Category: Family Health & Hearing

Family Health and Hearing Committee and Information

Staying Cool…

Can you stand one more reminder to use caution during the heat we’re experiencing in Maine? Here are some resources we’ve found. (If you receive this post as an email, you’ll need to visit the site to watch the video.)

The American Red Cross offers a fairly complete page of resources including a guide to the three types of heat illness and a complete Extreme Heat Safety Checklist.

This is a great time to be a good neighbor by checking on others. Something as simple as handing out bottles of cool water can help. Staying hydrated is important. If your Grange Hall can serve as a “cooling center,” send us the details and we’ll post an annnouncement.

SLOW DOWN!

Reprinted with permission from an e-newsletter published by Maine Senator Stacey Guerin.

The Maine Bureau of Highway Safety is launching a speed reduction awareness and enforcement effort to help prevent speeding-related crashes and save lives. Law enforcement agencies across the state will be increasing high-visibility patrols throughout July as part of this initiative. As part of this campaign, the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety is calling on all drivers to recognize speeding as an aggressive driving behavior that endangers all road users.

In 2023, there were 43 traffic fatalities that involved speeding in Maine. Young drivers and motorcyclists have a higher chance of being involved in speeding-related crashes. In 2023, 23 percent of those involved in fatal crashes were between the ages of 15 and 20.

Law enforcement agencies from Aroostook County to York County will continue to conduct high-visibility speed enforcement to reduce speeding and aggressive driving. Law enforcement will be out reminding drivers to slow down and drive with care. Spend your time on the way to your destination taking in the beauty of our wonderful state, not speeding by it. From the lighthouses across Maine’s coastline to the lakes and mountains to the rural beauty of The County, slow down and safely enjoy your drive. 

Where Is Your Breadbox?

By Walter Boomsma and Larry Bailey

Larry is Master of Ocean View Grange in Port Clyde. He and I occasionally exchange “odd and curious emails.” Since this exchange might qualify as “Family Health and Hearing,” we agreed to share.

Larry wrote: I like to have toast in the morning and have gotten really tired of seeing the bread with green spots all over after a few days. We stored it in the bread bag it came in in the pantrach (Irish for pantry). I did some looking around and found out that a very old practice helped bread to last longer. That old family practice was using a “Bread Box.”  I bought a bread box which was delivered yesterday. Let’s see how well it works.

Walter replied: We usually buy our bread from our friendly Amish baker, six loaves at a time because that’s the size of her pan, and freeze them. We keep the loaf we’re working on either in the microwave (our bread box) or in the fridge. (She doesn’t use preservatives.) I shall have to ask her how she stores it!

🥖 Should You Store Bread In A Bread Box?

“Bread, after all, is a food that connects us all.”

Henry T. Black

ATV Season Safety and Fun

Reprinted with permission from an e-newsletter published by Maine Senator Stacey Guerin.

Maine is a beautiful place to ride, with thousands of miles of scenic trails winding through peaceful forests and small rural towns. Always check with the local club to make sure the trails are open. You can also find trail news and notices on the Bureau of Parks and Lands website.

Many ATV trails in Maine exist thanks to the generosity of private landowners who allow access. Here’s how you can do your part to keep Maine’s ATV trails open for generations to come:

  • Stay on marked ATV trails. ATV trails have green and white signs. Remember, not all snowmobile trails are ATV trails;
  • Respect closed trail signs;
  • Never drink and ride;
  • Tread lightly – Don’t tear up the trail;
  • Remember that modified exhausts are illegal;
  • Be respectful on ATV access routes – yield to all traffic and never pass a vehicle;
  • Help prevent wildfires. Stay on marked trails, avoid riding in dry vegetation, discard smoking materials appropriately and call 911 if you see a fire;
  • Register your ATV: For every ATV registration purchased, over 2/3 of the fee goes directly into the trail maintenance fund;
  • Support a local ATV club by donating your time and/or money.

ATV registration renewals can be completed online. New registrations must be done through a registration agent such as a town office or the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) main office in Augusta. For more information about ATV rules and laws in Maine, visit MDIFW’s ATV webpage. 

Don’t Let a Tick Make You Sick!

Reprinted from an enewsletter published by UMaine Extension.
  • T: Take and use an EPA-approved repellent. Use DEET, picaridin, IR3535 (Ethyl butylacetylaminopropionate), or oil of lemon eucalyptus on skin. Use permethrin on clothing only.
  • I: Inspect your whole body for ticks daily and after outdoor activities. Check family members and pets too.
  • C: Cover your skin with light-colored long sleeve shirts and pants. Tuck pants into socks.
  • K: Know when you are in tick habitat and take precautions in areas where ticks may live.
  • S: Shower when you get home to remove crawling ticks. Put clothes in the dryer on high heat for 15 minutes before washing to kill ticks on clothes.

Community Service/FHH – May 2025

By Brenda Dyer, MSG Community Service/FHH Director
(207) 608-9193

This is the time of year to start gathering items to display at the local fair. What a great way to show the community what the Grange does. This could lead to canning classes, craft sessions, quilting, plant and gardening care, woodworking, art and photography, soil types, bugs and their contributions to agriculture, and education in general. The projects can be simple or challenging, and the list is endless. The MAAF (Maine Agricultural Association of Fairs) theme this year is “Be A Farmer.” You do not have to use this as your Grange exhibit theme, but you may.

I would like feedback on what Community Service means to your Grange, members and non-members. Please respond by June 30, 2025, to:

Brenda Dyer
MSG Community Service Director
9 Marial Ave
Biddeford, ME 04005

Continue to work on reports and enjoy spring!

Family Health & Hearing

May is Mental Awareness Month. Do something for yourself. Read a book, listen to music, go to the beach, watch a movie, take a walk, go bowling, go to the garden, do a puzzle, etc., which are a few suggestions for having time for YOU. Also, checking on neighbors, volunteering, visiting family and/or friends, etc., can be mentally motivating to others’ mental health.

Community Service/FHH – April 2025

By Brenda Dyer, MSG Community Service/FHH Director
(207) 608-9193

There is a revised Community Service Report Form for 2025. Changes were made at the National level, so we have revised our information, requirements, and form. The new information and forms will be mailed to each Grange this month.

We are asking each Grange to fill out the Maine Community Service Summary Report and return it to us by August 31, 2025. This can be part of a detailed report or just the form. We need to receive 25% participation of our Subordinate Granges returning the form to receive some additional funding from National Grange to help with our awards at State Session in October.

Even if you are doing a few small projects, a large project, or not doing Community Service in your area, please return the form anyway. Please note the 3/19/25 revised Community Service Summary form and instruction information about the detailed report is enclosed and can be found on the Maine State Grange website under Program Books and Information Page for Community Service: 2024-25 Community Service Revised Pages. You may request the revised form & information or the completely revised book from State Grange. (The form, instruction information page, and judges sheet are the only changes to the book.)

We must hit that 25% to receive the funding necessary to move forward.
Just a friendly reminder the Community Service Reports or folders are due to the director no later than August 31, 2025! Be sure to include the revised Community Service Summary Report and mail to:

Brenda Dyer
9 Marial Ave
Biddeford, ME 04005

Remember your Nomination for Police – Firefighter/EMT – Educator Of The Year 2024-25. You may nominate one individual for each of these three categories using a separate form for each.

We can’t wait to see what new and exciting things you have been working on this year! Congratulations on your CS work, and thank you so much for your support!

Community Service/FHH – March 2025

By Brenda Dyer, MSG Community Service/FHH Director
(207) 608-9193

Just to update you on the State Community Service Contest. Changes are being made on the State level and will be posted and sent to Granges soon. 

One major change will be no notebooks and the report will be limited to 10 (ten) double sided sheets. This is to be a report of your projects answering specific questions about your project(s) – I will get that off to you by next month and mailed  to the Granges.

I have included a message from the National Community Service co-directors. 

Message from National

The 2025 National Grange Community Service Program is now posted on the National Grange website (nationalgrange.org).

We have found that not all PCs/Laptops/smartphones show the same format but under Community Service, you will find a page with the CS logo describing the 2025 National Grange Community Service Program. 

Also included are the National Grange Community Service Report Form and a “Share Your Project’s Story” Form and Program Ideas. 

In 2025, the focus of Community Service will not be a contest, but a celebration of good works. As such, there will be no judging on the National level. No notebooks are to be taken to National Convention or sent electronically prior to Convention to the community service email address.  

Likewise, “Of the Year” Nominations for Fireman, Teacher and Policeman will not be judged on the National level but can be recognized on the local and State levels.  

We encourage each State to receive the Subordinate Grange reports/notebooks and “Of the Year” nominations in the format that best serves your State.  The option to judge or don’t judge is yours.    As State Director, you have the responsibility to work with your State President and others as necessary to determine what is best for your State and get it communicated to your Subordinate Granges.  

The 2025 National Grange Community Service Report Form must be completed by the State Community Service Director or State President and emailed to communityservice@grange.org 

In order to receive the monetary $250 award from National, States must meet the required 25% of their total Subordinate Granges submitting reports to the State level.

The Report form must be sent to us in the current calendar year.

Please note that the hours expended for Project Sustenance, the newly launched National Grange Program, is to be included on the CS Report Form.  Details for this program can be found on the Project Sustenance page on the National Grange 

Any Subordinate Grange can submit a “Share Your Project’s Story” Form.  

We know there are changes announced here from what some of you had been told previously and we apologize for any inconvenience.  We do trust, however, that you have been making a difference in your communities and now we can finally all move forward together with the 2025 National Grange Community Service Program.

As National Co-Directors, we are committed to helping you be successful.  Please contact us at communityservice@grange.org and we will try our best to assist.  Best wishes.

Bonnie Mitson & Randee Farmer
NG Community Service Co-Directors

Community Service/FHH – February 2025

By Brenda Dyer, MSG Community Service/FHH Director
(207) 608-9193

I am still waiting on information from National Grange on the updated changes to the Community Service Program. National Grange stated it is posted on the website, but I have not found anything. The Community Service Committee realizes that the books you submit are your yearbooks, and your Grange keeps them for open houses and anniversary celebrations. Keep working on your projects, make your notebooks and it will be much easier to pick the projects to submit. There are so many Community Service Projects that can be done this time of year.

Family Health and Hearing

This is a great time of the year to enjoy indoor and outdoor family time. Outdoor festivals, sliding parties, skating, making snow people, animals or sculptors, hockey games, basketball, making crafts, playing games, working on Grange contests, and enjoying a movie are just a few suggestions.

Please make sure you are hydrated, staying rested, and eating healthy.
Make sure you are bundled up properly for school, work, or just running errands. It is important to take care of yourself and your loved ones. Most of all, enjoy the many things in life that make memories and keep us safe and healthy.

I will update you as soon as I receive the information. Happy February!

Community Service/FHH – January 2025

By Brenda Dyer, MSG Community Service/FHH Director
(207) 608-9193

Happy 2025! Attending the 2025 Northeast Leaders Conference was very informative and educational. There are some changes being made to the Community Service Notebooks for this year.

  • Notebooks will be a maximum of ten pages. This means five sheets of paper double-sided.
  • Pages 1&2 Grange picture and Grange #, brief description of Community Service
  • Pages 3&4, 5&6 will include the top three projects
  • Pages 7&8, 9 are included if needed
  • Page 10 should be a summary page.

Remember, only five pages total. Use both sides. Less pages is fine. Use both sides. Judging is on content, not appearance.

The National Grange Community Service Project is Conservation. More information, including ideas for projects, will be coming soon!