Oak Grove School Foundation offers grants

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The Oak Grove School Foundation is accepting applications for grants to support the education and cultural needs of students and non profit organizations in the greater Central Maine area.

Recipients must be educational, charitable or religious organizations that are tax exempt under section 501(c)(30 Of the internal revenue service code.
Grant requests should be received by April 7, 2017. Funding decisions will be made in May and shortly after the funds will be distributed in July. Recent grants have ranged $500-$5,000. The OGSF has also provided seed money for initiatives that last up to three years.

Groups interested in obtaining application forms and guidelines should contact Joann Clark Austin, Oak Grove School Foundation, P.O. Box 150 South China, ME 04358-0150 or Susan Briggs at briggsusan@gmail.com.

CHINA NEWS: Selectmen review and approve most of warrant

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by Mary Grow

China selectmen spent most of a long Feb. 6 meeting reviewing and approving a good part of the warrant for the March 25 town business meeting, to have it ready for budget committee action. The budget committee is scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, in the town office.
Selectmen also:

  • Voted unanimously to support Rep. Tim Theriault’s LD 55, a proposed law which, if enacted, would charge Kennebec Water District water users a China Lake clean-up fee.
  • Appointed Thomas Michaud as the new at-large member of the planning board, succeeding Frank Soares.
  • Asked Town Manager Daniel L’Heureux to notify Marie Michaud that, acting on Maine Municipal Association advice, they have determined the petition she submitted last summer is invalid; they will neither act on it themselves nor send it to voters in March. The petition asked for a moratorium on commercial development until land use districts are established.

The town meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday, March 25, at China Middle School. The warrant contains the usual municipal spending requests, including numerous requested appropriations from the TIF (Tax Increment Finance) fund, known formally as the Development Program Fund, and related items, like setting tax due dates; a repeat of several requests voters rejected Nov. 8, 2016; and two new items.

The first new item is a request for up to $40,000 to compensate emergency services personnel (firefighters and medical first responders), under a policy to be developed by selectmen. Town Manager Daniel L’Heureux presented information from Albion, Vassalboro and Windsor, which all compensate their volunteers in different ways.

After a long discussion, a majority of the board voted to include the article and recommend its passage, with Ronald Breton abstaining and Joann Austin opposed. Breton said he supports the concept, but wants a policy in place before funding it; Austin objected to having no time to digest the information from other towns.

The other new proposal, from L’Heureux, is to establish a designated unemployment account in the town’s reserve fund and put $10,000 in it to fund unemployment claims. The manager explained that having the fund would eliminate the need to appropriate money for unemployment insurance annually and put it back into reserve when it is not needed.

Items repeated from the Nov. 8 local ballot include the manager’s request for more money for the capital equipment reserve fund, two amended solid waste ordinances and the planning board’s proposed amendments to the Land Use Ordinance. Planning board members were scheduled to decide at their Feb. 7 meeting whether to present their amendments as a single document or to divide them into separate articles.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting would have been on the Presidents’ Day holiday; it is rescheduled to 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 23.

Clinton students hold Souper Bowl food drive

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Clinton Elementary School students held their annual “Souper Bowl Food Drive” from January 30 – February 3, which was the week leading up to the NFL Super Bowl. Classrooms were evenly divided into two teams. Donations were counted by the student council members daily and posted on a paper scoreboard in the lobby. This year’s collection exceeded all others as they collected 947 items as a school. The staff at the Clinton Town Office also donated, putting the total collected over 1,000 items. In photo, student council included, front row, from left to right, Cameron Stewart, Max Begin and Kylie Delile. Second row, Hailey Bowley, Kyra Henry and Matt Stubenrod. Back, Makenzie Nadeau, Cylie Henderson and Lucas Campbell.

Photo courtesy of Marcia Buck, student council advisor and librarian

Albion youth attains Eagle Scout status

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Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

On December 28, 2016, Jacob Lennon, of Albion, joined the ranks of Eagle Scout, making him one of the last group of Eagles in the nation in 2016. Jacob is a member of Boy Scout Troop #446, in Albion.

Eagle Scout Jacob Lennon. Photo courtesy of Charles Mahaleris

The 18-year-old Lawrence High School senior, in Fairfield, began his scouting career when he was in the fourth grade.

Jacob was recently nominated, by Maine U.S. Senator Angus King, to attend one of the U.S. military academies. Jacob’s preference is the U.S. Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Maryland, where he would aspire to become a marine engineer.

Jacob’s other interests include football, weightlifting, hunting, trapping and fishing.

For his community project, Jacob chose to construct three small free libraries to help encourage reading and give people who can’t get to a library a chance to leave a book for others or borrow a book right in their respective neighborhood.

“In the fall of 2016, Jacob generously provided the town of Fairfield with three extraordinary Give a Book, Take a Book structures,” said Fairfield Town Manager, Michelle Flewelling. “They have become a great addition to our neighborhoods.”

Flewelling coordinated everything through the town, suggesting where the book libraries should be located, made arrangements with Central Maine Power’s Dig Safe program, and placed markers out for Jacob.

The project took 47 hours to complete, and Jacob received the help of troop leader Mathew Dow and Melanie Pellerin, along with fellow members of his Boy Scout troop. His grandfather, Henry Carter, spent a lot of time helping him with the project as well.

The libraries are located at Mill Island Park, on Mill Island, the playground next to the Fairfield Community Center, on Water St., and at Memorial Park, on the corner of High and Elm streets.

Building supplies for the three kiosks were donated by Lakeview Lumber, in China, Hammond Lumber, in Fairfield, and McCormick Lumber, in Winslow. Country Clipper, in Albion, made a cash donation to cover the cost of all other materials.

One of the Give a Book, Take a Book kiosks built by Eagle Scout Jacob Lennon, of Albion, as his community project. Photo courtesy of Michelle Flewelling

Jacob is the son of Tanya Lennon, of Albion.

I’m Just Curious: Wisdom?

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by Debbie Walker

Sometimes I find things on the internet that just really tickle me. The words I am passing on to you today were in an e-mail sent to me by one of my buddies. I know he didn’t come up with all this wisdom and there is nothing else that tells me about the original author. Enjoy:

  1. How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of murdered? Did you ever think of something like this? My son-in-law Todd could probably come up with some good ones. He has a head for this stuff. It has me curious now!
  2. Why does a round pizza come in a square box? It probably boils down to dollars and/or cents (sense).
  3. Why is it that people say they ‘slept like a baby’ when babies wake up like every two hours? Babies schedule or menopause that had me up in the bathroom every two hours!
  4. Why is ‘bra’ singular and ‘panties’ plural? Two cups on a bra and one panty in panties. Go figure! I think it’s funny that most bras are designed to help you look more natural! How about that one Madonna used to wear that would remind you of torpedoes.
  5. Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat? I liked this one and I also like slightly burned toast and popcorn.
  6. If corn oil is made from corn and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from? Oh, that one is just disgusting!
  7. If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons? Who are the morality cops, “They” in ‘they say’?
  8. Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him? I used to ask that a 100 years ago when I was a kid, it didn’t take a degree, it’s TV.
  9. The statistics on sanity is that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends… if they’re okay, then it’s you. Well, now I’m relieved, because when I think of my friends, we’re all in the same boat, just trying to figure out if it’s a row boat or motor boat!

Yeah, okay, so maybe these are really not wisdoms. They are just silly questions and answers. I hope you got a chuckle from these!!

I’m just curious about the questions you might have. Contact me at dwdaffy@yahoo.com, sub line: Wisdoms.

Written by Debbie Walker, of Burnham. She grew up in Burnham, spent 30 years in Central West Coast, Florida, and came back here a couple years ago.

MCS essay contest announced

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The Margaret Chase Smith Library announced the topic of its 21st annual essay contest – drug abuse. As far back as 1951, Senator Smith warned that “one of the great threats to our country today is the preying of narcotic peddlers upon our children.” Since the 1980s, the nation has waged a war on drugs with mixed results. The Margaret Chase Smith Library invites Maine high school seniors to propose how they would address the current lethal drug epidemic.

Entries are due by April 1, 2017, and decisions will be announced on May 1. Prizes are $50 for five honorable mentions, $250 for third place, $500 for second place, and $1,000 for first place. For more information, visit the Library’s website (http://www.mcslibrary.org/program/edu/essay.htm) or contact John Taylor at 474-7133.

Located in Skowhegan, Maine, the library is owned by the Margaret Chase Smith Foundation and operated under its auspices by the University of Maine. The Margaret Chase Smith Library is an archive, museum, educational facility, and public policy center devoted to preserving the legacy of Margaret Chase Smith, promoting research into American political history, advancing the ideals of public service, and exploring issues of civic engagement.

Colby College students named to dean’s list

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The following Colby College students were named to the dean’s list for outstanding academic achievement during the fall semester of the 2016-17 year, in Waterville:

Celie Deagle, of Canaan, is a member of the class of 2017. She attended Skowhegan Area High School and is the daughter of Paul and Sharon Deagle, of Canaan.
Caitlin Farrington, of South China, is a member of the class of 2018. She attended Erskine Academy, in South China, and is the daughter of Neil and Doreen Farrington, of South China.

Emmanuel announces fall 2016 dean’s list

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In honor of their outstanding academic achievement, Emmanuel College, in Boston, Massachusetts, has named the following local students to the dean’s list for the Fall 2016 semester:

Alexandra Gorrill, of Whitefield; Paulina Hersey and Katherine Thompson, both of Waterville.

Students named to U. of Vermont dean’s list

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The following students have been named to the dean’s list at the University of Vermont, in Burlington Vermont:

Devin Beckim and Melissa Petersen, both of Augusta; Kayla Christopher, of Oakland; and Delaney Curran, of Skowhegan.

 

Albion News: Albion Lions to host fishing derby

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The Albion Lions Club is sponsoring the 5th annual ice fishing derby on Lovejoy Pond. This will be held on Saturday, February 18, (Free Maine Fishing Day) at Roy Fuller’s camp on Marden Shore. There will be ice fishing demonstrations throughout the day, food, beverages, raffles.

Entry tickets will be on sale until noon. The tickets are $3/person for weighing one fish (ticket must be presented when weighing in a fish). Fish weigh-in will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Derby ends at 4 p.m.).

Prizes for Bass, White & Yellow Perch, and Pickerel will be awarded in two categories: 15 years and under and 16 years and older. Prizes are $50 cash, $50 gift certificates, and handmade plaque per category. $25 cash prize for the smallest fish.

Raffle winners will be drawn and announced at the end of the day.

Bring the family and come join the fun on Lovejoy Pond! Just follow the signs.