Home ownership: Owning and maintaining a home is not always a fun undertaking, especially as your home and what it holds gets older. We had to deal with a blown electrical outlet and a failed thermostat the past two weeks. There are other electrical outlets that need replacing, along with light switches and a bathroom fan. What is next?

Column contributors: I would personally like to thank the people who write columns for this newspaper. What they do is keep this small weekly newspaper filled with news of neighbors, events, meetings, interesting facts and more. Most submit their columns on time and, though some may get long-winded at times, they accept it if we need to cut their columns for print. As a new columnist/editorial writer, I can appreciate their work in "getting the word out" in a timely fashion.

Tragedies: Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the two people who died tragically this week in the region. Ditto to the emergency responders who have to deal with these tragedies.

Homecoming: Let's get out and cheer on the hometown teams this Friday as Boothbay Region High School celebrates Homecoming week. The girls soccer team and field hockey team will play, respectively, at 3:30 p.m. at Clifford Park in Boothbay and on Perkins Field. The football team will play at 7 p.m. on Sherman Field. Go Seahawks! The school is also going to donate the gate money at the football game to the Set for Success program. Three cheers for BRHS.

Weather: We are lucky that Hurricane Joaquin took a turn to the east. The folks in South Carolina are dealing with a major disaster with, as of Tuesday, 13 deaths, over 500 roads damaged and closed, bridges washed out and more. We hope neighboring states and others will be able to help people rebuild after the flooding recedes.

Good Samaritan: A friend of mine and former Register reporter, Dan Fayen, keeps me informed of his various Good Samaritan acts, as I do to him. We have been sharing these stories for over two years and like he says, "It feels good to help your fellow man." Consider being a Good Samaritan.

Finally, speaking of appreciating columnists, my longtime friend and former Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club columnist Walter "Scotty" Scott is leaving this weekend for his winter haunt in Pittsburgh. He stopped by on Tuesday to change his subscription mailing address and wished us all good luck this winter. He is creeping toward the century mark in years, but his sense of humor and friendliness is still appreciated. I hope I am as jolly as Scotty at his age — if I make it that far.