Dear Editor:

Don't forget to come to the Boothbay Region Alumni-Com-munity Band's annual Christmas concert. It's this Sunday afternoon, December 9th at 2 p.m. in the Boothbay Region Elementary School gymnasium. You won't want to miss the exceptionally lovely musical arrangements.

As always, this is a free concert, although donations are always gratefully accepted.

There will be no intermission so you'll have plenty of time to get back home to watch the Patriots play. Come enjoy!

Boothbay Region Alumni

Community Band

Dear Editor:

The co-chairs of the Festival of Trees would like to thank all the folks that visited and enjoyed the festival at the Opera House this past weekend.

Our six sponsors, our many contributors, and our elves from the local schools and youth organizations who decorated trees have made it possible for us to give 12 families in the area a decorated and lighted tree for the holidays. Over 100 people in our community took mittens from the Mitten Tree to return with gifts to bring a smile to many area children. There was also generous support from the Pet Tree where all the donations will go to our local animal shelter and Paw's Cause. What a generous and caring community we live in.

A special thank you to all of you that supported the Boothbay Region Garden Club's major fund-raiser by donating auction trees, by bidding on those trees and the raffle tree, by shopping at Santa's Sweet Shop, the Cottage Corner, and the Deck the Halls Boutique, and by stopping by to design your own wreath or gingerbread house. We hope you had a wonderful experience.

And finally a HUGE thank you to all the Garden Club members and friends who spent countless hours making the Festival of Trees 2007 such a great success. Of course, we could not leave out the Opera House staff and friends who provided us with a grand venue… and the extra draw of the Gingerbread Spectacular.

We look forward to seeing all of you again next year on the first weekend in December for another Festival of Trees.

With sincere and

heartfelt thanks,

Linda Redman and

Kathleen Marty

Dear Editor,

On Saturday morning, as I was opening up the bar at the Opera House, I was hit hard and fast with the joy and spirit of the season. I walked around plugging in Christmas lights, turning on holiday music and then, in the quiet of the morning in this great old building, I had a chance to gaze at each of the whimsical gingerbread creations that had been created by families and coworkers and solo bakers working into the midnight hours over the past week.

I could practically hear the laughter and the stories of grandparents and grandchildren gathered around a kitchen table, frosting in hand, adorning little gingerbread cottages. The story of the Three Little Pigs danced back into my head when I reached Pat Kiley's wonderful three houses while Mimi Lonski's swimming elf brought a smile, as did Will Perkins' gingerbread man walking the plank! Each little, and not so little, house told a story and held an enormous amount of wonder. A snowball fight with marshmallows here, a gingerbread carousel there. Local buildings reconstructed out of cookies and magical places imagined only in the mind. From beginning to end, the Great Gingerbread Spectacular! lived up to its name, especially the award winning Most Spectacular conceived and amazingly constructed by families of the Knickerbocker Group.

For the joy that the many, many bakers and creators brought to literally hundreds and hundreds of visitors over the weekend I extend deepest thanks. To those who bid on the little houses, thank you for your generosity. To our hard working judges Eileen King, Tom Woodin, Jessie Wilkey, Devin Mellor, Keith Marty and Howie Barter - thank you for doing I job I could not possibly have done. They were each uniquely created and full of fun, how did you decide? To our generous sponsor, the Boothbay Harbor Framers, you helped make it a free-for-everyone Spectacular! We could not have put it on without you as our sponsor.

And to Kevin Kiley, the original Gingerbread Man, who years ago planted the seed that has grown into the Gingerbread Spectacular!, I extend the biggest thanks of all. The decorations throughout the Opera House, from the stage to the trees in the windows to the brilliant tree in the gallery and the sweetly decorated bar are all thanks to Kevin's design and late night decorating vision. Without Kevin Kiley it might have been a mere gathering of gingerbread houses in an unadorned space. With Kevin, it was nothing short of holiday magic.

Thank you one and all for making the Great Gingerbread Spectacular! a feast for the eyes, for the imagination, and for the spirit.

Dear Editor:

The Department of Transportation (MDOT) is currently seeking public comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Route 1 Corridor Study. It is possible that a final decision could be made sometime next year on this controversy to locate a by-pass around Wiscasset Village to alleviate traffic congestion in the village and improve public safety on Route 1.

I have been involved in this issue for many years in various discussions and as a member of the first MDOT Route 1 Corridor Study in 1990-1991. I firmly believe that MDOT needs to now move ahead immediately to fully implement actions that will reduce the present vehicle-trip demand and improve the existing transportation system within Wiscasset Village. These actions and improvements should be done and tested before millions of tax dollars are committed to a by-pass of the village. In the event that such actions and improvements do not together substantially reduce traffic congestion in the village and improve public safety on Route 1, I would support the proposed N8C (so-called long bridge) option.

The most important action that should be taken to reduce vehicle-trip demand northbound is both fixed and variable-message signs on Interstate 295 before the Route 1 exit to Brunswick. The fixed signs should indicate the existence of the Kennebec River Bridge at Augusta and Routes 3 and 17 as alternative routes for those with destinations north and east of Rockland. The variable-message signs would operate when traffic congestion in Wiscasset Village met or exceeded a 5-minute delay. Similar and location-specific signs should be erected southbound in Belfast before the Route 1 exit to Route 3 and also in Rockland before the Route 1 exit to Route 17.

Both these suggestions were made in various forms during the first MDOT Route 1 corridor study. But there has been, and will continue to be, very strong political pressure by some in the business community to prevent the implementation of these actions.

There are several improvements to the existing transportation system within Wiscasset Village that should be made. These improvements taken together should greatly reduce the pedestrian traffic and accelerate vehicle traffic through the village. First, to keep pedestrians off Route 1, an overhead walkway should be built opposite Treats. Second, serious consideration should be given to relocating the Post Office outside the Route 1 corridor. Third, Red's Eat's should be purchased with public funds and eliminated from the Route 1 corridor. Fourth, northbound left turns off Route 1 onto Middle and Water Streets should be prohibited and so should southbound left turns off Route 1 onto Water Street. Signs should also be placed northbound on Route 1 before the Lincoln County Courthouse to provide an option for those vehicles wishing to stop in Wiscasset Village with parking on Middle Street. Finally, all parking in the village should be eliminated on both sides of Route 1. It should be recognized by the public that there has been, and will continue to be, very strong political pressure by the Town of Wiscasset against these improvements. I urge all those homeowners and businesses that would be directly affected by the building of any of the Wiscasset by-pass options, members of environmental groups concerned with the loss of wildlife habitat and wildlife corridors, open space, and scenic beauty, and members of the public that want their tax dollars spent wisely to contact the MDOT, their local representatives, and the Federal Highway Administration asking that all of the above actions and improvements be fully implemented and tested before a final decision is made on a by-pass of Wiscasset Village.

Nicholas Barth

Boothbay