We send condolences to the Lalley family whose wife/mother died after a protracted illness last Tuesday, Oct. 31. Fortunately Tom Lally has daughters, Nora and Jeanne, to be with him.

On a happy note, the Tuesday conversation group at the Southport Memorial Library had a birthday celebration for Donald Duncan. Not sure if Oct. 31 was the birth date, but delicious cake and candles along with good friends marked the occasion.

A new art exhibit decorates the library walls. Southporter Rick Dickinson identifies as a “Boston School” painter although he has studied in many different places and with many different people. An information sheet and additional article in this paper about Dick says the charm of this school of painting “lies in beauty of the interpretation, the observation and image captured by the painter.” Such paintings “need to be about the light effect with full color, finely rendered without compromise.” Perhaps some of you enjoyed Dick’s daily pictures of the view from his property across Townsend Gut extending throughout an entire year. They were hung for quite a while on the second floor gallery of the Opera House. Dick’s choice of subject as well as his execution of his talents tells you much about his creativity.

The committee gathering information on Southport citizens’ opinion about short term rentals concluded their meetings to gather such information on Monday, Oct. 30. Emery Royal, Janet Morehouse, Tammy Blackman and Sarah Sherman serve on the committee with Tammy as scribe and Sarah as moderator. They will write up the report of peoples’ thoughts to give to the selectmen. Short term rentals was defined as 30 days or less. Much discussion centered on the new bill passed by the state referred to as LD 2003, which says if you have at least 30,000 feet of property and have a license for septic and water, you can add another dwelling unit on that property. The purpose was explained as helping to add low cost housing opportunities in Maine. You can learn more by Googling the bill.

At the Selectmen’s meeting last Wednesday we learned that Wayne Closson’s Landscape business, which for many years has hung the Christmas decorations on public buildings and businesses around Southport and erected the lighted figures around the pond on school grounds, is no longer operating due to Wayne’s death last January. Therefore Debbie Tukey asked if other help could be found. We do have other landscaping business on the island so perhaps they could offer to help as well as perhaps the Southport Island Association (SIA).

The SIA put on a grand Halloween party at Robinson’s on Halloween evening beginning at 4 p.m. Many adults and children came in costume, and many people, including Robinson’s, provided delicious food. A variety of games were available for the children to enjoy before they left to visit the 25 island homes, marked as expecting “Trick or Treaters.” Many thanks to all for providing such a good and safe evening full of fun.

I hope many of you read the article in last week’s Boothbay Register about Southporter Jo Shaw’s career as a geologist. A star in many ways Jo was welcomed into the National Honor Society in high school as well as earning recognition in sports such as field hockey and softball. Although now living and working in a suburb of Boston, she has many connections and fond memories of growing up on Southport.

On the same page of last week’s Register is the Southport Climate Action team’s report on their three meetings to gather Southporters’ opinions on the changing climate, and what responses we can make. The team had hoped to work with Boothbay and therefore be eligible for a bit more money from the state, but Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor have chosen to work together. Southport is still able to apply for $50,000 to complete the five actions they have decided upon based on the meetings’ conversations: (1) to create an Alert system/Evacuation Route/Communications plan; (2) Do a Vulnerability Assessment; (3) Do a water quality and quality assessment and plan; (4) Conduct a Coastal Facilities/and Ecosystems assessment; (5) create a Climate Action Plan. If you do not have a paper copy of the Register, you can find these articles online.

A reminder that the annual Veterans Day Observance at the Southport Memorial Library will be held on Nov. 11 with folks asked to gather at 10:45 a.m. You can also watch the ceremony on BRCTV - channels 7 and 1301 along with Jim Singer’s slides of our local veterans. If you come to the library, you will be awarded with some hot cider. Gerry Gamage reports that as of Nov. 1, all 25 veteran banners are hung around the island. Jim Singer says many more will be hung beginning in May.

The Halloween dragon has come down in front of Sweet Dreams Bakery, but a colorful, inflated figure of a pilgrim has taken its place. Another change is that for those readers not on the island, we have had our first frost, so summer flowers are drooping and ready to become fertilizer. With the time change, dark has settled in by 4:30 p.m. causing some of us to get out our puzzles again and to frequent the library more often.