Candidate Forum

Eliot OnLine will host a candidate forum for the upcoming Selectman election next month. The Forum will be held Tuesday, January 5th at 7 PM at the Grange Hall (across from the William Fogg Library) on State Road.

Prior to last spring's election, EOL held a similar forum where all candidates on the ballot had the opportunity to answer questions and tell the voters their opinions on current issues.

Eliot Special Election

Eliot residents will have the opportunity to vote in a Special Election/ Referendum on Saturday, January 9, 2010.

There are two items which will appear on the ballot:

* To elect two Selectmen and Overseers of the Poor. Both positions fill a vacancy and expire June 2011. Those on the ballot: Roland Fernald, Jack Murphy, Edward Strong, Richard Norek and Orland McPherson.

* To see if the Town will vote to appropriate $220,000 from the Route 236 Municipal Development and Tax Increment Financing Development Program Account and authorize the Board of Selectmen to expend up to that amount for the purposes of conducting engineering feasibility and conceptual design studies to define routes and costs of the proposed sewer and water improvements included in said Development Program and paying legal and implementation costs associated with preparing those studies.
*Engineering work in Eliot: $83,000
*Engineering work in Kittery: 120,000
*Legal and Implementation: 17,000
Total: $220,000
*Estimated
THE BUDGET COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS $220,000

Voting will be held in the Gym at Marshwood Middle School on Route 236. Polls will be open from 10 AM to 6 PM.

Absentee ballots are now available at the Town Hall.

Christmas Carols by Another Name

This was posted on Eliot Online this week, so I can't take credit for finding it. Here's a list of 39 Christmas carols with their names changed. Can you figure out all 39?

1. Approach EveryoneWho Is Steadfast
2. Ecstacy Toward The Orb
3. Hush, The Foretelling Spirits Harmonize
4. Hey, Miniscule Urban Area Southwest Of Jerusalem
5. Quiescent Nocturnal Period
6. The Autocratic Troika Originating Near the Accent of Apollo
7. The Primary Carol
8. Embellish The Corridors
9. I Apprehended My Maternal Parent Osculating with a Corpulent, Unshaven Male in CrimsonDisguise
10. I‘m Fantasizing Concerning a Blanched Yuletide
11. My Singular Desire For The Impending Yuletide Season Is Receipt Of A Pair Of CentralIncisors.
12. During the Time Ovine Caretakers Supervised Their Charges Past Twilight
13. Celestial Messengers From Splendid Empires.
14. The Thing Manifest Itself at the Onset of a Transparent Day
15. The Tatterdemalion Ebony Atmosphere
16. The Coniferous Nativity
17.What Offspring Abides Thus?
18. Removed in a Bovine Feeding Trough
19. Creator Cool It Ya Kooky Cats
20. SeraphimWe Aurally Detect in the Stratosphere
21. Valentino, The Roseate ProboscissedWapati
22. Father Christmas Approaches the Metropolis
23. Ag Glockenspiels
24. The Slight Percussionist Lad
25. The Antelered QuadrupedWith The Cerise Proboscis.
26. The Event Occurred At One Minute After 11:59 PM-Visibility Unlimited.
27. Ornament The EnclosureWith Large Sprigs Of A Berry-bearing Evergreen.
28. Anticipation Of This Noel’s Memento‘s: Nil.
29. The Approach Of The Holiday Commemorating The Birth Of Christ Is Becoming Evident.
30. During the Dark HoursWhen Herdsman Attended Their Charges.
31. A Trio of Non-Occidental Potentates Is Our Identity.
32. A Meteorological Melody Is Manifest.
33. The Yuletide’s Diurnal Dozen.
34. Please Permit Pristine Precipitation.
35. ‘Rimey’, The Mannikin of Crystalline H2O.
36. Our Desire Is Your Yuletide Cheer.
37. Aged Matriarch Plowed Under By Preciptious Darlings.
38. Are You Experiencing Parallel Auditory Input?
39. Endeavor to personally experience singular, miniscule Yule

A couple really made me laugh, a few I'm still trying to figure out!

Breakfast With Santa

Looking for something fun to do with the little ones this weekend? Take them to Breakfast with Santa at the Eliot Elementary School.

The event runs from 8 AM to 11 AM on Saturday, December 5th. Breakfast is buffet style with pancakes, muffins, pastries and other yummy breakfast goodies.

In addition to breakfast, children can sit on Santa's lap, meet Mrs. Claus, listen to Christmas stories read by EES Principal Mrs. Goering and make a holiday-themed craft.

Cost is just$2 per person with a family cap of $10. All are welcome. Proceeds benefit the Eliot Community Parent-Teacher Organization. The ECPTO provides thousands of dollars worth of supplies, field trips and enrichment programs to EES every year.

See you there!

Gift of Green

Maine Housing is updating their Gift of Green program. Qualified buyers can now get up to $2500 for downpayment and/or closing cost assistance for the purchase of their first home.

You will also receive a certificate, worth up to $500, for a two-part home energy audit. That audit can really save some money by showing you ways to cut down of oil, gas and/or electricity.

These grants are on seperate from the up to $8000 first-time homebuyer tax credit.

Rates Increasing

The Kittery Sewer Department will raise rates for all customers. This includes all public sewer customers in Eliot.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20091112-NEWS-911120422

Marshwood Middle School Scores Big

Students at Marshwood Middle School averaged 15 points above the state average in recent math testing and 5 to 10 percent higher in reading.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20091111-NEWS-911110369

This follows similar results in 4th grade testing recently reported by the Great Works School.

Good job students and teachers!

Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended, Expanded

Lot's of mortgage brokers and title company personnel breathed a sigh of relief today: President Obama signed the extension of the 1st Time Home Buyer tax credit today. The extension will cover qualifying transactions that go under contract by April 20, 2010 and close by July 1, 2010.

This bill also adds a repeat buyer tax credit. For those who have owned their current home for at least 5 years, are now eligible for a $6500 tax credit if they sell and buy a new home. There are no purchase price or size restrictions. I thought there might be, since early on this was nicknamed a "move-up buyer credit."

Buyers in both categories have to meet new expanded income limits,
$125,000 for single tax filers and $225,000 for married filing jointly. Those limits are higher than the current tax credit, which capped the income limits at $75,000 and $125,000.

There are a couple of disqualifications for the tax credit: the purchase price must be below $800,000 and the buyer can not be a dependent of the seller.

Tax Credit Expected to be Extended,Expanded Tomorrow

It looks like President Obama will sign the expansion of the up to $8000 tax credit tomorrow morning. This bill also creates a new tax credit: $6500 for those who have been in their current home for more than 5 years.

The Senate passed the measure yesterday; the House today. The bill also extends unemployment benefits.

We'll keep you posted as details come out.

Eliot Election Results

Here's how your friends and neighbors voted on the 7 ballot questions on November 3, 2009:

Question 1
Yes 1152
No 1408

Question 2
Yes 776
No 1748

Question 3
Yes 1046
No 1359

Question 4
Yes 975
No 1511

Question 5
Yes 1642
No 893

Question 6
Yes 1829
No 656

Question 7
Yes 1235
No 1187

There was also one local question put before the voters this year: the SAD #35 bond vote. Here are those results:
Yes 1686
No 872
South Berwick voters also passed this item.

And just a reminder that Eliot voters will head to the polls again in January to elect two Selectmen. These two positions were made vacant by the death of Selectmen Arnold Paul and the resignation of Selectmen Gary Sinden. Both newly elected Selectmen will finish out the terms vacated by Paul and Sinden.

Winter Home Tips

My husband stumbled upon this site recently and sent me a link. It has a pretty good list of things you can do around your house to cut your winter heating bill.

All the items were submitted by readers of the website; some are not my cup of tea, while others were good ideas. Sometimes one or two small changes can make a big difference.

1st Time Homebuyer Tax Credit May Extend, Expand

A Senate subcommittee is working on a proposal to extend the first time home buyer tax credit, and expand it to some current homeowners looking to buy a new home.

A short time ago, there were 5 different versions of an expansion/extension bill, but this is the only one that seems to have any life left.

I've read several articles this morning about the Senate proposal. One article said the new version will keep the up to $8000 tax credit for first time home buyers; and another said it will reduce that figure by 10%. Another component: the credit will be extended to buyers who have owned their current home for at least 5 years. This version also increases the income limits for qualifying buyers.

Now, the current tax credit is limited to people who have not owned a home for the last 3 years, so this new bill leaves out an (in my opinion) odd segment of the population: those who have not owned a home for in the last 0-3 years and those who have been in their current home for less than 5 years. I'd love to find out how/why these restrictions came to be.

The new proposal extends the credit to those who go under contract to purchase a new home by the end of April 2010 and close by the end of June 2010.

It looks like the bill will hit the Senate floor for debate either today or tomorrow. We'll keep you posted!

Eliot Festival Day

The 29th Annual Eliot Festival Day kicks off this Friday night. The Festival has grown to 3 days over the course of its almost 3 decades.

Friday night features food, fun and fireworks! It's all held at the Boat Basin off Main Street (AKA Dead Duck Inn for those who've been here for a while!). The chili cook-off, antique car show and live music start at 5:30. There are usually food vendors as well. This is capped by the fireworks display at 8. Usually a good show and the weather forecast looks good!

Saturday starts early for those working at or participating in the pancake breakfast or the 5K road race. Some of the workers will be there at 5 am! I've been there in years past and while it's a lot of fun, that alarm clock going off at 4 in the morning is not!

The breakfast goes from 6 to 9 AM at the Congregational Church. It benefits the Eliot Lions Club. The race starts at 8:30 and 16 or so minutes later the first finisher will be back at the finish line! The race benefits the Eliot Community Service Department.

The actual Eliot Festival Day begins in earnest at 9 when all the food booths, vendors and such open for business. You'll find a kids area with games as well. The Festival is spread out all throughout "Downtown Eliot" from the school lawn, inside, the ball field, along State Road and north towards the library. The parade starts at 10:30, running from Eliot Commons to the library. The thrift shop at the Congregational Church will be open and the library hosts the Kids Fun Run at noon. You can register early at ECSD or register day-of.

Cap off a fun filled day with a traditional Ham and Bean Supper at the Congregational Church. If you've never been to a Ham and Bean Supper, take this opportunity to experience a quaint, New England tradition. It's all-you-can-eat served family style. And it's not just ham and beans. You'll have scalloped potatoes, American chop suey, cole slaw, rolls and all kinds of pies, cakes and cookies to choose from. (Which reminds me - I'm supposed to bake a cake for the supper!) There's a camaraderie and spirit that's truly unique.

Sunday afternoon and evening present 3 more activities. The Green Acre Baha'i School will dedicate a new building at 4:30 followed by their annual Turkey supper at 5. There is only one seating for this supper and you need to buy tickets in advance. Call 207-439-7200, ext 7000 or 7006 to RSVP.

Wrapping up the Eliot Festival weekend is the Salt River Trio. They'll play a coffeehouse concert at the McPherson Hall at the Congregational Church. Enjoy traditional and folk music, coffee and goodies starting at 7:00. Suggested donation is $5, with a cap of $15 per family.

Eliot Tax Rate Unchanged

Was I surprised to open the envelope and see no change to the tax bill this year! With all the state budget cuts and increases in all expenses, I'd expected to see my tax bill go up several hundred dollars. But it's the same for 2010 as for 2009.

Here's how it breaks down:
2009 mil rate: 12
2010 mil rate: 12
1st payment due: November 17, 2009
2nd payment due: May 18, 2010

November Election - State Questions

Nothing real estate related, but certainly of interest to Maine residents.

There will be 7 questions posed to Maine voters on November 3rd. And the topics are like a laundry list of hot-button issues!

The most talked about - at this point - the People's Veto Question on same-sex marriage in Maine. That questions will top the ballot, followed by 4 Citizen Initiative Questions, a Bond Question and a Constitutional Question. Here are the topics:
- whether to reduce excise tax
- whether to repeal the 2007 school consolidation regulations
- changing the state and local spending formulas
- allowing the use of medical marijuana

For more information, click on the link above from WCSH-6.