October's gentle breezes turned into bitter November winds this week as the boys and I trudged along the Penny Lake trail for our daily early morning gabfest/walk. A lone hunter glanced up from his quest and waved, acknowledging that the five old fogies were not trophy bucks.

The winds were a sign that fall is falling and winter is nigh. It is time to make sure the snow blower will start (it did), search the garage for the snow shovels, and bring the patio furniture off the deck.

Over at the schools, the coaches are putting away the football helmets and shoulder pads as the thumps and squeals of basketball sneakers fills the gym.

In another part of the school building, Boothbay selectmen complained that Superintendent Eileen King and her school trustees are spending nearly $400,000 on new tennis courts. They claim they were never officially notified of the proposal to spend the money, although for the last year or so, your favorite newspaper wrote about it.

King acknowledged she should have notified the boards of both towns before signing the bank note, but she said she was following a precedent and her lawyer's advice.

It was the principle of the thing, argued the selectmen. The school charter says to notify the selectmen and that is what she should have done, they said. She agreed and promised to follow the charter in the future.

Then one of the selectmen suggested they should have built a running track instead of the tennis courts.

Wiscasset secedes from RSU 12

Meanwhile in Wiscasset, residents, voted to secede from RSU 12. Will this mean better schools? Will it mean better instruction for the kids? Will it mean the schools will finally get to do a bit of maintenance on the buildings? No one knows the answer, but it is all part and parcel of the fallout from the closure of the Maine Yankee Nuclear Plant in 1996.

Whether or not you liked the idea of a nuke plant in Wiscasset, it did provide the bulk (96 percent) of taxes for the town and the schools, the Boston Globe said. Today, the Globe says Wiscasset is the fourth poorest community in the state.

Now that the votes have been counted, the town, and other towns around the state who also seceded, will have to figure out their next step. We wish them all the best.

Veterans Day 2013

Veterans Day has come and gone. Unlike some other communities, there was no official town celebration or parade to mark the event. Kudos to churches and service clubs who held events honoring the vets. I know the vets appreciate the efforts.

And thanks to the volunteers who arranged for a party to mark the 238th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Just for the record, the Marines were founded on November 10, 1775 in a Philadelphia tavern.

In the same week the Corps celebrated “The Birthday,” a Marine detachment flew into Tacloban to begin clearing the air field that will be the center of the international relief effort to help survivors of super typhoon Haiyan that slammed the Philippine coast.

“Semper Fidelis,” the Marine motto, is not always another word for armed conflict.