04911 appointed Personal Representative.

2024-071- Estate of BETTINA L. EMERSON, late of Palmyra, Maine deceased. Denise A. Bowley, 30 High Street, Newport, Maine 04953 appointed Personal Representative.

2024-072 – Estate of HERBERT EDWARD BRINKMAN, late of Pittsfield, Maine deceased. Sonja Littlewolf Letourneau, 9615 SE Boise St., Portland, OR 97266 appointed Personal Representative.

2024-073 – Estate of GERALD E. LONGSTREET, late of Fairfield, Maine deceased. Jeffrey Longstreet, PO Box 115, Fairfield, Maine 04937 appointed Personal Representative.

2024-074 – Estate of PERCY SAVAGE, late of Madison, Maine deceased. Cherris Sincyr, 1 Butler St., Madison, Maine 04950 and Virginia Savage PO Box 255, Guilford, Maine 04443 appointed Co-Personal Representatives

2024-075 – Estate of DELORES ISABELLE OBERT, late of Madison, Maine deceased. Evelyn Ireland, 95 Madison Road, Norridgewock, Maine 04957 appointed Personal Representative.

2024-076 – Estate of CHARLES LAWRENCE WUEPEL, late of Smithfield, Maine deceased. Victoria Dudley, 71 Quaker Lane, Smithfield, Maine 04978 appointed Personal Representative.

2024-079 – Estate of ROBERT S. HENDERSON, late of Norridgewock, Maine deceased. Janet K. Henderson, PO Box 24, Dresden, Maine 04342 appointed Personal Representative.

2024-080 – Estate of DONALD HOWARD LUCE, late of Norridgewock, Maine deceased. Penny A. Fortin, P.O. Box 137, Norridgewock, Maine 04957 appointed Personal Represent­ative.

2024-082 – Estate of ROBERT E. WALKER, SR., late of Fairfield, Maine deceased. Kimberly A. Garcia, 115 Fairmount Circle Drive, Apt 18, Norridgewock, Maine 04957 appointed Personal Representa­tive.

2024-088 – Estate of VIOLET N. COFFIN, late of New Portland, Maine deceased. Clay R. Coffin, 633 E. 4th St., Litchfield, MN 55355 appointed Personal Representative.

2024-089 – Estate of WILLIAM A. GREENE, late of Skowhegan, Maine deceased. Cathy Gifford, 57 Gifford Place, Oakland, Maine 04963 appointed Personal Representa­­tive.

2024-091 – Estate of GAYLE L. FOULKES, late of Skowhegan, Maine deceased. Kimberly T. Greenleaf, 21 Dr. Mann Road, Skowhegan, Maine 04976 appointed Personal Representa­tive.

2024-092 – Estate of MERIEM A. PROSSER, late of Pittsfield, Maine deceased. Sharon L. Hogan, 46 Bryant Road, St. Albans 04971 appointed Personal Representative.

2024-094 – Estate of GAIL M. DAVIS, late of Fairfield, Maine deceased. Nicole C. Levine, 6 Charland Terrace, Waterville Maine 04901 appointed Personal Representative.

2024-095 – Estate of ROBERT P WHITTEN, late of New Portland, Maine deceased. Barbara W. Bachman, 24 Parkwood Drive, Unit 2, Augusta, Maine 04330 appointed Personal Representative.

2024-096 – Estate of ELLA CHRISTENSEN, late of Madison, Maine deceased. Karen McKay, 354 Kimball Pond Road, New Sharon, Maine 04955 appointed Personal Represen­tative.

TO BE PUBLISHED March 21, 2024 & March 28, 2024

/s/Victoria Hatch,
Register of Probate
(3/28)

STATE OF MAINE
PROBATE COURT
41 COURT ST.
SOMERSET, ss
SKOWHEGAN, ME
PROBATE NOTICES

TO ALL PERSONS INTERESTED IN ANY OF THE ESTATES LISTED BELOW

Notice is hereby given by the respective petitioners that they have filed petitions for appointment of personal representatives in the following estates or change of name. These matters will be heard at 10 a.m. or as soon thereafter as they may be on April 3, 2024. The requested appointments or name changes may be made on or after the hearing date if no sufficient objection be heard. This notice complies with the requirements of 18-C MRSA §3-403 and Probate Rule 4.

2024-037 – ELLA IRENE MCTIGHE. Petition for Change of Name (Minor) filed by Kevin McTighe, 114 Bryant Road, St. Albans, Maine 04971 and Liza McTighe, 767 Todds Corner Road, St. Albans, Maine 04971 requesting minor’s name be changed to Francis Irene McTighe for reasons set forth therein.

2024-041 – DAWN JEAN SABINS. Petition for Change of Name (Adult) filed by Dawn Jean Sabins, P.O. Box 541, Skowhegan, Maine 04976 requesting name be changed to Dale Jean Hazlitt for reasons set forth therein.

2024-042 – JAMES EDWARD SABINS. Petition for Change of Name (Adult) filed by James Edward Sabins, P.O. Box 541, Skowhegan, Maine 04976 requesting name be changed to Sam Edward Hazlitt for reasons set forth therein.

2024-044 – CHARLOTTE LEEANN PADILLA. Petition for Change of Name (Minor) filed by Lizzet Tarafa, PO Box 481, Bingham, Maine 04920 requesting name be changed to Charlotte Leeann Hughes for reasons set forth therein.

2024-062 – ERICA LYNN FREDRICK-ROCK. Petition for Change of Name (Adult) filed by Erica Fredrick-Rock, P.O. Box 340, Pittsfield, Maine 04967 requesting name be changed to Erica Lynn Rock.

2024-069 – JESSICA-ANN ELIZABETH MAHAN. Petition for Change of Name (Adult) filed by Jessica-Ann Elizabeth Mahan, 20 Park Drive, Canaan, Maine 04924 requesting name be changed to Jessica-Ann Elizabeth Munsart for reasons set forth therein.

2024-070 – JACOB ALLYN MARSHALL. Petition for Change of Name (Adult) filed by Jacob Allyn Marshall, 107 Main St., Apt. 4, Skowhegan, Maine, 04976 requesting name be changed to Mina Alexandria Marshall for reasons set forth therein.

2024-083 – KAITLIN LEE TAKALIS. Petition for Change of Name (Adult) filed by Kaitlin Tatakis, 16 Adams Street, Skowhegan, Maine 04976 requesting name be changed to Kyle Ivan Lee Tatakis.

Dated: March 18, 2024
/s/ Victoria Hatch,
Register of Probate
(3/28)

Help Wanted

Town of Winslow

Truck Driver/Equipment Operator

Must possess a valid State of Maine Class B Commercial Driver’s License. Tanker Certification preferred. Duties include but not limited to road construction, sewer & storm drainage systems, and winter road maintenance. Requires overtime as needed. Schedule is 7:00am – 3:30pm M -F from Nov – April, and 6am-4pm M-Th from April- Oct. Position will remain open until filled. Salary range $19.95 to $25.00 depending upon experience and qualifications.

Submit application, resume & cover letter to:

Town of Winslow
Human Resources
114 Benton Avenue
Winslow, ME. 04901

Or email to: townofwinslow@winslow-me.gov

Public Hearings

TOWN OF FAIRFIELD

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

The Fairfield Town Council will hold Public Hearings in Council Chambers at the Community Center at 61 Water Street on Wednesday April 10, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. for the purpose of hearing public comments on the following matters:

  1. A Special Amusement Permit renewal application for the purposes of entertainment, music and dancing submitted by the American Legion Post 14 located at 86 Main Street.
  2. Public Hearing: To hear public comments on the Annual Town Budget Meeting Warrant.

Copies are available at the Town Office.  All interested persons are invited to attend the public hearings and will be given an opportunity to be heard at that time.

Signed:  Christine Keller, Town Clerk

TOWN OF CHINA

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

A Public Hearing is scheduled during the Planning Board meeting March 26th at 7:00PM at the Town Office on Chris Harris’ application to subdivide land along Route 3 (Map 22 Lot 119). You are hereby invited to attend the meeting in person or via Zoom (link will be available through china.govoffice.com). Written comments may also be submitted by email to ceo@chinamaine.org or to Attn: CEO   Town Office   571 Lakeview Drive   China, ME 04358

TOWN OF CHINA

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

The China Appeals Board will meet on Thursday, March 28, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. in the Town Office Meeting Room, located at 571 Lakeview Drive, to hear a variance appeal filed by Carol White for property located at China Tax Map 62 Lot 60-61.

The packet for the appeal can be obtained at www.china.govoffice.com under Appeals Board or at the town office for a fee.

TOWN OF WINSLOW

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Winslow Town Council will hold a public hearing to repeal Chapter 128-Emergency Service Fees as described in Ordinance No. 09-2019 Chapter 2 Administration, Article XX Subsections 128-1 Through 128-5 of the Town Code, the public hearing will be held at 6p.m. on Monday, April 8, 2024, at the Winslow Public Library, 136 Halifax Street, Winslow.

Audra Fleury
Town Clerk, Winslow, Maine

Rogers promoted at Northern Light

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Rose Rogers

Rose Rogers, BSN, RN, was promoted to director of Northern Light Walk-In Care and Northern Light Inland Hospital Emergency Department. Rogers has been overseeing the ED since 2019 and her leadership role has now expanded to include Walk-In Care. Rogers has been with Inland Hospital for 14 years, starting as per diem nurse in the ED and becoming the ED night charge nurse, and then House Manager.

Camden National Bank promotes Barbara Raths

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Barbara Raths

Camden National Bank is pleased to announce the promotion of Barbara Raths, who formerly served as director of treasury management and government banking, to executive vice president of commercial banking. In her elevated role, Raths will focus on accelerating core commercial business development across the company’s footprint and will continue to lead treasury management sales and service strategies.

“Barbara has an unwavering commitment to her clients,” said Simon Griffiths, president and chief executive officer of Camden National Bank. “Her client-centric approach will lead us to expand our relationship banking focus as we continue to drive organic growth. Barbara’s promotion represents our strategic and thoughtful succession planning as well as the exceptional talent and bench strength within our organization. I am confident Barbara will make an excellent addition to our executive team.”

A leading industry expert, Raths has an extensive 20-year banking and finance career, with four of those years cultivating treasury relationships at Camden National Bank. She has taken on increasing levels of leadership with an exceptional focus on delivering integrated financial solutions, prudent risk management, and operational excellence.

Raths earned a bachelor’s degree in Rhetoric at Bates College, in Lewiston, and an MBA with a finance concentration from the University of Southern Maine. She is chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Maine Health and Higher Educational Facilities Authority, serves as the Secretary of the Board of Directors for the Maine International Trade Center, and is a member of the Maine District Export Council.

Scholarship application open for public high school seniors

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The Worthington Scholarship Foundation is excited to announce their 2024 scholarship application is now open. Students graduating from a Maine public high school who meet the eligibility requirements may apply.

To complete an application, students must have a high school GPA of a C- or higher and a Student Aid Index (SAI) of $20,000 or less as determined by FAFSA. They must also attend a Worthington-eligible college the fall semester after their graduation and be a Maine resident.

The Worthington Scholarship Foundation partners with Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Husson, Maine Maritime Academy, Thomas, the University of Maine system, and the Maine Community College system.

Applications are due April 15, 2024. To learn more and apply, visit their website worthingtonscholars.org.

The Worthington Scholarship Foundation provides multi-year scholarships.

For more information, please visit www.worthington­scholars.­org.

Northern Light Health joins Health Care Climate Council

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Displaying continued commitment to the health of its patients, colleagues, and community, Northern Light Health has been selected as the newest member of the Health Care Climate Council. Northern Light is leading the way in minimizing its environmental effects while providing excellent care in a sustainable manner.

Northern Light’s focus on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction is a key component of its efforts, as it recently signed the Health Sector Pledge to halve its emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. So far, Northern Light Health has reduced its emissions by about 10 percent since 2021. Additionally, Northern Light recently completed a Climate Resiliency Plan to address operational risks and vulnerabilities related to extreme weather events and the changing disease burden.

“Northern Light Health is proud to join the Health Care Climate Council, which is leading the health care sector’s urgent response to climate change,” said Tim Doak, chief environmental sustainability officer. “Our bottom-line goal is to help people lead healthy and happy lives. Working to make Northern Light Health a leader in emissions reduction furthers our mission and supports our patients and community.”

Established by Health Care Without Harm, the Health Care Climate Council is a leadership body of health systems committed to protecting their patients and employees from the health effects of climate change and becoming anchors for resilient communities.

Together, the 19 member systems represent 500 hospitals in 28 states and 250 Congressional districts with a total annual operating revenue of more than $180 billion and more than one million employees.

Health Care Climate Council members implement innovative climate solutions, inspire and support others to act, and use their trusted voice and purchasing power to move policy and markets to drive the transformation to climate-smart healthcare.

“We are delighted to welcome Northern Light Health to the U.S. Health Care Climate Council,” said Jessica Wolff, Health Care Without Harm’s U.S. director for Climate and Health. “With the addition of Northern Light, the Climate Council further demonstrates its commitment to the sector’s transition to 100 percent renewable energy and climate-smart healthcare. We are looking forward to continuing our work with the Climate Council on ambitious mitigation and resilience initiatives and harnessing the powerful voice of its members to help patients, staff, and communities understand that climate change is about health.”

FINANCIAL FOCUS: Why see a financial advisor?

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Rachael Siegfriedt

Investing for your future is important – but it can be challenging. How can you navigate the complexities of the financial markets and make the right decisions for your situation?

Fortunately, you don’t have to go it alone. A financial advisor can help you in these key areas:

• Developing a personal financial strategy – Many factors go into creating a long-term financial strategy. What is your risk tolerance? When would you like to retire? What sort of retirement lifestyle have you envisioned? What are your other important goals? A financial advisor will ask these and other questions in getting to know you, your family situation and your hopes for the future. By taking this type of holistic approach, a financial advisor can help you create financial and investment strategies appropriate for your needs.
• Avoiding mistakes – A financial advisor can help you avoid costly investment mistakes. One such mistake is attempting to “time” the market. Investors pursue market timing when they try to “buy low” and “sell high.” In theory, of course, this is a great idea – if you could consistently buy investments – stocks, in particular – when their price is down and then sell them when the price has risen significantly, you’d always make some tidy profits.

The main drawback to this technique, though, is that it’s virtually impossible to follow, especially for individual investors. Nobody, not even professional money managers, can really predict with any accuracy when stock prices have reached high or low points. Consequently, those who try to make these guesses could miss out on opportunities.

For example, investors who are determined to buy low might not want to purchase investments when the market is up – but this practice could lead to taking a “time out” from investing just when the market is in the midst of a rally. But a financial advisor can steer clients toward a more disciplined approach, such as buying quality investments and holding them for the long term, regardless of the ups and downs of the market.

• Checking progress toward your goals – If you were to invest without any guidance, you might not be looking at your investments’ performance with the proper perspective. For example, some investors simply compare their portfolio returns against a widely used market index, such as the S&P 500. But this comparison may not be that useful. The S&P 500 only measures the stock prices of the leading publicly traded U.S. companies by market capitalization – but your investment portfolio, if properly diversified, will include investments other than U.S. stocks, such as bonds, government securities, international stocks and more.

Consequently, the performance of your portfolio won’t track that of the S&P 500 or any other single index, either. Your financial advisor can help you employ more meaningful benchmarks, such as whether your portfolio’s progress is on track toward helping you meet your financial goals. Also, a financial advisor will review your portfolio and investment strategy regularly to determine what changes, if any, need to be made, either in response to the markets or to events in your life.

Investing for your future can be exciting and rewarding — and you can feel more confident in your decisions when you have someone helping you along the way.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.

Edward Jones, Member SIPC.

Rachael Siegfriedt’s office is located at 82 Maple Ridge Dr., in Monmouth. Her email address is Rachael.Siegfriedt@edwardjones.com.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: The red-winged blackbird a sure sign of spring

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Red-winged blackbird

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

The old reliable spring indicator appeared in my backyard over the weekend, twice. The robin made its presence known.

However, it was what happened Monday that certified that old folklore. I know spring officially arrived this past Tuesday, March 19. That is a day or two earlier than usual, but it seems everything is early this year.

Going back to what confirmed spring is here was the sighting of the red-winged blackbird. Of all the migratory bird, it is generally the first species to make its way back north.

The red-winged blackbird is a bird found in most of North America and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and Guatemala, with isolated populations in western El Salvador, northwestern Honduras, and northwestern Costa Rica. It may winter as far north as Pennsylvania and British Columbia, but northern populations are generally migratory, moving south to Mexico and the Southern United States.

Claims have been made that it is the most abundant living land bird in North America, as bird-counting censuses of wintering red-winged blackbirds sometimes show that loose flocks can number in excess of a million birds per flock and the full number of breeding pairs across North and Central America may exceed 250 million in peak years.

Regarding its numbers, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the red-winged blackbird of least concern.

The red-winged blackbird is sexually dimorphic; the male is all black with a red shoulder and yellow wing bar, while the female is a nondescript dark brown. Seeds and insects make up the bulk of the red-winged blackbird’s diet.

The red-winged blackbird is a sister species to the red-shouldered blackbird that is endemic to Cuba. These two species are together sister to the tricolored blackbird that is found on the Pacific coast region of the California and upper Baja California in Mexico.

Depending on the authority, between 20 and 24 subspecies are recognized which are mostly quite similar in appearance.

The red-winged blackbird breeds in marshes, brushy swamps, hayfields; forages also in cultivated land and along edges of water. Breeds most commonly in freshwater marsh, but also in wooded or brushy swamps, rank weedy fields, hayfields, upper edges of salt marsh. Often forages in other open habitats, such as fields and mudflats; outside the breeding season, flocks gather in farm fields, pastures, and feedlots.

One of the most abundant birds across North America, and one of the most boldly colored, the red-winged blackbird is a familiar sight atop cattails, along soggy roadsides, and on telephone wires. Glossy-black males have scarlet-and-yellow shoulder patches they can puff up or hide depending on how confident they feel. Females are a subdued, streaky brown, almost like a large, dark sparrow. Their early and tumbling song are happy indications of the return of spring.

Red-winged blackbirds may come to your yard for mixed grains and seeds, particularly during migration. Spread grain or seed on the ground as well, since this is where Red-winged Blackbirds prefer to feed.

The red-winged blackbird is a highly polygynous species, meaning males have many female mates – up to 15 in some cases. In some populations 90 percent of territorial males have more than one female nesting on their territories. But all is not as it seems: one-quarter to one-half of nestlings turn out to have been sired by someone other than the territorial male.

Male red-winged blackbirds fiercely defend their territories during the breeding season, spending more than a quarter of daylight hours in territory defense. He chases other males out of the territory and attacks nest predators, sometimes going after much larger animals, including horses and people.

Red-winged blackbirds roost in flocks in all months of the year. In summer small numbers roost in the wetlands where the birds breed. Winter flocks can be congregations of several million birds, including other blackbird species and starlings. Each morning the roosts spread out, traveling as far as 50 miles to feed, then re-forming at night.

The oldest recorded red-winged blackbird was 15 years, 9 months old. It was banded in New Jersey in 1967, and found alive, but injured in Michigan in 1983. It was able to be released after recovering from its injuries.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

What Boston Celtics player holds the distinction for hitting the most 3-point baskets in one season?

Answer
Antoine Walker, 222, in 2001-2002 (surprisingly Larry Bird wasn’t even in the top 10).