Locke's Mills
The Town of Greenwood is running a bit short on people to serve on its various boards. The Greenwood Planning Board has openings for two alternate members. The Board of Appeals also has openings for two alternate members. Town Manager Kim Sparks said that an alternate position on either of these boards means the person would attend meetings the same as a regular board member would. If a regular member is absent, then the alternate would vote in place of the regular member. If you are interested in serving in any of these positions, please contact Sparks at 875-2426 or kimsparks@roadrunner.com
My neighbors, Butch and Esther Fuller, lost their grandson Joshua Wardwell last month, and they would like to thank everyone for their genuine and overwhelming show of support through cards, calls, visits, and many prayers. They appreciate all this support, and they have found great comfort in that. They said there is a hole in their hearts that will never mend and an ache in their souls that will never leave.
We had our first cold snap last week. That phrase is a genuine meteorological term and means a period of intensely cold and dry weather. That's what we had for a few days last week. The lowest temperature I saw was 8 below at 6 a.m., but a West Paris friend reported 16 below around the same time. The winds also chimed in, and the wind chill factor was low and nasty during those days. Thank heavens for long johns and lots of layers. If you were out and about on those cold days, other people were indistinguishable as female or male, young or old. They were simply mobile bundles.
This is a time of year that brings most of us indoors for the long, dark evenings, and a favorite pastime of many is to read a good book. With frugality in mind, a number of folks head to one of our free public libraries to borrow some books instead of buying them. How many of us take the time to think about the fact that we can walk in to the library, get a free membership, and then check out books to read for free? Rather amazing.
While Greenwood does not have a public library, three of our neighboring towns do and allow us to become members free of charge. These are the Bethel Library, the Whitman Memorial Library in Bryant Pond, and the Arthur L. Mann Memorial Library in West Paris. Our other neighbor, Norway, has the Norway Memorial Library, and they charge $20 to Greenwood residents to become members. All of these libraries came to be in the late 1800s and early 1900s by virtue of people who gave money, land, and/or buildings so we could all read, entertain, and educate ourselves without cost to patrons. Quite a concept that seems to be lost on some of today's wealthiest.
Free public libraries expand our horizons and knowledge. As famous commentator Walter Cronkite said it best, “Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.”
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