We were thrilled to report on the expansions planned for some longtime October traditions in Wiscasset. Kudos to town staff and the Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce for making a fun time funner, and maybe, just maybe, planting the seeds for the town’s own take on Damariscotta’s Pumpkinfest. Who knows if it’ll reach that scale, ever, but if businesses and groups line the village and points south with scarecrows in this year’s contest, as we hope they will, and the annual throngs of parading Halloween celebrants stick around after the parade for the new block dance party, as we’re quite sure they will, what a great start.

We like the town’s name for that expanded event, Nightmare on Federal Street. And the trick-or-treating during the block party will spare families the usual traffic concerns for their costumed candy collectors.

Last November on this page, we cheered the chamber’s idea for a scarecrow-themed event, inspired in part by the town’s long-running scarecrow festival held one afternoon each fall. The chamber’s follow-through on the idea this year gives residents and travelers something else to look forward to and enjoy seeing; and it adds to the organization’s stock as a group that has its act together.

One seasonal adjective seems to capture our and our Facebook commenters’ enthusiasm for this upcoming festive run of events: It’s spooktacular!

So that’s the good news. It’s on page 3. This week’s other stunner is on page 1. Wiscasset’s property taxes are climbing 14 percent. That’s an awfully big number, it just really is, and can only deepen the concerns many have aired over the town’s property taxes in recent years. Selectmen appear to have tried hard to make the right call on how much to tap from other funds to offset the increase. Of the numerous factors that went into it, as in any budget, let’s hope any items that can ease up in the next year will.