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Town of New Gloucester
385 Intervale Road, New Gloucester, ME 04260
(207) 926-4126 (phone) / (207) 926-4136 (fax)
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Town of Poland
1231 Maine Street, Poland, ME 04274
(207) 998-4601 (phone) / (207) 998-2002 (fax)
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New Gloucester Fish Hatchery
Recently enacted and signed into law L.D. 1733, "An Act To Provide Allocations for the Distribution of State Fiscal Recovery Funds," (PL 2021, Chap. 483) provides funding to support the replacement of antiquated infrastructure at the 88-year-old New Gloucester Fish Hatchery. The funding source is federal money stemming from the American Rescue Plan.
To view the new law's language in its entirety, click here.
Maine Any-Deer Permit Deadline Approaching
You will be able to enter into the Maine Any-Deer Permit Lottery using this online service. From the list of Lottery applicants, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIF&W) will administer a chance drawing to select winners for a Maine any-deer hunting permit. To hunt any deer in Maine, hunters must have one of these special any-deer hunting permits.
Please note, you may only supply the MDIF&W with one application for the Lottery per year. If it is found that an applicant has applied more than one time in a year, that applicant will be disqualified.
Applications must be completed by 11:59 pm (ET) on August 17, 2021. A chance drawing will be held on September 10, 2021.
Who can use this service?
- You are eligible to apply if you have a current valid Maine big game hunting license (complimentary and lifetime licenses are acceptable). Note -- landowners planning to hunt on their own land without a license can apply online without a hunting license.
and
- You are a resident of the United States or Canada (foreign residents must contact the MDIF&W for help in applying for an any-deer permit).
What will I need?
To complete the application you will need:
- current big game hunting license (or complimentary or lifetime license). Note -- landowners planning to hunt on their own land without a license can apply online without a hunting license;
- districts wishing to hunt in;
- personal information (name, address, age, etc.); and
- landowner information (if applicable -- including acres and town).
Fees
There are no fees to apply for the Any-Deer Permit Lottery.
Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Announces Resources to Help Foodservice Businesses Affected by Supply Chain Bottlenecks
To assist business owners facing food supply disruptions, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry (DACF) has compiled a new resource highlighting wholesale procurement channels available for agricultural and seafood products, including distributors, cooperatives, and direct-to-producer options. The Maine Wholesale Foodservice Distributors for Institutional Buyers list was also created in response to food supply issues facing some Maine summer camps and restaurants.
The DACF's Bureau of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Resources (BAFRR) invites food producers with wholesale capacity within the State's local food network to complete a brief questionnaire to determine capacity to be added to the online resource.
The DACF reminds individuals, restaurants, caterers, and institutions to become acquainted with the Department's Real Maine program. Real Maine is created and administered by The DACF's BAFRR. It is a publicly available online resource designed to connect consumers with Maine farmers and food producers.
Reuters recently reported that restaurants are facing shortages of key ingredients and products due to supply bottlenecks. In the same report, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said food supply bottlenecks could continue "well into 2022."
Current supply-chain issues reinforce the need for Maine to pursue more efforts to support robust and resilient food systems, including rebuilding critical food processing infrastructure. Additionally, in Maine Won't Wait, the State's four-year climate action plan released last December, Maine's Climate Council set far-reaching goals, including increasing the amount of food consumed in Maine from State food producers from 10% to 30% by 2030 through local food system development. That will require research, development, and planning to support the growth and resilience of Maine's food system.
In response to this need, the DACF and the Departments of Marine Resources and Economic and Community Development recently surveyed Maine's agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors to determine infrastructure investment priorities in these heritage industries. Responses helped identify opportunities for growth, such as expanded onsite storage and increased co-packing options, particularly for growing grain, meat, dairy, vegetable, and fruit production. With targeted support, the DACF aims to continue working to build a springboard for sustainable growth of Maine's agricultural economy in a way that benefits producers, consumers, and foodservice businesses alike.
Maine DHHS Bolsters Public Awareness Campaign Encouraging Safe Storage of Medications
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced that it will bolster public education about how to store medications safely as part of broader efforts to protect children and families and reduce overdose deaths in Maine.
Keeping prescription medications safe and out of reach can help to keep children, loved ones, visitors, and pets safe. The Department is spreading this message and tips for safe storage by extending its Eyes Open public awareness campaign, which is aimed at reducing overdoses from prescription opioids through additional digital ads and print resources. The Department is also reaching out to healthcare providers through MaineCare to encourage them to talk about safe storage with their patients who have a substance use disorder and/or parents caring for a substance-exposed infant.
This intensified work to support Maine families and save lives from overdoses follows the Department’s recent initiatives to improve care and resources for Maine people affected by substance use disorder and mental health challenges, and to support child wellbeing.
Tips for Storing Medications Safely
- Lock all prescriptions in a cabinet, safe, or private drawer.
- Keep medications stored above the reach of children.
- Store prescriptions in their original containers.
- Bring unwanted, unused, or expired medications to a drug take back location.
The Maine CDC’s Prevention Store offers free downloadable posters about the importance of safe storage, and the Department has encouraged health providers to post these in their offices. Additional information about safe storage can be found at www.eyesopenforme.org.
Free and confidential help is available through 211 and/or www.knowyouroptions.me/resources.
According to the Maine Drug Death Report for 2020, 504 deaths were caused by drugs in Maine in 2020, a 33 percent increase over 380 in 2019. On Thursday, July 15, the Governor convened the third annual Governor’s Opioid Response Summit to bring together members of the public, healthcare providers, policy experts, affected individuals and families, and law enforcement officials from across the country to foster collaboration on the response to the opioid crisis.
The Department’s expanded safe storage campaign builds on the Administration’s work to address the opioid epidemic and to support Maine children and families, which Director of the Office of Child and Family Services, Todd Landry, Ed.D., discussed as part of his presentation at the Government Oversight Committee last week.
- Recently, the Department launched the Maine Maternal Opioid Misuse (MaineMOM) initiative, which aims to improve care for pregnant Mainers and new parents who are struggling with opioid use disorder.
- Earlier this month, the Department sent a letter to medical providers to encourage them to schedule visits with families who may have missed medical care due to the pandemic, screen adults and children for mental health needs, and offer to connect families to supports available in the community.
- Maine launched the first statewide free texting system to alert Maine residents to any sudden increase in overdoses in their counties and connect them with resources that can save lives, support those struggling with substance use, and promote recovery on June 25.
- On June 24, the Department announced it will expand and broaden its StrengthenME campaign, which offers free stress management and resiliency resources to anyone in Maine experiencing stress reactions to the pandemic.
- On the same day, the Department also announced it will work with Casey Family Programs, a national leader in improving child safety and the wellbeing of children, to assist the Department in its investigation of recent child deaths and offer policy recommendations within approximately 90 days that could be implemented in the short-run to support child and family safety.
Maine Agricultural Fairs
Pittston Fair
July 22 - 25
Web site: https://www.pittstonfair.com/
Northern Maine Fair
July 31 - August 8
Web site: http://northernmainefairgrounds.com/
Topsham Fair
August 8 - 15
Web site: https://topshamfair.net/
New Gloucester Community Fair
August 21
Web site: https://ngrecreation.com/program/38350/new-gloucester-community-fair
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