The photo of a gift to the China Food Pantry. The gift is a large painting (approximately 8 feet long) by Chris Fields, a resident of South China. The painting depicts Fields’ concept of the Pantry’s 32-year contribution to the town of China, painted on local lumber. (contributed photo)
Joan Chaffee, of Clinton, captured this blazing sunset recently.
St. Bridget’s Communtity Center. (photos courtesy of Victor Esposito)
During the holiday season for the last three years, members of American Legion Post #126, Vassalboro, gathered personal care products, puzzle books, and snacks for veterans at Togus Veterans Home, in Augusta. With the support of various organizations and individuals this has been an amazing display of generosity and thanks to our veterans.
The members of American Legion Post #126, Vassalboro, are inviting you to join them as they collect personal care products, snacks, puzzle books, etc., for this project. Once again, the Sew for a Cause group at St. Bridget Center has made and donated more than 250 Christmas stocking for this project. They will fill the stockings on December 9, 2024, at St. Bridget Center, 864 Main St., North Vassalboro. All are welcome to sort and fill the stockings. The filled stockings will be delivered to Togus Veterans Home by December 12, 2024.
Your support and donation are needed to meet the goal. For more information, to volunteer and/or make a donation, call 207-616-3148.
Good Will-Hinckley’s L.C. Bates Natural History Museum (photo credit: https://www.gwh.org/)
The L.C. Bates Natural History Museum at Good Will-Hinckley is now closed to the public for the winter season. During this time, tours and group admissions are available by appointment only.
The museum is also thrilled to bring its engaging educational programming directly to you! Schools, libraries, community centers, youth groups, and other organizations can schedule on-site programs featuring fascinating natural science topics and unique artifacts. To arrange a visit, please call (207) 238-4250.
Save the Date: Museum Store Sunday
Join us on December 1, 2024, from noon to 5 p.m. for Museum Store Sunday! Both the museum and store will be open, offering a curated selection of nature-inspired gifts, fossils, jewelry, and educational toys—perfect for holiday shopping.
Visitors are encouraged to dress warmly as the museum may be seasonably cold. A complimentary hot chocolate bar will be available to keep you cozy while you browse. Proceeds from all purchases will directly support the museum’s educational programs.
For more information about the L.C. Bates Natural History Museum, booking educational programs, or Museum Store Sunday, please contact them at (207) 238-4250,
Website: www.gwh.org/programs/lc-bates-museum. Donate to the Museum Here: https://bit.ly/GWHdonate.
Small Business Saturday is this coming Saturday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 30, 2024. Are you interested in writing a story on the holiday shopping season or want to arrange an interview with a small business advocate in the area? The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business association, is here to help. NFIB State Director David Clough is available to discuss the importance of Small Business Saturday to the local economy and how shopping small benefits consumers, employees, and business owners alike.
NFIB State Director David Clough can be reached at (207) 807-4900, and you can contact Senior Media Manager Mike Donohue at (202) 525-9835.
“In addition to creating good-paying jobs and strengthening the local economy, small businesses shape our communities by volunteering their time and financially supporting charitable organizations,” said Clough. “A recent NFIB report highlights how small business owners and their employees benefit their communities, beyond operating their businesses. As we kick off the holiday season, I encourage all Mainers to shop small, especially on Small Business Saturday, and thank a small business owner for how they enrich your community.”
Sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday began in 2010 as a way to help local stores and restaurants recover from the Great Recession. It has quickly transformed into a Thanksgiving weekend tradition, becoming one of the busiest sales seasons for small business owners nationwide.
by Mary GrowA flag retirement ceremony is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, at the Boynton-Webber American Legion Hall, in South China. Transfer station safety officer Cheyenne Houle said it will honor the more than 300 worn-out United States flags that have been left in the flag disposal boxes provided at the transfer station, plus others from Boy Scouts and other local groups.
The event is open to the public. Anyone with a worn-out or damaged flag is welcome to bring it to be added to the ceremony, Post Commander Neil Farrington said.
An on-line document from the National Flag Foundation describes a typical procedure for this ceremony, which honors the used flags. One is selected as representative of all: it is hoisted to the top of a flagpole by a color guard, saluted by the audience, who then recite the pledge of allegiance; and respectfully lowered and folded.
The best-known way to dispose of used flags is by burning them and burying the ashes. Farrington said the Dec. 5 ceremony will use an alternate method, cutting flags in half vertically and again horizontally, without damaging the block of 50 stars. The pieces are returned to the transfer station.
Eileen Ronco, left, and Cindy Shorey holding two of the 14 Boyd’s Bears available during a 10-day online auction to benefit Vassalboro United Methodist Church. (contributed photo)
A 10-day holiday season online auction starts on Black Friday to benefit the Vassalboro United Methodist Church (VUMC) beginning Friday, November 29, at 8 a.m. through Monday, December 9, at 8 a.m. Browse more than 130 items and place bids from the warmth and comfort of your home at ANY time of the day or night during those ten days. The option to “buy now” is included with each item or place bids instead.
A wide variety of entries are being donated and added daily. Some include an overnight at the Iron Fence Inn; a queen size homemade quilt; a microwave, a linkable two-piece slow cooker and a food dehydrator all like new; designer purses by Chanel, Louise Vuitton and Vera Bradley; an Ashton-Drake baby doll and six outfits; a Derby silver tea set; several pieces from a Lang & Wise Colonial Williamsburg Christmas village; Boyd’s bears; books, games and toys; a realistic children’s kitchen set with accessories; medical equipment; books, puzzles and games; new infant sweaters and a fleece coat and pants set; glass paperweights; corning ware and Pfaltzgraff dishes; an eight place setting of stoneware; a Stansport backpack; a Knight golf bag; gift certificates to several local businesses including restaurants, a golf course, car service centers and so much more!
Proceeds from this auction will benefit the VUMC building fund. FMI about the auction visit Vassalboro United Methodist Church on Facebook; call or text (207) 441-9184 or email crossings4u@gmail.com. To browse and bid visit https://new.biddingowl.com/VassalboroUMC.
Jeff Meader, left, of Oakland, received the Modern Woodmen’s Hometown Hero award from Patrick Linehan, Modern Woodmen volunteer leader. (contributed photo)
Local volunteer Jeff Meader, of Oakland, Maine, was recently recognized for countless hours of service to the community during a Modern Woodmen of America member event on November 18, 2024. Meader was honored through Modern Woodmen’s Hometown Hero program for his dedication to the Sons of American Legion and American Legion Post #51, where he serves as Assistant Finance Officer.
Jeff ís attention to detail, willingness to accept any challenge, stick-to-it-iveness and willingness to volunteer are a major key to the success of Decker Simmons Post #51. As part of the Hometown Hero program, members of the The Capitol District Modern Woodmen Chapter presented Meader with a certificate and an award grant to be donated to the charitable organization of the honoree’s choice. Meader selected The American Legion Post #51 Entertainment Committee to receive the donation. “Volunteers form the foundation of a strong community,” says Patrick Linehan, local Modern Woodmen volunteer leader. “Modern Woodmen’s Hometown Hero program gives us the chance to thank those who selflessly give their time to make the world a better place.”
Coordinated by local Modern Woodmen members, the fraternal financial services organizationís chapters and youth service clubs provide opportunities for members to take part in social and educational activities and volunteer projects to meet local needs. For more information or to get involved, contact Linehan at 207-465-4800 / Patrick.r.linehan@mwarep.org.
Modern Woodmen was founded in 1883 as a fraternal benefit society. The organization supports members, families and communities with a unique blend of financial services, fraternal programs and local-impact opportunities. Learn more at www.modernwoodmen.org.
* Securities offered through MWA Financial Services Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Modern Woodmen of America.
Once again, the Living Community Foundation is in the running for the annual crowdfunding grant from the Maine nonprofit, SeedMoney.org. This fundraiser only lasts from noon on November 15 to noon on December 15, and your support is greatly appreciated. It’s easy! Just go to https://donate.seedmoney.org/10184/palermo-community-garden. Simply click on the bright orange DONATE button, and you can enter your credit card number and the amount you want to pitch in. It’s safe and secure, and it helps the Palermo Community Garden. Any amount will be most helpful to get us to our goal of $1,500.00 by December 15. SeedMoney.org will add to what you and others contribute, so your kindness will grow along with the garden.
The Palermo Community Garden donates over 400 pounds of fresh, organic greens, veggies, and fruit to the Palermo Food Pantry every year, helping to feed dozens of families in 12 towns. More people are joining every Tuesday from 11 a.m. to noon, so they are enlarging the parking lots and getting a new, lighted sign on Veterans Way. They are replacing the fruit trees lost during last December’s storm, and replacing the vicious blackberries with thornless varieties that are much safer. The beautiful Community Garden will be much more appealing and bountiful for everyone to enjoy! They welcome your participation in this project to help the community, and thank you for your generosity!
If you have questions, please contact Connie at (207) 993-2294 or email pwhitehawk@fairpoint.net. The Board of Directors wish you a delightful and healthy Holiday Season!
China Lake, in fall 2024. (photo by Roland D. Hallee)
The boat inspection period at China area lakes was extended by a month, an additional day was added to the weekly schedule, inspections were extended to cover anchors and other gear, and the weather cooperated.
All of that added up to 20 percent more boat inspections, and more plant fragments found, but the same result as in past years – not a single invasive discovered.
That was the very good news in the 2024 Courtesy Boat Inspection report from the China Region Lakes Alliance. The water bodies covered by the CRLA inspections – China Lake, Three-mile Pond, and Webber Pond – showed no evidence of invasive plants, at a time when other lakes and ponds in the region and state are grappling with Eurasian milfoil, hydrilla, and other environmentally damaging species.
“We didn’t have any confirmed invasive on any of the lakes or any of the launches,” said then-CRLA Director Jessie Mae MacDougall.
A total of 1,327 boat inspections were conducted at the three water bodies this year, up from 1,138 in 2023. While 111 plant fragments were found, none were determined to be invasive plants, after examination by the state Department of Environmental Protection or Lake Stewards of Maine. There were a couple of occasions where analysts asked for additional photographs of plant fragments, MacDougall said. “We keep them in a refrigerator until it’s deemed not a problem,” she said.
That was the outcome for the China-area samples, but other vegetation collected in Maine this summer were deemed a problem. Inspectors discovered more than 100 invasive plants, mostly from boats inspected as they were leaving affected water bodies. As most boaters who trailer their boats hop from one Maine lake to another, preventing the spread of invasives is crucial.
Lake associations in the Belgrade and Winthrop areas, just 20 miles from China Lake, for example, have been grappling with invasives for years. In other New England states, the problem is serious – and expensive. A study cited by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, shows that invasive plants can cost $12,000 in lost property value for each shoreline owners. Controlling the problem mechanically or chemically can cost $200 to $2,000 per lake-acre every year, the study says.
In the China area, inspectors did come up with more plant fragments than in past years, which may be the result of the inspections being extended until the third week in September, a full month later than had been customary. MacDougall said September is a high-growth season for aquatic plants in Maine lakes, and more vegetation closer to the surface results in more plants being caught on propellers and hulls.
In addition, inspectors were dispatched singly, rather than in teams of two – which had been past practice – which expanded coverage without increasing costs. The inspectors, many of whom are high-school students, were provided with safety training and emergency numbers. “We knew everybody was comfortable being there by themselves,” MacDougall said. “And things were great. Generally, people are willing to assist.”
The China-area boat inspections are relatively convenient compared to invasive protection in place in other parts of the country, and in New England, she said. In some parts of the western U.S., boats and trailers are put in a decontamination station that kills all organisms. In some states, inspections are mandatory, and administered, not by volunteers, but by state inspectors. Only a boat with an inspection tag is allowed to be launched.
It’s a serious effort, for good reason.
In addition to having to contend with invasive plants, communities are seeing threatening invasive organisms like the spiny water flea and the zebra mussel. The spiny water flea, which is native to Eurasia, was brought to this country in the ballast of freighters. The organisms, which outcompete native fish and plankton for food, were recently found in Lake Winnipesaukee, in New Hampshire. Zebra mussels, which can foul water pipes, are established in lakes in New Brunswick, Canada, just over the Maine border.
“It’s especially important to keep vigilant about those organisms as well,” MacDougall said. “That’s why we’re trying to encourage the inspectors to use language that includes the animals, the insects – everything – so that people understand that it’s not just plants that they’re concerned about.”
“These inspections are absolutely crucial to keeping our area lakes and ponds free from invasives that could have devastating effects,” said Stephen Greene, president of China Lake Association, which helps fund and manage CRLA, with grants from the town of China. “We can’t afford to let our guard down.”