SOLON & BEYOND: Budget committee ready to prepare warrant

by Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy
grams29@tds.net
Solon, Maine 04979

To All Budget Committee Members: This is the notice of the annual budget meeting where the budget committee will give their recommendation on the articles in the annual town meeting warrant.

The budget package will be available for pick up at the town office on Wednesday January 13. If you want a package mailed let the town office know before January 13. If you want a package emailed to you, call Leslie with your email address prior to January 13th.

They are considering doing this meeting with an in-person option by Skype for those who do not want to attend in person due to the coronavirus. If you want to attend the meeting by contact the town office to give your email address so they can send you the invite to the meeting.

The town is planning a road paving project in 2021 for the Brighton Road, Grant Road, French Hill Road, Hole in the Wall Road ( the already paved section), Pleasant Street, and possibly School Street and York Street. They will have the estimated cost by the budget meeting.

The Fire Department plans to build an extension on the north side of the fire station for equipment storage in 2021. They will be asking for permission to use Fire Department Capital Reserve funds and Municipal Buildings Maintenance Reserve funds or Rainy Day Funds to fund the project. The Fire Department was not able to do any of their fund raisers this year and have used up their Fire Department Reserve Fund on purchasing gear and equipment for the fire department. They will discuss the cost and funding options at the budget meeting.

Ann Padham has resigned from the budget committee because she has moved to Madison. Beverly Gephart will move up to a full member and Hether Forsten will join as an alternate member.

Nomination papers are available for a three-year selectmen position, a three-year school board member and a one-year Road Commissioner position and are due back by Monday, January 5. The nomination papers will be available from the town clerk and are required to have the signatures of at least 25 registered Solon voters when they are turned in.

This piece of old news was from January 21, 2005; and it starts with these words: Good Morning My Friends, Don’t Worry be Happy. WOW! The sky ‘s the limit!

Here I sit, (overwhelmed) as I contemplate what I have done. Have told you before how much it means to me to share the news with you, and give you love and laughter along the way. But…. never in my wildest dreams did I ever believe that I would attempt to be an editor/publisher of a little paper. Not sure how many issues there will be, but presently they can be picked up at Griswold’s, in Solon Corner Market’, Solon Superette, and Pinkham’s Elm Street Market, in North Anson.

Would like to send the following words by Alin Austin, out to all of you who dare to dream: You Can Do It: Look within. And listen to your heart. You can do it. You can reach that goal. You can make that new reality instead of accepting things the way they used to be… You Can Do It. All of your highest hopes are with you. Nothing will hold you back but your own fears. And if those fears were created by you, they can be dealt with by you… and said good-bye to. You can do it: Say it to yourself, and believe it in your heart. Make every single day a positive a start leading to a better and bright tomorrow. You can do it. You really can.

There was other news and then it ended like this! Early Wednesday morning I was reading the daily paper and looked up to see Percy proudly strutting toward me with a live mouse hanging out of his mouth. I looked into the imploring eyes of the mouse, who seemed to be pleading, “HELP-p.p.p!” I looked away, hardening my heart, and forcefully told Percy, “Don’t you dare let him go!” Sure enough, he disobeyed yet again and I stood up in my chair and kept muttering, “Oh, oh,oh” as the lucky mouse scurried to and fro around and under my chair, with Percy in hot pursuit. He hasn’t caught it yet to my knowledge. The last time I saw it was when I preparing to go to bed that night. It peeked out at me from under a stand then dashed under the couch! Needless to say, I was quite perturbed with Percy, and even went so far as to think I wouldn’t let him give any advise this week. But as usual I softened my heart and since we are in this newspaper business together, he has approved of the following message:

The world is divided into two classes: those who go ahead and do something and those who sit and inquire, “Why wasn’t it done this way?” (Editor’s note: Have always had a problem with commas, and hence I threw them in hither and yon, with the idea that the editor would place them where they should be… and so please bear with me on that one. It always tickles me in this modern world when there are workshops on “Creative Writing,” in my old-fashioned way, I still blunder along in my crazy writing habits, and yet you seem to enjoy it, and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Oh yes, one more thing, I really do hope those beautiful words, by Alin Austin, will inspire some of you to try the impossible, even though it may seem out of the realm of sanity. But I must warn you, without prayer I wouldn’t recommend it.)

Can’t remember how many of the above papers I continued to write as editor and owner of a little paper, it was fun but quite a project! Then I got called to write for a real paper, again.

I still miss Percy to this day, he was quite a special cat even though he had a mind of his own. I can’t thank Roland enough for letting me put in Percy’s memoirs every week.

This week’s memoir is as follows: If the offence was committed against you, remember your own undeserved forgiveness; draw from that abundant supply and share what has been given to you… it is not yours to hoard. (The title of the little book this saying was in is, Hugs to encourage and inspire.)

May you have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!