LETTERS: Kudos to SCVFD

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To the editor:

Many, many thanks to the South China Volunteer Fire Department volunteers. Recent storms have certainly caused huge problems – sometimes very dangerous problems. Twice in the last few months on the road I live on, multiple trees have downed wires across our narrow, windy road with its blind spots, making travel on the road hazardous to say the least. On both occasions a call to 911 resulted in someone from the department being on the scene within only a matter of minutes, assessing the scene, communicating with others as needed, and then helping to ensure cones were put out and drivers provided warning of the danger so they stayed safe.

These volunteers have work, families, and a host of other obligations, just like the rest of us. But they add to their busy lives serving their community. Indeed, they literally drop what they are doing day or night to provide assistance for a wide range of situations, all of which are focused on helping the rest of us stay safe or get needed help.

I am so very grateful to these folks. I hope others will join me in not only thanking them but supporting them in whatever possible. And for those of you outside of South China, I hope you will do the same for your local fire department volunteers. We are all in their debt.

Susan Cottle
South China

EVENTS: China GOP to caucus

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There will be a Town of China Republican Caucus on Thursday March 14, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. The purpose of a Maine Republican town caucus is to elect delegates and a delegation chairman to the Maine Republican State Convention to be held April 26 and 27, 2024; to elect representatives to the Kennebec County Republican Committee; to elect the officers of the Town of China Republican Committee; and to review and ratify bylaws for the town committee. Republican candidates for state and local offices present will be given an opportunity to speak. Any registered Republican voter in the Town of China can participate. The caucus will convene in the portable building behind the town office at 6:30 p.m.

Budget committee agrees with select board on budget items except one

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by Mary Grow

Five of the seven China Budget Committee members met March 5 and reviewed the select board’s 2024-25 municipal budget recommendations, agreeing with all but one (see the March 7 issue of The Town Line, p. 3).

The $3,000 issue over which the two boards differ is a donation to The Town Line newspaper, one item in the $77,000 request for community support organizations.

At the March 4 select board meeting, board chairman Wayne Chadwick and member Blane Casey objected to China taxpayers supporting the newspaper when no other town contributes. Brent Chesley added that China provides office space in the basement of the old town house and pays for advertisements (of public hearings, for example).

Joann Austin, a member of the paper’s board of directors, replied that efforts to get contributions from nearby towns have never succeeded. Select board member Jeanne Marquis reminded board members they are required to advertise hearings, and any alternative might be more expensive; and said having the old town house used regularly is a benefit.

Chadwick’s motion to delete the $3,000 was approved on a 3-2 vote, with Casey, Chadwick and Chesley in favor and Marquis and Janet Preston opposed. A revised recommendation of $74,000 for community support organizations went to the budget committee on a 4-1 vote, with Marquis opposed.

The main discussion at the March 5 budget committee meeting was not over whether to support The Town Line, but where funds should come from. Committee chairman Thomas Rumpf advised Austin to apply for TIF (Tax Increment Financing) money.

After consideration of timing and whether to recommend an appropriation only if TIF money was not available, budget committee members voted 4-1 to recommend adding $3,000 for the newspaper back into the community support organizations budget. The majority consisted of Rumpf, Timothy Basham, Elizabeth Curtis and Trishea Story; Michael Sullivan was opposed.

Other items in this account include support for historic buildings and grants to the China Lake Association, China Rescue, the three volunteer fire departments, the two libraries and the Golden Agers group that meets weekly in the former portable classroom behind the town office.

Sullivan also voted against the recommendation of $84,220 for town boards and committee. Votes to approve the rest of the select board’s recommended budget were unanimous except when a budget committee member abstained to avoid a possible conflict of interest.

As of March 5, Hapgood calculated the select board’s recommended 2024-25 municipal budget at a little over $4.8 million, almost $160,000 less than the department requests submitted and over $360,000 more than the comparable figure for the current fiscal year.

The budget committee could not review the 2024-25 Kennebec County tax or the school budget request, because Hapgood had no figure for either.

Before the meeting adjourned, Rumpf pointed out that the town’s Budget Committee Ordinance (adopted in 2006, and referring to the latest known previous version approved in 1947) is out of date.

Select board discusses a wide variety of topics

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by Mary Grow

China select board members discussed a wide variety of topics at their March 11 meeting and made three decisions (in addition to the routine ones, like approving expenditures).

Without dissenting votes, board members:

— Agreed to apply for a Community Resilience Grant to be used for a new trail in Thurston Park;
— Accepted proposed draft ordinances for forwarding to voters in June, conditional on planning board approval when that board met March 12; and
— Accepted the revised 54-page Emergency Preparedness Plan presented by the Emergency Preparedness Committee.

Emergency Preparedness Committee chairman Ronald Morrell and member Stephen Nichols presented the emergency plan. As part of implementation, Morrell said, committee members are arranging for China firefighters and rescue members to tour facilities like the Friends Camp on Lakeview Drive.

The China schools have their own emergency plans, coordinated with the town plan, Morrell said.

The preliminary warrant for the June 11 town business meeting includes the repeatedly-discussed Solar Ordinance; amendments to Chapter 2 of China’s Land Use Ordinance, drafted by town attorney Amanda Meader to implement the 2022 state housing law known as LD 2003; and amendments to the Planning Board Ordinance.

Select board members did not put the warrant in final form. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said she might have a final version ready for action at the March 25 board meeting.

Hapgood advised planning board chairman Toni Wall that, according to Meader, the planning board should hold a public hearing on the additions to Chapter 2 of the Land Use Ordinance, but not on the other two items. That hearing is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday evening, March 26.

All proposed warrant articles must be submitted to the town office by Friday, April 12, Hapgood said. The select board will hold a public hearing on the entire warrant; that hearing is not yet scheduled.

Board member Janet Preston, who represents the board to the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments (KVCOG) shared again results of a 2023 survey of China residents’ priorities for a Community Resilience Grant.

Board members said the China Lake Association already has grant money for the top priority, erosion control at the South China board landing. They were unenthusiastic about the second priority, providing transportation for senior citizens (Preston suggested buying an electric car and hiring a driver).

The third priority was building a planned new trail in Thurston Park, the town-owned recreation area in northeastern China. Board members voted to apply to KVCOG for a grant for that project.

Board chairman Wayne Chadwick, seconded by Brent Chesley, had one objection to the whole process: they wish grants would help fund maintenance of existing facilities, instead of providing new ones for local taxpayers to maintain.

“You got to look at the whole picture, not just the initial cost,” Chadwick summarized.

In other business March 11, Morrell told select board members boat trailers parked at the east end of the causeway by the boat landing hang out into the roadway, sometimes interfering with traffic.

At the west end of the causeway, he said, boaters park in the church parking lot, especially during bass tournaments on China Lake. They are welcome, except on Sunday mornings and when the church is hosting a wedding or other event.

Morrell would like a system to make people aware they are using church property, and with tournaments to require advance notice. Select board members could see no way the town could help, but they offered individual suggestions, from posting signs to arranging to have vehicles towed away.

Hapgood said public services director Shawn Reed hopes the public works crew will have time to put in the docks at the boat landing by April.

The manager listed dates to remember: a select board meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, March 25; a road committee meeting at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 26; a planning board meeting at 6:30 p.m. March 26; a board of appeals meeting at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 28; and the second half of 2023-24 property taxes due by the close of business at 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 29.

Albert Church Brown library receives handicapped access grant

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Albert Church Brown Memorial Library in China Village.

by Mary Grow

The China Library Association (CLA) has received a $10,000 grant to improve handicapped access at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library in China Village.

Librarian, Miranda Perkins, and CLA president, Louisa Barnhart, shared the news early in March.

The grant is from the American Library Association (ALA), under a program called Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC): Accessible Small and Rural Communities.

The goal is to “begin or continue projects that will improve library access for thousands of library users,” a March 4 ALA letter says. Typical projects make it easier for residents with physical or intellectual disabilities to use library services.

Gerry Boyle, speaking for the CLA’s building committee, said the money will support the trustees’ handicapped access plan, which starts with “a symmetrical handrail and half wall to the front of the building,” connecting to a platform in front of the front door, level with the floor inside.

There will be a ramp, built to Americans with Disabilities standards, on the south side of the platform and steps on the north side. “An electric door is on the wish list,” Boyle added.

Interior renovations are to include widening doors to allow wheelchair access and, in the future, a handicapped-accessible bathroom and an emergency exit with a ramp, tentatively from the south side of the ground floor.

Barnhart credited assistant librarian, Karel McKay, with helping the trustees investigate grant possibilities. McKay, Barnhart and CLA treasurer Thomas Parent developed the application; Barnhart is the grant administrator.

“We are delighted everyone will be able to access community and library services,” Barnhart said.

According to the March 4 ALA letter, the grant was part of $3.6 million the organization awarded to 310 small and rural libraries in 45 US states. The letter said 62 percent of the libraries receiving grants serve communities of fewer than 5,000 people.

Fifteen other small Maine libraries, scattered all over the state, received grants similar to China’s. This was the second round of these grants; a third round opens in the fall.

New South China library offers unlimited possibilities

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South China Library (photo by Roberta Barnes)

by Roberta Barnes

What if there was a place that was full of books to use for research and enjoyable reading in all genres, without price tags? There is, it is a library.

The South China library that has been in the process of changing locations since 2016 is now nearing its finish line. Set in a quiet location at 27 Jones Rd., with ample parking space, this new library is the perfect place to research topics, learn new skills, or enjoy the captivating stories in fiction books. When you walk through the doors, you are met with the freshly painted walls encasing a well-lit bright space filled with books.

Looking at the timeless non-fiction and fiction books organized neatly on shelves you can feel them welcoming you to absorb all the shared knowledge and fantasy tucked within their covers. In addition to the knowledge within the books is the knowledge of the volunteer librarians who will help you to find what you need or want.

While historical buildings are cherished, and the South China library’s history dating back to 1830 is fascinating, the older library was lacking in certain areas. This new library has extra space for a printer, computers, and restrooms.

Books are still being transferred from the old library and things such as Wi-Fi connections are being installed. However, in this transition period, which will soon end, you can enjoy all this new library has to offer on Wednesdays 10 a.m. – 4 p.m, and Saturdays 10 a.m. – noon.

As you scan all the shelves of countless books you might be drawn to the children’s section that includes chairs if needed, or the section filled with books printed in large fonts.

The shelves not only include books in varying genres of fiction and non-fiction, but CDs, and DVDs. Within this newly constructed building to house all these books, and more, you can see the endless possibilities available to you at no cost. Once you have your library card, all that is required is that you return what you borrow in good condition.

The 2018 photograph and article about the groundbreaking for the new South China library shows this has taken a great deal of different volunteers’ time and work, beginning with researching for a suitable location. Other articles in The Town Line have given an outline of all the volunteers’ research in finding possible grants, writing the grant proposals, and the generous donations of time, work, and money by individuals and business for construction of a fully functioning building and its interior.

I am one of Maine’s published authors, who has donated his or her book(s) to the library. My children’s book What Tail?, by R.R. Barnes, is an example of how books can spur the imagination beyond what is found in movies or online. The imagination can be thought of as the workshop that has created much of today’s technology. The main character in What Tail? requires a reader’s imagination. It is an animal that when you are looking at him you know what he looks like. But, when you are not looking at him you forget to remember what he looks like, no one can remember how long his tail is or even if he has a tail. This book, like others within the library, allows the reader’s imagination to see what others cannot.

Albert Einstein, the E = mc2 guy, said, “The imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”

You can read more of Einstein’s quotes, and read his history by borrowing various books at the new library quietly located at 27 Jones Rd. A visit to the new South China library can help you find answers that you can fact-check while you are there, and take you on no cost journeys to wonderous, and mysterious places hidden within a book’s pages.

While you might find information on certain subjects in other places, fact-checking is important. In libraries, for free, you can go one step or further to research how authors gained their information. Non-fiction books will list the resources the author used in writing his or her book or article. Having multiple books available to you is extremely helpful in verifying that certain information found in one location is reliable and truthful.

If you cannot find what you were hoping to find on the shelves, the trained volunteer librarians can help you. Even if the South China library does not have a certain book on its shelves, the librarians will search for it in other libraries, have it shipped to the South China library, and you can then read it in the library or borrow it to take home.

ICE OUT 2024? Take a guess. Win a prize!

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SEND US YOUR BEST ICE OUT GUESS FOR 2024

Write down your best guess (one per person) and send it to The Town Line, PO Box 89, South China, ME 04358, or email us at townline@townline.org with the subject “ICE OUT 2024“. If more than one person guesses the correct date, a drawing will be held to determine the winner. Get your guess to The Town Line office by noon, Friday, March 15, 2024.

Email: townline@townline.org. Or use our Contact Us page!

PRIZE: To be determined

The records below, of ice out dates on China Lake, were provided by China residents Bill Foster, Captain James Allen and Theresa Plaisted.

Bill Foster brought in the ice out dates from 1874 to 1883. They came from a 215-page log/diary. In the log/diary are recorded the comings and goings from 1870 to 1883 of the F. O. Brainard Store, as well as personal notations of special and everyday events.

Captain James Allen brought in the ice out dates from 1901 to 1948. They had been recorded on the outhouse wall of the old Farnsworth house, also located in China Village.

Theresa Plaisted brought in the ice out dates from 1949 to 1991. She explained to us that a friend and neighbor, Ben Dillenbeck, had kept the record on his cellarway wall until his death on December 12, 1987.

Theresa transcribed Mr. Dillenbeck’s record and has kept the record up to date ever since.

This year, we will be checking China Lake to determine the official date for “Ice Out” in 2024. We will not be looking in hard-to-access areas for that very last crystal to melt, so the definition of “Ice Out,” for the purpose of this contest, is: “When, to the best judgment of the assigned viewer, the surface of the lake appears to be free of ice.” The judge’s decision is final.

Can you guess the day The Town Line declares China Lake free of ice?

Ice Out dates for the last 150 years!

1874 – April 22
1875 – May 6
1876 – April 30
1877 – April 16
1878 – April 12
1879 – May 3
1880 – April 21
1881 – April 19
1883 – April 29
1901 – March 27
1921 – March 28
1932 – April 27
1933 – April 20
1934 – April 19
1935 – April 25
1936 – April 4
1937 – April 20
1938 – April 20
1939 – May 4
1941 – April 16
1945 – April 2
1947 – April 12
1948 – April 8
1949 – April 6
1950 – April 14
1951 – April 9
1952 – April 19
1953 – March 19
1954 – April 19
1955 – April 13
1956 – April 27
1957 – April 10
1958 – April 16
1959 – April 22
1960 – April 21
1961 – April 30
1962 – April 20
1963 – April 22
1964 – April 21
1965 – April 18
1966 – April 18
1967 – April 29
1968 – April 13
1969 – April 23
1970 – April 23
1971 – April 30
1972 – May 1
1973 – April 8
1974 – April 2
1975 – April 23
1976 – April 11
1977 – April 18
1978 – April 21
1979 – April 12
1980 – April 10
1981 – March 18
1982 – April 22
1983 – April 1
1984 – April 17
1985 – April 6
1986 – April 8
1987 – April 6
1988 – April 6
1989 – April 22
1990 – April 11
1991 – April 8
1992 – April 15
1993 – April 21
1994 – April 20
1995 – April 9
1996 – April 5
1997 – April 23
1998 – April 9
1999 – April 2
2000 – April 4
2001 – April 27
2002 – April 6
2003 – April 21
2004 – April 14
2005 – April 16
2006 – March 26
2007 – April 23
2008 – April 17
2009 – April 11
2010 – March 19
2011 – April 17
2012 – March 21
2013 – April 6
2014 – April 19
2015 – April 22
2016 – March 15
2017 – April 17
2018 – April 23
2019 – April 12
2020 – March 27
2021 – March 30
2022 – April 2
2023 – April 12
2024 – ????????

China & Vassalboro presidential primary results

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China Town Clerk Angela Nelson reported the following results from Tuesday’s primary election.

Two hundred and two Democratic votes were cast, with Joseph R. Biden, Jr., receiving 164, or 81 percent. Dean B. Phillips got 19 votes; declared write-in candidate Stephen P. Lyons got 17; and two ballots were left blank.

On the Republican side, 461 ballots were cast, 358 (78 percent) for Donald J. Trump. Nikki R. Haley got 91 votes (20 percent). Trailing well behind were Ron DeSantis with four votes; Vivek G. Ramaswamy with three; blank ballots and write-ins with two votes each; and Ryan L. Binkley with one vote.

Nelson called the 663 votes “a lower than normal turnout for China,” but, she said, “it was a nice steady flow all day.” Unexpected visitors included Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and a reporter from Channel 6 News, who stood outside the polling room under an umbrella.

* * * * * *

Vassalboro town clerk Cathy Coyne reported 523 presidential primary ballots cast in that town, 367 Republican and 156 Democratic.

Donald J. Trump got 284 Republican votes (77 percent), followed by Nikki R. Haley with 80 (22 percent) and Vivek G. Ramaswamy with two. There was one blank ballot; no one voted for Ryan L. Binkley or Ron DeSantis.

Joseph R. Biden received 128, or 82 percent, of the Democratic votes. Dean B. Phillips received 14, and there were 14 blank ballots. No Vassalboro voter chose Stephen P. Lyons.

China GOP to caucus

There will be a Town of China Republican Caucus on Thursday March 14, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. The purpose of a Maine Republican town caucus is to elect delegates and a delegation chairman to the Maine Republican State Convention to be held April 26 and 27, 2024; to elect representatives to the Kennebec County Republican Committee; to elect the officers of the Town of China Republican Committee; and to review and ratify bylaws for the town committee. Republican candidates for state and local offices present will be given an opportunity to speak. Any registered Republican voter in the Town of China can participate. The caucus will convene in the portable building behind the town office at 6:30 p.m.

China select board reviews, amends 2024-25 budget

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by Mary Grow

China select board members spent another two hours March 4 reviewing and amending their draft 2024-25 town budget, in preparation for a budget committee meeting to be held March 5.

They recommended reductions in several accounts. Board chairman Wayne Chadwick expects a hefty tax increase and wants to minimize spending as much as possible.

However, board members realize that prices of many commodities and services essential to running the town have risen. For example, transfer station manager Thomas Maraggio told them the bill for changing the hydraulic oil in one of his machines is now $2,000.

Reductions agreed to at the March 4 session included:

— Eliminating Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood’s proposed new position of community recreation director and reducing the copier account by $1,000, saving $23,800 in the administration budget;
— Reducing the amount suggested in the public works budget for road sand and salt by $20,000;
— Deleting a $3,000 contribution to The Town Line newspaper; and
— Deleting a $100 contribution to the Maine Public Broadcasting Network.

Chadwick said select board members will review the budget committee’s recommendations before preparing a final budget to be submitted to China voters at the June 11 annual town business meeting.

China planners refer solar ordinance back to town attorney

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by Mary Grow

China planning board members prepared for future action on two issues on their Feb. 27 agenda.

After considering questions about the draft Solar Energy Systems Ordinance raised at the Feb. 26 select board meeting, they referred the document back to town attorney Amanda Meader, asking her to recommend different language for one section.

Select board member Brent Chesley called the section confusing and misleading. Everyone realizes Meader charges for her time, but, planning board member Michael Brown opined, “It’s worth a little more money to get it right.”

Board members scheduled a March 12 public hearing on the application for a community solar farm in a gravel pit off Windsor Road (Route 32 South) (see the Feb. 22 issue of The Town Line, p. 3). Project managers Nick Lacasse, of Perennial Sand Pit Solar, in Hallowell, and Andrew Johnston, of Freeport-based Atlantic Resource Consultants, were present.

Board chairman Toni Wall thanked them for providing a complete application by “sending mega-materials” and updates that board members requested at their Feb. 13 meeting. Lacasse and Johnston replied to board member Elaine Mather’s questions about one document in the lengthy application.

Wall said it is likely the board will act on the application on March 12, after the hearing.

Codes officer Nicholas French said there are tentatively two other items on the March 12 agenda: continued review of Chris Harris’s application for a subdivision off Route 3 (see the Nov. 2, 2023, issue of The Town Line, p. 3); and an application for timber cutting in a resource protection zone off Lakeview Drive.

French said he continues to remind residents running small businesses from their homes that they need a home occupation permit. The application process is simple and not expensive, he said.

The March 12 planning board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., either in the town office meeting room or in the former portable classroom behind the office building. Wall said the public hearing will be early on the agenda.