Issue for May 19, 2022
Karen Normandin appointed president of KVCC
Maine Community College System (MCCS) President David Daigler announced recently that Karen Normandin has been appointed president of Kennebec Valley Community College, in Fairfield, effective June 1. Normandin has been serving as acting president of Kennebec Valley Community College (KVCC) since May 2021…
Fish kill on Webber Pond appears to be tied to parasite
Over the past couple of weeks there has been a noticeable fish kill on Webber Pond, in Vassalboro. On the east shore of the cove, dozens of dead largemouth bass have been washing ashore. The question that has been asked is why only largemouth bass have been affected… by Roland D. Hallee
Your Local News
Select board approves paving bid with All States Construction; postpone buying new truck
VASSALBORO — Public works issues – 2022 paving plans and the need for a new truck – were the main topics at the May 12 Vassalboro select board meeting…
Ira Michaud chosen as new VCS principal
VASSALBORO — At a brief special meeting May 10, Vassalboro School Board members unanimously hired Ira Michaud as the new principal at Vassalboro Community School (VCS)…
Road paving plan to use chip seal process
CHINA — China Director of Public Services Shawn Reed has consensus support from the town Road Committee for his paving plans for this summer, which involve extensive use of chip seal rather than asphalt resurfacing…
Select board OKs purchase of new tanker truck
WINDSOR — At their April 12 meeting, the Windsor Select Board unanimously gave the go ahead for Town Manager Theresa Haskell to sign the contract with Greenwood Emergency Vehicles LLC for the purchase of the new E-One/Freightliner Tanker for the Windsor Volunteer Fire Department…
LETTERS: Soccer parents support Tuminaro
from The Solid Rock Soccer parents (China) – We are writing to show our support for Jennifer Tuminaro as she runs for public office. As the soccer coach for Solid Rock, Jen leads humbly, giving clear instruction while coming alongside to help guide those around her…
Name that film!
Identify the film in which this line originated and qualify to win FREE passes to Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville: “You can’t handle the truth!” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is June 9, 2022…
Carrabec High School announces top 10 seniors
NORTH ANSON – Carrabec High School, in North Anson, top ten students in the class of 2022…
EVENTS: Wreath laying ceremony in Vassalboro
VASSALBORO – American Legion Post #126, in Vassalboro invites the community to join them as they lay wreaths at the various veteran monuments in Vassalboro on Monday, May 30, 2022…
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: French-Canadians – Part 2 (new)
CENTRAL ME HISTORY — The story of French-Canadian immigrants in the Augusta and Waterville area, as presented by the writers cited, is partly a story of separateness and discrimination evolving into cooperation and mutual respect… by Mary Grow [2066 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: French-Canadians – Part 1
AUGUSTA HISTORY — Two distinctly non-British peoples who came to live mainly in Augusta and Waterville, the largest manufacturing centers in the central Kennebec Valley in the 19th and early 20th centuries, were French-Canadians who came south from Canada’s Québec Province, and Middle Easterners, especially Lebanese and Syrians… by Mary Grow [1841 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Blacks in Maine – Part 4
MAINE HISTORY — The Samuel Osbornes discussed in last week’s article were not the only Black family in 19th-century Waterville. Various sources mention several others, though details are often scanty and/or confusing. Local historians did not consistently state the race or nationality of people they wrote about… by Mary Grow [1754 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Blacks in Maine – Part 3
MAINE HISTORY — Records tell of a Kennebec Valley slave-owner, Captain Abiel or Abial Lovejoy (Dec. 15, 1731 – July 4, 1811), who lived in Vassalboro from 1776 and in Sidney after the west side of the Kennebec River became a separate town in 1792. He was a native of Andover, Massachusetts, who came to the lower Kennebec Valley as a Massachusetts soldier (rising to the rank of captain) in the 1750s… by Mary Grow [2050 words]
Webber’s Pond
Webber’s Pond is a comic drawn by an anonymous central Maine resident (click thumbnail to enlarge)…
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Memorial Day Festivities
Memorial Day activities for South China, Fairfield, Madison… and many other local events!
Obituaries
CHINA – Peter S. Fernald Jr., 63, died Saturday, April 16, 2022, as a result of a car crash in China, in which he was a passenger. He was born January 23, 1959, in Augusta… and remembering 6 others.
Town Line Original Columnists
SMALL SPACE GARDENING
by Melinda Myers | Enjoy your garden and landscape once the sun sets with strategically placed and attractive landscape lighting. Select the best type of light that complements your garden design and best accomplishes the intended purpose…
MAINE MEMORIES
by Evangeline T. | I’d been born in my grandparents’ large farm house, and as a young girl, I’d spend a week or two with them each summer. I loved it there. My grampy was a happy and full-of-fun guy. He had a name for me – Bambi, because I reminded him of the little deer in Walt Disney’s movie…
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | Former First Lady Dolley Payne Todd Madison (1768-1849) grew up under very strict Quakers in Virginia chafing at their authoritarianism, and, needless to say, would fall very, very far from that denominational tree. She was the third of eight children born to John and Mary Payne who moved the family to Philadelphia in 1783…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
(NAPSI) | According to recent research by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 2 million middle- and high-school students use e-cigarettes…