“Catfish” visits the County
Arelius “Catfish” Mayes, of Colorado Springs and Fort Carson, Colorado, has recently been visiting the Washburn and Portage Lake areas. He stopped by the Washburn Town Office and left a package of Boy Scout medals and information to be given to the scoutmaster of Troop 177.
It seems as though Mr. Mayes receives the Star-Herald and has been reading about our community and the local Boy Scout Troop. He noted that the troop is very active and does a lot for their community. Mayes is a Boy Scout in Colorado, and the committee chairperson for Cub Scout Troop 264 and Boy Scout Troop 164. He is also the troop liaison for all the Scouting in the Colorado Springs area. His Scout troop has adopted and been adopted by the Mapleton Scout troops as well. He is so impressed with the activities of the Washburn Boy Scouts, that he cuts their pictures and items about them out of the Washburn news and puts them on his troop’s bulletin board. This is a fine tribute coming from someone who has been involved in Scouting for 51 years!
Catfish has been visiting the Washburn area since 1975, and his wife, Bernadette, is originally from Portage. The couple enjoyed the annual pig roast in Portage along with visiting family and friends including his in-laws, Lucien and Clair Ouellette, of Eagle Lake, and Rena Belanger, of Portage.
The Mayes family visits the area yearly, and perhaps plans can be finalized for a joint picnic with him and the Scouts from Troop 177 along with a few Girl Scouts next summer at Troop 177’s campsite on the Everett Road.
Birthdays and anniversaries
A belated birthday wish goes out to Mallory Devoe. Those celebrating birthdays this week include: Dot Sperrey, Gertrude Howard, Gilda Howlett, Kaleb Dahlgren, Lynn Umphrey, Lila McCrum, Makenzie Vaughn, Margo McIntosh, Virginia White, Michael Tarbox, Ruth White, Rick Landeen, Matthew White, Natalie Thomas, Richard Drost, Julie Belk, Robin Sands, Heather Doody, Jim Carmichael and Vernon Easler.
Belated anniversary wishes go out to Dan and Leslie Devoe. Anniversary wishes go out to Troy and Nicki McCrum and Alan and Cheryl Flanagin.
August Festival highlights
The annual town-wide celebration is off and running for another year, starting on Thursday, August 16, and going through Sunday, August 19. This year’s grand marshal is Owen James, and the king and queen are Wade residents Don and JoAnne Thompson.
Throughout the four-day event, there will be some non-profit booths including Knights of Columbus at the town parking lot, TOPS in the town park and the Washburn Rotary booth in the town park. DFAS will also have a booth and the Methodist Women will be selling pies.
There will be vendors including Phantazia, the Paddy Wagon, Ray Vogel, Tori’s Curbside, D’S Snack Shack, the Washburn Food Mart and the Washburn Coffee Shop.
On Thursday, there will be softball games for everyone ages 14 and older, starting at 6 p.m. at the school fields.
On Friday, the Katahdin Trust Company will be holding Customer Appreciation Day with a free hotdog roast starting at 11 a.m. in the bank parking lot.
All food booths will open at 5 p.m. on Friday, and there will be a Baby Parade starting at 6 p.m. on Main Street in front of the Town Office. Prizes will be awarded to contestants ages 0-3 in the Funniest, Most Decorative, Most Original, Smallest, Sportiest and Best Overall. Rain location will be the fire department bays.
Immediately following the Baby Parade, there will be a Bike Parade with first-, second- and third-prize awards given in age groups 4 to 6, 7 to 9 and 10 and older.
There will be a special Noah’s Ark Animal Workshop held at the town parking lot following the Bike Parade. Participants can hand-stuff their own bear with the cost starting at $10, and outfits and carriers are available for an additional charge. Anyone needing further information may contact Stacey Thibodeau at 492-2711.
A favorite and annual Friday night event is the Washburn High School Alumni Banquet. Those attending are asked to bring a salad, casserole or dessert. Beans, rolls, coffee and place settings will be provided. The social hour starts at 5 p.m. and supper will be served at 6 p.m. Donations will be accepted and new officers will be elected. The evening is open to anyone who has attended WDHS and their guests. For further information, contact Linda Seward at 498-8319.
Also on Friday night, the Aroostook County Bluegrass Band will be performing in the park by the gazebo from 7 to 10 p.m. Music will include bluegrass and bluegrass gospel. The rain location is the Trail Runners Clubhouse, and donations will be appreciated.
Fireman Fred will be entertaining the crowd with his singing and some karaoke on the porch of the Town Office from 7 to 10 p.m. The rain location will be the Washburn Fire Department, and donations will be appreciated.
Main Street will be closed on Friday night from 4:45 to 10:30 p.m. and all day Saturday. Please use the truck route aka Cannan Avenue, Victoria and the Town Hill for all through traffic.
Saturday events begin with a breakfast being served from 6 to 9:30 a.m. at the Washburn Trail Runners Clubhouse. The fee is $6 and menu includes scrambled eggs, home fries, French toast, bacon or ham and coffee or juice.
Arts and crafts displays will be located in the town park, with a rain location at the high school gym. Setup time is 7 a.m. and opening is scheduled for 8 a.m. For further information, contact Paul Carter at 455-4714.
The big parade begins at 9:30 a.m. with the lineup starting at the high school parking lot and Porter Street at 7:30 a.m. For further information, contact Mike Umphrey at 455-8341 or 455-4836.
Registration for the road race starts at 8 a.m., with the race beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the high school parking lot. Contact Andrea Powers at 455-8485 for more information.
There will be a living history display on the front lawn of the museum starting at 8 a.m.
There will be registration for the tractor pulls from 8 a.m. to noon with the pulls starting at 1 p.m. at the McCrum’s plant on the River Road.
The Salmon Brook Historical Society museum and barn will be opening at 9 a.m.
There will be a Classic Car and Pick-Up Show from 9 a.m. to noon. Registration will be held at the high school and there will be participant judging at 12:30 p.m. For further information contact Stuart Turner at 455-4987 or 493-4405.
The Kids Carnival will be held at 11 a.m. at the Mill Pond Park with lots of prizes to be awarded. Donations are welcome, and the rain location is at the elementary school.
There will be a scavenger hunt held near Brownie Troop 194’s booth at the Mill Pond Park at 11 a.m. There will be different levels of the hunt for various age groups. A first-place prize will be awarded in each category and the event is $2 per person. More information will be available at the booth following the parade, and all proceeds benefit the Mill Pond Project.
There will be Bingo at the Civic Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., sponsored by the Trail Runners.
The Washburn Fire Department will be holding their famous chicken barbecue starting at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $6 for adults and children under 12 eat for $3. The meal includes the chicken, coleslaw, potato salad, chips, roll and drink.
There will be a dunking booth in the town parking lot at noon with all proceeds going towards the Mill Pond Project.
There will be a wrestling demonstration from 1 to 4 p.m. at the bank parking lot.
Registration for the horseshoe tournament will be held at 1 p.m. with the tourney starting at 2 p.m. at the Thomas Brewer Memorial Park. It will be double elimination and the cost is $5 per person. The prize is half of the total entry fees collected. This event is sponsored by Boy Scout Troop 177.
Paul Clayton and Friends will be holding a country music jam from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Mill Pond Park. Rain location is the Washburn High School. Donations will be appreciated.
There will be a Rubber Ducky 50/50 Derby held at 4 p.m. The launching point will be held at the Mill Pond Foot Bridge. There will be pre-sales of ducks at the Washburn Town Office and from the Rotary Booth in the town park; 150 ducks will be sold for $5 each and the proceeds will go towards the Mill Pond Project.
The Pentecostal Church Youth Group will be putting on a baked bean supper at the Civic Center from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. A nominal fee will be charged.
The Saturday Night Variety Show will be held at the Washburn High School from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for children under 12. This event is sponsored by the Washburn Rotary Club.
Some old-time country music provided by international recording artist Randy Michaud will be held at the elementary school parking lot from 8 to 9 p.m. Donations will be accepted and merchandise will be available for sale. The rain location is at the fire bays. You can contact Randy Michaud online at www.Randolphmichaud.com for further information.
Music by ScapeGoat will be available from 8 to 11 p.m. in the town park. There will be a late 1980s’ tribute band with a light show and rain location will be at the high school gym.
The fireworks will be held on the hill behind the high school starting at 9:30 p.m. sharp! Special 3-D glasses which make for better viewing will be sold during the weekend by the Washburn Rotary at the cost of $1 each. The rain date will be same time and place on Sunday.
Sunday begins with the famously delicious Perham Ladies Brunch held at the Civic Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tickets are $6 for adults, $3 for ages 5-12 and those under 5 eat free.
The Salmon Brook Historical Society museum and barn will be open from 1 to 4 p.m.
There will be registration for the ATV pulls at 11 a.m. and the pulls start at noon, rain or shine. Cost is $10 per class and the location is at the ATV clubhouse on Gould Street behind the Food Mart. Cash awards will be given, and admission is free. For further information, contact Shawn Dube at 493-7770.
There will be a gospel concert featuring local artists held from 2 to 4 p.m. at the high school gymnasium. Donations will be appreciated. For further information, contact Andy White at 455-8345 or 455-4379.
Coming events/reminders
Wednesday, July 25, will be your last chance to enjoy the combined open-air services between the Washburn Pentecostal Church and the Washburn First Baptist Church. These special services will be held at the town park on Main Street, starting at 6 p.m. Pastor Bruce Blakney and Clark Jalbert will be sharing the message times, and there will be special music and testimonies.
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.
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.
Rec Center notes
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. 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.
On Thursday nights at 6 p.m., there will be co-ed soccer for high school students at the boy’s soccer field.
Each Tuesday and Thursday evenings there will be Minor League Baseball for ages 7 to 9, and each Monday and Wednesday evenings there will be Major League Baseball for ages 10-12.
On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons there will be Junior Softball for girls, ages 9-12. Practices will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays.
On Monday and Wednesday afternoons, Pony League Baseball for boys ages 13-16 will be played in Presque Isle or Fort Fairfield.
For any further information on Rec Center programs, contact Marcie Barbarula at 455-4959.
On Wednesday, July 25, and Thursday, July 26, there will be arts and crafts at the Rec Center. Grades K-2 work from 8-9 a.m., grades 3-4 go from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. and grades 5-8 go from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
On Wednesday, July 25, there will be a Major League championship game at 5:30 p.m. and T-ball will be held from 6 to 6:45 p.m.
On Thursday, July 26, there will be a Junior Girls Tournament at Presque Isle.
On Friday, July 27, there will be lots of activity going on at the Thomas Brewer Memorial Park from 10 a.m. to noon. There will be fun ‘Survivor’ games and a hotdog roast for all the participants of the summer recreation programs.
On Monday, July 30, there will be swimming lessons held at Presque Isle from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. There will also be a Baseball County Tournament held at Caribou from 10 a.m. to noon for the boys’ team.
Lots of appreciation goes out to the fine summer staff of the Washburn Recreation Center. Working with Washburn’s Parks and Recreation Director Marcie Barbarula, the brother and sister team of Bryan and Kayla Schurman and team members Alex Bird and Justin Dickinson worked hard to pull all the rec programs together, making for a successful summer. Washburn parents and youth appreciate all their combined efforts to both entertain and teach all the participants. They enjoyed the programs along with the many field trips they took.
There will be a final field trip to the County Fun Day held at Aroostook State Park on Thursday, August 2, for ages 9-13. This trip is limited to the first 13 and you will need to call the Rec Center to sign up. The cost is $1 and the van will leave at 9:15 a.m. and return at 2:30 p.m. The youth will be kayaking or canoeing, hiking, along with enjoying a variety of carnival games. There will be a hotdog roast for lunch.
Schedule for Perham recycling
For Clean Up Perham Week,” the current schedule is for free pickup of metal items on Wednesday, July 25. Tires and batteries will be picked up on Thursday, July 26, with everything else picked up on Friday, July 17.
Please put all items each day out by the road. For those needing special assistance, please contact the Perham Town Office at 455-5887 or during regular hours Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closed Fridays and holidays. There will also be someone available all week to pick up junk vehicles by contacting Fred Bonville at 764-0165 or 227-7297.
The Barb Goodyear annual Recycling and Composting Workshop will be held on Saturday, July 28, from 10 a.m. to noon. It will include lots of information on recycling of lots of different materials and several donations for fine door prizes have been donated by various Perham residents as well as one from the town itself. The Perham Ladies will be using this time to have a fund raiser, selling hot dogs, drinks as well as Perham books, hats and T-shirts.
In conjunction with this special day long event, the Perham residents are being notified of two household hazardous waste collection days, sponsored by NMDC. They will be held on Saturday, August 18 in Presque Isle, and Saturday, August 25 in Houlton. Special Notice: Perham residents may participate for free, but pre-registration prior to July 27 with NMDC is mandatory, and you must bring your permit with you on the day of the event. For registration and your permit, or for more information, contact Connie Bondeson at 498-8736.
Perham notes
There will be a special election to fill a vacated seat on the Board of Selectmen. The election will be held on Thursday, August 2, and voting polls will be open from 2 to 8 p.m. Nomination papers for this vacancy have been taken out by Ray Wood.
The Perham Selectmen hold their regular meeting on the first and third Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m.
The Perham Planning Board now meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 9 30 a.m. These hours will soon be going back to the 7 p.m. time, so check for postings. Additional board members are still needed, and anyone interested is asked to call Deb Viola at 498-3433.
The public is welcome and encouraged to attend both these town-sponsored meetings.
Events for youth
The Abnaki Girl Scout Council will be holding a Daisy Days event at the Girl Scout Field Office in Presque Isle. On Monday, July 30, there will be a Daisy Day with the theme Science Around Us. The girls will be doing outdoor science experiments including nature printing, tie dying with natural dyes and some outdoor cooking. To register, phone Penny Kern at 764-7945 or e-mail her at pkern@abnakigsc.org
The Washburn Memorial Library has been sponsoring its annual Summer Reading Program, and this year’s theme is Get a Clue @ Your Library, and registration forms can be picked up at the library. The readers commit to a certain number of hours of reading, with a two-hour minimum required to complete the program. At the end of the program the two readers completing the most hours wins the grand prize, and the library will be taking students to the Discovery Museum in Bangor. The trip will be on August 7 and there will be a chance for 15 winners to go along. The requirements include reading at least two hours, attending one of the programs and completing eight items of an activity page. The deadline for this is Friday, July 27.
There are lots of prizes and plenty of fun; for further information, contact the library at 455-4814 or just stop in.
There will be a scrapbooking class for beginners on Wednesday, July 25, at 6 p.m. and the library will hold its Middle School Book Group meeting on Monday, July 30, at 5 p.m. and the book to be discussed is “A Wrinkle in Time.”
WDHS opening
The first day of school for students at Washburn District High School for 2007-2008 will be Tuesday, August 14, at 8 a.m. There will be a teacher workshop on August 13. Parents or students with questions should call Ron Ericson or Andrea Hallett at 455-4501. New students may register for classes in the Guidance Office August 6 through August 8 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Parents with questions regarding busing should contact Dave Conley at 455-8301.
