by Mary Grow The China Board of Appeals met Friday afternoon, March 10, to hear an appeal of a building permit issued by codes enforcement officer Nicholas French. Board members upheld French’s decision. The permit was issued on Jan. 9, 2023, to Wayne Paul, Jr. It was appealed by Baiba Bangerskis (for whom her husband, […]
by Mary Grow With only four of eight members present (there used to be nine members, but chairman Brent Chesley said Trishea Story had resigned), China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee lacked a quorum for the March 8 meeting. Members decided since their decisions are advisory only, they could go ahead without a quorum. The […]
by Mary Grow Henry Sewall, part two Last week’s article on Henry Sewall (Oct. 24, 1752 – Sept. 4, 1845) omitted (or rather postponed) an important aspect of his life: he was a deeply religious man. James North, in his history of Augusta, summarized: “He was upright, conscientious, pious and rigidly orthodox in his religious […]
by Mary Grow China transfer station committee members voted at their March 7 meeting to recommend to the select board purchase of a utility vehicle for transfer station staff use. The vote was unanimous, with two transfer station staffers and road foreman Shawn Reed abstaining to avoid any appearance of self-interest (although Reed said he […]
by Mary Grow China select board members spent the first hour and a half of their two-hour March 6 special meeting talking about the Board of Appeals Ordinance that they, planning board members, board of appeals members and other residents have been discussing since early January. The result of their deliberations is a draft revised […]
by Mary Grow At a March 2 meeting, China Planning Board members unanimously voted to forward their recommended version of the Board of Appeals Ordinance to the select board, scheduled to meet March 6. The decision was not reached without yet another argument – they started in January – about the relationship between the select […]
by Mary Grow Henry Sewall, part one The fourth early Augusta settler, prominent citizen and diarist your writer promised to introduce was Henry Sewall (Oct. 24, 1752 – Sept. 4, 1845). His diary poses a puzzle. James North, whose history of Augusta was published in 1870, relied heavily on it from the 1780s through the […]
by Mary Grow The Vassalboro Historical Society (VHS) has a new tool, and VHS president Jan Clowes is excited about using it and about sharing it. It’s called a Bookeye scanner, and it takes pictures of documents and transfers them to a computer, from which they can be read, downloaded, printed and otherwise used without […]
by Mary Grow At a Feb. 16 meeting, five members of China’s Thurston Park Committee talked mostly about money to repair and improve the entrance road and trails and add amenities. Committee chairman Jeanette Smith reported that China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee had cut the request for $44,000 in 2023-24 for trail work in […]
by Mary Grow Daniel Cony Daniel Cony (Aug. 3, 1752 – Jan. 21, 1842) has been mentioned in previous articles in this series in various contexts, including as the founder of Augusta’s Cony Female Academy and the man after whom Cony High School is named. He was profiled in the Sept. 2, 2021, issue of […]