Community Notebook

Take Off Pounds Sensibly 233 of Houlton met at the Aldergate building on High Street for its Friday, Jan. 11 meeting.
    Sixteen members were present; five were KOPS. We had roll call and KOPS pledges.
Loser of the week was Joanne Scott with Vicki Little as runner-up.
The mystery gift went to Vicki Little; 50/50 was won by Donna Parent and the skinny dish was held over.
Charlotte Marley read the minutes of the last meeting and Joanne Scott read the weight recorder’s report.
Kay Grass, leader, had charge of the meeting. Denise Kinney, in charge of contests, was absent because of surgery. Kay told us to keep doing everything in the current contest–drink water, exercise, keep a food diary, contact a member.
New food charts were distributed. Kay read a letter from Paulette Souliere, coordinator from Pittsfield.
Kay continued with her facts on vitamins and minerals. We are not getting two hours of sunshine a day so we must make up for it in vitamins and minerals. Some of the facts are all chemicals can be toxic and herbs are not necessarily safe.
Lois Downing read some facts on apples and the nutritional value of eating apples.
Kay read a story named, “How true it is.”
The meeting adjourned and the chapter will meet next Friday, Jan. 18.
For information on the chapter, you may call Charlotte Marley at 757-8483 or Betty Ivey.
The meeting starts at 9 a.m. and usually ends at 10 a.m. Weigh-in time is from 8-8:45 a.m. each Friday morning.
All are welcome.

The weekly meeting of TOPS 145 was held Jan. 9 at the Congregational Church in Island Falls.
We had 15 members weigh-in and attend our meeting.
Our person who lost the most weight for the week was Hilda Clukey and no runner-up.
Reports were given by our secretary and treasurer for the week.
Our leader, Jackie Pratt led the program for the week. Her topics came from a few articles; we heard about vitamin C, and how it boosts your metabolism and 1,000 mgs burns up 30 percent of calories for a day.  Another suggestion was to load up on soup (homemade) since it has fewer calories and makes you feel full. And you should listen to classical music during the day. We have interesting meetings and some of the members have lost between 30 to 60 pounds which tells you how well we are doing as a group.
Please feel welcome to our meetings every Wednesday 7:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. for weigh-ins; the meeting starts at 9 a.m. Call 365-4884 for more information.

Houlton Council of Catholic Women met in the parish hall of St. Mary of the Visitation Church on Monday, January 7 for its monthly meeting.
President Betty Childers called the meeting promptly at 6:30 p.m. Twenty-three members and a guest were in attendance.
Kay Bell, guest speaker and curator of the Houlton Historical Museum, spoke on the museum. She took the ladies through a verbal tour and described every room including a kitchen, living room, ladies room with old dresses, children’s room, men’s room with tools, Ricker room with everything left from Ricker. A military room with a scale model of the Garrison Hill barracks was described.
Kay told the ladies the building was donated to the town by the family who owned S.L. White Drug Store. Tours are given in the summer afternoons and by appointment.
Kay also welcomed the ladies to visit the museum and said volunteers are needed to help with the tours.
Kay was thanked for sharing with the council and was given a gift and a round of applause.
The meeting was called to order. The Council will continue to pay for the ad in the bulletin.
A meeting will be in Hallowell on Jan. 26. It will be a bag lunch for anyone interested in attending.
Lynnette Dobbs and her committee were thanked for their work on the Giving Tree. Gifts were provided for 280 tags. A round of applause was given to Lynette for the excellent job in organizing the project.
Janet Barker gave us an update on the February committee. Valentine bags will be made up for the shut-ins. Members are to please bring in candy and sweets for the bags and the fruit is usually purchased by council.
Judy Reid will sponsor a baby bottle campaign for the Pregnancy Care Center. Bottles will be placed in the back of the church for parishioners to take home and fill with change and return the next week.
A cart for the kitchen was purchased by Council.
Margaret Casey won the door prize. A collection for the Seminarian Fund was distributed.
The next meeting will be Feb. 4. All ladies are welcome.

Another week has passed since our last correspondence. Where has the week gone?
A terrible accident occurred on the Calais Road a few days ago. Icy road conditions are blamed. I’m sorry for all those involved.
Attended the Heart Healthy meeting at the hospital a few days ago. It was very interesting and a good turnout too. It was conducted by one of the girls from the University of Maine, Maine Cooperative Extension. We were shown how to cook an omelet in a Ziploc bag and it was delicious! A film named “Learning Seeds” was good too. Did you know more cat food is purchased in the United States than baby food? If you care to join, please call Tracy Tweedie at 532-0908.
We had a lot of excitement here on Tuesday when the fire bell went off and continued to ring for half an hour, at least. Many of the tenants responded. The fire turned out to be mostly smoke when a tenant left French toast on the stove and forgot it. Just smoke damage.
Then appeared an ambulance to take Lavina Byron to the hospital. After that she was sent to the Eastern Maine General Hospital for tests. After test results, she was sent home to Ricker Plaza. Thank you, Lord.
Harold L. Maker of Houlton, son of Helena Dickinson, is going to Afghanistan. He was to be honored at the American Legion Hall before departure. Our best to Harold.
At church this morning, one of the children was noted to ask, “What do you call a bear without teeth?” The answer is a Gummy Bear!
Mrs. Kathryn Hall has returned to Texas after visiting her mother, Lois Downing.
My week ends with the words taken from Proverbs 18:10: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”
Have a wonderful week.