COMMUNITY INFO

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR HOME TOWN

TEMPORARY LODGING

Accommodations range from quaint bed-and-breakfast inns to economy, extended-stay motels to lakefront resorts. Even with some 2,700+ hotel/motel, inn, and resort sites in the Our Town area, it is advisable to make advance reservations. For a list of area accommodations, visit the Androscoggin County Chamber page and look at Visit/Relocate > Places to Stay Quick Guide. www2.androscoggincounty.com

THE CHAMBER

Business Service Center at KeyBank Plaza

415 Lisbon Street

PO Box 59

Lewiston ME 04243-0059

Tel: 207.783.2249

Fax: 207.783.4481

—

UTILITY CONNECTIONS

Utility services are provided by both private companies and governmental agencies. Subscribe in person or by phone.

TELEPHONE & CELL PHONE SERVICE

FairPoint Communications and Oxford Networks provide telephone service to customers in most of the Our Town area. Time Warner Cable provides digital telephone service. Visit each company’s site to learn whether or not a deposit is required.

AT&T att.com – 279 Center St, Auburn – (207) 753-9301

Cellular of Maine – 352 Center St., Auburn 784-3330

US Cellular – 730 Center St., Auburn – 777-0000

Verizon Wireless 786-6714

FairPoint Communications 866-984-4001

Oxford Networks www.oxfordnetworks.com 1-800-520-9911 491 Lisbon St. Lewiston, ME 04240-7418

Time Warner Cable of New England 800-833-2253

Auburn Water & Sewerage www.awsd.org – 268 Court Street, Auburn – (207) 784-6469

Lewiston Public Works Department www.ci.lewiston.me.us/ 103 Adams Avenue, Lewiston (207) 784-5753

Ameri Gas www.amerigas.com – 1264 Washington Street North, Auburn – (207) 753-1044

GARBAGE REMOVAL

Some municipalities provide garbage disposal in the Our Town area while some areas depend on private garbage collection services.

THESE DEPARTMENTS CAN ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT GARBAGE COLLECTION SERVICES:

Auburn, Highway Division, 296 Gracelawn Rd., 783-1733

Buckfield, Town Garage, 336-2526

Durham, Town Hall, 630 Hallowell Rd., 353-2561

Greene, Town Offices, 220 Main St., 946-5146

Lewiston, Public Works, 103 Adams Ave., 513-3003

Lisbon, Public Works, Capitol Ave., 353-3016

Livermore, Town Office, 10 Crash Rd., 897-3207

Mechanic Falls, Sanitary District, 56 Lewiston St., 345-3077

Minot, Highway Department, 329 Woodman Hill Rd., 346-9096

New Gloucester, Garage, 1036 Lewiston Rd., 926-4574

Poland, Public Works, 1231 Maine St., 998-2570

Sabattus, Public Works, Pleasant Hill Rd., 375-8702

Turner, Transfer Station, Snell Hill Rd., 225-2980

—

DRIVING

STEPS TO OBTAINING A MAINE DRIVER’S LICENSE

How do I convert my out-of-state driver’s license? You cannot transfer your previous license directly. You need to fill out the Maine license forms at a BMV branch office, take a vision screening, and pay the license fee. If your previous license was current, you do not need to take a road or written test. BMV Branch Office Locations – http://www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/locations/index.html

Rapid Renewal is the online service that allows you to renew your driver’s license or Maine ID card or purchase a replacement driver’s license or ID card at any time, day or night. Any Maine licensed driver with an active digital license, digital motorcycle license or digital motor driven cycle restricted license and any holder of a digital Maine ID card can use this service. This service is not available for commercial driver license holders. Fees can be found online at http://www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/licenses/renewal.html

* Note: The feature allowing users to update hair color and/or weight is temporarily unavailable. Therefore, persons needing to update their weight or hair color must visit a BMV branch office. Contact BMV at: (207) 624-9000 x 52114 or Email: license.bmv@maine.gov

STEPS TO MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION AND OBTAINING LICENSE PLATES

Rapid Renewal is an online service that makes it possible for you to renew your motor vehicle registration and to pay your local excise tax in one simple transaction. You should receive your new registration certificate and stickers within 7 business days. If your registration will expire within 7 days, and you are planning to travel out-of-state with your vehicle, you may wish to renew your registration in person at your municipal office. Re-registrations may also be processed at a motor vehicle branch office, after payment of excise tax has been made at your municipality.

The Rapid Renewal service for registration renewal of excise-taxable vehicles is available only to registrants who live in a participating municipality. To find out if your town or city is part of the program, please view the list of municipalities. Non-excise-taxable trailers may be renewed online for all municipalities.

Registrations for both passenger and commercial vehicles can be renewed online. However, island use, emergency/coach, vehicles over 12,000 pounds GVW, apportioned, special mobile equipment, tractors, municipal and state vehicles must be renewed in person.

THE RULES OF MAINE ROADS — TRAFFIC REGULATIONS

Maine uses a point system to penalize traffic law violators, with each traffic violation carrying an assigned number of points. When the total reaches a maximum of 12, the driver’s license is suspended.

In Maine, if you are stopped for operating under the influence and a test shows that you have an alcohol concentration of 0.08 grams or more of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood or 210 liters of breath, you may lose your driving privilege. In addition, for all administrative suspensions (there are some refusal exceptions) you may be required to complete a driver education evaluation program.

Maine law requires that the headlights of all motor vehicles operating on a public way must be illuminated whenever the vehicle’s windshield wipers are in constant use. This requirement is in addition to that requiring headlight illumination if operating at night or whenever, due to weather conditions, vehicles or persons cannot be seen for a distance of 1,000 feet ahead.

Maine law requires all passengers and drivers to wear a seat belt when traveling in a vehicle on Maine’s roadways. Drivers of all ages should only transport as many passengers as there are seat belts in their vehicle.

Maine’s Child Passenger Safety (CPS) law is one of the strongest in the country. The law requires that:

• Children who weigh less than 40 lbs. ride in a child safety seat;

• Children who weigh at least 40 lbs., but less than 80 lbs. and less than 8 yrs. old, ride in a federally approved child restraint system;

• Children who are more than 8 yrs. old and less than 18 yrs. old and more than 4 feet 9 inches in height should be properly secured in a safety belt and;

• Children who are less than 18 yrs. old and at least 8 yrs old and more than 4 feet 9 inches in height is properly secured in a seat belt

• Children under 12 yrs. old and who weighs less than 100 lbs. is properly secured in the back seat of the vehicle, if possible.

The full text of the law can be found at http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/29-a/title29-asec2081.html

More information about these services can be found on the Bureau of Motor Vehicles site at maine.gov.

WATER

Auburn 784-6469

Buckfield 336-2771

Freeport 865-0831

Gardiner 582-5500

Gray 657-3500

Hallowell 623-9151

Lewiston 782-8275

Lisbon 353-3020

Livermore Falls 897-3445

Mechanic Falls 345-5351

Sabattus 375-4953

So. Freeport 865-0831

Winthrop 337-2712

Yarmouth 846-6402

ELECTRICITY AND GAS

Central Maine Power 800-686-4044

Unitil Gas 866-933-3821

RECYCLING

Recycling saves money, creates jobs, and protects the environment.

When you recycle products and packaging, you provide materials that can be used by manufacturers to make new products.

Recycled materials cost manufacturers less than virgin materials.

Also, less energy is needed to make new products using recycled materials instead of virgin materials, further reducing production costs.

As we recycle more products, new jobs are created to collect, transport and process this waste into commodity materials that can be used by manufacturers.

Using recycled materials also decreases the demand for new raw materials, reducing negative environmental impacts of mining and extraction.

Recycling products in Maine include:

Cell Phones

Computers and Televisions

Household Hazardous Waste including mercury-containing products and batteries

Motor Vehicles

Oil

Propane Tanks

Rechargeable Batteries

Thermostats

FMI, visit the Bureau of Remediation & Waste Management at www.maine.gov

EMERGENCY RELATED PHONE NUMBERS

When you call 911 from a cellular telephone it may not go to your local police/fire/medical dispatch center, so it is critical that you know where you are, including the town where the emergency is occurring so the emergency communications center can process and respond to your call quickly and effectively.

Important things to remember when reporting any incident to 911:

1. Remain calm and speak clearly,

2. Answer questions patiently and as completely as possible,

3. Understand that there is a reason for every question asked,

4. Never hang up on 911.

When you call 911 you will hear “911” or “911, what’s your emergency?” or “911, what is the location of your emergency?” Ideally, you should tell the person answering the telephone what and where the emergency is, for example, “My house is on fire at (STREET & TOWN)” or “There’s someone breaking into my home at (STREET ADDRESS & TOWN)” or “There’s a car accident at (STREET & TOWN).” The best and quickest way to get a response to your emergency is to patiently answer all questions asked. It can be difficult to be patient during an emergency, but remaining as calm as possible and answering questions clearly will enable help to get there much faster. When seconds count, calmness helps.

Even though your location and telephone may display on the Enhanced 911, or E-911, system, you will be asked to verify these two crucial pieces of information. The incident may be occurring at some place other than your location and the system is not foolproof. Ensuring the correct address is obtained will ensure emergency units get to the scene of the emergency as quickly as possible.

If you called 911 by mistake, don’t hang up. Speak with the person answering the call and answer their questions. All 911 hang-up calls are called back, and if there is no answer further action may be taken.

For the D/deaf, late-deafened or hard-of-hearing, use your TTY device or the “Maine Relay Service.”

DIAL 911 FOR ALL FIRE AND POLICE EMERGENCIES

OTHER EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Alcoholics Anonymous 24-hour Hotline 800-737-6237 or 207-774-4335

Child Abuse 24-hour Hotline 800-452-1999 (Voice) or 800-963-9490 (TTY)

Maine Statewide Crisis 888-568-1112 (Voice/TTY)

Poison Control Center 800-222-1222 (Voice) or 877-299-4447 (TTY)

This is not an all-inclusive list of emergency numbers and these phone numbers are subject to change. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services provides a list of emergency services and phone numbers at www.maine.gov

CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE, VISITOR SERVICES AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce

Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments 783-9186

Auburn Economic Development 333-6600

Freeport Merchants Marketing Association

Gray-New Gloucester Business Association

Jay-Livermore-Livermore Falls Chamber

Kennebec Valley Chamber

Kennebec Valley Council of Governments 453-4258

Lewiston Auburn Economic Growth Council 784-0161

Winthrop Area Chamber of Commerce

Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce

HEALTH SERVICES

Alcoholics Anonymous, in Maine, 24 Hour Hotline 800-737-6237 or 207-774-4335. During business hours, your call will be taken by a member of Alcoholics Anonymous who knows exactly what you are going through and can give you all the information you need. At night, reach a well qualified answering service, who can give meeting information, or put you in touch with a recovering alcoholic, in your area, who will speak with you about your problem. There are over 700 meetings in Maine and southern New Brunswick every week. To find a meeting near you, visit www.csoaamaine.org

American Red Cross-United Valley Chapter, 795-4004; 1180 Lisbon St., Lewiston

Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice, 15 Strawberry Ave., Lewiston, 800-482-7412; www.ahch.org, provides needed comprehensive health and health-related services which help people remain safely and independently in their homes and communities. Volunteer opportunities are plentiful for in-home visiting volunteers and hospice volunteers (training required).

Healthy Androscoggin, www.healthyandroscoggin.org was created in 1995 as Tobacco Free L-A, a grassroots group of community members and organizations working to reduce tobacco use in the greater Lewiston-Auburn area. They have grown to include nearly 300 coalition members and over 2300 subscribers and have broadened their focus to include exercising, eating well and youth substance use.

March of Dimes, www.marchofdimes.com. The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. The Maine Chapter awards community grants to provide preconception/prenatal education, support and intervention.

ProtectME-Child Health Center, 782-5437, your resource for Preschool: Providing Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education Services for children Birth – Five years old. Big Brothers / Big Sisters: Community and Site-based Mentoring programs for children 6-18. The Parent Place: Parenting education for teens and adolescent parents. www.childhealthcenter.org

Tri-County Mental Health Services, Androscoggin County, 1155 Lisbon Street, Lewiston, 783-9141, 800-787-1155, is an organization committed to providing the people of Maine with excellence in mental health, substance abuse, habilitation and life skills services, respecting consumer rights, personal dignity and maintaining agency financial stability. www.tchms.org

COMMUNITY SERVICES

Safe Voices, PO Box 713, Auburn, ME 04212-0713, 24 Hour Helpline: 1-800-559-2927, Phone: Lewiston: (207) 795-6744, Norway: (207) 743-5806, Email: info@awap.org Web Address: www.safevoices.org

Advocates for Children, 57 Birch St., Suite 204, Lewiston ME 04240, Mailing address: P.O. Box 3316, Auburn, ME 04212, Phone: 783-3990, Fax: 783-9402, Email: info@advocatesforchildren.net, Web Address: http://www.advocatesforchildren.net/

American Red Cross of Southern Maine, United Valley Office, 1180 Lisbon Street, Lewiston, ME 04240, Phone: 795-4004, Fax: 795-4037, Web Address: http://www.maineredcross.org/index.htm

Common Ties Mental Health Coalition, 140 Canal St., Lewiston, ME 04240, Phone: 795-6710, Email: info@commonties.org, Web Address: http://www.commonties.org/

Community Concepts Inc., 79 Main Street, Auburn, Maine 04210, Phone: 795-4065, 17-19 Market Square, P.O. Box 278, South Paris, ME 04281, Phone: 743-7716, Toll free: 1-800-866-5588, Fax: 743-6513, Email: info@community-concepts.org, Web Address: http://www.community-concepts.org/

Franco-American Heritage Center, 46 Cedar Street, Lewiston, Maine; Mailing address: P.O. Box 1627, Lewiston, Maine 04241-1627, Phone: 783-1586, Web Address: http://www.francoamericanheritage.org/

Good Shepherd Food-Bank, Main Warehouse & Administrative Offices, Mailing Address: PO Box 1807, Auburn, Maine 04211-1807, Phone: (207) 782-3554, FAX: (207) 782-9893, Web Address: http://www.gsfb.org/

Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice, Lewiston Office, 15 Strawberry Avenue, P.O. Box 819, Lewiston, Maine 04243-0819, Phone: (207) 777-7740, Fax: (207) 777-7748, Toll-free: (800) 482-7412; Hospice House, 236 Stetson Road, Auburn, Maine 04210, Phone: 333-6300, Fax: (207) 333-6309, Toll-free: (866) 482-7131

Greater Androscoggin Humane Society, 55 Strawberry Avenue, Lewiston, Maine 04240, Phone: 783-2311, Fax: 782-5521, Email: info@gahumane.org, Web Address: http://www.gahumane.org/

Healthy Androscoggin, 130 East Ave (Lower Entrance to the YWCA) in Lewiston; Mailing Address: 300 Main St., Lewiston, ME 04240, Phone: 795-5990, Fax: 795-5992, Email: infor@healtyandroscoggin.org, Web Address: http://www.healthyandroscoggin.org/

Hope Haven Gospel Mission, 209 Lincoln Street, Lewiston, ME 04240, General Inquiries: 783-6086, Donor Inquiries: 713-8217, Fax: 783-3904, Email: info@hopehavengospelmission.org, Web Address: http://www.hopehavengospelmission.org/

KIDS Consortium, 223 Main Street, Auburn, ME 04210, Phone: 784-0956, Fax: 784-6733, Email: kap@kidsconsortium.org, Web Address: http://www.kidsconsortium.org/

L/A Arts, 221 Lisbon Street, Lewiston, Maine 04240, Phone 782-7228, Fax 782-8192, Email: mail@laarts.org, Web Address: http://www.laarts.org/

Lifesprings, Inc., PO Box 121, West Poland, ME 04291, Phone: 998-4227, Email: ORMPOLAND@roadrunner.com

Literacy Volunteers-Androscoggin, 15 Sacred Heart Place, Auburn, ME 04210, Phone: 333-4785, Email info@literacyvolunteersandro.org, Web Address: http://www.literacyvolunteersandro.org/

The Maine Building Materials Exchange, 102 Lisbon St., Lisbon, ME, Phone 1-636-7670, Email: Info@mainebme.org, Web Address: http://www.mainebme.org/

Maine Music Society, 215 Lisbon St., Lewiston, Maine 04240, Phone: 782-1403, Fax: 782-8192, Web Address: http://www.mainemusicsociety.org/

Museum L-A, 35 Canal St., Box A7, Lewiston, ME 04240, Phone: 333-3881, Fax: 376-3353, Email: info@museumla.org, Web Address: http://museumla.org/

Pathways Inc., P.O. Box 1267, 368 Minot Avenue, Auburn, Maine 04210-1297, Phone: 795-4085, Fax: 753-0505, Email: wendyj@pathwaysmaine.com, Web Address: http://www.pathwaysmaine.com/

The Progress Center, 35 Cottage Street, Norway, ME 04268, Phone: 743-8049, Web Address: http://www.progresscentermaine.org/Home.asp

R.E.A.C.H., Rape Education and Crisis Hotline, One East Main Street, Suite Two, P.O. Box 300, S. Paris, ME 04281, 24-hour Support: 1-800-871-7741, Office (207)743-9777, Web Address: http://www.reachmaine.org/

Rockin’ T Equine Rescue, 60 Edgecomb Road, Lisbon Falls, Maine 04252, Phone: 353-6581, Web Address: http://www.rockintequinerescue.com/

SeniorsPlus, 8 Falcon Road, P.O. Box 659, Lewiston, ME 04243-0659, Phone: 1-800-427-1241; 795-4010; TTY: 795-7232; Fax: 795-4009, Email: info@seniorsplus.org, Web Address: www.seniorsplus.org

Sexual Assault Crisis Center, Auburn, Maine, Phone: 1-800-871-7441 or 1-888-458-5599, Administrative Office: 784-5272, Web Address: http://sexualassaultcrisiscenter.org/

Somali Bantu Youth Association of Maine, P.O.Box 7149, Lewiston, ME 04243, Phone: 344-5136, Web Address: http://www.sbyam.org/

Support Solutions, 124 Canal St., Suite B, Lewiston, ME 04240, Phone: 795-0672 Ext. 2131, Fax: 777-1109, Web Address: http://supportsolution.org/

United Way of Androscoggin County, P.O. Box 888, Lewiston, ME 04243, Phone: 795-4000, Fax: 795-6100, Web Address: http://www.unitedwayandro.org/

Woman’s Literary Union of Androscoggin County, 19 Elm Street, Auburn, ME 04210; Email address: womansliteraryunion@gmail.com, Web Address: http://www.womansliteraryunion.org

LIBRARIES

The region’s public library systems offer, in addition to book borrowing, movies, electronic books, historical and genealogical materials, music, magazines, newspapers, children and teen programs, and much more.

Auburn Public Library

49 Spring Street

Auburn, ME 04210

Phone: 207 333-6640

www.auburn.lib.me.us

Cumston Public Library

796 Main Street

Monmouth, ME 04259-0239

Phone: 207 933-4788

www.cumston.lib.me.us

Gardiner Public Library

152 Water Street

Gardiner, ME 04345

Phone: 207 582-3312

www.gpl.lib.me.us

Gray Public Library

5 Hancock Street

Gray, ME 04039

Phone: 207 657-4110

www.gray.lib.me.us

Lisbon Library

28 Main Street

Lisbon Falls, ME 04252

Phone: 207 353-6564

www.lisbonme.org

Lewiston Public Library

200 Lisbon Street

Lewiston, ME 04240

Phone: 207 784-0135

www.lplonline.org

Maine State Library

64 State House Station

230 State Street

Augusta, ME 04333-0064

Phone: 207-287-5600

www.maine.gov/msl/

Mechanic Falls Public Library

15 Elm Street

Mechanic Falls, ME 04256

Phone: 207 345-9450

www.mechanicfalls.lib.me.us

Morse Memorial Library

105 Main Street

Greene, ME 04236

Phone: 207 946-5544

www.townofgreene.net/jamlibrary.html

New Gloucester Public Library

379 Intervale Road

New Gloucester, ME 04260

Phone: 207 926-4840

www.newgloucesterlibrary.org

Ricker Memorial Library

1211 Maine Street

Poland, ME 04274

Phone: (207) 998-4390

www.rickerlibrary.org

Shaker Library

707 Shaker Road

New Gloucester, ME 04260

Phone: 207 926-4597

www.shaker.lib.me.us

Turner Public Library

Route 117

Turner, ME 04282

Phone: 207 225-2030

www.turnerpubliclibrary.org

POSTAL SERVICE

Auburn, 258 Rodman Rd., 786-0604

Auburn, 2 Great Falls Plaza, 784-4598

Danville, Dunlap St., 782-2533

East Livermore, 1047 Park St., 897-6948

East Winthrop, 2402 US Route 202, 395-4250

Freeport, 141 Main St., 865-4231

Gardiner, 348 Water St., 582-6160

Gray, 8 Shaker Rd., 657-3211

Greene, 677 Route 202, 946-5000

Leeds, 524-3422

Lewiston, 999 Lisbon St., 782-2889

Lewiston, 49 Ash St., 783-8551

Lisbon, 331 Lisbon St., 353-4395

Lisbon Falls, 13 Main St., 353-8721

Litchfield, 1882 Hallowell Rd., 268-4088

Livermore, 5 Bear Mountain Rd., 897-4132

Livermore Falls, 60 Main St., 897-3614

Mechanic Falls, 1 Depot Sq., 346-6171

Monmouth, 744 Main St., 933-4585

Minot, 348 Minot Ave., 784-2202

New Gloucester, 417 Intervale Rd., 926-4414

North Turner, State Rte. 219, 224-7734

Poland, Empire Rd., 998-4549

Poland, 965 Maine St., 998-4396

Pownal, 195 Allen Rd., 688-4474

Sabattus, 5 High St., 375-4251

Turner, 16 Buckfield Rd., 225-3339

West Minot, 966-2602

West Poland, 91 Megquier Hill Rd., 998-2895

Winthrop, 47 Main St., 377-8455

Copy the Story Link