LEWISTON — Ballroom dance, sign language, bread making, landscaping, and quilting are a few of the classes residents will have the opportunity to take, with the offering of community classes right in their own city. No longer will they need to make the half-hour drive into Logan to attend classes.

Tova Jones, a Lewiston resident, asked the council Tuesday evening for its support in offering community classes.

“I think we should have some community classes, and I think Lewiston is the perfect place to do it because as I have asked around there is extreme interest,” Jones said. “And it would save time on traveling. I’ve gone to Logan and done theirs and it takes a lot of time to drive down there and come back.”

Jones said she has spoken with many community residents and had a list prepared of classes they would like to have, including woodworking, beginning cooking and food storage. She also had the names of residents who are willing to teach and help with the classes.

The mayor and the five council members agreed that offering community classes to Lewiston residents is a great idea, and gave Jones their unanimous support. They offered the use of city buildings including the library and ballroom to hold classes in. They also agreed to help her get the word out by including a mailer with the monthly newsletter that goes out to residents and putting up fliers throughout the city.

“We support your idea,” said Mayor Kelly Field. “You can go ahead and count on our support.”

With October just a couple of weeks away there was some discussion about the city’s Halloween festivities, including a trunk-or-treat to be carried out by the city’s youth council. The Halloween carnival, which is put on by the library board, was also discussed. Both of these events will be discussed in greater detail at the next council meeting as the month of October nears.

The volunteer fire department was also discussed. The city has been pushing for volunteers recently and has sent fliers throughout the city as well as nearby Cove and Cornish. Their efforts have paid off as they have had four or five applicants recently.

“It’s paid off to do this and it’s going to be a benefit to the city to have these additional people,” said Councilman Roy Hall. “The fire department is feeling pretty good because we’ve had a drought for a couple years in getting people to join the fire department.”

Published in cooperation with the Hard News Cafe. Original story is here.