by Mary Grow The mother and father of all United States agricultural organization is the Grange, formally known as the Order of Patrons of Husbandry. The national Grange was organized in Washington, D. C., on Dec. 2, 1867, by a seven-person group headed by Oliver Hudson Kelley (1826 – 1913), a Bostonian who moved to […]
by Mary Grow The transfer station was again the major topic as Vassalboro selectmen and budget committee members met sequentially at Vassalboro Community School the evening of April 1. The two boards seem to have reached agreement on a recommendation to voters at the June 7 town meeting John Melrose, chairman of the selectboard, had […]
by Mary Grow Meeting March 30, Vassalboro School Board members were still unable to come up with a final 2021-22 budget proposal. They intended to try again Tuesday evening, April 6. Part of the hold-up was external, including lack of information on what Vassalboro can expect from new federal pandemic money and what restrictions will […]
by Mary Grow With four of China’s five selectmen joining their April 1 virtual meeting, China Broadband Committee (CBC) members rearranged their future schedule and discussed what might be good news. Committee members had been scheduled to make a presentation at the April 26 selectboard meeting. Instead, they added a Thursday, April 29, meeting to […]
by Mary Grow By the 19th century, Maine farmers realized the benefits of organizing. Samuel L. Boardman, author of the agriculture chapter in Henry Kingsbury’s Kennebec County history, wrote that the Waterville-based Kennebec Agricultural Society, founded in 1787, was the first such group in New England and the second in what would become the United […]
by Mary Grow China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee members covered two of the three items on their March 24 agenda, without reaching final agreement on either. Committee members reviewed the committee’s Mission Statement, last written in August 2018, and the application form for organizations seeking TIF funds. Both will be back for reconsideration at […]
by Mary Grow Colby College Professor Denise A. Bruesewitz, Ph.D., gave China Planning Board members “more than a little bit of food for thought,” Chairman Randall Downer remarked after her presentation at the board’s March 23 meeting. Bruesewitz is a limnologist (the word means an expert on scientific aspects of inland waters) who has studied […]
by Mary Grow Ronald Breton, Chairman of the China Selectboard, requested and received time on the China Broadband Committee’s March 25 agenda. In return, CBC members ended their meeting by drafting an email request for time on the selectboard’s April 26 agenda. Breton complained that CBC members are failing to keep him and the rest […]
by Mary Grow At a short China selectmen’s meeting March 29, board members unanimously authorized two actions by Town Manager Becky Hapgood and discussed Selectman Janet Preston’s idea of a China farmers’ market. Hapgood is authorized to sign a contract to continue using the Waterville dispatch center to dispatch local fire departments and China Rescue, […]
by Mary Grow VASSALBORO – With roads unusually rough this spring, Vassalboro residents have complained, frequently and loudly. Vassalboro selectmen have listened, sympathized and come up with a solution: a municipal helicopter service, tentatively named the Vass Fly. The public works crew is surveying the town for a dozen or more helipad sites, probably including […]