Please note that Donna Climo will be out of the office this Thursday, May 9, and Monday, May 13, so no registrations or licenses will be available at the Southport Town Hall on those two days. She was also out of the office on Monday due to illness. Hope you get better quickly, Donna.

Southport Memorial Library is hosting several special events. The first is May 9 from 1 to 4 p.m. titled “How Music Helps.” “This is a free afternoon of art making, conversation and fellowship guided by artist Peter Bruun. No art experience necessary.” The second is a talk by author, Leah Chyten, on Tuesday, May 14 beginning at 11 a.m. She will focus on her third novel, “Soul of the Mountain,” which embeds the history of Native Americans after their land was stolen. Leah is a psychologist, spiritual teacher, and grandmother, so she brings many experiences to her writing.

Also news from the library is that they are accepting donations of gently used books for their sale room and summer book sale. Books should be newer and in good condition - both fiction and nonfiction are welcome, but please note the library cannot accept donations of dictionaries, encyclopedias, thesauruses, or Bibles. You can drop books off during open hours: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Thursday 6 to 8 p.m.

I am sure many of you received the email announcing the three summer MusicFests sponsored by the Southport Island Association and held on the lawn at Newagen Inn. Each event will be on a Wednesday evening, the first being June 26 titled Motor Booty Affair. The second will be July 17 featuring Spencer Albee, and the third will be Aug. 14 with The Rupert’s Orchestra. Tickets for SIA members went on sale online at the SIA website on Monday, May 6 and will be available for others beginning May 20. One hundred percent money from the ticket sales for this series of concerts will be used to support the SIA community initiatives. Last year the SIA donated over $42,000 to a variety of community needs such as scholarships and personal assistance to families as well as to organizations such as Life Flight and the Ambulance Fund.

The Southport School children are having a “screen free” week this week, a project that is shared around the world. The idea is to exchange entertainment from a screen to other ways of having fun and discovering new things. The weekly school news letter lists 101 family activities that can result in learning and fun without the screen in front of your face. Even the rest of us could give such a challenge a try.

Good news is that Beach Road has been repaved as well as Salt Pond Road.

News from the Southport General Store is that the store will extend their weekend hours until 2 p.m. beginning May 18, and the Barn will open on May 17 with a wine tasting that day from 4 to 6 p.m. The store will be closed on May 11 due to the celebration of life for Mike Beane.

Many thanks to Southporter, Paul Coulombe, whose generosity was featured in last week’s Boothbay Register’s front page. Mr. Coulombe has established a property tax relief fund that will be overseen by the Community Resource Council. Such a fund will help many folks keep their properties as land prices rise, a great gift to all of us.

A group of volunteers gathered again on the grounds of All Saints by-the-Sea last Saturday to continue to remove debris from the storms. The more adept among us manned chain saws and drove the cart up to the dump truck. The rest of us scraped out seaweed from underneath the porch and off the rocks, shoving it onto a plastic tarp and hauling it into the woods to fertilize the forest away from the water. Progress is being made, but some of the beams and other large objects will not give way to the chain saw and are too big to be pulled or carried. Not sure how they will be carted away.

Last week’s register noted that Virginia Royall, sister of Bill Royall of Pratts Island who is the artist of the many stone statues around the area, died April 26. Services will be planned for a later date. A Celebration of Life for Mike Beane will be held at the Opera House this Saturday, May 11 from 1 to 4 p.m. Services for Craig Tukey will be held Saturday, May 18 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Boothbay Harbor Oceanside Golf Resort on Atlantic Avenue in Boothbay Harbor. Looking ahead to Saturday, June 29, a Celebration of Dana Mulholland’s life will be held in the chapel at Bates College beginning at 1 p.m. with a reception following on the Library Terrace. Another announcement of death in this week’s Register is that of Elizabeth N. Burke, about whom it is noted that she lived many years in Connecticut but Southport was her favorite home. Her service will be held in Southbury, Connecticut, no date given.

Another reminder that on June 5 at the Southport Town Hall, the Southport school children will entertain us with a spring concert beginning at 6 p.m.