Here we are, in the midst of what is rapidly growing into one of the longest federal government shutdowns in history, and it’s great to know that our local representative in Augusta is hard at work. Holly Stover, who is now in her seventh (going on eighth) year in office, came to the Rotary club last week to give us an update on legislative work this session. 

Holly has served as our rep from House District 48 and has been active on the Government Oversight Committee, the Appropriations Committee, and her true passion, the Health and Human Services Committee.   

She believes strongly that if a bill isn’t bipartisan, then the legislature hasn’t done its job.  At least not well.  But, she said, sometimes it’s necessary to accept less than what we could wish. And she ran down a whole list of accomplishments; of which just a few include:  

• Elimination of transfer tax for first-time homeowners 

• A taskforce to look into state-wide property tax relief 

• Reform of net energy billing 

• Requirement for 90 days’ notice before mobile home rentals can increase. 

• Data collection to see what works in striving for affordable housing 

• Protection of family medical leave 

• Doubling of children’s tax credit to $600 per child 

• COLA for people who work in field of childcare 

• Prohibition against consumer reporting services including medical debt 

• Action to ensure farm workers in Maine earn at least minimum wage 

• Additional money to the public defender system 

… and the list goes on and on and on. 

I was impressed.  And of course, coming in the middle of a federal government shutdown, some of the items Holly mentioned took on new urgency; for example, a move to provide furloughed federal workers interest-free loans up to $6,000. 

When Holly isn’t at the statehouse, she’s working right here in the region to make all our lives a little better. She reported that 283 households on the peninsula will be affected by the stoppage of SNAP benefits.  She said that these households typically receive $875 monthly; Community Resources is working to provide a Hannaford card worth $250 to each of these families. 

Holly said that Hannaford has really stepped up during this emergency; so have we – while Holly was speaking President Laurie announced that the club has voted $2000 to help Community Resources meet its financial goal.  We’re helping in other ways, as well: We are hosting a meeting at our Clubhouse this Monday of all local organizations involved in food delivery. If you wish to get involved, please get in contact with Jeff Long. “Food is a priority as long as the federal government is closed,” Holly said. She asked us not to forget the Community Fridge – oatmeal, healthy (child friendly) cereals, snacks, fruit cuts, granola bars, peanut butter and jelly and any other staples that focus on protein and not on sugars are all needed.   

Mike Tomko, who has been a selectman in Boothbay Harbor even longer than Holly has been in Augusta, was a guest at the meeting.  He perked up his ears when Holly mentioned a potential community tax break, and Holly promised to follow through with more information.   

Meanwhile, the word that Chef Ivan is taking such good care of us is beginning to leak out – we enjoyed seeing Vic Taylor after a long hiatus. Dinner highlighted baked potatoes with all the trimmings. Okay, not haute cuisine, but awesomely good, and all the leftovers went to the Community Fridge, where our neighbors will get to share in the good fare.  

Many happy dollars were offered in memory of Doug Fowle and in honor of Irene. The pickup crews came and had a field day cleaning out Doug’s shop, and if you want to see the results, come to the Big Gray Rotary Barn any Saturday from 8:30 to 11 a.m.  We will be open until early December, weather permitting.   

Other happy dollars were given forbirthday boy Bill Dodge, now holding court at Edgecomb Green. He would love to have visitors so please stop by if you can.  And happy thoughts are in the planning for the next few meetings: 

Thursday, Oct. 30 will be our annual Halloween costume party and bash. This will be a family friendly event, welcoming the Rotary members' kids, the Interact Club members and any friends or family you would like to bring. The Turpentine Club still will be open till dinner is served. Vicki Haugen and Conxa Packard are organizing various games – apple bobbing and wrap-a-mummy were mentioned.  I’m not sure what that mummy thing is all about, but the Interact youth will be there to educate us all. We'll have pumpkins to carve, thanks to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. There will be fabulous prizes for costumes, and, I expect, a Halloween themed dinner.  Eye of newt and spider fricassee? 

We'll be gathering around 4 p.m. Thursday to deck the halls with Halloween decorations, play spooky music and put out tarps for pumpkin carving. Come early for even more fun. 

Next week we welcome Jenny Rawn, author of “Coastal Kitchens” cookbook and her daughter, who just published a cookbook for kids, too. Ivan said he would cook some of the recipes in the cookbooks.  Yum, yum…. 

On Thursday Nov. 13, will hold the 20th annual Veterans Appreciation Dinner. The Interact students will return to waiter, and a dedicated group worked on Thursday to get out the invitations. If you know a veteran or active who did not get an invitation, please invite them … there’s no cost to the vets but we really need to know how many people are coming so that Ivan can stay ahead of the crowd. People will be needed to help set the tables, and later for cleanup; see Irene to volunteer. 

So the next few weeks will be special events at Rotary, but actually, every Thursday evening is a special time. We love to get together, eat dinner and enjoy a great program, and we enjoy earning the money we make at the Barn and then giving it back to the community.  Interested in learning more? Reach out to a Rotarian or just show up on Thursday nights. The place gets going on Thursdays around 6 p.m.; scrumptious dinner is served at 6:30 and the program starts a half-hour after that; we’regenerally out the door by 8 or so. It’s a wonderful, feel-good way to celebrate community. Join us! You’ll be glad you did.