Sydney A. Kahl, of Waterville, was inducted into the St. Lawrence University chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership honor society.
Kahl is a member of the Class of 2018 at St. Lawrence University, in Canton, New York, and is majoring in environmental studies. Kahl attended Plymouth Regional High School.
The following local students have been named to the University of Vermont Dean’s List, in Burlington, Vermont:
Delaney Curran; of Skowhegan; Kaitlyn Sutter, of Palermo; and Kayla Christopher, of Oakland.
by Marilyn Rogers-Bull & PercyGood morning, dear friends. Don’t worry, be happy!
Solon Elementary School held a Math Night and barbeque on May 25. Families enjoyed hamburgers and hot dogs and listened to Math Coach Brian Twitchell talk about a free app called Bedtime Math that parents can use with their children over the summer. Then parents visited their children’s classrooms to engage in some math games and activities.
This district sponsored career days for students in grades K-5 this spring. Three career days were held: one for grades K-1, one for grades 2-3, and one for grades 4-5 on three Thursdays in May at the Garret Schenck School.
These Career Days were part of the MELMAC Partnership Grant to introduce students at a young age to career options for their future, and the plan is to offer these again next year.
RSU #74’s new Community Literacy Team sponsored a book swap at the Solon School and the other elementary schools this spring. At Solon the Book Swap was held on June 5. Students could bring books to swap for new books for summer reading. Even if students didn’t bring books to swap, they were still allowed to find new books to take home.
The school has rescheduled the CSA week to stage a musical production of, The Elves and the Shoemaker for the week of September 25-30. Information and permission slips will go home to parents when students return to school in the fall.
The Embden Community Supper will be held on Saturday, July 8, at 5 p.m.
The Beyond in my column takes in quite a few other surrounding towns, thanks to Roland’s patience with me, and I’m always very happy to get the e-mails. Especially, when I’ve been thanked by three very appreciative people from other towns that I got their news in The Town Line, and being a nosy reporter I like to know what is going on out and about.
Was happy to receive an e-mail from the East Madison Historical Association with July events. On July 6, from 1 – 4 p.m. Jenny Oby, formerly of Skowhegan, will be at the East Madison Historical Association building to discuss and sign her new book on the History of Lakewood Theater. Light refreshments will be offered.
East Madison Days are set for July 14-16. The East Madison Days celebration, sponsored by the East Madison Historical Association is set to run from 7 p.m., Friday, July 14, with an evening with local authors and music through Sunday, July 14-16.
Friday’s event will be at the East Madison Grange building and will feature authors Bob Clement and Katie Ouillette. Bob will talk about his path to becoming an author and do some readings from his books.
Katie will read from and sign her book Two Birds in a Box. Bob Choiniere will entertain with his piano tunes as well, also poems by Florence Burrill Jacobs will be shared.
Saturday’s events begin at the historical building and will feature a yard sale and the first East Madison version of the Antiques Roadshow with Tim Pomelow as the appraiser from 1 – 4 p.m. The public is invited to bring up to three items to be appraised. There is no fee but a $5 donation is suggested. All proceeds benefit the EMHA.
I’m running out of room, but will put in more of the East Madison news next week.
Until then I want to share Percy’s Memoir with you to give you good cheer, it is entitled, You’re a Winner. You were born to be a winner, There’s no way that you can lose, You just hang in there and whistle, When you’re bothered by the blues. When a best friend disappoints you, And you’re crying deep inside, You just somehow grin and bear it, And your heartaches always hide. You don’t run to catch a rainbow, But the pot of gold you find, When you stop to smell the roses, You’re a winner, every time! (words by Julie E. Jones) It is true, my roses are blooming profusely, and they are a great pleasure!
China selectmen again dealt with a miscellany of business at their June 26 meeting, including catching up with committee activities and appointing committee members, considering plans for the 200th anniversary of the incorporation of the town in 2018, getting a report on China Lake and beginning discussion of equipment needs and a new town office sign.
Town Manager Daniel L’Heureux said the June 17 Thurston Park forestry walk, sponsored by the Thurston Park II Committee, drew an interested group, mostly of people from other towns wanting to see what China is doing.
Tom Michaud reported for the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee that its members are focusing on replacing the Causeway Street bridge at the head of China Lake’s east basin. They have one engineer’s suggestions and are meeting with other engineers in the next three weeks, he said.
Once plans are final, Michaud expects it will take several months to get necessary permits for the work.
The next step after the new bridge is parking, he said. Selectmen talked about the still-not-final purchase of the small lot where boat trailers now park across from the boat landing. L’Heureux said TIF Committee member Frank Soares suggested seeking to acquire land on the other side of Lakeview Drive that could accommodate overflow boat-landing parking in summer and snowmobile trail access parking in winter.
“There isn’t much land around the causeway, that’s the problem,” Michaud observed. Several people cited recent congestion around the boat landing. Selectmen appointed Leanne Hanson to the China for a Lifetime Committee; Amy Gartley and Dale Worster to the Revolving Loan Fund Committee; and Jamie Pitney to the Broadband Committee.
They decided to advertise for a budget committee secretary and for members of the China Bicentennial Committee.
Board Chairman Neil Farrington, who is also the de facto bicentennial coordinator, said the China Bicentennial History is available on the town website.
L’Heureux reported that the old town house beside the town office again needs the basement dried out. Selectmen unanimously authorized the work.
Farrington proposed publicizing the bicentennial by holding occasional selectmen’s meetings upstairs in the historic building, starting July 10. Since the TIF Committee is also scheduled to meet that evening and two selectmen are on it, its meeting was set for 6 p.m. (half an hour earlier than usual) in the town office, with selectmen meeting at 7 p.m. in the old town house.
Board members also approved Town Clerk Rebecca Hapgood’s suggestion that the Town of China website be updated. Part of the update would simplify access to bicentennial information.
China Region Lakes Alliance President Jim Hart reported on activities of his organization, the China Lake Association and the Alewife Restoration Initiative. CRLA and CLA are cooperating on work to reduce phosphorus run-off into China Lake, Three Mile Pond and Webber Pond through the LakeSmart program (which encourages shoreland homeowners to meet water quality protection standards) and the Conservation Corps (whose members plan and carry out shoreline improvement projects). Hart commended Kennebec Water District for supporting the efforts this year, after a break in assistance last year because of disagreement over the value of alewives to water quality.
Anecdotally, water quality has improved in Maine lakes, including Webber and Three Mile ponds, after dam removal allowed alewives to migrate into and out of the lakes. In theory, the small fish leaving the lake in the fall take phosphorus with them. Studies have not consistently supported a connection between alewives and water quality.
Hart said opening Maine streams to alewife migration is a state effort to encourage the return of the small fish. He mentioned annual alewife festivals in Damariscotta and Benton, and income to Vassalboro from trapping and selling the fish as they enter Webber Pond from the Kennebec River.
Town Manager L’Heureux proposed replacing two town trucks. If new trucks are to be ready for snowplowing next winter, selectmen need to buy them soon, he said. He plans continued discussion July 10.
Farrington and others said people have complained they cannot find the town office because it has no identifying sign. Board members will continue discussing what kind of sign they want at their next meeting.
In other business, selectmen unanimously awarded the 2017 paving bid to B & B Paving, of Hermon, the company that will do Vassalboro’s work as well after the two towns combined their request.
They unanimously approved renewing Wildwood Pawn’s pawnbroker’s license.
Farrington reported representatives of all three fire departments and China Rescue have signed the memorandum describing implementation of volunteer stipends approved at the March town meeting. The program begins with the new fiscal year July 1.
Pictured here, from left to right, are Mallory Chamberlain (CBI Director), Gabe Ashey, Maggie Anderson and James Poulin.
The Courtesy Boat Inspectors (CBI) are on the job again. You will see them this summer at the boat launches at the Head of China Lake, the launch onto China Lake in East Vassalboro, and also at the Webber Pond and Three Mile Pond boat launches. Their mission is to inspect boats and boat trailers to look for invasive aquatic plant species such as milfoil, hydrilla, etc.
Volunteers are needed to help maintain the gardens on the Jefferson Town Green around the early 1900’s bandstand and the Veterans Memorial constructed for Jefferson’s bicentennial in 2007. Anyone with a little time on a one time, or regular basis, to weed, water and do any of the chores required to keep the gardens blooming, healthy and beautiful is asked to call 549-5258 for more information.
ERIC’S TECH TALKThis past weekend I was the unfortunate victim of a hard drive crash. I have multiple drives installed in my computer, and this was my main Windows system drive. Even more infuriatingly, the drive was less than a year old.
It took me two days to diagnose the problem, pull out the bad drive and install a new one. And it got me thinking about how important backing up your data can be! Here are a few best practices to keep in mind.
Don’t let this happen to you!
Consider using a separate drive for your data.
You’ll want to install your operating system (OS) to the fastest drive attached to your computer, which is typically your internal hard drive, so use this drive to install programs or games. But since this is also the drive that is used most often, writing and reading as your system runs, it’s therefore the drive most likely to fail.
So use another physical drive to store your personal data (e.g. pictures, documents, etc…). The simplest solution for this is to invest in a flash drive that can be plugged into a spare USB port. A 64 GB flash drive is currently available on Amazon for only $15.99. The advantage to this is how easy it is to unplug the drive and take your data with you as the need arises.
Luckily, I followed this advice myself and didn’t lose any significant data when my system drive crashed.
You might also consider cloud solutions to back up your data. Most cloud storage solutions like Dropbox, Apple’s iCloud or Microsoft’s OneDrive, allow you to set up automatic syncing so that certain folders on your hard-drive are always synced with a copy of your data stored in the cloud. Although all of these cloud solutions have free options, you’ll likely need to pay a subscription if you want to store a large amount of data.
There are a number of good automated back-up systems available, including Apple’s excellent Time Machine utility that comes packaged in OS X, or Windows Backup and Restore tool. Most of these solutions require an external drive dedicated to backing up (and can’t be used for anything else). But with the cheap availability of hard drives, especially flash drives, this is certainly an option you should look into if you don’t want to mess with manually copying the data yourself.
Another option is to invest in a Blu-ray drive that lets you back-up to a Blu-ray disc which can hold up to 47 gigabytes. This is a good option if you want a portable back-up that can be stored off-site.
Whichever solution you choose, build in some redundancy. This means that if you back up your data every month to one external drive, then back it up every six months to a different drive, so that when your first back-up fails (and it will), you won’t be completely SOL. Even better, take that second back-up and store it in a separate location from the first, like a safety deposit box or a friend’s house. This is so that if your house burns down or is burgled (God forbid!) you’ll have another back-up to (pardon the pun) fall back on.
Ransomeware screenshot (image source: The New York Times)
A hard drive crash or natural disaster isn’t the only reason to make sure you always have a recent back-up of your data. WannaCry is a computer virus that hit the entire planet earlier this year. It’s a particular kind of virus called “Ransomware” that invades your computer, encrypts all of your data (making it inaccessible to you), and then shows you a screen demanding a wire transfer of $2,000 or it will delete your data.
A lot of people paid that ransom because they didn’t have a recent back-up of their data.
Don’t wait till it happens to you. Start backing up your data today!
Have a question or idea for a column? Send me an email at ericwaustin@gmail.com or leave a comment on townline.org!
VASSALBORO––Eddie L. Johnson, 67, of Hunt Road, died unexpectedly on Wednesday, May 24, 2017, at Alfond Center for Health, in Augusta. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on August 20, 1949, the son of Benjamin J. Johnson and Luzeffie (Sims) Johnson.
Eddie served honorably in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. He was employed by Bath Iron Works for several years.
Eddie was predeceased by his mother, father; and a sister, Senora Edwards.
Surviving is his wife, Tammy L. (Hall) Johnson, of Vassalboro; two daughters, Yolanda Johnson and Fonda Johnson, of St. Louis, Missouri; a brother, George Lee Johnson, of Hartford, Connecticut; grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
Arrangements were entrusted to Plummer Funeral Home, 16 Pleasant St., Augusta.
Condolences, photos and memories may be shared at www.plummerfh.com.
FAIRFIELD––Keith Allen Wilbur, 70, passed away Monday, June 12, 2017, in Oakland. He was born January 22, 1947, in Winslow, the son of Alton and Yvonne D. (Pomerleau) Wilbur.
He attended schools in Waterville and earned his GED in 1972. He was a veteran who proudly served his country in the National Guard until his honorable discharge. He worked for a number of years for Lipman Poultry, in Augusta, C. F. Hathaway Shirt Company, in Waterville, the Maine Central Railroad, in Waterville, and most recently as a self-employed carpenter. He was a member of the United Bikers of Maine and enjoyed triking, playing pool, woodcrafts, dancing and camping.
Keith is survived by four sisters, Virginia Veilleux and husband Gerry, of Oakland, Dianne Lane, of Sidney, Linda Rodrigue, and Donna Cayouette and husband Raymond, all of Winslow, two brothers, Everette Wilbur, of Waterville, and Russell Wilbur, of Portland.
Arrangements were under the direction and care of Dan & Scott’s Cremation & Funeral Service, 445 Waterville Rd., Skowhegan ME 04976.
Memorial donations may be made to :Keith Wilbur Memorial Fund, c/o Dianne Ln., 1641 Pond Rd., Sidney ME 04330.
SOUTH CHINA––The Honorable Glenys Pooler Lovett, 81, of South China and Sarasota, Florida, passed away on Tuesday, June 13, 2017, at her home. She was born in Augusta on July 19, 1935, the only daughter of Donald and Ida (Melrose) Pooler.
She grew up and received her formal education in Augusta, graduating from Cony High School in 1953 where she was an outstanding majorette for many years, even giving lessons.
Shortly after completing her education, she married Lieutenant Walter B. Lovett Jr. of the United States Army on March 12, 1955,
and accompanied him to Germany, where they spent 18 months in Heidelberg. Her oldest daughter, Karen, was in 1956 while they were there.
Politics was her calling. From working on US Senator Margaret Chase Smith’s campaigns in the 60s to becoming a Maine State Legislator herself in the 90s.
A member of the Augusta School Board from 1964 to 1968, Glenys was a member of the Mayor’s School Survey Committee and School Construction Committee. She was also involved in the Maine Mother of the Year project, where she traveled to New York City with the Maine winner to join the other state winners at the Waldorf Astoria for a big celebration.
As a member of the Maine Highway Safety Commission for two decades (1972-1992), she became an early advocate for child seat safety restraints. During the same period, she represented the state of Maine on the National Association of Women Highway Safety Leaders (NAWHSL).
Elected to the Maine State Legislature in 1994 from Scarborough (District 21), she served four consecutive terms as a member of the Health and Human Services Committee.
The Stop the Turnpike movement was just one of her many encounters with the Maine Turnpike Authority (MTA) because of the effect it would have on the town of Scarborough.
Besides keeping a weather eye on the MTA, she also was working tirelessly to ban MTBE, an additive to gasoline, which was claimed to be contaminating the drinking water supply of many Maine homes.
During the 90s, she was an active member of the West Scarborough United Methodist Church, serving on a variety of committees. It was during this period that she also helped to raise two of her grandchildren, Michelle and Stephen, alongside their mother, Brenda.
In 2001, Glenys received an award from the Maine Long Term Care Ombudsman Program for her outstand service and dedication to the principles for which the organization promotes and is the health and welfare of Maine Senior Citizens.
She especially enjoyed her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as her camp on China Lake and her winter home in Sarasota, Florida.
She was predeceased by her father, mother, and brother Arnold, three grandchildren, Nicholas Grant, of Hallowell, Brian and Stephanie Franklin, of Scarborough.
She is survived by her husband of 62 years, Walter; her three children, Karen Briggs, of South Portland, Joni-Lyn Lovett, of Farmingdale, and Brenda Franklin and husband Alan, of Scarborough; seven grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
Condolences, memories, photos and videos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the website at www.khrfuneralhomes.com.
Memorial donations may be made to: West Scarborough United Methodist Church, c/o William Dean, treasurer, P.O. Box 2035, Scarborough ME 04074.
ALBION––Steve M. Lewis passed away on Thursday, June 15, 2017, at Togus VA Hospital, following a long illness. Steve was born on December 22, 1955, in Waterville, the son of Joseph and Helen (Colford) Lewis.
He married his soulmate and best friend, Julie Tobey on July 22, 1978, in Albion.
Steve graduated in 1975, from Lawrence High School, in Fairfield and joined the Army a year later.
He was a “Jack of All Trades” with an associate’s degree in computer science and social services. He enjoyed riding his motorcycle and spending time with family. He was also a skiing coach for the Special Olympics.
He was predecease by his parents Joe and Helen Lewis, his aunt, Rita Coates, and his paternal grandparents.
He is survived by his wife Julie (Tobey), of Albion; son Joshua and girlfriend Annalise, of California; two daughters Crystal Stanley and husband Adam and Tiffany Russell and boyfriend Brian, of Waterville; two granddaughters Donna Jo Adams and husband David, and Malynah Stanley, two grandsons Quinn Stanley and Joshua Russell; a great-granddaughter Izabelah Adams; a sister Patty Mounce and husband Rick, from Freedom, and his “Lil Sis” Shelly Willey and husband Gerald, from Palmyra; his uncle, Robert Colford and fiancee Rhea, Cliff Colford, of Fairfield; aunt, M. Layne Peet, from Oakland; several brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.
Arrangements were under the care and direction of Dan & Scott’s Cremation and Funeral service, 445 Waterville Road, Skowhegan.
Memorial donations can be made to the Special Olympics.
WINSLOW––Lorraine Hope Boucher, 87, of Winslow, died on Monday, June 19, 2017, in Waterville. She was born in Portland on September 3, 1929, one of 13 children of Marjorie (Winslow) and William Markee.
Lorraine grew up in Winslow and graduated from Winslow High School.
Lorraine worked intermittently through the years in various places but her life’s work was of a devoted wife and mother–a homemaker in the truest sense of the word. Hers’ was the gift of hospitality where all were welcome and family was deeply cared for no matter the reason. She enjoyed playing cards, putting together puzzles, solving crossword puzzles and teaching the math of cribbage to her children and grandchildren.
Lorraine will be remember for her selflessness, generosity, unconditional love for all, and especially her smile and contagious laugh.
Lorraine was predeceased by her husband of 64 years, Richard, who died in 2011, and her daughter Bette Boucher in 2013.
She is survived by four children: Susan Levesque and husband Ronald; Marsha Gilbert and husband Arthur; David Boucher and wife Lynda; Cynthia Ouellette and husband Joseph; 17 grandchildren; 28 great-grandchildren; 10 great-great-grandchildren; a sister and three brothers: Dorothy Rideout; Dale Markee and wife Nancy; James Markee and wife Ivy; Tom Markee and wife Claudette; four sisters-in-law: Ruth, Betty, Gayle and Jewell; and well as her friend and companion of many years, James French; nieces, nephews and cousins.
Please visit www.veilleuxfuneralhome.com to view a video collage of Lorraine’s life and to share condolences, memories and tributes with her family.
Memorial donations may be made to: Alzheimer’s Association, Maine Chapter, 383 US Route One, Suite 2C, Scarborough ME 04074.
WEEKS MILLS––Vaughn Pierce, 94, passed away Tuesday, June 20, 2017, at his home. Vaughn was born September 21, 1922, to Fred A. and Annie A. (Berry) Pierce and was the youngest of five children including two brothers and two sisters.
He started grammar school in Weeks Mills and later attended high school at Erskine Academy where he met his wife of 72 years, Laura Margaret (Dow) Pierce. After graduating in 1940 he joined the “Civilian Conservation Corps”.
Vaughn and Margaret were married on July 26, 1943, after he enlisted to serve his country in the US Navy. During World War II, he served on several transport ships as a third class gunners mate and as a military policeman. Vaughn was honorably discharged December 4, 1945, and returned home. Vaughn and Margaret settled down in Weeks Mills village in a small house on the Sheepscot River where they raised their family. He then worked for Bath Iron Works as a welder before to work for the state of Maine as a mechanic and welder for the rest of his career.
Vaughn enjoyed a life time of hunting, fishing, and trapping with friends and family. He truly enjoyed nature and spent many days cutting firewood at the hunting camp on Deer Hill. Every morning he would host a small crew for coffee, doughnuts and a game of cribbage at his home before sending everyone off to work or heading out into the woods.
Vaughn lived most of his life in Weeks Mills and he was very involved with his community. He helped his father maintain the Weeks Mills Water District, helped start the Weeks Mills Volunteer Fire Department and the Weeks Mills Little League team that he coached at the ball diamond he made in the pasture behind his house. He was a charter member of the American Legion Post #179 as well as the Dirigo Masonic Lodge #104. He also worked to preserve the Weeks Mills school house.
Vaughn will be remembered for being kind, friendly, hardworking, modest, easy going, and sharp minded. He had a wealth of local knowledge and was always good for an entertaining story. His pride was his family and one of his greatest joys was knowing the Pierce family name would continue.
Vaughn is survived by his four children and their spouses, Emery and Ann Pierce, of Windsor, Scott and Kyle Pierce, of Weeks Mills, Pamela Berry, of Andover and Priscilla and Bob Branen, of Windsor; seven grandchildren and spouses, Sean Pierce, of China, Betsy Branen, of Windsor, Teague and Tricia Berry, of Windsor, Justin Pierce, of Weeks Mills, Ryan and Cortney Pierce, of China, Nathanael and Brittany Pierce, of Buxton, and Christopher and Cassandra Pierce, of Weeks Mills; 12 great-grandchildren; as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Arrangements were under the care of Plummer Funeral Home, Windsor Chapel, 983 Ridge Rd., Rt. 32, Windsor.
Condolences, stories and photos may be shared through the funeral home website at: www.plummerfh.com.
Memorial donations may be made to the Weeks Mills Fire Department.
WINSLOW – Kevin P. Morrissey, 79, passed away following a long struggle with COPD and cancer. He was born in Beverly, Massachusetts, on October 22, 1937. The 11th child of 12, born to Raymond and Louise (Boudrot) Morrissey, He was raised in Danvers, Massachusetts and attended Danvers Schools. He worked as a machinist most of his life, on jet engine components.
In 1982, he married his soulmate, Norma Cote. They moved to Maine in 1988. He worked as a handyman for the elderly in Franklin and upper Oxford counties for Senior’s Plus until his retirement in 2003. He always claimed that serving the elderly was his greatest reward in all his working years. With his wife, Norma, he moved from Livermore Falls to Winslow in 2006 and enjoyed decorating the home for special holidays. Halloween and Christmas were his favorites.
He was a member of Asylum Lodge #133 A.F. & A. M., in Leeds. He was an avid golfer and played his first round of golf as a caddy in 1947. In August of 2015, he realized his “dream come true” by playing the course he caddied at 60 years ago. In his last years, he really enjoyed playing in the “Gangbusters” League at J. W. Parks Golf Club, in Pittsfield.
He is survived by his wife, Norma, of Winslow; four children, Kim Morrissey and husband Peter Bourgoine, of Gulfport, Florida, Kelly Morrissey and life partner Francois Gossieaux, of Andover, Massachusetts, David, of Georgetown, Massachusetts, Brooke Newcomb and husband Wayne, of Topsfield, Massachusetts; three grandchildren, Nicholas Luoma, of Vermont, Alexander Luoma, of New Hampshire, Brenden Amnott, of Massachusetts; new great grandchild, Harley; a sister, Barbara Hines, of Florida; two brothers Robert and wife Claire, of Florida, Neil and wife Nancy, of Arizona; sisters-in-law, Judy Cote, of Blufton, South Carolina, Celia Morrissey, of Massachusetts; and many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by six brothers, Martin, Richard, Stanley, Paul, David, and James Morrissey; two sisters, Joan Enos and Virginia Brooks; a very special brother-in-law, Howard Brooks who was always there in times of need.
Memorial donations may be made to MaineGeneral Hospice, Waterville.
Arrangements were under the direction and care of Dan & Scott’s Cremation & Funeral Service, 445 Waterville Road, Skowhegan, Maine 04976.
In photo, from left to right, Alana Beggs, Lillian Dorval, Sen. Roger Katz, Ashton Erving and Robyn Brochu. Contributed photo
On June 7, students from the Jobs for Maine’s Graduates (JMG) program at Vassalboro Community School visited the state house to serve as honorary pages for the day. During their visit they met with their state senator, Roger Katz (R-Kennebec).