Hathaway Mill Antiques Grand Opening Celebrations in Waterville

Hathaway Mill Antiques sister shop to Cabot Mill Antiques will be celebrating its grand opening on Saturday, September 23, and Sunday, September 24. This weekend will include refreshments, entertainment, prizes, and gift certificates.

Located in the beautifully-restored historic Hathaway Shirt Factory on the Kennebec River, at 10 Water Street, in Waterville, Hathaway Mill Antiques features a 10,000-square-foot show room with over 40 antiques dealers. Hathaway Mill Antiques offers a splendid array of period furniture, mid -century modern furnishings, china, paintings, art works, silver, jewelry, early painted country primitives, nautical, country store advertising, ephemera, books and so much more.

Cindy Gervais will present her Chalk Paint Seminar and application demonstration on Saturday, September 23, from 11 a.m. to noon.

Eric Hooglund will offer his extensive knowledge of Waterville presenting on its history on pre-1965 Downtown Waterville, on Sunday, September 24, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Hathaway Mill Antiques is handicapped accessible and accepts all major credit cards and personal checks. The antique mall is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information please contact Deborah J. Stufflebeam, Hathaway Mill Antiques Manager, at 207-877-0250 or email her at info@hathawaymillantiques.com.

CEO rules permit not needed for controversial dock in China

by Mary Grow

China Board of Appeals members delved into a complex 58th Fire Road neighborhood dispute at their Sept. 7 meeting, ultimately denying Kevin Meader’s appeal of Codes Officer Paul Mitnik’s decision not to require permitting or removal of a controversial dock.

The final motion, approved 6-0 with Board Chairman Spencer Aitel abstaining, was that Meader’s appeal was denied because the dock is “grandfathered” and therefore the appeals board did not have jurisdiction.

An earlier motion made a finding of fact: the dock is grandfathered because testimony and evidence showed a dock had been in the same place for many years.

Yet another motion, approved by four board members before the final motion, said the right-of-way is not fully defined and therefore the appeals board cannot make a judgment. Board members Dale Worster and Michael Gee did not support the motion, saying the boundary is not an appeals board issue.

Meader and other residents of the subdivision who use the dock agreed on a few facts. The dock stands at the water end of a 15-foot-wide private right-of-way to China Lake; use and maintenance of the right-of-way is governed by an agreement among the residents.

The parties disagreed about whether the dock has been there since before China required permits for docks. If it has, it is “grandfathered” and can continue to be used, and when necessary improved, without a town permit.

Sheila and Brian Higgins, Christopher Pike and Stephanie Uhlman-Pike and Stan and Linda Rodrigue all said the dock had been there for many years – their now-grown children played on it. When the Higgins’ original wooden dock became too battered, Pike bought a replacement.

The Roderigues brought to the hearing an aerial photo showing the dock. Stan Roderigue said the photo dated from the days when the late Senator Edmund Muskie owned a China Lake home. (Biographies of the Senator refer to the family’s China Lake property in the 1950s and 1960s.)

Meader claimed the dock had been put in six years ago and was blocking half of the stairs to the lake. The rest of the right-of-way owners said there were no access or safety issues.

The exact location of the right-of-way is also disputed. During about eight years of argument – ever since the Meaders arrived, according to Sheila Higgins and Christopher Pike – involving lawyers and law enforcement personnel, two surveys were done locating the right-of-way boundary in two places five feet apart. A third survey has been commissioned but not completed.

Mitnik, in a written statement of facts that he summarized for the board, said Higgins did not need a permit to put the dock at the end of the right-of-way because the dock is grandfathered. A seasonal dock requires only one permit, not annual renewals, he said. Other issues, like the parties’ land use agreement, safety and trespass questions, he considers are not in his jurisdiction.

In 2016, according to the discussion, Meader put his own dock at the end of the right-of-way and Higgins put a dock off Roderigues’ land, with the Roderigues’ permission and an after-the-fact permit from Mitnik. Higgins said he moved his dock back to the right-of-way this summer because he did not want to continue having access over the Rodrigues’ land. Board of Appeals members found this information irrelevant to their decision.

Roger Williams University announces dean’s list

Select students have been named to the Spring 2017 dean’s list at Roger Williams University, in Bristol, Rhode Island. Full-time students who complete 12 or more credits per semester and earn a GPA of 3.4 or higher are placed on the Dean’s List that semester.

Area students include Jordan King, of Liberty, and Michael Oliveira, of Waterville.

Palermo Library book sale planned

The Palermo Community Library is having a huge Book Sale on Saturday, September 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The sale will continue through September during open hours: Monday 10 a.m. – noon, Tuesday 3 p.m. – 6 p.m., Wednesday 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., Thursday 3 p.m. – 6 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

The Palermo Community Library is located at 2789 Route 3, Palermo. For more information please call 207-993-6088, email: palermo@palermo.lib.me.us, or visit www.palermo.lib.me.us.

Woodland owners to hear speakers at fair

Image Credit: Maine Woodland Owners

Woodland owners and enthusiasts visiting the Common Ground Country Fair, in Unity, on Friday, September 22, will have an opportunity to learn what’s new with Maine forestry. In the low-impact forestry area, Maine Woodland Owners will present a speaker series covering “everything wood,” and designed for new and seasoned woodland owners alike.

A walk in the woods will be part of the program for two forest health presentations, “Invasive Plants on Your Woodlot” and “Forest Insects and Diseases that Threaten Your Woodlands.” One discussion will look at ways that cutting some timber and managing land for wildlife can be compatible. Whole tree versus main stem tree harvesting methods will be compared and contrasted. Two presentations will take a look into the future: new forest products that are transforming the forest products industry, and efforts to restore the American chestnut, a tree that once covered three-quarters of the North American seaboard. Finally, an interactive program about ways landowners can avoid the most common mistakes will wrap up the day.

The low-impact forestry area is located just outside the fairgrounds, near the Pine Gate. For the full program and schedule, go to www.mainewoodlandowners.org.

9 a.m. – Invasive Plants on Your Woodlot, Nancy Olmstead, Invasive Plant Biologist, Maine Natural Areas Program.

10 a.m. – Managing Your Woodlot for Wildlife, Chuck Hulsey, MDIFW Regional Wildlife Biologist.

11 a.m. – Reintroduction of the American Chestnut, Brian Roth, Board member of the Maine Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation and Associate Director of the Cooperative Forestry Research Unit at the University of Maine.

Noon – The Pluses and Minuses of Whole Tree Harvesting, Tom Doak, Executive Director, Maine Woodland Owners, and Mitch Lansky, author and a founder of the Maine Low-Impact Forestry Project.

1 p.m. – New Uses for Wood, Benjamin Herzog, Wood Technologist in the Advanced Structures and Composites Center, the University of Maine. 2 p.m. – Forest Insects and Diseases that Threaten Your Woodlands, Allison Kanoti, Forest Entomologist, Maine Forest Service, DACF.

3 p.m. – The Ten Biggest Mistakes Woodland Owners Make, Tom Doak, Executive Director, Maine Woodland Owners.

A membership-supported non-profit organization, Maine Woodland Owners advocates for family woodland owners, provides information for better forest management and promotes the stewardship of Maine’s woodland resources.

Burnham boy raises funds for storm relief

Dillon Whitney

Dillon Whitney

Ten-year-old Dillon Whitney, of Burnham, presented the donations he raised at his lemonade stand to the American Red Cross on September 11.

Dillon will give $400 to the Red Cross for hurricane relief at its Bangor office at 145 Ex­change Street, Suite 1.

Dillon wanted to help people affected by Hurricane Harvey. So he put up a lemonade stand at the Clinton Lions Agricultural Fair parade over the weekend. He sold not only lemonade, but also water, fudge, apples, bananas and three varieties of cookies – chocolate chip, pumpkin chocolate chip and molasses.

This wasn’t Dillon’s first fundraising effort. In past years, he’s raised money for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, brain aneurysm awareness and a fund that sends kids to camp and provides them with book bags and jackets.

You can make a donation by visiting redcross.org, calling 1- 800-RED CROSS or texting the word HARVEY or IRMA to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

Red Cross helping Vassalboro family

A Disaster Action Team from the American Red Cross of Maine is working with a family of five Friday to ensure that they have food, a safe place to sleep and other essentials after a tree fell on their home, making it unhabitable.

Over the next several days, the Red Cross will remain in contact with the family to provide financial assistance and community referrals as they begin to make their road to recovery.

The American Red Cross provides food, clothing and emotional support to people affected by home fires and other disasters. Individuals wishing to support Red Cross Disaster Services can call (800) RED-CROSS or visit MaineRedCross.org.

King earns spot on WPI field hockey team

Eleventh-year head coach Lisa Moreau, at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in Worcester, Massachusetts, has revealed the 2017 field hockey roster which includes Abby King, of Fairfield.

The Engineers, who were slotted eighth in the NEWMAC preseason coaches poll, began the campaign versus Salve Regina.

Area students achieve dean’s list

Leyna Tobey, of Augusta, and Allison Leighton, of Oakland, has been recognized for achieving the dean’s list at Merrimack College, in North Andover, Massachusetts, for the spring 2017 semester.

One last fling

Austin Lizotte, of Farmingdale, Riley Landry, of Vassalboro, and Trey Bard, of Fairfield, got in some last tubing fun on Embden Pond prior to the start of school.

Photo by Mark Huard, owner Central Maine Photography