by Mary Grow Vassalboro selectmen spent most of their Sept. 3 meeting talking about spending money for town projects. The meeting included a public hearing on TIF (Tax Increment Financing) fund requests from Maine Rivers, which runs the Alewife Restoration Project (ARI), and the Vassalboro Sanitary District (VSD). Maine Rivers is creating fish passage between […]
by Mary Grow Early public transportation in the central Kennebec River valley came in three forms: the ferries and other riverboats previously mentioned (see The Town Line, April 23 and April 30, and for China Lake, June 4); stagecoaches; and railways. On land, horses and oxen were the earliest movers, for people and goods, individually […]
by Mary Grow By a 3-2 vote the China Board of Appeals has upheld Codes Officer Bill Butler’s denial of Brent and Cathy Chesley’s application for a permit to build what documents call a retaining wall along the shore of China Lake. The Chesleys and their attorney, David Pierson of Eaton Peabody, told board members […]
by Mary Grow At their Aug. 25 meeting, China Planning Board members discussed a proposed ordinance amendment that would make a special provision in lot coverage requirements for solar panels. Their only decision was to continue the discussion, probably at their Sept. 15 meeting. If they recommend an ordinance amendment, it would take effect after […]
by Mary Grow Town office closed for Labor Day holiday The China town office will be closed Saturday, Sept. 5, and Monday, Sept. 7, for the Labor Day holiday weekend. The office will be open from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, to make up for the first September Saturday being a holiday. The […]
by Mary Grow Readers might remember that this historical series started at the end of March in reaction to the pandemic, to divert readers’ minds and fill a page in the newspaper. What plan there was at the time included stories about disasters, not only plague and pestilence but fires, floods, wars and other cheerful […]
by Mary Grow Vassalboro selectmen made progress on several issues at their Aug. 20 meeting, although the only absolutely final decision they made was to appoint Charlie Plourde as a recreation committee member. Reviewing bids for reroofing the snack shack at the ballfields (which the recreation committee manages), they awarded the contract to Legacy Home […]
by Mary Grow At their Aug. 24 special meeting, China selectmen, in their capacity as assessors, set the 2020-21 tax rate at 14.9 mils, or $14.90 for each $1,000 of valuation. Last year’s rate was 16.3 mils, or $16.30 for each $1,000 of valuation. The lower rate will mean a lower tax bill for some […]
by Mary Grow At their Aug. 18 meeting, Vassalboro School Board members approved the reopening plan developed by staff over the summer, in consultation with many students’ families, other state educators and state officials. Board members voted with the understanding the plan is subject to change as local circumstances or state recommendations change. School is […]
by Mary Grow James G. Blaine James Gillespie Blaine was born Jan. 31, 1830, in West Brownsville, Pennsylvania. The town is on the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh; Interstate 40 now runs through it. The current google map shows an area called Blainsburg between the river and the interstate, a major road called Blaine Hill […]