(Park at the China Town Office)
Photo by Mark Huard/ Central Maine Photography
Huard’s Sport Karate team member Isabella Citro, of Waterville, captured first place in fighting and second place in forms for the 2017 season. She competed at various tournaments throughout New England to earn this title.
Contributed photo
Catherine Durant, of China, who won first place in Grace Academy’s school-wide Poetry Out Loud competition, will be representing the school at the regional compettion on February 12 at the Hampden Academy Performing Arts Center, in Hampden. Poetry Out Loud, created in 2006, is a partnership among the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, and the Maine Arts Commission to encourage our youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. She is the daughter of Scott and Lisa Durant, of China.
movie poster (source: imdb)
The citizens of the Town of Unity have expressed interest in opening a green cemetery. Therefore, the Unity Cemetery Committee has arranged to show, “A Will for the Woods,” an award-winning documentary about green burials. The presentation will take place at the Unity College Center for Performing Arts on February 8, at 6 p.m. Admission is free. All are welcome to attend. A snow date has been set aside for February 15, at the same time.
source: www.ccmaine.org
China’s China for a Lifetime Committee recently surveyed town residents to learn what they may need and services they want as they age in town. One surprising thing many residents mentioned was the lack of volunteering opportunities in town.
There is an organization based in Augusta that matches up volunteers with elders in the Kennebec Valley that allows for socialization for both. This program is called SEARCH (Seek Elderly Alone, Renew, Courage and Hope). Volunteers can do things that home care workers cannot; things like playing a game of cards, going out for lunch, or simply having a cup of coffee and good conversation around the kitchen table. Also, there are some seniors that need help with grocery shopping or running errands.
SEARCH is always looking for volunteers. There is a waiting list of elders who have signed up, but there are not enough volunteers to meet the need.
Volunteering for SEARCH is a great way to help your community. You’re helping someone who has a lifetime of experiences and knowledge to share and simply needs a little time with another human being.
Consider volunteering for SEARCH. For more information, contact Lynn Kidd at 207-530-0137 or send her an email at lkidd@ccmaine.org.
LeapPads
Windsor Elementary School has announced that their Title One program received a generous grant from the Perloff Family Foundation and the Maine Community Foundation. The goal of the grant is to support engagement of both students and parents/caregivers in the love of reading. The grant awarded 15 LeapPads and sufficient apps to provide a variety of resources. This project is especially important as it is encouraging adult role models to show them fun ways to read. Twice a month, children will receive a take-home bag containing the tablet, associated materials, and a parent contact form for the weekend. Parent involvement is an essential part of Windsor’s Parents as Partners program. The LeapPads were unveiled at a parent night and another is already scheduled. Linda Farwell and Mary Clark, the Title One educators, were instrumental in gaining this award.
Early reading and language skills build a critical foundation for learning. LeapPads include games, activities, videos and eBooks designed to build important early reading they need to become confident readers. New enhanced eBooks feature a vocabulary glossary and highlighted, clickable text that children can tap on to hear each word for more practice. Children raised in homes that promote family literacy grow up to be better readers and do better in school than children raised in homes where literacy is not promoted. We know that promoting family literacy is important to future reading and school success.
About a dozen residents of Vassalboro and nearby towns turned out for a Jan. 24 discussion of solar power with Rep. Richard Bradstreet and Sen. Roger Katz.
Discussion focused on legislative bills, originally LD 1686 and after a Jan. 24 work session LD 1444, dealing with what everyone agreed are complicated issues involving solar power in Maine.
LD 1444, “An Act Regarding Large-scale Community Solar Procurement,” sponsored by Sen. David Woodsome, directs the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to promote community solar development. The closest local example is the planned solar array at 3 Level Farm on Vassalboro Road in South China.
At the Vassalboro meeting Todd Martin, of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, summarized three additional provisions that he expects will be added to LD 1444:
The bill, Martin said, would save money for all electricity consumers, whether or not they choose to rely partly on home-based or community solar generation.
Martin and audience members said Central Maine Power Company (CMP) is a business whose owners want to encourage more transmission lines, the source of their income, and therefore promote electricity consumption and discourage local production. Martin said the company gets a 12 percent return on its investment in wires and poles.
CMP does not generate any electricity, since production and distribution were legislatively separated in Maine late in the 20th century. The separation, Winslow resident Peter Garrett commented, gives CMP leaders a very different perspective from utility executives in Vermont, who try to reduce consumption and promote solar and other small-scale forms of generation.
One result of the difference is that Vermont is a leader in solar energy in New England and Maine is the laggard.
In general, Martin and others said, Maine Democratic legislators support solar energy, as do many Republican Senators; opposition comes primarily from House Republicans. Last year, both Bradstreet and Katz supported a pro-solar bill; Bradstreet did not vote to override Governor Paul LePage’s veto of the measure.
An audience member asked Katz how she could argue in favor of solar energy without sounding like a “left-wing radical.”
Points he offered included: every form of energy has a subsidy, so solar is not unique; Maine people pride themselves on self-reliance, and solar installation prices have come down enough so it is no longer only for the rich; installing solar panels creates jobs; and when most of the country promotes solar energy, why should Maine be left behind?
Martin added that the solar industry lets young college graduates find jobs in Maine, for example with ReVision Energy, in Liberty and Portland; and undoing disincentives for solar energy encourages a free market in energy, a point that should appeal to Republicans.
The solar energy discussion was held in Vassalboro Friends Meeting House, which is heated almost entirely by heat pumps and solar panels.
Sheepscot dam
On Wednesday, February 7, at 10 a.m., (NOTE: time change) the Maine State Legislature will hold a hearing regarding LD 922. This legislation, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Pierce, (Dresden) proposes giving control of the dam on Sheepscot Pond to the Dept. Of Marine Resources after decades of successful management by the Dept. Of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. It also mandates opening the dam at Sheepscot Pond to alewives, sea lamprey, and other migratory anadromous fish without regard to the historical problems of such a move. The hearing will be in Room 206 at the Burton M Cross Building, 111 Sewall Street, Augusta. The Sheepscot Lake Association, the Palermo Town Select Board, and a large percentage of Palermo residents oppose this legislation for several reasons. See the cover story of the January 25, 2018, issue of The Town Line.
From left to right, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust employees Ben Huard, KelLee Gray, Daja Gombojav, Nichole Lee, Courtney Bonsant, Celeste Smith, Lisa Durant, and Grace Academy Executive Director Michelle Bourque. Contributed photo
Grace Academy Learning Center was a-buzz with teachers and students settling in to a typical school day when two representatives of Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, Nichole Lee, Customer Service Manager and Courtney Bonsant, Customer Service Supervisor, paid a special visit, with a surprise in hand.
The Center’s staff was overwhelmed when Nichole announced that the bank had chosen Grace Academy as the recipient of its most recent employee-driven donation program called “Community Commitment,” a charitable fund which disburses monthly gifts to local non-profit organizations.
A check for $1,000 was presented to Grace Academy Executive Director Michelle Bourque. With plans to use all monies to run its many programs, the staff and students of Grace Academy were sincerely humbled by such a generous gift, and wish to publicly thank Bar Harbor Bank & Trust for supporting the work they do.
“This legislation, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Pierce, (Dresden) proposes giving control of the dam on Sheepscot Pond to the Dept. of Marine Resources after decades of successful management by the Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.”On Wednesday, February 7, at 10:00 a.m., the Maine State Legislature will hold a hearing regarding LD 922. This legislation, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Pierce (Dresden), proposes giving control of the dam on Sheepscot Pond to the Dept. of Marine Resources after decades of successful management by the Dept. Of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. It also mandates opening the dam at Sheepscot Pond to Alewives, Sea Lamprey, and other migratory anadromous fish without regard to the historical problems of such a move. The hearing will be in Room 206 at the Burton M Cross Building, 111 Sewall Street, Augusta. The Sheepscot Lake Association, the Palermo Town Select Board, and a large percentage of Palermo residents oppose this legislation for several reasons including the following:
The Sheepscot Lake Association and the Town of Palermo oppose LD922’s proposal mandating action to open the dam without regard to possible consequences. Returning these migratory fishes presents several risks which must be taken seriously. Sheepscot Pond is a significant recreational amenity for our community, town, and region. It’s our home, and all the residents of Palermo deserve to be heard and represented. We urge you to attend this hearing to show your concern and to oppose passage of this bill.
This article has been updated to accurately reflect the new time of the hearing.