Locke's Mills

Over 20 residents attended the recent meeting to hear about the future of our post office in Greenwood. USPO officials discussed the results of the survey. 153 out of 376 surveys sent were completed and returned. 84 percent of those returned could accept a change of service hours at the Greenwood Post Office. Officials said the likely hours will be 8 to 10 a.m. and 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 to 11:30 a.m. on Satuday. No decision will be made until after first of year.

The vote on fireworks use was Tuesday evening. Too late for this column.

It is time to get docks out of the water. Any floating docks are required to be brought in by MEDEP and temporary docks can only be in the water seven months. If you are like most people, you took the docks in back when the pond water was a bit warmer. If you didn't, well, move fast once you get in the water.

A turkey dinner basket will be going to the lucky winner of the Greenwood Fire Department raffle. Tickets are $1 each or six for $5. Tickets are available at the Greenwood Town Office and through any of the fire department members. The drawing will be Nov. 19 and proceeds go to the fire department. All the fixings for an old fashioned Thanksgiving feast.

Rob Lally, one of the owners of Mt. Abram, told me they have invested in their snowmaking epuipment plus added two new grooming machines for the upcoming ski season. They plan to continue to use the “tent lodge” for this winter. Workers are already at the mountain getting things set for winter.

If you are not registered to vote, you still have time. Stop at the Greenwood Town Office with identification and proof of residence, and you can register right through election day. Glad to see we still have this right despite the efforts of some politicians to deny us that voting right.

Greenwood Historical Society will meet on Wednesday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. at the building on Main Street in Locke's Mills. John Davis will present a program on the Canadian National Museum Train that came thru Locke's Mills on Aug. 12, 1953. All are welcome.

Dog licenses for 2013 are available at the Greenwood Town Office or you renew Fido on-line at: https://www1.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/dog_license/index.pl

An editorial error resulted in a few chuckles around here. The bull moose chased Lorene Mills. Her name was mistakenly changed to Lorraine. Lorraine Mills Larson is Lorene's mother-in-law. Lorraine is the mother of Ralph Mills who is married to Lorene. With her usual sense of humor, Lorraine laughed the idea of her running from a moose in her mature years. And it was Howe Hill not Rowe Hill.

With winter fast approaching, it is time to scour the woods for kindling for the wood stoves. My preference is for the down and dry hardwood branches. There are a number of good size beech branches down from dying beech trees.

Beech trees are dying as a result of an insect combined with a fungus. Beech scale is the insect and sets up the environment for the fungus to invade the tree. Two species of fungi are associated with beech bark disease. The principal one, N. coccinea var. faginata, is considered a weak parasite; the second species, N. galligena, is a common pathogen inciting perennial cankers of many hardwood species. The next time you are out in the woods, notice the cankers on beech tree trunks. This is a problem for our forests. A healthy beech tree can live to be 300 years old but not one of the infected ones.

Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012. We “fall back” at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November by setting our clock one hour earlier. The decent into darkness approaches. Depending on next week's national election results, it may seem even darker for some folks. Hang in there!

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