A strategy for expanding Lincoln County’s current composting program met with a positive response from the Lincoln County Commissioners when Mark King of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection presented his plan at the recent board meeting.

King, who is the organics recycling coordinator for the state, showed enthusiasm for an expansion of composting activities in Lincoln County. He proposed a range of activities, which included backyard composting and establishing a partnership with one or two county businesses for a food scrap collection program.

The commissioners asked King to investigate the possibility of holding a half-day session at the Morris Farm for county farmers, which would provide farmers with additional information about composting.

Jail update

County Administrator John O’Connell provided copies of a position statement from the Maine County Commissioners Association and the Maine Sheriffs’ Association concerning the operation of Maine’s jails.

With the likely elimination of the board of corrections under LD 186, the two organizations put forth principles they believe are keys to managing Maine’s jails. Among the principles are control of the county jails by county or regional authorities (rather than Maine’s Department of Corrections), a call to establish a minimum level for state funding, and a bolstering of the Community Corrections Fund.

Discount prescriptions

Deborah Tibbetts, administrative assistant for the Lincoln County Commissioners Office, reported on the use of free prescription discount cards by county residents.

The cards are issued to members of the National Association of Counties and have been in existence since 2004. In addition to prescriptions, Lincoln County residents may use the cards for “... vision care, LASIK & PRK vision procedures, hearing aids and screenings, prepaid lab work, prepaid diagnostic imaging, diabetic supplies and dental care,” according to the association’s website.

Cards may be obtained by contacting Deborah Tibbetts at 207-882-6311, or by stopping at the County Courthouse in Wiscasset. Those who are not able to travel to the courthouse may arrange to have cards mailed to them.