Selectmen's Corner

Submitted by: David Buchstaber

Change

So many people fear change because they don't know what that change may bring. For every person who thinks that a particular change is good there will be another that disagrees. That is where balance and compromise on both parties becomes necessary, so we may come to a rational decision and move on to the next challenge we may face,

My profession is a real estate broker, I deal with compromise on a daily basis; getting two parties, with adverse objectives to agree to numerous terms and conditions. If you simply listen to both sides of a disagreement, without having a personal opinion of who is right and who is wrong, you will usually find that middle ground is easily achievable.

I ran for Selectman because, as a real estate agent, I was working with the local officials on a regular basis and found that, too many times, they weren't listening. They had their own preconceived version of what they thought was right, and that was the end of it.

Time for a change.

The Municipal Officers Manual, published by the Maine Municipal Association states:
"Under a town meeting form of government, the duty of the municipal officers is to "execute" the will of the people as that will has been expressed legislatively at a town meeting."

That sums it up for me…"execute the will of the people," That is the only change I intend to make. The Selectmen can take care of the everyday business of the Town but the big decisions will be put to vote, your decisions implemented and we will move on.

We have to have a special election on Sept.8th to fill the vacant selectman's position. Mr. Hipsky had one year left on his term.

I would like to put three articles before the town for your decision on how to move forward.

"Question 1; Shall the Town increase the size of the Board of Selectpersons from three to five members beginning with the 2007 annual elections, with 2 new members serving initial terms of three years?"

 

I feel that a five-member board will better represent all of the residents of Stetson. For too many years, one selectman has been "locked out" of the decision making process. With a five member board no one member would be locked out.

" Question 2: Shall the town authorize the Selectmen to move forward with the Building of a sand and salt shed on the 11.6 acre Town owned lot on the Cross road as deemed necessary by the Maine Dept. of Transportation and the Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection?"

The State has been after the Town to build a sand and salt shed since the early 1990's. If the Town would have built it then it would have cost us half of what it will now. If we don't build it now, we may be faced with a huge price tag in the future if we have to mitigate the chlorides that have been leaching into the ground for all these years. Preliminary estimates for the cost are between $150,000 and $200,000. We have $61,458.00 in the sand and salt shed account now. We need at least another $100,000. Which brings us to Question 3.

"Question 3; Shall the Town authorize the Selectmen to sell the waterfront lot Map 7 lot 51, which was acquired by the Town by virtue of a foreclosed tax lien mortgage, on such terms as they seem advisable and execute a quit claim deed for said property?"

Every year the Town gives the selectmen permission to dispose of tax acquired property, but this isn't the usual tax acquired parcel. In years past the Town has been asked if it wants to purchase a waterfront parcel, and the Town has said no. This parcel is a 2.3-acre lot, with approximately 600 feet of waterfront, on the West side of the lake on the end of the Bus Road. I would estimate the value of the lot to be around $100,000. The proceeds for the sale of the lot would be put towards the building of the sand and salt shed if approved in Question 2.
I want to clarify NOW, Myself nor my agency will have any involvement in the sale or purchase of any tax acquired property in the Town of Stetson as long as I am in office.

We will schedule a open hearing to discuss the warrant articles on August 23rd, 2006 at 7:00 pm in the meetinghouse.

Please Vote every chance you get, and you will be heard.

Mr. Hockstadter has asked me to thank all of you for your patience and cooperation during the transition in the Town office over the last month.

Library News

Submitted by Kay Marcoux

The library's ANNUAL BOOK SALE will be held on Saturday, October 7, 2006. This event will take place at the same time as the Clueless Quilters are showing their quilts in the Meeting House.

We will not be accepting books for the sale after September 1st as we have a large selection now.

While the children are on vacation, please go through their books to see if they have any overdue books belonging to the library. We are missing too many books and I would like to get them back into the library. Your help will be greatly appreciated.

New books:

At Risk……………...Cornwell, Patricia
Beach Road………..Patterson, James
Christ The Lord, Out of Egypt…Rice, Anne
Dead Watch…………..Sandford, John
Foreign Correspondent…..Furst, Alan
The Husband…………...Koontz, Dean
My Sister's Keeper…....Picoult, Jodi
Cold Moon………….Deaver, Jeffrey
Digging to America….Tyler, Anne

Stetson Historical Society

Submitted By: Brenda Clark

Greeting from the Stetson Historical Society. It has been a real exciting time for us. We are busy painting and getting our new "home" ready for use. If you have driven by lately, you will notice the front porch has been painted, flowers are blooming, and flags are flying in the breeze. We have new shutters designed and made by our president, Charles Leighton. He has been very busy painting ceilings and patching and mudding the walls. We have two rooms nearly finished. Connie Merrill, Brenda Clark, Abby Arena, Sandra Lovejoy, Julie Brownie, and Janet Leighton have been painting walls, woodwork, and windows. Mark Bedard has been working on windows that are in need of repair. We have an anonymous worker who has done a lot of work that makes our building look better - thank you. And 'thank you' to everyone who has helped. It is greatly appreciated and we couldn't have done it without you. We are anxious to get everything done so we can display our "treasures".

We have tee-shirts and caps for sale that have the oxen logo on them. They are really nice and are for sale at Buda Belly's or at Leighton Machine.

On July 6th we had our first meeting in the new building. It was announced that we have been awarded a grant for structural work that needs to be done. As usual, we had a small but enjoyable meeting.

I'm looking forward to writing our next newsletter column so we can let you know how much more work has been done and report on the fun we are having! And, we want new members. Come and enjoy!

Stetson Parks and Recreation Department

Submitted by: Roger Collins

I would like first to start off by saying a big THANK YOU to Willie and Rhoda Underhill for the hard work and devotion they put forth in running the Parks and Recreation program. Willie and Rhoda unfortunately had to resign from this position, due to personal reasons (not connected with recent local political events that have taken place). The Underhill's will continue to be involved in the Parks and Recreation program; Willie will be coaching soccer this fall. Again, thank you, Willie and Rhoda.

Some may say it is where the sidewalk will end
But for most it was where a journey began
To the distances we have traveled,
all from a different lane
This is our home, our town, and our journey, Stetson Maine.

I wanted to share this short poem I wrote with everyone, as it makes us realize that we all have traveled different roads to get here. My goal as president of Parks and Recreation is that we build a strong community together, and that we use our differences in a positive manner and teach each other.

Recent Parks and Recreation activities that have taken place as of July 1st:

*Applied with a foundation for a donation to fix and repair our baseball field
*Adult Volleyball or Softball league planned for the fall
*Stetson Days planning - events and activities for all ages to enjoy
*Field of Dreams (Stetson Baseball Field Fund Raiser)
*Planning for baseball and soccer season 2007

 

 

STETSON DAYS CELEBRATION UPDATE
Unfortunately, we had to move the date for Stetson Days to Saturday, September 23rd, as the previously planned date conflicted with the American Music Festival in Bangor. We are scheduling many events for folks of all ages to enjoy. Please, if you would like to volunteer or pass along any ideas, email :
stetsonparksandrec@yahoo.com
or call Roger or Alicia Collins at 296-2085.

During Stetson Days, a dunk tank will be one of our events. If you would like to volunteer to sit in our dunk tank, please let us know. To add to the fun, you can have someone 'arrested' and that person will serve their 'sentence' in the dunk tank! A $10.00 donation to the Parks and Recreation program will get your prisoner a 15-minute sentence in the dunk tank. If you are interested in having someone 'arrested', please contact us as soon as possible so we can arrange his or her 'arrest'.

We hope everyone will join us for the 175th year celebration of Stetson!

Celebrate Stetson

September 23rd

175 years!

"If a 100-year anniversary is known as a centennial, and 150 years makes a sesquicentennial, what do you call a 175th anniversary?"
Bell Laboratories celebrated its 175th anniversary using the cumbersome name septaquintaquinquecentennial, while lexicographer Robert L. Chapman proposed the more compact terquasquicentennial ("On Language," by William
Safire, New York Times Magazine, February 12, 1995).
Source:
http://www.sls.lib.il.us/reference/por/features/97/annivers.html

Stetson Meeting House Committee

Submitted by: Mary Annette

Work is complete on two more stained glass windows at the Meeting House. Protecting and preserving these beautifully crafted works of art is a priority for the committee.

Such preservation can be expensive, so we attempt to budget where we can. It's come to our attention that the cabinets in the basement kitchen area need to be replaced; a donation of new or gently used kitchen cabinets would be greatly appreciated.

 

Stained Glass Window

Recycling Dates:
Tuesday, August 8, 2006
Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Buda Belly's Village Store Charity News

Submitted by: Jen Boyd

Thanks to the help of many generous customers, Buda Belly's Village Store was able to award a scholarship in the amount of $247.27 to
Caitlyn Matthews to attend Eastern Maine Community College to study Fire Science! As I mentioned in a past newsletter, I am including her answer to this question from the application:
"The money for this scholarship has come from hardworking residents of Stetson who have donated their dollars and change to help to give you the opportunity to pursue a higher education. Please explain what this means to you."
And her answer:

"This would mean the world to me because I know that it came from people that I might someday have to help or that I might even know. Also, I would be very grateful as to these wonderful people who could help me be a better person or firefighter for this town."

Half of this money came from customers, and it was matched dollar for dollar ($25 min. and $50 max per month) by the store. The final scholarship amount was the total of three months of the Charity Pig donations. We had 6 entries this year, which was up from last year. They were all very deserving and we wish them all the best of luck in their future plans. All entries were judged by their qualifications only, as all of their personal information was blanked out before giving it to the judges, and the one who did the 'whiting out' didn't have a vote, just to be completely ethical. Thank you very much to all who donated and continue to donate. That little bit of change or a dollar bill from you can really add up!

April's Charity Pig gave $84.96 to the Stetson Historical Society; May's Pig was the final month for the scholarship; June's donations helped to give the Stetson Ladies Aid $78.56; July's is going to the Stetson Fire Dept, August is for the Stetson Brownie's Troop and September will help the Stetson Elementary School.

NEW!
Kid's Free Birthday Pizza or Free Whoopie Pie
Starting August 1 any child who is a
Stetson resident and is turning age 10 or under
can bring in proof of their birth date and receive a
FREE personal size one topping pizza of their choice
OR a FREE whoopie pie.
(We might even sing to you
-however badly- if you'd like!)

Valid only on their birthday date and
only one item per child per birthday.
Child must be a permanent Stetson resident.

Surveying and laying out a road was one thing, but getting them to even resemble our modern highways was quite another story. First the giant trees were to be felled (with axes) and disposed of. Next, the worst stumps and boulders were removed. These processes could take several years to complete, as manpower, oxen, and fire were the only tools available.

Some crude bridges of stone and logs were most certainly constructed, but many crossings of the wet and boggy areas were of "corduroy" design. This meant that small logs were fastened together, side by side, across the roadway. Man and beast could then traverse these quagmires with relative ease. As the logs decayed, another layer was installed, etc.

Our forefathers really proved the old adage, "where there is a will, there is a way".

The first actual "road" (about 1810) was an east to west track, nearly the whole width of the township, across what is now Route 222, later referred to as the "county road". Bisecting, but not crossing this road, was the only main highway leading to civilization, the "Hampden Road" (Lakin Road). Following a southerly direction from the current village area, it crossed "Sebasticook Stream" (Pleasant Lake Outlet) and proceeded to the next township (Etna), also crossing "Souradabscook Stream", just west of Etna Pond. In the early 1800's, Hampden was the nearest main center of commerce for this area. Another road ran westerly from Mt. Pleasant, crossing the Hampden Road, to near the Newport line. A short section of "Barden Road" (Tibbetts Road) also joined up near the western end.

To allow for general use of highways, it was voted in 1815 "That no bars or gaits shall be made across the roads after the first day of August, next."

Next time - more about roads and the hardship of early families.