When fire breaks out in Temple, volunteer firefighters will know immediately thanks to new beepers they will receive courtesy of funding from the Department of Homeland Security.

According to a release Wednesday from Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, Temple’s Fire Department was awarded $5,333 through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, run by the Homeland Security Department.

In the latest round of awards, $27 million was doled out to 450 departments nationwide and seven towns in Maine received a combined total of $370,000 to enhance fire operations and firefighter safety. Nearby, the New Portland Fire Department collected $31,091.

Temple Fire Chief George Andrews said the money will be spent to replace antiquated pagers, some upwards of 20 years old, to keep the department’s 17 volunteers in the know when an emergency happens.

“It was something that needed to be done and this looked like a good way to get it done and so we did it,” said Andrews on Wednesday. He added the current pagers weren’t dependable and didn’t always work. The new pagers should be in by fall.

“Sooner or later, we would have had to replace them and it would have come out of tax dollars,” Andrews pointed out. “So, we’re quite happy about this.”

Farmington: Moonlight

to feature vegetables

Moonlight Madness will go healthy this year when the first-ever Veggie Madness rocks the palettes of Farmington-area residents.

Sponsored by the Healthy Community Coalition and Franklin Memorial Hospital, Veggie Madness will run from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Mobile Health Unit, which will be parked on the upper part of Broadway.

Area eateries may submit either a side dish or an entree that features vegetables. So far, seven businesses from Farmington and Wilton have confirmed they will be entering, says Sandy Richard of the HCC.

Dishes will be judged based on appeal, nutritional value and taste by four area judges. With winners receiving framed certificates and being featured in an ad paid for by HCC in a local newspaper.

The public is also invited to taste-test the goods.

“Our whole goal is to promote the consumption of fruits and veggies,” explains Richard, who says that five to nine servings of fruits and veggies are key to a healthy diet.

With recent statistics showing that 56 percent of Maine adults are overweight or obese, Richards says the summer is an easy time to become physically active and start being healthy. “Winter is the time to put the weight on, summer is the time to get the weight off,” she joked.

Avon: Selectmen OK

pub’s outside beer sales

Selectmen granted approval July 15 for the Hole in the Wall Pub/Restaurant to serve beer outside during Old Home Days. The eatery holds a barbecue with a live band outside after the Aug. 15 parade.

Work has begun on updating information in the computer for 2003 tax bills, according to First Selectman Joyce Potter, who said those bills should be out in September. Liens on unpaid taxes from 2002 are already out.

Selectmen also reported that Route 4 will be reduced to one-lane traffic through mid-November and that the property being considered for a possible town garage was appraised by Farmington Appraisal Services and that appraisal will be discussed at the Aug. 5 selectmen’s meeting.

At that meeting, representatives from both the Strong and Phillips fire departments will be on hand so selectmen can discuss with those department heads what is expected of them.

sdepoy@sunjournal.com