by Mary Grow China Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood gave select board and budget committee members her initial draft of the 2022-23 town budget at a special joint meeting Jan. 24. Select Board Chairman Ronald Breton said there would be no question and answer session at the special meeting. Members of both boards were given time […]
by Mary Grow China Select Board members’ January 18 discussion focused on transfer station issues. Board members adopted one major change and are leaning toward another. The approved change will be to replace the placards now used to identify transfer station users with the stickers used before 2019. Under consideration is addition of a guard […]
by Mary Grow Vassalboro School Board members heard a variety of reports at their Jan. 18 meeting, some touching on effects of the pandemic. They did not talk about the 2022-23 budget – yet. When they reached the agenda item called “Items to be addressed by School Board at future meetings,” Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer told […]
by Mary Grow At their Jan. 20 meeting, Vassalboro select board members got preliminary requests for money, federal or local or both, from town organizations. Further discussion was postponed until 2022-23 budget deliberations begin in earnest in February. Two requests were presented at the meeting. From the volunteer fire department, special funding to replace 20 […]
by Mary Grow Veterans of Waterville and Augusta After the Revolutionary War, the demobilization of the army increased the population of the Kennebec Valley. This article and the following will describe some of the Revolutionary veterans who became part of local history, chosen more or less randomly. A visit to old cemeteries in area towns […]
by Roland D. Hallee I ran into an acquaintance at a local supermarket last week, and he commented on my articles on black squirrels, and told me he had heard that a reported albino squirrel had been spotted in the central Maine area. We’ve talked the gamut about squirrels, grey, red, black, white-tipped tails, so […]
by Mary Grow Members of China’s Transfer Station Committee continued discussion of several issues, but still lack information to make decisions. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood told them residents continue to respond to the survey she distributed that asked, among other things, the days and hours on which they use the transfer station. Survey results will […]
by Mary Grow China Municipal Building Committee members met Jan. 13 and continued review of information they have and information they need as they plan additional storage for town records. Main tentative conclusions were: They should focus on planning a free-standing building, not a room attached to the present office building. The southeast or east […]
by Mary Grow At their Jan. 11 meeting, China Planning Board members were willing to hear an application to enlarge the approved, unbuilt solar farm on Route 3, until Codes Officer Jaime Hanson told them the town attorney has doubts. Now they want more information before they make a decision. New Hampshire-based SunRaise Investments plans […]
by Mary Grow As readers know, major wars have major effects, beginning before the battles, continuing for the duration and lasting years afterwards. Early historians tended to focus on economics and politics: whether development was slowed or speeded or both, who replaced whom in leadership. Later came interest in social effects, especially significant in the […]