River Blotter
compiled by Nick Callanan
The
Caratunk School dismissed its students for the final time on June 13, 2003. One of the last remaining one-room schoolhouses in the country will be empty in 2004. The students will go to
Moscow Elementary next year...
Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut have sued the
EPA “for failing to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, a significant contributor to the ever-increasing problem of global warming,” according to a recent press release from the
Maine Attorney General. The release goes on to state, “The lawsuit marks the first time that a state has sued the federal government over global warming issues.”...On July 5th, the
Eighth Annual Androscoggin River Source-to-the-Sea Canoe and Kayak Trek will begin in
Errol, New Hampshire. The 21-day “moving river festival” is coordinated by the
Androscoggin River Watershed Council and will end July 26th in
Brunswick, Maine. This year’s theme is “how to prevent the spread of non-native aquatic weeds.” Visit www.androscogginriver.org or call Trek Coordinator
Barbra Barrett at 207-527-2916 or 603-466-3433 for more information....Up in
Aroostook County on June 14th, the world’s largest solar system model was unveiled at a ceremony attended by, among many others,
Senator Susan Collins and the Director of
Planetary Society. The 40-mile long solar system model is built to a scale of one mile equaling the distance from
Earth to the
Sun. The ten major components of the solar system (including the Sun and the nine planets) extend along Route 1 from the
University of Maine Presque Isle to the
Houlton Information Center at the end of I-95. The biggest planet model, of course being
Jupiter, measures five feet across and weighs about a ton. Project coordinator
Kevin McCartney said the last planet model,
Uranus, was erected on Friday the 13th and he called the ceremony, “just marvelous.”...
The Penobscot Paddle and Chowder Society is organizing a fund-raising event entitled
“The Taylor Pelotte Surf-a-thon.” Proceeds from this project will benefit
Camp Sunshine – a week-long camp on Sebago Lake for kids with cancer, or other serious illnesses, and their families. The Camp’s program includes recreational activities, counseling and workshops for parents, and other strength and inspiration-building activities. Everything, including meals and lodging, is provided to the families free of charge, which is why The Penobscot Paddle and Chowder Society is organizing this fundraiser. So here’s how to help: Go around and get your friends to sponsor you based on miles paddled, number of surfs, enders, rolls, flips, swims, bails, eddy turns, paddle strokes, mystery moves, or whatever else you can think of. Make sure you get a ton of sponsors way before August 2. Then, on August 2, paddle the
Dead at 2400 cfs (in the morning) or 1300 cfs (in the afternoon), or the
Kennebec (Gorge, Carry Brook, or Forks to Caratunk sections). Afterwards, come on down to the Penobscot Paddle and Chowder Society’s Summer Picnic and Potluck Dinner at
Webb’s Campground in
The Forks. For more information stop by
Appleton’s Store in The Forks, use www.paddleandchowder.org, or contact
Kyle Duckworth and
Laura Neal at surfathon@msn.com, 288-5763 or 460-7576.
Email nick [at] noumbrella [dot] com with your questions, comments and concerns.
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