On March 15 this paper beat me to news, not an unusual occurrence, about Ella Beauregard of Southport, who sailed for Southport Yacht Club and the Boothbay Region Yacht Club, and her teammate, Henry Currier of Boothbay Harbor, who both represented the Maine Maritime Academy in the 13th annual Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup at the Los Angeles Yacht Club. Ella, who at one time lived on Marr’s Point, very close to the SYC, has practically been a lifelong sailor. The MMA team finished third overall, a very respectable place in this very competitive race. Ella is a sophomore at MMA and Henry is a freshman. Congratulations to both of them.

Next Thursday, April 6 at 6:30 p.m. Charlie Britton will give an Author’s Talk about his book, “Eight-Man Cowboy” (written under the pen name of C.W. Wells), as well as describing how he experiences the writing and publishing processes. Charlie grew up on Southport and attended local schools. He went on to be a leading educator among independent schools and now serves as an educational consultant. Charlie and his wife, Jen, who is the Southport Memorial Library’s director, now live full time on Southport. His next book, “Lonestar,” will be available on Amazon later this month.

With spring comes a lot of clean-up. I hear that our head selectman, Gerry Gamage, and Nancy Harriman were seen cleaning up the triangle of land between Church Street, Route 27, and Cross Road. Several trees had fallen and made using that picnic space less attractive. Also from friends who do a lot of walking around the island, I hear that toward the end of Pratt’s Island the woods area has not been clear cut, but rather cleared of downed timber, brush, and plants so that views of the water are more accessible. The debate between clearing downed timber to reduce fire danger and leaving downed timber to feed the forest floor has obviously been answered in favor of clearing in those two spaces.

A correction from last week’s column. My friend, Roselie Birlem, lives on Sawyer’s Island, not Barters Island. I often confuse in my mind these two places.

I noticed on my calendar that last Tuesday was World Poetry Day, so I wrote a small poem.

Old age is a trial

We stumble through the miles,

Upheld by family and friends,

Who contribute helping hands

And a smile.

Thanks to all families and friends out there who help and who brings smiles!

Please remember to send me news at kitleigh@roadrunner.com