The Trails Commission Public Hearing

The Trails Commission Public Hearing -
February 9, 2010 at 7:00 pm

Androscoggin River Trail -

Engineering Preliminary Design Presentation

It has been nearly a year since the Androscoggin River Trail design began and eight months since the kickoff public meeting, so it may be off your radar. This meeting will be the public feedback forum and opportunity to influence the design. A key factor in the success and functionality of public projects, can be the input from users.

The community should be familiar with the project to be sure that the $1,600,000 is being spent in the most effective manner. The trail route was supposed to be staked and flagged last July, for the community to be able to view the site. Since that didn't happen, the proposed route can be viewed, next to the alternative route, at: http://picasaweb.google.com/108931926848684583188/LisbonAndroscogginTrailRoutes#slideshow/5487690614773367282

Possible issues to be addressed with the engineers at the meeting include:

The proposed route has 40% of the project's cost going into 10% of the route

The proposed route is 1000' longer than the riverfront option

Will the expensive part will be too long, steep and slipery for people to enjoy?

Will maintenance and repair be a problem for this 500' built-up section?

What is the maintenance and replacement cost for the 150' steel footbridge?

Addional information is available at:

http://www.lisbonreporter.com/2010/06/news-flashtrail-project-public-meeting.html

Steve Warren

Creation Calls -- are you listening? Music by Brian Doerksen

Utilizing footage from the BBC Planet Earth Series, we take a look at the wonder and majesty of God's creation. Set to the song, "Creation Calls" by Brian Doerksen, this stunning glimpse of God's masterpiece is meant to glorify Him and draw the mind to new places of intimacy with Him.
The video was used in conjunction with the series of messages, "Blueprint" from Chris Seidman. In the series he discusses the subject of God's plan for His creation. The message "Creation Calls" can be viewed here: 

A Little Info On Victorian Christmas

  A little info on Victorian Christmas.

 

 The Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum, founded in 1989, is dedicated to rebuilding as much as practical of our namesake railroad, which was first built in 1894 and was torn up in 1937.  The original railway had 45 miles of two-foot gauge track from Wiscasset to Albion, with a 15 mile branch to Winslow.  Our two foot gauge railway is 2.5 miles long, all on original roadbed, built completely by hand by volunteers over the past 15 years.  The work is hard but we all have fun doing it.

Victorian Christmas is a free, thank-you to the community event which we began in 2001.  We run steam trains from our main station, Sheepscot, to Alna Center station- which we've replicated at its original location 1.6 miles up our line.  At Sheepscot, while waiting for the train, we have hot chocolate and lots of goodies to enjoy.  At Alna Center, Santa Clause is set up all day long inside the cozy, heated station building.  Outside, there are horse-drawn sleigh rides (wagon rides if there isn't enough snow), and a large bon-fire to stay warm by.  Everyone usually has a great time- volunteers and visitors alike. 

A Victorian Christmas   Dec. 18th, 2010

http://www.wwfry.org/

We hope you can make it!

Regards,

Jason M. Lamontagne,

W.W.& F. Railway Museum

Photos graciously supplied by: Stephen Hussar

A Victorian Christmas, Steam In The Snow

Wiscasset, Waterville &
Farmington
Railway Museum
SHEEPSCOT STATION, 97 CROSS ROAD, ALNA, MAINE

ANNOUNCES A
SPECIAL EVENT

 

 

Steam in the Snow from Stephen Hussar on Vimeo.

 

Victorian Christmas

Come join the W.W.&F. Railway as we celebrate the Holidays
Saturday, December 18th, 2010

with steam train rides 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., sleigh* rides
11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Holiday decorations and refreshments.
All trains will stop to visit Santa at Alna Center station!

All Train and Sleigh* rides will be FREE
as our way of saying “Thank You” to our Sheepscot Valley neighbors
for your generous support this past year.

Sheepscot Station is located at 97 Cross Road in Alna, Maine.
From Wiscasset village, take Route 218 north 4½ miles to Cross Road. Take a left
onto Cross Road. Sheepscot Station is located at the bottom of the hill on the right.

For further information, please visit our website www.wwfry.org,
or call the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum,
telephone 207-882-4193.

The Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum is a non-profit museum dedicated to
preserving and teaching the transportation heritage of Maine’s Sheepscot Valley.

* In the event of no snow, there will be horse-drawn wagon rides instead of sleigh rides.

The last train to depart Sheepscot Station for a sleigh ride will be at 2 p.m.

 

 

Destination Jackman

Destination Polaris takes you on a journey to Jackman, Maine. Find out what makes this an ATV rider haven during the fall months!

Grow Some Integrity, Grow Some Intelligence, Make The Call Before You Can Grow Nothing At All

 Scheduled for today, a very important bill to be voted on that will have an impact on your future that has yet to be fully realized.

 

S. 510: Oversight or Overreach?

Congress is likely to pick up S. 510, a sweeping overhaul of food safety regulation, in the lame duck session starting in November 2010.

By Patrick Tutwiler for GovTrack Insider

 

Oct. 15, 2010

 

In our first video seg­ment, Gov­Track In­sid­er re­porter Patrick Tutwiler in­ter­views Liz Re­itzig, the Sec­re­tary of the Na­tion­al In­de­pen­dent Con­sumers and Farm­ers As­so­ci­a­tion, about S. 510: Food Safe­ty Mod­ern­iza­tion Act. The bill is like­ly to come be­fore the Sen­ate in Novem­ber.

This is the first video in a se­ries of re­ports we plan on the sub­ject.
Also check out the 90-sec­ond sum­ma­ry of the bill by Main Street In­sid­er.
Tran­script:

Congress is like­ly to pick up S. 510, a sweep­ing over­haul of food safe­ty reg­u­la­tion, in the lame duck ses­sion start­ing in Novem­ber 2010. Many small farm­ing groups and or­gan­ic food en­thu­si­asts are wor­ried about the ef­fect the bill could have on the local and small farm pro­duc­tion chain.

Liz Re­itzig is Sec­re­tary of the Na­tion­al In­de­pen­dent Con­sumers and Farm­ers As­so­ci­a­tion.

 

Re­itzig: Sen­ate bill S. 510 is com­plete­ly flawed. 

Ques­tion from GovTrack.​us Users: Will this bill pre­vent me from hav­ing a home gar­den, shar­ing pro­duce with my friends, or dis­rupt in any way my local farmer’s mar­ket?

 

Re­itzig: What Sen­ate bill S. 510 does it is cre­ates statu­to­ry au­thor­i­ty for the FDA to come up with reg­u­la­tions gov­ern­ing all as­pects of food pro­duc­tion and pro­cess­ing. So whether or not it will af­fect a home gar­den or a farmer’s mar­ket, we prob­a­bly won’t see any­thing im­me­di­ate­ly af­fect­ing those, but once they come up with the reg­u­la­tions and start en­forc­ing we could see a dis­rup­tion in any­thing, any­thing from a farmer’s mar­ket to a child’s lemon­ade stand. 

Be­cause noth­ing is ex­plic­it­ly ex­empt­ed, so they are all im­plic­it­ly in­clud­ed. So the reg­u­la­tions could very eas­i­ly in­clude reg­u­la­tions such that they im­pose over­bur­den­some re­stric­tions on farm­ers going to mar­ket.

Gov­Track In­sid­er: But sure­ly it wasn’t the in­tent of the law­mak­ers to dis­rupt gar­dens or lemon­ade stands.

Re­itzig: Well I think the in­tent of the leg­is­la­tion is to give much broad­er au­thor­i­ty to the FDA, and then when you look at the lan­guage of the bill, when it gives the au­thor­i­ty to the FDA to act on “rea­son to be­lieve”, that’s giv­ing a lot of power, a lot of con­trol, to one per­son. 

An ex­am­ple of that is there is a thriv­ing and boom­ing fresh milk move­ment, peo­ple who want fresh milk di­rect­ly from farm­ers they know and trust. Well the FDA, CDC, and other or­ga­ni­za­tions have clear­ly said they don’t think any­body should drink fresh milk. If you go by that, they would have rea­son to be­lieve fresh milk might make some­body sick, and on that basis they could just shut down every fresh milk farmer, ev­ery­body who is sup­ply­ing fresh milk to a con­sumer be­cause they have that rea­son to be­lieve. Even if the in­tent is not ex­plic­it­ly stat­ed as con­trol over all farms, that is what is this leg­is­la­tion and they can use that to im­pose their world view on ev­ery­one. 

S. 510 does ex­empt small farm­ers and restau­rants from some of the FDA’s pro­posed new reg­u­la­to­ry au­thor­i­ty. How­ev­er, the scope of the final reg­u­la­tions will not be known until the law is en­act­ed and the FDA com­pletes the rule-mak­ing pro­cess.

 

Re­itzig: It’s like writ­ing a blank check to the FDA and say­ing now come up with the reg­u­la­tions. Once the bill is passed they can come up with what­ev­er reg­u­la­tions they want. Again for them to say we’re going to have reg­u­la­tions specif­i­cal­ly for small­er pro­duc­ers, they don’t yet have the reg­u­la­tions so how do we know what they are going to come up with? How do we know if it ac­tu­al­ly is going to ben­e­fit small pro­duc­ers or not? We don’t know, it’s this big un­known. And it’s this big blank check to the FDA who has al­ready been step­ping on small farms a lot.

 

 

Make the calls or send some faxes, it is up to us the moral maxes.

 

Snowe
Phone: (202) 224-5344 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (202) 224-5344      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Toll Free: (800) 432-1599 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (800) 432-1599      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Fax: (202) 224-1946

Collins
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2523 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (202) 224-2523      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Fax: (202) 224-2693

The Second Week of Maine Moose Hunting Begins Monday

Loading a moose. Don't try this at home ; this was done by a "professional."

Season Hunters holding valid moose permits and their designated subpermittee may hunt moose in one of twenty three Wildlife Management Districts (WMD's), which cover over 21,000 square miles. Successful bidders of the moose auction may select the hunting zone of their choice.

2010 Season Dates and Areas Open to Moose Hunting
September 27 through October 2, 2010 - (WMD's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 19).
October 11 through October 16, 2010 - WMD's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 27 and 28.
November 1 through November 6, 2010 - WMD's 2, 3, 6, and 11.
November 1 through November 27, 2010 - WMD's 15, 16, 23 and 26.

October 30, 2010 (Maine Residents Only) - WMD's 15, 16, 23 and 26.

Applicants may indicate season and WMD preferences, and may check a box if they do not want an antlerless-only permit. Successful applicants will receive either a bull only permit or an antlerless only permit. Permits for the November season are any-moose permits (which allow the taking of either a bull or a cow).

More information here-->>

Hey, Let's Take A Break From The Earthbound Problems,,, Enjoy!!!!

EAA Airventure Oshkosh 2010 "Salute to Veterans"

A compilation of clips from Airventure 2010 set to "Clocks" by Coldplay.

I arrived on Saturday before the show opened, and left on the last day of the show. (9 days). I took over 3 hours of video and created over 730 video clips.

This video montage was inspired by slickhutto.

Highlights include:
DC3 (And DC2) Reunion "The Last Time"
Many military jets including the F-15, F-16, Sea Harrier, and F-4 Phantom II




 Thank you Sky King for sharing with OUR Readers.

Introductory Outdoors Skills for Women Weekend Coming Up

MDIF&W: Becoming an Outdoors Woman Introductory Skills Weekend Set

AUGUSTA, Maine, Sept. 7 -- The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife issued the following news release:

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife is hosting its annual Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) Introductory Skills Weekend from Friday, Sept. 17 to Sunday, Sept. 19 at Camp Caribou on Pattee Pond in Winslow.

Registrations still are being accepted. No previous experience is required. So sign up now! A brochure and the registration form are posted at www.mainebow.com. For more information, contact BOW Coordinator Emily Jones at (207) 287-8069 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (207) 287-8069      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or at emily.jones@maine.gov.

The workshop is directed towards women 18 years and older who are interested in gaining or improving their skills in hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation in a safe and comfortable environment.

The weekend workshop provides participants with the opportunity to try a variety of outdoor activities under the supervision of experienced instructors and registered guides. The cost is $225 and covers everything -- good food, lodging, all equipment and lots of opportunity to learn. Partial scholarships are available based on need. Participants stay in heated bunk-style cabins, and meals are served cafeteria-style in the main lodge.

Some of the 36 instruction courses offered over the three days include: canoeing, kayaking, outdoor survival, firearms use and range safety, skeet shooting, fly casting, knot tying, GPS, map and compass, archery, trapping, bow hunting, trip planning, outdoor cooking, ropes course, forest ecology, planting for wildlife, basic fishing, biking, and much more!

A complete Hunter Safety Certification Course is available as a course strand for the weekend. Participants in Hunter Safety take four required classes with additional evening instruction and a Sunday afternoon final test.

The national Becoming an Outdoors Woman program began in 1991 when it was first offered at the University of Wisconsin after a study there concluded that women preferred to learn hunting, fishing and outdoor skills in a non-competitive atmosphere with other women.

More than 80 women, ranging in age from 18 to over 60, attend Maine BOW's Introductory Skills Weekend each year.

http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=IFW_News&id=128257&v=article

37th International Seaplane Fly-In Sept. 9-12 At Greenville

Looking forward  to the 37th

Annual FIy-In

Moosehead Lake , Maine

September 9-12, 2010~~~

 www.katahdinair.com

The International Seaplane Fly-In Associaton is a non-profit organization whose main focus is to provide aviation education (and a whole lot of fun!) to participants and spectators alike. We provide a scholarship each year to a deserving high school student who plans to further his/her education in some field related to aviation.  The 2009 recipient of the scholarship is Megan Weymouth of Abbot who graduated from Piscataquis Community High School in June and is now attending Daniel Webster College in New Hampshire.

The International Seaplane Fly-In brings thousands of participants and spectators to the Moosehead Region on the week-end after Labor Day. The costs associated with putting on the Fly -In have increased each year. Please consider helping us to continue to fund this great tradition by placing your ad in our "Annual Guide".

For questions or comments concerning the Guide, or any other aspects of the Seaplane Fly-In, please contact us at: info@seaplanefly-in.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 207-695-3631 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              207-695-3631      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Thank You!

http://www.seaplanefly-in.org/

Editor's Note by Todd Comber: On August 1, 2010 a life long family friend and fellow aviator went West.  Please join the family in celebrating his life.

Seaplane Fly In

Celebration of the Life of Telford M. Allen, Jr.

On Saturday, September 11 the Allen family will be holding a Celebration of Telford's Life.  It will be held at Telford's Hangar beginning at 7PM.  There is no charge (other than a cash bar) to attend.  At 8PM Bob Bryan will be speaking and at 9PM there will be a live band for dancing and socializing.   This is for everyone who would like to celebrate the life of this special man with us.
The Fly In Banquet /Buffet on Saturday, September 11  will be held beginning at 6PM in a tent adjacent to the hangar.  Tickets and registration for the Banquet are available on this website.

AirVenture 2010 World's Greatest Airshow

EAA Airventure Oshkosh 2010 "Salute to Veterans"

A compilation of clips from Airventure 2010 set to "Clocks" by Coldplay.

I arrived on Saturday before the show opened, and left on the last day of the show. (9 days). I took over 3 hours of video and created over 730 video clips.

This video montage was inspired by slickhutto.

Highlights include:
DC3 (And DC2) Reunion "The Last Time"
Many military jets including the F-15, F-16, Sea Harrier, and F-4 Phantom II

 

 

 

Two moons on 27th August 2010

27^th Aug the Whole World is waiting for............. 
Planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky starting August. It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. This will cultivate on Aug. 27 when Mars comes within 34.65M miles of earth. Be sure to watch the sky on Aug. 27 12:30 am. It will look like the earth has 2 moons.

The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287.Share this with your friends as NO ONE ALIVE TODAY will ever see it again.

Mark your calendars

According to SNOPES this is false, sorry we should have checked first.

Navy "Blue Angels" Coming to Portsmouth, NH

The Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron "Blue Angels" are at Portsmouth, NH August 28-29 for the Boston-Portsmouth Airshow 2010. Gates open at 9:00 am both days.

http://newenglandairshow.com/

Fresh Flower Fotos

Boaters Be Aware

Maine Warden Service, Maine Marine Patrol To Increase OUI-Boating Enforcement This Weekend

AUGUSTA – Are you looking forward to a relaxing boat ride this weekend with that ice chest full of cold beer? Better think again.

The Maine Warden Service and Maine Marine Patrol this weekend will be participating in Operation Dry Water, a national coordinated effort of stepped-up law enforcement looking for boat operators who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol or whose blood alcohol concentration exceeds the state limit. In Maine, the limit is 0.08%.

Operation Dry Water will include increased patrols looking for impaired operation, and also will focus on boater education and safety. Those operators who have been consuming will be subjected to field sobriety testing and, if warranted, breathalyzer analysis.

“We want people to have fun while boating,” said Maine Warden Service Lt. Adam Gormely. “But boating under the influence of alcohol or drugs has become the leading contributing factor in fatal recreational boating accidents. For safety, we recommend that all boaters avoid drinking alcoholic beverages or using drugs, and we will have zero tolerance for anyone found operating a boat under the influence of alcohol or drugs on Maine’s waters.”

Boating under the influence can lead to another serious criminal violation – driving under the influence – as impaired boaters may leave waterways, get into their vehicles and travel on roads. The Maine Warden Service, Maine Marine Patrol and Maine State Police this summer are airing public service announcements on television and the Internet reminding boat operators to not drink and drive or boat.

The public service announcement can be viewed at www.youtube.com/mefishwildlife. Also, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife will post national Operation Dry Water public service announcements on its Facebook page this weekend, www.facebook.com/mefishwildlife. (You must be a registered Facebook user to access MDIFW’s page.)

Alcohol can impair a boater’s judgment, balance, vision and reaction time. It can increase fatigue and susceptibility to the effects of cold-water immersion. Sun, wind, noise, vibration and motion – “stressers” common to the boating environment – intensify the side effects of alcohol, drugs and some prescription medications.

Operation Dry Water is in its second year, and is set for the weekend preceding the Fourth of July holiday weekend. During last year’s Operation Dry Water effort in Maine, five citations were issued for operating under the influence while boating, including one to a boater whose blood-alcohol level was 0.21, and 117 boaters were given safety warnings.

“There will be arrests this weekend, and some boaters will face the consequences of operating under the influence while boating,” said Lt. Gormely. “But we’d much rather arrest someone than to have to tell their family and friends that they’re never coming back.”

Operation Dry Water is a joint program of the Maine Warden Service, Maine Marine Patrol, the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

For more information, visit www.operationdrywater.org

The Lisbon Reporter

I love how the article criticizing the trail is written anonymously. 

The trail will be awesome, who ever you are!?!?!?! 

If you don’t like it…STAY OFF IT!!!! 

Written by Jason Young, Lisbon Trails Committee Member

Editor's note:  The article was written by Steve Warren, Lisbon Trails Committee Member.

BP's Final Option

Wild Wednesday!

Let Us Know How This One Works For You!

NEWS FLASH!!!!!*****Trail Project Public Meeting - Tuesday June 22

 TONIGHT THIS MEETING TAKES PLACE!

(added June 24,2010)
By Steve Warren

Trail Project Public Meeting -

Tuesday June 22 7 PM -

Lisbon Town Office

The Androscoggin River Trail is taking shape over the next two years, after decades of vision, effort, and with the allocation of $1,600,000 in State and local funds. However, unless the public speaks out at this meeting, it will be reduced from a jewel for Maine and a legacy for future generations to just another paving project, which allows the engineers to say they met the requirements, but misses the whole point; something people will use. 

The benefits of doing this right include enhanced quality of life, image, property value, business development, population retention, community pride, and showcasing the unique character of the area. The popularity of the Papermill Trail shows how a well designed trail can become a focal point of the community and be intensively used. The Mill Street and Upland Road sidewalk/trail is evidence of what happens when the vision is lost and it becomes a paving project. Usage of the Papermill Trail runs 20:1 over the other section, which the engineers selected without consideration for trail users interest in a quality experience. They are now at work to do the same with this project.

The vision was to create a two mile long greenbelt along the water from the Sabattus River outlet to Lisbon Falls. We have the rare situation of having a sole landowner of the entire route, who has been very generous in the past and is very supportive of the project. The entire area would become a destination as an educational resource, a park, a canoe landing, as well as a transportation corridor. With this landowner’s support, the waterfront would be accessible for water related travel, exponentially increasing the possibilities for access and use. The resulting increased tourism traffic would have far reaching economic impact.

The riverfront route would be lined and shaded by stately mature tree growth and entail level or gently sloping terrain. The engineers contend that the riverfront scenery and lack of steep grades are boring, but actual trail users obviously feel otherwise. It would be inviting to all ages and physical abilities and the most direct route, resulting in 1,000’ less pavement. It eliminates several steep grades along the alternative route, which would keep a large portion of trail users away. Several large wetland crossings on the engineers preferred route will require expensive solutions. The only significant water crossing on the riverfront route would be much shorter and also become a scenic focal point, as opposed to a massive structure proposed to cross the swamp.

The riverfront route maximizes the experience of getting away from traffic and the man-made environment. The alternative route has the first ¼ mile of both ends in the road right-of-way, which creates an experience which will put off most users from going any further. The Davis Street section will but up against numerous mobile homes and cut through the yard of a trucking company. The loss of any front yard, any privacy, parking space and interference in the conduct of business is likely to result in negative feelings toward trail users in the neighborhood. One land owner has already expressed disapproval by installing nearly 1,000’ of chain link fence along this trail route. The riverfront route connects to a canoe dock and parking area well suited to support the creation of canoe related trail use.

Tim Sample and MDIFW Day– A special combo on Saturday, June 19th!

Tim Sample and MDIFW Day– A special combo on Saturday, June 19th!

Widely acknowledged to be New England’s premier native humorist, Tim Sample’s books, albums, and videos (including four albums and a video for the Bert and I company) have sold well over a million copies. Over the years, Tim has performed thousands of shows in venues as diverse as the Los Angeles Convention Center, the Mall of America, the New York Yacht Club & the Caribou Performing Arts Center.

Tim Samples’ show times at the Wildlife Park today will include two 50 minute performances between 10:30am-12:30pm. This family show is locally sponsored by several area businesses and organizations, including the Gems of Route 26, Cole Farms Restaurant and Friends of Maine Wildlife Park. The wildlife park is extremely grateful for their support!

In addition, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s programs, projects and personnel will be showcased from 9:30am-3:30pm today. The Department is charged to preserve and protect the fish and wildlife of the state, for everyone to enjoy. Hunting and fishing are a part of Maine’s outdoor heritage; but more and more Maine citizens are as or more interested in watching, feeding and photographing the wildlife that call Maine home.

Whether you are watching a bald eagle soar, photographing a moose; enjoying loons and other waterfowl; or catch a glimpse of a bobcat; watching wildlife is popular with hikers, kayakers, bicyclists, picnickers, state park visitors, back yard bird feeders and those just out enjoying the woods and waters of the state.

These folks, who do not directly financially contribute to our wildlife and habitat preservation programs, need to know more about what the Department does, to ensure their enjoyment of Maine’s abundant wildlife both for now and into the future.

Wildlife and fisheries biologists, safety officers, hatchery staff and game wardens will be on hand and in person, to talk about their fishery, wildlife, safety and enforcement programs and projects throughout the day. Come and learn what we do, and how we support the habitats and populations of all of Maine’s wildlife…..making Maine a better place for people, too!

All of today’s events are scheduled to proceed rain or shine.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE MAINE WILDLIFE PARK CLICK HERE!