BUXTON

Hours extended to return ballots and register to vote 
The Buxton Town Clerk and Registrar of Voters will be open additional hours this Saturday and and Oct. 24 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to issue and receive absentee ballots and register voters for the Nov. 3 State General Election at the Town Hall, at 185 Portland Road.
Under COVID-19 restrictions, a limited number of people are allowed in the Town Hall at any one time. There may be a long line of voters outside the Town Hall on Election Day. For your protection and convenience, you may wish to consider voting by absentee ballot.
Absentee ballot applications are available at the Town Hall or online at maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/AbsenteeBallot/index.pl
Absentee ballots also can be mailed out at the request of the voter by calling the Town Clerk’s Office at 929-6171.

PORTLAND

AARP Maine names Andrus Award winner
AARP Maine announced today that Star Pelsue of Portland is the winner of the 2020 Andrus Award, named in honor of AARP founder Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus. The award celebrates and honors individuals who make a difference in the lives of others.
Pat Pinto, AARP Maine Volunteer State President, stated “The AARP Maine Andrus Award acts as a symbol to our members and to the public that we can all work together for positive social change. We are deeply proud to be presenting this year’s award to Star Pelsue, whose record of achievement, service and commitment provides an excellent example of one person making a significant difference in the lives of others.”
After more than two decades as a developmental therapist for young children, Pelsue left teaching to move in with her brother to help his family during a medical crisis. Upon her return to Maine in 2009, she started to volunteer and hasn’t looked back. “I didn’t want to go back into the workforce as I wanted the flexibility to go and help my family when needed,” she said. “My work as a volunteer truly expanded.”
Pelsue volunteers for several organizations including Ronald McDonald House, AARP Maine, Wayside Food Programs, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and Victoria Mansion. She also is a frequent participant in AARP Maine’s advocacy work, and serves as part of a group of dedicated activists and volunteers who meet with legislators, attend committee hearings and testify on issues of concern to Mainers over 50.
“Star is a tireless and highly-regarded volunteer across a myriad of tasks that she performs on behalf of our state office,” said Pinto. “She never hesitates to offer her time and talents on behalf of others. What a privilege it is to know her and to work with her!”
Pelsue is also a member of Legacy Scholars, 100+ Women Who Care in Southern Maine and the Maine League of Women Voters. She is married to her college sweetheart, Dr. Stephen Pelsue, an immunologist.

LIMESTONE

UMaine grad to help with prototype rocket launch
Seth Lockman, a graduate of Maine School of Science and Mathematics, is part of a team that will launch a prototype rocket from Loring Commerce Centre in Limestone later this month.
The rocket, named “Stardust,” is 20 feet tall with a 540-pound lift-off mass that is projected to reach 4,000 feet. The purpose of the launch is to show the bio-derived, carbon-neutral rocket fuel in flight, and to demonstrate commercial demand for suborbital launches by carrying commercial payloads.
Lockman said one benefit of the non-toxic fuel is that it could be ingested without causing notable harm. He believes Maine could be an affordable alternative to existing suborbital and orbital launch sites for small rockets and noted the growth pipeline company Frost & Sullivan “projects small-satellite launch service revenues will pass $69 billion by 2030.”
Lockman has a bachelor’s degree in psychology summa cum laude from the University of Maine in 2015. After college, he volunteered at Southworth planetarium at the University of Southern Maine under the tutelage of planetarium manager Edward Gleason.
While there, Lockman founded the radio program “Radio Astronomy,” in collaboration with WMPG in Portland. The program, now called “Scientifically Speaking,” brings astronomy awareness to the general public and includes field recordings from events, live shows, and guest interviews with industry experts. One such interview was with Sascha Deri, Founder and CEO of BluShift Aerospace, Inc. of Brunswick. That connection led to Lockman’s employment with the company in October of 2018.

FALMOUTH

Town hall open for voting and to cast absentee ballots
Falmouth Town Hall will be open for voting from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday and again Oct. 24 for residents to cast absentee ballots at the Town Hall. The facility also will be open for voting Mondays through Thursdays during those same hours. Voting will take place in the Town Council Chambers following COVID-19 restrictions for social distancing and follow CDC guidelines, as well as state orders regarding limits on large gatherings indoors, the number of voters allowed in the Council Chambers at one time will be limited. Residents should be aware that wait times may increase and lines may form outdoors. Voters are also discouraged from bringing accompanying persons (family members, children, etc.) who will not be voting with them. Masks are required in all Town facilities.
For more details about the Nov. 3 Election, an election fact sheet or absentee ballots, go to falmouthme.org.

SUMMIT TOWNSHIP

Logging program graduates 10

The Mechanized Logging Operations Program (MLOP), a training program of the Maine Community College System (MCCS) in collaboration with the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine (PLC), graduated 10 students Oct. 9 in a socially distanced, live-streamed event at an active timber harvest site in the woods northeast of Old Town.
Students in the 12-week certificate program spent the summer and early fall harvesting timber at the site using state-of-the-art machines like those they will encounter in the logging industry. The hands-on experience students gained operating equipment is something unavailable anywhere else in Maine and neighboring states. This year’s class is the fourth since the program launched in 2017. The program, run out of Northern Maine Community College (NMCC), was the first and remains one of the only post-secondary training programs in Maine to hold classes during the pandemic.
The 2020 graduates include Matt Southard of Frankfort, Chris Meakin of Dedham, John McAvoy of Sidney, Noah Holesha of Bangor, Tory Porter of Hampden, Carl Ross of China, Brian Lynch of Camden, Greg Stewart of Harmony, John MacNiell of Millinocket, and Chris Pedersen of Winterport.
The program gives students a broad overview of the most common mechanical systems found in modern timber harvesting equipment, and an understanding of the variables of timber growth, tree species, and markets. It also includes a strong emphasis on safety.
Mechanized logging operators are among the highest paid members of the logging workforce. Demand for skilled operators of the feller bunchers, harvesters, grapple skidders, forwarders, delimbers, and other mechanized logging equipment that now harvests more than 95 percent of all timber in Maine is strong even in a down economy.
Learn more about the PLC at maineloggers.com.

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