Dexter to develop farm project - Bangor Daily News

Dexter to develop farm project - Bangor Daily News

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Locally Grown Revitalization underway in Dexter

Thursday, July 30, 2009
DEXTER - An idea simmering on the back burner for years is coming to a full boil in Dexter. When the Fossa family gifted the Dexter Regional Development Corporation with their downtown property several years ago, the idea of a farmer's market/general store was "one of the top three on the list" according to Judy Craig. But there was no money to make improvements to the building.

Recently when local farmers brought concerns forward about market losses, the DRDC had a new version of that old idea. Why not create local markets for local farmers?

"We decided to take action and look out for ourselves," Craig said. "We have the Fossa building. We've had offers of renting or selling, but it just wasn't the right time or it wasn't enough money. To rent, it would need too much work. So fate, I think, came into play. If you wait long enough, the right thing comes along, and that's what happened."

The DRDC has ambitious plans to assist local farmers and revitalize downtown.

"Farmers are losing markets – especially organic farmers," Craig said. "We see no reason milk should be shipped out of state, processed and then shipped back so we asked 'Why aren't we doing this locally like we used to."

Craig said that a core group of people came together around the idea of creating a local creamery and a farmer's market. Most had Dexter roots going generations back, and though individuals hadn't kept in touch over the years, there is a sense of trust that moves the group forward.

"When somebody says they'll do something, they follow through," Craig said. The group has been meeting, and growing, regularly for several months. Two of the farmers involved are checking out equipment and other markets doing similar projects. The group is talking with state officials and trying to design something that will be good for their own community, but also for farmers and communities statewide who want to follow the trail being blazed.

Craig said she envisions the plan has three cornerstones. First is the former Fossa general store, which once fully renovated, would sell ground wheat, produce, meats, eggs, chicken, bakery items – all locally produced. The store would also house an ice cream shop offering locally made dairy treats.

"We want a kitchen in the store to do demonstrations like kids coming in to learn how to prepare vegetables and dips for health snacks," Craig said. "Eventually, we hope to have a building where we will have a certified kitchen where people can actually do canning of their products so they can be sold in the store. These are lofty ideas, but doable."

The second cornerstone is the creamery. Milk, cream, ice cream and yogurt would be produced there. Butter might be, as well, though an individual local business is considering taking on that operation. Third, in order to reliably meet demands, the business would need warehousing space.

The Dexter Creamery and Farmer's Community Project is still very much in the design phase. Discussions are ongoing about how to structure and oversee the business, which will be a non-profit. The creamery will be a LLC while the store will be owned by the DRDC, which is a non-profit organization. Any profit made will be reinvested into improving the enterprise, Craig said.

"We're trying to support local farmers so they can add on hands, plant more wheat or beans," Craig said.

Products not available from Dexter producers, such as buffalo meat, honey, maple syrup, produce and goat cheese, may come from other producers within a 50 mile radius, Craig said. The idea is to offer locally produced, homegrown foods that provide affordable, healthy items while simultaneously supporting local farmers. Organic items may be offered if research indicates that local consumers would be willing to pay the higher prices for these items.

The group is in discussions with a company that provides delivery service to health food stores within that 50 mile radius. If something can be arranged, it will provide additional markets for local produce in addition to the Dexter store.

Heart of Maine Resource Conservation and Development is working with the Dexter group. Software is being developed that will allow consumers to go online and place grocery orders to be picked up at the Dexter store later. Eventually, Craig also envisions home delivery of locally-grown grocery items. Another component of the software will allow farmers to input the crops and products they have available for sale.

Craig said that the USDA and the Maine Department of Agriculture are aware of the project and have shown interest. So have two local school districts who may serve locally grown foods if they are an affordable option. The Sebasticook Valley Chamber of Commerce has also taken an interest, as has the Tiger Wellness Program. The Abbot Memorial Book Club has formed a focus group to look at warehousing options and organization structure for the group.

As of now, the Dexter Creamery and Farmer's Community Project is waiting to hear the outcome of a $250,000 Community Development Block Grant application that would pay for Fossa building renovations. An announcement of grant recipients is expected on August 7. Those interested in more information may call Craig at 924-3067 or email her at judy@dextermaine.com "This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the SVWeekly.com and is used here with permission."

Dexter organizers create farmers market plan

Tuesday, June 16, 2009
By Diana Bowley BDN Staff: DEXTER, Maine — Dexter is circling around its farmers to ensure they survive so local residents can continue to get wholesome and fresh farm produce.

Organizations from the local book club to the Dexter Regional Development Corp. have been working with local farmers behind the scenes for months on plans that would both support the farmers and improve the region’s economy.

“We all feel that we need to become, in the climate of the country, locally self-reliant and this is the first step in doing that,” Judy Craig, town councilor and Dexter Regional Development Corp. president, said Friday.

The group has adopted a “three-prong” approach: the development of a local creamery where milk would be pasteurized and where other milk-derivative products such as ice cream, yogurt and cheese would be made; the creation of a year-round farmers market on Main Street; and the purchase of a warehouse to store the local goods. They also envision wholesaling the local products to health food stores throughout the state.

“This is all a big, old idea with lots and lots of local support,” Craig said. She said the organizers are working to secure grants to help move the project forward.

Craig said a search is being conducted for a building that could be used for the creamery and the farmers have a search under way for equipment needed for the business. She said organizers envision a processing plant that would have a glass partition where visitors and residents could watch milk being pasteurized, and butter and ice cream being made.

“We’re doing lots of legwork right now,” Craig said. “We’re each going in a different direction to try to get information to bring back to the next meeting.”

Residents also are being asked to weigh in. In the town’s comprehensive plan survey, residents are being asked whether they would pay a little extra for organic products and whether they would support local farmers.

The organizers envision the products made at the creamery, as well as locally grown or raised products within a 50-mile radius, would be sold at the farmers market downtown. Those products would include honey, locally grown meats, and maple syrup as well as garden produce.

Craig said the Fossa building location owned by the corporation is being eyed for the market. Because the building is in “very bad disrepair,” the group hopes to secure a $250,000 grant to remove the building and replace it.

“When we first got the [Fossa] building, the first thing our vision was for it, was a farmers market,” Craig said. “This will take it to the next level.”

The Town Council last week agreed to support the submission of a Community Development Block Grant for the communitywide effort. While the town would be the applicant, no local property taxes would be used, Craig said. Any match would be provided by the corporation, she said.

The town’s part-time economic development specialist, Jason Bird, is writing the grant on behalf of the town. USDA officials also are working with the organizers.

The project is growing in support daily, according to Craig. Local doctors are enthused because of the wholesome quality of local produce and its relation to good health. In addition, a school official in the region expressed his interest in the possibility of offering the fresh produce and milk products in his school system.

“While we’re supporting our local farms and becoming more self-reliant, we’re also becoming healthier,” Craig said.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Tuesday, June 16, 2009 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."

Wild West Weekend update

7th Wild West Week-end plans in motion

DEXTER - Dexter Regional Development Corporation is saddling up for the 7th Annual Wild West Weekend, held annually the 1st weekend of August which falls on July 31st, August 1st & 2nd in 2009. Come help us “Unite Family and Community, now and in the Future”.

Wild West Weekend has become an economic boost for area businesses, helped with fund raising, creating awareness for non-profits, and showcasing our beautiful Main Street and the Town of Dexter.
Part of this years events include or are tentative: P & L Markets Pig Scramble on Saturday afternoon at 2 pm, Dragon Den’s 3rd Annual Stick Pony Rodeo on Main Street and Country Charm’s 3rd Annual Wheel Barrow Race, Friday’s Kiddie Parade, Crazy Bob’s Pizza Eating Contest, DRHS Field Hockey Maine Chicken BBQ, Maine Choice Realty Skillet Toss & New Hope Baptist Church Wild West Olympics, Ray Stafford Concert, Debbie Myers Friday Night Concert 7 to 9 pm, North Country Riding Club Horse Show, Wild Jim’s Jamboree at Wayside Park both Friday and Saturday, Christian Community Church Chicken Pie Supper & outside Sunday Service, Dexter Fire Department Ducky Race, Roger Brawn Real Estate Scavenger Hunt, Dexter Health Care Ride-In, Poulliot-Seavey Post of the American Legion Bingo, Christian Community Church Sunday Service, Kiwanis Silent Auction, Town of Dexter Silent Auction in the Town Council Chambers, Bud’s Shop’n Save Customer Appreciation Day on Saturday 10 to 4, DRHS Football team Hot Dog Sale at Buds on Saturday.

Businesses, vendors, churches & organizations currently signed up;
Adoption Plus
A.E. Robinson
American Legion
Bangor Savings
Blackwell Insurance
Blanket Works
Brewster Inn
Buds Shop'n Save
CD Electric & ABCD Pre School
Christian Community Church
Country Charm
Country Singer Ray Stafford
CPB Food Wagon
Dexter Creamery & Community Farmers Project
Dexter Family Practice
Dexter Fire Department
Dexter Health Care
Dexter Lakes Association
Dexter Municipal Golf Course
Dexter Print Shop
Dexter Sunrise Kiwanis
Dexter Variety
Dexter Exxon
Dick's Sticks
Down East Liquidation
Dragons Den
DRHS Football Team
DRHS Key Club
Dusters Car Club
Friendly Forest Day Care
Half Moon Acres
Hall's Wholesale
J & D’s Crafts & Pantry
Judy Craig Consulting
Kent's Dogs
Mainely Cookouts
Mainely Crafts
New Hope Baptist Church
Norm Nugent Trivets
North Country Riding Club
Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church
P&L Market
Prudential
Renys
Roger Brawn Real Estate
SAD#48 Food Services
Sebasticook Family Doctors
Sebasticook Valley Chamber of Commerce
Skowhegan Savings Bank
Snap of the Dragon
Tatto Temptations
The Eastern Gazette
Thomas Honea Balloons
Tillson True Value
Toot's Deli
Town of Dexter
Varney Insurance Agency
Yogi's Doughboys & More

DRDC will be holding the 7th Annual Costume Contest with $250 in cash prizes to be held right before the Debbie Myers Concert on Main Street.

The 5th Annual “Wild West Business Decorating Showdown” will again take place with judging on Friday.
Dress up your window(s) and/or create displays in your Dexter business for Wild West Weekend and an impartial panel of judges will be discreetly going around town during WWW and choosing who will have the honor of hanging the Annual Wild West Weekend Plaque for 2009. The winner is announced during the Main Street Concert on Friday night on Main Street
Please let me know what your plans are to make your business, club, church or home "wildly" stand out. Also, please invite your business neighbors to participate. I have created an emailing list, but may not have everyone’s email address, so let me know if you want to be added to the Wild West email list.
The Dexter Fire Department will be ending Wild West Weekend at the end of the week, August 6, 7 and 8 with their Annual Auction.
So grab your partna' and join us on July 31st, August 1st & 2nd in Dexter.
If you would like more information, contact DRDC President Judy Wilbur Craig, Wild West Weekend Coordinator at (207) 924-3067 or email judy@DexterMaine.com and check us out on the web for more details and LOTS of pictures from the past 6 years at www.WildWestWeekend.com.

Dexter Creamery & Community Farmers Project

Dexter organizers create farmers market plan

By Diana Bowley
BDN Staff

DEXTER, Maine — Dexter is circling around its farmers to ensure they survive so local residents can continue to get wholesome and fresh farm produce.

Organizations from the local book club to the Dexter Regional Development Corp. have been working with local farmers behind the scenes for months on plans that would both support the farmers and improve the region’s economy.

“We all feel that we need to become, in the climate of the country, locally self-reliant and this is the first step in doing that,” Judy Craig, town councilor and Dexter Regional Development Corp. president, said Friday.

The group has adopted a “three-prong” approach: the development of a local creamery where milk would be pasteurized and where other milk-derivative products such as ice cream, yogurt and cheese would be made; the creation of a year-round farmers market on Main Street; and the purchase of a warehouse to store the local goods. They also envision wholesaling the local products to health food stores throughout the state.

“This is all a big, old idea with lots and lots of local support,” Craig said. She said the organizers are working to secure grants to help move the project forward.

Craig said a search is being conducted for a building that could be used for the creamery and the farmers have a search under way for equipment needed for the business. She said organizers envision a processing plant that would have a glass partition where visitors and residents could watch milk being pasteurized, and butter and ice cream being made.

“We’re doing lots of legwork right now,” Craig said. “We’re each going in a different direction to try to get information to bring back to the next meeting.”

Residents also are being asked to weigh in. In the town’s comprehensive plan survey, residents are being asked whether they would pay a little extra for organic products and whether they would support local farmers.

The organizers envision the products made at the creamery, as well as locally grown or raised products within a 50-mile radius, would be sold at the farmers market downtown. Those products would include honey, locally grown meats, and maple syrup as well as garden produce.

Craig said the Fossa building location owned by the corporation is being eyed for the market. Because the building is in “very bad disrepair,” the group hopes to secure a $250,000 grant to remove the building and replace it.

“When we first got the [Fossa] building, the first thing our vision was for it, was a farmers market,” Craig said. “This will take it to the next level.”

The Town Council last week agreed to support the submission of a Community Development Block Grant for the communitywide effort. While the town would be the applicant, no local property taxes would be used, Craig said. Any match would be provided by the corporation, she said.

The town’s part-time economic development specialist, Jason Bird, is writing the grant on behalf of the town. USDA officials also are working with the organizers.

The project is growing in support daily, according to Craig. Local doctors are enthused because of the wholesome quality of local produce and its relation to good health. In addition, a school official in the region expressed his interest in the possibility of offering the fresh produce and milk products in his school system.

“While we’re supporting our local farms and becoming more self-reliant, we’re also becoming healthier,” Craig said.

Support your local farmers

The letter below is from a local farmer and I hope you will pass the word about how this company is screwing with our Maine Milk Producers. The letter is written by Fred Sherburne of Dexter...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“You can feel good about Hood”… NOT!

This slogan has brought smiles to the faces of young and old alike for several generations. I remember as a youngster, in the early 1960's, my dad shipped milk on the “Boston Market.” The milk actually traveled less than 20 miles to the H.P. Hood cottage cheese plant in Newport, Maine…The best cottage cheese in the Northeast…The biggest producer of the same on the East coast. My 4th grade class and my 4-H club both took field trips there. We were given Hood Dixie Cups with individual wooden “spoons” taped to the tops which told us, “You can feel good about Hood.”

In the late 1960's, our farm switched to the Maine Market.” Maine had a unique pricing system linked directly to consumer demand. There were several bottlers in the Bangor area, the bigger ones being Grant's Dairy, Smiley's, Footman's and Pleasant hill Dairy, probably more. Our milk went to Pleasant Hill, about 40 miles from the farm. These dairies tried to bottle about 90% of what producers sent there. The price was about 1/3 higher on the “Maine Market than on the “Boston Market,” $16.00 compared to $12.)) per hundred weight (CWT), or about $1.00 per gallon at the farm compared to $1.50…a big incentive to be on the “Maine Market.”

A similar difference today is offered by the “Organic Market” versus the conventional market. Producers of organic milk receive about 30-50% more per gallon or CWT as do “conventional” farmers. To do this, we have to adhere to strict rules as to how our land is treated, using no chemical A.K.A. synthetic fertilizers or crop protection products. Our animals must be allowed to have access to green grass and sunshine, no unnatural medications, hormones or stimulants. It is not all about the money. It is a philosophy, a paradigm of returning to a simpler, more stress-free life for the family, farm and future.

In 2005, Mark McKusick convinced H.P. Hood to look to Maine for a source of organic milk. Two companies, Horizon Organics and Organic Valley Coop., had been in the state since the mid-1990's, paying roughly $19 CWT for about 10 years. Mark could see that a third party would stir up some competition and, perhaps, make a price advantage for Maine organic producers. It worked. Our farm started shipping organic milk to Hood in July of 2006 at a price of $24.50 CWT, or about $5.00 over what it had been for roughly ten years. More increases were promised and some came. The other processors had to bring their prices in line with H.P. Hood, who stated that they wanted to be the “price leader in the organic market.” They wanted most of their milk to come from Maine. They stuck their neck out at Mark's urging, and went to Washington County to pick up four family farms and also to Aroostook County, doing the same. It wasn't viable, but it would be; the potential was there.

Aaron Bell of Tide Mill Organic Farm in Edmunds, ME was H.P. Hood's poster child for this new generation of family farms. With a history of six generations on the same land, this Downeast farm had not sold milk since Aaron was born. The farm started selling to Hood the day Aaron's son was born, bringing hope to aspiring farmers in Washington County where there hadn't been a dairy farm in nearly thirty years.

In February of 2009, H.P. Hood, in a certified letter, informed Aaron that his organic milk contract would not be renewed…nor will the contracts of the other Washington County farms…nor will those of the farms in Aroostook County. Eight family farms currently find themselves without a market when H.P. Hood had gone after them as producers, promising everything but a termination letter. “You can feel good about Hood”…NOT!

Less than a month later, two other producers in Central Maine were notified that their contracts would be terminated on October 1st, 2009, a six month notice. Mark McKusick and Richard Larry, the two producers who had worked so hard to get Hood into the area now find themselves cut off. They are very forthright with their opinions and everybody knows where they stand. They had not been quiet regarding Hood's about-face to its farmers.

Our farm was wooed by Hood to renew our contract with them in July of 2008, but at a lower price than my earlier contract had paid. I chose to go with Organic Valley and terminated my relationship with Hood.

H.P. Hood has gone back on its word to the organic family farms of Maine. They told us a story to get us to sign with them. Once we signed a contract, when renewal came up, they wanted us to be puppies, to “rollover” and sacrifice for the good of H.P. Hood.

Hood's organic is labeled under the trade name of “Stoneyfield Milk.” For the solidarity of the Maine daily industry, Maine farmers as a group, and the citizens of this great state, please join me and my family as we organize to boycott all Stoneyfield milk and H.P. Hood labeled products until our voices are heard.

Fred Sherburne
Maine Dairy Farmer

Dad making music

 

Sometimes the best times are home with family and friends!!!
Dad has broken out his harmonica and been playing at our little home parties along with friends with guitars, the washboard, spoons and even the bass champagne bottle!
Have around 10 or so people and laugh until your cheeks hurt.

Dexter Town Council Resolution

RESOLUTION B2009-1 JANUARY 8, 2009

WHEREAS, the Governor has proposed in his latest budget message that the Charleston Correctional Facility have its operations be reduced in the next biennium, specifically that the facility be reduced to no more than 90 inmates, and that all other inmates be transferred to jails without access to work programs; and

WHEREAS, this reduction of the Charleston Correctional Facility will have the effect of curtailing the work release programs presently being run at the facility; and

WHEREAS, upwards of 40,000 hours of service to non-profit organizations and municipalities were provided to our area in 2008 by the work programs of Charleston Correctional Facility, and these services provided benefits to our communities in the form of saving property tax costs, construction of facilities for area non-profit organizations and training and rehabilitation to inmates that are and have been valuable in ways that would offset any perceived savings at this site;

THEREFORE the Dexter Town Council hereby opposes the specific budget cuts being proposed for the Charleston Correctional Facility, and asks the representatives of Dexter residents in the State legislature to oppose these cuts, and asks the Governor to reconsider his proposal.


Roger S. Brawn
Erlfred W. Sherburne
Judy Wilbur Craig, Councilor
David Clukey, Councilor
Sherman G. Leighton, Councilor
Anton Larson, Councilor
Dean R. Thompson, Councilor

Charleston Correctional Facility

Fellow Councilors, DRDC, friends and bloggers:
Tom Sands of Charleston Correctional called me Tuesday to ask that we and anyone we can get to help to call or email the Criminal Justice Committee who will have a say on the Supplemental Budget hearing going on today and tomorrow.
I have emailed all the people on the Justice Committee with the email below, as well as others who might listen.
Please, if you feel that the closing is bad, please contact anyone you might know who can help.
thanks.... Judy
For more information check out Diana Bowley's BDN story
--- the email I sent out is below---

Dear ________,

RE: Charleston Correctional Facility

The Town of Dexter is very unhappy that a housing unit in the Charleston Correctional Facility will be closed if this Supplemental Budget is passed as presented.

Dexter has utilized the CCF crews for both municipal projects as well as non-profit organizations, which save our town thousands of dollars over the past few years.

I have seen the CCF crews at work (when they were working at the Police Station this summer) and they do a great job and are very courteous. It would be a pity that these men would no longer be getting job experience while being incarcerated.

With the closing of this unit, many of Dexter's residents who work at CCF will loose their jobs.

Please take this “Corrections” portion of the Proposed Supplemental Budget to Balance the Current Fiscal Year, and place in the Biennium Budget.

To pass as presented seems very ‘short sighted’ in the scheme things. Long term, it would appear that the State of Maine will be no further ahead financially, but the rural citizens and inmates will be the losers.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter! It is very important to the Town of Dexter as well as the surrounding communities.

Judy Wilbur Craig
Dexter Town Councilor
President of Dexter Regional Development Corporation
207.924.3067

Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!!!!!
Anyone have a "leftover Turkey" recipe? hahahha

Elections: Frustrated with Negativity

Thank God the elections are almost here and the endless negative commercials will be over! I wonder (aloud) if the negativity of the commercials parallel the situation of our county.

Every time I see one candidate bash the other, I often turn the TV/radio off or mute it, and say to Courtney or anyone who will listen, "if they spent as much time explaining what they stand for and how they are going to represent us and less time bashing their opponent, I would more likely vote for them'....

These days more & more Commercials, television show, reality TV and movies portray (the main) characters as being mean, double crossing and game playing. Okay, I am watching too much Dancing with the Stars and Hallmark movies, but isn't being nice a good way to heal our country?

Where are the nice, honest, straight shooting people/candidates?
Are they becoming lost in the muddle of negativity?

When my kids were little and I had foster kids, I had only one easy rule in my house, "Consideration".
Consideration for others covers just about everything under the sun. Think about it. If politicians were more considerate of their constituents with whom were voted in and that they represent, wouldn't our town, state and country run more smoothly.

If "consideration" were to be exercised, then the politicians would not be making sweet deals with their cronies and bad bills would not be passed in the middle of the night or hidden in a foot tall bill that has nothing to do with nothin'?

I personally think that we have outlived having 2 major parties...
Of course, I don't know everything by any stretch... But I do think if everyone wasn't split by party, maybe "groups" of like minded people could work together without the pressure of what is best politically for their party, maybe some of the dilemmas our country faces could be solved more easily.

Think about our local elections... There is NO PARTY LISTED on the local ballot! So people are elected on their merit, NOT on their party. Interesting concept?

Whether or not you agree with me or not, be an American and VOTE...
But with that said, know what you are voting for! Don't just vote "party lines" unless YOU believe in what you are voting for.

Enough ranting today.... saw another negative ad and had to blog it, 'cause Courtney and the dogs are sick of me saying it outloud.

Vote on November 4th!!!

I was just watching a YouTube video made by some of the top stars in the United States. Usually, I am not impressed by 'stars' endorsing a certain party or candidate, but this video is all about VOTING!

I think it is worth taking a look at!!!!



On the local level, tonight Dexter Candidates Night is at 6:30 pm at the Universalist Church. If you can't be there in person surf on over to the Town of Dexter website and click on the yellow "Live Streaming Video" box on the right/top of the page.

You will be able to see 'live' the participating candidates comments, thank to Dave Giles. Yes, he is a candidate, running for town council this year. But I will tell you he is not doing all this "live streaming video" work for you because of that, but to help the citizens of Dexter be more informed!
Hats off to you Dave for the efforts you are putting forth......

Big Lake Wassookeag

The colors on the lake today were magnificent!
Fall is such a wonderful time of the year! The brisk breeze, the colorful foliage, the smell of fall in the air.... And then there is the smell of wood smoke from the chimney, knowing that the home is warm and cozy from the stove...

Fall also is when people are decorating their yards with scarecrows, cornstalks and chrysanthemum arrangements.

If you fell like taking a foliage ride, don't leave out driving around the side streets in Dexter. It appears that more Dexter citizens have decorated their porches and driveways for the season then in the past! Pleasant Street, Maple Street are a couple that are nice! Check it out.....

Exciting News, New Technology

Some exciting news!!!
Bob Simpson, a previous Town Manager, and I used to dream about putting council meetings and such on Cable Access TV for more citizens to keep in touch with what is going on in Dexter. Well, that never came to fruition, but now in the 21st Century, new technology has created new opportunities.

"STREAMING VIDEO"

Dave Giles who is a teacher at the Tech Center in Dexter is making it possible for the citizens of Dexter to watch the meetings from the comfort of their homes.

We are trying a new "Streaming Video" broadcast online on Thursday, October 9th at the monthly Dexter Town Council Meeting.
Dave will be videoing and recording live starting at 7 pm.

We hope that it will be insightful and beneficial.... (and that it works...) In the future we hope to bring you more "Live Streaming Videos" from other meetings, events, book club discussions.... The list is endless.

Click here on Dexter's Website for the broadcast and click on the yellow box on the right.

Please email judy@DexterMaine.com with your comments and thoughts.

More Yoga talk...

I mention quite awhile ago, Courtney and I go to Yoga every week for an hour with Yoga Guru Donna Kraft-Smith.

We have been going well over a year now and still really enjoy it!

I received an email recently from someone who had read my blog about going to Yoga and they sent me a great link called "100 Free Online Instructional Yoga Videos".
It has 100 yoga videos on YouTube that are free.

Click here to check them out

Fall Flowers at Abbott Memorial Library

I took this picture while waiting for Courtney at the Library.
She is working as a fill in at Abbott Memorial Library but is still working for Judy Craig Consulting.... phew !!!!

So of course I had my camera and took some great shots behind the Library.

Speaking of which.... A few weeks ago, a historical engineering consultant came to the Library suggesting what kinds of improvements, fixing existing issues and providing lots of insight in maintaining a historical building.
John was soooo interesting!
Courtney and I joined library trustee Bob Crawford and Librarian Liz Breault and John as he took us from top to bottom of the Library.
Most interesting and thought provoking.
Example: if you are fixing something, use the same materials as was used when the building was built or upgrade. Not to save money and not necessarily for historic value, but because the "fix material" will bond better with the original materials and may actually cost less.
I never thought of it that way... I assume newer building products would be better, but that's where "thought" got me :)

Fall is here!

Ya... I took a vacation again from blogging...
There are many times I want to write down my thoughts and share some news, but I wonder if it worthy of publishing for the public to read.
Now that fall is here I will try to change my ways with the season.

Speaking of the season, Darlene (of the Snap of the Dragon) and I "dressed" Main Street in Dexter again with Chrysanthemums. The new owners at Spring Street Greenhouse (Tim) gave us a good deal on buying the chrysanthemums.
FYI: Darlene and I grow the summer flowers, but we do use some tax dollars to buy the fall flowers.
We were really pleased with the new Main Street barrels we purchased for the 2008 season. They are a lot bigger than the previous year, which was good because they looked full and held the moisture a little better, but took more flowers to fill them.

I hope everyone enjoyed them. Dexter's Main Street looks so festive. Thanks to the businesses who also decorated. Country Charm's window boxes look great! And thanks to the Prudential guys who watered their own flower barrel this summer!
I want to thank Jean Jacobs and the volunteers who helped water this summer, although we ran out of volunteers towards the end of the summer.

If YOU would like to help out watering, give me a call. We can use all the help we can get. NOPE, we don't get paid, but the satisfaction of driving downtown in the evening and seeing how pretty it looks is reward enough!

While I am talking about flowers, some jerk stole 2 of the chrysanthemums out of the barrel in front of Vicki's Hair Salon... What kind of ass would steal flowers from Main Street? I hope they enjoy them, but I also hope that every time they look at them, they remember that they are STOLEN FLOWERS. I did buy some more flowers to put in the barrel, but still......

Stealing....
As you many know, there have a bunch of burglaries in our area lately.
I have posed the question to some town officials about starting a "community watch", sorta like the cities do neighborhood watch.
May I suggest that we all talk with our neighbors and get acquainted with them (if you aren't already).

-- Let your neighbors know if you are going away and what vehicles may be in your yard, if any.
-- Call the police if you see anything suspicious. Better to safe than sorry!
-- Do checks on the elderly

Locked doors don't seem to matter anymore if you are away, but if you have some ideas on keeping our homes safer, let me know to pass along to others.

Dexter Police Chief Art Roy recommended the public keep its collective eyes open.

“If you see anything suspicious, call the police right away. Don’t wait until later.” The non-emergency telephone number for the Dexter Police Department is 924-7622.

DRHS graduate is Olympic bound!

Some of you may know that Adam Craig is family and the family is very proud of his accomplishments.
Adam has always been a quiet, self-motivated teen and now man, but with a dry sense of humor and amazing laid back energy.
I remember a few winters ago, it was about -18 outside. He and my sister-in-laws boyfriend brought me a couch and chair for my living room from my mother-in-law.

Well, anywhoooo......... After maneuvering the bulky sectional and chair thru the sliding glass door, around a corner, banging a few fingers and then assembling, Adam says; "Aunt Judy, I'm riding back to Corinth on my bike, where is the ITS trail from here?"

Remember the first of the story where is -18 degrees approximately? Yup, he stripped down to his Bike Suit thingy, unloaded his bike from the trailer that hauled the furniture and headed out..... BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR..... How can a 'suit' so thin be warm??? But no complaints from Adam.

Lillian, his grandmother, called a little later and said he made it home safely and that he had a great ride.
Now, can you imagine that being fun??? But that is why he is at the Olympics and I am not!!!!!
Below is a story from the Bangor Daily News front page the other day about Adams journey to Beijing.


Exeter native ready to roll
Friday, August 08, 2008
By Ernie Clark of the Bangor Daily News: DEXTER -Adam Craig’s relationship with travel and terrain transcends his current occupation as an Olympic mountain biker.

Exeter, Maine native Adam Craig is on the U.S. Olympic mountain bike team. Photographed July 30, 2008 at the Bangor City Forest. (Bangor Daily News/John Clarke Russ)Life in rural Maine draws most kids to explore the great outdoors early in life, and the 26-year-old Exeter native was no exception.

"Even when he was little, he’d jump off the deck and slide down to the frog pond and onto the stream nearby," said Craig’s mother, Patricia Craig.

Such spontaneous flirtations with speed soon were followed by more sophisticated means of transit, such as driving his dad’s jitterbug in the woods — a skill acquired at age 10.

Later, Craig discovered downhill ski racing and through that sport gained an introduction to the mountains that eventually fueled a passion for maneuvering around roots, rocks and other obstacles as fast as possible on a bicycle.

Today, few on the globe are faster on a mountain bike than the 5-foot-10, 165-pound Craig, who is one of two Americans who will compete in the men’s cross-country mountain bike race at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

"Adam has great bike-handling ability," said Carl Decker, one of Craig’s colleagues on the Giant Mountain Bike Team and a fellow resident of Bend, Ore. "He’s a really gifted rider, especially on descents. He has a unique understanding of how fast he can go downhill without riding too fast and crashing very often.

"He’s also really strong. He’s not a huge guy, but he breaks drivetrain components that nobody else breaks.

"Plus his cardiovascular is strong. He’s the complete package."

Adam Craig. (Bangor Daily News/John Clarke Russ)It’s that package — along with some strong recent efforts that include winning his second straight national championship last month — that leaves the 1999 graduate of Dexter Regional High School in an optimistic frame of mind heading into the biggest two hours of his competitive life on Aug. 23.

"This is the first year I’ve ridden in the elite group from the start at a few of the World Cup races," he said. "Before this year my good races have always been come-from-behind efforts. To be riding at the front in races now shows me that if I’m strong and fit and fresh as I usually am, somehow at the end of August I should be right there."

A rapid uphill climb

Craig has nearly a decade of elite mountain biking already behind him as he approaches his Olympic debut.

He competed in his first world championship at age 17 in 1998 at Mont Saint-Anne, Quebec, which along with Mount Snow in West Dover, Vt., considered one of his home courses on the World Cup and national bike tours.

In reality his biking career began long before that.

"When he first rode down Cadillac Mountain by himself at age 10, that was scary to me," said Patricia Craig, head of the art department at Hampden Academy. "Adam rode down and [his father] Harvey rode down, but I stayed at the top. I waited to drive down because I didn’t want to pass them. Plus, if I had driven down and seen them racing I knew I’d freak out."

From Adam Craig’s scenic introduction to the sport came a rapid ascent up the mountain-biking ranks.

In 1999, just after graduating from Dexter — where he went for his final three years after spending his freshman year at John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor, which had a ski team — Craig won his first junior national championship.

That led to an invitation to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, where he spent the better part of two full seasons training between races. It was there the notion of being an Olympian one day first crossed Craig’s mind.

"It’s like, ‘We’re at the Olympic Training Center, that’s probably because they think maybe I’ll go to the Olympics someday,’" he said. "At that point I was realistic, but I also knew that I was racing pretty well, and even then I could see that I’d have my best races at some of the bigger events like the junior world championships. In ’98 or ’99 I raced up [beyond my age level], and I thought maybe it would work out someday."

Craig won the first of three consecutive under-23 national cross-country championships in 2001, but that fall he returned home and enrolled at the University of Maine while continuing his mountain-biking career on the weekends.

Adam Craig tunes up a training bike while visiting friends at Ski Rack Sports in Bangor July 30, 2008. Craig is on the U.S. Olympic mountain bike team. On the right is Sebastian Boyington of Milford, a bicycle mechanic and sales person at Ski Rack Sports.(Bangor Daily News/John Clarke Russ)It represented a crossroads of sorts for Craig, who had to decide between concentrating on his education toward starting a career in the working world or making mountain biking his working world.

His performances that year — including his second straight U23 national championship — made that decision rather easy.

"When I graduated high school and moved out to Colorado Springs to the Olympic Training Center, I think that was the turning point of thinking that I was going to do this full time and see if I can make a go of it," he said.

"There were a couple of years of still working with Harvey in the winter, pounding nails or whatever and going to school before it panned out, but going to school and not training at all that spring and kayaking a bunch somehow made me really fast."

Craig turned pro in 2002, and quickly attracted the interest of a corporate sponsor in Giant Bicycles, another step toward confirming his status as a rising star in his sport.

He won his third straight national title in 2003, then moved out of the U23 ranks just in time for his first Olympic quest a year later.

Craig was the youngest of several contenders for two berths on the U.S. team, but a mechanical failure during the first World Cup race of the year was the first step in what Craig describes as "death by a hundred cuts" that ultimately prevented him from earning a trip to Athens.

"That year I considered myself a good choice for the team, but I knew in the public eye I was a long shot," he said. "To not make it was a bummer, but it wasn’t that big a deal. I also stood on a World Cup podium that fall, so I wasn’t that bothered."

Indeed, 2004 was not a total loss for Craig — far from it.

He scored his first top-10 finish in a World Cup event at Mont Sainte-Anne and capped off the season by placing fifth at the World Cup finals in Livigno, Italy — the first American man to score a podium finish in a World Cup race since 1995.

"Getting that World Cup podium in Livigno right after the Olympics, I knew that would keep him motivated," said Patricia Craig.

The road to Beijing

The three seasons between Olympic years saw Craig continue to improve while being among the busiest of the world’s elite riders.

He had six top-10 World Cup finishes in 2005 and 2006 as well as top-25 efforts in the world championships both years.

The 2007 season marked Craig’s second straight as the top American in the final World Cup points. He also won the gold medal at the Pan American Games in Brazil, then returned to Mount Snow to score a breakthrough victory in the men’s elite cross-country race at the U.S. national championships.

"He seems to spread himself really thin, and that was something I was concerned with," said Decker. "But he just showed over and over that he could do it."

This year there was little mystery surrounding Craig’s motivation — to earn an Olympic berth.

Ultimately, there was little mystery in the competition. Craig consistently ran first or second among six U.S. candidates for two Olympic spots in the World Cup races that served as a primary measuring stick for selection.

"This has been my goal for the last four years," said Craig after the July 1 announcement that he and Todd Wells would represent the United States in Beijing. "I pretty much knew this was the situation for the last month or so, but I’m glad that it’s come to fruition."

Craig’s Olympic anticipation certainly has not slowed him since then.

Despite adjusting his training regimen to prepare for the specifics of the Olympic course, he successfully defended his U.S. championship at Mount Snow in mid-July.

Exeter, Maine native Adam Craig, a member of the U.S. Olympic mountain bike team, cuts through the brush at the Bangor City Forest July 30,2008 . (Bangor Daily News/John Clarke Russ)"I was lucky to just squeak in and win nationals on semitired legs from training that week, and that was part of the plan, too, because definitely everything’s been prioritized for the Games," Craig said. "I was kind of nervous all week knowing I was a little tired and still hoping I could pull it out."

Craig followed that up the next weekend by matching his career-best World Cup finish with a fourth at Mont Sainte-Anne. A week later, he established a new personal standard with a third-place finish at Bromont, Quebec.

Now his attention has turned fully to Beijing, a land of Olympic trepidation and opportunity.

Craig was among approximately 50 elite riders from around the world invited to test the Beijing mountain-bike course last summer — but fewer than 10 finished the race after succumbing to subpar air quality.

Air quality concerns remain among all Olympians, but mountain-biking organizers have made other changes in the aftermath of that test run.

"They’ve extended the course to 6 kilometers and attempted to make it more technical, with more jumps, more rock sections and more twisty-turny stuff, so, hopefully, it will be more of a test of our mountain-biking skills," said Craig. "But the course is really kind of irrelevant because everyone’s going to be fit and fast, and races are won on the uphills and there’s a whole bunch of them out there."

While Craig has competed for several years now against the best mountain bikers in the world, the stage for the Olympic race sets it apart from the rest.

"It’s a notch higher for sure, just like in every sport," he said. "For athletes personally, we face the same challenge in the world championships once a year, but we all acknowledge that the public eye is focused on summer sport once every four years and that’s at the Olympic Games. Everyone acknowledges that’s where you need to be and where you have to have your 200 percent game face on and not just your 110 percent."

Craig is hopeful his best 200 percent will be enough to help elevate in the American sports consciousness a sport whose hotbeds are such European Alpine centers as Switzerland and France.

"The Olympic race is a little more distilled, so there’s not as much weird stuff happening as there is when you have 270 starters at a European World Cup," said Decker. "At the Olympics there are only 30 or 40 in the race, so you’re not going to get stuck behind a crowd at the start.

"I wouldn’t bet everything on Adam winning a medal," he added. "But I wouldn’t bet everything against him, either."

As for Craig, he’s confident but not putting added pressure on himself by quantifying any Olympic expectations.

Still, there is a dream to be realized.

"I’m still trying to stay away from that actual goals thing," said Craig. "I feel like if I’m having the kind of day I’m pretty sure I can have, I should be in contention for a medal. It would be nice to get one of those.

"My mom’s already looked up what they look like on the Internet. She says they look real nice."
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Monday, May 19, 2008 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."

6th Annual Wild West Weekend

What a great weekend despite the weather....
So..... I just wanted to convey to you all how much I appreciate Chief Roy, Officer Warren Akkerman (Dexter 10) and other Dexter officers, Jasper & Dicky of the Highway Dept, Duke & Eric of facilities for all the hard work & support they gave me and DRDC and the town during 6th Annual Wild West Weekend.

Every time something was requested or needed, they responded quickly and went above and beyond the call of duty!

Kuddos! The Town of Dexter is very fortunate to have such dedicated employees......

Despite the rain and strange weather, everything went very smoothly.

Dexter Historical Society had another "record" day at the museum on Saturday, Key Club made over $600 in the various sales, Catholic Church Jail & Bail was a huge hit, Food vendors ran out of food, pie sales sold out, amazing amount of people in the Costume Contest & Pig Scramble and the list goes on....
So once again, many thanks......

Judy Wilbur Craig and DRDC