Hello friends and neighbors!

If you have an unused barn or garage that could house Westport’s fifty-four year old Engine 1 fire truck, the Fire Department could use your help! Engine 1 is no longer a regular, functioning member of the department, but it is a sentimental favorite used for parades and ceremonial events since it was the first fire truck Westport purchased brand new in 1963. The truck is 23’ long, 7’9” wide and 8”4” high. Engine 1 is currently occupying space inside the garage that should be used by the Fire Department’s hard-bottom inflatable boat, which is currently exposed to the elements. February’s blizzard destroyed the plastic tarp on the boat’s portable garage, proving that a better storage situation is necessary! If you could help the Fire Department by providing a temporary or ongoing shelter, please call Fire Chief Bob Mooney at 460-0367 or email WVFD@gmail.com. Thanks for your help!

Think globally, act locally! Nomination papers are now available at the town office for third selectman (three-year term) and two Regional School Unit 12 board members (a three-year term and a one-year term). Papers will be due by May 2, in preparation for the secret ballot election on Tuesday, June 13, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. In addition to the three municipal elections, there will be a school budget validation referendum and a state bond referendum on stimulating investment in innovation by Maine businesses to produce nationally and globally competitive products and services. The state notice of election will be available soon.

Nomination papers and applications for absentee ballots are now available at the town office from Town Clerk Gaye Wagner during office hours, Tuesdays from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. and Thursdays from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Absentee ballots will be available the second week of May, and absentee voting can begin on Tuesday, May 16. And don’t forget Town Meeting, which will be held this year on Saturday, June 24 beginning at 9 a.m. For more information, contact Gaye at 882-8477 x 3 or email townclerk@westportisland.us.

The calendar says spring has arrived, though the snow banks remind us that Mother Nature can be fickle. But the maple sap is running and I am definitely seeing and hearing more birds as well as animals waking up. The longer hours of daylight are sure to keep the snow melting in preparation for buds signaling the season of rebirth. What signs of spring are you seeing? Contact your newshound pat-dick@midcoast.com or call 231-4049.