Week of March 7, 2019

Celebrating 30 years of local news

A mother’s instinct gives her son the chance he needed

A local toddler, Chance Cunningham, from China, received a successful bone marrow transplant in Boston, Massachusetts, to fight a rare disorder of his immune system, Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis, or HLH. Chance and his parents Lacey and Jeremy Cunningham returned home on the weekend of March 2, following a long, emotional stay in Boston…

Your Local News

Selectmen OK two TIF board recommendations

CHINA — The select board authorized Town Manager Dennis Heath to negotiate with Susan Bailey to buy her small piece of land across Causeway Street from the boat landing, and to pay a bill from Comprehensive Land Technologies for the new bridge west of the boat landing…

Planners give thumbs up to school gym expansion

CHINA — The new space will house a new stage, two teachers’ offices and a practice room, plus a storage room and under-the-stage chair storage. There will be room for bleachers in front of the new stage…

Declining enrollment could limit gains in state school subsidy

VASSALBORO — A pending local change is that the grant funding the pre-kindergarten program at Vassalboro Community School ends this year…

STATE OF THE TOWN LINE:
The importance of the printed paper

from Neil Farrington — I would personally like the paper to continue for another 30 years, so I’m asking our readership to take some ownership in The Town Line. A $35 yearly membership donation could save our little printed paper from being swallowed up by the digital 21st century world…

Trash Talking: China and Palermo residents – second alert

by Irene Belanger — Effective March 1, 2019, and until further notice, we will not be recycling any plastic bags so there will not be a barrel at the recycling station for them. They will go into the hopper…

Debunking the myths about donating bone marrow

The National Marrow Donor Program has published this to dispel the misinformation concerning marrow donation. The following information is to correct the myths that may be holding back potential donors from registering…

Henry Sainio celebrates 90th birthday

Henry Sainio, of Washington, was honored at a party for his 90th birthday on March 2. At his place large digits were displayed along with his cake (photo)…

2019 Real estate tax schedule

Find out when real estate taxes are due for China, Vassalboro, Windsor & Winslow.

Town Meeting schedule for 2019

Check here to see when your town has scheduled their 2019 town meeting. Current listings for China, Vassalboro and Windsor. To have your town listed, send an email to townline@fairpoint.net.

Take our weekly survey!

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School News

Erskine Academy announces school calendar change

SOUTH CHINA — Parents and students should be advised of a change to Erskine Academy’s school calendar. Due to excessive snow days, Friday, March 15, will now be an early release day for all Erskine Academy students. Students will be dismissed at 11:30 a.m.

Airman Deschamps graduates from basic military training

SOUTH CHINA — Airman Kalib Deschamps, of South China, has completed an intensive, eight-week program in basic military training. Deschamps is the son of Tara Tracy, of South China, and grandson of Dawn Haskell, of Palermo. He is a 2018 graduate of Erskine Academy, China.

Showing enthusiasm and spirit

SKOWHEGAN — Cooper Jarvais, a junior at Skowhegan Area High School, shows some enthusiasm at a recent basketball game (photo)…

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Disappointing ending

SKOWHEGAN — In the recent Class A girls basketball regional final held at the Augusta Civic Center, the previously unbeaten Skowhegan Indians were defeated by the Hampden Academy Broncos, 32-28, and were eliminated from the tournament (photo)…

VCS JMG members pages for a day

VASSALBORO — Members of the Vassalboro Community School Jobs for Maine Graduates served as pages for the day on February 19, in the Maine State Legislature. They later visited with Gov. Janet Mills (photo)…

Braden Soule receives principals award

FAIRFIELD — Braden Soule, of Fairfield, a senior at Erskine Academy, in South China, has been selected to receive the 2019 Principals Award, Headmaster Michael McQuarrie announced recently…

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

from Danielle Foster (former China resident) — Jack’s store was the heart of the community when I grew up. Jack’s, the post office, the library, and the church, made my childhood the stuff story books tales are made of. Great people everywhere…

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

WATERVILLE — LENTEN ORGAN CONCERTS, First Baptist Church, Elm St. Sunday, March 10, Christina Misner Rao, of Manchester, organist at Wayne Community Church. …

Obituaries

SOUTH CHINA – Lula Ruth “Sally” Brotherton, of South China, born in Prague, Oklahoma, passed away peacefully in her home the morning of February 15, 2019. She was the middle child of Martin Joyce Sweet and Lawrence Clyde Curry… and remembering 11 others…

Common Ground – Round 2: Win a $10 gift certificate!

Identify the men in these three photos, and tell us what they have in common. You could win a $10 gift certificate to Retail Therapy boutique in Waterville, next to the Dairy Queen! Email your answer to townline@fairpoint.net or visit our Contact page.

Town Line Original Columnists

Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee | That got me thinking. Claiming myself to be an amateur birder, I wondered how many birds I have seen in my life time. So, I set out to make a list…

Gary KennedyVETERANS CORNER

by Gary Kennedy | It seems some of you are very angry with the VA and how you are received when you try to apply for benefits as well as medical care. Normally, your first step is to approach a service organization for assistance…

Peter CatesREVIEW POTPOURRI

by Peter Cates | Conductor Josef Krips was distinguished by his work in helping to rebuild the Vienna State Opera during the post-World War II years; he also made many recordings of the Central European repertoire-Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert etc…

THE MONEY MINUTE

by Jac M. Arbour | There was seemingly nowhere to turn to make a few bucks in 2018, and it’s no wonder that people want to be especially thoughtful about how they allocate money in 2019, specifically within their retirement accounts…

I’M JUST CURIOUS

by Debbie Walker | These slang words were developed for short order cooks and servers in diners so they could let the cooks know what “to burn,” what to “wreck” and what to “put a hat on.” I hope this brings back happy memories for some of you and a new slang for others to learn…

Marilyn Rogers-Bull & PercySOLON & BEYOND

by Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy | Received the much welcomed Solon School News letter for February and will start this column with the Second Quarter Honor Roll…

FOR YOUR HEALTH

(NAPSI) — Whether it’s a broken leg or the flu, illness and injuries that result in hospital stays are unfortunately commonplace for American families…

Can You Afford an Unexpected Hospital Bill? Preparing Your Family for Unforeseen Costs