Mars Hill library in need of new furnace

Library
The furnace at the Walter T. A. Hansen Memorial Library in Mars Hill is on its last legs. It has stopped functioning several times recently and is being babied along until a new furnace is installed. This new furnace will cost just under $5,000.
     This expenditure is not in the budget of the library. There are several local clubs and committees that will be assisting in this special funding, but if everyone will be generous when they see the fund-raising cans around, it will go a long way in paying for this unexpected expense. Donations can also be dropped off at the library if anyone that is interested in helping.
The library hours are: Mon., Tues. and Thurs.  – 1:30 to 5:30 p.m.; Wed. – 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.; Fri. and Sat. – 9 a.m. to 12 noon. The phone number is 429-9625.
Senior citizen meals
The Central Aroostook High School cafeteria will be a meal site for area Senior Citizens on Tuesdays, beginning Feb. 27. Senior citizens will be served at 12noon each Tuesday that school is in session. The cost of the meal will be $3.25, payable at the meal site.
Please call Sylvia at 429-8464 by the Monday before each Tuesday to sign up.
Spring Adult Education
The spring semester of SAD 42 Adult Education classes will begin on Monday, Feb. 26, and will run through Thursday, April 12. All classes begin at 6 p.m.
Classes will be held at Central Aroostook High School and include: Windows XP – Mondays and Thursdays with Instructor Kathy Craig; Intro to Microsoft Excel 2003 – Tuesdays with Instructor Stephen Dame; Quilting – Mondays and Thursdays with Instructor Patsy Glidden; Primitive Stitchery – Tuesdays with Instructor Wendy Grass; Crafts and More – Thursdays with Instructor Susan Watson; Woodworking – Thursdays with Instructor Beaver Bell; and Gardening – Tuesdays with Instructors Bonnie and Jim Kinney.
A new class for senior citizens is Surfing the Internet. It will be offered on two nights only: Monday, April 23, and Thursday, April 26, with Instructor Kathy Craig.
A registration fee of $15 will be charged for each class and pre-registration is required. Senior citizens 60 years of age and older will be admitted free of charge.
For more information and/or to register, please call Kathy at the Superintendent’s Office at 425-3771. Some classes are limited in space.
Rotary Club
The Mars Hill Rotary Club met on Tuesday morning at 6:30 a.m. at the Aroostook Health Center in Mars Hill. The speaker was Rotarian Roger Shaw, superintendent at CAHS.
He spoke about the Legislative proposals relative to School Administrative Unit Consolidation and other related issues. Roger spoke to the Joint Standing Committees on Education and Cultural Affairs and Appropriations and Financial Affairs in Augusta on Feb. 5.
Roger stated that the issue is much larger and the stakes much higher than perhaps many think. He believed that the very existence of rural Maine rests in the balance.
“Maine is largely a rural state made up of many small towns, a couple of dozen medium communities and a handful of larger cities. The relative wealth of these communities varies immensely and what each community offers and values determines why most people choose to live where they do,” said Shaw.
“Having a vision for the economic success for all of Maine requires honest and open dialogue about the pressing issues we face, what each community needs and how we can work cooperatively to achieve, not perfect, equitable solutions,” he continued.
“To simply accept any policy, law or regulation as right when virtually every city, town, hamlet and child in Maine is affected, is not only ill conceived but extremely short sighted. We are all aware that things look, and are, vastly different in Mars Hill than in Bangor, Fort Kent or Addison,”  added Shaw.
That is why he asked that the committees “carefully consider the proposals that are before them that despite the rhetoric, would ultimately endanger small rural schools.”
“The enactment of any plan that has such far-reaching and profound implications for every child and community in Maine simply cannot be crafted by so few, understood by even fewer and with so little input from ‘the field.’ Simply put, ‘all’ small communities are struggling for survival and small schools are clearly endangered, and whether by chance or design, seem to be very much in the cross hairs of state education policy and proposed legislation,” said Shaw.
He asked where “we as a state are heading, what we’ll look like in 20, 10, 5 or less years, what we value, letting democracy work, letting people speak, listening and responding in courageous ways.”
Shaw didn’t have all the answers and doesn’t even know all the right questions to ask, but he, along with many other fine and concerned citizens from across the state, “commit to assist in any way possible to address the myriad of issues we face in Maine and ultimately the passage of laws and regulations that are, in fact, fair and equitable for all children and communities in our state. We have no choice but to consider if a ‘one size fits all’ approach can ever provide either equity or adequacy in a representative democracy. If it doesn’t work for all, it doesn’t work at all.”
Birthday Calendars
The Mars Hill Rotary Club’s Birthday Calendars have arrived and many have been distributed. If you ordered your calendar from a Rotarian, that Rotarian has your calendar and is to get them to you shortly.
If you didn’t order a calendar from a Rotarian but would like to purchase one, they are available for $5 each at the Mars Hill Town Office, the Blaine Town Office or at the Mars Hill branch of Katahdin Trust.
Please look over the calendars carefully when you get yours to see if all the information on your family is correct. If there are corrections, additions or deletions to be done, please contact Tomi Henderson in the evenings at 429-9126 or via e-mail at tomihen@yahoo.com.
Winterfest Talent Show
The Winterfest Committee will be featuring the Second Annual Talent Show on Friday night, March 9, at 7 p.m. at Central Aroostook High School. Fireman Fred will be the emcee for this year’s contest.
There will be cash prizes for this judged event in three categories this year: adults, 18 and over, $200; ages 11 to 17, $100; and ages 10 and under, $50.
Those interested in registering, or for more information, contact Joy Taylor at 429-9823. Spots are limited, so please call soon to pre-register.
Winterfest 2007
The Greater Mars Hill Winterfest will be held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 9 to 11. Friday night and Saturday morning and afternoon events will be held at CAHS. Saturday evening and Sunday events will be held at Big Rock.
This year’s events include: Friday night – a Beans and Franks Dinner ($6) from 5 – 7 p.m. sponsored by the Mars Hill Rotary Club and a Talent Show ($3 per person / $7 per family) at 7 p.m.
Saturday morning will start with the St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast ($3) from 6 – 9 a.m., a Cribbage tournament ($5) at 9 a.m., PeeWee Basketball games at 9 a.m. ($1 admission), the Methodist Women Bake Sale in the lobby during all events, an FFA Baked Potato Bar (or hotdog and fries) at 10:30 a.m. ($3), children’s coin search at 11 a.m., horse-drawn sleigh and snowmobile rides from (11 a.m. to 1 p.m.), BINGO from 12:30 to 3 p.m.
Evening events planned at Big Rock will include the Kardboard Klassic ($5 per sled) at 5 p.m. with three categories (kids, JH/HS and adults), a Chicken Stew ($6) at 5:30 p.m., a Big Air Contest ($10) at 6:30 p.m., a Torchlight Parade at 7:45 p.m. and Fireworks at 8:15 p.m.
These events will be followed by an adult dance from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. with the band Too Far North. You must be 21 to attend, IDs are required and there will be a cash bar. There will be a $5 admission charge.
There will be some events at Big Rock on Sunday also – check out the flyers for more details.
Posters listing the events will be put up in several areas and flyers will be available at the Mars Hill Town Office, the Blaine Town Office and the Mars Hill IGA.
Tomi Henderson is the correspondent for Mars Hill, Blaine and Bridgewater. She can be reached at 429-9126 or e-mail tomihen@yahoo.com.