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Volume 13 • Issue 3August 2020

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WATERVILLE — The staff at Northern Light In-land Hospital participated in a contest to name a new Gifford’s ice cream flavor. The winning submission — Northern Light Delight — will now be associated with a chocolate and toast-ed coconut ice cream just released by Gifford’s.

The ice cream naming contest is the kick-off to a summertime fundraising collaboration with Gif-ford’s and the hospital, lo-cated on Kennedy Memo-rial Drive. Gifford’s will be donating a portion of the sale of Northern Light Delight at its Waterville stand to procure new car-diac monitoring equip-ment for new moms and babies with possible heart conditions.

Today, Gifford’s leaders presented thank you gifts to two employees, who both submitted the new ice cream name. Sandra Porter, a pharmacy techni-cian, and Cathy Russell, a respiratory therapist, were two of more than a 100 In-land and Lakewood staff participating in the nam-ing contest.

“We’d l ike to thank In land and Lakewood employees for suggest-ing names for the new ice cream,” said Chris Kin-ney, Gifford’s general manager. “All the submis-sions were wonderful, and they all showed great cre-ativity, but Northern Light Delight stood out because it paid tribute to you as our local healthcare provider and our region. It also has the perfect word to de-

scribe how you feel when you eat the ice cream. We are cer tainly delighted with the new name and know that other ice cream lovers will be too!”

Northern Light Delight is a limited-edition f la-vor and will be sold at all five Gifford’s locations — Waterville, Skowhegan, Aubu r n , Ba ngor a nd Farmington — through the summer.

In addition to the ice

cream sales, Gifford’s will be holding a mini golf tournament Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 22 and 23, at its Waterville location, with proceeds to benefit Inland’s cardiac monitor-ing equipment campaign; preregistration is recom-mended. To register or learn more, visit northern-lighthealth.org/giffords.

“We are very grateful for Gifford’s fundrais-ing support during these

tough times,” notes Terri Vieira, president of In-land Hospital. “We value

our partnership and thank them for their amazing community spirit!”

Submitted photoWinners - Cathy Russell , Sandra Porter with Chris Kinney, Gifford’s General Manager

Northern Light Inland Hospital staff collaborate to name new ice cream flavorINDEX

Funny things kids say ..............2Healthy Geezer .......................5V. Paul Reynolds .....................5Movie Review .........................6Classifieds ............................12Reader Recipe .......................14

FEATURE ARTICLESTips to staying sane and stress-free ..............................8

Will your relationship survive the pandemic? ........................8

The power of a smile and a wave ...................................9

Good times in an RV ...............13

Reinvent the Sunday drive for every corner of the country ....15

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MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR COMMUNITY

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SKILLS, Inc.Human Resources Attn: Barbara Richard

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Phone: 207-938-0204 * Fax: 207-938-2693SKILLS, Inc. is a non-pro t Equal Opportunity Employer

Would you like to leave work every day knowing you made a diff erence in someone’s life? Direct Support Professionals support people with disabilities to live rewarding and ful lling lives, and SKILLS is currently seeking motivated individuals to join our team. And have you heard? We just increased our wage scale by $1 an hour across the board for DSP’s!

That’s right...our starting wage for a DSP with less than one year of experience is $13 per hour! Do weekends t your schedule? You can earn an additional $.50 per hour for weekend shifts. Are you a night owl? Overnight shifts pay $1.50 an hour more! Years of experience credit is given for DSP certi cation, as well as CNA, PSS, MHRT, BHP and Ed Tech.

SKILLS provides paid training for all required certi cations as well as on the job training, and for employees who are scheduled to work 30+ hours per week, we off er a highly competitive bene ts package including 100% employer paid health insurance premium, paid time off , holiday pay, and lots more! AGENCY VEHICLES PROVIDED to transport persons supported.

Come join our commitment to providing adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities the opportunity to live and work as independently as possible. All shifts are available at locations throughout central Maine, including full time, part time and per diem. Our requirements are: Minimum of 18 years of age, high school diploma or GED, valid Maine drivers’ license (may consider no license for overnight shifts only), computer literacy, and the ability to complete all required background screenings.To apply: Visit our website at www.skillsinc.net/careers and complete an application. You may also mail/e-mail/fax/or drop off your application to:

I was taking care of my niece and I asked her what she wanted for lunch. She said, “Ninny, I want tuna finish.” – Ann King, Oxford

As we were discussing plans for our grandson’s birthday, his 4 yr old daughter came up to him and said, “It’s almost your birthday Daddy, time to go to Walmart for some new toys!” – Gail Olsen, Norway

After reading a few stories to my 2 ½ year old niece and always starting with “Once upon a time”, I told her it was her turn to tell me a story. After making a big sigh, she began, “Once a week….”, a bit surprised, she never got to tell her story, I was laughing so hard! To this day, I still have no idea where that line came from. – Dorothy Bussiere, Lewiston

When our grandson Ashton was 4 years old, we had him overnight. He slept on a cot in our bedroom. My husband and I got into an uncontrollable laughing jag. Ashton said, “Memere and Pepere simmer-down now!” We all laugh even more, finally simmered-down. - Carol White-St. Pierre, Auburn

When my nephew Timmy was about four or five years old, he liked to hang out in his grandad’s workshop and make things. One day he asked his granddad, “Grampie, have you got any hammers that don’t pound your thumbs?” – Caroline Fellows, Raymond

My great grandson, who is 5 years old, asked me if I would play ball with him. He said, “Meme, I don’t know how to tell you this, I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but you really need to practice more. When Poppy gets home you need to have him help you practice.” – Sandy Reynolds, Vassalboro

My son, Michael, age 4 (this was in 1963) and myself were out in the car on Stevens Ave headed for Portland, when we went by the Convent where all the nuns were outside all dressed in white. My son, standing up in the seat, with his arm around my neck, said, “ Oh Mum, look at all the ghosts!” I laughed so hard, I will never forget it. – Gayle Gendrolis, Windham

August 2020 The Somerset Express Page 3www.turnerpublishing.net

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#3385-Madison; 3 bedroom, 1 bath country home with many up-dates done with ef iciency in mind. First loor bedroom and laundry hookup. Enclosed front porch and includes 17.76 acres. Feels like country but just a short drive to town. $125,000

566-Anson; Great opportunity to own your own business. Beauty sa-lon is turn-key plus a large garage for your own use or rent it out. Also a gravel trailer pad set up with wa-ter and sewer for your own use or another rental income. $85,000

#4365-Solon; Classic styling and great location. 4 bedroom, 1 bath and 2,800 square feet of living space. 1st loor bedroom, attached garage, outbuilding, covered front porch and shed for more storage. Access trails from your back door. 0.5 acres. $110,000

#3409-Moscow; Cozy ranch with 2 bedroom and 1 bath. 4 season glassed in porch with a private patio out back. Propane ireplace. 1-car attached garage and a toy shed for your snowmobiles and 4x4’s as trails are very close by. $85,000

#4366-Skowhegan; Convenient and private 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath well maintained home. Also a sep-arate heated building in back of-fers room for workshop or just a space to clear your head. Garage is also heated and offers more room. $159,900

#8396-Athens; Beautifully wooded lot with rolling terrain and signs of wildlife everywhere. Road status and its access is unknown. 57.92 acres. ................................................................. $84,900

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E L L S W O R T H — The Maine Com mu-nity Foundation’s King Cummings Grants for the Skowhegan Region is accept ing applica-tions from nonprofits for grants of up to $10,000 that support local proj-ects and organizations that benefit Skowhegan, Solon, South Solon and East Madison.

The King Cummings Grants for the Skow-hegan Region of fers three types of support: project, capacity build-ing and capital improve-ments. The deadl ine for grant applications

is Oct. 15. Grant guide-lines are available at www.mainecf.org. Con-tact Director of Grant-making Laura Lee at l lee@mainecf.org or 2 0 7- 412 - 0 838 w i t h questions.

Last year’s grantees were:

Christ The King Par-ish, to fund a second night at the Soup Kitch-en in Skowhegan;

K e n n e b e c Va l l e y Community Action Pro-gram, to coordinate and host a Community Baby Shower in Skowhegan;

Somerset Economic Development Cor po-

ration, to explore the feasibility of food hub growth oppor tunit ies that expand capacity and create new jobs.

The King Cummings Skowhegan Fund was established in 2018 by the advisors of the H. King and Jean Cum-mings Charitable Fund of the Maine Commu-nity Foundation.

“ I t ’s a g r a s s ro o t s g rant program,” said War ren Cook , Cum-mings’ nephew, “ fo -cused on bui ld ing a strong region by focus-ing on community as-sets.”

Grants available for Skowhegan area nonprofits

MADISON — Ameri-can Legion Auxiliary Unit #39 is collecting school supplies for chil-dren in Madison and Car-rabec schools (MSAD 59 and RSU 74). With all the uncertainties ahead this year, the need is even greater. Here is a list of the items needed: rulers, erasers, pencils, colored pencils, ink pens (blue, black & red), crayons, glue sticks, backpacks, pouches for binders, 1” binders, 1 subject note-books and college ruled filler paper.

Items can be dropped

off in the collection box at the Madison American Legion Hall, 20 S. Maple St., Wednesdays and Fri-days after 3 p.m. and Sun-days, noon to 4 pm. If any-one would like to send a monetary donation, make checks payable to Madi-son ALA, P.O. Box 325, Madison, ME 04950 with “school supplies” in the memo.

Founded in 1919, the American Legion Auxil-iary helps to advance the mission of the American Legion. With more than 600,000 members, the ALA is one of the nation’s

most prominent support-ers of veterans, the mili-tary and their families. ALA members volunteer millions of hours annu-ally, with a value averag-ing $1.1 billion each year. From helping to draft the GI Bill in 1944 to advocat-ing for veterans on Capi-tol Hill, The American Legion Family has been instrumental in advanc-ing legislation that im-proves the quality of life for our nation’s veterans. If you would like to be-come a member, contact Robin Turek, president, at 207+696-8289

American Legion Auxiliary collecting school supplies, donations

Page 4 The Somerset Express August 2020www.turnerpublishing.net

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BINGHAM — Paula Gould, R.D.H., will be join-ing Bingham Area Dental Center this summer after providing dental care to pa-tients as a per diem clinician since 2019.

In 2004, Gould received an associate degree in dental hygiene from the University of Maine Augusta, Universi-ty College Bangor. Her clin-ical areas of interest include

working with patients of all ages with special needs.

Paula recently shared, “I am very excited to be join-ing the Bingham dental team as a permanent mem-ber. I had the opportunity to work per diem over the last year and have officially started my job at the dental center. I have 16 years of dental hygiene experience and am looking forward to

working in this community I call home.”

Bingham Area Den-tal Center is par t of HealthReach Community Health Centers, a system of 11 federally-qualified health centers in central and western Maine which offers high quality medical and behavioral healthcare to cit-izens in over 80 rural com-munities. To ensure access

to everyone, HealthReach accepts Medicare, MaineC-are and major insurances. In addition, an Affordable Care Program is available to uninsured and underin-sured residents, as well as assistance with applications for programs that help with the cost of healthcare and medications, including the Health Insurance Market-place.

A pr ivate non-prof it with a 45-year history, HealthReach is funded by patient fees, grants and by the Health Resources and Services Administra-tion (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $4,580,070 with 82.5 per-cent financed with non-gov-ernmental sources.

Dental hygienist Paula Gould joining Bingham Area Dental Center

Paula Gould

SKOWHEGAN — Red-ington-Fairview General Hospital and its partners, Somerset County Sheriff Office, Skowhegan Police Department, Kennebec Be-havioral Health, Kennebec Valley Community Action Program and HealthReach Community Health Centers received a grant totaling

$1,000,000 to address opi-oid use in Somerset County.

The grant is part of the Health Resources Service Administration’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy that awarded $89 million to 89 rural orga-nizations across 38 states as part of the Rural Com-munities Opioid Response

Program-Implementation program. These awards are part of a federal, broader focus on rural health and human service issues.

The money will help to improve and expand servic-es for opiate use disorder in communities across Som-erset County. Last year, Redington Fairview and its

partners identified gaps in services and created path-ways to low barrier treat-ment for people with Opi-ate Use Disorder living in Somerset County. With the grant, the plan is to inter-rupt and transform the cur-rent cycle in which people in Somerset County with Opiate Use Disorder are ar-

rested, put in jail, released, and then re-arrested.

Additionally the grant activities will focus on increasing the ability to provide treatment, espe-cially Medication Assist-ed Treatment for Opiate Use Disorder. Lastly, the grant will help the group build community level

support for successful re-covery from Opiate Use Disorder. The group will work with communities to apply a set of core preven-tion, treatment and recov-ery activities grounded in evidence-based or prom-ising practice models and tailored to the communi-ties’ needs.

Redington-Fairview, partners, get $1 million toward opioid issues

FAIR FIELD — The Kennebec Valley Council of Governments has an-nounced that it will begin a textile recycling program in Kennebec and Somerset counties.

Through a partnership with Apparel Impact, a tex-

tile recovery and recycling company based in Ports-mouth, N.H., KVCOG began the implementation of 12 new collection points in nine communities Aug. 10. The collection points are being provided to KVCOG’s com-munities at no cost, and will

be maintained by Apparel Impact.

At the collection points, the public may drop off un-wanted textile items at no cost. Clothing, bedding, tow-els, bags, purses, shoes, hats and more can all be placed within the collection bins and

therefore be kept out of the lo-cal landfill.

“Apparel Impact then col-lects these items and ensures that items in usable condi-tion are donated to those in need right here in northern New England,” said KVCOG Environmental Planner Ga-briel Gauvin. “Rather than sending these items into the waste stream, Apparel Im-pact ensures unusable items are recycled, becoming a textile commodity which can be made into usable fiber and return to the manufacturing supply chain.”

Collection points will be in Athens, Chelsea, Fayette, Hartland, Madison, Pitts-

field, Skowhegan, Wayne and Winslow. An interactive map showing all 20-plus col-lection points in KVCOG’s region is available on the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments website, www.kvcog.org. A full list of every Apparel Impact collection point is also available on the company’s website.

“This partnership with Apparel Impact comes at a good time for our region,” said KVCOG Executive Di-rector Laura Cyr. “At a time when many towns are work-ing to balance a budget im-pacted by the effects of COV-ID-19, a program like this can truly help to lighten the load.”

Textiles make up close to 6 percent of the average municipal waste stream and translates to tens of millions of tons in the waste stream every year in the United States alone. Even the most rural communities add hun-dreds of tons of textiles into their waste stream yearly. By removing these items from our everyday trash, we save space in the landfill, reduce environmental risks, and save taxpayer dollars. Fur-thermore, partnering with a company such as Apparel Impact ensures these items will benefit those in need or be recycled into usable mate-rials.

KVCOG textile recycle collection bins now in Kennebec, Somerset counties

August 2020 The Somerset Express Page 5www.turnerpublishing.net

Bingham Area Health & Dental Center

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Q. In my HMO’s pro-vider directory, some of the doctors have a “DO” after their names instead of an “MD.” What exactly is the difference between these two?

A. DO stands for doc-tor of osteopathic medi-cine. MD is the abbrevia-tion for doctor of medi-cine. MDs are also called doc tors of a l lopat h ic medicine.

Here are a couple of brief dictionary

definitions:

os·te·op·a·thy n. A sys-tem of medicine based on the theory that distur-bances in the musculo-skeletal system affect oth-er bodily parts, causing many disorders.

al·lop·a·thy n. A method of treating disease with remedies that produce ef-fects different from those caused by the disease it-self.

Osteopathic medicine is a safe, established prac-tice. Like MDs, DOs must pass a state medical board examination to obtain a license to practice. There

are about 15 MDs for ev-er y DO in the United States.

Both DOs and MDs are fully qualified to prescribe medication and perform surgery. Like a medical doctor, an osteopathic physician completes four years of medical school and can choose to practice in any medical specialty. However, osteopaths re-ceive an additional 300 to 500 hours in the study of manual medicine and the body’s musculoskeleta l system.

An osteopath will of-ten use manipulation—ha nd s-on tech n iques to make sure the body is moving freely so that

a l l of the body’s natu-ral healing systems can function properly.

T h e o s t e o p a t h i s trained to feel the body’s f low of f luids, motion, textures and structure. The DO applies precise force to promote healthy movement of t i ssues , e l i m i n a t e a b n o r m a l movements, and release compressed bones and joints. This process is called Osteopathic Man-ual Medicine (OMM) or Osteopathic Manipula-tive Treatment (OMT).

Osteopathic therapy follows a holistic (whole body) approach to health care. Osteopathy takes advantage of the body’s

n at u r a l t end enc y to strive for good health. DOs often say that the best drugs are within the body’s immune system.

Over the years, the gap between MDs and DOs has narrowed as physi-cians in both categories have adopted many of the approaches of their colleagues.

O ste opat h ic phy s i-cians who wish to spe-c i a l i z e m ay b e c ome board certified in much the same way MDs do by completing a 2- to 6-year residenc y w it h i n t he specialty area and pass-ing board-certif ication exams.

Civ i l Wa r Su rgeon

A nd rew Tay lor St i l l , MD, DO, founded oste-opathy in 1874. Dr. Still bel ieved that many of the medications of his day were useless or even harmful. In response, Dr. St i l l developed a philosophy of medicine based on ideas that date back to Hippocrates , the father of medicine. That philosophy focuses on the unity of all body parts.

Dr. Still identified the mu sc u loske le t a l s y s-tem as a key element of hea lth. He recognized the body’s ability to heal itself and stressed pre-ventive medicine, eating properly and keeping fit.

The Healthy Geezer

By: Fred Cecitti

FEATURE COLUMN

For almost as long as I have been writing about the Maine outdoors, this fascinating question has persisted — “Are there mountain lions (cougars) in Maine?”

In a way, the elusive and mysterious cougar has become somewhat of a Maine folklore icon, the Maine equivalent of Bigfoot in the Pacific Nor t hwes t . A nybody who spends time in the outdoors and enjoys the pure anticipation of sight-ing wild animals, has to be intrigued by the mere idea that there *might* be a real mountain lion around the next corner on a woods road, or over there along the edge of that meandering dead wa-ter.

I have always thought that Bigfoot lore was a

stretch, but face it, the likely presence of a taw-ny, long-tailed cougar in the Maine woods is far more plausible than a hairy, ten-foot man-ape leaving huge footprints in the Tillamook State For-est of Oregon.

T he Mai ne couga r question has become even more alluring over time because of the stark con-trast between the views of

the scientific community and the general public. State and Federal wild-life officials insist: “No known cougar popula-tions exist in Maine.” Al-though Maine once had a cougar population, they have long been officially listed as “extirpated.” Wildlife spokesmen say if cougars existed here, we would have trapped one by now or killed one on

the highway.On the other hand, an-

ecdotal cougar-sighting reports by laymen have been on the upswing, and this doesn’t seem to jibe with pronouncements from off icialdom. Last month, the Northwoods Sporting Journal invited readers to share their mountain-lion sighting reports. The monthly out-door magazine received more than 20 cougar-sighting accounts from readers and published some of them. Witnesses ranged f rom loggers ,

t rappers and hunters to housewives and leaf peepers.

Personal inter views suggested that witnesses seemed credible, rational and sincere. All but one reported seeing a large, long-tailed sandy or taw-ny-colored cat. This past winter in Lubec, the town was abuzz with cougar sightings reports. Report-er Karen Holmes recount-ed in the “Quoddy Tides” more than a half dozen

Are the Maine mountain lion sightings real?FEATURE COLUMN

V. Paul Reynolds

Submitted photoThis typically-grainy, nighttime trail cam photo appears to show a cougar prowling the area.

LiongPage 6

Page 6 The Somerset Express August 2020www.turnerpublishing.net

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(Samuel Goldwyn Films)

Based on the highly acclaimed novel by J.M. Coetzee, “Waiting for the Barbarians” is the latest adaptation to reach the big screen after being turned into a stage play and an opera. The author himself also adapted his book into a script trying

his best to re-structure his story with a nearly two-hour movie. The movie is directed by Ciro Guerra, who previously directed the Oscar-nom-inated “Embrace of the Serpent.”

In an unspecified time and location, the Mag-istrate (Mark Rylance) of a colony must answer to The Empire in a war against the count r y’s barbarians. Arriving for an inspection, Col. Joll (Johnny Depp) believes t wo impr isoned men were responsible for the theft of some sheep. Up-on discovering the pris-oners’ brutal torture in the hands of the Colonel, the Magistrate starts to reevaluate his position in

the colony. When Joll and his men leave for battle, the Magistrate takes it upon himself to take care of a young woman (Gana Bayarsaikhan) who sur-vives being tortured but is left blind and broken.

Upon growing his con-science, the Magistrate abandons his post and tries to bring the girl back to her people. Trekking through the treacherous desert, he and his soldiers hope to convince the en-emy to make the simple trade. However, once he returns to the colony, he gets arrested for treason and must face trial before being judged by both Joll and the barbaric Officer Mandel (Robert Pattin-son).

If you’re expect ing anything exciting from th is adaptat ion, then you’ll have to skip this one entirely. While not poorly made, they some-how make it as boring as any late-90s/early-00s Oscar bait. The movie moves at a snail’s pace, which will surely test the patience of any casual viewer who comes across this title. Especially with nice-to-look-at scenery, it’s not enough to entice anyone who gets bored trying to follow the story.

But the fatal f law this movie suffers the most is in its screenplay. Having the author trying to be more faithful to his book in his script is a big mis-take when another writer

could’ve t aken some liberty and added some exciting action. It relied too much on character dialogue and each scene gets stale and more repet-itive as it goes on. When it briefly gets into action, you’ll hardly notice be-cause you’ll already be falling asleep.

Some really good ac-tors try to bring more weight to the material. Rylance does a good job playing the lead charac-ter with a quiet, heartfelt tone. Depp doesn’t play his usual weirdness, but he’s still the best part of the film emphasizing his character’s sinister na-ture. Pattinson only ap-pears in the film’s third act, so he’s only limited

to a couple of scenes with not much dialogue. This movie could’ve used more recognizable actors to add much more levity to this downer of a film.

“Waiting for the Bar-barians” is one of the many instances where the book is better. Worse, no one seems to be under the impression that in or-der to turn a book into a movie, you have to make it more entertaining and less boring. At the end of the day, great acting can-not save a bland drama.

THE MOVIE’S RAT-ING: Not Rated

THE CRITIC’S RAT-ING: 2 Stars (Out of Four)

‘Waiting for the Barbarians’

Lucas AllenLucas Allen

MOVIE REVIEW

cougar sightings by Lu-bec area residents.

One witness, a retired California fish and game biologist, who worked with mountain lions on the West coast and now has a camp near West Grand Lake, says he saw a “black mountain lion” not far from West Grand Lake. He saw it last sum-mer at a distance of about 15 feet before it bound off. This man’s credentials are solid. He and a deer hunting buddy have seen a similar critter two other times during deer hunts in the Molunkus area.

Howard Tomlin, an 82-year old lifetime trap-per from Topsfield, may be the f irst witness to capture an image on a

trail camera. Tomlin’s cat tripped the trail camera shutter last September. Tomlin says that a biolo-gist dismissed the image as that of a lynx. As is in-variably the case, the ani-mal image is grainy and marginal. This animal in Tomlin’s photo seems to have a long tail, however.

Readers, what do you think?

The author is editor of the “Northwoods Sport-ing Journal.” He is also a Maine guide and host of a weekly radio program — “Maine Outdoors” — heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on “The Voice of Maine News - Talk Network.” He has authored three books; online purchase information is available at www.sportingjournal.com. Contact vpaulr@tds.net.

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My husband and I have been married 38 years, and as with most relation-ships, we’ve had our ups and downs. And I con-fess that since we’ve been staying at home together, there have been moments when I’ve thought it might be the end of us as a cou-ple. You see, although we have a lot of common interests, our basic per-sonalities are on opposite ends of the spectrum.

If you are familiar with Myers-Briggs, he is an ESTJ and I am an INFP. As opposite as you can get. For example, as an E (extraversion), he loves being around people and being actively involved in groups and events. It en-

ergizes him. In contrast, I am an I (introversion). While I enjoy interacting with people, I am quite content to be alone and to work in solitude. I can curl up in a corner read-ing a book or working on my blog and podcast for hours. He’s frequently on the phone chatting with friends and family. An-other difference is that he’s facts and I’m feel-ings. We still struggle to understand each other’s point of view. Common responses when either of us is trying to explain something. Me: Why do you need that level of de-tail? Him: I have no idea what you’re talking about. I need facts, not concepts.

All and al l , I th ink we’ve b e e n m a n a g-ing fairly well since the middle of March when we decided it was wise to stay put. Just don’t ask for details about those times when we haven’t.

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FEATURE COLUMN

Jodi Cornelio

Live Long, Live WellJodi R. Cornelio, AS, BA, MBANutritionist, Personal Trainer and Motivational Speakerjcornelio@turnerpublishing.net

Tips to staying sane and stress freeIs it possible to stay sane in what appears to be

an insane world? Everyone is so stressed out and what’s worse is that people are stressed and angry. In life we have good stress and bad stress. Good stress is the stress you put on yourself when playing in a competitive sport like golf or baseball. The adrenalin rush of a home run or a good golf shot is healthy. It’s great for your mental stability and gets your heart pumping. Other stresses that involve hurt and anger are unhealthy and can be toxic to you and the people around you. Negative words and actions can hurt. The number one way to avoid the negative stresses is to UNPLUG. It’s amazing how many folks are addicted to TV and Facebook and get spun up everytime they hear someone’s story or opinion. Do

yourself a favor and disconnect from the negative talk and bullying that comes along with it.

Other ways to destress:1. Go for a walk2. Remember to breathe3. Spend time with people you like who are positive4. Hang with your pets5. Sing, dance and pray, meditate and reflect6. Enjoy good food and eat plenty of fruits

and vegetables7. Get your rest

8. Try to always look at the positive in every situation 9. Take time for yourself to do whatever10. Try yoga or aroma therapy11. Laugh a lot, count your blessings 12. Know your limits and know when not to push those limits13. Lean on people for help, ask for help and give other the opportunity to do something for you. We all need to be

needed.14. Last but not least “Be kind to all”

Live Well, Live Long

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August 2020 The Somerset Express Page 9www.turnerpublishing.net

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Summers in Maine are special, and I am blessed to call this state my home. I wake each morning and travel across Lake Cob-bosseecontee in a 14 foot, 1956 Richline aluminum boat with my grandfa-ther’s 1973 6 horsepower Evinrude. I watch mist rise from the water, eagles and osprey’s grab their morn-ing catch, and listen to Loon’s call their friends from miles away. Its quite the skip across the lake.

I then hop in my truck and head to the office here on Water Street in Historic downtown Hallowell. For

anyone that hasn’t been here, it is a small, but buzz-ing little town that has a strong sense of community. The bakery, the juice shop, and the coffee shop are some of my favorite stops here in the mornings.

It is however, what hap-pens between the lake and the office that I want to share this month.

The largest room in the world is the room for im-provement. Big or small, there are things we can do to improve ourselves, the world around us, and therefore, the experience of others. Mark Johnston,

former President of Kennebec Sav-i n g s B a n k in August a , knows this all so well.

The Gran-ite Hill Road in Manchester is the route I take each day to get to Hal-lowell, and it is on this road that I (and every other car and passenger who takes that road) am greeted with a daily smile and a wave by Mark himself.

Mark always wears a bright shirt for safety rea-sons; to make sure he is

seen (it’s a narrow road and vehicles

d r ive f a s t ) . T h is i s t he usual attire he wears as he completes his

morning rou-tine of walking,

smiling, waving, and picking up trash. Yes. Every day I see

Mark walking, getting some exercise, taking care of his body, stopping only to smile and wave at each and every car that goes by, and to bend over and pick up any and all pieces of trash he discovers. He car-

ries a bag with him, and surprisingly, even though the road was spotless after his yesterday’s walk, there is always more to pick up.

I wonder what that road would look like if Mark didn’t walk it every day. Would there be more trash? Would there be less people who could say a stranger (or old friend) has already smiled and waved to him or her by the time 8:00 am rolled around? I believe so.

It may sound trivial, but in my opinion, what Mark does each say is symbolic of the power we each carry

within us and that we can share through simple acts of kindness and respect.

Mark, please keep smil-ing and waving. It’s more powerful than you know. And, thank you for all that you still do for our local communities. Jac Arbour CFP®, ChFC®Jac Arbour is the President of J.M. Arbour Wealth Management. He can be reached at 207-248-6767.

Investment advisory ser-vices are offered through Foundations Investment Advisors, LLC, an SEC registered investment ad-viser.

The power of a smile and a waveFEATURE COLUMN

FAIRFIELD — Despite the challenges COVID 19 has presented, the Maine Academy of Natural Sci-ences held its second gradu-ation of the 2019-20 school year on July 31.

The school already held a successful ceremony for its Threshold program on July 17, and the remaining se-niors in the school’s campus program gathered to be hon-ored at the second ceremon-ey, which was held outdoors adjacent to the building in Hinckley.

Head of School Matt Newberg opened the cer-emony after 30 seniors walked from their cars to their seats astride the stage. The address was broadcast

live as well as over the radio with the help of local station 107.9 The MIX.

Newberg likened the “drive-in” quality of the gathering to scenes from one of his favorite child-hood movies, “Grease.” Community being one of the school’s three values, he said, “With those present, this gathering could take place anywhere. A chapel, a gymnasium, or a parking lot. It is this community of people that matters.”

Four-year senior Colby Emery, of Fairfield, was the MeANS Class of 2020 student speaker. Emery ac-knowledged the unique cir-cumstances in which he and his class were graduating,

but mainly focused on his appreciation for the school.

“I’ve been at MeANS for all four years of my high school life,” Emery said. “In those four years I’ve met some incredible people and made some great memories that I’ll never forget.”

Dean of Students Danni Best followed with the pre-sentation of awards, giving three for the school’s values of respect, responsibility and community, and an ad-ditional two for the Brenda Poulin Resilience Award. Recipients were Emery, Elaine Dodge, Adam Trask Boucher, Braxton Strain and Carissa Heaton.

Individual scholarships were also awarded, among

them the annual Maine Community College System awards, as well as the Tom Tracy Memorial Award for Business Pursuits. Recipi-ents were Skyler Chipman, Cierra Danforth Strickland, Emery, Maggie Harvey, Ju-lia Judkins and Jeremiah Yanelli-Redlevske.

Graduates crossed the stage to receive their diplo-mas and get a photo taken. Best closed the ceremony with her signature saying, “You can be anything you want in the world, please be kind.”

Following the ceremony, families exited through a tunnel of teachers and staff, waving, cheering and ap-plauding.

It was a beautiful sum-mer evening. The teachers, students and families wore masks and adhered to social distancing guidelines. Re-

gardless of the restrictions, the gathering was joyful and uplifting. The smiles truly shown through the face cov-erings.

MeANS Holds outdoor graduation for Class of 2020

Patrice Harris photosAdam Trask Boucher.

Page 10 The Somerset Express August 2020www.turnerpublishing.net

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WATERVILLE — New Dimensions Federal Credit Union has been ranked number 1 in Maine as part of Forbes’ an-nual list of America’s Best-In-State Credit Unions in 2020.

The award is presented by Forbes and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. The awards list was announced on June 25 and can be viewed on the Forbes website.

Forbes Best-In-State Credit Unions 2020 comprises the top credit unions based on the results of independent sur-veys involving approximately 25,000 U.S.

consumers who were asked to rate the fi-nancial institutions at which they have or have had checking accounts.

Participants made recommendations re-garding overall satisfaction; they also as-sessed banks and credit unions in the fol-lowing areas: Trust, Terms & Conditions, Branch Services, Digital Services and Fi-nancial Advice. Based on the results of the study, NDFCU is ecstatic to be recognized as one of Forbes’ 2020 list of America’s Best-In-State Credit Unions.

“On behalf of the credit union, I am both humbled and honored to be part of such a

great organization that does so much for its members and community,” said Ryan Poulin, CEO of New Dimen-sions FCU. “Being recognized for this award confirms the accuracy of our mission by demonstrating that our fi-nancial standards and practices are exactly what our members are looking for when choosing a financial institu-tion.”

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New Dimensions FCU named top in Maine by Forbes

MADISON —Wood-lands Memory Care of Madison, designed to meet the needs of individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease or related memory impairments, celebrated its grand opening Aug. 4.

The 20,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art community will serve 42 residents, both those able to pay privately as well as individuals re-ceiving subsidies from the Maine Care program, and will employ a full time staff of 30 caregivers. The com-munity features an onsite salon, physical and occupa-tional therapy center, and

a large outside courtyard with walking paths, gar-dens and a large gazebo. It is located on more than sev-en acres abutting the Madi-son/Skowhegan town line.

“We were receiving many inquiries and admit-ting a significant number of residents from the Madi-son/Skowhegan area to our Waterville and Farmington memory care communi-ties,” said Woodlands Se-nior Living Chief Operat-ing Officer Matthew Wal-ters. “We realized the need for our services in this area was more than sufficient to support the development

of a new community. We are proud that local fami-lies will be able to access high-quality memory care for loved ones—closer to home.”

Kelly Burns’ brother-in-law is a new resident of Woodlands Memory Care of Madison. He was moved from the Woodlands Senior Living Hallowell location to Madison, reducing travel time for his family by 20 minutes.

“It’s extremely impor-tant for people living with dementia to be connected to their families so they can stay grounded in reality and

the things that are impor-tant to them. Having (my brother-in-law) close by will continue to enable us to do visits regularly. That contact with us on a regular basis is crucial,” said Burns of the recent move. “We are very excited about him be-ing there and it’s a beauti-ful facility. The staff in the Woodlands (Senior Living) community really treat resi-dents with respect and dig-nity – that’s really impor-tant to us as a family.”

The Madison commu-nity will be the organiza-tion’s 15th senior living community, and eighth spe-

cialized memory care spe-cific community in Maine. Woodlands Senior Living has almost 40 years’ experi-ence owning and operating

senior living communities in the state, and more than 20 years in providing the families of Maine with spe-cialized memory care.

Grand opening held at Madison memory care center

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August 2020 The Somerset Express Page 11www.turnerpublishing.net

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field expect there will be a rise in divorce filings in the near future. Italy and China have both seen sharp rises as stay at home orders have been lifted and people have been coming out of quarantine.

Carol Hughes says the same is expected to hap-pen in the U.S. Carol is a marr iage and family therapist in California. I recently interviewed her and Bruce Fredenburg, also a marriage and fam-ily therapist in Califor-nia. They’ve each been in practice for the past 30 years and co-authored a book called Home Will Never be the Same Again: Adult Children of Gray Divorce. In the near fu-ture, I’ll air a podcast with them about their book, but I also interviewed them about the challenges the pandemic is presenting to couples who’ve been on lockdown together for months now with no end in sight.

Carol compared the lockdown to being in a war zone with an invisible enemy — the virus.

“When you’re in a war zone, you exper ience traumatic stress during the crisis. When things calm down and the war is over, you may experience post-traumatic stress.”

Carol Hughes, Licensed Mar r iage and Family Therapist

Stress and more stress

A lot of people are not even aware of the amount of stress they’re under because they are in the thick of it and trying their best to manage things. But think about it. If you are staying at home, what has become more diff i-cult or more challenging for you? Are you worried about finances? Your job, if you’re still working? Do you have children at home and are trying to juggle, well … everything. If your children are adults and on their own, do you

worry about their health and safety (even more than usual)? Do you long to hold your grandchil-dren? Are you trying to help your elderly parents? Are you now older and worried about your in-creased risk of getting in-fected? The list of stress-ors could go on and on and on.

Here are some signs of stress that you should pay attention to (in you or your partner).

• Increased irritability

• Difficulty falling or staying asleep

• Bad dreams or night-mares

• Change in appetite

• Over or under eating

• Wanting to sleep a lot

Make an assessmentCarol recommends tak-

ing the time to assess your mood throughout the day.

“Am I mostly sad? Do I feel more angry than usual? They can be signs of not adjusting well to what’s going on in our l ives. A rg u ing more, withdrawing, some peo-ple withdraw instead of arguing or showing their anger. Anger turned in-ward can become de-pression. Yelling at the kids, wanting to kick the dog. All of those kinds of things or any behavior change that seems differ-ent than how they usually are should be considered.”

CarolEven the people we love

dearly will irritate us to some degree, says Bruce, and it’s going to be ampli-fied in this current situa-tion. That includes older couples that’ve been to-gether a long time and usually get along.

“Their body sometimes hur ts more, which can make them feel cranky, or hearing loss or just a sense of not being able to feel good, just never re-ally feeling well. And all that can really intensify when you’ve got to be in

the same place around the same people all the time.”

Br u c e Fr e d e nbu r g , Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Problem-solving

Bruce says the first step to solving a problem is to realize that you’re in one. COVID-19 is a monumen-tal problem, we’re defi-nitely in it, and most of us have never gone through something like this be-fore.

Might be a good idea to try cutting yourself and each other a bit of slack.

“People should try to be more positive with each other and give each other grace and know that a lot of the reactions they’re having with each other could be them acting out of this traumatic stress that we’re all experienc-ing. There’s no way we could not be experiencing it.”

BruceHow do you usually

relieve stress? Go to the gym? Out with friends? Dancing? A lot of what people usually do isn’t possible right now. So we need to f igure out what we can do to help calm us down and try to do it on a regular basis. Learning how to meditate, for ex-ample.

“We need to practice mindfulness. I liken it to going to the gym. If we don’t work out and build our muscles, when we need those muscles we don’t have them. We have our calming muscles, so to speak, that will help us calm our reactivity, which is a normal human reac-tion to stress, stressful times, and trauma.”

CarolEven if you can only

manage a few minutes, meditation can help you feel better. I wrote a blog post about mindfulness meditat ion, which you can read here: Cultivating Mindfulness in Turbulent

Times.Too busy to take even a

few minutes? Bruce says a good yawn might help calm you down.

“Yawning is really good for your brain. When you do a real yawn, it’s al-most impossible to hold a thought in those few sec-onds, and it helps to reset the brain to a lower state so that whatever is irritat-ing you becomes more tol-erable.”

BruceA nother suggest ion

from Carol — move your body. Any way you can. Stand up and stretch. Go for a walk inside your house or outside remem-bering to keep a safe dis-tance from other people or wear a mask if that’s not possible. Turn on some music and dance. With yourself. With your part-ner. With your kids. Join an online fitness class or find a video you like.

“We need to physically move our bodies. It shifts our state of mind and helps calm that reactivity. When people have anxi-ety, the first two things we tell them to do is learn diaphragmatic breathing and move, even if all they do is walk around their desk at work or up and down the stairs. What-ever shifts our reactions is okay.”

Carol

Resources

If nothing seems to be working, be honest about how you’re feeling. Reach out to someone you trust or to a mental health pro-fessional, especially If you a re exper iencing symptoms of anxiety or depression.

Another serious con-cern is that in any kind of crisis like this domestic violence increases. If you don’t know whom to con-tact for help, here’s a list of mental health and do-mestic violence hotlines that are usually available 24/7.

• Na t io n a l Su ic id e Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-8255

• National Domest ic Violence Hotline, for any victims and sur-vivors who need sup-port, we are here for you, 24/7. Call 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224 for TTY, or if you’re unable to speak safely, you can log onto thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 22522.

• S A M H S A’s N a -t i o n a l H e l p l i n e , 1- 8 0 0 - 6 6 2 - H E L P (4357), (also known a s t he Trea t ment Refe r r a l Rou t i ng Ser v ice) or TT Y: 1 - 8 0 0 - 4 8 7 - 4 8 8 9 is a conf ident ia l , free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, in-format ion service, in English and Span-ish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disor-ders.

• Veteran’s Crisis Line, 1 - 8 0 0 - 2 7 3 - 8 2 5 5 and Press 1 or Text 838255

Final words of wisdom

Here are some f inal words of relat ionship wisdom from Carol and Bruce.

“Try listening deeply and not thinking about what you’re going to say. When we’re deeply listen-ing and really trying to understand what the per-son is feeling and saying it brings about healing.”

Carol“Ask yourself do I want

my relationship to die on this hill? Choose your battles. And be aware. Re-member that the first step to solving a problem is to be aware that you have one. Then figure out what the actual problem is and not just the symptoms.”

BruceBr uce a l so r e com-

mended looking into the research John Gottman (gottman.com/blog/the-magic-relationship-ratio-according-science) has done on relat ionships. Gottman says there is a magic ratio of 5 to 1. For every negative feeling or interaction between you and your partner, there should be f ive positive feelings and actions.

I’ll end now so we can all get going on that last one. Final words: Be kind, be kind, be kind. These are extraordinary times.

RelationshipPage 8

Page 12 The Somerset Express August 2020www.turnerpublishing.net

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Published by Turner Publishing Inc., P.O. Box 214, Turner, ME 04282-0214 Turner Publishing Inc. founded in 1992. Advertisers and those wishing to submit articles of interest can call 1-207-225-2076, email advertising@turnerpublishng.net or you can also send e-mail to us at: articles@turner-publishing.net. Turner Publishing produces, monthly, bi-monthly quarterly and weekly publications. Any views expressed within these papers does not necessarily re ect those of these papers. These papers assume no responsibility for typographical errors that may occur, but we will reprint, at no additional cost, that part of any advertisement in which the error occurs before the next issue’s deadline. This paper also reserves the right to edit stories and articles submitted for publication. All content within our publication and on our website is for educational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered personal, legal, or medical advice. In the state of Maine, cannabis is intended for use by those 21 and older, or 18 and older with a medical prescription. Both the printed publication and website are intended for those over the age of 21. If consuming, please keep out of the reach of children. The Publisher assumes no responsibility for the advertisements within this publication. We strive to ensure the accuracy of the information published. The Publisher cannot be held responsible for any consequences which arise due to error or omissions.

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Avoiding Health Care Scams

Fraudsters follow the headlines, taking advantage when an outbreak like coronavirus, Ebola or swine u makes global news. Until there is a readily available treatment and vaccine for this outbreak, we can expect these scams to continue.

Be skeptical of claims made for untested or little-known health products and closely check email and web addresses in messages purporting to be from major health organizations like the CDC and WHO. Most importantly, never give out your Medicare or health insurance information to anyone other than your trusted health care providers.

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“Staycation” is the new term, and the pandemic has popularized the idea. In a staycation, you and the family stay relatively close to home and enjoy the things in your own “back-yard.” Travel, especially air travel, has become diffi-cult; in some cases, impos-sible. Getting stranded far from home with little op-tion to get back is daunting to say the least. Staycation it is!

One part of our economy is doing very well during these challenging times. RV rentals and purchases are up. People are discov-ering the joys of camping and exploring. By some estimates, sales are 50 percent higher than past years. Even the high-end Airstreams have seen an increase of 11 percent in sales over previous years, according to “Business In-sider.”

Rentals are skyrocketing, too. Peer-to-peer vehicle rental company RVShare says bookings of RV rent-als are up 650 percent since early April. Besides giving you many options in lo-cal travel, RVs also make it easier to practice social dis-tancing. If you haven’t done a vacation in an RV, this may be the year to try it.

Many folks have can-celed their original plans of flying to Disney World, the West coast, or some other exotic place. Travel to Eu-rope, Canada or Mexico is not an option, given the ban on American travel. So

where are these people go-ing?

You don’t have to look far to find someplace that meets your desires. Most are picking options that get them outside, hiking, ex-ploring and enjoying what northern New England has to offer.

Beautiful campgrounds are far and wide, and I will focus on Maine. Similar options are available in New Hampshire and Ver-mont as well. White Moun-tains National Forest, Aca-dia National Park and nu-merous state campgrounds offer relatively inexpensive camping in some of the most picturesque land in America. Some caution should be noted here. With several exceptions, most state and national camp-sites have no hookups. In other words, you will need to provide your own water and electricity.

The Katahdin region has some of the most breathtak-ing wilderness areas east of the Mississippi River. Katahdin Woods and Wa-ters National Monument does offer tenting, but for those in an RV, there are some very nice private campgrounds in the area.

Matagammon Wilder-ness Campground sits on the East Branch Penobscot bordering KWW and is right next to the north en-trance to Baxter State Park. At the south end near Mil-linocket, there are several campgrounds that can ac-commodate RVs. If you are

into roughing it in a tent, Baxter — with its Appala-chian Trail system — offers remote camping.

The region west of Ka-tahdin — the Moosehead Lake region — is equally beautiful and remote. Op-tions abound, and if you are adventurous, you might even find a free site or two. In any case, no one is ever disappointed in exploring these areas.

Here are some activities you might enjoy — hiking, animal and bird watching, visiting a B52 bomber crash site, fishing, hunting, tak-ing a boat ride on “The Ka-tahdin,” eating at the many local restaurants, and com-muning with nature.

If you are not into social distancing, south coastal is the place to go. Remem-ber, this is Maine, and our southern coast is a day’s drive from a third of the population of the United States. It will be crowded.

Sometimes those of us down state often forget about “Downeast” or up north in “The County.”

Wash ing ton Count y offers many quaint and historical sites to visit in Downeast Maine. This place could take the better part of a week to explore. While there, taste their lo-cal cuisine of wild blueber-ries and seafood!

Aroostook County is big-ger than Rhode Island and Connecticut put together. It is beautiful with its roll-ing hills and large tracts of potato farmland. With

the Saint John River on its northern border, the people of this area have a strong influence from their Aca-dian past. If you have never ventured to the County, it’s worth a visit and you won’t be disappointed.

To find a campsite that

meets your expectation, visit campmaine.com or maine.gov, but don’t delay. Camping is very popu-lar and getting a site is not easy. Happy camping!

Chris Decker, with his wife Debra, writes about their camping and RV ex-

periences. He is a retired principal and elementary teacher living in Maine. Questions, ideas or feed-back can be emailed to Chris at campahedu@gmail.com. You can fol-low his blog at campahedu.com.

Good Times in an RV

Chris Decker photoWildlife abounds in Maine. This fox was spotted on a recent camping trip to Moosehead Lake.

Page 14 The Somerset Express August 2020www.turnerpublishing.net

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By Dr. Becca RancourtWaterville Audiology

Noise pollution is a fea-ture of our increasingly crowded world, and many people have already expe-rienced dangerous hearing conditions. How can you tell if your hearing has been af-fected?

Think about how your ears reacted when you have been in situations where there was a lot of noise. Did you experience ear pain, a feeling of having your ears plugged, needing to shout for others to hear you, or ex-perience temporary buzzing or ringing in your ears? If so, chances are you have expe-rienced hearing damage.

How does hearing dam-age happen? Inside of your

inner ear, there are small hair cells that help conduct the noise that constitutes your hearing. Injury to these hair cells comes from expo-sure to loud noise that can be sudden or prolonged. This can result in temporary and permanent hearing loss. To prevent noise-induced hear-ing loss, you should famil-iarize yourself with danger-ous decibel levels.

Any sound that is over 85 decibels (dB) exceeds what is considered the “safe” range. Any sound louder than 85 dB has a higher chance of causing perma-nent damage to your ears.

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Granted, it would be challenging now to take a cross-country drive, or even follow a scenic road meandering through sev-eral states and stopping at tourist attractions along the way.

That doesn’t mean you have to park the family buggy at home and forego automobile outings, which provide a reintroduction to the outside world. Invit-ing scenic drives that, until recently, attracted people from every state TO ev-ery state still exist, and no doubt some are within an easy commute from where you live.

From Maine to Califor-nia, Florida to Washing-ton State, opportunities abound to get outside, enjoy a bit of fresh air and admire some of Mother Nature’s handiworks. If none of these routes is close to your home, no doubt others are.

Maine has nearly 3,500 miles of coastline, and U.S. Route 1 provides introduc-tions to most of it. As the road meanders along, it offers views of the rocky shoreline, quaint fishing villages, historic homes and ships lying at anchor in protected harbors.

The aptly named Nation-al Road — the first feder-ally-funded highway in the country — was authorized by Congress in 1806 to link the agricultural Midwest with the cities and seaports of the East. Much of it fol-lows a route used first by Native Americans, then

by early European explor-ers and later by settlers. It cuts through the Cumber-land Narrows water gap in Maryland, an opening in the mountain range which runs the length of the mid-Atlantic region.

Sections of the road stretch through six states, with some of its most his-toric sections in Maryland. Allegany County, the self-styled “Mountain Side of Maryland,” alone is home to a treasure-trove of at-tractions. They include the restored one-room log cabin George Washington occupied early in his mili-tary career, and the Paw Paw Tunnel, which was cut through solid rock as part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. When it was built during the 1830s and 1840s, construction of the shaft represented a major engineering achievement.

Less impressive, but no less interesting, is the LaValle Toll Gate House. That oddly shaped seven-sided structure was the only toll collecting station along the National Road when it was built in 1836. A plaque lists the fees charged for a horse and rider (four cents); one-horse coach (six cents) and two-horse carriage (12 cents).

While the list of sce-

nic drives in Florida is long, many locals tout the 60-mile stretch of Route 17 between Sebring and Loughman as among the best. As it traverses the central portion of the state, the road passes historic communities, sprawling citrus f ields and other touches of agriculture, and crystal clear lakes. The rural setting provides a re-minder of what Florida was like in the early 1900s.

Leap-frogging to the West Coast, California lives up to its nickname as “the Golden State” provid-ing a wealth of inviting routes. Some are well-known highways and by-ways offering dramatic ocean views, while others head inland past rolling vineyards and other attrac-tions.

California State Route 154 is a back road between Los Olivos and Santa Bar-bara. Along the way it tra-

verses the Los Padres Na-tional Forest and San Mar-cos Pass in the mountains, reaches Lake Cachuma and crosses the Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge.

Soaring 400 feet above the canyon f loor, it’s one of the highest spans in the United States. This road is designated as a “Scenic Highway” for the “memo-rable landscape” through which it passes.

The fourth corner of the country also has roads to rave about. The Stevens Pass Scenic Byway stretch-es 69 miles from colorfully named Gold Bar to Leav-enworth, Wash., a Bavarian village known for its color-ful traditional European ar-chitecture. The road scales

the rugged Cascade Moun-tains, offers views of jag-ged peaks, rivers and gla-cial lakes, and leads to the ski resort and former rail-road town of Seven Pass, perched in the mountains at an elevation of more than 4,000 feet.

Mountains also com-prise part of Oak Creek Canyon Drive (U.S. 89A) which passes through Se-dona Canyon and on to-ward Phoenix, Ariz. The main attractions are bar-ren desert terrain and the famous “red rocks” that paint the canyon. Sunset-colored but tes, haunt-ing desert vistas and tiny towns add to the some-thing-for-everyone vari-ety of this road trip.

Another inviting jaunt is provided by the Mil-lion Dollar Highway (U.S. Route 550) as it passes through the southwest-ern par t of Colorado. That 82-mile-long, roll-er-coaster ride is one of the highest routes in the country. It soars into the San Juan Mountains, then dives down into deep, sun-drenched val leys. Fields of wildflowers and sightings of elk add to the excitement and enjoy-ment.

From flowers to fishing villages, soaring bridges to Technicolor but tes, scenic drives everywhere offer diversions galore to those who hop in their car and head out and about.

Reinvent the Sunday drive for every corner of the country

Submitted photosThe Harbor in Camden, Maine, off U.S. Route 1

Red rocks in Oak Creek Canyon

Victor Block

FEATURE COLUMN

Page 16 The Somerset Express August 2020www.turnerpublishing.net

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