June 10, 2008 Results Primary Races:
SB=South Berwick Results State=Overall Results

Updated 6/11/08. With Maine results, winners in contested races in red.

U.S. Senate

Democrats:
Tom Allen SB: 286 | State: 56,521 - 85 percent
Tom Ledue SB: 49 | State: 9,703 - 15 percent

Republicans:
Susan Collins SB: 287 | State:

1st District U.S. House of Representatives

Democrats:
Michael Brennan SB: 21 | State: 4,923 votes - 11 percent
Adam Cote SB: 77 | State: 12,674 - 29 percent
Mark Lawrence SB: 158 | State: 4,752 - 11 percent
Steve Meister SB: 1 | State: 455 - 1 percent
Chellie Pingree SB: 87 | State:  19,440 - 44 percent
Ethan Strimling SB: 6 | State: 4,752 - 11 percent

Republicans:
Dean Scontras SB: 217 | State: 10,940 - 40 percent
Charlie Summers SB: 96 | State: 16,162 - 60 percent

District 146 Maine House of Representatives

Democrats:
Mark Eves SB: 292 | State:

Republicans:
Bonnie S. Gould SB: 290 | State:

District 148 Maine House of Representatives

Democrats:
Roberta B. Beavers SB: 212 | State:

Republicans:
Sarah O. Lewin SB: 139 | State:

District 1 Maine Senate

Republicans:
Mary Black Andrews SB: 263 | State:

Democrats:
Peter Bowman SB: 300 | State:

Judge of Probate

Democrats:
Donna Bailey SB: 94 | State:
Robert Nadeau SB: 97 | State:

Register of Probate

Republicans:
Carol Lovejoy SB: 133 | State:

Democrats:
Bobby Mills SB: 167 | State:

County Commissioner

Republicans:
David Bowles SB: 134 |State:

State Referendum Ballot
Question 1: Bond Issue
Do you favor a $29,725,000 bond issue for natural resource, agricultural and transportation infrastructure that will leverage $29,780,000 in other funds?
SB: Yes 785 | No 538
State: Yes 82,377 - 58 percent  | No 58,983 - 42 percent

Here are the results of today’s votes

Registered Voters: 4764
Total ballots cast: 1335 28%

SAD 35 Budget Validation Referendum Passed
Shall MSAD35 accept the budget that was adopted at the Budget Meeting on June 5, 2008?
Yes 740 | No 581

South Berwick Charter Amendment Failed
Shall South Berwick amend its Charter to provide for the recall and removal from office of elected municipal officials?
Yes 498 | No 833

Maine state primary and referendum results to follow.

South Berwick resident Mary Lou Bagley is a woman of many talents: visual artist, writer, storyteller and actress. This summer she is busy with at least two of her talents.

She is in rehearsal as the Reverend Mother, Mary Regina, for Nunsense, the premiere show of the inaugural season of the Vacationland Theater Co. in Sanford/Springvale, ME. They’ve gathered a fine professional cast and it runs from July 4th (with a free opening night performance) through July 26, 2008. Details at www.vacationlandtheater.com or call 1-866-584-0770. There is reserved seating and air conditioning.

Mary Lou will also be part of a group show at the Haley Art Gallery in Kittery called “Beyond the Ordinary” from June 21 through August. She will be showing 3 art quilts and 2 assemblage pieces in the show.

Editorial:  Molly Colman

I will be voting against the Charter Amendment to allow for the recall of elected municipal officials that will be on the ballot at South Berwick’s polls on Tuesday, June 10, 2008. Here are the reasons I think it is a bad idea and will hurt the town.

1. We already have a way to remove Town Councilors if a majority of the voters think they are not doing the job. It is called an election. Three year terms are long enough for Councilors to learn the ropes but short enough to correct if someone is completely out of tune with any of the town’s constituencies. But talk to me some time about term limits…..

2. However, I do understand that many would like the safety valve of a recall. What is being proposed is not a safety valve but a loaded gun with the safety off. The threshold for the number of petitioners who need to sign a petition to instigate a recall election is only 282 votes, a number that allows a small group of irate voters to go after a Councilor. You can probably find 282 voters who are hopping mad over any vote that occurs. A recall provision with such a low threshold could mean that we end up with constant contentious recall elections or with Councilors who are always in campaign mode, tiptoeing around issues so as never to make anyone mad and never making any courageous or unpopular decisions. If we have a recall provision, let’s do one that has a higher threshold so that it cannot be used frivolously. (more…)

Register those out-of-state plates or fines may be coming in South …
Foster’s Daily Democrat
Residents who haven’t registered their car in Maine may want to do so quickly, as the police department is stepping up enforcement of vehicle registration evaders.

Field of 8 for District 1 includes two locals
Foster’s Daily Democrat
With Rep. Tom Allen vacating his First District seat for a shot at challenging incumbent Republican Susan Collins for US Senate, two local candidates highlight the eight challengers for his position heading into …

Police, students target underage drinking with stickers in South …
Foster’s Daily Democrat
The South Berwick police department is teaming up with Marshwood High School students to provide an “in-your-face reminder” about the consequences of providing alcohol to minors now that graduation season is here …

Removal of controversial signs in South Berwick ‘unfortunate
Foster’s Daily Democrat
In what is being called a “brain cramp” — and not an underhanded tactic — a Public Works employee improperly removed …

On June 10 there will be a lot going on at the polls. South Berwick voters can weigh in on important issues facing the town. At the recent town meeting some votes were decided by as few as two votes, so every vote matters. Here’s what you will be voting on:

Primary races for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives
Primary races for the Maine Legislature and County posts
State referendum on a bond for infrastructure
SAD 35 budget validation referendum
South Berwick Charter Amendment to provide for recall of elected municipal officials

Voting takes place at Town Hall on Tuesday, June 10 from 6 AM to 8 PM.

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about voting:

Who can register and vote in Maine?
You must be a United States citizen, at least 17 years of age, and live in Maine.
If you are a 17-year-old who will be 18 by the November 4, 2008 General Election, you are eligible to vote in the June 10, 2008 Primary Election. You must be registered to vote and enrolled in a party to participate in this election.
Is there a deadline for registering?
No. It’s never too late to register to vote in Maine. You can register to vote until, and including, election day.
Do I need to go to the polls on Election Day to vote?
No. Any registered voter may cast an absentee ballot instead of voting in person at the polling place. You do not need to have a specific reason or be unable to vote at the polls on election day to use an absentee ballot. You can go into Town Hall for absentee voting Thursday, Friday, and Monday. If you want to speed things up you can fill out and print the absentee ballot application ahead of time and bring it in. Here are all the rules about absentee voting and more Maine voter information….

Here’s a list of all the primaries and ballot questions: (more…)

Beginning Thursday, June 5, Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline LLC plan to connect piping at the new compressor station in Eliot to the existing pipeline. Maritimes will conduct controlled releases of natural gas from valve sites located on Route 236 in South Berwick, and on Patterson Lane in Newington, New Hampshire, beginning between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 pm. on Thursday, June 5. They expect most of the activities to be completed by 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 7.

According to the Portsmouth Herald:

As natural gas is released into the air, there will be a loud, rushing noise that may last approximately three hours. The noise will be accompanied by an odor resulting from the odorant, mercaptan, which is injected into the natural gas to make it recognizable for safety reasons.

Natural gas is naturally odorless and is lighter than air. It will quickly rise and dissipate into the atmosphere. The odorant may linger as minute traces will separate from the natural gas that is released.

During these releases, if people in the vicinity hear the noise or smell the odorant in natural gas, there should be no cause for alarm.

Maritimes is coordinating these activities with public safety officials, including fire, police and sheriff’s departments, which have been notified of the procedures.

Read the full article at the Portsmouth Herald…

 Update: I missed this article on my morning perusal of news sources:
Going green proves profitable for towns
Portland Press Herald
As more households recycle, municipalities are saving lots of money…

Natural gas releases scheduled for Newington, South Berwick …
Portsmouth Herald
Planned and controlled releases of natural gas will take place in Newington and South Berwick, Maine, as part of Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline LLC connecting piping at its compressor stations currently under construction in …

$190K more cut from budget in S. Berwick
Portsmouth Herald
A standing-room-only crowd at Monday’s Town Meeting cut an additional $190,000 from the proposed budget and barely approved a higher Legislative Draft 1 state cap on taxes.

Tax savings equal to a tank of gas after budget cuts in South Berwick
Foster’s Daily Democrat
Homeowners will save the equivalent of a tank of gas on their property tax bill next year thanks to the 170 …

At least $135000 cut from South Berwick town budget
Foster’s Daily Democrat
In what amounted to an all-night roller coaster ride while locked inside a sauna, about 170 residents chopped the …

…a green frog sunning itself. This one is rather bold and lets me get very close. The tadpoles in the pond are now the size of small grapes and some have tiny back legs sprouting. If all goes well this guy will soon be joined by about a thousand little friends.

The Blue Flag Irises (Iris versicolor) are in bloom now. They are native New Englanders that grow in moist places. They came a little late this year but are now a mass of blossoms.

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The server that hosts the236diner.com was down for about 40 minutes. According to my site status monitor “the box was experiencing heavy loads.” When I called for support I got the much more technically specific description of the problem: “Yeah, it looks like something is up with the server and they are trying to figure it out.” Anyway, it’s back now.  It may be wonky for a while (another technical term).  Thanks for your patience.

Here’s the skinny on the Town Meeting to vote on the Town budget. You will need to have Town of South Berwick Annual Report to get all the information about the Articles, but here’s a quick rundown of results of voting.

Article 1: Tom Harmon was elected moderator.

Richard Clough made a motion that Articles 8-24 be voted on in secret ballot. The motion passed with 90 yes and 80 no votes.

Article 2: To see if the Town will authorize the Town Council to dispose of tax acquired property in any manner in which the Town Council deems to be in the best interests of the Town. Passed on a voice vote.

Article 3: To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Tax Collector to charge and collect interest at a rate of eleven percent per annum on all unpaid taxes not paid by the due dates…. Passed on a voice vote.
(more…)

The following is a guest editorial from South Berwick citizen Nicholas G. Tsakiris. Mr. Tsakiris is a member of the South Berwick Solid Waste Committee.

Recently, South Berwick Councilors, voted to institute a “Pay-as-You-Throw” (PAYT) program to help manage the town’s growing solid waste problem. This means that residents of South Berwick will soon be asked to buy special garbage bags, with the sale of these bags going to help fund the cost of waste disposal. I admit that when I first heard about PAYT, I was very skeptical. Since that time, I’ve been researching the program and came to realize that PAYT actually rewards recycling. (more…)

Most of us spend a lot of time thinking about our stuff. We dream about the stuff we want. We work to earn money to buy stuff. We research the best stuff to get. We spend time shopping for stuff. We spend time and money to maintain our stuff. We then spend more money so we can store our stuff. We stress about how much stuff we have. Then we get rid of our stuff. Unfortunately we often haven’t thought a lot about what happens to our stuff when we are done with it.

The staff at the South Berwick Transfer Station spends a lot of time thinking of what happens to the steady stream of waste that the citizens of South Berwick create. On a warm spring day Gary Boucher, the supervisor of the transfer station gave up his lunch time to give me a tour of the transfer station and help me understand what happens to all the stuff we bring to the transfer station.

After getting the full tour I came away understanding three things I didn’t know about the transfer station. First, and you probably know this if you’ve spent any time at the transfer station, almost everyone who comes to the transfer station has an opinion or a question about how the transfer station is run, a suggestion about what should be done, or some color commentary about the state of the town. I have new appreciation for how friendly and patient the staff is.

Second, I realized what a logistical challenge it is to funnel the steady flow of people and waste into the transfer station to make it easy and safe for citizens to navigate and to get all the waste to the right place at the transfer station. The staff is not only dealing with the waste, they are constantly answering questions, explaining policies, teaching about what goes where, monitoring and enforcing rules, and keeping an eye on safety of cars, adults, and children. (more…)

Some South Berwick residents think they may know who the next town …
Foster’s Daily Democrat
While the Town Council intends to launch a search for a long-term town manager sometime after Town Meeting June 2, …

Board eyes parking fix for Great Works School
Foster’s Daily Democrat
School officials said the project, which Eliot and South Berwick residents will have a chance to vote up or down at the school district budget meeting June …

Group preserves 26 acres on river Land trust honors couple’s wishes
Foster’s Daily Democrat
Before they passed away, Raymond and Simone Savage wanted to make sure their property that overlooks the Salmon …

Kittery Council approves business park zoning
York Weekly
The Town Council on Wednesday unanimously approved changes to the town’s land use and development ordinances that would …

SAD 35 voters to act on $26.2m budget June 5
Foster’s Daily Democrat
Residents in South Berwick and Eliot will have a chance to vote on the biggest chunk of their 2009 tax rate during the School District budget meeting on June 5 at 7 p.m. at Marshwood High School.

Monkey Business Bakery opens in South Berwick
Foster’s Daily Democrat
The South Berwick Economic Development Committee hosted a ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of Monkey Business Bakery, run by the husband-wife team of Jake and Nicole Bouchard.

South Berwick Yoga holds ribbon cutting
Foster’s Daily Democrat
The South Berwick Economic Development Committee recently held a ribbon cutting for South Berwick Yoga, located at 4 Portland St. in the downtown area.

Congressional hopefuls make push for support
Portsmouth Herald
Fifty area voters had an opportunity to meet Democratic candidates and hear why they are running for the US Congress at Marshwood Great Works School on Wednesday night.

Marshwood High School announces Top 10
Foster’s Daily Democrat
Salutatorian Colleen W. Fitzpatrick is the daughter of James and Terry Fitzpatrick of South Berwick. She plays as a midfielder on the field hockey team, …

Wind-power article is on ballot in Eliot
Portsmouth Herald
When town voters head to the polls on June 10, they could be making “green” history.

Monday, June 2
Solid Waste Committee Mtg.
6:00 PM - Meeting Room 1

Town Meeting
6:30 PM - Auditorium Hall: Town Hall
To vote on town budget
Find out more about the town budget….

Tuesday, June 3
Budget Workshop
6:00 PM - Town Manager’s office

Planning Board
7:00 PM - Council Chambers

Wednesday, June 4
EDC Meeting
1:00 PM - Council Chambers

Thursday, June 5
Historic District Committee Meeting
7:00 PM - Meeting Room 2

At SAD 35 this Week:

Wednesday, June 4 - 7:00 p.m.
SAD 35 Regular School Board Meeting
Marshwood High School
New Business:
1. Consideration/action to approve the request for use of busses by the South Berwick Recreation Department.
2. Consideration/action to approve the MMS contract with the Coca Cola Bottling Company.
3. Consideration/action to approve the construction of softball dugouts to be paid for out of the Enterprise Funds.
See the full agenda…

Thursday, June 5
SAD 35 District Budget Meeting
7pm Marshwood High School
Citizens will have the opportunity to vote on each proposed article in the school budget. At the conculsion of the meetinf a final dollar amount will be extablished for voter validation on June 10.
Find out more about the SAD 35 budget... (links to budget info at the top of the page)