AARP NEWS YOU CAN USE: Maine legislature at work on topics concerning citizens

by Joyce Bucciantini

The Maine Legislature is in full swing. Legislators are working diligently through a myriad of proposed bills on a wide range of topics of concern to the citizens of Maine. In Maine, every proposed bill receives a public hearing by the appropriate legislative committee. These hearings provide opportunities for Mainers to make their voices heard by elected officials, creating empowering opportunities for community engagement.

AARP Maine is closely following LD 186, “An Act to Clarify the Public Utilities Commission’s Authority to Establish Time of Use Pricing for Standard Offer Service”. This bill seeks to allow the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to change the standard offer rate (the default rate for the supply of electricity set by the Commission) from a flat rate to a time of use (TOU) rate. Electric rates would be higher for morning and late afternoon peak usage times—a big change for most home consumers.

AARP Maine has concerns about the impact of LD 186 on the pocketbooks of Mainers who already concerned about the rising cost of electricity. Families could be forced to pay more to keep their homes warm during evening hours—often when it gets coldest. The legislation could also lead to higher utility bills for people who rely on life saving medical devices.

AARP Maine advocacy volunteers are asking the Maine legislature to vote NO on LD 186. Instead, we encourage the PUC to wait until December 2025, when the results of an already ordered rate design study will be available. These findings will help them consider the best options for possible time of use rate changes. We’re also urging the PUC to develop a pilot program that would allow consumers to opt in to time of use rates to provide useful data for consideration.

One thing I have learned on my trips to the Maine State House is that our legislators are happy to hear from their constituents about any proposed legislation. Our state legislators are concerned individuals who seek to do the best for their communities, and for our great state. Maine residents have a great opportunity in the ability to share their ideas with our legislators about the proposed bill, LD 186, or any other issues in Maine. Every voice does truly make a difference.

Joyce Bucciantini is a retired middle school educator. She currently coordinates Delta Kappa Gamma’s Read to Me program, is a tutor with Literacy Volunteers-Androscoggin, and is an active AARP Maine volunteer. In her spare time, she enjoys her gardens, being outdoors and traveling.

Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: Courts

by Mary Grow

One of the chapters in Henry Kingsbury’s 1892 Kennebec County history is about the courts. The next chapter is titled The Kennebec Bar and names members of the Kennebec Bar who practiced as lawyers and/or held judgeships or other legal positions.

The following articles in this subseries will talk about the legal structure from the 1600s, when Maine was a province of Massachusetts and both were under British rule, through the 1800s; and about some of the prominent men – there was an absence of women in the profession in those days – who made the law work.

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Judge William Penn Whitehouse

The chapter on courts in Kingsbury’s history was written by Vassalboro native William Penn Whitehouse, at the time serving on Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court (more about Whitehouse later in the subseries). He began by defining the role of the judiciary.

“The judiciary,” he wrote, “is the conservative force that maintains a just and stable relation between other branches of the government. It is the indispensable balance-wheel of every enduring political system.”

Whitehouse did not talk about the Massachusetts judicial system being derived from the British, perhaps because he assumed everybody knew that. He began by pointing out the mingling of Maine’s system with Massachusetts’ after Massachusetts bought southern Maine in 1677 from the grandson of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, who had ruled it from 1622 to his death in 1647.

Whitehouse found records of a 1636 court in Saco, said to have been the first legally created legal tribunal in Maine. After 1639, Gorges’ executive council acted as a court, Whitehouse said.

Gorges’ part of Maine also had “an inferior court in each section of the province”; and “commissioners corresponding to the modern trial justices were appointed in each town for the trial of small cases, with jurisdiction limited to forty shillings.”

Gorges’ jurisdiction did not include the sparsely-populated Kennebec Valley, Whitehouse wrote. This area belonged to the Plymouth Colony from 1640 until the Duke of York took it over in the early 1660s. In 1686, after the Duke became King James II (who reigned from Feb. 6, 1685, until he was overthrown effective Feb. 12, 1689), he transferred “the port and county of Pemaquid” (and presumably its upriver inland territory) to Massachusetts, Whitehouse said.

In 1691, Massachusetts got a new royal charter that united the various parts of Maine. The Massachusetts legislature promptly enacted its own Charter of 1691, setting out British-based legal principles and establishing four levels of courts that Whitehouse said remained virtually unchanged for 50 years.

The superior court for Maine cases was held in Massachusetts until 1699, Whitehouse wrote. From 1699 to 1760, one annual term was held in Maine – he did not say where.

In 1760, Maine was divided into Cumberland and Lincoln counties, with Lincoln including what became Kennebec in February 1799. In 1761, the Kennebec proprietors, successors to the Plymouth Colony, built what is now the historic Pownalborough Courthouse on the east bank of the Kennebec River, in present-day Dresden.

Whitehouse said Lincoln County’s first superior court meeting was not until 1786. The first term at Hallowell began July 8, 1794, before Augusta separated from its southern neighbor in February 1797.

Court was held “in a church prepared for the occasion,” Whitehouse wrote: the 1790 courthouse in Market Square, near the Kennebec, was too small. The three judges “were attended by three sheriffs wearing cocked hats and carrying swords, each with his long white staff of office.” The officials attracted a large audience as they marched to the church to the beat of a drum, followed by members of the bar.

In 1799, Augusta became Kennebec County’s shire town and hosted an annual term of the Massachusetts Superior Court, apparently until Maine became a state in 1820. Depending on the nature of the trial, sometimes all three judges presided, sometimes only one.

Before 1792, Whitehouse wrote, they “appeared on the bench in robes and wigs, the robes being of black silk in the summer and of scarlet cloth in the winter.”

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Both William D. Williamson, in his 1832 Maine history, and Louis Hatch, in his 1919 Maine history, listed the courts being headquartered in Boston as one cause of the movement for separation from Massachusetts. Both cited a January 1786 list of “evils and grievances” from the second convention called to discuss separation (the first, in October 1785, attracted representatives from so few towns that delegates called a better-publicized second gathering).

The fourth problem on the convention’s list was that the Supreme Judicial Court could not administer justice in Maine as promptly as required. With the clerk’s office and court records in Boston, “legal process and lawsuits must be attended with additional costs, perplexities and delays of justice,” Williamson wrote.

He added a footnote: “This evil continued till the year 1798.”

Although no action resulted from the 1786 convention, it was a step in the movement that resulted in Maine statehood in March 1820. More immediately, Williamson and Hatch said, it led Massachusetts authorities to revamp some of the laws to which Maine people objected; to build two new major roads; and to begin holding court sessions in the province.

In 1786, Hatch wrote, the Massachusetts Supreme Court held its first term in Pownalborough, plus an additional term of the lower court of Common Pleas and Sessions (see below). Beginning in March 1787, “the lower courts” also held one term annually in Hallowell (and one in Waldoborough); and the Massachusetts secretary of state was ordered to publish Massachusetts laws in the Falmouth Gazette, Maine’s first newspaper (founded in 1784).

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By 1819, Maine residents were so strongly (though never unanimously) in favor of independence that the Massachusetts legislature passed a bill authorizing a Maine vote on separation. The vote was duly held on the fourth Monday in July, 1819 (July 26). On the fourth Monday in August (Aug. 23), Massachusetts Governor John Brooks announced separation had been approved, 17,091 votes in favor to 7,132 against.

Once Maine became a state, the next step was to organize its government. A constitutional convention met Oct. 11, 1819, in Portland.

Judge Daniel Cony

Hatch said, “By unanimous consent, Judge Daniel Cony, of Augusta, was requested to take the chair” for preliminary steps, though he was quickly replaced by William King, of Bath, as chair of the body.

(King later became Maine’s first governor. More on Judge Cony later in this subseries.)

Williamson wrote that a 33-man subcommittee drafted a constitution based on Massachusetts’. The convention approved it, called for town meetings to approve or reject it on the first Monday in December (Dec. 6); and adjourned Oct. 29, Williamson said. A majority of towns approved.

The constitution described the state government, citizens’ rights and other typical topics.

The section on the judiciary in Maine’s current constitution says: “The judicial power of this State shall be vested in a Supreme Judicial Court, and such other courts as the Legislature shall from time to time establish.” The 1820 state constitution differed by one word, according to Whitehouse: it began “The judicial power of the state….”

Whitehouse cited a June 24, 1820, law establishing a three-justice supreme judicial court and defining its powers. In following years, the legislature required the court to meet at least once a year in most of Maine’s counties, with Kennebec County’s term scheduled in May, in Augusta.

From 1820 to 1839, Wikipedia says, Maine justices were appointed for life, with a mandatory retirement age of 70. Whitehouse said the number of justices was increased to four in 1847 and seven in 1852.

By 1892, Whitehouse wrote, the court consisted of a chief justice and seven associate justices, appointed by the governor for seven-year terms. (Currently, the court consists of a chief justice and six associate justices.)

The Wikipedia writer commented that unlike most other states’ top courts, the Maine court was and is not headquartered in the state capital. The reason is partly that the 1829 Kennebec County courthouse lacked a large enough courtroom. Nonetheless, the writer said, the court met there from 1830 to 1970, when it moved permanently to the Cumberland County courthouse, in Portland.

Whitehouse listed four 19th-century Maine Supreme Court justices who came from Augusta:

— Nathan Weston, appointed an associate justice July 1, 1820, and chief justice from Oct. 22, 1834 to Oct. 21, 1841;
— Richard Drury Rice, associate justice from May 11, 1852 to his resignation Dec. 1, 1863;
— Artemas Libbey or Libby, appointed from April 24, 1875, to April 24, 1882; reappointed Jan. 11, 1883, and Jan. 10, 1890; served until his death March 15, 1894; and
— William Penn Whitehouse, appointed associate justice April 15, 1890; reappointed April 24, 1897, April 5, 1904 and April 13, 1911; appointed chief justice July 26, 1911; resigned April 8, 1913.

Another important state court official, Whitehouse wrote, was the Reporter of Decisions, the person responsible for compiling the annual decisions of the court when it is sitting as the Maine Law Court (appellate court). Reporters from Kennebec County to 1892 were Asa Redington, from Augusta (1850-1854) and Solymon Heath, from Waterville (1854-1856).

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Below the provincial and later state supreme court was the court of common pleas. Whitehouse wrote that such a court was “organized for each county under the province charter of 1692.”

(Wikipedia says the court of common pleas was an early British form of lower court for hearing cases that did not involve the king. These courts are mostly obsolete, though four U.S. states still have trial courts so titled, with varying functions.)

In 18th and early 19th century Maine, Whitehouse said, these courts consisted of four justices at first, three from 1804 to 1811. The justices “were to be substantial persons,” but not necessarily lawyers; Whitehouse found no evidence that “any member of this court in Maine was an educated lawyer” before 1800.

In 1811, a new “circuit court of common pleas” replaced the standing courts. In 1822, after Maine and Massachusetts separated, a statewide standing court was created. In 1839 another change created a three-judge district court for Kennebec, Lincoln and Somerset counties, with three terms a year in each county.

Whitehouse spelled out this court’s jurisdiction and duties.

“It had original and exclusive jurisdiction of all civil actions where the debt or damage demanded did not exceed two hundred dollars, and concurrent jurisdiction above that sum. It had also jurisdiction of all crimes and misdemeanors previously cognizable by the court of common pleas,” he wrote.

Losers could appeal to the state supreme court, and, Whitehouse wrote, they did, so habitually that almost everybody got two trials. This “inefficient” system was abolished in 1852 and the lower court’s “duties and powers, including appeals from justices of the peace,” were given to the supreme court (and its membership increased from four to seven justices).

Naturally, the result was an overloaded supreme court and long delays in getting suits settled. In 1878, Whitehouse wrote, a Kennebec County Superior Court was created. It first met only in Augusta, but in 1889 a provision requiring two terms a year in Waterville was added.

The first Kennebec County Superior Court Judge was William Penn Whitehouse, appointed for seven years in February, 1878. He was reappointed until he resigned April 15, 1890, to accept a position on the Maine Supreme Court.

Next week: more on Kennebec Valley courts, courthouses, judges and the like.

Main sources

Hatch, Louis Clinton, ed., Maine: A History 1919 (facsimile, 1974).
Kingsbury, Henry D., ed., Illustrated History of Kennebec County Maine 1625-1892 (1892).
Williamson, William D., The History of the State of Maine from its First Discovery, A.D. 1602, to the Separation, A.D. 1820, Inclusive (1832).

Websites, miscellaneous.

EVENTS: Women’s History Month celebrates Waterville’s native Alleen Thompson

Waterville native, the late Alleen Thompson

In celebration of Women’s History Month, we will have a special feature about Miss Alleen Thompson. Even if you are not familiar with who she was, this presentation will bring her interesting and little-known life to your eyes.

After she passed away at the age of 101, a wood traveling trunk and a banker’s box filled with her life’s mementos came to Waterville Historical Society. Even those who knew her for decades or more may not know the adventures her life held: her amazing accomplishments as a Navy woman, her very strong ties to Waterville which never lessened, and her love for all things Colby College from the days of her education there through the rest of her life. Miss Thompson was a very modest woman who was not boastful about her life and work, but her treasured mementos left behind tell many tales of her illustrious life. Her quick wit and candid opinions were entertaining, even if you did not always agree with her. She was spunky!

By the end of the presentation, I am hopeful you will say things like, “Wow, I never knew!” and “What an interesting life she led.” It is likely you all have connections with her in one way or another. Were you a Girl Scout? Did you know someone in the Navy? There will be time to share your memories of her during the presentation. Photos from her albums will be shown on the screen with audience narrative encouraged. Plus a display of historic photos of Waterville and items from her life will be available in Marriner Hall to look at before and after the presentation.

On Saturday, March 29, the door opens at 2 p.m., and the presentation begins at 2:30 p.m. Admission is free, although donations are gladly accepted! Light refreshments are available during the social time and viewing of displays. Please join us. Bring a friend or two!

Look for the Redington Museum sign at 62 Silver Street. The presentation sign outside the door will lead you into Marriner Hall. See you on Saturday, March 29. If you have any questions, please call 872-9439.

EVENTS: 100 Women Who Give event will award $10,000 to local charity

Francine Garland Stark, Executive Director of the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, accepts the $10,000 award from Waterville Area Women’s Club member Stacy Whitcomb-Smith at last year’s 100 Women Who Give. This year’s event will be held April 10, at 6 p.m., at Snow Pond Center for the Arts, in Sidney. To purchase a ticket to attend or support, visit watervilleareawomensclub.org. (contributed photo)

Waterville Area Women’s Club will host its second annual “100 Women Who Give” event Thursday, April 10, at 6 p.m., at Snow Pond Center for the Arts, in Sidney, where attendees will cast live voting to select one local nonprofit to receive a $10,000 unrestricted gift.

The event invites women interested in supporting their community by contributing together as a group to increase impact. One hundred women will purchase a ticket for $100 each to raise $10,000. The evening includes food, presentations by selected nonprofits, music, in-person voting, followed by the awarding of the $10,000 gift to the selected organization, and an event celebration.

Waterville Area Women’s Club President Alisa Johnson said the club’s members started the event as an opportunity for women who wish to collectively have a greater impact on nonprofits that support women and children.

“As an individual, it’s often difficult to make a large financial impact alone, but as a group, we have the ability to make an immediate, direct, and positive impact in our communities, in ways we never thought possible,” Johnson said.

Last year’s “100 Women Who Give” event awarded $10,000 to Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence. Thanks to the generosity of more than 100 women in attendance, additional donations were awarded to the Waterville Community Dental Center and the Maine Children’s Home.

The three nonprofit organizations on the voting ballot this year include Camp to Belong, the Maine Women’s Lobby Education Fund, and the South End Teen Center.

To purchase a ticket to attend and/or vote on April 10, or to make a gift in support of 100 Women Who Give, visit the Waterville Area Women’s Club Facebook page or watervilleareawomensclub.org.

Waterville Area Women’s Club and its volunteer members support numerous local charities and service agencies in the greater Waterville area, with a focus on those that benefit women and children. The Club welcomes new female members. For more information, contact Alisa Johnson at 207-629-8317.

MDF’s Maine Downtown Center welcomes Waterville to nationally recognized revitalization program

The Maine Downtown Center (MDC), a program of Maine Development Foundation (MDF), has announced that Van Buren and Waterville are joining its Maine Downtown Center Affiliate Program. Both communities completed an extensive application process that included an online application, a written commitment to the program, a site visit, and a review conducted by professional downtown revitalization experts that serve on the MDC Advisory Council.

Both Waterville and Van Buren have volunteer committees that will work hard over the next year to build relationships with businesses, residents, property owners, and the municipality. They will begin to look at downtown assets, priorities for revitalization and begin to use the Main Street Four Point Approach, a proven downtown revitalization method for over 40 years.

Michael Hall, Community Development Specialist for the city of Waterville says, “Downtown Waterville has been on an incredible rise over the past seven years, and becoming a Downtown Affiliate is the next big leap forward! This partnership equips us with the tools, resources, and momentum to supercharge our revitalization, strengthen local businesses, and cement Waterville’s place as the most vibrant downtown in Central Maine.”

With the addition of Waterville, The Maine Downtown Center now supports 30 member communities throughout Maine: 11 Nationally Accredited Main Street Communities, 13 Maine Downtown Affiliate Com­munities, and six Municipal Communities. Some are in the initial stages of downtown revitalization while many are working toward achieving nationally accredited “Main Street” designation. MDC offers access to training by state and national downtown development experts, best practices in the field, and a network of peers from around the state.

“It is a great feeling to have worked closely with Discover Waterville over the last year and have them reach this goal of being excited and committed to having a focused downtown revitalization program. We are looking forward to working with both Waterville and Van Buren on their downtown revitalization journeys as Maine’s two new Affiliates,” said Anne Ball, Senior Program Director of the Maine Downtown Center.

Andrei Llanto named to fall dean’s list at Nebraska

Andrei Llanto, of Waterville, has been named to the deans’ list at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in Lincoln, Nebraska, for the fall semester of the 2024-25 academic year.

Llanto, a junior majoring in business and law, was named to the dean’s list for the College of Business.

CRITTER CHATTER: Many hands made light work

by Jayne Winters

Reminiscing,
Part VI

During our recent series of “Taking a Trip Down Memory Lane,” I’ve shared a few stories that Carleen Cote wrote about local school children initiating various fundraising projects for Duck Pond Wildlife Care Center. However, not only young members of our community have supported this facility over the years. In September 2003, Paul Basham wrote about 35 adult volunteers who gathered at Duck Pond:

“All during the workday, volunteers hammered, sawed, cleaned and repaired old cages and built new cages. The workers stopped in mid-day to enjoy a generous lunch catered by Rhonda Boynton, Mrs. Staples, and Blanche Bourdeau.

I asked Carleen how this workday got started and she said, “Ever since the news spread about the ruling of the USDA, prohibiting our Wildlife Care Center from conducting tours, our phone has been ringing off the hook with callers offering to help us.” She paused for a moment, and then continued, “I was overwhelmed by all the people – near and far – giving us their support, and I took down their names and phone numbers. Then I came up with the idea of calling these folks back and scheduling a workday. And this is what happened,” Carleen said, swinging wide her arms as if to display all the improvements.

I talked with Fred Turner and Michael Brown who were still repairing an old cage during the lunch break. Turner operates the Critta Gitta, in Augusta, where he helps control animal damage, and Brown manages Second Chance Wildlife, an animal rehabilitation facility in New Sharon. Both men said they often work with the Cotes regarding wildlife issues.

Don Cote said he did not know how to act with so many people scattered across the Center “doing his work.” But he could not disguise his delight.

Carleen remarked with emphasis, “Some of these volunteers, after working all day, handed me a check before they left!” She added that many workers said, “Let’s make this an annual event!” It looks like a new tradition has been established at Vassalboro’s Wildlife Care Center – and Don and Carleen Cote could not be happier. At the end of the day, Carleen said, with her eyes dancing, ‘It would have taken three years for my husband and me to do what was achieved today!’’

I don’t know if Volunteer Workdays became an annual tradition, but photos from 2016 show a crew building a new duck house and an article entitled “Old-Fashioned Barn Raising” tells of a storage building project to house bulk animal food. In addition to friends and carpenters, volunteers included IF&W Warden Scott Thrasher, of Madison, and State Police Sgt. Aaron Hayden, of South China. Every person involved donated their days off, as well as some of the materials. Carleen’s column ended with, “Whether in the baking sun or the pouring rain, the construction crew carried out the Maine tradition of neighbor helping neighbor. Our “thank-you’s” do not adequately express our appreciation for all the hard work from folks who had nothing to gain except the good feeling of having helped a neighbor in need and helped support the care of Maine’s wildlife.”

So, we have more examples of how simple, but thoughtful and generous acts can make a big dif ference not only to human neighbors, but wildlife neighbors as well. Remember that while donations to causes close to your heart can be financial, there are other ways to contribute.

Duck Pond is not accepting admissions or phone messages at this time, but we have worked closely with Wilderness Miracles Rehab, in Bowdoin, (Kathi at 207-720-0074), Misfits Rehab, in Auburn, (Jen at 207-212-1039), Bridget Green, in Wiscasset, (207-631-0874), Critterville Wildlife, in Brooklin (845-549-2407), and Saco River Wildlife (207-702-1405). Turtle rehabber Pam Meier can be reached at The Turtle’s Back (203-903-2708). Otherwise, please check these websites for a rehabber close to you: https://www.mainevetmed.org/wildlife-rehabilitation or https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/living-with-wildlife/orphaned-injured-wildlife/index.html or contact your local Animal Control Officer through your town office.

MAINE-LY GARDENING: Getting a head start on gardening

by Jude Hsiang

Starting seeds indoors is easy, economical, and fun. Most garden seeds can be planted in April and ready to transplant outdoors when the danger of frost is past. If you haven’t done this before, start small with one or two of your favorite vegetables or flowers. Young children can plant larger seeds like beans, which are easy for tiny hands. Older kids can grow their favorites. When I was 6 years old my father gave me a 29-cent packet of radish seeds. I didn’t like radishes, but he explained that I could offer to sell them to a neighbor’s restaurant. Back then the price of a small bunch of radishes was 35 cents. I’ve been gardening ever since.

Seeds can be started in small containers 2-3 inches deep and punched with a few drainage holes: yogurt cups, cut off bottoms of milk cartons, even egg cartons. You will need a soilless planting medium which will be free of weed seeds and disease organisms found in yard or garden soil. While at the store you could buy trays of plastic six-packs for your seeds if you don’t have little containers at home. They can be reused many times with yearly disinfecting using one part bleach to nine parts water. Seeds have all the nutrients baby plants need, so fertilizer isn’t needed.

Soilless planting mediums are water resistant, so you’ll want to wet it thoroughly – mixing and squishing until it’s damp but not soggy – before filling your containers. The seed packet or catalog will show how deep to plant. Very tiny seeds often require light to germinate and so aren’t covered. Set the containers on a tray to catch the drips and put them in a warm place – the top of the refrigerator or other spot out of the way of pets or small children. Seeds take different lengths of time to germinate – another opportunity for young scientists to keep records.

Covering them lightly with a layer of plastic wrap, or the clear plastic covers sold for seed starting trays will keep them warm without drying out. A light watering with lukewarm water when the surface of the planting medium is dry will be all they need. Too much water can cause a fungal disease called “damping off.”

Once the little seedlings have appeared, watch for them to develop their first true leaves, which often look different than the first “seed leaves.” Find a sunny window for them. They’re likely to get leggy as they reach for the sun but turning them each day will help. Move the plants away from the window on very cold nights.

When the second set of true leaves opens, the seedlings can be thinned to about an inch apart. You can give them a little fertilizer at half the rate given on the package. If they are getting crowded, transplant them into larger pots. Hold them by a leaf, as they are still very delicate and can’t survive a damaged stem.

Mid-May days are warm enough to “harden off” the seedlings by adjusting them to the outdoors. Set them in an area protected from strong sunlight or breezes such as on a porch or under a shrub for a few hours a day and increase the time over a couple of weeks. Around the first of June when the risk of frost is over, transplant them into their garden spot or larger containers. Water them well.

More ambitious gardeners can start more seeds and try some fussier plants by spending a moderate amount of money to provide better light and heat. Special heat mats help germination by heating from the bottom and are only needed until the plants have popped up. (Do not use heating pads or electric blankets for this!)

Light can be enhanced by setting up fluorescent shop lights and using a timer set for 16 hours a day. One “warm” bulb and one “cool” bulb combine to give the range of light wavelengths needed by seedlings. Shop lights are hung from chains that allow them to be adjusted to 2-4″ above the tops of the seedlings. Specialized, and more expensive, “grow lights” have a wider wavelength range needed for flower production, but not seedlings. It’s best to talk to a supplier of garden equipment as not all brands of lights aren’t equal. The University of Maine Extension can provide more tips on successful seed starting and all gardening topics.

Whether a few marigold seeds or two dozen tomatoes, it’s very satisfying to watch over the seedlings that promise a bountiful summer.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: The frightening and harmless earwigs

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Recently, someone showed me a photograph of an insect they alleged bit one of their children. They wanted to know what it was and whether it was harmful. It didn’t take long for me to identify it as an earwig.

Earwigs are a relatively small group of insects. Earwigs often upset people when discovered indoors. Their forcep-like tail appendages make them look dangerous, but they are quite harmless. Earwigs run rapidly around baseboards, and they may emit a foul-smelling, yellowish-brown liquid from their scent glands when disturbed or crushed. Earwigs are mainly active at night, usually hiding during the daytime. They’re often found in clusters hiding in dark crevices like door or window frames.

Earwigs normally live outdoors and do not establish themselves indoors, though the ringlegged earwig is a common resident in greenhouses. Earwigs are harmless to humans and animals, though if picked up and restrained, adult earwigs can give a slight pinch with the forceps. While mainly predaceous on other insects, earwigs often feed on flower petals, soft vegetables and fruits, or seedling plants when hot and dry conditions persist.

The name earwig actually comes from an Old English name, which was derived from the superstition that earwigs can enter your ears at night and burrow into your brain to lay eggs. This belief is totally unfounded, though earwigs will occasionally seek out ear canals of campers as dark, moist hiding places. This can obviously be a traumatic experience!

Adults of the European earwig are usually winged, while the ringlegged earwigs are wingless. If wings are present, the first pair are hard, short, and scale-like, while the second pair are membranous, fan-shaped, and folded under the hard first pair of wings. Tips of the second pair of wings usually protrude from under the first pair. The European earwig ranges from 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, with banded legs and a reddish head. The ringlegged earwig ranges from 1/2 to 3/5 inch long and is black-yellowish underneath with legs having white crossbands at the joints. Young earwigs (nymphs) are similar to adults except the nymphs lack wings and the cerci are short.

Earwigs develop from egg to adult through gradual, or incomplete, metamorphosis with four to five nymphal instars. Generally, most earwigs lay eggs in late winter into early spring in chambers in the ground, under logs, or under stones. Usually, 20 to 50 smooth, oval, pearly-white or cream-colored eggs are produced. The female moves, cleans, and provides maternal care by protecting the eggs and new young until the first molt.

When spring weather is suitable, the female makes an opening to the soil surface where the young nymphs can leave the nest and forage for food. The small nymphs often return to their burrow during the day, but soon they are large enough to fend for themselves without a burrow. Earwigs are active at night and are often found around lights preying on other small insects that come to lights. During the day, earwigs hide in moist, shady places beneath stones, boards, sidewalks, and debris. They are rapid runners and feed on mosses, lichens, algae, fungi, insects, spiders, and mites, both dead and alive.

Earwigs rarely fly and are unable to crawl long distances, but they often hitchhike in laundry baskets, cut flowers, luggage, newspapers, lumber, baskets of fruits and vegetables, automobiles, etc. They prefer moisture and may migrate indoors during periods of prolonged heat and drought. Forceps at the end of the abdomen are used to defend the nest, capture prey, probe narrow crevices, and fold or unfold wings.

If earwigs are persistently invading a home or building, one should first attempt to control the earwigs outdoors. Since earwigs breed in soil chambers and spaces under landscape stones and timbers, reducing mulch layers and landscape structures can help reduce populations.

During dry, hot weather, earwigs sometimes migrate indoors in search of cool and moist habitat. They are easily killed by residual insecticide treatments in cracks and crevices, along baseboards, beneath cabinets, along door and window sills, and in other hiding places during the day. Unfortunately, control will be short-term due to new earwig entry from outdoors. Therefore, the best strategy is to better seal around doors and windows, which serve as the major entry points.

They are plentiful, ominous looking, but they are harmless to humans. I just don’t care to be pinched by one.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Which major league players were known by these nicknames. 1. The Splendid Splinter. 2. The Bambino. 3. Charlie Hustle. 4. The Say Hey Kid.

Answer
1. Ted Williams, 2. Babe Ruth. 3. Pete Rose. 4. Willie Mays.

EVENTS: History of Sanitary District topic of WHS talk

Kennebec Sanitary Treatment District

Join local resident and Kennebec Sanitary Treatment District Superintendent, Nick Champagne, for a photo journey through the process of creating the facility and how it serves to keep the Kennebec River clean. First, we will learn the common misconceptions about what KSTD is and does, and the areas it serves (much more than just Waterville). He will walk you through the steps of the incredible earthwork which was done to prepare the site and everything that went into the building process. Then the journey will bring you to what they do today, much of what was not envisioned back when it was created.

Nick also wants to hear your memories about what this area of Water Street was like before the facility was built.

Saturday, April 5, door opens at 2 p.m., Nick’s presentation begins at 2:30 p.m. Admission is free, donations gladly accepted! Light refreshments are available.

Look for the Redington Museum sign at 62 Silver Street.