Category: Communication

Winter Heating Guide

Reprinted from an eNewsletter published by Maine Senator Stacey Guerin, District 4.

With colder weather approaching, the Maine Department of Energy Resources’ 2026-2027 Winter Heating Guide can help residents save money, stay warm, and find assistance. The guide brings together practical tips, financial assistance programs, and contacts for help throughout the heating season.

Start by scheduling annual heating system maintenance and asking your fuel provider about automatic delivery to help avoid running out. You can also explore weatherization incentives through Efficiency Maine and MaineHousing. Maine’s heating fuel price reports can help you compare costs and make informed decisions.

Several programs offer support for eligible households:

  • Heating assistance: MaineHousing’s Home Energy Assistance Program helps qualifying homeowners and renters pay heating costs.
  • Electric bill assistance: The Low-Income Assistance Program helps qualifying households with electricity bills.
  • Home improvements: MaineHousing offers weatherization grants and assistance to repair or replace central heating systems for eligible households. Local Community Action Agencies can help residents explore available programs.

If you are very low on heating fuel and cannot afford a refill, you may qualify for emergency assistance. Call 211 or contact your local Community Action Agency for information.

The webpage also includes heating safety resources, warming center information, a recorded winter heating webinar, and a new printable contact sheet to share with neighbors, family members, or community organizations.

Visit the page

Fraud Watch- Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Reprinted with permission from AARP’s Fraud Watch Network.

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a good reminder that we can make it harder for criminals to steal our personal information or take over our accounts.

Scam messages often include a link or an attachment that perpetrators use to introduce malware onto your device or send you to a site that will seek to collect login or payment information.

Protect all online accounts with strong, unique passwords (strongly consider using a password manager) and turn on multifactor authentication when available. Also, keep your device software updated – the updates often include important security fixes.

More Topic Resources

Report scams to local law enforcement. For help from AARP, call 1-877-908-3360 or visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.

AARP Fraud Watch Network

Need a scam prevention speaker for your group? Click the link to fill out the AARP online form or email me@aarp.org.

Grange Today! 10-9-2026

The Newsletter of the National Grange

Articles in this edition include:

  • National Grange Challenges Congressional Candidates: Protect Rural Healthcare and Fix 340B
  • Accepting Nominations for Foundation Advisory Board
  • Grange Heirloom for October
  • Attend the 160th National Grange Convention
  • Fellowship Factor: Be Their Biggest Fans
  • Michigan State Grange Participates in Local Fair
  • Bag and Boob Babes Sew Day: A Share Your Project’s Story Submission
  • Hamp Watch: Where is our National Grange President?
  • Think Before You Click: Understanding Social Engineering Scams
  • Recipes from the Heartland
  • Grange Member Benefit: Clouse Insurance
  • Grange Store: Membership Pins

Click the button below to read and/or subscribe to Grange Today!

Read the Current Issue

Note that all recent issues are available on the National Grange Website. To save server space, we only post the table of contents on the MSG Website.

Danville Junction Grange Christmas Craft Fair

Danville Junction Grange will hold a Christmas Craft Fair on Saturday, October 24, from 9:00 am until 2:00 pm. The Grange is located at 15 Grange Street (off Route 202) in Danville. Six-foot tables are available for rent for $20 each, plus an item donated to the Grange raffle. A light lunch will be available. To rent a table, please contact Barbara at 310-0652 or Norma at 583-7211.

Communications Handbook Available

Communicate the Grange story with confidence. The Maine State Grange Communications Handbook offers practical guidance for connecting with local media, writing news and event announcements, sharing photos, and keeping members informed. From press releases and branding to websites and social media, it’s a useful resource for Grangers who want to share their work clearly and effectively.

Download your copy!

The Communications Handbook is brand new for 2026, and it’s much more than the traditional program book. Journalists probably know the Associated Press Stylebook has 504 pages. While this Handbook incorporates some AP practices, it’s much shorter at 35 pages and still quite inclusive. It’s free! Give it a try!

Mill Stream Grange #574 Awarded Distinguished Grange Badge

The National Grange has identified Mill Stream Grange #574 as a 2026 Distinguished Grange.

The National Grange will recognize Mill Stream Grange along with 53 other Community, Pomona, and Junior Granges and four State Granges at the 160th Annual National Grange Convention in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, this November, as well as at a special National Grange Honors Night on November 20th.

“Earning the title of Distinguished Grange is a powerful reflection of what the Grange can accomplish at the local level,” said National Grange President Christine Hamp. “It recognizes a Grange that is engaged, growing, serving its neighbors, developing leaders, and creating meaningful opportunities for members to make a difference. These Granges are not simply gathering for meetings. They are building stronger communities, welcoming people into the Grange family, and turning ideas into action. Their work represents the very best of who we are and shows the lasting impact a strong Grange can have.”

To be named a Distinguished Grange, Mill Stream Grange submitted a recap of activities, events, and other qualifying data from July 2025 through June 2026, which the National Grange then reviewed. Some of the projects and programs included establishing a Little Free Library, decorating Veterans’ graves, providing area third-graders with dictionaries as part of their “Words for Thirds” program, and crafting “heart cards” for the residents of Woodlands Senior Living in Farmington.

Master/President Jill Sampson tells us that much of the credit goes to Lecturer/Program Director Kristen Heck, who “worked really hard on it, and adds, “The Grange has always been about community and family. Our members and our neighbors gather, bond, and build a stronger, healthier community for ourselves and our children. We are excited and enjoy finding new ways to meet the changing needs of our community.”

The Mill Stream Grange Hall is located at 128 Town House Road in Vienna. Regular meetings are held the first and third Friday of every month at 7:00 pm, following a supper at 6 pm. Mill Stream Grange maintains a Facebook Group, or you can contact Secretary Laurena Cunningham at (207) 246-8534 for more information about meetings and upcoming events.

Communication Shorts 10-2-2026

By Walter Boomsma,
MSG Communications Director
207 343-1842

Communication Shorts are brief (short) but important items posted for your information and use. Please send us your ideas and thoughts!

The Maine State Grange Office is located at 36 Anthony Avenue, Suite 102, Augusta, ME 04330.
 mainestategrange@gmail.com. For website matters, email webmaster@mainestategrange.org.

October Bulletin

Yes, we will produce an October Bulletin — it will be a reduced edition and will be snail-mailed late due to the State Session, but it’s important to maintain the practice, especially for those who do not attend the State Session. Recent issues of the Bulletin are available on the Program Books and Information Page in the communications section.

New Communications Handbook!

Communicate the Grange story with confidence. The Maine State Grange Communications Handbook offers practical guidance for connecting with local media, writing news and event announcements, sharing photos, and keeping members informed. From press releases and branding to websites and social media, it’s a useful resource for Grangers who want to share their work clearly and effectively.

Submitting Events Is Easier

Remember, we now have a specific form for submitting events on the site, and it’s being used! Keep submitting!

State Convention Banquet

There’s still time to make your reservation — the deadline is October 10, 2026.

To Ponder…

“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”.

Mahatma Gandhi

An Idea for Your Grange

Choose a future event and start organizing promotion, including a telephone tree or mailing personal notes or postcards. (A telephone tree is an informal communication network. For example, one person calls three people who each in turn call three people, who…)

Made Your Plans?

Visit the 152nd State Convention Webpage!

Subscribe!

Remember, we don’t share your email address with anyone, and you get a weekly summary of what’s been posted. Subscribe here! Share that link with your members and Grange friends!

Online Directories Available 24-7

Thanks to those who help us keep these directories current by letting us know of changes!

  • The Directory of Granges features all Granges in the state with a contact person. Please make sure your listing is correct! Visitors to the site frequently consult these directories.
  • The ODD Directory features all state officers, directors, and deputies, along with their contact information. Updated January 16, 2026.

Mill Stream Grange Debuts LFL

We previously reported on this project and have enjoyed following its progress!

Mill Stream Grange debuted its Little Free Library on August 8, 2026 during the Vienna Historical Society flea market. Junior Granger Caroline has successfully completed, installed, and stocked the “Little Library for Childhood Literacy.”

Caroline gave away over 100 children’s books and bookmarks during the day. The library is accessible 24/7 and has books for all ages – board books and picture books on the bottom shelf, short chapter books and middle-grade novels in the middle, and adult titles for parents and teens at the top.  Each book has a bookmark in it, and bookmarks will be distributed to the community in various ways – potentially also in our Words for Thirds dictionaries. 

It also has an official Little Free Library charter and is shown on the LFL map and app.

Caroline’s final step is to submit a report to Girl Scouts of Maine to complete her Silver Award.

Suicide Prevention Month #4

September, 2026

Suicide prevention is not one moment or one person’s job. It lives in the relationships we build, the support we offer, and the communities we create together.

Week 4: Supporting Recovery, Families, and Communities

  • People come through crisis. They survive loss. They find their way back. Healing is possible.
  • Those who have lived through suicidal crisis or a suicide loss carry something that matters — insight, resilience, and stories that make prevention more human and more hopeful.
  • Being there for someone after a loss or an attempt isn’t just an act of kindness. It is a form of prevention.
  • Real change starts with real voices. Peer support, and connection with others who have been through something similar, is part of how recovery happens.
  • Schools, workplaces, and communities with a plan in place after a suicide loss can respond with care, support healing, and help prevent further harm.
  • Dignity starts with being heard. When people feel respected and valued, they are more likely to seek help and stay connected to care.
  • September is one month. The commitment to connection, support, and healing is for all year long.  

If you need to talk, the 988 Lifeline is here!

NAMI Resources
CHild Mind Institute

Fraud Watch- Deep Fakes and AI Scams

Reprinted with permission from AARP’s Fraud Watch Network.

The AARP Fraud Watch Network™ Helpline (877-908-3360) has seen a spike in fake endorsement scams. Criminals will use images, edited videos, and stolen likenesses of famous celebrities to build credibility. They place these deceptive ads on social media to build quick trust with viewers. Today’s technology allows video and audio to be easily altered, making public figures appear to say things they never actually said.

Be cautious of offers or giveaways backed by famous personalities. Don’t buy a product based solely on a celebrity endorsement. If you’re unsure, look up news coverage or check official links to ensure the celebrity’s endorsement is real. Know it’s a scam if you’re being encouraged to send money in some form to claim a ‘free’ prize or special deal.

More Topic Resources

Report scams to local law enforcement. For help from AARP, call 1-877-908-3360 or visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.

AARP Fraud Watch Network

Need a scam prevention speaker for your group? Click the link to fill out the AARP online form or email me@aarp.org.