Our admiring congratulations go to young Steven Ward of Wawenock Road! Steve has just graduated from the Lincoln County Firefighter 1 and 2 course, having attended classes two or three days a week over the last nine months! The Edgecomb Fire Department has awarded him this year's Home Town Hero Award for his dedication, impressive commitment to the EFD, and his personal sacrifices of family and personal time, above and beyond the call of duty!

Aargh, urgh, gharg...I forgot to mention last time the first meeting of the Edgecomb Historical Society for the Fall 2007 Session. Aargh! So, at 2 p.m. today, gallop over to the Edgecomb Eddy School's conference room for a thrilling debate on Where Will We Go Now in Our Time Machine (patent pending)? After that, join us in the school's library for continuing the inventory of our collection of documents, publications and artifacts.

Morris Farm is offering Melon Basket-Making Oct. 6, and Beginning Spinning Oct. 13, both Saturdays starting 9 a.m. Call the Farm 882-4080 or Web site www.morris farm.org for times and fees. That's melon-shaped baskets, not baskets for storing melons!

This Friday and Saturday, Sept. 28-29, 9:30 a.m., the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is holding its 'Garden Gait' 5K Run/Walk and Kids' Fun Run. In advance, $10, kids $3; Sept. 28 or 29, $15 and $5. People of any age and at different fitness levels can run or walk selected routes through the Gardens' trails for a total of five kilometers (roughly 2.3 miles). The Gardens can be reached at 633.4333, for more information.

Don't forget Maine Public Broadcasting's Maine Watch show this Friday, September 28 at 8:30 p.m.! The newly revamped show will showcase MDOT's Gateway 1 Project and how it could affect the midcoast's future! Meanwhile, the Gateway gang is working on computer traffic projections for 2030, based on three scenarios: Hyper-Optimistic, Hyper-Pessimistic, and Status Quo normal.

How many, like me, have odds and ends of old pesticides lurking in barn and basement corners? Please do not dump them out! And don't go to the trouble and expense of hiring a hazardous waste disposal service. The Maine Board of Pesticides Control has reinstated its

Obsolete Pesticide Collection Program. From Oct. 2 through 5, the BPC, assisted by the Department of Environmental Protection, will collect and dispose of banned or unusable pesticides, for free! However, this information was late coming to me, and it is not so simple. Contact the BPC right away, 287-2731 or www.thinkfirstspray last.org, to register for the collection and get more detailed information. At this late date, inventory your pesticides by type and amount and call in your list. They will send you an official registration form listing your pesticides, which you must bring with you when you go to either their Augusta or Portland site. They will include directions and addresses for these. This may well be the last time the opportunity arises, as pesticide disposal is expensive, even to the BPC, and future funding for it is not guaranteed. Cheer up! You can get rid of your dangerous substances and then go to a museum or a posh restaurant or just schmooze around the cities, taking in their delights before heading on up the pike.

Those over 60 who may pick up their papers on Wednesday have a hairbreadth chance at this current and following offerings by Senior Spectrum's Active Aging Week, September 24 to October 1, 2007:

At 9 a.m. on Thursday, September 27, come to the Damariscotta River Association's hike at Dodge Point through forests to the river's edge! Meet at the parking lot on the River Road. Call your guide, DRA Land Director Steve Hufnagel, at 563-1393 ( http://www . draclt.org/) for more details.

Tomorrow, Friday, September 28 at 10 a.m. the Pemaquid Watershed Association invites you to hike through the Doyle Preserve, 20 acres with Pemaquid Pond frontage in Damariscotta. Call your guide Tenley Wilder, Education Coordinator at 563-2196 or http://pema quidwatershed.org/ for directions to this site.

And finally, Monday, October 1, at 9 a.m. at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens on Barters Island Road in Boothbay, take a leisurely stroll along the Hillside and Shore Line Garden Trail. Call Margaret Hoffmann at CMBG 5633-4333 (http:// www.mainegardens.org/ ) for full information.

Or call Marianne or Robin at Senior Spectrum, 563-1363 for more information about the Active Aging Program. Everyone, please remember to wear comfortable shoes and clothing (layers) and to bring along water and a snack. To learn more about Active Aging week and to locate valuable resources go to the Senior Spectrum Web site www.icaa.cc/aaw.htm.

Haven't heard from Lea Wait for a while, but she popped up again last weekend at the Wiscasset Public Library's 'Three Sisters in Crime' program, along with other Maine thriller writers Kate Flora and Edgecomb Eddy teacher Robin MacCready!

The Y-Arts Youth Chorus is preparing for its annual musical production of 'A Christmas Carol,' this year to be produced at the Boothbay Playhouse. Auditions for persons aged 15 and older will be Friday, Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. at the Playhouse. Rehearsals start mid-November for performances on December 7 and 8. What fun! Call Ginny Bishop at the Boothbay Y, 633-2855 for more data.

Brady Nickerson has started her fall 'Painting with Spirit' workshops at her studio at 292 River Road! Adult sessions are Mondays 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. starting October 1. Youth, ages 9 and up, Thursdays after school, 3:15 to 5:15 p.m., beginning October 4, and for teens, the first Saturday of the month, from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., starting this week, Sept. 29, but skipping the Oct. 6 session because of Columbus Day. Teens, be sure to bring lunch! To register and for more details, you can call Ms. Nickerson at 633-2588 or e-mail brady@bradynickerson.com .

Good timing, as we segue from summer into fall: 'Seasons of Change' invites the public to an open house this Saturday, Sept. 29, from noon to 5 p.m., at the old Methodist Church building formerly occupied by Jackeroos, on Station Road between Edgecomb and Newcastle, to introduce us to a new Community Center for Hope and Healing! This center provides mental health services and support to the people of Lincoln County will officially open its doors Monday, Oct. 1 and will run Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Staff for the facility are psychotherapist Diana James and operations director Sarah Sherman McGrail. Tanja Rollins, an Edgecomb resident, is the art director and receptionist. Call Ms. McGrail at 633-7161 for more details.

Among its offerings, Seasons of Change will provide AlaTeen and other youth services, senior counseling, stress management for military, fire, police and rescue service people. Individual therapy sessions may be scheduled for after 5 p.m. The center's phone number is 882-6700. Its Web site is or will be soon www.seasonsofchangecom m unitycenter.org.

Watching the maples turn wine red, the beech leaves saturated yellow, the oaks royal purple, how splendid to see Autumn in at 234 River Road, 633-2978, jocam@ midcoast.com.!

This column appears in the Boothbay Register, The Lincoln County News, the Wiscasset News-paper, and at www.Edgecomb.org.