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June 2002 Newsletter |
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Swimming lesson Thelma Sargent with Assistants Mask & Fin (swimmers to have completed Level VII) Thelma Sargent Small Water Craft Safety (to have completed Level VII) Thelma Sargent Co-Ed Softball Maren Muzzy Girls Softball Chad Owens Skateboard Lessons/Safety Kevin Bradford/Supervisor Maren Muzzy T-Ball Jody Breton Pee-Wee Ian Morrill/John Simko Boys Youth Ian Morrill Golf Chris Lavigne August 5-9. To be held Mon. thru Fri. Cost $5.00 Ages Pre-school 6 yr. 9:00 am 9:40 am There will be a game of scramble on Aug. 13 at 8:30 am for a price of $15. at Squaw Village Golf Course. Ages 10 & up with Parent Permission. Basketball Co-Ed July 16 August 8. To be held on Tues. Thurs. Grade 9 & up 5:00 pm 6:00 pm Free Basketball clinic for pre-school Grade 2.- Aug. 12 16 from 10-11:00 am Soccer Sean Bolen & Loren Charwart Pre-school thru 2nd 9:00 am - 10:00 am (Co-Ed) Tennis Shayna Ward On Saturday, July 6th, C.A. Dean will host a Celebrity Benefit Bike Ride. As part of the nation's first July 4th celebrations since 9/11 and in honor of emergency services personnel, C.A. Dean is proud to host two of New York City's finest. NYC EMT's, Jack Carlson and John Healy, will share their experiences, lessons, and photographs since the World Trade Center attacks of September 11th. The ride is on Saturday, July 6th and begins at the Greenville School 9:30 a.m. The roughly 16-mile route includes stretches of tarred and dirt roads between Greenville and Shirley. A barbecue, auction, presentation, and autograph and photo session will follow the ride. Minimum pledges for entry are needed and team challenges are encouraged. People wishing to attend the festivities but avoid the bike ride can still attend with their minimum pledges as well. Preregistering for the event is important and can be done by calling 207/695-5200. Or for more information, contact the Community Relations & Development Department at C.A. Dean at 207/695-5237. Auxiliary Fair is Bigger Than Ever Join a 50-year-old tradition by attending this year's C.A. Dean Auxiliary Fair on Saturday, August 10th at the Greenville school campus. Inside the gym, you'll find crafts, food, ice cream, and yard sale items for sale. Also, look for new and exciting games, like a Dunk Booth and the Paint Ball Gallery. In addition to the Fair, you can also enjoy the watching the Game of Logging during Forest Heritages Days. Their activities will also be located at on the school campus. Finally, look for carnival rides, like the Ferris Wheel and Merry-Go-Round, as we hope to welcome Fiesta Shows to join our activities from August 7 11th! Something for Everyone This year's summer reading program will have a theme of: The Animals, Fish and Birds of the Moosehead Area. We will have two programs. On Thursday evenings, 6:30 to 7:30 for readers and Friday mornings 10:30 to 11:30 for preschoolers and beginning readers. Programs to start July 11 and July 12 and will end of August 19. Closing program will be August 19 at 1:00 pm. Every age level is welcome. At present time, we have arranged for two Maine Authors to come to our library. We are still talking with other authors, so please continue to ask at the library for current information. On June 30, we will have Dean Bennett, whose latest book, The Wilderness from Chamberlain Farm: A Story of Hope from the American Wild will be the topic of his discussion. He will have slides, a reading, question and answer period, and book signing. June is going to be Free Bring Back Month, so check around your homes to find any materials that might be hiding. We want to remind all of our patrons that we do not want any videos or audios to be put into the book drop. If you cannot return them on time, arrangements can be made to renew the materials to avoid fines. We have many new books and materials, so please come and check them out. Tuesday 10:00 am 6:00 pm Wednesday 1:00 pm 5:00 pm Thursday - 6:00 pm 8:00 pm Friday 10:00 am 6:00 pm Saturday 10:00 am 2:00 pm Police Department Downtown Foot Patrol: Utilizing the officer on-duty each evening, the Greenville Police Department will begin a downtown patrol this summer. In the tradition of community policing, Chief Alexander and I have designed a protocol which will have the officer on-duty each evening walk through our downtown area, including the Boardwalk, enforcing Town ordinances and state laws. The officer will also be a resource for visitors and for business-owners, providing information about the community. This extra-effort will not have a budget impact. The patrol will begin by June 1. Town Meeting will be Held at 7:00 PM Monday, June 3: After much consideration, the Budget Committee, School Committee, and Board of Selectmen have finished their review of the proposed FY2002-2003 school and municipal budget. At the same time, our assessor is conducting a sales study and subsequent factoring of some land and building values. The combination of these two factors will likely result in a mil rate increase of less than one mil, although it is difficult to predict at this time. Please turn out for Town Meeting to learn more! Municipal Election and State Primary June 11: Primary candidates for both parties will share our ballot with names for the school committee and also the Board of Selectmen. We'll have new leadership by July 1 locally and by January 1 nationally. Changing of the Guard at the Superintendent's Office: With regret we'll see the retirement of Bill Folsom as our current Union #60 Superintendent of Schools. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Bill, and I know he has always put the needs of our students first. Bill and I have each recently worked with incoming School Superintendent Steve Pound of Nova Scotia (Millinockett originally), and we are looking forward to his arrival. Steve brings a lot of positive energy and good ideas which I believe will revitalize our schools and community. Reconstruction of Roughly 3.5 miles Lily Bay Road: Starting in early July 2002, the Maine Department of Transportation will begin reconstruction work on Lily Bay Road, alleviating the crown in the road, creating underground drainage and improving above-ground drainage, and creating a paved should up over Blair Hill. From roughly Wortman's Store to McAfee Street, the MDOT will construct a new sidewalk for pedestrians in the area. This $1.6 million improvement to the road will greatly enhance the quality of the roadway, improve drainage, and greatly enhance pedestrian and bicycle safety along this section of highway. For more information about the project, please contact MDOT Project Manager Janis Piper at 941-4754. Fourth of July Bigger and Better Than Ever! The Town of Greenville has once again joined with the Moosehead Lake Region Chamber of Commerce and other local organizations to plan a large Independence Day Celebration. Highlights include a largest-ever Thursday parade beginning at 1:00 PM from Indian Hill, finishing in the Junction; riding lawn mower drag races; kids games and craft vendors at the Junction Wharf; a throw-the-skillet contest for frustrated spouses and others; and a great fireworks display in West Cove! See Sara at the Chamber at 695-2702 or sara@mooseheadlake.org or Cindy at the Town Office at 695-2421 or Cindy@GreenvilleME.com. We want to see as many great floats and parade entries as possible this year! Acadian Railway Comes to Town June 9 and Every Sunday and Wednesday afternoon thereafter all summer long! We are pleased to see our friends at Acadian Railway bringing their train to our community beginning this June and running until September. Acadian will bring two trains per week for about 14 weeks to the greater Greenville area. Most visitors will stay at the newly renovated big Squaw Mountain Resort, and all will dine at the Iron Horse Restaurant, formerly the Cabbage Patch. For more information about Acadian Railway, call their Ground Manager here in Greenville Michelle Pelletier at her downtown Greenville office 695-3743, or email her at mpelletier@AcadianRailway.com or check out their website at www.AcadianRailway.com. Included in this newsletter is a copy of Acadian President Randy Parten's letter which recently appeared in the Moosehead Messenger. Wood Composites Incubator Center: The Board of Selectmen have reserved the 3.8 acre Spruce Street site for a proposed Wood Composites incubator Center being developed by the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council and the newly-formed Piscataquis Properties Corporation (for which I serve as President and Vice-President, respectfully). The Wood Composites Center will be a publicly-funded 36,000 sq. ft. facility which will rented to entrepreneurs who are developing new products using wood composite technology. Members of the Board of Selectmen and School Committee will join members of the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council June 7 for a tour of the University of Maine's Advanced Wood Structures Laboratory in Orono to see this technology first-hand. For more information about this project, please contact me at 695-2261 or via email at John@GreenvilleME.com. General Industrial Park Activity: There have been recent sales of lots in the Greenville Industrial Park to local businessmen who intend to build there this summer. The Town has hired a contractor to cut the wood off the remaining industrial park sites to encourage development in the future. In discussion with Greenville Steam Plant Manager Scott Hersey, the plant is expected to come back on line and begin producing power again in early June. Things are looking up! Please contact me if you would like more information about a lot in the Greenville Industrial Park (there are 7 lots remaining ranging in size from 1-5 acres). I can be reached in the office at 695-2261 or via email at John@GreenvilleME.com. Greenville Municipal Airport Of Regional Significance, Looking Forward to Improvements: At a recent meeting of the Greenville Municipal Airport Advisory Committee, the pilots present, along with our Town Counsel and Airport Engineers, agreed that the airport is of regional significance, but may not require the creation of a new regional airport authority. Those present agreed to pursue the development of a new name for the airport incorporating the word Regional, but to keep the current authority for the airport in the hands of the Town of Greenville. Upcoming projects at the airport include land clearing for hangar lots, development of a maintenance / arrivals building, and preparation for the total reconstruction of the 4,000 foot runway (14-21) in 2004. Mr. Telford Allen was unanimously voted the new chair of the Greenville Municipal Airport Advisory Committee. I look forward to working with Telford in the future. For more information about hangar lots, please contact me at 695-2261 or via email at John@GreenvilleME.com. That's what's going on (and there's more to come)! Have a great summer! Enthusiastically;
John Simko |
7:00 pm Greenville High School Auditorium Polls open at 10:00 am Polls close at 8:00 pm Class Night - Wed. June 12th @ 6:30 pm Graduation Sat. June 15th @ 10:00 am Greenville High School Auditorium Parade starts at 1:00 pm at Indian Hill 16945 Northchase Dr., Ste 1800 Houston, TX 77060-2151 281-874-2101 May 20, 2002 Mike Lange, Editor To the Editor; It is with great pleasure that I announce to the residents and business owners in Greenville and the surrounding area that Acadian Railway will make its first stop in Greenville Junction on Sunday afternoon, June 9, 2002. After several years of research and planning, and intensive work with many railroads, regulatory agencies, businesses, local and county governments, Acadian is ready to start its first season. As Acadian is based here in Houston, Texas, I thought it might be good to share with the greater-Greenville community just exactly what we're doing and how we're doing it. Acadian Railway is an excursion rail company which offers comprehensive vacation packages for travelers wishing to visit Maine and eastern Canada. We offer 27 tour packages ranging from 3 to 12 days, utilizing a combination of rail and motor coach service, as well as Maine's Catamaran service from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Our refurbished rail cars offer many amenities including two dining cars with fine dining, vista dome cars, parlour and observation cars, and tour guides to explain the sites along the rail. Our trains are currently passing through Toronto and should arrive in Montreal by the time you read this. Our season will begin June 9 and will run until September 13, operating each week except week two. For 14 weeks(except week 2), we will bring two trains each week to Greenville, Maine, carrying between 75 and 150 passengers each. Our trains will run both east and west, and will arrive here Sunday night and Wednesday nights. Passengers will spend two nights here each trip, having full days in the Moosehead Lake region Monday and Thursday. Acadian will shuttle passengers between the rail siding, downtown Greenville, the Iron Horse Restaurant (formerly the Cabbage Patch), and Big Squaw Mountain Resort. We will use a combination of private 21-passenger vans and also some larger shuttle busses. In appreciation of your popular, large-antlered mammal, our busses will be painted brown and given their own antlers to become Moose Buses. We think they will immediately become unique and well known. Acadian's presence is visible throughout greater Greenville. In partnership with Big Squaw Mountain Resort, Acadian has refurbished the lobby area and all of the 54 rooms available at the Mountain. Acadian has also purchased the former Cabbage Patch restaurant and is even now finishing renovation work and a significant expansion of the building. Although there have been some setbacks in the renovation of the restaurant, these obstacles have been overcome, and we will be ready for customers June 9, 2002. The Iron Horse will be open in June on for our train passengers. We fully expect to be open to the public on our off-days (Fridays and Saturdays) as a full-service restaurant later this summer. We will be building a short platform at the Greenville Junction depot before June 9 to unload passengers onto our moose busses. For those of you looking for more specific information about Acadian Railway, including ticket sales, questions about how to do business with us, schedules of operation, etc., please contact our downtown Greenville office at 695-3743 and ask for Michelle Pelletier, our Ground Operations Manager. Michelle is a full-time employee of Acadian Railway and is available to you to answer any and all logistical questions, and to assist you in any way that we can. Or see our website at acadianrailway.com. We are the first user on our server to receive over 1 million hits in the first month of operation. We have made an effort to contact all of the retail businesses in the Moosehead Lake Region, including lodging and restaurant establishments. With the assistance of the Moosehead Lake Region Chamber of Commerce, the Town of Greenville, and the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council, we contacted most of you about a year ago and invited you to a meeting in Greenville about our plans. Our marketing people also met with many of you one on one after that meeting. We unfortunately cannot talk to everyone, but we certainly have been impressed with the quality of services offered in your region, and we look forward to working with as many of you as we can to meet the needs of our customers. One exciting addition to our plans is the availability of tickets for travel round trip from Greenville to either St. John, New Brunswick, or to Montreal, Quebec. These tickets will offer the traveler the full services of our Acadian Railways, including meals and on-board entertainment. Lodging at the aforementioned destinations will be your responsibility, with our assistance. We hope the Moosehead Lake Region will be enhanced by the addition of rail service to another country next door. Tickets, at a discount to resident of Maine, will be available in Greenville by July, and all tickets are currently available at our Houston office. Finally, I would like to thank the Town of Greenville for all of their assistance throughout this process. They along with the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council, the Moosehead Lake Region Chamber of Commerce, and many private businesses and individuals have really helped us to put this project on track and on-time. All of these folks are also working with us to establish a plan for revitalizing the old railroad depot station, hopefully by the end of 2003. I look forward to an exciting first season in Greenville, and hope you will feel free to contact us through Michelle at our downtown office if you have any questions. Very truly yours, John R. Parten Normal Trash Pickup Monday Thursday July 4th Independence Day Town office and Landfill/Recycling Closed. Monday September 2nd Labor Day Town Office and Landfill/Recycling Closed. Monday October 14th Columbus Day Town Office and Landfill/Recycling Closed. Monday November 11th Veteran's Day Town Office and Landfill/Recycling Closed. Thursday November 28th Thanksgiving Day Town Office and Landfill/Recycling Closed. Tuesday December 24th Town Offices Closing at 2:00 pm (Christmas Eve) Wednesday January 1st New Year's Day Town Office Closed. Monday February 17th President's Day Town Office and Landfill/Recycling Closed. Sunday March 23rd Easter Landfill/Recycling Closed. Monday April 14th Patriot's Day Town Office and Landfill/Recycling Closed. Monday May 26th Memorial Day Town Office and Landfill/Recycling Closed. Please remember to vote on June 11th on the Bond Issues. Bond issues require a two-thirds vote of both bodies of the Legislature and approval of the people of Maine. On June 11th you will have the opportunity to cast your ballot regarding two bond packages. The Economic Development Bond includes many initiatives that will promote investment throughout Maine to ensure that quality jobs will be available in the future. To reap the harvest we must first plant the seeds. Further, included in this bond package are much needed funds for both the "Kate" and the Center Theatre Inc. in Dover-Foxcroft. These funds will help to stimulate economic development throughout Piscataquis County and the entire state. The School and Facilities Bond includes funds for the School Renovation revolving loan fund to help communities address health and safety issues in their schools. This bond also includes funds to install Sprinkler Systems in Maine's Public Higher Education Dormitories. This is our chance to prevent loss of life and property to fire in our State dormitories. JUNE BOND ISSUES School and Facilities Bond TOTAL $28,500,000 Public Higher Education: Sprinkler Systems $7,000,000 Economic Development Bond TOTAL: $34,970,000 Schoodic Education and Research Center $400,000 |