by Mary Grow China has been awarded a $$14,440.57 state Waste Diversion Grant for improvements at the transfer station. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said the bulk of the money is to be used in the compost area, expanding the compost pad and adding bins. The rest will cover installation of solar lights in the free […]
by Mary Grow Three members of China’s Broadband Committee met Dec. 7 to hear first-hand about failure to get a state grant this fall and future possibilities (see the Dec. 7 issue of The Town Line, p. 3). Jayne Sullivan, of local Direct Communications subsidiary UniTel, led the discussion. She explained that the Maine Connectivity […]
by Mary Grow The list of old dams on China Lake’s Outlet Stream started last week with dams in Vassalboro, as far downstream as the North Vassalboro dams described below. In following weeks, your writer plans to finish summarizing the usefulness of Outlet Stream with descriptions of dams and mills in Winslow, between the Vassalboro […]
by Mary Grow The two Vassalboro select board members at the Nov. 30 meeting approved six 2024 auto junkyard permits, after a public hearing that drew no comments. Codes officer Jason Lorrain said he received renewal applications from six of seven residents listed as junkyard operators. He found no complaints on record; he inspected the […]
by Mary Grow The China Broadband Committee (CBC) will meet at 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, in the portable building behind the China town office to talk about next steps to expand internet access, after being denied a Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) grant. CBC members have been working with the Maine subsidiary of Idaho-based Direct […]
by Mary Grow At their Nov. 28 meeting, China planning board members unanimously approved Novel Energy Systems’ application for a solar development, probably a community solar farm, on the section of Parmenter Hill Road known as Moe’s Mountain. The application was first discussed at the board’s Sept. 26 meeting (see the Oct. 5 issue of […]
by Mary Grow China select board members’ Dec. 4 meeting included two discussions related, in different ways, to land use in town, with a lot of unanimous votes on other topics in between. Board members again considered proposed changes to the town’s Planning Board Ordinance, with planning board co-chairman Toni Wall joining from the audience. […]
by Mary Grow As last week’s article on the Masse family suggested, from the late 1700s through the 1800s central Kennebec Valley entrepreneurs dammed streams and rivers to provide water power for industry. Local histories have long lists of dams on streams tributary to the Kennebec River, before people got up the courage to try […]
by Mary Grow At their Nov. 20 meeting, the majority of China’s select board members enthusiastically and unanimously approved a new town logo, designed by board member Jeanne Marquis. Marquis showed how the simple, symmetrical design can be used as a letterhead for town stationery, on town vehicles and on T-shirts and caps, in color […]
by Mary Grow When Louis Masse’s name appeared in last week’s article on the Starrett family of China, knowledgeable Vassalboro residents might have been surprised. They thought he was theirs, founder of the family that owned and ran the Masse mill on the Masse dam, in East Vassalboro. Same man. First he lived and worked […]