Dan Lesser and Anna Hall, students at Bowdoin College, collect and filter a water sample from Harmon's Harbor in Georgetown so that it can be analyzed for nitrogen. Photo by Ruth IndrickBATH — The Town of Georgetown and the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust have partnered for a project to test water at coastal sites around the shore of Georgetown. The project needs local volunteers who are interested in helping collect water samples this spring through the fall to find out more about Georgetown's water.

Georgetown depends upon clean water to support its clamming and fishing industries; however, water quality data from Georgetown's coastal waters is very sparse. All information collected by volunteer samplers will be a valuable contribution to the town of Georgetown and will increase understanding of Kennebec Estuary regional waters.

Sampling this year will take place at 10 designated sites around Georgetown's shoreline.  Volunteers will test the water for pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrogen (nitrate and ammonia), salinity, temperature, and turbidity. Sampling will take place 1 to 2 times a month from May through October on assigned dates. Each date of sampling will take about an hour. A training for all volunteers will be held in late May or early June.

Volunteers may have to walk on slippery ground while collecting samples. Anyone over 18 is invited to volunteer, and no prior experience is needed. Youths age 11 to 17 may volunteer if they are partnered with an adult. In 2013, the group will only be sampling in the town of Georgetown.

To volunteer or for more information, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 442-8400.

BATH — Local S6 of the Machinists’ Union, representing 3,000 Production and Maintenance workers at Bath Iron Works, recently awarded the following recipients $1,000 scholarships for 2013.

“Our members believe education to be an essential ingredient for improving our lives and the lives of our families,” said Local S6 President Dan Dowling. “We are pleased to commemorate the loyal services of Sue McCool and Dorothy Shorette by recognizing the achievements of these young scholars and providing them assistance in reaching their goals.”

The winner of the Sue McCool Memorial Scholarship is Daniel Burke, son of Frank Burke.

The Dorothy Shorette Scholarship winner is Taylor Pare, daughter of Mark Pare.

Winners of Local S6 Scholarships include Paxton Arsenault, daughter of Michael Arsenault; Katelyn Beedy, daughter of Brother Scott Beedy; and Shaylee Sibley, daughter of Jay Sibley.

Marmoleum panels, properly installed, make a nice, virtually seamless floor.by Will Gottlieb
Coastal Journal staff

There’s a trick to installing Marmoleum panels and other floating floors that you’re not going to see in the instructions that come with the panels. It’s a way to get the seams as tight as if they weren’t there – indeed, as tight as if you weren’t installing panels but were actually nailing oak flooring or similar materials. And in many cases, you can do this without gluing the panels, which means that you can take the flooring with you when you sell your home or leave your apartment, or install it in another room to suit your needs. 

The trick is to leave out or buy at least one panel more than you’re going to lay down – shouldn’t be too hard to do this, as most spaces are somewhat irregular, and there is usually some waste. But you’re going to want to have that extra panel, because you’re going to make a fitting tool from it.

The better flooring panels such as Marmoleum come with a complex joint that looks something like a key as viewed from the panel’s end. This is to ensure an interlocking joint that will not appreciably loosen as time goes by. But in standard installation scenarios, manufacturers only go so far as to suggest that you lay down the first course, then fit the second by laying a block of soft wood along the open end of the panel and lightly hammering the panel into place.