Message from Brian

Good morning Sangerville, at long last we are only a few days from election day. The inundation of political advertising will be done; for at least 18 months or so.

According to a quick Google search a record, for a mid-term election, 11.21 billion dollars has been spent on political advertisements for this campaign. To put that in perspective, our annual budget in Sangerville this year was $1,258,956.06. Also, according to Google there are 2,515 municipalities the approximate size of Sangerville in the United States. The money spent on political advertising for this one election could replace the budget of every town the size of Sangerville in the United States for 3 and one half years. If they can waste that much money to get us to vote for them, maybe they could waste a little less and cut our taxes. Just food for thought.

However, in spite of the fact that multiple candidates, from both major political parties, and all these sleazy political action committees have bombarded us with questionably accurate information for months, it is now time to vote for who you think are the best candidates. Please remember what is important, is that you vote, and your vote should go to the candidates you feel will be the best for Maine and the nation. The greater the voter turnout is in any election, the better result is achieved for all the people.

To remind everyone, election day is this coming Tuesday, November 3, our polling place is at the Grace Bible Church Community room at 40 Douty Hill Rd. The polls will open at 8:00 am and close at 8:00 PM. If you are not registered to vote, you can register at the polling place. If you are already registered to vote you do not need identification. If you need to register to vote you need to have a photo I.D. and proof of residency.

The town office will be closed Tuesday for election day; Kelsey is out on medical leave; Michelle has to be at the polling place, and I have dialysis Tuesday mornings.

The select board will meet on Wednesday evening at 6:00 PM at the fire station. I believe it will be a fairly light agenda.

The Historical Society and town hall committee held a joint meeting on Tuesday evening. We discussed the importance of continuing fundraising efforts; we have a little over $80,000.00 in funds raised for the match portion of the grant. We feel it is important at this point to acknowledge the community members and other people with connections to our town who have donated to this cause or otherwise shown support. So, thank you all. Also, discussed were the Veterans Day Ceremony and the Hiram Maxim memorial. The historical society and town hall committee will have their next joint meeting on Tuesday November 17th at 6:00 PM at the fire station.

Please remember that tomorrow is the Fire Department Halloween party and it is for people of all ages; there will be games and treats for the kids and hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone. In addition to the Halloween celebration this is a great opportunity for the community to interact with and learn about the fire department and get some free food in the process. We will be at the station from 3:00 PM until 8:00 PM, please join us.

We have finished up some road work on the McNaughton Hill Rd. and the West Rd. this week. We are planning to repair the sidewalk on the Douty Hill Rd. by the Historical Society building next week.

Please remember a week from tomorrow is our planning board open house to discuss the comprehensive plan. It will be at 6:00 PM at the Grace Bible Church community room. There will be coffee and we are asking folks to bring a dessert item to share. The comprehensive plan must be passed by the voters at a town meeting; that being said it is very important to those of us attempting to write this plan to have as much input from the citizens as possible.

Those of you who have been in the office in the past couple of weeks will know that Michelle has taken on the unenviable task of trying to teach an old dog new tricks. If only she would learn I am like a labrador and highly motivated by treats, preferably treats I should not eat because of my diabetes. I am trying to learn all the duties that Michelle and Kelsey perform for the public, so I can be more help when the office gets busy and so we can keep the office open if Michelle and Kelsey will not be here on the same day. On November 9th Michelle’s training will be tested. Kelsey will still be on medical leave, and Michelle will be taking the day off. I will be flying solo in the office and doing the best I can. So, if you stop by to visit and see how I am doing remember, you can only ridicule if you bring treats. Have a great weekend everyone.

Brian