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 Forsythia is the Beautiful this year Photo by Judy Wilbur Craig taken in Dexter, May 27, 2019
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PENQUIS - Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) has opened registration for the third session in our popular Families in the Outdoors series, Garden Fun! This event will take place at the Law Farm in Dover-Foxcroft on Friday, June 21st from 9AM-12PM, with a rain date of June 28th, same time. Registration is required! For each session of Families in the Outdoors, we will be outside, celebrating the fun and interesting offerings each season brings us. For the Garden Fun! event, participants will be learning and working together to plant our brand-new Children’s Garden at the Law Farm! Everyone will have their hands in the dirt and together, we will design and plant the “Sunflower Circle” Children’s Garden – a space for the public to explore and enjoy! Additionally, participants will get a hands-on and exciting educational opportunity about composting from Jackson ReGenerational Farm in Atkinson, Maine. Come join the fun and be a part of this awesome community project! Seeing the Children’s Garden at the Law Farm come to life is exciting for the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District. Kacey Weber, Educational Coordinator for the PCSWCD, says “we are thrilled to see this project happening and thought what better way to break-ground than to get the public involved with planting through the Families in the Outdoors Program!” This program is a true community effort. Local farms Marr Pond Farm of Sangerville, Ripley Farm of Dover-Foxcroft, Checkerberry Farm of Parkman, Campbell Farm of Sangerville, Ellis Greenhouse & Nursery of Hudson and Thompson Free Library all generously donated sunflower seedlings and native pollinator-friendly perennials to be planted. The PCSWCD is humbled and grateful for these generous donations! Also associated with this garden project is the PCSWCD’s poster contest. A winner will be announced on June 11th and the winning design will be on display at the Children’s Garden. The farms and businesses that donated seedlings will be listed on the poster as well! The Families in the Outdoors program was started in 2018 from a grant received by the Davis Conservation Foundation. The goal of this program is to engage with families outdoors and provide fun, educational opportunities to learn and play together. We encourage everyone to join us for this great program. Bring your kids, grandchildren or even a family friend and enjoy the great outdoors with us. This program is recommended for adults and children ages 5+. To join us, you must register by contacting the PCSWCD at 207-564-2321 ext. 3, info@piscataquisswcd.org, or on our website at www.piscataquisswcd.org. Information about Families in the Outdoors and registration information can also be found on our Facebook page – www.facebook.com/www.piscataquisswcd.org. There is a small registration fee per person, which supports our conservation education programs. Come have some fun in the dirt with the PCSWCD on June 21st with our Families in the Outdoors: Garden Fun event! By Elizabeth Newport of Social Security Public Affairs Specialist, Portland, ME - In the digital age, frauds and scams are an unfortunate part of doing business online. Social Security has seen a spike in phishing scams, and we want to protect you as best we can. We urge you to always be cautious and to avoid providing sensitive information such as your Social Security Number (SSN) or bank account information to unknown individuals over the phone or internet. If you receive a call and aren’t expecting one, you must be extra careful. You can always get the caller’s information, hang up, and — if you do need more clarification — contact the official phone number of the business or agency that the caller claims to represent. Never reveal personal data to a stranger who called you. Please take note; there’s a scam going around right now. You might receive a call from someone claiming to be from Social Security or another agency. Calls can even display the 1-800-772-1213, Social Security’s national customer service number, as the incoming number on your caller ID. In some cases, the caller states that Social Security does not have all of your personal information, such as your Social Security number (SSN), on file. Other callers claim Social Security needs additional information so the agency can increase your benefit payment, or that Social Security will terminate your benefits if they do not confirm your information. This appears to be a widespread issue, as reports have come from people across the country. These calls are not from Social Security. Callers sometimes state that your Social Security number is at risk of being deactivated or deleted. The caller then asks you to provide a phone number to resolve the issue. People should be aware the scheme’s details may vary; however, you should avoid engaging with the caller or calling the number provided, as the caller might attempt to acquire personal information. Social Security employees occasionally contact people by telephone for customer-service purposes. In only a few special situations, such as when you have business pending with us, a Social Security employee may request the person confirm personal information over the phone. Social Security employees will never threaten you or promise a Social Security benefit approval or increase in exchange for information. In those cases, the call is fraudulent, and you should just hang up. If you receive these calls, please report the information to the Office of the Inspector General at 1-800-269-0271 or online at oig.ssa.gov/report. Remember, only call official phone numbers and use secured websites of the agencies and businesses you know are correct. Protecting your information is an important part of Social Security’s mission to secure today and tomorrow. PENQUIS - Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) is calling all artists! PCSWCD is holding a poster contest for their Children’s Garden at the Law Farm! We have big plans to create a Sunflower Circle, which will be planted during the Family in the Outdoors Program, Garden Fun on June 21st. Get involved with this great community project by creating an 8x11 poster with the theme “sunflowers.” The winner of the poster contest will have their artwork displayed at the Sunflower Circle in the Children’s Area. All ages and media are welcome and entries are $5/entry (we will accept multiple entries)! All proceeds from the contest support programming at the Law Farm, continuing conservation education. You can mail or drop off art entries to the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District located at 42 Engdahl Drive Dover-Foxcroft ME 04426. Submissions must be in by June 1st. Contact (207) 564-2321 ext. 3, info@piscataquisswcd.org for more information. AUGUSTA – The House voted 91-52 in favor of legislation that would ban single-use plastic carryout bags statewide. The bill, LD 1532, was introduced by Rep. Holly Stover, D-Boothbay, with heavy involvement from co-sponsors Rep. Nicole Grohoski, D-Ellsworth, and Rep. Dave McCrea, D-Fort Fairfield. “The health of our marine life is essential to the industries that drive our economy in Maine. And yet, our own pollution is putting that marine life at risk,” said Stover. “We frequently allow plastic bags to end up in our coastal waters. We need to make a change. It is time our State steps up and takes action to protect the wildlife that supports our way of life.” Plastic bags have an overwhelming impact on Maine’s environment and an adverse impact on the state’s ecosystems. As a response, 24 municipalities in Maine have instituted local bans on single use plastic bags. Hoping for a consistent law that would apply throughout the state, the Retail Association of Maine and Maine Grocers and Food Producers Association worked closely with legislators to craft this bill. “The business community is asking us for stability. Rather than grappling with a patchwork of local ordinances, they would prefer to have a universal statewide policy,” said Grohoski. “This bill is an example of government, business and the environmental community coming together to create a law that works for everyone. It’s good policy that I am hopeful will become law.” The legislation prohibits a retail establishment from using single-use plastic carry-out bags at the point of sale. As an alternative, businesses may offer customers paper bags, however, grocers and large retailers must charge a minimum five cent fee per bag. These regulations would go into effect on April 22, 2020 to allow businesses adequate time to adjust. This law would exempt certain bags including bags for produce, prescription drugs, newspapers, laundry and live animals, such as fish. “Not only does this bill solve an immediate problem of plastic bag pollution, it helps train Mainers to be better stewards of the environment,” said McCrea. “We all need to think twice about what we waste and how that impacts our world. Our future generations deserve nothing less than our best efforts to protect the environment that they will inherit.” The bill, which was worked by the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, now heads for a vote in the Senate. Note: this is NOT the safest possible route to take, but it is a good service and much better than never running a virus check. To check your computer, go to housecall.antivirus.com Many people think that if they have a virus program on their system they are safe, BUT you are only as safe as your latest update. Yes, you do have to update your virus program frequently. (I do it every day!) Download a FREE virus program that works well at www.free.avg.com The Daily ME is on-line only, non-profit newspaper and a one-woman operation with the help of contributing writers and photographers. If you would like to contribute to The Daily Me, we welcome press releases, contributing editor's young and old. Send your Upcoming local events, news, Town reports, club news, school news or other items that you have in mind. If you have pictures you would like to share with friends and relatives far and near, please contact The Daily Me. We encourage feedback and suggestions from our readers. I hope that The Daily ME gives you information that keeps you in touch with home! 
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