Town of Norway Happenings

ELECTIONS AND VOTING: In person early voting will begin on Tuesday October 13th between 10am and 4pm and will continue until Thursday October 29th until 4pm. We have the booths set up in the Town Office.

Election Day is November 3rd. In person voting at the Fire Station will begin at 8am and end at 8pm. If you plan to vote in person on November 3, 2020, please respect social distancing guidelines and we recommend face coverings. Be prepared for long lines due to required social distancing practices.

Information about Absentee Ballots: Due to the pandemic and social distancing limitations, the Secretary of State is encouraging voters to vote absentee. Absentee ballots by mail can be requested until October 29 at https://apps.web.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/AbsenteeBallot/index.pl or call us at 743-6651. If you receive an application in the mail for absentee voting, you may mail that application to us. All Norway absentee ballots must be returned to Norway Town Hall only – by mail, in the drop box or in person no later than 8pm on election day November 3, 2020.

Information about Rank Choice Voting:

https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/rcv.html

Information to Register to Vote:

The Norway Town Office will be open Monday – Friday from 10am to 4pm through November 2, 2020 for the purpose of receiving new voter registrations or to make other changes on the voter list for the upcoming Presidential Election. New voter registrations will be accepted on voting day, but it is recommended that it be done prior to the election to save wait time in lines. New voter registration applicants must show identification and proof of residents.

https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/voter-info/voterguide.html

Covid-19 and Town Services update – We are taking appointments so that we can help you register your vehicles, boats, and conduct other Town services – Please call us at 743-6651. We will be asking you if you can complete the service on line, by mail, drop box etc, before scheduling an appointment. We do miss all of you and hope everyone is doing well. We are scheduling appointments daily.

Information about voting machines:

October Happenings:

The Norway Downtown Board has made the very difficult decision to cancel this year’s Norway Downtown Halloween Festival which was scheduled for Friday, October 30th.

Planning Board Meeting on October 8th at 7pm at the Town office in the large conference room. Room holds 10-12 people with the required social distancing. Meeting also on ZOOM.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/83929064335

Meeting ID: 839 2906 4335

Dial in: 1 646 876 9923 US – Meeting ID: 839 2906 4335

Selectboard Meeting on 10/15/2020 at 7pm at the Town office and on ZOOM. Meeting held in large conference room that holds 10-12 folks with social distancing.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/82837597902

Meeting ID: 828 3759 7902 – Dial in: 1 646 876 9923 US

Meeting ID: 828 3759 7902

Emerald Ash Borer

Maine Quarantine on Emerald Ash Borer Announced
April 17, 2019
For more information contact: Gary Fish at 207-287-7545
Augusta, ME – The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry has announced a formal quarantine on emerald ash borer (EAB) and material that may harbor it.
The quarantine area includes all of York County and the northeastern corner of Aroostook County. The quarantine boundaries were drawn to include a buffer on those towns where EAB had been detected. EAB was found in northern Aroostook County in May 2018 and in western York County in September 2018. An emergency order has been in place to limit movement of infested ash from areas where the pest has been found since those discoveries.
Quarantine rules prohibit movement of ash nursery stock from the quarantine area, and regulate the movement of hardwood firewood, hardwood chips and other ash products with bark, such as logs and pulp, and untreated ash lumber. Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry staff, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine are working with the public and impacted industries to ensure compliance with the quarantine.
“A quarantine can help slow the spread of this destructive insect into uninfested areas,” said State Entomologist Allison Kanoti. “That gives businesses, Native American craftspeople and artists that use ash as well as homeowners, landowners and municipalities who care for ash across the state additional time to consider their options and make plans for a future with EAB.”
That future will include far fewer ash trees. Maine forests have more than 400 million white, green, and brown ash trees at risk. Ash is also an important street tree in towns and cities. EAB is an invasive wood-boring beetle that attacks ash trees by disrupting the flow of water and nutrients causing the tree to die. Native ash trees have little resistance to attack, and often die within a few years of initial arrival of the beetle. EAB was first discovered in North America in 2002. Since its arrival, it has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees.
White ash shows some resistance to and tolerance of attack by EAB. A fraction of those trees may be able to survive in the presence of EAB. The US Department of Agriculture has been working on a program to provide ash with another form of defense-tiny wasps from Asia that attack the eggs or young of EAB and may eventually bring their populations to a tolerable level.
Despite these glimmers of hope, EAB will devastate ash in Maine. Cities and towns from New England through the Midwest report damage to infrastructure such as power lines and hazards to people related to the deterioration of ash trees attacked by this insect. Ash will be lost as a functional part of forest ecosystems, joining the ranks of American elm and American chestnut. Ash will no longer be available as a material for forest products including baseball bats, baskets, tool handles, flooring, cabinetry and others. The goal of the quarantine is to slow the spread of the insect to delay impacts to the ecosystem, native culture and economy.
Additional information on EAB, how to recognize and report its damage, and details of the Maine ash quarantine, can be found at http://www.maine.gov/eab.

Public Information Meeting on Bridge Deck Replacement

Public Information Meeting

Tuesday 2/25/2020 at 6pm

Norway Town Office

19 Danforth Street

Please join MaineDOT for a preliminary public meeting to discuss the deck replacement of Pleasant Street Bridge (#2677) over Pennesseewassee Stream. Located 0.06 of a mile southwest of Pleasant Street, Norway, Maine.

Representatives of the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) will be present on Thursday to gather input, listen to concerns, receive comments, and answer questions from anyone with an interest in the project.

MaineDOT is particularly interested in learning local views relative to project consistency with local comprehensive plans, discovering local resources, and identifying local concerns and issues. Anyone with an interest is invited to attend and participate in the meeting.

Accommodations will be made for persons with disabilities. Auxiliary aids will be provided upon advanced request.

Any inquiries regarding this project may be directed to the attention of Mark Parlin, Project Manager, Maine Department of Transportation, Bridge Program, 16 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0016. Telephone: (207) 624-3449 or by e-mail at Mark.Parlin@maine.gov.

TOWN OF NORWAY ELECTED OFFICE VACANCIES

SELECTMAN   2 – 3 YEAR TERMS
SAD #17 DIRECTOR     1 – 3 YEAR TERM
TRUSTEES OF NORWAY MEMORIAL LIBRARY   3 – 3 YEAR TERMS

NOMINATION PAPERS FOR THOSE SEEKING TO FILL THESE VACANCIES ARE AVAILABLE AT THE TOWN OFFICE MARCH 10. 
NOMINATION PAPERS MUST BE RETURNED TO THE TOWN OFFICE NO LATER THAN APRIL 18 WITH AT LEAST 25 AND NOT MORE THAN 100 SIGNATURES OF NORWAY REGISTERED VOTERS. 
PERSONS RETURNING NOMINATION PAPERS, CONTAINING PROPER SIGNATURES, WILL BE PLACED ON THE JUNE 11, 2019 ELECTION BALLOT.

Norway Roads Posted March 4th

TOWN OF NORWAY POSTED ROADS

Effective March 4, 2019 until Posters are Removed

Shedd Road    from 118 to the Dunn Rd, including Bill Howe Rd, Camp Cinnamon Rd, Herrick Rd

Town Farm Road        from 118 to Yagger Rd

Yagger Road   from 118 to end, including Hemingway Rd

Wiley Road     from 118 to Morse Rd, including McKay Rd, Holt Rd

Watson Road  from 118 to Norway Center Rd including Rolling Meadow Rd

Thurston Road   from Greenwood Rd to end

Round The Pond Road  from Greenwood Rd to Crockett Ridge Rd, including Upton Bros Rd & Larson Rd

Morrill Road   from 118 to Norway Center

Morse Road  from Norway Center Rd to Dunn Rd including Patch Mountain Rd, Hayes Rd, Dunn Rd,     

                                                             French Rd     

Norway Center Road  from Greenwood Rd to Morse Rd

Ashton Road  from 118 to Sodum Rd

Sodum Road  from 117 to Waterford Town Line, including Frost Hill, Cushman Woods Rd, Ricker Rd

Country Club Road  from 118 to Rte 117 including Cobb Rd

Old Stage Road  from 117 to end including Brackett Rd

Crockett Ridge Road  from Lake Rd 118/117 to end

Pleasant Street  from Main St to Crockett Ridge Rd, including Penn Rd, Emerson Rd, Ralph Richardson Rd

Sodum Road  from Waterford Town Line to Rte 117 including Frost Hill Rd, Cushman Woods, Ricker Rd

Roberts Road  from 118/117 to Pikes Hill

Eddie Kahkonen Road  from Pottle Rd to Pikes Hill

Thomas Hill Road  from 117 to the end including Daniels Rd

Greenwood Road  from Morse Rd to Greenwood Town Line

Gore Road  from 117 to Otisfield Town Line

Pikes Hill Road  from Water St to Old Stage Rd

Contact Art, 890-2639 with any questions.