LETTERS: Happy to support Smith

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To the editor:

I am happy to write to support Katrina Smith for State Representative for District #62 China, Hibberts Gore, Palermo, Somerville and Windsor. Katrina brings a true passion for conservative values to this race with a deep understanding of the issues facing Maine. As the chairman of the Waldo County Republicans she tirelessly worked to engage with constituents and educated them on legislation within the state house. Over the past three years Katrina has spoken often and boldly against the policies that threatened the well-being of the people of Maine.

I’ve worked with Katrina for a few years and when Katrina says she will get things done you can absolutely count on her.

Anne Kurek
Palermo

Be wary of text scams from your “boss”

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image: AARP

You may be used to getting text messages and emails from your boss, which is why a recent texting scam is so effective. Scammers find out where you work and pose as the CEO or other executive. Be on guard and don’t share money or information – be it your own or your company’s.

How the scam works

You receive a text from a number you don’t recognize, claiming to be from your boss. The sender knows your name, where you work, and your boss’s name. It seems so real! The text message might read something like this: “Hi Chris, I’m tied up in a conference call right now but let me know if you get this text. Thanks [your boss’ name].”

If you reply that you received the text, you’ll be asked to do a quick task. This could be purchasing gift cards for a client or wiring funds to another business. In some cases, the scammer may ask you to send personal information to someone, often giving you a plausible reason to carry out the request.

No matter how believable the reason sounds, always double check before taking any action. Once you send the money, gift cards, or information, it will be in the hands of a con artist.

How to protect yourself from impostor scams

Don’t trust unsolicited messages from unfamiliar numbers. If your boss regularly communicates with you via text message, save their number in your contact list. Don’t respond to potential impersonators reaching out from a different number.

Be wary of unusual requests. If your boss has never asked you to buy gift cards, even if the request comes from a number you’ve saved, think twice. Scammers can potentially clone phone numbers and might have hijacked your boss’ number to target employees.

Double check with your boss personally. If a request comes from a strange number or just doesn’t sound right, call or email your boss first, using their real contact information, rather than replying to the message. It’s better to double check than to rush into a scam. Plus, your boss will want to know if they are being impersonated, so they can warn their other employees.

If you suspect a scam, don’t reply. If you’re fairly certain you’ve been contacted by a scammer, don’t reply to the text message. Replying lets scammers know they have an active phone number and could leave you vulnerable to future attacks. Instead, block the number and delete the message.

Vassalboro budget committee recommendations may not be final; school budget unknown

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by Mary Grow

VASSALBORO, ME — Vassalboro Budget Committee members made their recommendations on the 2022-23 municipal budget at their March 31 meeting. Not all votes were unanimous, and because the school budget is still unknown, committee members did not guarantee their recommendations are final.

Members had varying attitudes toward the school budget. Optimists said the school, like the town, should have enough extra federal revenue so that the proposed 2022-23 budget will not be significantly higher than the current year’s.

If the optimists are wrong, some budget committee members would revisit the municipal budget with the goal of lowering their recommendations, so that the two budgets combined would not increase taxes.

Chairman Rick Denico, Jr., quoted former select board member Lauchlin Titus’s advice: don’t base budget decisions on the mil rate, don’t penalize either the school or the town for the other.

Member William Browne said if the school budget does provide a surprise, anyone on the budget committee who voted in favor of an item can move to reconsider it.

And the final decisions will be up to the voters who attend the June 6 open town meeting, where they will have the option of disregarding any recommendations.

A longer-range pending issue is whether the Vassalboro Select Board will adopt a salary schedule for town employees, following up on a study they commissioned (see The Town Line, March 10, p. 3, and March 24, p. 3).

After discussion of potential costs, and despite Select Board Chairman Robert Browne’s reminder that the select board decides policy issues, Denico called a straw poll and announced that eight of the 10 budget committee members supported the estimated $37,000 additional cost in 2022-23. That figure includes one-time larger raises for employees below scale.

Committee members then proceeded to review Town Manager Mary Sabins’ draft budget and draft warrant for the June 6 part of the annual town meeting item by item. They discussed two articles.

Article 5 in the draft asks voters how much they want to raise and appropriate to support 14 individually-listed town departments or services totaling $2,582,004. Individual figures range from $3,000 for general assistance to $593,925 for public works.

Public works brought concern from budget committee members about paving costs and a question about a recently-announced federal grant to the Maine Department of Transportation, from which $800,000 has been allocated for about three-quarters of a mile of Route 32, in Vassalboro.

Road Foreman Gene Field, from the audience, said he budgeted assuming paving material will cost $85 a ton. That is not a firm price. The large grant, he said, is for road and sidewalk improvements in North Vassalboro in 2024.

The amount proposed for recreation in 2022-23 is $44,327, and for the library, $60,500. Both are significant increases over the current year and both include personnel: Sabins recommends hiring a half-time recreation director, and library trustees want to add hours for the library director, to open the library one more day a week and for programming (see The Town Line, March 24, p. 3).

Sabins told budget committee members she expects the two positions would complement each other, not overlap or compete. The recreation director would organize sports programs on the ballfields and she hopes could also write grants, do long-range planning and help the town in other ways. She is working on a job description for select board review.

Library programs would be intended for residents of all ages, Sabins said.

A motion to recommend a lower library budget was defeated by a one-vote margin.

Draft warrant Article 6 has three fund requests: $20,000 for streamside park development (parking, picnic tables and perhaps other improvements at the town-acquired lot on Outlet Stream and Route 32 between East and North Vassalboro); $25,000 to demolish a dangerous building (the former church on Priest Hill Road in North Vassalboro); and $106,000 for roadside mowing equipment (if obtainable, Field’s recommended attachment for the loader).

Budget committee members endorsed all three, the mowing equipment by a one-vote margin. Field has been renting mowing equipment. He expects rental to cost around $16,000 for two mowings. Omitting a fall cutting one year let roadside grass grow high enough to block visibility some places, he told select board members at their Feb. 24 meeting.

The proposed April 5 budget committee meeting is canceled. As of April 5, committee members expected to hear on April 6 whether the 2022-23 school budget would be ready for review at an April 7 meeting. Residents who want to know whether the budget committee will meet the evening of April 7 should contact school Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer at apfeiffer@vcsvikings.org.

Town meeting to be in two parts

The first part of Vassalboro’s two-part 2022 town meeting is the open meeting, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 6, at Vassalboro Community School. Voters will assemble in person to act on funding and policy issues for 2022-23.

Written-ballot elections and the written referendum on the school budget adopted June 6 are scheduled for Tuesday, June 14, with polls open at the town office from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Local officials to be chosen are one select board member and two school board members. Signed nomination papers must be returned to the town office by noon Friday, April 8, for candidates’ names to appear on the June 14 ballot.

China select board wraps up “almost final” warrant

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by Mary Grow

CHINA, ME — China Select Board members put the warrant for the June 14 annual town business meeting in almost-final form at a two-hour special meeting April 4.

The draft document they came up with has 37 articles and a potential 38th. Most are requests for voters to act on proposed 2022-23 expenditures and town policies.

Art. 37 asks if voters will approve a solar moratorium ordinance (see The Town Line, March 31, p. 3). Select board members debated whether to present it, because three of the five do not want a moratorium.

A majority consisting of Chairman Ronald Breton, Jeanne Marquis and Janet Preston voted to leave the question on the warrant and let voters decide. Breton then joined Blane Casey and Wayne Chadwick in recommending that voters reject the moratorium.

(The “Large Scale Solar Facilities Moratorium Ordinance” is not the “Solar Energy Systems Ordinance” that is on the China website, but an ordinance that would prohibit new commercial solar systems until the “Solar Energy Systems Ordinance” is in place to regulate their installation. The moratorium ordinance was not on the website as of April 5.)

Proposed Art. 38 would ask voters to approve China’s updated comprehensive plan. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood had just received notice of state approval. Voter approval requires a public hearing, and Hapgood needed to make sure there is time to meet state-required deadlines for the hearing, with appropriate notification, before adding the warrant article.

Select board members intend to prepare and sign a final warrant for June 14 at their regular meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 11, in the town office meeting room.

The June 14 town business meeting will be by written ballot, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the former portable classroom behind the town office.

China budget committee holds final spring meeting

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by Mary Grow

CHINA, ME — China Budget Committee members held their final spring 2022 meeting on March 31, rediscussing a few of the proposed 2022-23 expenditures and making recommendations on warrant articles.

Ultimately, budget committee members changed only one proposed figure. At Elizabeth Curtis’ suggestion, and on a split vote, they recommended reducing the contingency fund appropriation from $123,80 to $88,290.

When select board members reviewed the draft warrant at their April 4 special meeting, they unanimously accepted the lower figure.

Curtis insisted that funds will not be needed to cover increased health insurance costs if a town employee with a policy covering only him – or herself leaves and is replaced by an employee who elects more expensive family coverage. The gap in salary while the position is unfilled and, if necessary, leeway in other expenditure lines should be adequate, she said.

Budget committee members also advised voters to reject one proposed expenditure. The list of projects to be funded with federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) money includes buying a portable speed control sign that Hapgood said could also be used for announcements, like a road closing.

The amount proposed is $20,000. Hapgood had found two signs to consider, so far; one was 45 by 80 inches and solar-powered, the other 48 by 96 inches with batteries.

Only Curtis and Trishea Story supported the expenditure. Committee chairman Thomas Rumpf, Kevin Maroon and Michael Sullivan voted against it and Timothy Basham abstained.

Five other proposed ARPA expenditures got unanimous support: $20,000 for two new generators for the town office complex; $38,000 for 911 identifying numbers on each house; $33,000 for a digital sign on Route 32 South, shared with the South China volunteer fire department; and $5,000 for future senior events and activities – maybe a bus trip, Hapgood suggested.

Curtis cast the only “no” vote on the recommendation for $15,212 from ARPA funds for extra pay for town employees who worked through the pandemic.

Sullivan asked whether putting up the 911 numbers would be mandatory, thinking of homeowners who might object on aesthetic grounds. Hapgood, thinking of the need for emergency personnel to find the right address in a hurry, said no; but if only most houses were visibly numbered, it would be helpful.

On an earlier article, Sullivan pointed out that the proposed cemetery budget of $49,500 is a substantial increase over the current year and more than double the $24,000 appropriated in fiscal year 2020-21.

There has been an unusual amount of tree damage from storms, and the cost of mowing will go up, replied Curtis, who is a member of China’s Cemetery Committee. Hapgood added stone repairs and the plan to hire a summer intern to catalog and photograph graves and create a computer file.

Shakespeare group to observe 9th annual Bard’s Bash

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Recycled Shakespeare Company

by Lyn Rowden

Recycled Shakespeare Company proudly presents the 9th annual Bard’s Birthday Bash on Saturday, April 23.

This FREE event is open to all. You may join RSC and friends in dressing up and parading around Waterville reading sonnets, singing Shakespearean songs, and performing monologues and scenes. No memorizing, prior experience or costumes necessary.

Recycled Shakespeare Company members

Begin at 10 a.m., at Camden National Bank Lobby, on Main Street, for the first set of sonnet readings and songs. Parade to Yardgoods Center and The Villager Restaurant along the upper Concourse, cross over to Re-Books on the lower Concourse, and go to Cancun by 11 a.m., where there will be a sword fight demonstration and more sonnets read. Then parade up Main St. stopping at stores and restaurants along the way, including Madlyn’s Consignment Shop, Incense and Peppermint, The Framemakers, Holy Cannoli and Day’s Jeweler where shopkeepers will read sonnets. At about noon there will be a lunch stop at Jin Yuan Chinese Restaurant with live sonnets and music as well as performances from across the continent on Zoom. Then on to Selah Tea from 3 to 5 p.m., with flourish to finish readings of all 154 sonnets.

A Renaissance Masquerade Ball will take place 7 to 8:30 p.m., in the Lutheran Church Hall, on Cool Street. Open to all ages, simple dances will be taught and led by Dancemistress Margaret May Lambert. No partner or experience necessary. Come costumed, with a masquerade mask, or just as you are.

Throughout the day we celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday and times with sword demos, live Elizabethan music, and fun Renaissance fortune telling by Sarah Love. The entire day is free of charge! Open to all ages and skills!

If anyone in the community would like to read a sonnet or get involved, please call Lyn at 314-4730, or just show up and jump in. Each reader may introduce themselves, and briefly promote their business or organization.

Biochar: A soil amendment that offers multiple benefits

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Biochar being used in agriculture.

by Kayla Bergman,
senior policy associate, Center for Rural Affairs

Biochar is an agricultural practice that is gaining in popularity—but what is it?

Created from a variety of feedstock, including corn stalks, wood, and even manure, biochar is a specialized form of charcoal suitable for use in the soil.

To create biochar, feedstock and manure are heated to high temperatures under controlled conditions. The gas or oil produced is used as a renewable energy source. The carbon left behind in that process is biochar.

There are benefits provided for the environment during the production process and once it has been applied to the soil.

The production process concentrates carbon that would have been released back into the atmosphere as the plant or manure decays, therefore reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Biochar is also extremely porous, allowing it to retain water—which plant roots can access when it is added to soil. Studies have shown a 5% biochar amendment in certain soil types increases the water holding capacity by up to 50%, which can serve as a flood mitigation benefit.

During a recent trial in Nebraska, when applied to irrigated lands, biochar was proven to reduce the need for irrigation by up to 37 percent. This is significant in a time of water conservation.

Biochar also retains both carbon and nitrogen in the soil. The carbon is transformed into an absorbent material which can lead to less runoff and leaching into waterways.

Biochar has the potential to help build soil, conserve water, produce renewable energy, sequester carbon, reduce inputs, and potentially increase yield on lower productivity ground. While it won’t work everywhere, biochar has the potential to be a valuable tool for farmers and landowners. This is a relatively new practice on agricultural lands, but seems to be one way for renewable fuel production to use a byproduct in a productive way.

Established in 1973, the Center for Rural Affairs is a private, nonprofit organization working to strengthen small businesses, family farms and ranches, and rural communities through action oriented programs addressing social, economic, and environmental issues.

Issue for March 31, 2022

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Issue for March 31, 2022

Celebrating 34 years of local news

Somerville dream of owning high speed fiber-optic broadband internet network coming true

The Town of Somerville will receive grant funding from the US National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA), an arm of the federal Department of Commerce, along with additional funding and support from the state’s ConnectMaine authority, to construct a municipally-owned broadband internet system able to connect to every home and business in town… Submitted by Samantha Peaslee

Albion voters pass most of 57 articles: Reject marijuana licensing ordinance

On Saturday, March 19, in the Albion Fire and Rescue Building, the town government held its annual town meeting. There were 76 voting residents attending the meeting. Fifty-Seven Articles were decided. At the front of the meeting were the Selectmen; Brent Brockway, Board of Selectmen Chairman; Michael Gardner, 3-year term, and recently appointed Scott Cyrway, 2-year term. The moderator, Richard Thompson, called the meeting to order at ten o’clock… by Steve Ball

Your Local News

Albion, Palermo, Windsor, China talk merger

CENTRAL ME — By 2024, central Maine might have a new town named Alpawich, combining the present towns of Albion, Palermo, Windsor and China. The new town would have an area of 179.41 square miles, Maine’s largest town by far. Its population will be less than Augusta’s or Waterville’s, however. The impetus for combining the four towns came from Palermo, as a proposal to merge with China to form a town to be named Chipal. Palermo officials had two motives… by Mary Grow

CORRECTED: Residents approve 33 articles at town meeting

PALERMO — The following is a summary of the Windsor town meeting, which was held last Saturday, March 12. We had a great town meeting on Saturday, thanks to all our residents and guests who attended. Moderator Dick Thompson presided over three hours of respectful questions and insightful dialogue… submitted by Will Armstrong

School board begins budget review

VASSALBORO — Vassalboro School Board members began reviewing sections of the 2022-23 school budget at their March 22 meeting, hearing proposals for funding technology, health, ELL (English Language Learners’ programs), certification and maintenance…

KWD asks planners for changes to treatment plant

VASSALBORO — The Kennebec Water District (KWD) is asking the Vassalboro Planning Board’s approval to make changes at its water treatment plant at 462 Main Street (Route 32), a little north of East Vassalboro Village. Planning board members will hear the application at their Tuesday, April 5, meeting, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the town office meeting room…

Budget committee, town manager review non-final budget

CHINA — China Budget Committee members and Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood spent two hours March 24 reviewing a non-final draft of the 2022-23 municipal budget…

Planners shift gears on ordinance amendments

CHINA — China Planning Board members have abandoned their plan to have three ordinance amendments presented to voters at the June 14 town business meeting…

Select board continues town meeting preparations

CHINA — China Select Board members continued town meeting preparations at their March 28 meeting, discussing at length three topics: asking voters to approve a moratorium on commercial solar development; the proposed 2022-23 municipal budget, with a focus on town employees’ pay; and 2022-23 expenditures of federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds, which need voter approval…

Name that film!

Identify the film in which this line originated and qualify to win FREE passes to Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville: “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is April 8, 2022…

LETTERS: Energy bill could have dire consequences

from Carl Bucciantini – With utility rates skyrocketing, many Mainers are struggling to keep the heat and lights on. Unfortunately, LD 318, “An Act to Provide More Options to Maine Electric Service Customers and Support Maine’s Climate Goals,” passed through the Maine Energy, Utilities, and Technology Committee and will be voted on this week…

LETTERS: Thanks to supporters

from John M. Glowa, Sr. (China) – I’m writing to thank The Town Line and area residents, especially those in China, Windsor, Palermo, and Winslow where I focused my signature gathering efforts for my recent gubernatorial campaign. I especially thank folks who graciously signed my petition and those who invited me into their homes to chat…

LETTERS: Who needs broadband? What can you do?

by Amy Davidoff (Vassalboro) – Who needs broadband? We all do. Do we all have it? Undoubtedly not, but we don’t know and need to find out. A town broadband committee can encourage speed testing and get us the information we need…

King Foundation grants extrication equipment to FD

NORRIDGEWOCK – The Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation awarded $40,000 to the Norridgewock Fire Department for the purchase of vehicle extrication equipment. The four pieces of equipment – spreader, cutter, ram, and stabilization struts will support a more efficient process of freeing patients from life-threatening conditions, most usually as the result of a motor vehicle accident…

Hanson, Blaney big winners at Battle of Maine

WATERVILLE – The 40th Battle of Maine Martial Arts Championships took place at Champions Fitness Club, in Waterville, on Saturday March 26, and helped support the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals here in Central and Northern Maine… by Mark Huard

Welch receives MPA principal’s award at Carrabec H.S.

NORTH ANSON – Brooke Welch, daughter of Dereck and Aaron Welch of North Anson, a senior at Carrabec High School, has been selected to receive the 2022 Principal’s Award, according to Prin­cipal Timothy Richards…

BBBS to hold plane pull fundraiser

WATERVILLE – Local businesses and organizations are lining up to see who can pull a CRJ-200 Jet Aircraft 20 feet in the fastest time, all to raise critical funding for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine youth mentoring programs…

Maine K-12 students invited to submit short films

WATERVILLE – The 44th annual Maine Student Film + Video Festival (MSFVF) is currently accepting submissions until June 15. All Maine students grades K-12 are eligible to enter for free. Films will be judged by category: Narrative, Documentary, and Creative (animated, experimental, etc.), and by age group: Grades K-5; Grades 6-8; Grades 9-12…

Celebrating Maine history

Click here for all of our recent stories about the local history of Maine!

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Wars – Part 13 (new)

MAINE HISTORY — Henry Kingsbury lists four men who served in “the late war” in the personal paragraphs in his chapter on Benton in the 1892 Kennebec County history. Stephen H. Abbott enlisted from Winslow and served six months with the 19th Maine; he moved to Benton in 1872 and served as postmaster from 1890 and for three years as a selectman… by Mary Grow [1983 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Wars – Part 12

MAINE HISTORY — The United States Civil War, which began when the Confederates shelled Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861, and ended with General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Virginia, on April 9, 1865, had the most impact on Maine, including the central Kennebec Valley, of any 17th or 18th century war… by Mary Grow [2191 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Wars – Part 11

MAINE HISTORY — Many historians don’t take the Aroostook War seriously. Several sources call it the Pork and Beans War; Wikipedia says the nickname is based on either the local lumbermen’s or the British soldiers’ staple food. Some of the local histories cited earlier in this series don’t even mention the war… by Mary Grow [1958 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Wars – Part 10

MAINE HISTORY — According to an on-line genealogy, Thaddeus Bailey (Nov. 28, 1759 – March 4, 1849) was born in Newbury, Massachusetts, served in the Revolutionary War from Lincoln County, lived in Palermo for some years and served in the War of 1812 while living in Albion… by Mary Grow [1819 words]

Town Meetings Schedule for 2022

A list of local town meetings for Albion, China, Fairfield, Palermo, Sidney, Solon, Vassalboro and Windsor…

Webber’s Pond

Webber’s Pond is a comic drawn by an anonymous central Maine resident (click thumbnail to enlarge)…

CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Stamp club to hold show

WINSLOW — The MUDPEX 2022 spring show is scheduled for Saturday, April 9, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., at the MacCrillis-Rousseau VFW Post #8835, on Veterans Drive, in Winslow. For more information, contact the Waterville Stamp Club at cantdog1@gmail.com… and many other local events!

Obituaries

VASSALBORO – Keith Norman Peaslee, 86, of Vassalboro, passed away on Monday, March 14, 2022. Keith was born, in Windsor, on May 18, 1935, to George and Gwendolyn Peaslee… and remembering 7 others.

Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!

DEADLINE: Friday, April 12, 2022

Identify the people in these three photos, and tell us what they have in common. You could win a $10 gift certificate to Retail Therapy Boutique in Waterville! Email your answer to townline@townline.org or through our Contact page. Include your name and address with your answer. Use “Common Ground” in the subject!

Previous winner: Diane Gardner, Windsor

Town Line Original Columnists

Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee | Recently, a regular contributor to The Town Line, Gary Kennedy, of Chelsea, and his wife Julie witnessed a battle between an osprey and a bald eagle, probably over territorial rites – or food. I could relate to the story as my wife and I witnessed the same a few years ago while fishing on Webber Pond…

Peter CatesREVIEW POTPOURRI

by Peter Cates | Back during the last century old days of my adolescent youth, I was quite enamored by the Mercury dollar cut out LPs of the Chad Mitchell Trio that I bought at downtown Waterville Center’s Department Store. The group’s brand of folk music making thrilled me…

I’M JUST CURIOUS

by Debbie Walker | Are you planning a downsizing or just want to clean up a little like maybe spring cleaning? Did you put away all your Christmas decorations? Come now, haven’t you found one or two things you forgot? In the Woman’s World magazine dated March March 28, 2022, there is an article Surprising Down Sizing Tricks. I am sharing some of it in this column…

FOR YOUR HEALTH

(NAPSI)—Running was Rob Smith’s passion. He ran every day, ate healthy foods, and had good sleep habits. Because of his healthy lifestyle, Smith believed that it was very unlikely COVID-19 would have a serious effect on his health. In September 2020, at the age of 22, Smith contracted the virus, and his life changed forever…

I’M JUST CURIOUS: Starting with downsizing

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by Debbie Walker

Are you planning a downsizing or just want to clean up a little like maybe spring cleaning? Did you put away all your Christmas decorations? Come now, haven’t you found one or two things you forgot? In the Woman’s World magazine dated March March 28, 2022, there is an article Surprising Down Sizing Tricks. I am sharing some of it in this column.

So, let’s start with that. Before you put away anything. Are there any items you might be able to redecorate for another holiday? If there are it ought to be fun. There is the old trick of “three piles”, you use one for maybes (that’s the tricky one). Yes, there is one for you to keep the special things (this one can be tricky, too, but I’ll get back to this later) and there is one to definitely throw away or donate.

Come to think of it they are all tricky. This has to all be up to you, something you really want to do. Then remember that just because someone special gave this or that to you, does not mean you really have to keep it. If they ever have reason to know, they may have forgotten all about it.

In the magazines it is also mentioned about possibly taking pictures of things that you think you might want to make later. Just don’t clutter up your picture space but if you do you can clean that up later! Or, the idea I liked was things you really loved such as children’s art work, and other things and make a coffee table book of all these wonderful things.

Oh, and they suggested in this magazine that we could all take old jewelry and baubles to decorate some of our “art work” projects. However, unless you want to wind up with the kind of messes I presently have you might want to pass on this one. Maybe a better idea is to make a box of art project items for a nursing home perhaps. This is one of those “Do as I say, not as I do” kind of thing.

On to a different subject, that comes from First magazine also dated March 28, 2022. These come under the page on Smart Home Solutions, page 78.

This first one that caught my eye was a Do-it-yourself lazy-susan. You will need a handful of marbles and two pie plates. Place one pie plate on the counter, add the marbles in plate. Then place the second pie plate on top of the marbles. Top plate will now ride around on top of the marbles but better yet you place the spices you use very often on the top plate. Things won’t come sliding off and it will keep things handy for when you need it.

The final one for the night is “pesky spots on your glassware” remover. It is to: Add two to four tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide to dish washer’s rinse compartment and run as usual. I haven’t tried it (no room for a dishwasher in my camper!)

Okay, that’s my last piece of educational material for this issue.

I am just curious if you will try any of these. Let me know at DebbieWalker@townline.org. In the meantime have a great week and thanks for reading.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Mercury LPs

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Chad Mitchell Trio

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Back during the last century old days of my adolescent youth, I was quite enamored by the Mercury dollar cut out LPs of the Chad Mitchell Trio that I bought at downtown Waterville Center’s Department Store. The group’s brand of folk music making thrilled me- their sing­ing of such classics as You Were On My Mind, The Last Thing On My Mind, 4 Strong Winds, I Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound, etc. In addition the impeccable artistry of backup guitarist Paul Prestopino and the precision honed arrangements of Milt Okun contributed to the pleasure of these records.

The Kingston Trio

Seeking similar splendors, I bought my first album of the much more well known Kingston Trio, Close Up, which I believe was the first to feature John Stewart (1939-2008), who replaced the departing Dave Guard in 1961. Guard, along with Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane, formed the group in 1957 and hit the charts with Tom Dooley.

Stewart had already gotten experience with the less successful but musically gifted Cumberland 3, which recorded an album devoted to songs of the Civil War. He was a gifted songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist- meaning outstanding interpreter of his songs, since his singing was not especially beautiful- ; and he would assume most of the duties as Master of Ceremonies during the Trio’s concerts, being very quick on his feet with witty repartee.

The early ‘60s folk music boom soon busted with the on­slaught of the Beach Boys, Beatles, Rolling Stones and their contemporaries but the Trio continued performing and recording as long as feasibly possible, finally calling it quits in 1967.

John Stewart

Meanwhile John Stewart accumulated a significant body of work and recorded his first of just over 60 al­bums in 1968, the exquisite Signals Through the Glass with his then-girlfriend and later wife, Buffy Ford. The album was a stunning example of great 20th century American music and on the same scale as the music of Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Stephen Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, just to name a few examples

Parallels in art and literature would be painters Winslow Homer, Grant Wood, Edward Hopper and Andrew Wyeth, the poets Robert Frost and Carl Sandburg and the novelists Willa Cather, William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway.

The song titles on that first album included Nebraska Widow, July You’re a Woman, Mr. Lincoln’s Train and Muddy Truckee River.

I recently listened to three of his albums: Lonesome Picker Rides Again, from 1971; 1992’s Bullets in the Hour Glass; and the 2006 The Day the River Sang.

Lonesome Picker had the wistful Just an Old Love Song; the very delectable celebration of village life, Bolinas, with its lovely strings and English horn; the most famous song Stewart ever wrote and a megahit for the Monkees and Anne Murray, Daydream Believer; and, since horses and horse races were subjects dear to Stewart’s heart (his father was a horse trainer), side two’s concluding Wild Horse Road, and All the Brave Horses.

Bullets in the Hour Glass was considered a rather desultory bad day for the singer by one otherwise loyal fan but I found only one dud, a monolog entitled Bad Rats. The River, Dealing with the Night, a very eloquent The Wheel Within the Clay, Women (with backup vocals by Rosanne Cash) and The Man Who Would Be King (it with Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary fame as backup) are first class. By this time, Stewart’s vocal chords were a bit more frayed than during the ‘60s and ‘70s but the solid beauty of the material was still in ample evidence.

In addition, there was a more frequent utilization of New Age synthesizer effects, as opposed to the straight folk rock of the 70s, yet used with taste and intelligence.

The Day the River Sang was a top notch Last Hurrah. While Stewart’s own singing had deteriorated even more in any semblance of beauty, the total quality control of material and arrangements prevailed. The choice Baby It’s You, East of Denver, the title song, Sister Mercy and Midnight Train warrant very close attention.

I attended two concerts of the singer, one in 2001 at the Town Crier Club in Pawling , New York, a village distinguished by the presence of headquarters for Norman Vincent Peale’s Guideposts publication and a separate set of buildings for the Jehovah’s Witnesses; and the second in 2006 at the Augusta St. Mark’s Episcopalian Church just off of Lithgow Street.

He put on great shows both times.

Sadly by 2007, Stewart’s health, which had been problematical for a few years, was showing signs of Alzheimer’s and he died in early 2008 at the age of 68.