Brian Fanslau of Alna is the winner.

Fanslau was high bidder for the 1991 fire truck the town of Woolwich had put up for bid.

The truck had been taken out of commission and replaced with a 2006 truck purchased from the town of Gray's fire department.

At the Monday, March 3 Woolwich selectmen’s meeting, Selectman Dale Chadbourne opened the 17 bids the town had recieved, and Selectman David King read each bid.

The lowest bid was $1,000, and the highest (which happened to be the last one opened) was $6,500. The closest one to the high bidder was $5,500.

When asked what his plans were for the old fire truck, Fanslau said he was going to scrap it.

What? He was kidding.

Fanslau is one of very few people who specialize in steam engines. He works at the Boothbay Railway Museum and is often called on to work on other steam locomotives, mainly at museums. Most of his tools are around 100 years old and he will use the fire truck to haul them around to jobs.

“I’m not going to use it very much,” he said. “But it will be good to have a big enough vehicle to keep all my tools and (historical) equipment in the back.”

Immediately following the announcement of the fire truck “winner” Selectman Lloyd Coombs opened the meeting by asking for a moment of silence for two “outstanding local citizens,” Stan Davis and Buzz Sawhill, who both passed away recently. Town Administrator Lynette Eastman said the men were long-time residents of Woolwich and served the town in various capacities over the years.

The meeting was held in the newly renovated town hall. King said that the cost of the renovations are “well under budget at this point.” He said there are still a few projects that need to be completed, including a new vinyl floor in the basement area. After discussing a quote from C&S Flooring, he and fellow selectmen agreed to go ahead with it.

According to King, a state electrical inspector found a couple of deficiencies in the building’s generator. He said that the person who wired the existing generator did not do it properly. Because the generator is the only thing in the building that runs on diesel fuel, the town is looking for proposals to replace it with a propane one.

In other matters Monday night, Road Commissioner Jack Shaw gave a brief report on road conditions. He said that due to this long, cold winter, with a lot of rain and a lot of freezing and thawing, it's going to be a rough “pothole season.”

Partially disabled due to a back injury, EMS Director William Longley reported that he hasn't missed any work and that his back is getting better every day. “I've made it very clear that I haven't missed any calls. I am feeling better every day and hope to be back in service soon,” he said.

Longley went on to talk about the lack of certified EMS providers for weekends. The selectmen have signed an agreement with North East Mobile Health Services for help with weekend coverage. Longley said he is hoping to offer a class on EMS services sometime in the near future. “Hopefully more people will come on board, and we'll have more people to cover weekends,” he said.

Lastly, parents won't have to worry about finding a babysitter so that they can attend the May 7 town meeting. The local Girl Scout troop will be offering babysitting services that night.