Issue for February 20, 2025
Local couple celebrates 63rd anniversary at Sweetheart Breakfast
The South China Community Church (SCCC) held its first Blessed Breakfast in July 2023. Well-known for its turkey pie suppers, the Council decided to try something new because of the rising cost of turkey pies and declining attendance during the cold, dark winter months. What started as a “test run” has become a consistent, well-received fundraiser, and perhaps more importantly, a place for folks to meet with old friends and make new ones, often lingering over a second or third cup of coffee… by Jayne Winters
North Pond Pike fishing derby slated for Saturday
The North Pond Association is hosting a Pike Ice Fishing Derby at North Pond from 6 a.m. – 2 p.m., on Saturday, February 22, 2025. This family fun derby features two divisions: one for participants aged 16 and older, and another for children aged 15 and under. Prizes in both divisions are awarded based on the heaviest pike caught. In the first division, the prizes are $500 for first place, $200 for second place, and $100 for third place. The prize for the children’s division is a Lifetime Fishing License…
Town News
Three select board members only residents to see second budget draft
VASSALBORO – The three select board members were the only Vassalboro residents present as they went through the second draft of the proposed 2025-26 municipal budget at a Feb. 12 workshop meeting…
VCS school board sees contrasting presentations on special programs
VASSALBORO – Vassalboro school board members began their Feb. 11 meeting with contrasting presentations on special programs offered for Vassalboro Community School (VCS) students…
Codes officer alerts residents about change in insulation rules
CHINA – At the China Planning Board’s Feb. 11 meeting, Codes Enforcement Officer Nicholas French issued a warning to residents planning to build this spring: get your building permit before April 7, unless you want to pay a few thousand dollars more for insulation…
Shoes major topic of transfer station committee meeting
CHINA – Shoes were a major topic at the China Transfer Station Committee’s Feb. 11 meeting. Committee member Rachel Anderson, one of the volunteers at the free for the taking building, explained that many people donate used shoes, and many of the shoes are wearable – if the right person with the right size feet comes along quickly…
EVENTS: Palermo planning to meet
PALERMO – The Palermo Planning Board will meet Thursday, February 27, 2025, at the Palermo Town Office, at 6 p.m…
PHOTO: A rare pileated sighting
SHEEPSCOT LAKE — Dwayne and Renée West saw this pileated woodpecker while walking along Sheepscot Lake on February 18.
University of Maine at Augusta honors (Fall 2024)
CENTRAL ME — University of Maine at Augusta (UMA) Provost Joseph Szakas announces the Fall 2024 full-time president’s list and the Fall 2024 full-time dean’s list.
Anna Lakey named to Elmhurst University’s Fall 2024 dean’s list
WINSLOW — Anna Lakey, of Winslow, was among more than 1,000 students named to Elmhurst University’s Fall 2024 dean’s list, in Elmhurst, Illinois.
Kasen Sirois named to president’s list at Western New England University
SIDNEY — Western New England University (WNE), in Springfield, Massachusetts, has announced that Kasen Sirois, of Sidney, has been named to the president’s list for the Fall 2024 semester. Sirois is working toward a BA in Communication/Media & Journalism.
Evelyn G. Mercier named to Fall 2024 dean’s list at Saint Michael’s College
WATERVILLE — Evelyn G. Mercier, of Waterville, was named to the dean’s list at Saint Michael’s College, in Colchester, Vermont, for the Fall 2024 semester.
Area students named to Clarkson University dean’s list
WATERVILLE — Evelyn G. Mercier, of Waterville, was named to the dean’s list at Saint Michael’s College, in Colchester, Vermont, for the Fall 2024 semester.
Eastern student Olivia Bourque makes fall dean’s list
VASSALBORO — Eastern Connecticut State University, in Willimantic, Connecticut, recently released its Dean’s List for the fall 2024 semester, in which more than 1,300 students were recognized for maintaining high GPAs. Among them is Olivia Bourque, of Vassalboro, a senior who majors in Health Sciences.
Local students named to Fall 2024 dean’s honor list at Cedarville University
SIDNEY — Students at Cedarville University, in Cedarville, Ohio, have been named to the dean’s honor list for the Fall 2024 semester. They include Catherine Estes, and Diana Estes, both of Sidney.
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: “Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me. Aren’t you?” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is March 6, 2025.
Local happenings
EVENTS: Spaghetti supper to benefit Winslow Community Cupboard Food Pantry
WINSLOW – Winslow Community Cupboard food pantry – which serves food-insecure children, seniors, and other adults from Winslow, Waterville, and 22 surrounding towns – will hold a Spaghetti Supper Fundraiser at Winslow Congregational Church, on Saturday, March 1, from 4:30 to 7 p.m…
EVENTS: Lincoln County Democrats to hear labor union experts
NEWCASTLE – The Lincoln County Democratic Committee (LCDC) hosts two experts on the labor movement at its monthly meeting on Thursday, February 27, at 7 p.m. The meeting will be in a hybrid format. Participants can join in person at the Newcastle Fire Station, 86 River Road, and can be attended on Zoom as well..
EVENTS: Lincoln County Historical Association offers heritage craft workshops
WISCASSET – During the month of March, Lincoln County Historical Association’s education outreach program will offer a series of heritage craft workshops. The workshops will be held on March 2, 16, and 30 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. They will feature stenciling on canvas, basketry, hand brooms, and foil art. The program is generously supported by a grant from the Margaret E. Burnham Charitable Trust…
EVENTS: Erskine Academy to host 8th grade open house
CHINA – Erskine Academy invites all eighth-grade students and their parents from the surrounding communities to attend the 8th Grade Open House, on Wednesday, February 26, at 6:30 p.m., in the gym…
Obituaries
PALERMO – Bobbie Jo Evans, 52, passed away quietly on Sunday, February 9, 2025. She was born on April 30, 1972, to Jeffrey and Lauretta Grady, of Palermo…
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Apple Tree Pruning Workshop
VASSALBORO – There will be an apple pruning workshop on Saturday, March 8, from 9:30 a.m. – noon, at 167 Tabor Hill Road, in Vassalboro. Cost is $10 and registration deadline is March 3… and many other local events!
Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: Palermo early settlers (new)
PALERMO HISTORY — As a break from trying to figure out which schoolhouse was in which end of town, your writer decided to profile some of the people mentioned in last week’s article about Palermo schools, starting with a sampling of the town’s first residents. The result is the following tantalizing tangle of contradictions and unanswered questions…. by Mary Grow
Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: Palermo elementary schools
PALERMO HISTORY — The Town of Palermo’s first settlers arrived around 1776 or 1777. By 1778 the area was called Great Pond Settlement, because, Milton Dowe explained in his 1954 history, it was “near the Sheepscot Great Pond,” now 1,193-acre Sheepscot Lake (the third largest in Waldo County, according to state data last reviewed in 1992)…. by Mary Grow
Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: Albion schools
ALBION HISTORY — The Town of Albion, north of China and east of Winslow, had half a dozen European families by 1790, according to Henry Kingsbury’s Kennebec County history. The area, including until 1818 the north end of present-day China, was organized as Freetown Plantation in 1802… by Mary Grow
Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: China High Schools – part 2
CHINA HISTORY — Yet another private high school in China, Erskine Academy, opened in September 1883 and is thriving today. The China bicentennial history gives a detailed account of its origins: it became a private academy because China voters at the beginning of the 1880s refused to accept donated money for a public high school… by Mary Grow
Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Wednesday, March 13, 2025
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: Valoree Martin, So. China
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | Now, you’re very familiar with Drosophila melanogasters aren’t you? They usually show up in your kitchen at the most inopportune time…
THE BEST VIEW
by Norma Best Boucher | I was never a good swimmer. Neither of my parents could swim, so I wore a life jacket throughout my early years. Of course, later on I was embarrassed wearing the jacket, so I figured I should learn to swim, but how? The answer came during the summer I turned 10 years old – Girl Scout Day Camp…
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | After listening to a pile of 78s that are both long forgotten and musically captivating, I wish I could write about each and every one of them, but, for reasons of time and space, can only pick a few; hopefully they can be heard via YouTube…
AARP NEWS YOU CAN USE
by Joyce Bucciantini | February is one of the most beautiful times in Maine. Gone are the super short days of early winter, leaving us with more daylight to enjoy the great outdoors in Maine. Many cities and towns have winter-themed celebrations which might include snow sports, ice fishing, or maybe an opportunity for hot cocoa…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
HEALTH | When I first started my career as a nurse practitioner, I saw pediatric wards fill each winter with children suffering from common infections that cause rotavirus diarrhea and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Since then and following the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine nearly two decades ago, hospital visits for rotavirus have notably decreased…