The regular meeting of the Washburn Town Council was held on Monday, June 18, at 7 p.m. at the Washburn Civic Center.
The Council approved the minutes from the May 14 meeting and reviewed and approved the financial figures through May 31, 2007. In other business, the Council appointed Daren Churchill and Steve Davis as new members of the Planning Board and also signed off on a Municipal Quitclaim Deed.
They appointed Town Manager Andrea Powers to the chairman position on the town’s Revolving Loan Committee, and a meeting date will be set in the near future.
It was noted that as of June 12, Washburn has a Water and Sewer District. The Town Council members are the current overseers of the District until a Board of Trustees is appointed.
The Council was informed of two upcoming meetings to discuss Regionalization Consolidation for area schools. These will be held on Wednesday, June 20, at the Caribou Performing Arts Center, and on Wednesday, June 27, at the Presque Isle High School gymnasium. These meetings are open to the public and will provide information on the establishment of consolidations.
The SAD School Board 45will hold their budget meeting on Monday, July 2, at 7 p.m. at the elementary school gym. This is a public meeting for the residents to vote on the upcoming budget, and all residents are urged to attend. After the voting on the school budget, Washburn will be setting the town’s mil rate during the July 9 Town Council meeting. Current School Board members are: Camille Albert, Noreen McIntosh, Theresa Cochran, William Fox, Barb Caron, Tim Humphrey, Mike McIntosh, Cary Schumacher, Kathy Palmer, Jennifer Olson and Allison Bragdon.
During executive session, the Town Council discussed issues concerning economic development, legal and personnel matters.
The next scheduled Town Council meeting will be held on Monday, July 9, at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center. All interested residents are invited to attend.
New municipal staff member
Lisa Mette has recently joined the Town Office staff as Washburn’s assistant clerk. She is enjoying getting to know the public and also finds it easy to work with the town staff. During the school year, her schedule is accommodating enough so she can take her lunch hour the same as her daughters and enjoy eating with them at school. Lisa is married to Robert Mette who is self-employed in his own company, Aroostook Restorations. Their daughters are 8-year-old Laina and 5-year-old Skylar.
Birthdays and anniversaries
A special belated birthday wish goes out to Herman Doody. Those celebrating birthdays this week include: Larry Bragg, Steve Doody, Bernice Farley, Butch Johnson, Ian Robertson, Mark Turner, Kate Campbell, Marianne Burchette, Jessica Hatch, Carl Tupper, Amber Yopp, Rose Doughman, Mike Easler, Dakota Scott, Raegyn Kaye Chavez, Janice Searles, Lynn Bragg, Emily Taylor, Trina Everett, Dakota Scott, Danny Corey Jr. and Mike Michaud.
Anniversary wishes go out to: Russell and Penny Scott, Bill and Sally Sargent, Ricky and Heather Bragg, Bob and Brenda Clayton, Obrien and Julia Bragg, Dick and Kathy Howlett, Bruce and Kathy Drost and Bud and Judy Budman.
Coming events/reminders
Tuesdays are Bingo Nights at the Trail Runners clubhouse starting at 7 p.m. The games are open to those ages 16 and older, and there is one setup fee of $12 for an evening’s worth of fun. Snacks will also be available for purchase.
The town of Washburn now has the stickers needed to register ATVs, and they will have an expiration date of June 30, 2008. Fees include: Resident renewal-$34, new resident-$35 and non-resident-$70.
There are still lots of nice clothes available at the Civic Center for folks to go through. There are lots of sizes, and all is free, just come check the items out.
The Washburn Town Office will be closed on Wednesday, July 4, in observance of Independence Day. They will reopen at 7 a.m. on Thursday, July 5.
The Washburn Rotary still has some of their historical calendars for sale at a cost of $10 each. The photo for the month of July is of the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad Bridge taken between 1910 and 1914. To get your calendar, check with any Rotarian or contact Andy White at White’s Exxon.
The Paul Clayton and Friends band will be playing at the K of C hall in Presque Isle on Saturday, June 30.
Members of the TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) group in Washburn meet each Monday at the Washburn Trail Runners at the cost $24 per year and $1 per week. For further information, contact Kathi Plante at 455-8320 or Birdina Cochran at 455-8353.
New great grandmother
There is a new baby in the Rossignol family, with Bern Rossignol becoming a great grandmother for the first time. William (Will) Michael Routhier was born on Tuesday, June 19, the first child for Michael and Kelie Routhier of Lewiston. Will weighed in at a healthy 7 pounds, 14 ounces and was 21 and a half inches long.
The proud grandparents are Wayne and Debbie Rossignol of Portland and Armand and Francoise Routhier of Lewiston. The great grandparents are Bernadette Rossignol and the late Donat Rossignol of Washburn.
Rec Center notes
The new summer staff for the Rec Center is already hard at work. Kayla and Bryan Schurman have joined veteran staff members Alex Bird and Justin Dickinson.
Scrapbooking will be held at the Rec Center on Wednesday, June 27 and Thursday, June 28. Grades 1-2 will be working from 8-9 a.m., grades 3-4 from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. and grades 5-8 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Also on Wednesday, June 27, there will be swimming lessons from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Major League team will play against Fort Fairfield at 5:30 p.m. and T-ball will be from 6 to 6:45 p.m.
On Thursday, June 28, the Junior Girls team will play Ashland at 1 p.m. and the Minor League team will play Limestone at 5:30 p.m.
On Friday, June 29, the field trip for the week will be at the Acadian Village in Van Buren. Those going will be given a guided tour of the village that is similar to Kings Landing. They get to visit all the old buildings and learn how people used to live. There is a souvenir shop on the site if they would like to bring extra money. The group will be going from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
On Monday, July 2, and Tuesday, July 3, the Ultimate Games will begin. This is a new program with a different game played each day, and sometimes it could be the children’s choice. The games will be held at the elementary school ball fields.Grades K-2 play from 8 to 9 a.m., grades 3-4 play from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. and grades 5 to 8 play from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. There will be Swimming Lessons from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and the Major League team plays at Mars Hill at 5:30 p.m.
There will be Co-Ed softball at the high school baseball field on Thursdays at 6 p.m. Anyone age 18 or older is eligible, and if you want to be on the team, just come to the field. This program will run Thursdays as long as there is interest for it.
Also on Thursday nights at 6 p.m., there will be co-ed soccer for high school students at the boy’s soccer field.
For any further information on Rec Center programs, contact Marcie Barbarula at 455-4959.
American Legion fund-raiser
Members of the Oscar Dow American Legion Post 48 are currently selling raffle tickets on a variety of items that are in the window of the bank for viewing.
There is a queen-size quilt with two pillows made by Ruth Flewelling and Rhoda Brown. Also, a granny afghan and a hunting buck knife will be raffled off. Tickets are $5 each and are available by contacting Kermit Fuller at 455-0963, Larry Harrison at 455-4074, Bob Brown at 455-4935, Kathy Philbrook at 455-5890 and Bill Flewelling at 455-4721 or also any Legion member. The winning tickets will be drawn on Tuesday, July 24, at the regular meeting of the Legion.
And the winners are . . .
Several students from Washburn District High School entered the Last Line Contest for the new and upcoming Harry Potter novel. School Librarian Londa Brown ran the contest to see who could write the best and maybe even most accurate last line for the book.
Most of the entries had a real problem putting their preferred solution into just one sentence, but the first-place winner, Jon Silber, managed to convey his thoughts. His sentence read: “It’s all going to be all right now, Harry,” said Ginny from the bedside of the Hogwarts infirmary, “you beat Voldemort.”
The second-place winner was Kelsey King who wrote the headline: “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-Dead!! “It was a bittersweet end of the year for the students at Hogwarts. You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters killed many students and teachers, including Harry Potter. Witnesses said that Potter was distracted because Death Eater Severnus Snape killed Headmistress Minerva McGonagall. After you-Know-Who’s Killing Curse hit Potter, You-Know-Who was killed as well. The only explanation is the tie between Potter and You-Know-Who’s blood that was made during Triwizard Tournament three years ago.”
Finally, the third-place winner David Roy wrote: “As Harry looked into the eyes of his killer, all that he could think was that he had failed his parents, himself and all of humankind, and while he lay dying atop Voldermort’s lifeless carcass, his last sight was Nevil Longbottom, smiling down at him, with Harry’s blood fresh on his hands.”
This contest certainly sparked some interesting conversations as everyone has their own theory as to who will die and who will live. Needless to say, all those concerned at the high school are anxiously awaiting the July 21 release date.
Special church services
There will be some joint open-air services held starting Wednesday, June 20, and going through Wednesday, July 25, with Washburn Pentecost Church and the Washburn Baptist Church with Pastors Bruce Blakney and Clark Jalbert officiating. The public is invited to attend and the services will be held in the town park on Main Street starting at 6:30 p.m. There will be music, special singing from local people, testimony time and a brief message each evening.
Library bookmarks
On Monday, June 27, the Middle School Book Group will meet at the Washburn Memorial Library at 5 p.m. The book under discussion is “A Wrinkle in Time.”
The library will be sponsoring a summer reading program, and this year’s theme is Get a Clue @ Your Library. There will be lots of incentives for the children to read including prizes and free gift certificates. Registration forms are available at the library, and for more information, feel free to contact Librarian Kathy Corey at 455-4814.
Friendly Co-op
Friendly Co-op order week will be June 25 through July 5. Delivery will be July 13. Please have your orders in no later than the evening of July 5. For more information call 455-8421 or e-mail bunny@ainop.com.
Mill Pond
Dozens turned out for the festivities at the Mill Pond Park on Saturday, June 23, to enjoy boat rides, music, food, fun and games. For more on the event, look for next week’s column and photos.
Musical Service
A special musical service will be held July 8 at First Baptist Church. Come and listen to the guitar and harmonica gospel music to be provided by local musician Wendell Hudson. He’ll be performing at the church during the morning service starting at 11 a.m. and the evening service at 6 p.m.
There is also a need for a piano player for the Wednesday evening services. Anyone interested is asked to phone Linwood Kenney at 455-4845.
