AARP Smart Driver Course set for Sept. 6

The new AARP Smart Driver course for drivers age 50 and older will be presented from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Bridgton Community Center, 15 Depot St., Bridgton, on Saturday, Sept. 6.

Advance registration no later than Aug. 30 is requested as class size is limited. To register, phone the Bridgton Community Center at 647-3116. The registration fee is $15 for AARP members, $20 for others.

AARP Driver Safety introduced this new Smart Driver course as the latest revision of the nation’s first and largest classroom refresher course for experienced and mature drivers. Class participants review safe driving strategies, defensive driving techniques, new traffic laws and rules of the road. The class helps older drivers adjust their driving to age-related changes in vision, hearing and reaction time. Drivers 55 years of age and older in Maine are entitled to discounts on their insurance premiums for three years after taking or re-taking this course.

More information may be found on the Internet at DriverSafetyME.weebly.com.

Lake Region chorus rehearsal set for Sept. 8

If you like to sing and can carry a tune, come join the Lake Region Community Chorus at its first rehearsal at 6 pm. on Monday, Sept. 8, at Bridgton Academy’s Twitchell Memorial Chapel. No auditions are required.

The success of the chorus, now in its second fall season, is shown by its ability to play to a packed house each time, including the first spring concert this past June.

Jan Jukkola, the group’s conductor, shared the podium with two assistants – Nancy Capone and Sue Stockwell – last spring, to demonstrate varied styles of interpretation to the delight of its 40-plus singers. The second winter concert is set for Friday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m., with a matinee at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7, both at Twitchell Chapel.

Rehearsals run for 13 weeks, with the first concert scheduled for set for Dec. 5. Each member is asked to pay $20 for music for the whole session.

Scribner’s Sawmill open for tours

The final tour for the 2014 season for the Scribner’s Sawmill and Homestead in Harrison will be on Saturday, Aug. 30. Private tours can be arranged by calling 583-6455.

The original 1847 sawmill housed an Up and Down Sash saw to cut dimension lumber, and machinery to manufacture clapboards, shingles, and lathe, all the wooden materials needed to construct a house at the time.

In 1896, more than 10,124 barrels were made for use by the local apple growers to ship their produce to London where the local Baldwin apples were a sought-after treat in the foreign market. The mill continues to make barrels and shingles while the restoration of the site continues.

The Homestead, built in 1849, was the home for five generations of the Scribner family and is interpreted as it appeared in the 1920s when it was remodeled to add an indoor bathroom.

The barn holds a large collection of antique mill equipment. Behind the barn is the ice house, which is filled with tools used in harvesting ice off the Crooked River.

Scribner’s Mill is found one mile south of Bolsters Mills on Jesse Mill Road just over the bridge in the town of Harrison. Or follow the Maine State Directional Signs found at Carsley Road from Route 35 North, or Maple Ridge Road from Route 117 to the mill. Entrance is free; however, donations are welcomed and used for the continued restoration of the site. For more information call or to schedule a private tour call 583-mill (6455). To schedule a group tour or a school field trip call education coordinator Nancy Grigg at 647-4459.