Issue for June 12, 2025

Celebrating 37 years of local news

China schools forest day “huge” success

What do Snickles the snake, Henry the Owl, and Smokey Bear all have in common? These are some of the characters you would have encountered on Friday, May 30, during the China Primary School Forest Day… by Elaine Philbrook

Successful completion of the watershed survey

For the first time in more than 20 years a complete watershed survey has been accomplished for the 14,226 acres (22.5 square miles) of land surrounding three connected ponds in our area. Three-cornered Pond is the headwater for the two larger ponds, draining into Three mile Pond via Barton Brook, which then drains northwest into Webber Pond via Seaward Mills Stream… by Mary Schwanke

Voting Results

China voting results

CHINA – The small number of China voters who came to the polls on June 10 approved all ballot questions presented…

Vassalboro voting results

VASSALBORO – At the polls on June 10, Vassalboro voters filled local offices and endorsed the 2025-26 school budget approved at the June 2 portion of their annual town meeting…

Town News

Select board hears plans for fishway enlargement at Webber Pond dam

Vassalboro Town Office

VASSALBORO – Vassalboro select board members’ June 5 meeting featured an update on planned enlargement of the fishway at the Webber Pond outlet dam from Matt Streeter, of Maine Rivers…

Select board approves purchase of second-hand ambulance

China Town Office

CHINA – At their June 2 meeting, China select board members unanimously approved China Rescue Unit’s request to buy a second-hand ambulance…

TEAM PHOTO: Waterville Majors Baseball Team

WATERVILLE — Team photo of the Waterville Majors baseball team. (photo by Galen Neal, Central Maine Photography)

TEAM PHOTO: Belgrade Majors Softball Team

BELGRADE — Team photo of the Belgrade Majors softball team. (photo by Missy Brown, Central Maine Photography)

PHOTO: Third degree brown belts

WINSLOW — Six students from Huard’s Martial Arts Dojo, in Winslow, recently earned Third Degree Brown Belt rank levels, on Saturday May 31.

Local happenings

EVENTS: Summer blood and platelet donations vital to avoid blood supply impact

CENTRAL ME — Upcoming blood donation opportunities will take place in Waterville on Friday, June 20, from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., at O’Brien’s Event Center, 375 Main St., and in Augusta, on Monday, June 23, 11:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Augusta Elks, 397 Civic Center Drive, P.O. Box 2206…

EVENTS: Local central Maine Town Meetings schedule for 2025

CENTRAL ME – List of area town meetings. To be included in this list, visit our Contact Us page or send an email to The Town Line at townline@townline.org

CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Flag Day, Kids Day at Community Garden

CHINA – Children and their adult helpers are invited to design and make flags to decorate the China Community Garden. FREE!. Saturday, June 14, 1 to 4 p.m., at the China Community Garden, Lakeveiw Drive and Alder Park Road, South China. Sign up at chinaforalifetime@gmail.com to insure enough materials… and many other local events!

Obituaries

MADISON – Ann Marie Padham, 76, passed away on Sunday, May 18, 2025. She was born July 16, 1948, in Lewiston, to Leslie Gorham Whitney and Bertha Margaret (Williams) Whitney…

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: “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is July 10, 2025.

Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: More China lawyers (new)

CHINA HISTORY — The Greeleys or Greelys were early settlers in Branch Mills, the village on the west branch of the Sheepscot River shared between China and its eastern neighbor, Palermo. The China bicentennial history says Jacob Greely was a Revolutionary War veteran who moved to China after 1782… by Mary Grow

Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: Augusta jail

AUGUSTA HISTORY — Before proceeding to the history of the Augusta jail, your writer wants to clarify a sentence from last week’s article. It referenced Wikipedia’s statement that after Augusta became a city (instead of a town) in 1849, “Its early city offices were in the Opera House, and meetings took place in Winthrop Hall”… by Mary Grow

Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: Augusta’s civic meeting houses

CHINA HISTORY — Enough, for now, of genealogies (although two boxes about people accompany this article). This week, your writer provides summary histories of more of Augusta’s 18th and 19th century public buildings… by Mary Grow

Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: Fletcher family

CHINA HISTORY — A summary check on Abisha Fletcher’s parents, Colonel Robert and Nancy (Sprague) Fletcher, identified Robert as a prominent China citizen, who might well have been friends with, and perhaps wished to show respect for, a local lawyer… by Mary Grow

Town Line Original Columnists

Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee | Last Thursday night my wife woke me from a sound sleep to listen to something outside our camp. Well, being somewhat groggy, I didn’t hear anything, and went back to sleep. It wasn’t long afterwards that she woke me again…

Peter CatesREVIEW POTPOURRI

by Peter Cates | My first exposure to Andy Williams (1927-2012) came from his late ‘50s Cadence 45, The Hawaiian Wedding Song, a tune that my eight-year-old ears enjoyed a lot – however, during those years, Pat Boone was still my favorite singer…

SMALL SPACE GARDENING

by Melinda Myers | Keep your flowers blooming longer and your garden a bit tidier with deadheading. Removing faded flowers can promote repeat bloom on some plants, encourage fuller, more compact growth, and tidy up the garden…

VETERANS CORNER

by Gary Kennedy | I have a fantastic example and that is the administration’s interpretations of the medical terms, Radiculopathy and Neuropathy. Webster says they are different words yet there are some who treat them as if they were the same. When you are dealing with veterans these terms reference medical issues…