For Bowdoinham, September means Celebrate Bowdoinham!

This year the event begins Friday evening at 6:30 pm at the Town Hall where there will be a Family Variety Show to benefit the Recreation Department and Village Seniors Program.

Item 1: Celebrate Bowdoinham continued…On Saturday, the day begins at 8 am with the 4th Annual Bowdoinham Community School 5K Chicken Run and Kids Fun Run. The parade follows at 10 am. This year’s parade theme is “The Craftiest Town in Maine” as designated by Downeast Magazine. The daylong activities at the Mailly Waterfront Park begin after the parade. A complete listing of activities and entertainment can be found at www.bowdoinham.com. Tony Cox, the event’s coordinator is looking for volunteers. If you would like to help out, please email Tony at tcox@bowdoinham.com.

Item 2: Harward Bridget Project – As you may know, the Maine Department of Transportation is removing the Harward Bridge located on Route 24 (River Road) due to its deteriorating condition. An at-grade railroad crossing will be put in its place. A portion of Route 24 will be closed for six weeks beginning September 8th from Carding Machine Road to the Pork Point Road. White Road is the official detour route.

Item 3: Nicole Briand, our Code Enforcement Officer and Planner, will be returning to work on a part time basis beginning Monday, September 14th. Her office hours will be Mondays and Wednesdays. Nicole has been out on maternity leave since the middle of July. Many thanks go to Kevin Prout, Public Works Director who filled in for Nicole during her absence.

Item 4: Bowdoinham Heating Assistance – Applications are now available at the town office. Assistance will be available to qualified residents beginning November 2nd. Income guidelines are 250% of the federal poverty level. There is a limit of 200 gallons of oil (or its equivalent) per household unless an unusual need has been demonstrated. 50% of the proceeds from Celebrate Bowdoinham’s Silent Auction will go to the Heating Fund. All requests are kept confidential so if you are in need this winter; please do not hesitate to apply.

Item 5: A new license plate supporting animal welfare will be available beginning October 1st. The plate features the silhouettes of a horse, dog, cat, bunny and bird. The cost for the new plates is $20 plus the regular registration fee for the first year and $15 for subsequent years plus the regular registration fee. Proceeds will benefit Animal Welfare programs.

Item 6: Absentee Ballot Request Service – The Town of Bowdoinham has opted to participate in an online absentee ballot request service through the Secretary of State’s office making it much easier for residents to request absentee ballots. If you wish to order an absentee ballot for this November’s election, you may do so by going to www.maine.gov/cgi-bin/onlin/AbsenteeBallot/index.pl

Item 7: Dog Licenses for 2010 will be available at the town office around October 15th. A rabies clinic is planned for Saturday, October 24th at the Bowdoinham Town Hall from 9-noon. More information to follow in the October newsletter.

Item 8: H1N1 Flu – On August 20th, Ann Davis, EMS Director and I attended the H1N1 Summit at the Augusta Civic Center. We heard the latest information on the H1N1 and the preparations being made at the national and state levels for the upcoming flu season. An aggressive vaccination effort will begin in Maine beginning mid October when the vaccine is first expected to be available. For weekly updates on the flu, go to www.maineflu.gov. Each Wednesday afternoon, the Maine Center for Disease Control provides an update on the status of the flu virus in Maine. Here at the town office we have installed hand sanitizers for the public and staff to use. Washing hands frequently is the best preventative measure!

Item 9: Recreation News – Mad Science for grades 3-5 begins September 21 and runs until October 26th. This is an after school program held at the Bowdoinham Community School. Tryouts for the Ararat Youth Basketball League will be held on September 28th and 29th at the Mt. Ararat Middle School. The Running and Walking Club for grades 2-5 will begin the week of September 21. The day of the week will depend on the availability of parent volunteers. For more information on Mad Science, basketball, Running and Walking Club or any other recreation program, please contact Brooke at bcox@bowdoinham.com or call her at 666-3504.

Item 10: Bottle Money – What does the bottle money go to from the bottles donated at the Recycling Barn? Since October 2008, the bottle money funded the following:

Bowdoinham Community School 5th Grade Fieldtrip $250.00
Bowdoinham Community School Scholarship Fund $500.00
Bowdoinham Home Heating Assistance Program $878.30
Total $1,628.30

Thank you for donating your bottles and if you have an idea or request for where the bottle money might be used, please contact me at the town office.

Item 11: Speaking of the Recycling Barn, August was a busy month moving out material. David Berry, the Solid Waste Manager reports that the following material was shipped from the Barn:
2 loads Oversize Bulky Waste for a total of 6.5 tons
2 loads scrap metal for a total of 4.5 tons
2 loads mixed recyclables or 4 tons
2 loads news and magazines or 11 tons
1 load appliances or 3.5 tons
11 pallets boxes tv's, monitors
676 florescent tubes

Item 12: The Public Works Department reports that the paving on the Ridge Road has been completed. The shoulder work should be finished by the end of the month. Over 200 feet of culvert, and 500 yards of gravel was used on this northerly part of Ridge Road. The Brown’s Point Road is currently being prepped for paving which will be completed by the end of the month.

Item 13: Cemetery Cleaning – We are into our third year of cleaning approximately 150 – 200 headstones per year. Given the amount of cemeteries maintained by the town, this is quite the endeavor! Though we recognize that this will be a long time to complete, we are committed to the project. The results can be seen at the Village Cemetery where over 400 headstones have been cleaned and at the Small Cemetery on the White Road where all of the headstones were cleaned. We are contracting the cleaning out to a professional cemetery cleaning company so as not to damage the headstones. Cleaning the headstones of lichen, dirt, and mold will help to preserve them for generations to come!

Item 14: We are happy to report that Bradley Meads has been appointed to the Planning Board as an Alternate Member and John Scribner has been appointed to the Biking, Walking, and Paddling Committee. The Select Board is currently looking for people to serve on the Solid Waste Committee. Interested persons may contact me at the town office at 666-5531 or may email me at kleighton@bowdoinham.com

This concludes my September newsletter. I hope to see you all at Celebrate Bowdoinham. Let’s hope for great weather!!

Warm Regards,

Kathy Durgin-Leighton
Town Manager