By Nancy Hannington

342-5628

Town clerk’s hours are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the first and last Saturday of the month from 8 a.m. to noon. The phone number is 342-3300. For a website listing of all town officers and their hours, visit morrillme.org.

Our school board member’s term has ended, and that position is up for re-election. Nomination papers are available at the town office. The signatures of 50 registered voters from Morrill are required in order to be placed on the ballot. The petitions are due back at the town office by Wednesday, Feb. 15. The election will be held March 31 from 8 a.m. to noon at the town office. For more information, call 342-3300. This is a new process for all of us.

Do you have a child who will turn 5 on or before Oct. 15? It is time for RSU 20 kindergarten registration for the school year 2012-2013. For children who will attend the Gladys Weymouth School, living in the towns of Belmont, Morrill and Searsmont, call school secretary Kay Dodd at 342-5300 or 342-5200. Please call early to register your child.

A note from Hilda’s family:

All are welcome Feb. 19 at the Berry Room at Morrill Baptist Church from 2-4 p.m. for a 95th birthday celebration for Hilda Sheldon. Cards but no gifts please.

A large number of friends and relatives attended the lovely baby shower in honor of Gabrielle Moors on Jan. 29 at the Belfast Boathouse. The event was hosted by her sister, Hannah Maker of Bangor. Garbielle and Hannah are the daughters of Pat and Candy Scribner.

With all the pink gifts, you can guess what the predicted baby’s gender is! It was such a personal touch seeing so many handmade items of clothing, blankets, and quilts along with all the other beautiful gifts. These girls do such a good job with the decorations, refreshments and all, and they make it look so easy, even with the busy lives they all lead.

Our students involved in the after school program at Ames certainly enjoyed “Spark’s Arts” animal rescue demonstration Jan. 26. David Spark, from Portland, had a 45-minute presentation with animals that have been saved. They included a boa constrictor, an opossum, a chinchilla, a ferret, a flying squirrel, a saw whet owl, and a great horned owl. I would like to have been there myself.

It was interesting that one of the animals was a flying squirrel. I hadn’t seen one since I was a little girl. A friend had rescued one and had it wrapped up in a cloth in a coffee can. A few nights ago I heard a clamor on my bird feeder that hangs in front of the kitchen window, and lo and behold, it was a flying squirrel. He stayed long enough for me to get out the encyclopedia and confirm that it was indeed a flying squirrel.

He was so intent on his feast that I even took a picture of him and the flash didn’t deter him. He has been back three out of five nights around 7 p.m. It has been fun to watch him, but like his red and gray cousins, he eats a lot of seed. I call him “Cutie."

Alexander Pope (1688-1744) said: “A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been wrong, which is saying in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.” The World Book Encyclopedia says Pope was the greatest English poet of the early 1700's — quite a statement.