Dog licenses expire Dec. 31; register online

Scarborough’s 2011 dog licenses are available in the Town Clerk’s Office. The state requires dogs be licensed at 6 months or older or within 10 days of ownership. 

Dog licenses expire Dec. 31. Bring in a current rabies certificate and spay or neuter certificate,  if applicable, to the Town Clerk’s Office.  The fee for an altered dog is $6 and $11 for an unaltered dog. Residents can also register their dogs online at www.informe.gov/doglicense/begin.shtml.

 A rabies clinic has been scheduled 6 to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 10 at the middle school cafeteria.

A three-year rabies certificate will be issued if proof of prior inoculation is provided. The clerk’s office will be present to register dogs for Scarborough residents. For more information, contact the office at 730-4020.

Library patrons can now check out eBooks on InfoNet

Scarborough Public Library has expanded its download collection with the addition of eBooks – electronic versions of printed books – to the Maine InfoNet Download Library.

More than 1,400 books spanning best-selling fiction, nonfiction, young adult and children’s content are available as downloadable eBooks. This is in addition to the collection of downloadable audiobooks also available at the site that totals more than 1,800 titles.

Library Assistant Director Susan Winch described the download library as “a virtual branch library, providing digital access 24/7 to anyone with a Scarborough Library card.”

Cardholders can access the site at download.maineinfonet.org to browse the collection, check out and download audiobooks and eBooks.

EBooks are checked out for seven or 14 days according to the reader’s preference and are automatically returned at the end of the checkout period, which means no late fees for patrons or lost books for the library to replace. They can also be read on multiple devices during a checkout period.

The eBook collection is made possible through a grant from the Davis Family Foundation and through contributions from participating libraries from across the state. 

Extra OUI patrols will be on road during holidays

Maine law enforcement agencies will use nearly $200,000 in federal highway safety funding for additional patrols to identify impaired drivers throughout December and January. 

Scarborough Police Department received a $4,998 grant for the patrols.

Highway Safety Director Lauren Stewart said 33 municipal police departments, eight sheriff’s offices and the state police are taking part in the Holiday Impaired Driving Enforcement Campaign. Stewart said this is the third consecutive year the program has been run and coincides with a national effort by law enforcement agencies across the country.

 She said 31 percent of all fatal crashes in Maine during 2009 were alcohol- related. That number dropped to 22 percent for the first six months of this year and the final numbers for 2010 are still being reviewed.  

State police received $40,678 – the largest share of the holiday enforcement funding.