Issue for January 22, 2026
Mikkah Grant: a night to remember
Meet Mikkah Grant, aka MJ. She is a seventh grader at Vassalboro Community School in the life skills program. Many students know her for her love and devotion of learning to bake and sharing her special treats around the school, her vibrant smile, her hop and skip down the hallways and her radiant love for people… by Sarah Beth Grant
Town News
Maine Rural Water Association to take over VSD finances
VASSALBORO – At their Jan. 14 meeting, Vassalboro Sanitary District trustees began moving toward some of the goals suggested by board chairman Lauchlin Titus at earlier meetings…
New conservation members brought up to date
VASSALBORO – Vassalboro Conservation Commission chairman Holly Weidner used the beginning of the Jan. 14 meeting to bring new members Rebecca Lamey and Mary Schwanke up to date on commission activities…
Vassalboro school board moves through routine matters
VASSALBORO – Vassalboro School Board members had mostly routine matters on their Jan. 13 meeting agenda: paying bills and checking the financial situation (normal, Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer said), approving amended policies and getting updates on Energy Management Consultants’ improvements to the Vassalboro Community School building…
Planning board has full complement of members
CHINA – With new members Bruce Fitzgerald and Peter Nelson joining Milton Dudley, Dwaine Drummond and Toni Wall, the China Planning Board now has its full five-person membership…
Committee abandons pay-as-you-throw proposal
CHINA – When they met Jan. 13, China Transfer Station Committee members accepted the select board’s Dec. 29, 2025, directive to stop considering a PAYT (pay-as-you-throw; also PPB, pay per bag, or PPT, pay per throw) policy for the town transfer station…
LETTERS: Kindness is alive
from Ann Austin (China) — Kindness is alive and well in Central Maine as evidenced in the heroic stories of Finn and Spencer, of China Middle School, and the Albert S. Hall School Civil Rights Team, in Waterville. Let this be the spirit of 2026 shown in living color by the children in our Maine communities. A vision in action of a better tomorrow…
LETTERS: Thanks to CPS teacher
from Teenna Spencer (China) — Nugget and I would like to thank Mrs. Britten and the China Primary School library classes that signed Christmas cards and created artwork for us to deliver to the veterans at VA Togus during the Christmas puppy parade. We also delivered cards to the Veterans’ Home…
Name that film!
Identify the film in which this famous line originated and qualify to win FREE passes to The Maine Film Center, in Waterville: “If you’re a bird, I’m a bird.” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is February 4, 2026.
AARP Maine now accepting community grant applications
CENTRAL ME – AARP Maine invites local eligible nonprofit organizations and governments to apply for the 2026 AARP Community Challenge grant program, now through March 4, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. AARP Community Challenge grants fund quick-action projects that help communities become more livable by improving public places, transportation, housing, digital connections, and more…
Andrei Bon Llanto earns Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln degree
WATERVILLE – Andrei Bon Corvera Llanto, of Waterville, was among 1,175 graduates who received degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in Lincoln, Nebraska, during commencement exercises December 19 and 20. Llanto earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the College of Business.
Local happenings
EVENTS: Twelve “Chili Amateurs” compete for trophy on Saturday
WHITEFIELD — The Whitefield Library’s 3rd Annual Chili Contest is Saturday, January 24, from 5 – 7 p.m., at the Whitefield Elementary School. Twelve people have signed up to see whose chili reigns supreme. In 2023 library volunteer Michelle Finley took the trophy, and last year the top prize went to elementary school secretary Amy Perkins. They are challenging everyone to come and try to beat them this year…
EVENTS: Cabin Fever quilt show and luncheon at VUMC
VASSALBORO — A “Cabin Fever Quilt Show and Luncheon” will be held in Vassalboro on Saturday, February 14 (storm date February 21), at the Vassalboro United Methodist Church (VUMC), 614 Main Street.. “What better way to spend a mid-winter Saturday than taking in a display of beautiful new and vintage quilts,” said one of the event coordinators, Dale Potter-Clark…
EVENTS: Chamber to sponsor Maine Civics Bee
WATERVILLE — In 2026, the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce will host the first-ever Maine State Civics Bee, taking place at Colby College, in Waterville. This event is part of a nationwide initiative happening in all 50 states and is designed to celebrate and strengthen civic knowledge among middle school students as the country enters the 250th anniversary of the United States…
EVENTS: Skijor coming to Bangor in January
BANGOR — Saturday, January 31, find your way to an exciting day of skijor at the Hollywood Casino Raceway, in Bangor. Skijoring is an exhilarating winter sport in which a horse and rider tows a skier or snowboarder who navigates 1,000 feet down a track of gates, jumps and collects rings along the way as fast as they can…
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Pasta Bar community dinner
CHINA – There will be a pasta bar community dinner, on Saturday, January 24, 2026, at the China Church of the Nazarene, 898 Rte. 3, China, from 4:30 – 6 p.m. Pick your pasta, pick your sauce, eat & enjoy. Suggested donation of $10 adults, $5 children 3-12, and under 3, free… and many other local events!
Obituaries
WHITEFIELD – Wayne Allen, 65, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, on the SCU Unit at the Togus VA Hospital. Wayne was born at Gardiner General in April of 1960 to the late Arlene and Sanford Allen….
Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: Agriculture – Part 2 (new)
SIDNEY HISTORY — Last week’s article discussed the beginnings of European settlers’ agriculture in central Kennebec County, drawing heavily from Samuel L. Boardman’s chapter in Henry Kingsbury’s 1892 county history… by Mary Grow
Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: Agriculture – Intro to a new subtopic
CENTRAL ME HISTORY — In Henry Kingsbury’s 1892 history of Kennebec County, Samuel L. Boardman wrote the chapter on agriculture and livestock, from the first European farmers to the 1890s. He began with one of the flourishes that help make Kingsbury’s work vivid and entertaining, calling the agricultural history “one of incident, importance and influence” and explaining… by Mary Grow
Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: China town reports – Part 4
CHINA HISTORY — The warrant for the March 19, 1900, China town meeting, printed at the end of the 1899-1900 town report, had 27 articles. The first 14 were elections of town officials (done in a single article in March 1897, readers may remember from last week). Selectmen, town clerk, treasurer and others were unquestioned, but voters decided whether to elect a superintendent of schools or a road commissioner before choosing someone for either position… by Mary Grow
Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: China town reports – 1861-1906 (Part 3)
CHINA HISTORY — A separate account for “Militia” appears in the financial sections of the 1863 and 1864 town reports. The cost reported March 10, 1863, was $14,556.64, almost twice the town’s available resources. The selectmen borrowed money… by Mary Grow
Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Identify the people in these three photos, and tell us what they have in common. You could win a $10 gift certificate to Hannaford Supermarket! Email your answer to townline@townline.org or through our Contact page. Include your name and address with your answer. Use “Common Ground” in the subject!
Previous winner: Mary Jane Vigue, Winslow
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | Over the years there have been numerous reports of incidences where weasels have found their way into homes…
MAINE-LY GARDENING
by Jude Hsiang | Our winter days can be sunny and cold. The beautiful scenery is made of a limited palette of colors: bright blue sky, woolly clouds, gray rocks, blindingly white snow, and the deep greens of our conifers. On gray, cloudy days we look out over a landscape that appears like a black and white photograph…
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | French pop singer/actress Colette Renard (1924-2010) recorded four slightly risqué songs- Zon Zon Zon; Sa Casquette; L’Homme en Habit; and Ou Va-T-On Se Nicher– in collaboration with her then husband, arranger/conductor Raymond LeGrand (1908-1974)…
QUINN MINUTE
by Rix Quinn | This month we recognize the birthday of Charles Perrault, who preserved folk tales like Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and many more…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
(NAPSI) | Have you or someone you love been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease? Alzheimer’s is a brain disease that affects memory, thinking and behavior. It’s the most common cause of dementia, which is a word used to describe memory loss and other thinking problems that affect daily life…