his week in my column I’d like to stress the importance of watching out for ticks when you are out in the woods walking, swimming or just mowing your lawn. Dr. Robert Jacobs, the physician at the Mt. Abram Regional Health Center, said that ticks are very popular this year.

Dr. Jacobs said he wasn’t sure why we are getting so many in this area —possibly it’s the weather change. Ticks like hot weather and seem to want to be in an area where there is water like the Belgrade Lakes area. They are also staying longer, some into November. Ticks never went as far north as Canada before but are even being reported there, said Dr. Jacobs.

Ticks are generally found in brushy or wooded areas, near the ground; they cannot jump of fly. Ticks are attracted to a variety of host factors including body heat and carbon dioxide. They will transfer to a person when one brushes directly against them. A tick usually has to be attached for 24 hours to transmit any infection. If a tick becomes embedded, you should take tweezers pull it out and if possible put it in a jar and take it to a doctor to see if it’s infected, which can bring on Lyme disease. A rash occurs in 70 to 80 percent of Lyme disease patients.

Dr. Robert Jacobs uses tweezers to show just what to do if you get a tick on you. An enlarged pictured of a tick is on his computer screen in the background. Laura Dunham photo) There are three different kinds of ticks: a deer tick, a dog tick and a lone star tick.

I remember when my late brother Emery Hall found a tick on him and pulled it out took it in a jar to his doctor and was treated quickly after finding out it was infected.

I was recently in Rangeley with Howard (my driver) doing stories and was at the Country Club Inn and had the opportunity to have Margie Fairbrother as our waitress. She said she had been there 13 years and is an avid Irregular reader, stating she couldn’t wait for Wednesdays to come and especially enjoyed my column, which I appreciated. She just didn’t under stand why I couldn’t do it every week! We were also glad to see Richard and Sue Pepin of Stratton and Bill Pierce from Carrabassett Valley. Town Manager Perry Ellsworth, an old co-worker of Howard’s, joined us and asked Howard if he was ready for another “flush” soon to be put in at the Oquossoc Scenic turnout. Howard won the right to do the first flush in Rangeley at its new facility on the lake at Rangeley by the chamber office. And I discovered when I listed the surrounding communities in Rangeley in my chamber story I forgot Rangeley Plantation... too many townships and plantations are confusing to me anyway.

Donnie and June Delong of Kingfield have returned home after a seven-day free style cruise aboard the 13 story high cruise ship the Norwegian Spirit. The Delongs traveled in the ship from Boston to Bermuda. There were 2,000 passengers, said Donnie, with 992 members of the crew. The couple went ashore seeing many sites and found the activities on the ship very entertaining. June who came back with a beautiful tan was ready to go again.

Lisa Beecher, daughter of Howell and Linda McClure of Kingfield, has retired as the Chief of Police at the University of Southern Maine after serving 33 years in law enforcement, the past 12 years leading the department as chief. A graduate of Mt. Abram High School, Beecher took over as chief in 1998 when campus officers were thought of as parking police. Beecher helped change that... leading the way for the police department to help the students succeed. “Her sense of responsibility and ethical stewardship have been the hallmarks of her tenure,” said Craig Hutchinson, vice president of student and university life. Beecher had inside knowledge of what it’s like to be a USM student earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1980 while working the mid-night to 8 a.m. shift at the Portland Police Department. Lisa said it had been a good career and she got a lot of satisfaction helping others.

Dee Menear of Stratton tells me she will be joining 22 others for a mission to Guatemala with His Hands Support Ministries in September. Menear, along with two friends from the church, are working hard to raise funds for the venture. On Saturday June 26 there will be a “free” lawn sale on lower Main Street in Kingfield. The items at the sale will be by donations only. If you have items that you would like to donate, drop them off at 184 Main Street. The ladies are also planning a refreshment/bake sale during Kingfield Days in July.

Have a wonderful weekend at all the activities going on including the Kingfield POPS, the Festival of the Arts, the Stratton Family Fun Days, the special programs at the Dead River Area Historical Society and so many more events.

Please don’t think we have started a trailer park as friends from across the state arrive on Thursday for their annual threeday visit in their motor homes.

The committal service for such a dear person, Carol Gray, on Saturday in Eustis was wonderful. As usual our dear friend Peter Farnsworth did a great job remembering his close friend, Carol, which I’m sure was appreciated by Carol’s family.

Bruce Marcoux and Pat Franz of Coplin Plantation will be leaving this week to visit family and friends in Petaluma, Calif.

My prayers go out to so many this week who are ill or recuperating: to Elie Boucher, Bill Gillespie’s sister who had to under go surgery in New York, Clarence Barker, Frank and Ginny’s Doherty’s friend in Illinois who is very ill, Bryce Clayton, and to all the elderly during the extreme hot weather take care and watch out for each other.