Did you know that here in Bowdoinham there are now activities for seniors every Tuesday and Thursday?

Thanks to Brooke Cox, Recreation Director and many volunteers, the Village Seniors have become a very active group. There are luncheons, concerts, trips, activities, card games, a men’s coffee group, and much more available to all seniors. If you are interested in joining or would like more information, please contact Brooke at 666-3504 or email her at bcox@bowdoinham.com.

Item 1: Speaking of Village Seniors, the Family Variety Show on Friday evening September 10th was a huge success. The performances were outstanding and very entertaining. A special thank you goes to Ted Holdredge for his time and effort in organizing the Show and keeping all of the Acts in line! The Village Seniors were the sponsoring group and through the generous donations given at the door, they were able to make a considerable donation to the Home Heating Assistance Program. Brooke Cox reports that the Variety Show will become an annual event on the Friday evening before Celebrate Bowdoinham. Start practicing your act for next year’s Show!

Item 2: By all accounts Celebrate Bowdoinham was also very successful. In fact, many agree that it was our best! Thank you to all of the volunteers who help make it such a success and of course to Tony Cox, the event’s organizer. This really is a team effort and would not be possible if not for the many people who come forth and volunteer their time. Thank you Bowdoinham!!

Item 3: Home Heating Assistance – Bowdoinham’s own Home Heating Assistance is funded entirely by fundraising efforts and donations. Applications are available at the town office and assistance will be given beginning November 2nd. Thanks to the activities at Celebrate Bowdoinham (silent auction, variety show, and rickshaw rides), over $3,000 was raised for the fund. Along with the money left over from last year’s fundraising efforts, there is now approximately $20,000 in the Home Heating Assistance Program account. You may be eligible for assistance if your total household income falls within 250% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Assistance is limited to 200 gallons of fuel oil (or its equivalent). To be considered, applicants must also apply for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) by calling the Kennebec Valley Community Action Program at 1-800-542-8227.

Item 4: Seasonal Flu Clinic: Assuming that the vaccine will be available, a clinic is scheduled for Monday, October 26th at the Bowdoinham Town Hall from 4-7 pm sponsored by CHANS Home Health Care. Also on October 26th, CHANS will be offering clinics at the Richmond Town Office from 9-11 am and FHC, Inc. from 2-4 pm. A $20 donation is recommended. This is a SEASONAL flu clinic and not a H1N1 clinic.

Item 5: It may only be October but the Public Works Department is in full swing preparing for the winter snowplowing season. First, roads need to be prepared. This summer a portion of the Brown’s Point Road and Ridge Road were paved which required ditching and culvert replacement. However, Bowdoinham has its share of gravel roads and these roads need maintenance as well. This work is done entirely by the Public Works Department. In September, the Department did extensive work (ditching, culvert replacement, grading, etc.) on the gravel part of the Brown’s Point Road as well as the Carlson Cross Road which will pay off during the winter snowplowing months and spring thaw.
Item 6: Speaking of Road Work – purchasing the grader in July 2008 may prove to be one of the best purchases made by the Town. The Town has hauled and spread over 4,000 yards of gravel and ditched over 2 miles of road since purchasing the grader. It has allowed us to do more work on our approximately 8 miles of gravel roads than the town has ever been able to do before. We were able to grade them earlier than ever before and we are able to keep a better maintenance program in place. The roads have been graded on average of once per month depending on traffic volume. In dollars, the grader has already paid for itself!!

Item 7: More Celebrate Bowdoinham news – Celebrate Bowdoinham is not only about food, fun, and entertainment. It’s also about Trash and Recycling. Thanks to Cathy Curtis and students from the Bowdoinham Community School, David Berry reports that the following was collected:

Food Waste - 45 pounds
Mixed Paper – 34 pounds
Deposit containers – 47 pounds
Trash - 71 pounds

Of the above collected: 64% was recycled and 36% was trash

Item 8: The Fire Department was very busy in September providing mutual aid to the town of Topsham with the large fire that occurred at Grimmel Industries and a smaller fire at Bisson’s Farm. Also, five members of the Department have completed their practical skills training and test for certification to the Firefighter II level. This is a 600 hour course – all volunteer time to help make our Volunteer Fire Department stronger than ever. The Department also hosted a Locomotive Emergency Response Operations course give by the United States Department of Transportation. This is a 3 hour course and members of the Bowdoinham Fire Department, Bowdoinham EMS, Richmond Fire Department, and Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Officer attended.

Item 9: When the volunteers of the Fire Department aren’t fighting fires, responding to emergencies, or attending trainings, they are finding time to paint the bay walls and ceiling – not a small feat!!

Item 10: More Fire Department News – The week of October 5th is Fire Prevention Week. There will be activities at the Bowdoinham Community School on October 8th and an Open House at the Fire Station on Friday, October 9th from 5-8 pm. Please join the Department and extend them your thanks!

Item 11: Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd. Town Clerk Pam Ross reports that Election Workers are needed for the day and evening. If interested, please call Pam at 666-5531. The Town Clerk’s registrar’s office is now open for residents to register to vote. Hours are Mon., Tues., Thur., and Fri. from 8:30 am to 4 pm and Wednesdays
from 9 am to 6 pm.

Item 12: It’s time to license your dogs for 2010. Dog tags are now available at the town office. To assist you in this, a rabies clinic is scheduled for Saturday, October 24th at the Bowdoinham Town Hall from 9 am to noon. Pam Ross will also be available at the town office to register your dogs at this same time.

Item 13: More Election News: A group of Bowdoinham citizens along with members of the Biking Walking Paddling Group were successful in getting 212 signatures to bring forth a new sidewalk proposal on November’s ballot. This proposal is different from the one that failed at town meeting as it provides for a much smaller town appropriation of $133,750 (not $350,029 as requested at town meeting) with the same federal grant of $535,000. This proposal will result in fewer sidewalks but still takes advantage of the federal grant money awarded to the town last spring. Also, the town’s portion of the project will come from the town’s savings or undesignated fund balance and not borrowed as previously proposed. A Public Hearing on the referendum is scheduled for October 20th at 6:30 pm at the town office.

Item 14: Another sign that summer is over! John McMullen, Harbor Master reports that the navigational aides will be removed from the river and bay around October 15th. Also, the docks and floats will be removed by the end of October.

Item 15: Raffle tickets are being sold at the town office for $250.00 of heating oil from Dallas Oil. Many thanks to Doug Tourtelotte of T&H Excavation for making this generous donation. The raffle tickets are $3 for 1 ticket or 2 tickets for $5. All proceeds will go to the town’s Home Heating Assistance Program. The drawing will be done on Election Day, November 3rd.

Item 16: LASTLY, GOOD NEWS! Thanks in part by the determination of the Bowdoinham Select Board, Route 24 between Richmond and the Harward Bridge (or former bridge!) will be paved!! As many of you know who travel the road, the road has deteriorated significantly over the last couple of years and most recently from the truck traffic from the Harward Bridge Project. The Board of Selectmen met twice in the last 5 months with officials from the Maine Department of Transportation and sent follow up letters requesting that the Department address the deteriorating road. Due in part to these efforts, the Department has agreed to provide much needed ditching and culvert work as well as to pave the road. This work will be completed in time for winter. Great News!!

May you all enjoy the Autumnal weather, foliage and harvest!

Warmly,

Kathy Durgin-Leighton
Town Manager