Entries by Mary Grow

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Winslow, Hollingsworth & Whitney

by Mary Grow In addition to the historic mills on Outlet Stream and smaller flowages in Winslow, Kingsbury mentioned two larger mills on the east bank of the Kennebec in the 1890s. One he described as a new “large steam saw mill…on the historic grounds of Fort Point,” covering most of the “palisade enclosure of […]

Vassalboro select board meeting draws large audience

by Mary Grow As expected, the Dec. 14 Vassalboro select board meeting attracted a large audience – 70 or more people filled the Vassalboro Community School cafeteria, 60 or so to listen to or join discussion of the Vassalboro Sanitary District’s sewer rates. The VSD serves about 200 customers in East and North Vassalboro. Its […]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Sebasticook dams & Josiah Hayden

by Mary Grow An on-line map of Winslow, Maine (which readers might find helpful), shows the Kennebec River, running roughly north-south, as the town’s western boundary. The Sebasticook River joins the Kennebec from the east about halfway between the town’s north and south lines. Outlet Stream flows north across Winslow’s south boundary from Vassalboro and […]

Vassalboro Sanitary district topic of meeting

by Mary Grow The Dec. 14 Vassalboro select board meeting will be in the Vassalboro Community School cafeteria, instead of the town office, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Town Manager Aaron Miller said the change is to accommodate the large crowd expected because of the first agenda item, “Discuss Vassalboro Sanitary District.” The main issue is […]

China awarded waste diversion grant for transfer station

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 […]

China broadband group told why grant request denied

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 […]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Dams and Mills

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 […]

VASSALBORO: Auto junkyard permits approved by select board

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 […]

China broadband group looks into expanded access

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 […]

Planners approve Novel Energy Systems for solar development

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 […]