Howe named acting clerk

The Freeport Town Council has appointed Mary Howe, the deputy town clerk, to be acting town clerk, effective Wednesday, May 27.

Tracey Stevens, town clerk in Freeport for three years, announced earlier this month she will leave that job on May 27 to become town clerk in Melbourne Beach, Fla. The Town Council appointed Howe as interim clerk during its meeting on May 20.

Town Manager Peter Joseph said that Stevens has trained Howe to supervise elections, so Howe will be ready for the Regional School Unit 5 referendum vote on June 9.

Joseph also said that that town has received several applications for the town clerk’s position.

FHS hosting mock car crash

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Freeport High School will partner with Freeport police, fire and rescue and public works departments to bring a car-crash simulation to the students using aspects from the program, “Every 15 Minutes.” This simulation, Friday May 29, from 1-2 p.m., takes place on Snow Road behind the high school. It offers real-life experience without the real-life risks and will include what happens at the scene of the accident. Local professionals from the community, along with FHS student actors, will be participating in this simulation, which involves a student fatality. Officer Michael McManus has been meeting weekly with a student committee, the service learning coordinator and parent volunteer to create and plan this service project.

According to a press release from the school, “the intent of bringing this emotionally charged program to our school is to instill in teenagers the dangerous consequences of drinking alcohol, texting, and/or using drugs while driving. It will challenge students to think about these choices and we hope they will make responsible and mature decisions to ensure personal safety for themselves and others. With prom and graduation season upon us, we feel that this is an important service event we can present to our students.”

Merriconeag students win Zero Waste Challenge

A group of seventh- and eighth-grade students from Merriconeag Waldorf School in Freeport won first place for their proposal to make a less wasteful school in the Zero Waste Challenge offered by the Chewonki Foundation. Middle-school classrooms across Maine are invited to help their schools save money and resources by evaluating their waste stream and creating a plan to reduce waste. The top prize is $1,000, which Merriconeag will use to implement their waste-reduction proposal. As an added bonus, We Compost It!, a challenge sponsor, has pledged three months of compost pickup, a yard of finished product, and compost consultation with Merriconeag to help the school reach its goals. Tom Twist of Chewonki Foundation and Kaitlyn Cunningham Morse of We Compost It! were at the school May 15 to present their prizes to the students.

The challenge was incorporated into a six-week elective titled Leadership for Change, in which the students collected data, crafted a message, designed a proposal, and made presentations to bring about change while developing leadership skills. The students’ proposal included a wooden scale model of an “Eco-station,” a movable container where waste can be easily sorted into compost, recyclables, returnables and trash. The students proposed that the existing school compost system be enhanced to include the use of the finished materials on classroom gardens, and did a cost-benefit analysis of paper towels made of post-consumer waste versus electric hand dryers and found the dryers to be much less costly for the environment and the budget over a short period of time. The final suggestion was to improve awareness of what can be recycled with student-designed signs placed across campus.

“I think it’s important to pay attention to environmental efforts and I think student input is important,” said Madeline Panici, an eighth-grade member of the elective.

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When questioned why he signed up for the elective, Alec Eames said, “The most important thing I learned is that recycling, even on a small scale, is important.”

The class was led by Alicia Heyburn.

Youth chorale schedules auditions

Wescustago Youth Chorale will hold auditions for new singers on June 1, 8 and 10. The chorale is an 85-plus voice auditioned coed chorus for students in grades 3-12 in fall 2015, and singers come from 12 area towns, including Freeport, Brunswick, Falmouth, Yarmouth, Bath and more. Rehearsals are on Monday nights in Freeport. The chorale sings a few concerts each year, produced Reny’s commercials in April, and will sing the National Anthem at the Sea Dogs in June.

For more information, visit www.wescustago.wordpress.com. Contact Managing Director Leigh Palmer for an audition time at WYC.palmer@gmail.com.

Road work under way

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The Maine Department of Transportation is at work paving U.S. Route 1 between Exit 24 on I-295 and the Brunswick town line. The target completion date for this work is July 16. Travel delays should be expected until that time.

The town has re-started work on the reconstruction of Wardtown Road (Route 125) between Baker Road and the intersection with Grant Road and Lunt Road. According to Town Manager Peter Joseph, the project will be completed in two parts, starting with the section north of Curtis Road. After completing the remaining shoulder and drainage work alongside the road, the pavement reclaiming/ grinding operation is planned to start immediately after Memorial Day. Asphalt paving should occur about two weeks later. The section south of Curtis Road will include drainage work, with the reclaiming/ grinding operation and paving expected to be completed by the end of June. During this whole time, travel delays should be expected.

The town also plans to complete repaving of three short sections of road before the end of May on Concord Road, Independence Drive and Depot Street between West and Grove streets. These projects will cause disruptions to travel during the week.

Later in the summer, the town will also be completing two other major projects. Litchfield Road will be reconstructed with reclamation/grinding of the existing road and full-depth pavement. Hunter Road will see drainage improvements made before it is resurfaced with a shim and overlay pavement. These two projects are not yet scheduled.

Those with questions about any of the projects can call the public works office at 65-4461.

Morse Street School hosting book fair

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Morse Street School, 21 Morse St., will host a Scholastic Book Fair on June 1-4, from 8:30 a.m-3 p.m., and June 5 from 8:30 a.m.-noon. The Book Fair offers specially priced books and educational products, including popular series, award-winning titles, new releases, adult bestsellers and more from more than 100 publishers. The fair will feature a special family event – an ice cream social on Thursday, June 4, from 6:45-8 p.m.

Funds raised will help fund teacher grants, such as iPads, field trips and new technology. Families, faculty and the community are invited to attend. Also, the Book Fair offers specially priced books and educational products, including popular series, award-winning titles, new releases, adult bestsellers, and more from some 100 publishers.

Spring cleanup

Freeport residents have the whole month of June to bring one free load of waste to the Recycling Center using the cleanup coupon contained in the town mailer that residents have received in their mailboxes. Hours are Wednesday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Residents will also be required to have a 2015 facility sticker ($6), which can be purchased at the Recycling Center the day of disposal or can be purchased ahead of time. As in years past, some material have fees associated with their disposal. A list of acceptable items and fees is included in the flyer and at www.freeportmaine.com.

For those interested in composting, several products are available for purchase at the Recycling Center.

Dance school makes plans for summer

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Fusion Dance Academy, 1456 U.S. Route 1 in Freeport, is offering summer camps for ages 3 -18 in a variety of genres, including jazz, hip-hop, tap and jazz dance. Three types of summer camps are being offered by Fusion Dance: Summer Intensive Week (July 13-16) will feature a variety of dance techniques ranging from street jazz, tap and modern dance to lyrical and hip-hop; Petite Disney Princess Dance Camps (July 27 and 29; Aug. 10 and 12) are open to ages 3 to 7; and Broadway Bound! (Aug. 17-21) is a mini-intensive week with an emphasis on ballet, lyrical, jazz and modern dance. This camp is open to ages 8 – 12 of all experience levels.

In addition to summer camps, Fusion Dance Academy also will offer regular instruction in a variety of dance genres during the summer. Open houses will be held 5:30-7 p.m. on June 15, 17, 22 and 24 to give interested students and parents a chance to check out the dance studio before signing up. For more information, call 544-1044 or 450-1989, or visit facebook.com/andreaandkatefusion.

Painting party

Maine artist and instructor Kellie Chasse will be at Kendall Tavern Inn for a night of painting, Saturday, June 6, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. She will lead participants through the creative painting steps to produce a quintessential Maine scene of a summer birch tree along the waterfront, on a large canvas using acrylic paints. All art supplies and appetizers are included. Cost is $45 per person. Register at www.kendalltaverninn.com.

Tea tasting

Jacqueline’s Tea Room, 201 Main St., is hosting a free tea sampling Friday, June 5, from 6-7 p.m. For more information, see www.Jacquelinestearoom.com or call 865-2123.

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Committees need volunteer members

Freeport’s Appointments Committee will meet in June to discuss terms that are expiring on the Board of Appeals, Board of Assessment Review, Cable TV Regulatory Board, Conservation Commission and the Shellfish Conservation Commission. For those interested in serving on a committee, applications are available at the Town Hall and at www.freeportmaine.com.

Two Maine authors to speak at library

Author and photographer Mary Quinn Doyle, who has traveled around Maine photographing numerous types of farms, will speak Monday, June 1, at 6:30 p.m., at the Freeport Community Library. In her travels, she has visited 185 farms, and 178 farms are featured in her recently published book, “Unique Maine Farms.” It was important to Doyle that the book support local communities like those featured in her book. “Unique Maine Farms” was printed in Maine, on paper from Maine. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing.

On Monday, June 10, at 6:30 p.m., Ellen Cooney will speak on her most recently published novel, “The Mountaintop School for Dogs and Other Second Chances.”

Cooney’s book is about two women and a of dogs who find a place at a training school called the Sanctuary. Another Maine author, Lily King, said that the book “is both a joyful romp and a wise, engaging meditation on dogs, love, and recovery from pain. Come. Sit. Read.” Cooney is the author of eight novels and stories published in The New Yorker and many literary journals. She taught creative writing for 25 years.

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Spring Festival at Wolfe’s Neck Farm

Wolfe’s Neck Farm will be open Saturday, May 30, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., for a day of activities, food, music, hayrides and demonstrations. There will be opportunities to explore the trails and gardens, interact with the barnyard animals, learn about seeds and plants and work with fiber arts. For younger children, there will be craft activities, face painting, a hay pile and tractors to climb, as well as hayrides and live music. Food from a variety of vendors will be available for purchase.

Demonstrations will include sheep herding, chicken tractors, horse handling, pasture-raised sheep, gardening and planting, jam making with University of Maine Cooperative Extension, beekeeping, goat milking and composting. Live music will be provided by Martin Swinger.

Admission is $6 per person. Ages 3 and under are free, 50 percent discount for members of Wolfe’s Neck Farm and free admission for past summer camp attendees who wear their tie-dye camp shirt. Proceeds will benefit Wolfe’s Neck Farm educational programming.

Free family admission is offered in exchange for two-hour volunteer shifts. Those interested in volunteering should fill out a volunteer form at www.wolfesneckfarm.org.

Local artist exhibits pastels

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The Pastel Painters of Maine International Juried Exhibition for “Pastels Only” will be on display at the Portland Public Library Lewis Gallery, Congress Street. The show will open during the first Friday Art Walk on June 5, from 5-8 p.m. The show will run until June 27. Among the 41 artists whose works are on display is Freeport resident Diana Johnson.

Degrees awarded

Two Freeport residents were among those who received bachelor’s degrees at graduation from the University of Maine at Farmington on May 16. They are Hannah Goodenow, Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education; and Kelci O’Neill, Secondary Ed Life Sciences.

Upcoming meetings

Board of Appeals, Monday, June 1,7 p.m., Town Council Chambers.

Town Council, Tuesday, June 2, 6:30 p.m., Town Council Chambers.

Planning Board, Wednesday, June 3, 6 p.m., Town Council Chambers.

Students in Merriconeag Waldorf School in Freeport who won first place in the Zero Waste Challenge include, front, from left, Wilson Haims, Caroline Odlin-Brewer, Madelaine Panici, Charlotte Joseph, Alec Eames, Tarek Ihaddaden, Myah Garrison, Magnolia Sinisi and Kipling Samuelson. Back, from left, are Kaitlin Cunningham Morse of We Compost it!, Tom Twist of Chewonki Foundation and Alicia Heyburn, teacher. Photo courtesy of Alicia Heyburn


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