Mid-Maine Chamber to offer Takeout Challenge again

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

The Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce will once again be holding their Takeout Challenge Contest to help out restaurants, cafés and eateries at a time when they need us the most.

We all enjoyed eating outside on decks and patios, or frequenting our favorite places while the weather was nice. Now that the temperatures have cooled off, our restaurants and eateries are hurting – many have had to curtail hours, or staff to align with the amount of business coming through the doors. So, it is not as easy to find places to eat outside our homes.

If you can still get food at your favorite hangout and feel a comfort level to do so – by all means, help them keep on keeping on. But for those who may not be comfortable eating inside for the next few weeks and would rather be in the comfort of your own home, please consider ordering takeout to continue helping those who kept you fed in the past.

We all must eat, even during the pandemic – the chamber would simply like to reward you for doing so.

For the next eight weeks, you can enter to win a $25 Damon’s Beverage gift card simply by sending in your takeout receipts for food ordered at any of the Chamber member eateries. It’s easy to enter, and win – just scan, email, snap a photo, mail or drop off a copy of your receipt.

Emails and scans may be sent to cindy@midmainechamber.com. Entries may also be mailed or dropped at the Chamber office – 50 Elm St., Waterville. Be sure to include a contact number, in the event you are a winner. Weekly winners will be drawn at random each Wednesday and notified by phone or email.

Check for Chamber member restaurant/eateries take-out hours and website information here: www.midmainechamber.com/takeoutchallenge.

(This list will expand as the chamber receives additional information as to eateries offering takeout.)

Join the Takeout Challenge 2021 – and eat your heart out – while you show some love to our local businesses!

North loop closed at China School Forest

/0 Comments/in , , /by

China school teachers get the China School’s Forest ready for students. (photo by Anita Smith)

The North Loop at the China School Forest is closed until fallen trees can be cleared, but all other trails are open, according to the China Connected newsletter.

There is orange flagging tape around the South Loop and along the far end of the main trail by the power line since that area was part of the harvest and it is more open, and trails are not as obvious. The trails are open during daylight hours, including during school days.

People can park at China Primary School or the north end of China Middle School and access the trails.

Also, the story walk from the Primary School bus circle to the open areas past the pond is now open.

Trail brochures are available at the start of that loop.

Oak Grove School Foundation offers grants

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Oak Grove School Foundation is accepting applications for grants to support the education and cultural needs of students and nonprofit organizations in the greater Central Maine area.

Recipients must be educational, charitable or religious organizations that are tax exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code.

Grant requests should be received by April 2, 2021. Funding decisions will be made in May and shortly after the funds will be distributed in July. Recent grants have ranged $500-$5,000. The OGSF has also provided seed money for initiatives that last up to three years.

Groups interested in obtaining application forms and guidelines should contact Joann Clark Austin, Oak Grove School Foundation, P.O. Box 150, South China, ME 04358-0150, or Susan Briggs at briggsusan@gmail.com or https://sites.google.com/site/ogsfoundationorg/.

China, Vassalboro get good news about trash disposal

/1 Comment/in , , /by
by Mary Grow

China and Vassalboro town managers shared good news with their respective selectboards at Jan. 19 (China) and Jan. 21 (Vassalboro) meetings: the trash recycling facility in Hampden appears ready to reopen this summer.

A company called Delta Thermo Energy, Inc. (DTE) has agreed to buy the Fiberight facility to which China, Vassalboro and 113 other Maine municipalities sent waste.

Fiberight was previously owned by Coastal Resources of Maine, which closed it for financial reasons at the end of May 2020. DTE is based in Feasterville Trevose, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia.

The Municipal Review Committee (MRC) that represents the 115 Maine towns and cities has been searching for a new owner for the facility. MRC members considered several other firms before reaching agreement with DTE in late December.

DTE founder and chief executive officer Robert van Naarden participated in a Jan. 19 virtual meeting with MRC members. Van Naarden estimated reaching final agreement will take another two months, and after that DTE will need another four to six months to re-start operations. He plans to rehire former staff who are available, to run three shifts with 30 to 35 employees per shift and temporarily to follow Fiberight procedures.

After the first six months, he said, DTE intends to start improving the facility and the process. He also proposed setting up a citizen advisory board to work with MRC and member towns and cities.

Van Naarden said he does not intend to increase the tipping fees charged under current contracts with member municipalities.

During the time the facility was closed, much of former Fiberight users’ trash was landfilled in existing large landfills in Norridgewock and Alton. The MRC made sure the Hampden plant was monitored and maintained, Vassalboro Town Manager Mary Sabins said.

DTE’s website and van Naarden’s remarks emphasize DTE’s commitment to environmental protection. The company’s stated goal is to produce energy in a way that is sustainable, renewable and environmentally harmless.

Its process, trademarked as Green Waste to Fuel, converts municipal waste into fuel in a way that is “sustainable, clean and safe,” and its plants produce near-zero emissions. The company website says the patented/patent pending process uses a technology called hydrothermal decomposition.

According to information from the selectboard meetings and from websites, DTE already has facilities in Pennsylvania and in multiple foreign countries, including Germany, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.

Farm to table to wellness; the Fusion of Windsor

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Fusion of Windsor owner Antoinette Turner, flanked by her daughters, Rhya, left, and Ellese. (photo by Steve Ball)

by Steve Ball

The dining room at the Fusion of Windsor. Above, items for sale at the restaurant. (photo by Steve Ball)

In a building that has seemingly been in search of a purpose there now resides a new restaurant in the town of Windsor. The Fusion of Windsor Restaurant has grown up out of grit, toil, will and a bit of luck. For the new owner, Antoinette Turner, of Somerville, to find out that she acquired a property on nearly the same day as COVID-19 pandemic restrictions went into place would have been enough for some to reconsider their aspirations. Might this just not be the best time to open a brand new business? But, as days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, Turner found there were just too many good things happening for her not to stick with it and see this idea of a business through.

The property where the Fusion of Windsor now sits, on Rte. 32, nearly half way between Hussey’s General Store and the Windsor Fair Grounds, seemed to Turner to be the perfect spot for a Farmer’s Market, and possibly, at some time in the future, a small farm-to-table restaurant. What exists there now is really more of an evolution than the product of a definite business plan. Talking with Turner, it’s obvious that she is an entrepreneur with a head racing with new ideas and a deep desire to make a difference in her community. She and her daughters also have the gumption to do the work necessary to see her ideas come into being.

Antoinette Turner’s passion was originally in farming and bringing the community together around a farmer’s market. She is a certified goat milk producer who loves farming and appreciates what farms do for a community. Her idea for a farm-to-table restaurant grew out of this, but she knew any restaurant would need to be able to serve beer and wine if it were to compete with other full-service restaurants in neighboring cities and towns.

Items for sale at the restaurant. (photo by Steve Ball)

The Town of Windsor, however, had an ordinance not allowing alcohol to be served and consumed in any establishment. Realizing this would be a deterrent to possible investors, Turner went about changing the ordinance. She attended selectmen’s meetings and took petitions door to door to get the ordnance change put on the ballot. Turner was successful and the town’s people voted to change the No Alcohol ordinance in June of 2019.

It was after this change that the concept of the Fusion of Windsor took shape and became a possibility. Turner was able to get investors to support her idea of a farm-to-table restaurant, farmer’s market, banquet room, and wellness center. She now had some money, but not nearly enough, to transform this building into a functional restaurant and possibly a wellness center. So, she and her daughters went to work and sanded, stripped, painted and reconditioned room after room.

When asked, Turner says COVID-19 restrictions and limitations have, in a strange way, been a blessing. While she is anxious to fully open, the slower pace of business during this period has allowed her to continue to work on the building and tweak her restaurant offerings for what customers are asking.

Aside from a full restaurant, lounge and banquet room on the ground floor, open from Thursday – Sunday, there is also a year around Farmer’s Market open on Sundays. If that wasn’t enough, the basement has a 1,500 square foot room for yoga, Pilates, and other exercise classes and other space being set aside for a mini-spa and bridal dressing room. Turner concluded my tour by saying “and in the back of the building there will be a beer garden” to provide for outside dining and enjoyment. I was stunned that so much could be squeezed out of this space. But, after spending any time with Turner, one realizes she is always thinking; What more can I do? How can I make this better?

It’s clear Antoinette Turner is a person driven to be successful. To see her eyes light up and feel her enthusiasm is enough to believe in her. To see what she and her daughters have done while being restricted by COVID limitations makes me more sure she will be successful.

Local Town Meetings Schedule 2021

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Town meetings 2021

VASSALBORO

Town Meeting
Mon., June 7
Vassalboro Community School
1116 Webber Pond Road
Municipal Election
Tues., June 8, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Location TBA

*   *   *

To be included in this list, visit our Contact Us page or send an email to The Town Line at townline@townline.org.

Local youth builds cat houses for area humane society

/0 Comments/in , /by

Isaiah Vear, 14, right, attends the Waterville Alternative School. He recently constructed seven cat houses to help the Humane Society Waterville Area, where they will be placed in areas so cats can go to keep warm during the winter. With Isaiah is his teacher, Jessica Jones, at the Waterville Alternative School. (Photo courtesy of Central Maine Photography)

Second annual ice fishing derby set for China Lake on February 14

/0 Comments/in , , /by
by Sandra Isaac

The China Four Seasons Club and the China Village Fire Department will be holding the 2nd annual China Lake Ice Fishing Derby on Sunday, February 14. This year’s event will feature catches from China Lake only, a change from last year where it was opened to all state waters.

“We are hoping that by 2022, we can make this a weekend festival event similar to China Days in the summer,” said China Four Seasons Club President Tom Rumpf. “Weigh-in time is the same as last year, 4 p.m. Entries must be in the Fire Station Building [on Causeway Road] by that time to qualify for a prize.”  Last year’s biggest catch of the day was a largemouth bass weighing over five pounds. “This year we added a prize for the largest fish of the day. The Lunker of the Day will win $200 for top prize.”

Prizes will be awarded in the following fish categories: large and smallmouth bass, brown trout, brook trout, and pickerel. The children’s category will be perch. Kids prizes will be awarded to the top five winners with the most perch caught.

Each child who participates in the derby will receive special takeaway gifts courtesy of Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, in South China. These items will be given out at the fire station starting at 7 a.m. on the day of the derby.  In addition, Central Church will be set up in front of the Landing Restaurant on Causeway Road to work with kids who are new to fishing and will supply those kids with traps and bait.

“We will also be giving away over 15 door prizes including a new auger from Buckshot Powersports, 100 gallons of heating fuel from AFC, plus many gift certificates from local businesses,” said Rumpf.

Rumpf continued, “The China Lake Ice Fishing Derby is a great way for individuals and families to come out and enjoy the outdoors and be part of a China area tradition. Plus, this is also Maine’s free fishing weekend. We will be following all state-mandated guidelines, including social distancing and we will be requiring all participants to wear a face-covering when inside a building or if social distancing is not possible.”

Tickets are available for $5 a piece or three for $10 at many local stores including KC Auto, in Vassalboro, Tobey’s Grocery, Greg’s Place, Buckshot Powersports, China Variety & Redemption, Lakeview Lumber, Joseph’s Market, in Waterville, and Harvest Time Baits, in Winslow. You can also purchase tickets from members of the China Four Seasons Club and the China Village Fire Department.

The organizers have set up a Facebook page to share information on door prizes, sponsors, ticket information, and for sharing photos. Please visit https://www.facebook.com/China-Lake-Ice-Fishing-Derby.

Norridgewock author publishes new book, Moving Up to a Higher Zip Code

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo from Amazon

Newly-published author, Deb Brown, of Norridgewock, recently had her book, Moving To A Higher Zip-Code, a memoir about her accidental spiritual journey published and it is now available on Amazon or at Balboa Press.

There is perhaps no greater gift one person can give another than to share his or her story. This book is one of those gifts.

Moving to a Higher Zip-Code is a heartfelt and honest snapshot of one woman’s life. It is the no-holds-barred account of how Deb reached her “higher zip code” — and how you can use what she learned along the way to reach your own.

Deb Brown

Deb vulnerably shares details of a dysfunctional childhood, addictive relationships and behaviors, dark nights of the soul, family tragedy and betrayal, and more in a voice that is relatable and highly authentic. Like all of us, she stumbles and falls — but she also picks herself up in a way that is both instructional and inspirational.

Deb’s “accidental journey” is synchronistic at every turn.

Over the years she developed a passion for writing and sharing her stories. She faced her husband’s cancer in her own way while questioning the existence of God and her reason for being here. Through her challenges she kept fighting for and believing in something greater.

When she had reached perhaps the lowest points in her life she found a Unity church in the right place — at the right time. Life is like that when you are open to it.

In Moving to a Higher Zip-Code, Deb shares the wisdom and experience that opened her to self-love and self-care; learning to believe and trust in synchronicity and the universe; finding her soul mate; and ultimately discovering inner peace.

Tear back the cover of this precious gift and get lost in its pages. With each twist and turn of Deb’s “accidental journey,” as you face your own shadow and light along the way. Hopefully, you will find your own place in the world. We all deserve a higher zip code of our own.

China Village library to bring wintertime cheer with nostalgic programs

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Albert Church Brown Memorial Library in China Village (photo courtesy of library Facebook page)

by Carla Gade
Albert Church Brown librarian

To help ward off the wintertime blues, the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library in China Village announces some programs to bring a little laughter and cheer to the community in January and February. The nostalgic themes include little known and unusual facts about Maine, reminiscing over yesterday’s sitcoms, Valentine’s Day cards for shut-ins, and an upcoming President’s Day trivia contest.

Now until February 11, the library encourages people of all ages to make or purchase Valentine’s Day Cards to help bring smiles to the hearts of elderly shut-ins in our community. To participate, please drop your card off at the library. You may bring it inside or place it in the book drop box. Donate as many as you wish and they will be distributed in time for Valentine’s Day. If you know someone who you would like to receive a card, please email the library with your request at chinalibraryacb.org.

Two lighthearted online events are coming your way from the convenience of your own device, via ZOOM. Log in on Sunday, January 30, at 2 p.m. to hear author Tim Caverly’s program, “So You Think You Know Maine!” Discover the birthplace of Bambi, ice caves, ghost railroads, pictographs, oceanic whirlpools, and tales which can only be described as classic Maine. On February 21, at 2 p.m., author Martin Gitlin brings you “A Funny Program About Funny Programs: The Greatest Sitcoms of All Time.” He will show funny snippets from beloved sitcoms, challenge patrons with sitcom trivia, and more. To attend these ZOOM events please visit chinalibrary.org for login information or email for details. Be sure to download ZOOM at https://zoom.us in advance of the program date.

The Presidents Day Trivia Contest will run from February 1 – 15. You may stop in at the library, email, or visit the website to participate. To learn more about our services and programs, please stop in, visit us at chinalibrary.org, email chinalibraracb@gmail.com, or call (207) 968-2926.

The library is open on Tuesday and Thursday, from 2 – 6 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.