Conway Rec bracing for another summer of bottled water.
CONWAY — The summer program started Wednesday at the Conway Recreation Department and for the second year in a row, kids are being told not to drink the water in the Center Conway building.
Last year, 246 children from Albany and Conway participated in the six-week program.
Eastman had 220 pre-register this spring.
Campers are encouraged to bring their own water bottles.
"Please be advised all recreation participants and staff should not drink the water that comes from any of our faucets within the Conway Recreation Department Building," the signs state.
"Clean water will be supplied in our water jug for all programs outside on the bleachers and for all teen center participants."
Town Manager Earl Sires said the building, which once served as the Pine Tree School, needs work.
"The gymnasium is not insulated (using 400-500 gallons of heating fuel every two weeks).
"It’s a combination where we’re outgrowing it, and the facility itself we buttoned it down for 15 years, but now we’ve got to the 15 years," Sires continued.

Voters in agreeable mood at Town Meeting, OK all articles.
All articles were passed by a unanimous vote.
Thanks to the funds, Westfield Recreation Complex will see five new bleachers for softball fans to comfortably watch games and practices, Philip E. Lukey Park will receive a full rehabilitation including new playground equipment, and Spillane Field will see a new concession stand, ticket booth, and sound system.
A unanimous vote allowed the meeting to quickly proceed with six articles that are voted on every year including the approval of this fiscal year’s revolving funds and the return of unused funds from completed CPA projects.
An increase of 2.4 percent above last year’s contribution to the Upper Cape Cod Regional Vocational Technical School budget faced questioning from residents who were concerned that Wareham should be focusing more on the public schools within the town.
It drew some nays from voters, but was still passed with a majority vote.
The Finance Committee explained in the report that towns that have implemented this bylaw, including Sandwich and Duxbury, have actually seen improved attendance at Town Meetings and found that meetings are more productive since they don’t have to wait for a certain number of people to be present to start.
A revision to the Unaccepted Way Bylaw was finally approved, allowing Wareham a more streamlined approach for dealing with private streets that are open for public use.
Wareham’s Community and Economic Development Authority was approved to be reorganized and potentially replaced by a more traditional Redevelopment Authority after being deemed unproductive.
This plan will be presented at a future Town Meeting for approval.

More than 100 million dead trees in California from drought.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Forest Service officials are seriously hampered not only by short-term budgets passed by Congress, but also a broken budget for the Forest Service that sees an increasing amount of resources going to firefighting while less is invested in restoration and forest health, said Vilsack.
"These dead and dying trees continue to elevate the risk of wildfire, complicate our efforts to respond safely and effectively to fires when they do occur, and pose a host of threats to life and property across California," said Vilsack.
Five consecutive years of severe drought in California, a dramatic rise in bark beetle infestation and warmer temperatures are leading to these historic levels of tree die-off.
Longer, hotter fire seasons where extreme fire behavior has become the new norm, as well as increased development in forested areas, is dramatically driving up the cost of fighting fires and squeezing funding for the very efforts that would protect watersheds and restore forests to make them more resilient to fire.
As the situation in the southeast demonstrates, the problem of shrinking budget capacity is felt across the U.S., not only in the western states.
The health of our forests and landscapes are at risk across the nation, and the tree mortality crisis could be better addressed if not for the increasing percentage of the Forest Service budget going to fight wildfire.
"More than 100 million dead trees in California from drought."
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"More than 100 million dead trees in California from drought."