By Kenneth Roberts,Special to the Sun Journal

TURNER – Selectmen were applauded Monday evening for their cooperation in making Sunday’s grand opening of the Autumn Open Juried Exhibit at the Turner Center for the Arts in the Leavitt Institute Building a success.

Center Steering Committee Chair Jennifer Wadsworth noted that 63 artists had submitted 183 pieces for showing, and the jury had selected 82 of them from 56 artists. She said more than 100 people attended the first day of the exhibit, as well as many of the artists and their families. Wadsworth said the exhibit will run through Nov. 18, and will be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Selectman Glenn Richardson noted that “the parking lot (for the building) was filled all afternoon; that had to be good for our restaurants and markets.”

He said “bringing hundreds of people to the center of our town has to be good for the community.”

The board also approved a Rapid Renewal program for town residents to re-register their cars and basic pickup trucks directly from their home computers. Software for the town cost $780 with an additional $212 maintenance fee. The program enables residents to go online at home and take care of their re-registrations; they will get their stickers directly from the state and the state will reimburse the town for the excise taxes collected on a monthly basis. The town will lose the $3 registration fee, but will save the employees’ time to do the work.

Town Clerk Eva Leavitt requested the program, saying that 85 other communities in the state have already installed it, and that with about 7,000 annual registrations Turner could use it.

Town Manager James Catlin advised the board that the state Department of Transportation will be holding a public hearing at Buckfield Junior-Senior High School on Nov. 30 on the proposed Route 117 project, which will be a major road renovation from Buckfield to Turner on the heavily traveled connector road.

Catlin said that he and the Road Committee were actively searching for a replacement truck for the town highway crew and located several in Maine towns and dealerships. Selectmen at an earlier meeting had emphasized that Catlin should look to state auctions for a vehicle, he said there would be no trucks available before one was needed in town.

Board members asked Catlin to come back to the next meeting with the Road Committee with a recommendation on which of the trucks the town should purchase. The town currently has four trucks, a grader, a one-ton truck and pickups.

Selectmen discussed a detailed estimate of needed parts and repairs for a Fire Department truck to meet state inspection standards.

Selectman Henry Gibbert asked “How many miles does the truck have on it?” He was told it had 22,000 miles, including pumping time, and that it was the same truck that just had tank and pump work done on it.

Selectman Ralph Caldwell said that the truck “has not even started getting used yet,” but requires more than $2,000 in parts and repairs just to pass inspection. The board took no action on the matter when Catlin said that the fire department has $15,000 appropriated by town meeting that it can spend at its own discretion on repairs and maintenance.

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