Benches complement memorial
Preparing for Memorial Day, two black granite benches were installed Thursday at the Korean War Memorial in Groveville.
Selectmen Dan Collomy and Bob Libby supervised installation of the benches by Collette Monuments. Collomy is an Army veteran who served in Korea, and Libby served with the Coast Guard in World War II.
The two benches, costing $2,800, face and match the black granite memorial. The benches, as was the memorial, were purchased with donations. Each bench weighs about a half ton and is engraved, “property of the town of Buxton.”
Buxton recognizes Waterman
Buxton’s annual town report this year honors Merton C. Waterman, 84, one of the town’s leading citizens.
A dedication was to be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 27, after the American Journal press time.
Waterman was born, raised and educated in Buxton schools. He graduated from Samuel D. Hanson High School in 1943 before serving in Europe with Gen. George Patton’s 3rd Army. Later, he worked more than 40 years for New England Telephone. He is a member of the American Legion.
Waterman and his wife, Nancy, were married in 1954.
The town report includes a biography. As a citizen, he was a trustee of Berry Memorial Library for 58 years, represented Buxton in the Legislature, served on the town’s budget committee and was chairman of the board of directors of School Administrative District 6.
He also has been president of the Hanson High School Alumni Association, active on the town’s Democrat Committee, and a member of the Buxton-Hollis Historical Society.
Buxton students release trout
Local school kids from Buxton and Hollis released young brook trout into the wild last week, in their final lesson of the “Trout in the Classroom” program.
Poland Spring is teaching hundreds of Maine school kids about water quality, conservation and environmental impact.
Poland Spring has expanded the program, which it began funding in 2008, this year to reach 380 fifth-grade students in four school districts, up from 180 students last year. The program serves students in communities where Poland Spring has invested in its three bottling plants and satellite spring sources: Poland, Minot and Mechanic Falls (Poland plant); Kingfield, Phillips, Stratton and Strong (Kingfield plant); Hollis and Buxton (Hollis plant); and Denmark and Fryeburg (Poland Spring satellite source and water station).
Mary Semons of the Hanson School in Buxton praised the program.
“Having our classes participate this year in the “Trout in the Classroom” program has been a great learning experience for all. Through the monthly interactive lessons led by Poland Spring educators, our students have developed an understanding of ecosystems and have learned to appreciate water resources. The day of release was a wonderful culminating activity,” Semons said.
Students begin by learning to raise baby trout in incubator tanks in their classroom. This hands-on activity is integrated into lessons about water quality, ecosystems, habitat protection and data collection.
The project culminates when students release the fish that they have raised into a local stream.
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