by Mary GrowThe China Board of Appeals meeting scheduled for Thursday afternoon, Oct. 23, to continue discussion of Timothy Theriault’s application for a variance has been canceled. A new date will be set and announced.
Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District and Maine DEP are co-sponsoring an in-person day-long training in Basic & Advanced Erosion Control Practices Certification for contractors on Thursday, November 6, at the Wiscasset Community Center, located on 242 Gardiner Road. The training will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and includes a light breakfast, lunch and refreshments.
If you are an excavation contractor, landscaper, well driller, or other individual involved with soil disturbance within the shoreland zone and have not yet taken a class, sign up now so you won’t have to turn away jobs! The course is geared for, and of primary interest to contractors but could also be helpful to municipal codes enforcement officers, consultants, engineers, and public works employees.
In this eight-hour course, participants learn why erosion control practices are important; be exposed to the principles of erosion and sedimentation; learn how to properly install and maintain Erosion & Sedimentation Control (ESC) Best Management Practices (BMPs); and become familiar with regulations requiring Erosion and Sediment BMPs. Participants are provided with information on the proper selection, installation, and maintenance of ESC practices in accordance with Maine DEP’s “Erosion and Sediment Control Practices Field Guide for Contractors.”
John Maclaine of Maine DEP will facilitate this course, which is necessary to become a Contractor Certified in Erosion and Sedimentation Control Practices by the Department.
Pre-registration with payment of $95 (mail-in registration) / $98 (online registration) is required by Tuesday, November 4. Attendees may register and pay at the Knox-Lincoln SWCD website at https://www.knox-lincoln.org/events-workshops/basic-and-advanced-erosion-control-practices-certification-nov or for more information, contact Knox-Lincoln SWCD office at 596-2040, louisa@knox-lincoln.org.
Contributed photo
As part of their mission to thank veterans for their service, American Legion Post #126, in Vassalboro, is planning its Annual Christmas Stocking and Hanukkah Dreidel for veterans served by the Togus outreach programs.
American Legion Post #126 needs your help with this project. In 2024 the Sew for a Cause sewers made and donated 250 stockings and dreidels that volunteers filled with personal care products donated from area businesses and the public. The public is invited to drop off personal care products, puzzle books, playing cards, snacks, or donations, at 860 Main St., Vassalboro, or the Connected Credit Union, 12 Monument St., Winslow, by December 5, 2025.
If you would like to make a monetary donation, it can be mailed to American Legion Post #126, PO Box 112, N. Vassalboro, ME 04962. Anyone interested in helping fill the stockings and dreidels can stop by St. Bridget Center, 864 Main St., in Vassalboro, on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, starting at 1 p.m. Call 207 616-3148 for more information.
Submitted by Connie BelletThe weather report for October 11 looks great, with Indian Summer gracing us with autumn warmth. This is the perfect time to kick back and enjoy some wonderful food and camaraderie with friends and neighbors in a backyard setting beneath a real grape arbor and some shady shelters. The fragrance of roasting meats over a charcoal fire whets our appetites as the Palermo Community Center and the Great ThunderChicken Drum welcome everyone to the feast. Some of Palermo’s best cooks will share a buffet of salads, beans, roasted turkey, chicken, pork, and brats in a beer hot tub (child friendly) and, of course, seasonal pies and crisps. Tickets are only $12.00 for people over age 12, with smaller kids free. Takeout is also available. The fun and food commence at 1:30 pm., and there is plenty of parking behind the grape arbor. The Community Center is at the corner of Turner Ridge Rd. and Veterans Way. A left turn behind the Center at the wood shed will lead down a pathway to the parking area.
Following the feast, Don Kealey will enliven the crowd with the raffle drawing. The prizes include serious garden tools donated by The Home Depot, potting soil and fertilizer from Annie Frier and Sandy Davis, a bird feeder and seed from Ruth Flint, and a backyard firepit from Ann and Peter Bako. There are also some nice wall décor pieces from Nancy and Dawn Beekley, with some other intriguing items still arriving. Then, there will be entertainment! A Japanese Taiko Drum group of young adults and their sensei will make sure nobody drifts off on a full stomach.
This is a celebration honoring our volunteers, who have put in many long hours working on the grounds, placing a new sign on Turner Ridge Road. The Food Pantry volunteers have been serving neighbors in need every week for the last 14 years. The Great ThunderChicken Drum has brought inspiration, cultural wisdom, and song to many hearts since 2008, and the Community Garden provides hundreds of pounds of very fresh, organic produce to the Food Pantry. The Community Foundation thanks AARP and Community Connections for a grant of $3,700 for the road sign, and SeedMoney.org for a grant of $2,150 for the Community Garden. Thanks also go to Hannaford for their contribution of meat for the feast!
Alfond Youth & Community Center and Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce combine efforts to present Festival of Trees this holiday season, continuing a proud tradition.
Participation in this year’s event continues a fabulous holiday tradition. At the same time, money raised supports families in the community experiencing food insecurity through the services of Alfond Youth & Community Center and funds workforce development services and assistance through the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce, meeting a need existing throughout our region.
Who doesn’t love a beautiful holiday tree? Imagine over 50 trees, each uniquely decked out in holiday cheer. This wonderful family event will be held at Waterville Elks Banquet & Conference Center, 76 Industrial Rd., Waterville, on November 21-23, and November 28-30. Hours on both Fridays and Saturdays are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Sunday, November 23, hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on the final day, November 30, hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Festival of Trees will provide a magical experience the whole family can enjoy. Admission for ages 12 and over is just $2 per person; children 12 and under are admitted for free. Children are also given a free book upon arrival.
Purchase and drop your individual tree tickets (just 50-cents each) into the bucket of your favorite tree, and you could go home with a beautifully decorated tree complete with all trimmings, gift cards, and merchandise displayed. Tree winners will be drawn after 5 p.m. Sunday, November 30, and notified that evening. Trees will be available for pickup on the following Monday and Tuesday.
This year’s 50/50 experience has also been enhanced by increased prize amounts, with a maximum payout of $10,000 daily. Winners will be drawn each day, and you do not need to be present to win. A note: in each of the cases of winning a tree or a 50/50 amount, winners are responsible for any tax implications, and a 1099 Form will be furnished for values exceeding $600.
Please join us for this wonderful holiday experience. Whether you visit to view the trees on display or are willing to volunteer some time to help staff the event, it will be time well spent – and you will be helping support your community through your participation. It takes a substantial number of volunteers for an event of this magnitude. Many volunteer slots are open.
For more information about volunteering for a shift or shifts, please visit www.festivaloftreesmaine.net.
Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District and Maine DEP are co-sponsoring an in-person day-long training in Basic & Advanced Erosion Control Practices Certification for contractors on Thursday, November 6, at the Wiscasset Community Center, located on 242 Gardiner Road. The training will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and includes a light breakfast, lunch and refreshments.
If you are an excavation contractor, landscaper, well driller, or other individual involved with soil disturbance within the shoreland zone and have not yet taken a class, sign up now so you won’t have to turn away jobs! The course is geared for, and of primary interest to contractors but could also be helpful to municipal codes enforcement officers, consultants, engineers, and public works employees.
In this eight-hour course, participants learn why erosion control practices are important; be exposed to the principles of erosion and sedimentation; learn how to properly install and maintain Erosion & Sedimentation Control (ESC) Best Management Practices (BMPs); and become familiar with regulations requiring Erosion and Sediment BMPs. Participants are provided with information on the proper selection, installation, and maintenance of ESC practices in accordance with Maine DEP’s “Erosion and Sediment Control Practices Field Guide for Contractors.”
John Maclaine of Maine DEP will facilitate this course, which is necessary to become a Contractor Certified in Erosion and Sedimentation Control Practices by the Department.
Pre-registration with payment of $95 (mail-in registration) / $98 (online registration) is required by Tuesday, November 4. Attendees may register and pay at the Knox-Lincoln SWCD website or for more information, contact Knox-Lincoln SWCD office at 596-2040, louisa@knox-lincoln.org.
The Maine Idea
The Kennebec Valley Chordsmen who have been singing in harmony for the past 52 years, are proud to present their 2025 Annual Show featuring Maine based talents such as: The Maine Idea which is a mixed quartet of male and female voices including local music educators and long time performers of barbershop harmony, The Messalonskee High School Master Singers, a one time only performance by the quartet Flash In The Pan, and the Kennebec Valley Chordsmen.
The show is being held at St. Marks Episcopal Churc, at 60 Eustis Parkway, in Waterville, at 6 p.m. Adult tickets are $20, students are $10, and children 12 and under are free. For more information call or email Juan Lavalle-Rivera at 207-437-9274 or 19rambler60@gmail.com.
A Fall Fest will be held at the Vassalboro United Methodist Church on Saturday, October 25, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Crafter spaces are available. FMI contact crossings4u@gmail.com or phone or text (207) 441-9184. In this photo, Pastor Karen Merrill, left, shows off one of her purchases last year, at Jessica Wade’s booth. (contributed photo)
On October 18, a “Harvest Supper” will be held at the Vassalboro United Methodist Church (VUMC) fellowship hall, at 614 Main Street/Route 32. Roast chicken and all the fixings will be on the menu as well as their customary baked beans and a variety of pies. Fixings will include bread stuffing, gravy, hot veggies, salads, cranberry sauce and homemade breads. The meal will be served 4:30—6:00 pm, unless food runs out before, for a recommended donation of $10.00 per person.
The following Saturday, a “Fall Fest” will be held at VUMC on October 25, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., when crafts and homemade pumpkin and apple baked goods will be for sale. During the same hours, a variety of “To Go” hot soups and chili and mulled cider will be available to take home. The hot “To Go” food items will be available to purchase by folks who drop by as well as to shoppers attending the crafts and bake sale. “Our Fall Fest is a great time to start early holiday shopping and to buy special sweet treats for your family and weekend guests,” said Simone Antworth, who enjoys preparing unique and scrumptious dishes and desserts for the public meals at VUMC. Spaces are available to crafters, FMI Email crossings4u@gmail.com or phone or text (207) 441-9184.
This is the last public supper in 2025 but soup and salad luncheons for seniors will continue throughout the winter every second Wednesday 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. as weather allows. The monthly Saturday night public suppers will resume in March 2026. FMI about Vassalboro United Methodist Church and their Sunday services, activities and programs phone (207) 873-5564 or follow the Vassalboro United Methodist Church on Facebook.
In celebration of Pumpkinfest, Lincoln County Historical Association will present a special demonstration of the work of the colonial cooper on Saturday, October 11, and Sunday, October 12, between noon and 4 p.m., at the Chapman-Hall Hous,e at 270 Main Street, in Damariscotta.
The cooper was a skilled woodworker who selected, split, shaped, and fitted wooden staves into strong, durable containers. They fashioned barrels, wooden tubs, buckets, and other stave items to fulfill a multitude of needs. Jeff Miller will use his woodworking skills to show how the cooper would create a bucket, one of the most essential household items in colonial America
The oldest known house in Damariscotta today, the Chapman-Hall House is a rare Maine example of a plank-on-frame building. In November 1753, Nathaniel Chapman purchased two parcels of land in Damariscotta, at that time part of Nobleboro, and referred to as Nobleboro. One parcel consisted of 150 acres, and the second of 200 acres. Tradition has held that Nathaniel Chapman moved to Damariscotta in 1754. The 150-acre piece included all of what is now downtown Damariscotta.
The Hall name became part of the house’s history when Tilden Hall purchased the property in 1832. Tilden Hall was a blacksmith and practiced his trade in town. Newly married in 1835, Tilden brought his wife Elizabeth to his Damariscotta home. In the 1856 Maine Business Directory, under Damariscotta, Tilden was listed as a Blacksmith. In the 1869 Maine Business Directory, under Edge Tool Manufacturers, Tilden Hall was listed as a maker of “axes.” The Hall family owned the house until 1907.
October 11 and 12 is the last weekend the Chapman-Hall House will be open for the 2025 season. It is still available for school tours by appointment until the end of the month. For Pumpkinfest weekend, admission will be half-price – $5, instead of $10; children 16 and under are free. The coopering demonstration is open to the public, free of charge, and is not part of the house tour.
Lincoln County Historical Association is a nonprofit organization that provides stewardship for the 1754 Chapman-hall House, the 1761 Pownalborough Courthouse in Dresden, and the 1811 Old Jail and Museum in Wiscasset. For more information, please visit www.lincolncountyhistory.org.
Who doesn’t need a break from reality now and again? Saturday, October 11, Lights Up Skowhegan presents Magic Wes Wonder’s Crazy Fun Family Show, at the Skowhegan Opera House, at 7 p.m. General Admission $10 – Kids 5 and under free. Tickets available online at www.lightsupskowhegan.org or at the door. Bring the whole family to make some magical memories.