MILO — This past week was one filled with anniversaries of the sentimental sort.
The eight-year mark of September 11 came Friday without the similar fanfare that had come to mark the day in the past. There were the standard memorials that took place and there were the TV specials, but the day since dubbed as Patriots Day seemed much more subdued than it has in years past.
To a certain extent, that’s a good thing. Now before people start shouting at me that I’m not patriotic or sensitive to the nature of one of our nation’s gravest days in its 250-plus year history, I by no means am saying we should forget what happened all those years ago. Instead, our relaxed nature about the day means we may have found it in ourselves to move on to a little bit — much in the way our nation remembers Pearl Harbor.
That being said, the documentaries that were aired on the History Channel last Friday night of that fateful day — with the sights and sounds of the Twin Towers in New York City — still are hard to watch. The whole event still brought deep chills to my spine and tears to my eyes, even eight years later. I doubt that will ever really change.
Another anniversary was marked, one that hit closer to home on Monday. The Piscataquis County Economic Development Council hosted its annual fall quarterly meeting on Monday, Sept. 14 at the new Hobknobbers Pub in Milo — a year to the day that the old pub was the sight of an arson fire that spread from the tavern on Main Street to the adjoining buildings, taking out five buildings in total and displacing five businesses and two apartments, one that included a family.
Monday was the first day that Hobknobbers reopened, and it opened with a packed house as numerous county leaders came to listen to the state legislative delegation from Piscataquis County and talk about the council’s goals for the future. The sight of a former hospital, the new bar looked great from the inside and added a number of features that tied the tavern to the old hospital, including using the old light above the surgery table to illuminate the bar.
While the meeting was going on, dozens of people gathered on the gravel patch that used to house the Milo True Value, flower shop, game stop, theatre and pub for a commemoration. A band played as the sidewalk filled — in some spots as much as three to four people deep — just to remember what happened one year ago.
Plans are in place, thanks in large part to the PCEDC, to replace what was lost in the fire with a new block of downtown businesses that is sure to attract people to the heart of this eastern Piscataquis County town. Who knows, in another year’s time, maybe that block will be rebuilt and a larger festival held in the nearby parks to celebrate what had risen from such a terrible loss.
There is some good that can come from both these anniversaries, some lessons to learn and things to remember. It’s just good to see, in both instances, that we as a region are moving forward to make our lives better while never forgetting those key events in our past.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Time for neighbors to stand up for each other
DOVER-FOXCROFT — The stories have run rampant through town. Vandals have slashed tires, spray painted construction equipment and been an overall nuisance for the past couple of weeks.
While most of what had happened previous to this weekend was small potatoes, these vandals have upped the ante this past Labor Day weekend with a series of mind-numbing and careless acts. While I won’t get into the full details here (the main story is on the front cover), the gist of what happened is this: vandals overflowed an oil tank with a water hose, causing a great deal of damage to a business and home on Monument Square. Vandals also broke into the former Moosehead Manufacturing building on three separate instances this past weekend to break windows, spill stored water for emergencies and start a number of small fires in the upstairs of the offices along Main Street. Moreover, these troublemakers threw furniture tacks onto Main Street from the offices, creating headaches for drivers.
These are the actions of a stupid few, we all know this. For the most part, Dover-Foxcroft is a safe, quiet community that is filled with people who help each other out, whether it’s something small like shovel out a sidewalk to bigger things like being their during disasters and in times of need.
It’s hard to say that all these instances of vandalism are by anyway connected, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
While the Dover-Foxcroft Police Department is working on finding these vandals and charging them with the crimes they have committed, it is up to us, the public, to do something too — look out for each other. Like I said before, this is a community that responds in times of need and unfortunately this is one of them.
What happened at the residence of John and Lisa Clark on Monument Square Tuesday morning means the minor annoyance these vandals had been for the past few weeks is minor no more. The Clarks are now left to contend with the days of work that will go into restoring the basement after oil seeped everywhere. The old oil tank that was ruined with the water hose will have to be replaced with a new tank. The basement will have to be scrubbed and cleaned to make sure the fumes don’t linger in the house anymore.
All of this costs money — big money. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection, as well as a contractor from Portland, were on hand to clean up the spill. Members from the Dover-Foxcroft fire and police departments responded to the initial 9-1-1 call, so there’s a cost there as well. All these folks just don’t show up to an emergency for free. Someone’s got to pay for this.
Until the police find and apprehend those responsible for this weekend’s activities, neighbors throughout Dover-Foxcroft help each other out and keep an eye out for these vandals before they strike again.
As Lisa Clark said, “I just don’t want anyone else to go through this.”
While most of what had happened previous to this weekend was small potatoes, these vandals have upped the ante this past Labor Day weekend with a series of mind-numbing and careless acts. While I won’t get into the full details here (the main story is on the front cover), the gist of what happened is this: vandals overflowed an oil tank with a water hose, causing a great deal of damage to a business and home on Monument Square. Vandals also broke into the former Moosehead Manufacturing building on three separate instances this past weekend to break windows, spill stored water for emergencies and start a number of small fires in the upstairs of the offices along Main Street. Moreover, these troublemakers threw furniture tacks onto Main Street from the offices, creating headaches for drivers.
These are the actions of a stupid few, we all know this. For the most part, Dover-Foxcroft is a safe, quiet community that is filled with people who help each other out, whether it’s something small like shovel out a sidewalk to bigger things like being their during disasters and in times of need.
It’s hard to say that all these instances of vandalism are by anyway connected, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
While the Dover-Foxcroft Police Department is working on finding these vandals and charging them with the crimes they have committed, it is up to us, the public, to do something too — look out for each other. Like I said before, this is a community that responds in times of need and unfortunately this is one of them.
What happened at the residence of John and Lisa Clark on Monument Square Tuesday morning means the minor annoyance these vandals had been for the past few weeks is minor no more. The Clarks are now left to contend with the days of work that will go into restoring the basement after oil seeped everywhere. The old oil tank that was ruined with the water hose will have to be replaced with a new tank. The basement will have to be scrubbed and cleaned to make sure the fumes don’t linger in the house anymore.
All of this costs money — big money. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection, as well as a contractor from Portland, were on hand to clean up the spill. Members from the Dover-Foxcroft fire and police departments responded to the initial 9-1-1 call, so there’s a cost there as well. All these folks just don’t show up to an emergency for free. Someone’s got to pay for this.
Until the police find and apprehend those responsible for this weekend’s activities, neighbors throughout Dover-Foxcroft help each other out and keep an eye out for these vandals before they strike again.
As Lisa Clark said, “I just don’t want anyone else to go through this.”
Rain couldn't wash fun away from Wiffle ball tourney
BANGOR — When I explained that I never played wiffle ball before as I was signing up for a fund-raising tournament for the Make a Wish Foundation, the event organizer asked me flat-out, “What kind of sheltered childhood did you lead?”
It’s not that I have never swung those skinny, yellow plastic bats or thrown that trademark plastic ball with holes in one-half of it. It’s just, I never played an official wiffle ball game, by the rules, at any time in my life.
So on Saturday, in the early morning hours while Tropical Storm Danny was just getting started dumping over two inches of rain on the region, I stood there with about 50 other men listening to the rules of wiffle ball and wondering aloud to myself, “What did I get myself into?”
What I got myself into was a lot of fun — even in spite of the pouring rain, soaked tennis shoes and bruise on my right arm (more on that later). The Wiffle for a Wish fund-raiser was set up by WABI-TV morning anchorman Wayne Harvey as a way to raise money to grant children who are suffering from life-threatening medical conditions. The tournament consisted of 16 teams paying $100 per team to compete in a round-robin qualifier with playoffs to follow.
For those who haven’t played before, wiffle ball is played with five people in a field that barely resembles a baseball diamond. There are lines painted in the grass that signifies an out, a single and a double with a fence in the back. There’s no base running in wiffle ball. Instead, hitters need to hit the plastic ball past one of those lines to be considered a hit. If it falls short of the first line, it’s considered an out. You can also strike out and pop up to the other team. Everything depends on where the ball lands.
At this tournament, I ended up playing for the Longhorn Steakhouse team, which consisted Paul, an Old Town man, along with his 12-year-old son Jonathan, and myself. All three of us were fill-ins playing against some serious competition. Some men were throwing those wiffle balls as hard as some high-level college pitchers throw a fastball, and the curve a wiffle ball can make is ridiculous.
Needless to say, in all four games we played in we got hammered. It may be no coincidence that I pitched all four games and had never pitched a wiffle ball game before in my life. In the first inning of my first game I gave up a grand slam — a GRAND SLAM in wiffle ball — en route to a 10-0 drubbing. The other two round-robin games and playoff game went pretty much in the same fashion.
As for that bruise I got on my right forearm, I never expected to have my life put in danger by a wiffle ball come-backer. I’m fairly certain if that hit would have found my face I’d have one of those unique wiffle ball dimples imprinted onto my skin.
In spite of all the losing, the Wiffle for a Wish tournament was a lot of fun and something I hope to do again next year. Then again, losing four straight games pretty quickly did have a silver lining to it — it did allow for the three of us to finally get out of the pouring rains of Tropical Storm Danny, but not before we were soaked to the bone.
It’s not that I have never swung those skinny, yellow plastic bats or thrown that trademark plastic ball with holes in one-half of it. It’s just, I never played an official wiffle ball game, by the rules, at any time in my life.
So on Saturday, in the early morning hours while Tropical Storm Danny was just getting started dumping over two inches of rain on the region, I stood there with about 50 other men listening to the rules of wiffle ball and wondering aloud to myself, “What did I get myself into?”
What I got myself into was a lot of fun — even in spite of the pouring rain, soaked tennis shoes and bruise on my right arm (more on that later). The Wiffle for a Wish fund-raiser was set up by WABI-TV morning anchorman Wayne Harvey as a way to raise money to grant children who are suffering from life-threatening medical conditions. The tournament consisted of 16 teams paying $100 per team to compete in a round-robin qualifier with playoffs to follow.
For those who haven’t played before, wiffle ball is played with five people in a field that barely resembles a baseball diamond. There are lines painted in the grass that signifies an out, a single and a double with a fence in the back. There’s no base running in wiffle ball. Instead, hitters need to hit the plastic ball past one of those lines to be considered a hit. If it falls short of the first line, it’s considered an out. You can also strike out and pop up to the other team. Everything depends on where the ball lands.
At this tournament, I ended up playing for the Longhorn Steakhouse team, which consisted Paul, an Old Town man, along with his 12-year-old son Jonathan, and myself. All three of us were fill-ins playing against some serious competition. Some men were throwing those wiffle balls as hard as some high-level college pitchers throw a fastball, and the curve a wiffle ball can make is ridiculous.
Needless to say, in all four games we played in we got hammered. It may be no coincidence that I pitched all four games and had never pitched a wiffle ball game before in my life. In the first inning of my first game I gave up a grand slam — a GRAND SLAM in wiffle ball — en route to a 10-0 drubbing. The other two round-robin games and playoff game went pretty much in the same fashion.
As for that bruise I got on my right forearm, I never expected to have my life put in danger by a wiffle ball come-backer. I’m fairly certain if that hit would have found my face I’d have one of those unique wiffle ball dimples imprinted onto my skin.
In spite of all the losing, the Wiffle for a Wish tournament was a lot of fun and something I hope to do again next year. Then again, losing four straight games pretty quickly did have a silver lining to it — it did allow for the three of us to finally get out of the pouring rains of Tropical Storm Danny, but not before we were soaked to the bone.
Hurricane scare all for naught
OLD TOWN — “Hurricane Bill could hit anywhere from Massachusetts to Nova Scotia …”
My eyes picked up from the card game I was playing on my laptop to the TV screen, finally listening intently to what was just background noise moments ago.
“A hurricane could hit where?” I thought to myself.
The storm tracked showed it moving well east of Maine, but the report was there. A hurricane could possibly, maybe, sort of glance the Pine Tree State.
It doesn’t take much for my imagination to go into overdrive. Images of Florida after Hurricane Andrew, and New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina popped into my head as I started to surf the Internet for a more detailed forecast of this new megastorm, Hurricane Bill.
Growing up in the Midwest, hurricanes are those storms you hear about on TV that sometimes survive long enough to drop rain on you a few days after landfall, but that’s about it. More often than not they were just the big storms that made the news back home. Tornadoes, on the other hand, you could expect a few to drop in the region every summer.
Now it finally hit me, two years into living on the East Coast, that a hurricane could strike Maine. Everyone I talked to, however, laughed off my irrational fears and told me everything would be fine. For one, Bill (somehow this storm and I got on a first name basis pretty quick) was to go well east of Maine so we had nothing to worry about. Secondly, we lived far enough inland that nothing would really happen except a bunch of rain would fall on us — and after the summer we had, how would that be any different than what happened in June?
This weekend came and went with little in the way of rain from the storm that churned in the Atlantic. No homes were destroyed and no low-lying lands were flooded. Heck I don’t even think Bill was able to keep the dust down in these parts of the state.
Bill did not pass by without causing some harm, however. There were reports of people being swept to sea at Thunder Hole in Acadia National Park, with the sad news that a 7-year-old girl from New York City passed away in the incident. But in Piscataquis County, Hurricane Bill was nothing more than a report on the news — and that’s not such a bad thing after all.
My eyes picked up from the card game I was playing on my laptop to the TV screen, finally listening intently to what was just background noise moments ago.
“A hurricane could hit where?” I thought to myself.
The storm tracked showed it moving well east of Maine, but the report was there. A hurricane could possibly, maybe, sort of glance the Pine Tree State.
It doesn’t take much for my imagination to go into overdrive. Images of Florida after Hurricane Andrew, and New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina popped into my head as I started to surf the Internet for a more detailed forecast of this new megastorm, Hurricane Bill.
Growing up in the Midwest, hurricanes are those storms you hear about on TV that sometimes survive long enough to drop rain on you a few days after landfall, but that’s about it. More often than not they were just the big storms that made the news back home. Tornadoes, on the other hand, you could expect a few to drop in the region every summer.
Now it finally hit me, two years into living on the East Coast, that a hurricane could strike Maine. Everyone I talked to, however, laughed off my irrational fears and told me everything would be fine. For one, Bill (somehow this storm and I got on a first name basis pretty quick) was to go well east of Maine so we had nothing to worry about. Secondly, we lived far enough inland that nothing would really happen except a bunch of rain would fall on us — and after the summer we had, how would that be any different than what happened in June?
This weekend came and went with little in the way of rain from the storm that churned in the Atlantic. No homes were destroyed and no low-lying lands were flooded. Heck I don’t even think Bill was able to keep the dust down in these parts of the state.
Bill did not pass by without causing some harm, however. There were reports of people being swept to sea at Thunder Hole in Acadia National Park, with the sad news that a 7-year-old girl from New York City passed away in the incident. But in Piscataquis County, Hurricane Bill was nothing more than a report on the news — and that’s not such a bad thing after all.
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