Well Water Testing for South Berwick Residents deadline April 12
The South Berwick Conservation Commission is sponsoring well water testing for South Berwick residents. The testing will be performed by Demers Lab in Sanford . The basic complete testing for $50.00 includes the following: total coliform and E-coli, nitrate, chloride, hardness, pH, iron, manganese, sodium, color, odor and turbidity. Add a test for arsenic for $15.00.  Pick up kits and directions at town hall and drop off at town hall Saturday morning April 12 from 9 am -12 noon.  For more information, call 384-3300 ext 336 (conservation commission voice mail) or email prnel@comcast.net with the subject “well water test.”

Earth Day 2008: Compost Bin Sale ends April 11
South Berwick residents can get a home compost bin and how-to-guide for only $40.00, a 50% saving on the $80 retail value. The bin is made of 100% recycled plastic, has a ten year warrantee, and is large enough for a family of five.  Contact Gary Boucher at 603-978-1669 to order your bin. You can also place your order in person at the transfer station during their regular hours. The bins will be sold until April 11. Find out more information at the transfer station pages on the town web site.

A new self-guided walking tour brochure leads South Berwick residents and visitors down streets, past shops, houses, and other nineteenth-century sites prominent in the life of author Sarah Orne Jewett.

The public is invited to a free reception celebrating the release of the brochure at the Counting House Museum on Sunday, April 20, at 3:00 p.m. Garden historian Nancy Wetzel will read from Jewett’s “Looking Back on Girlhood,” an account of life in South Berwick in the 1850s. Refreshments will be served.

Written by the Jewett-Eastman Memorial Committee, a citizens’ group that maintains and manages Jewett’s 1854 home as the South Berwick Public Library, the brochure welcomes and informs visitors and seeks to draw local citizens downtown. It is available free at local businesses and municipal buildings.

“The tour invites visitors to stroll through this river town, as Jewett beckoned readers up its elm-lined streets in her fiction. We wanted to encourage walking traffic in the historic center at a time when South Berwick is working to revitalize,” said JEM member Nina Maurer. (more…)

Budget Update
An overview of the proposed 2009 budget is posted on the town web site.
As of yesterday, the Proposed Appropriations by department for fiscal year 2009 have been posted on the Town web site Budget page. The entire budget is also available in the Town Clerk’s office for viewing or purchase.

The Public Hearing on the Budget is scheduled for April 14, 2008 at 6:30 pm.

Maine reps: Collect unclaimed assets
Portsmouth Herald News
York County residents are being urged to contact their local legislators to find out if they have assets in the state’s inventory of unclaimed property.

York County gets $600000 in EPA grants
MaineToday.com
The Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission was granted $400000 in grants, bringing that agency’s total brownfield funding from the EPA over the last several years to $2 million, according to Executive Director Paul Schumacher.

Town notified of sex offender
Portsmouth Herald News
A registered sex offender has moved to 563 Emery’s Bridge Road and had registered with local police as of last Wednesday, said Police Chief Dana Lajoie.

Kittery budget cuts raise ire
Portsmouth Herald News
Two members of the School Committee and one town councilor expressed surprise and disappointment Monday at a Town Council decision to require lower than level-funded 2008-09 budgets from both the municipal departments …

Budget cuts ordered for Kittery may hurt, not help
Portsmouth Herald News
The council appears to have made up its mind that the goal of this year’s budget process will be to keep the town’s property tax rate at $14 per $1,000 of assessed property value, come hell or high water…

Bakery’s special is waste reduction
Portsmouth Herald News
The town’s new Energy Advisory Committee is saluting Beach Pea Bakery for its commitment to reducing waste on all fronts…

North Berwick manager signs five-year contract
Foster’s Daily Democrat
Town Manager Dwayne Morin signed a new five-year contract with the town last week. Morin was entering the last year …

Berwick town manager defends work on old police station
Foster’s Daily Democrat
Doing preliminary work on the former site of the Police Department attached to Town Hall was a personnel management …

I know it isn’t good manners to remind people that it’s your birthday, but today the 236 diner is three months old. To celebrate I spent some time looking at the usage statistics for the site. When I started it I had pretty modest expectations. It is what is called a “hyperlocal” site in that its focus is on one very small geographic area. I knew it would only appeal to a small number of people compared to blogs that cover topics of universal interest like sports or national politics. So I have been very surprised at how much use it is getting and thought I would share some of the usage information here.

First a note about website usage statistics: The numbers are inexact since they may undercount when more than one person or computer uses a single internet connection or network and they may overcount sometimes when users reload pages. But they do give an estimate of usage and trends.

How many different people come to the site?

The number of unique visitors to the blog has just about doubled every month. Amazing. I expect that to level off at some point. Even though I know that South Berwick is the center of the universe, I think there will be a limit to how many people share that belief.

How many visits do users make to the site?

The number of visits to the site is growing fast. In April so far there have been an average of 562 visits per day. Since this is a blog that gets updated frequently I hope people will come back on a regular basis. That seems to be happening. In March there were over 12,000 visits which means an average of about six visits per individual user.

In March readers began to make regular comments on the site. That has really boosted visits. As the administrator of the site I can see the real time activity on the site. People click in to read all of the comments. Yesterday morning I posted an In the News item and since then 250 people have clicked into the comments. So when you write comments, people are reading what you say.

Weekdays are the busiest with spikes first things in the morning and then around lunch. Weekend days are lowest usage, especially if the weather is nice (which seems like a healthy thing).

I want to thank everyone for visiting the site and for participating in the discussions. I really appreciate your suggestions. I think the reason that the site has been so popular is that the residents of South Berwick are hungry for more information about the town and want to communicate with each other and our town government to make this a better place.

Town Council Workshop
Monday, April 7, 2008 at 5:00 PM, Town Manager’s Office
The Town Council will meet in a workshop this evening to discuss direction with regard to the Interim Manager Search and possibly the Public Works Director opening.

Solid Waste Committee Mtg.
Monday, April 7, 2008 at 6:00 PM, Meeting room 1

Budget Update
An overview of the proposed 2009 budget is posted on the town web site.
The Public Hearing on the Budget is scheduled for April 14, 2008 at 6:30 pm.

It’s always a good idea to check the Town web site to verify meetings before attending.

South Berwick moving to pay-per-bag system for trash
Foster’s Daily Democrat
Starting Jan. 1, 2009, the town will begin a pay-per-bag program at the transfer station.

SAD 35 panel tables action on nonresident students
Foster’s Daily Democrat
An initiative to admit nonresident tuition students into the School Administrative District 35 system was unanimously tabled by school board members during their regular meeting Wednesday night.

Student influx is protested
Portsmouth Herald News
An overflow crowd of 60 parents jammed the School Administrative District 35 School Committee meeting Wednesday, …

York County Prepares For Possible Flooding
WMTW
As the temperatures rise this spring, so do concerns about possible flooding in southern Maine. Emergency Management agencies from York County and New Hampshire met Saturday to discuss their worries about flooding this spring.

Live boxing card to be held in Dover
Portsmouth Herald News
Joe Siudut, owner and trainer at Jass Boxing in South Berwick, Maine, is promoting an amateur fight card on May 17 at the Dover Ice Arena.

South Berwick Budget Update: An overview of the proposed 2009 budget is posted on the town web site. The Town Council has reduced the Manager’s recommended budget of $6,202,517 to $5,763,795. The Public Hearing on the Budget is scheduled for April 14, 2008 at 6:30 pm.

Help honor Veterans: You can help honor those who have served and sacrificed for our country by donating to the VFW’s memorial cemetery to help with the purchase of flag holders and flags for this year’s Memorial Day observance. Find out more…

Well water testing: The South Berwick Conservation Commission is sponsoring well water testing for South Berwick residents and the testing kits are now available at town hall. Find out more…

Community Chorus at South Berwick: There are still two more performances of the CCSB spring concert, “From a Poet’s Pen,” a concert of choral music inspired by poetry and verses. I went last night and it was a wonderful performance. The theme of poetry inspired music offered a varied program that made the night fly by. CCSB premiered “Spheres,” a commissioned piece from composer Charles Kaufman. If I was better at describing music I might be able to hint at the way this piece wove together voices, words, and music into passages of quiet subtlety and passages of soaring complexity–it was a treat. Don’t miss this opportunity. Find out more…

Godspell at Marshwooh High School: There is one more performance tonight of Marshwood’s production of Godspell. I heard yesterday from someone who saw it that this just might be the best production Marshwood has ever done. Find out more…

Since I’ve been running this blog I’ve had the opportunity to meet and talk to many South Berwick residents I never knew before. This morning I was thinking of the span of time people have been here. I’ve talked to some who have lived here all their lives and some who just moved here in the last few months. I got to wondering about the proportion of natives, long time residents, and new comers and that sent me off to look at the Census data. Here is what I found:

Place of birth of U.S. born South Berwick residents based on 2000 U.S. Census data:
Born in Maine: 20%
Born in another state: 80%

That doesn’t get at it. 80% of us were born in another state, but that includes people who were born in Dover and Portsmouth who were brought home to South Berwick. The 20% born in Maine includes those who lived in other Maine towns and moved here. So my only conclusion: A lot of us were born out of state.

Then I looked at the data from the 2000 Census where residents were asked when they had moved into their current home. Here is what I found:

Again this doesn’t get at it either. This includes people who moved from one home in South Berwick to another. But it does show a lot of movement. In 2000 57% of South Berwick residents had moved into their home in the last ten years and only 11% had lived in their home for more than thirty years.

The Census data couldn’t answer my question about how many natives, long time residents, and new comers there are here. So that leads me to my question:

When did you come to South Berwick and what brought you here?

I’ll tell you my answer in the comments and you do the same.

A Literary Tour of Small-Town Maine
New York Times
‘…as I drove along busy I-95 on a literary pilgrimage to Jewett’s beloved hometown, South Berwick, in southern Maine…

In ‘Shutting Up Peggy Lee!’ Poulin one woman worth seeing
Foster’s Daily Democrat
At the base of every exceptional play is an exceptional script. To be performed by an actress of impeccable talent and self-effacing humor that play then makes for a truly transformative night of theater.

Out & About: Color yourself active
Portsmouth Herald News
The Community Chorus at South Berwick is a group of singers from more than 17 communities who come together for the joy of preparing choral music, and performing fine concerts in our communities.

Lyrics and music lifted through poetry
Foster’s Daily Democrat
The Community Chorus at South Berwick will give three performances around the Seacoast April 4-6.

Firefighters share local work bond: Oil firm provides a central locale
Foster’s Daily Democrat
When the South Berwick Shoe factory was still in operation, workers who volunteered for the Fire Department used to jump out of the first-floor windows when a fire call came in.

Note from Molly: Many are concerned about the hurtful words and accusations being used at public meetings and in this blog and want to encourage communication that builds our community instead of dividing it. South Berwick resident Scott Landis offers his thoughts here.

An 1833 book on population coined the term “tragedy of the commons” to describe a dynamic of medieval village life in which narrow self-interest was allowed to run amok. Over-grazing of the public commons by one individual’s sheep turned out to be a disaster for the herd and its owner as well as for the environment and the community at large. The farmer unwittingly became the agent of his own demise.

This 19th-century concept, which probably has much earlier roots, has been applied to many ecological disasters since. Indeed, it has become shorthand for any condition in which “free access, and unrestricted demand for a finite resource, ultimately dooms that resource to over-exploitation.” The phenomenon has been used to describe the decline of the world’s great forests and the decimation of the North Atlantic cod fishery.

Some might argue that the metaphor only applies to ecological relationships, but it seems to me we are suffering a parallel modern crisis in public communication that is every bit as tragic and perhaps even more dangerous than any environmental disaster we have faced. (more…)

Deb Knowlton has been promoted to Lead Designer & Production Manager for The Little Hat Company.

Just shy of her first anniversary of working with The Little Hat Company, Deb Knowlton South Berwick resident of twenty years was named Lead Designer & Production Manager. Deb began stitching for The Little Hat Company during the spring of 2007. She had first contacted Jennifer Houghton in January about sewing for the new company. The Little Hat Company was just not big enough yet to support an in house production team. Since then, demand for the made in Maine Stroller and Loope Lids has grown enough to support a team of 6 part-time stitchers. Deb is proud of her new recent designs that will launch on The Little Hat Company’s website next month: The Strawberry Patch Lid & My New Little Preemie Lid.

Deb recently left her full time position in order to pursue her life long dream of sewing for a living. The demand for Stroller Lids across the country has grown to a point that it has become her main focus outside of her family. In addition to coming up with new ideas for Lids, Deb heads up the production team in South Berwick. She works with women who have a wealth of sewing experience as well as first timers who have been welcomed to the team. The team is currently made up of all stay at home moms. It was a great opportunity for the moms to reenter the workplace while still being able to put their family’s schedules and needs first.
(more…)

This morning Don and I headed out to Kittery to do some errands and started our outing at the Sunrise Grill. This is a great place that offers hearty breakfasts at reasonable prices. It’s a busy place where the very skilled wait staff are always friendly and efficient. It’s a convenient location to meet up with people from up and down the coast so I often meet friends or have business meetings there. I’m not sure how long it’s been there, but it’s a community institution. It’s not uncommon for a multi-table discussion to break out, or to be next to a table with a card game in progress, or to see people table hopping so they can talk to all the people they know. I’m convinced if I sat there long enough I would eventually see everyone I ever knew come through the doors.

They have a varied menu with lots of specials with almost any kind of breakfast fare you could want. I have to admit that I have rather boring breakfast tastes, so my usual is two eggs over hard, home fries, and a blueberry muffin grilled. Sunrise does it perfectly.

Sunrise Grill is located just north of the Kittery Traffic Circle at 182 State Rd, Kittery, ME 03904 (207) 439-574.

Councilors, former town manager fire parting shots in South Berwick
Portsmouth Herald
Jeffrey Grossman, who resigned as town manager March 21 under pressure from the Town Council, believes that his problems were largely the result of councilors who “didn’t like my leadership style.”…

The numbers add up for recall petition in South Berwick
Foster’s Daily Democrat
In a clear sign that some residents are not happy with the Town Council, a petition to amend the Town Charter to allow for the recall of councilors from office garnered more than enough signatures needed to get …

Bright future: Upscale escalation meets rural life in this old New England region
Boston Globe
A travel guide to South Berwick from the Boston Globe: When you cross the Salmon Falls River from New Hampshire into southern Maine, you see a small gas station and a big sign…

“From a Poet’s Pen”
A concert of choral music inspired by poetry and verses from throughout the centuries and around the globe, the program includes settings of contemporary texts, the Psalms, Native American writings, classical and folk text, Thoreau, Whitman and other American poets and more. Also included is music by Brahms and Mennin. For this concert, the Community Chorus at South Berwick commissioned Charles Kaufmann of Portland, Maine, for an original composition using text by a contemporary Maine poet. Mr. Kaufmann has chosen for his work “Spheres”, the poem by University of Maine professor, Constance Hunting (1932-2006). Read more about “Spheres.”

Friday, April 4 at 8:00pm, Whipple Arts Theater, Berwick Academy, South Berwick, ME

Saturday, April 5 at 7:30pm, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church,Dover, NH

Sunday, April 6 at 3:00pm, Christ Church Episcopal, Portsmouth, NH

Tickets are $10 at the door, $8 for students and seniors. Advance tickets at $8 are available at P. Gagnon and Sons, 215 Main St., South Berwick; Gary’s Guitars, 800 Islington St., Portsmouth; and York Flower Shop, 241 York Street, York. More info at CCSB web site.

On April 3, 4, and 5^th Marshwood High School presents Godspell, one of the biggest Broadway successes of all time. The show is based on the gospel of Saint Matthew and is the story of Jesus and his disciples. The Marshwood production takes a modern look at Godspell,–and as societal divisions persist and current events echo those when Godspell first opened in the 70’s, during the height of the Vietnam War—-that message resonates still. Set in an urban, graffiti filled, back alley, with a rock band positioned behind chain link fence, Marshwood’s modern day version shows how a community can be formed around a humble young man with a simple and profound message.

Marshwood uses the same music which includes; “Day by Day,” “All Good Gifts,” “Save the People” and “By My Side,” but with a more modern day rock feel. Junior Dakota Fisher, portrays Jesus, as a gentle, yet charismatic young leader in the present day. Judas, played by junior Michael Aldrich, is Jesus’ follower and disciple, until he ultimately betrays him symbolizing the importance that society has place on money and vanity. All the other disciples, also played by Marshwood students, portray roles you might find in modern day society; i.e. waitress, mechanic, homeless person, environmentalist, rocker, college student, etc…

“The production of Godspell, seems to be the biggest challenge I’ve faced so far in putting on a high school musical,” states director Tanya West. “It was not so much about memorizing their lines as much as it was about their journey of understanding the script and the songs, the lessons they were learning and the community they built together. It was important that, while rehearsing almost every day for the last 3 months, each student eventually discover their own meaning or interpretation of the Godspell script and its underlying message. I wanted them to find their own voice and discover how they could positively contribute to the community.”

This 17 student ensemble cast, will perform onstage at the Wesley E. Kennedy Performing Arts Center located within Marshwood High School for three nights only - April 3rd, 4th and 5th - show times: 7:00 pm. You can purchase tickets online at www.msad35.net or at the Marshwood High school main office located on 260 Route 236 South Berwick, Maine 03908. For more information call the high school at (207) 384-4500.

Acting town manager named in South Berwick
Foster’s Daily Democrat
The Town Council officially closed the door on the Jeff Grossman era Monday night, appointing Roberta Orsini, Grossman’s former executive assistant, as acting interim town manager.

Interim town manager named
Portsmouth Herald
An acting interim town manager was appointed Monday evening by the Town Council to fill the void created by the resignation of former town manager Jeff Grossman.

Oh, the wonderful things one can see in the sea
Foster’s Daily Democrat
As part of a program called “The Gulf of Maine — A Sea Within a Sea,” Averill, an educator for the Ocean Adventure! group, gave hour-long presentations to each fourth-grade class . The event was part of the Friends of the South Berwick Library’s “Library Without Walls”…

Merger for Prime Tanning
Portsmouth Herald
Prime Tanning Co. Inc. and Shanghai Richina Leather Co. Ltd. have agreed to a merger to create what they said would be “the world’s largest premium leather maker.”

School merger plans: SAD 35, York file to stay intact
Portsmouth Herald News
And then there’s the town of Kittery. That town is not filing an alternative plan nor does it have a consolidation plan…

South Berwick town manager explains reasons for exit
Foster’s Daily Democrat
Sitting on a couch in the living room of his home in Old Orchard Beach, Jeff Grossman laughed when told how some South Berwick residents have described him during his four-year term as town manager, which ended March 21…