Webber Pond one of six Maine lakes at high risk for toxic algae bloom

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Blue-green toxic algae bloom.

No lakes or ponds have been put on advisory just yet

by Roland D. Hallee

Following the news that a couple of dogs in southern Maine had to be euthanized following their exposure to a blue-green toxic algae bloom, this news was released by Lakes in Maine.

According to them, six lakes in Maine are at high risk for a blue-green toxic algae bloom. In our immediate area, Webber Pond, in Vassalboro, in on the short list of six lakes.

While the algae has been spotted in Maine lakes in the past, this year no lakes or ponds have been put on advisory just yet. However, officials have rated the waterways in the state based on their likelihood of having it before the summer’s end.

Many lakes in Maine see algae blooms every year and officials are closely watching to make sure residents are aware of any blooms that become toxic.

The toxic blue-green algae is actually called Cyanobacteria and it thrives in warm water. This warmer water is not unusual here in the summer, which is why reports of it typically happen in the warmer months. Learn to recognize what this bacteria looks like when you’re checking for toxic algae.

Many lakes and rivers have seemingly foreign objects and foam floating in them. Most of these things are harmless. But the algae that can cause illness is known by its blue-green color. You’ll want to avoid it wherever you can. Children and pets are especially susceptible.

Those topping the list are, in alphabetical order: 1. Annabessacook Lake, in Monmouth, 2. Cross Lake, in Aroostook County, 3. Georges Pond, in Franklin, 4. Sebasticook Lake, in Newport, 5. Trafton Lake, in Limestone and 6. Webber Pond, in Vassalboro. There are plenty of great lakes in the state that are safe for swimming, or just hiking, camping, or enjoying views. Check out more about lakes in Maine that you can feel free to enjoy.

Coming into contact with the toxic algae can cause rashes, skin irritations, and even some gastrointestinal illnesses. You’ll see these symptoms even more severely in children and pets.

Officials urge folks to be mindful of any standing bodies of water. Always do a check for discolored water or “froth” that has a bluish color to it before you swim or come into contact with water. If contact is made, be sure to wash it off with clear and fresh water as soon as possible. You might be worried if you run into toxic algae in Maine, but there won’t be any long-term problems to worry about if you wash it all off right away.

Remember that fish can also be affected. If you fish in any water that might be affected by the blue-green algae, be sure to clean the it well before cooking at a high temperature.

To keep track of the Maine lakes at highest risk of cyanobacteria advisories, check out the official state website.

If you’ve been affected by any of the algae blooms this summer, they would like to hear your experience. Contact them at https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/maine/toxic-blue-green-algae-me/.

China schools benefit from local boy scouts

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Bryson giving the safety inspection and assigning tasks to the scouts, left to right, Scouts Isaac Audette, Brady Newell, Sam Boynton, Bryson Pettengill, Nathan Choate and Assistant Scoutmaster Aiden Pettengill. (photo courtesy of Chuck Mahaleris)

by Chuck Mahaleris

Bryson Pettengill’s Eagle Project was to create Zen Spaces at both the China’s Primary and Middle schools. He wanted to give back to the school and after discussions with his parents it was clear that children with special needs or social anxiety needed a safe environment. He realized the schools didn’t have one on the playgrounds. In researching online, he made the spaces as natural as he could because things found in nature provide calming stimuli.

Scouts Sam Boynton, left, and Remy Pettengill were assigned to put the picnic table together for the Middle school location. (photo courtesy
of Chuck Mahaleris)

The purpose of an Eagle project, which is a capstone assignment at the end of the Boy Scout advancement ladder, is to demonstrate leadership. There is no quantity of hours required for an Eagle project. The Scout need only demonstrate leadership in the task; therefore, it must be complicated enough to require the assistance of other Scouts.

A good Eagle project is one that gives the Scout an opportunity to organize his fellow Scouts into action. Most Scouts find this to be a challenging task, as it is unlike anything they have ever done in Scouting – and for many, unlike anything they’ve done outside of scouting as well.

These spaces would include “Buddy Stumps”, a Zen sand garden, picnic tables, calming plants, checker/Tic-Tac-Toe boards and building blocks/logs made with natural elements. Studies show that nature benefits children’s mental health because it is a natural calming stimulus. Spaces were built at both schools.

Bryson had to work with the principals from both schools to obtain approval for the project and for the location for Zen spaces at each school. He then had to get the approval for this project from the Troop #479 committee by scheduling a time to present his project. He had to schedule a meeting with the project coach for Kennebec Valley District of Pine Tree Council for the final approval before he could start the project.

He asked for help from his fellow Scouts in Troop #479 and other volunteers and scheduled a work date of July 9, 2022.

Bryson is the son of Lee and Danielle Pettengill, of South China and will be entering the eighth grade this year.

Scout Bryson Pettengill with the completed Zen space at the Middle School. (photo courtesy of Chuck Mahaleris)

Greater Neck Road Neighborhood Association annual yard sale slated

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by Jeanne Marquis

The Greater Neck Road Neighborhood Association will host their annual yard sale on Saturday, September 17, 2022, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Baptist Church parking lot. The association voted again this year to donate 100 percent of the proceeds to the Town of China’s fuel assistance fund.

Sheri Wilkens remarked, “With skyrocketing prices of fuel, our members are worried about China citizens struggling to stay warm and we want to do our part to help.”

According to the US Energy Information Administration, prices are trending down from the April spike in crude oil. Yet for many factors, changes in retail prices lag behind commodity trends so we may still feel higher fuel costs this winter.

Wilkens reported the association’s donations for the town of China’s fuel assistance fund went to people who never expected to need help. Becky Hapgood, China town manager, wrote in her thank you note to the association, “We were able to help one senior who came in to see me after receiving the assistance to express his appreciation … and said no one had helped him in his life.” Last year, two local families were helped towards their fuel costs.

The Greater Neck Road Neighborhood Association has a long held tradition of looking out for neighbors and giving back to the town in various ways. During the early days of Covid when there were nationwide anxieties about food supply issues, Tom and Marie Michaud along with other neighbors with vegetable gardens planted extra produce to donate to the China Food Pantry.

Jim Wilkens will accept donated, clean and lightly used, items between now and Friday, September 2, at 712 Neck Road. Or, you may bring your clean yard sale items directly to the China Baptist Church parking lot on Saturday morning between 7 – 8 a.m. Volunteer opportunities are also available to cover two-hour sales shifts or help with clean up. Contact Sheri Wilkens for more details, 968-3777.

China budget committee urges approval on 6 ballot questions

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by Mary Grow

China Budget Committee members have recommended voters at the town’s Nov. 8 town meeting approve all six proposed expenditures from federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grants.

All votes but one were unanimous. Select board members have unanimously recommended approval of the expenditures (see The Town Line, Aug. 25, p. 2).

The split vote was on the article requesting $70,000 to expand broadband service to unserved and underserved areas of China. After a brief question and answer session, committee chairman Thomas Rumpf, secretary Trishea Story and members Kevin Maroon, Timothy Basham and Elizabeth Curtis voted to recommend voters approve the expenditure; Michael Sullivan dissented.

The other proposed ARPA expenditures presented to voters, with unanimous affirmative recommendations from both town boards, are:

  • Up to $21,590 to reimburse China Rescue Unit’s reserve fund for the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) the unit bought. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said the machine was used frequently for diagnoses during the Covid epidemic, justifying use of ARPA money.
  • Up to $7,000 for improvements to the radio tower at the town office.
  • Up to $22,000 to buy three heat pumps, for the town office, the transfer station office and the scale shack at the transfer station. Hapgood assured committee members the pumps are eligible for Efficiency Maine rebates; she does not know how long it will take to get bids, choose a vender and have the pumps installed.
  • Up to $75,000 for the new 2022-23 fuel assistance program for senior residents.
  • Up to $30,000 to replace or repair fences around China cemeteries.

At the select board meeting following the budget committee meeting, select board members unanimously approved rules for the fuel assistance program. After the previous discussion Aug. 22, Hapgood had checked the 2020 census records; she estimated that 136 households would have been eligible that year.

Select board members left the maximum household grant at $500. They approved maximum income limits – $30,000 for a one-person household, twice that for two people – and a residency requirement. The application process will be as simple as possible; the $500 will be sent to the fuel company, not to the householder.

If voters approve the proposal on Nov. 8, application information will be publicized.

Budget committee members do not plan to schedule another meeting until January 2023, when town officials begin work on the 2023-24 municipal budget.

CHINA: Computer problems stall setting tax rate

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by Mary Grow

China select board members were again lacking the information they need to set the 2022-23 tax rate at their Aug. 29 meeting; the town’s assessment process has been plagued by computer problems. They will schedule a special meeting as soon as possible, they hope on or before Tuesday, Sept. 6.

After the rate is set, Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said, town office staff need between one and two weeks to get each property-owner’s bill(s) calculated, printed and mailed. By town meeting vote, the first half payment of local taxes is due at the town office by 4:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30.

Board members’ Aug. 29 decisions included final action on the local ballot questions for Nov. 8 and on regulations for the new senior residents’ fuel assistance program (see the related story on the Aug. 29 China Budget Committee meeting in this issue of The Town Line).

They discussed ongoing topics: the future of the closed waste recycling plant in Hampden and the proposed local ordinance to govern commercial solar development in town.

The Nov. 8 ballot will include one question in addition to those approved at the board’s Aug. 22 meeting (reported in the Aug. 25 issue of The Town Line). Board members voted 3-2, with Chairman Ronald Breton, Jeanne Marquis and Janet Preston in the majority and Blane Casey and Wayne Chadwick opposed, to ask voters to approve amendments to chapters 2 and 11 of the China Land Use Ordinance, as requested by the planning board.

The proposed changes are on the town website, china.govoffice.com. Most are required by the state as a condition of approval for the local ordinance.

The proposed new ordinance to govern commercial solar development will not be presented to voters this year. Planning board members have worked on the ordinance for months, using a model select board members said was provided by an environmental group.

Now, Hapgood said, board chairman Scott Rollins, having reviewed town attorney Amanda Meader’s comments and suggestions on the latest version, proposes Meader prepare a new draft. Hapgood pointed out that planning board members are not lawyers; given the current complexity of regulations, she said perhaps the attorney should draft a solar ordinance and propose other new ordinances or revisions.

Breton objected that asking Meader to do so much would overspend the legal budget. Yes, Hapgood said; but the board could ask voters to approve a larger 2023-24 budget to cover future work.

So why have a planning board, if members don’t prepare ordinances? asked Casey.

China’s Planning Board Ordinance, last updated in 2008, lists board responsibilities as preparing ordinances, preparing the comprehensive plan (the most recent update was drafted by a separate committee) and reviewing applications forwarded by the codes officer and other town officials to make sure projects conform to local land use and building ordinances.

Another suggestion, from Chadwick, was to add solar-specific provisions to existing ordinances, instead of writing a separate solar ordinance.

Discussion ended with Breton asking Hapgood to consult with Meader about the best way to proceed.

For discussion of the Hampden waste facility, now owned by the Municipal Review Committee (MRC) representing China and 114 other Maine municipalities, MRC Executive Director Michael Carroll joined the select board virtually.

Carroll explained that at this point, the MRC is negotiating a contract with Revere Capital Advisors to operate the plant as originally intended, to accept and recycle waste from member towns. As a fall-back if negotiations fail, the MRC is seeking money, including from member municipalities, to run the plant itself, he said.

In either case, Carroll said, he expects MRC will avoid errors made by past management. For example, he agreed with Breton that delay in getting state permits was a handicap to the earlier venture, and said he has worked with state agencies and permitting is up to date.

The Fiberight process established previously worked well for the seven months the facility operated, Carroll said. The operation closed primarily because it was already underfinanced and Covid was “the final straw.”

Carroll expects a decision on funding within two months. He said the facility might begin operating on a small scale, as a demonstration, in six months or so.

In other business, Hapgood asked approval to pay the Westbrook-based company St. Germain $2,300 from the public works road reserve fund to prepare an application for state grant funds to help replace an Ingraham Road culvert.

St. Germain describes its business on line as environmental assessment and remediation and civil engineering and permitting. Hapgood said the reserve fund’s current balance is a little over $20,000.

The company did a similar application last year, the manager said; China received no grant, and St. Germain received no payment. This year, Hapgood said, grant criteria have been amended and she thinks China has a better chance.

Select board members approved her request on a 4-0-1 vote, with Casey abstaining.

A brief discussion of an unrepaid loan granted under the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program led to a discussion of canceling the program. So far, only one businessman, the defaulter, has applied for a loan. The question was referred to the Tax Increment Financing Committee.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, Sept. 12.

China TIF committee hears reports from fund recipients

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by Mary Grow

At their Aug. 24 meeting, China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee members heard reports from representatives of programs that have received TIF funds. The China Broadband Committee’s project has a 10-year, $30,000 a year allocation, approved by voters. The Thurston Park Committee, the China Region Lakes Alliance (CRLA) (and the China Lake Association [CLA], not represented Aug. 24) and the China Four Seasons Club apply annually.

Committee members also discussed briefly the proposed boundary survey of the nearly-unused town-owned boat launch in South China. Committee member Jamie Pitney said $15,000 was approved for the survey, recommended by Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood.

Once town officials know how much land they have, they can decide how to use it. Pitney said South China Volunteer Fire Department members want continued access to the lake. Public possibilities include restoring a small area for boat trailers (to take pressure off the often-crowded north end landing, TIF committee member Michael “Mickey” Wing said) or allowing only hand-carried canoes and kayaks.

Thurston Park Committee Chairman Jeanette Smith said the park is getting increasingly favorable reviews on on-line sites like AllTrails as roads are improved and maintained and especially since the installation of two solar-powered dehydrating outhouses that, she said, “do not smell.” Trails are suitable for bicyclists and horseback riders as well as hikers; they are open for winter use.

There is vehicle access to the pond on Yorktown Brook in the northwest, and this summer one of three Eagle Scout projects planned a picnic area near the canoe and kayak launch. The other Eagle projects were an improved Monument Trail to the stone marking the intersection of the Albion, China and Palermo town lines and a winter parking area by the entrance road from the north, Smith said.

The next project, already started, is a storage building for equipment and supplies.

CRLA Executive Director Scott Pierz summarized major ongoing programs.

  • The Courtesy Boat Inspection Program, partly funded by Kennebec Water District, is aimed at keeping invasive plants out of China Lake.
  • The state-wide LakeSmart program helps shorefront property-owners plan erosion control measures, like buffers, retaining walls and infiltration areas. Pierz said Fieldstone Gardens, in Vassalboro, has been helpful in recommending appropriate shoreline plants.
  • Members of the Youth Conservation Corps, ably led in summer 2022 by Jack Blais, work with shorefront landowners to install erosion control features.
  • The Gravel Road Rehabilitation Program works with individuals and groups responsible for fire roads to minimize road run-off into water bodies. Pierz said CRLA recently sent out nine requests for bids for work on Fire Road 37; two companies replied, and Pine Tree Waste’s bid of $19,160 was accepted, being more than $15,000 lower than the other bid. Pierz expects work to start in September.

Pierz plans to ask for more TIF money for 2023, and said CLA president Stephen Greene will probably apply on behalf of that organization. He reminded committee members that the updated watershed management plan recommends an expensive alum treatment to seal off phosphorus-rich bottom sediment in the north end of China Lake’s east basin

TIF Committee member James “JJ” Wentworth reported briefly on the Four Seasons Club’s 2022 trail work, mostly toward the southeastern part of town.

China Broadband Committee (CBC) Chairman Robert O’Connor explained the current proposal to work with UniTel, of Unity, Maine, and its owner, Direct Communications, of Idaho, (see the Aug. 25 issue of The Town Line, pages 2 and 3) to expand and improve internet access in China.

The plan, O’Connor said, is to fund a project estimated to cost close to $1.2 million without raising tax bills. The TIF will contribute $300,000 over 10 years; if voters approve on Nov. 8, China’s American Rescue Plan Act funds will add $70,000, for about 31 percent of the total; UniTel and Direct will contribute a matching amount, another 31 percent; and a state grant from the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) would cover the remaining about 38 percent.

MCA grants are available to extend service to unserved and underserved areas, where people have no or inadequate broadband access. O’Connor showed TIF committee members an updated map of the proposed backbone, new fiber lines that would deliver broadband first to grant-eligible areas and in later project phases to all interested residents.

“Here’s my big thing,” Wentworth said. “Tell me if I’m wrong.”

He said when he chose to live off a main road, he paid for electricity to be extended to his house. Why, he asked, should residents who chose to live at the end of camp roads or otherwise distant from main lines be given broadband access without charge?

What if you inherited an unserved house? Wing asked. Wentworth, envisioning it as lakefront property, said he’d sell it and “make a ton of money.” But, Trishea Story said, lack of internet access would reduce its value.

Committee chairman Brent Chesley added that town-wide internet service is intended partly to benefit current residents and more to attract new residents and especially new businesses, as envisioned in the TIF program.

Pitney said that modern fiber technology has capabilities current copper-wire technology lacks. UniTel will become a competitor to existing services, probably to the benefit of all customers. O’Connor added that fiber allows broadband to function when electrical power is interrupted, except when the tree that took down the power line also snapped the fiber cable.

Meanwhile, Wentworth said, UniTel will make a profit off new customers. Businesses should make profits, Wing retorted.

At the Aug. 22 select board meeting, no one knew when MCA grant applications would open. In an Aug. 25 email, O’Connor said first-round grants will be accepted beginning Sept. 10, with the deadline Nov. 9. CBC members will work with UniTel personnel and CBC consultants Mission Broadband to prepare an application.

TIF Committee members scheduled their next meeting for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26.

Why China decided to create TIF

At the Aug. 24 Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Committee meeting, committee member Jamie Pitney reminded the group why China decided to put tax revenue from Central Maine Power Company’s major transmission line through town and its South China substation into a TIF. Otherwise, he said, the revenue would have gone into the tax base, making China richer compared to its neighbors and thereby increasing its county tax and decreasing its share of state funding under various programs.

State law allows, but does not require, municipal TIFs. If the town does not spend its TIF money, eventually state officials will require it be un-TIFed and added to the tax base, Pitney said. In recent years not all the income has been allocated, and not everything allocated has been spent.

China Four Seasons helps at Bomazeen

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Front row, from left to right, Ian Martin (#603), Julie McKenney, Amber Chesley. Back, Thomas Gage (#485); Tyleek Baluvett (#546); Zachary McKenney; Remy Pettengill (#479); Michael Connolly (#428). (contributed photo)

This summer two large boxes of life jackets and PFDs were donated by the China Four Seasons Club to the Camp Bomazeen Old Timers. The Old Timers put the donation directly to work this August at the Scouts BSA program at Camp Bomazeen. This is the older Scout program. The donation immediately supported Scouts from Kennebec Valley District troops to earn swimming, life saving and canoeing merit badges.

South China Library: Every bit helps

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When they heard about the match, Griffin, Daxton and Mollie Carballo had a lemonade stand and donated their sales to the library.

Construction on the new South China Library is coming along nicely. Thanks to a generous donor, all donations received in August will be matched up to $10,000. There is one week left for this great fundraiser. Donate today to double your impact! Donate online , or mail a check made out to South China Library to P.O. Box 417, South China, ME 04358, https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/1281956, or go to their website, southchinalibrary.org.

Photos provided by Kim Tilton

From left to right, Griffin, Daxton, and Mollie Carballo deliver their donation to librarian Cheryl Baker.

Seven substantive questions to appear on Nov. 8 ballot in China

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by Mary Grow

At their Aug. 22 special meeting, China select board members approved seven substantive questions to be submitted to voters on Nov. 8. They postponed deciding whether to add an eighth question until their next regular meeting on Aug. 29.

The voting in November, on the state election day, is technically China’s annual town meeting, because local elections are held then. The annual spring meeting that includes approving the budget for the following year is labeled the town business meeting.

In addition to electing town officials (see box), unless select board members change their minds, voters on Nov. 8 will decide whether to approve:

  • Appropriating $70,000 from federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds toward expansion of broadband internet service in town (see The Town Line, Aug. 11, p. 3).
  • Appropriating up to $21,590 in ARPA funds to reimburse China Rescue Unit’s reserve fund for an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) rescue personnel bought.
  • Appropriating up to $7,000 in ARPA funds for improvements to the town’s radio tower at the town office, work that Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said will improve reception for China Rescue and the public works department.
  • Appropriating up to $22,000 to buy and install three heat pumps, one for the town office building and one each for the transfer station office and scale shack.
  • Appropriating up to $75,000 – board members might adjust the amount – for a new senior citizens’ fuel assistance program, under guidelines board members still need to approve (see The Town Line, Aug. 11, p. 2).
  • Appropriating up to $30,000 to repair fences around town cemeteries (see The Town Line, Aug. 18, p, 3).
  • Amendments to China’s Quorum Ordinance.

The postponed question was whether to put on the ballot the planning board’s requested amendments to Chapters 2 and 11 of China’s Land Use Ordinance. Board member Wayne Chadwick asked for the delay because he was not sure what the proposed amendments say.

The amendments are posted on the town website, china.govoffice.org., and copies are available at the town office.

Select board members voted unanimously to recommend that voters approve six of the seven questions. The vote to put the amendments to the Quorum Ordinance on the Nov. 8 ballot was 3-2, with Blane Casey and Chairman Ronald Breton opposed and Chadwick, Jeanne Marquis and Janet Preston in favor.

The ordinance now sets the quorum for an open meeting (the pre-Covid type where residents gathered to vote by show of hands) at four percent of the registered voters as of the beginning of each year. Hapgood proposed amending it to make the requirement 100 registered voters.

The manager explained that under a new state law that automatically registers as a voter everyone who gets or renews a state driver’s license, China is gaining new voters every week – whether or not they intend to vote – and therefore the quorum requirement is increasing.

Hapgood is not happy with the thought that 100 residents can set policy for the town, and neither are select board members; but she reminded them that in past years, when the quorum was between 100 and 120 voters, meetings were delayed and even canceled for lack of attendees.

There is no plan to return to open meetings, Hapgood emphasized. She recommended the change because a written-ballot meeting requires, by state law, 90 days’ lead time, and there might be an emergency in which waiting almost three months for a voters’ decision would be harmful.

The senior citizens’ fuel fund was Chadwick’s idea. The purpose, he said, is to help seniors on fixed incomes adjust to dramatically increased fuel prices. At the board’s Aug. 1 meeting, Preston asked Hapgood to draft guidelines, which Chadwick said should be as simple as possible.

The preliminary version allocates $500 apiece next winter to applicants who are homeowners at least 65 years old and who have lived in town for at least a year, with an income cut-off (currently $30,000 for one person and $60,000 for a couple). LiHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) and HEAP recipients are not eligible.

Select board members propose approving final guidelines and perhaps amending the warrant article on Aug. 29.

The China Broadband Committee request for $70,000 in ARPA funds was discussed at length on Aug. 22. Jayne Sullivan and Michael Akers from UniTel, in Unity, and Daniel Parrish, from Idaho-based Direct Communications, joined select board members virtually, and local committee members attended in person.

The fund request is part of an estimated $1.2 million project that will be funded about 31 percent from China’s ARPA grant and TIF (Tax Increment Financing) fund – not from property taxes, Breton emphasized; a matching 31 percent from Direct/Unitel; and about 38 percent from state grants through the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) program.

If funding works out and the project goes through, Unitel would own and manage the system, meaning, Breton said approvingly, no new responsibilities for China staff.

Parrish said although the MCA program schedule is not yet established, he expects a first round of grant applications to be offered this fall. Direct Communications will prepare the application.

Parrish called the Nov. 8 local vote the next step in the process. Sullivan told Marquis UniTel will help explain the expansion program and funding to China voters. If China is denied a state grant, Parrish said, the project is not necessarily dead; possibilities include a smaller expansion with a larger Direct Communications contribution.

In addition to decisions on the Nov. 8 ballot, select board members approved re-contracting with Purdy Powers and Company to do the town audit and spending $16,408.06 in ARPA money for a portable digital speed sign. Voters approved up to $20,000 for the sign at the June 14 town business meeting.

The board’s Aug. 29 meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the town office meeting room.

After the budget committee meeting, Hapgood said the budget committee will meet at 5:30 p.m., on Monday, August 29, to make recommendations on Nov, 8 proposed expenditures.

Declared candidates

As of Aug. 22, China Deputy Clerk Jennifer Chamberlain reported the following residents were circulating nomination papers for local elective office.

  • For three seats on the select board, incumbents Ronald Breton and Janet Preston, plus Brent Chesley and Brian Ouellette Jr. Blane Casey is the other board member whose term ends this year; he said at the Aug. 22 meeting he is considering whether to seek another term.
  • For the at-large position on the budget committee, incumbent Elizabeth Curtis. Also to be elected in 2022 are a secretary (Trishea Story is the incumbent) and representatives from District 2 (northeastern China, currently vacant) and District 4 (southwestern China; Timothy Basham is the incumbent).
  • For one of China’s two representatives on the Regional School Unit #18 board, incumbent Dawn Castner, Wallace Pooler III and Darrell Stevens.

No one had taken out papers for any of the three planning board seats open in 2022. Incumbents are Toni Wall in District 2, Scott Rollins in District 4 and James Wilkens in the at-large (elected from anywhere in town) position.

China’s local elections will be Tuesday, Nov. 8. For candidates’ names to be on the ballot, signed nomination papers must be returned to the town office by the new closing time, 4:30 p.m., on Friday, Sept. 9.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Hunter Praul’s love of nature involves slimy and scaly creatures

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Hunter Praul

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

This came across my desk last week, and I thought it would make a good story for this week’s column.

Growing up in China, Maine, Hunter Praul said he always had an interest in exploring the outdoors, especially for reptiles and amphibians. He became an Eagle Scout, but even outside of his troop outings, he would find himself in forests, lakes and stream banks looking for frogs, toads, turtles and anything else he could find.

As a student researcher at the University of Maine, Praul has taken his love for nature’s slimy and scaly creatures and applied it to the mission of conservation in Maine.

When Praul graduated from high school, he was named to the Maine Top Scholars program, which provides full tuition and research opportunities for the highest achieving high schoolers in the state to attend the University of Maine.

Since early spring 2022, Praul has worked on a variety of turtle conservation research projects in the lab of Matthew Chatfield, assistant professor at the School of Biology and Ecology. Praul’s primary project aims to record the musk turtle population on the nearby Pushaw Lake, which is thought to be one of most northern (if not the northernmost) parts of the species’ habitat range.

“It would be interesting to get data and information on the most northern population to see if there are differences from the southern ones or even just more southern in the state, although there hasn’t been much research on them, especially in Maine,” Praul says.

Every month for the past couple months, Chatfield and Praul have headed out to three different plots near Gould’s Landing to lay six sardine-baited traps at each, strategically placing them at different levels of vegetation and depths along the shore. For that week, they return every morning to check the traps, repair any damage wrought by hungry raccoons or snapping turtles, and record their observations.

“I have worked with thousands of students in the classroom and dozens in a field or mentoring capacity and I have to say Hunter [Praul] is probably the most meticulous student I have ever met,” Chatfield says. “Every word and number on the data sheet gets recorded exactly right. He’s definitely one of the strongest undergraduate researchers I have come across.”

Praul admits, though, that he hasn’t had much luck finding musk turtles this summer. He has only found one, though he has seen plenty of the common painted turtles throughout the course of his study.

“We might be in the wrong spot in the lake, but there also might not be as many in the lake as we originally thought,” Praul says. “We’re taking a little break and we’re going to try again at the end of this summer to see if there’s a seasonal change in numbers.”

Praul is still hoping to use the musk turtle project for his senior capstone project, but if doesn’t find enough musk turtles to draw any substantive conclusions about the Pushaw Lake population, he will use data from a graduate project in Chatfield’s lab about wood turtles. Praul has been assisting graduate students with fieldwork using radiotelemetry to observe and record the nesting behavior of wood turtles, a heavily trafficked and internationally listed endangered species that purportedly has a stronghold in Maine.

Almost every week, Praul will join a graduate student researcher at their streamside site; the exact location is confidential, to protect the highly-trafficked turtles. They use a receiver to find the turtles observed for that study, which are tagged with radio telemeters, and record environmental and behavioral data about their subjects.

Turtles aren’t the only animal that Praul interacts with for this research, either.

“To help with finding wood turtles, there is a dog that has been trained to find them,” Praul says. “Sometimes her handler [Lindsay Ware of Science Dogs of New England] and I take her out to go sniffing through the grass and stream. If she finds a different species, she’ll pass on it, and if she finds a wood turtle, she’ll just stand over until we get there.”

The dog’s name is Chili Bean, Chili for short. Some of the wood turtles have names, too, like Crowley, Outlaw and Jennifer Lawrence — to make them easier to identify in the field, of course.

Outside of his herpetology projects, Praul also works at the UMaine Environmental DNA Laboratory conducting lab procedures. He said it’s “very interesting” and “cool to do,” but he prefers studying the natural world on a larger scale.

Praul plans to graduate this spring after his third year at the University of Maine. He isn’t exactly sure what he will do after that, but one thing is for sure: he wants to work with animals.

“I definitely still say herpetology is my main interest, but I also basically have an interest in all animals,” Praul says. “It makes it a little bit harder to choose something if there are so many options.”

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Which pitcher is the all-time saves leader for the Boston Red Sox?

Answer can be found here.