Happy Easter!
Happy Easter, friends!
I see lot’s of orange posters coming down which means we should be back in the woods in no time. We were very fortunate to have one of those coveted jobs on a non-posted road this year, and the cut to length crew was able to complete the job and worked until April 13th! The ground is definitely too soupy to get back out there yet, but we have plenty of maintenance to do.
I have been keeping Randy & Sam busy on my new frozen custard/ice cream store. It is called The Log Yard Dairy Bar…. you know we had to keep the roots of our lives consistent. We had the building sided in Maine pine and all of my outdoor furniture was made from Maine white cedar by Maine Adirondiak Chairs in Vassalboro. I couldn’t believe the amazing prices I got that furniture and would highly recommend them. We are hoping to open May 7th, but that is looking less and less likely as apparently the health department is “short staffed” and can’t tell me when I will have my health inspection in order to open. I am not exactly thrilled about this…. so if you can pull some strings for me, that would be great! Hopefully when they say “we don’t know when you will be able to open” doesn’t mean September. I hope when we open, I see as many of your faces as possible! I love people and I can’t wait to serve you up some yummy treats.
Recently, in the legislature, there were some bills being voted on that were strongly opposed by the logging community, and despite our best efforts, many democrats voted in favor of them and they will land on the Governor’s desk. Essentially, they are trying to unionize loggers, which is certainly not in the best interest of the industry, and we didn’t ask for it. When I emailed my representative, she said she is getting mixed stories, so I am curious, are there any loggers out there who were reaching out in support of creating a state logging dispute resolution board? The other bill as a tax incentive for hiring new employees. The PLC strongly opposed this bill as well because we see that it would basically cause a tug of war between contractors, and those with the resources would lure away operators with government subsidized, inflated wages that the industry can’t realistically support. It is a completely unsustainable solution and one that only served the legislatures who voted for it so they could brag that they tried to “help” us. Our personal stance is that we don’t want your tax dollars to keep us afloat. We believe in the free market and it is a roller coaster ride… some times you’re high, some times you’re low. Speaking on behalf of ourselves, we would prefer the government not try to solve our problems.
In other news, if you’ve been in the Poland area, you may have noticed that the intersection of Route 26 & Route 11 is looking a little different. Brandon has been out there in the processor and mulching machine preparing it for a new business. That location has been a bundle of bushes and pine trees for a long time and we are thrilled to have been called on to get it cleaned out. The town of Poland is excited to welcome new businesses here. I don’t want to announce what the plans are there, but I’ll just say, it will be a great compliment to our lake community!
Have a lovely Easter Sunday!