Thursday update and thanks to volunteers

Thursday update:  1st Corn beef & Cabbage 'full on dinner' was awesome!  Wow Richard Frank, you out did yourself on this one!!! The Charleston crew, Darlene, Rich and I all sat down for a huge dinner and no one really wanted to go back to work.

Today: 2 trips to Dexter Lumber for insulation today, a couple trips to Tillson True Value.  The crew put insulation up on the 1st floor and Contractor J. Wilbur was going right behind them hanging drywall!!! Kitchen area is going fast.  With only 2 crew members & supervisor Rob and Jonathan they have gotten so much done today!

The crew also cleaned off the deck of ice and tried to de-ice the sidewalk.  I enjoy working with the Charleston crew very much, as do other DRDC board members.

For those of you who don't know, Charleston Correctional Facility is a minimum security prison and they provide free labor to many non-profit organizations and municipalities in Central Maine.  The crew members come with a supervisor and range from 1 or 2 to a crew, to up to 5 (as we have had) or big jobs even 2 crews.  

Since we started our project just over 2 1/2 years ago, the Charleston crews have volunteered hundreds of hours helping us to create our store.  They started when the old building needed heavy duty gutting on all 3 floors and 2 crews came and I was there long enough to get them started and then left.

Last winter a crew of an average of 4 plus supervisor came to tear out layers of the floor on the 2nd story and then laid subfloor and then a beautiful hardwood floor using both new wood donated by a farmer Brown and recycled flooring from the building.  From then on, I have worked along with them personally and have enjoyed earning trust & respect for one another and become a sorta mother figure for some of the younger guys.  They tell me their stories, in their own time, and say how stupid it was and in some cases I have even said “yup, that was stupid”! … and we laugh in a knowing way.

This week, (a new crew) came and have been insulating, helping with dry wall and tomorrow a lot of different tasks and already they want to bring their families back when the store is open.  We, DRDC & I are very grateful for all they help that they give, but also for the respect we give one another and getting to know their stories and how they feel good about 'giving back' by working in the community and helping nonprofits.  I enjoy each day working with these men and knowing that we all are helping one another, and HOPEFULLY it will be a turning point in their lives.  But we must remember when judging and not knowing the whole story, "there but for the grace of God, go I".

Sorry I went on, but I felt it was worth mentioning….

Update: Thursday, December 6th

Thursday update:  Finally got a date for our internet hookup at the Store. (they lost my order from Nov 20th) but found it again. ... and 3 phone calls later "Janet" gave me a date of December 13th for outside hookup.

Casey Macomber, Jonathan Wilbur, Greg Macomber

Cross your fingers, hold your breath and pray to the internet/phone gods that it comes to pass................. It is hard to work in an office without internet access ;)

BUT Fairpoint does have a great deal right now for businesses, $30.49 month for both phone & internet access for 2 years, IF you can get 'em to get it done...
Installation date is now December 13th!!!

 Hardwood flooring, 5" ash is ordered from Yoders and the 1 x 8 ship lapped wall board is ordered, also from Yoders. 

Tile from Harmony Decor is ready to be ordered and is all is on budget.

Door is installed in the office upstairs (by DRDC board director Tim Breen).
Was pleased to find (real) lights working upstairs when I got there today!  We won't be running all those extension cords for lights in the very near future or fumbling around in the dark to get in and out of the upstairs~
Thanks Seamans Electric!!!  AND CMP is coming to make our new electric panel LIVE!  

More sheet rock is hung by our contractor, Jonathan Wilbur and he cleaned up the work site again which is a constant battle; they are doing a great job!

Heating system is being delivered tomorrow and more electrical tomorrow.

Kitchen ceiling sub contractor stopped by to access the situation is coming back tomorrow for measurements. Won't be installed for a few weeks.

Oh and got the printer/scanner that Fred Donovan donated hooked up and running.  That is a BIG thing, I wont have to run home and do it and run back again :)

Good day and very productive!!!

Update: Tuesday December 4th

Tuesday update: Earlier I was sitting in the Fossa Office (using someones wireless connection for a minute) and thinking what a difference a day makes.
I was waiting for DRDC's monthly meeting to begin at 6:30 and thought I would do an update.

SprayFoam insulation is done! What a difference already!

Sheet rock is up in the stairway to the 2nd floor and on walls in the mercantile area & downstairs bathroom.

I was wandering around the 1st floor a little while ago and actually visualizing where coolers are going and shelving will be built. In the kitchen, seeing where counters and
refrigerators will be for an efficient space. WHAT fun!

The CnC Spray Foam guys did a great job, they are from Clinton, Seamans Electric, Gregory Macomber & Casey his son and of course Jonathan Wilbur of J. Wilbur Construction and his man.

They are all working together well and the communication is something we hadn't experienced in the past.

I gotta say, we are so happy to be working with local companies! We are trying to buy local and hire local!!!! 'Cause that is the kinda people we are :)l

Recent updates: December 1st

Friday, December 1st update:

-- Furnace and all the stuff that goes with it being delivered Monday and should be done in a couple weeks.

-- Spray Foam (if delivered to sprayer) going in Monday - all 3 floors where intended
-- Insulation in Kitchen installing Monday Dec 10th (so electricians can finish 1st)
-- spraying of open ceilings in the next week or so
-- LOTS more for me to do but I won't bore you with that
.. for pictures taken today: (kinda boring but not to me :)

Darlene and I found the "perfect" tile for the kitchen tonight at Harmony Decor from Bonnie in Corinna!!! It was what was in my head, but have not found it yet. She pulled a sample out of a box while on the phone with the distributor and I kept saying that is the one, that is it!!!! AND it is on sale!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Perfect! It is a rough surface 16" tile that is slate color, with hues of rust, creams, even subtle greens, but looks like a slice of a rock! Perfect!

Last week, up on the recommendation of DRDC Board of Director Ernest Rollins, I took my camera and photographed all the electric wire, boxes, etc that has been run & installed BEFORE the spray foam insulation was done and walls put up!  Brilliant!!!  So I did all 3 floors and will have the record for the future if ever needed to know how to locate something....

$16 million purchase would boost industry and help federal food programs

 BANGOR, ME – Today, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it intends to buy up to $16 million worth of wild blueberries for federal food programs, a move that was requested by the Maine Wild Blueberry Commission. Congressman Mike Michaud weighed in with USDA and urged them to make a timely decision on the request.

 

“Our wild blueberry growers and producers not only provide a nutritious and quality product, but they are critical to the health of our state’s economy,” said Michaud. “This USDA purchase is a win-win that will help address the needs of the industry as well as our nation’s food programs.”

 

According to the Maine Wild Blueberry Commission, the USDA purchase request was made to help the industry address an oversupply situation as a result of a large crop of Maine wild blueberries also impacted by a growing supply of frozen cultivated blueberries.

 

According to the USDA, this purchase of wild blueberries will support federal food nutrition assistance programs, including food banks. USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) purchases also help to stabilize prices in agricultural commodity markets by balancing supply and demand.

Wreath and Tree Shippers Should Be Aware of Out-of-State Plant Regulations

Monday, November 19, 2012
AUGUSTA, Maine - As part of its commitment to supporting the state's farm- and forest-based businesses, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (ACF) has established a website outlining other states' restrictions on importing cut trees and wreaths. Maine decorative-plant shippers who are sending Christmas trees and wreaths around the country for the holiday season can save money and lost products by noting important regulations enforced by other states.

States such as California are impounding and destroying shipments to prevent infestation by invasive insects and the spread of plant diseases, said Ann Gibbs, Maine state horticulturist.
"Import requirements for cut trees and wreaths with ornamental nuts and fruit arrangements exist to protect regional agriculture or other commodities from the risk of plant pests," Gibbs explained. "Unfortunately, some Maine shippers have learned about these regulations the hard way and have had shipments impounded and destroyed. We want to prevent any losses by getting the word out now.

Our best advice is to check out-of-state orders in advance, especially those headed to California, and to make sure they are free of scale on the needles."

Distributors also should identify their products clearly through labeling, beginning with the statement, "Grown in Maine," followed by the county of origin and the name and address of the shipper. Labels should indicate the contents of packages, including the different types of greenery, nuts, fruits and cones used to decorate wreaths.
"This information benefits the shipper by speeding along deliveries," Gibbs said. "That is very important in this time-sensitive industry."
An informational sheet, "Know State Regulations When Shipping Wreaths and Trees," is available on the ACF website at www.maine.gov/agriculture/horticulture/ship.htm or by contacting Sarah Scally at (207)287-3891 or sarah.h.scally@maine.gov.
For more information about the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, go to: http://www.maine.gov/acf

Fossa General Store completion is underway

Dexter Regional Development Corporation is pleased to announce the contract with the General Contractor was signed on Wednesday, October 31st and construction is beginning immediately. The low bid General Contractor is J. Wilbur Construction of Dexter and he has enlisted several local subcontractors to help complete the Fossa General Store in about 3 months. DRDC & J. Wilbur Construction is working closely with Plymouth Engineering, Inc. of Plymouth, Maine.

Last week week Contracts were signed and there is ‘hammering of the nail’ now taking place, but you will be seeing more and more activity at 4 Main Street in Dexter.

Dexter Regional Development Corporation (DRDC) has been working on the Dexter Community Farm Project idea since June 2009. Along the way, they have received 2 CDBG Federal Grants to help in the rehab of the old Fossa Store, which was generously donated to DRDC from the Fossa Family in 2007 after running the Fossa Store for 3 generations.

DRDC has spent over $50,000 from their own coffers, as well as 100’s of hours of volunteer work from Dexter’s Aspire Volunteers & Workfare Program, the Charleston Correctional Facility, DRDC & community members.

DRDC is developing the Fossa General Store that will support local farmers by creating a year round mercantile space, a commercial kitchen (for use by the store, to rent to farmers and for educational purposes) and to act as a wholesale agent for Farm to School, Farm to Institutions and Farm to Table.

DRDC is creating a market for their products year round, creating jobs both in the store and on the farm; providing education to farmer, the consumer and to the education community.
 
This week piles of paperwork has been scanned and emailed to appropriate people, dozen of phone calls coordinated, Maine Revenue & Maine Labor paperwork done, Contractor is framing inside the store, furnace is waiting to be installed, subcontractors notified, building materials delivered by Dexter Lumber, volunteers to be organized, grant to be finished... okay, it is a great week! FINALLY moving forward....

If you would like more information on the Dexter Community Farm Project, email judy@DexterFarmProject.com.