Erskine announces 2019 Renaissance Awards

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Seniors of the Trimester recipients, front row, from left to right, Lydia Boucher and Elizabeth Sugg. Back, Alana York, Braden Soule, and Mireya Noa’Dos Santos. (Contributed photos)

On June 7, Erskine Academy students and staff attended a Renaissance Assembly to honor their peers with Renaissance Awards.

Recognition Awards were presented to the following students: Hannah Soule, Aidan Larrabee, Alana Beggs, Paul Slimm, Alisha Stevens, Samantha Heath, Maverick Lowery, Garrett Keezer, and Seth Reed.

Faculty of the Trimester recipients, front row, from left to right, James Johnson and Heide Hotham. Back, Ben Willoughby. (Contributed photos)

In addition to Recognition Awards, Senior of the Trimester Awards were also presented to three members of the senior class: Lydia Boucher, daughter of Crystal and Ryan Boucher, of Windsor; Elizabeth Sugg, daughter of Heather Spaulding Sugg and Will Sugg, of Palermo; Alana York, daughter of Cheryl and Andy York, of Palermo; Mireya Noa’Dos Santos, of China; and Braden Soule, son of Amanda and Jamie Soule, of Fairfield. Seniors of the Trimester are recognized as individuals who have gone above and beyond in all aspects of their high school careers.

In appreciation of their dedication and service to Erskine Academy, Faculty of the Trimester awards were also presented to Heide Hotham, guidance secretary and registrar; James Johnson, music instructor; and Ben Willoughby, social studies instructor.

 

Legal Notices for the week of June 20, 2019

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STATE OF MAINE
PROBATE COURT
COURT ST.,
SKOWHEGAN, ME
SOMERSET, ss
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
18-A MRSA sec. 3-801

The following Personal Representatives have been appointed in the estates noted. The first publication date of this notice June 13, 2019

If you are a creditor of an estate listed below, you must present your claim within four months of the first publication date of this Notice to Creditors by filing a written statement of your claim on a proper form with the Register of Probate of this Court or by delivering or mailing to the Personal Representative listed below at the address published by his name, a written statement of the claim indicating the basis therefore, the name and address of the claimant and the amount claimed or in such other manner as the law may provide. See 18-A MRSA 3-804.

2019-146 – Estate of H. STEPHEN JEWELL, late of Skowhegan, Me deceased. Stephanie A. Miller, 201 Helens Lane, Hartland, Me 04943 appointed Personal Representative.

2019-150 – Estate of WELDON J. HUMPHREY, late of Pittsfield, Me deceased. Marilyn J. Badger, 1151 Athens Road, Hartland, Me 04943 appointed Personal Representative.

2019-151 – Estate of JEROME E. BARRY, late of Fairfield, Me deceased. Brenda L. Barry, 7 Jodie Avenue, Fairfield, Me 04937 appointed Personal Representative.

2019-153 – Estate of KENNETH McLEAN, late of Anson, Me deceased. Christine Fletcher, PO Box 493, Anson, Me 04911 appointed Personal Representative.

2018-146 – Estate of CAROLYN E. EVERETT, late of Athens, Me deceased. Paul R. Dionne, Esq,, 465 Main Street, Lewiston, Me 04240-6738 appointed Personal Representative.

2019-155 – Estate of DARRELL D. RODERICK, late of Solon, Me deceased. Dana L Roderick, 5 Dyer Street, Moscow, ME 04920 appointed Personal Representative.

2019-157 – Estate of MARILYN F. LLOYD, late of Pittsfield, Me deceased. Samuel Douglass Lloyd, Jr., 151 West Elm Street, Yarmouth, Me 04096 appointed Personal Representative.

2019-160 – Estate of DEAN A. CHASE, late of Palmyra, Me deceased. Gregory M. Chase, 140 Main Road, #2, Holden, Me 04429 appointed Personal Representative.

2019-162 – Estate of ROBERT S. BEATTIE, late of Pittsfield, Me deceased. Robert C. Beattie, 39 Prospect Street, Topsham, Me 04086 appointed Personal Representative.

2019-163 – Estate of STEPHEN M. BISHOP, late of Norridgewock, Me deceased, Kathleen Ann Bishop, PO Box 816, Greenville, Me 04441 appointed Personal Representative.

2019-164 – Estate of GERARD FORGUE, late of Pittsfield, Me deceased. Shantelle Buchanan, 17 Long Avenue, Lot 9, Clinton, Me 04927 appointed Personal Representative.

2019-165 – Estate of ARTHELENE M. HAMMOND, late of Rockwood, Me deceased. Katherine Urquhart and Steven Urquhart of 375 Goshen Road, Winterport, Maine appointed Personal Representatives.

2019-167 – Estate of VICTOR H. CARRIGAN, late of Anson, Me deceased. Jeremey James Maynard, 167 River Road, Anson, Me 04911 appointed Personal Representative.

2019-178 – Estate of KATHRYN J. HALLETT, late of Cambridge, Me deceased. Edward Sallie, 277 Topaz Drive, Chambersburg, PA 17202 appointed Personal Representative.

To be published on June 13 & June 20, 2019.
Dated: June 10, 2019 /s/ Victoria Hatch,
Register of Probate
(6/20)

STATE OF MAINE
PROBATE COURT
41 COURT ST.
SOMERSET, ss
SKOWHEGAN, ME
PROBATE NOTICES

TO ALL PERSONS INTERESTED IN ANY OF THE ESTATES LISTED BELOW

Notice is hereby given by the respective petitioners that they have filed petitions for appointment of personal representatives in the following estates. These matters will be heard at 10 a.m. or as soon thereafter as they may be June 26, 2019. The requested appointments may be made on or after the hearing date if no sufficient objection be heard. This notice complies with the requirements of 18-A MRSA §3-403 and Probate Rule 4.

2019-152 – Estate of LORALEE DAWN BLOMERTH-SMALL. Petition for Change of Name (Adult) filed by Loralee Dawn Blomerth-Small of 324 Russell Road, Madison, Me 04950 requesting her name be changed to Loralee Leavitt Small for reasons set forth therein.

2019-161 – Estate of KIMBERLY DAWN CROSSON. Petition for Change of Name (Adult) filed by Kimberly Dawn Crosson, 21 Park View Street, Skowhegan Me 04976 requesting her name be changed to Kimberly Dawn Howes.

2019-166 – Estate of RACHEAL MARIE (HARTLEY) CASS. Petition for Change of Name (Adult) filed by Racheal Marie (Hartley) Cass, 1234 Hill Road, Canaan, Me 04924 requesting her name be changed to Rachelle Marie (Hartley) Cass for reasons set forth therein.

Dated: June 10, 2019 /s/ Victoria Hatch,
Register of Probate
(6/20)

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Meeting the picnic beetle

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Above, picnic beetle.

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

This week, let’s return to the “never seen that before” department.

This past winter, for the first time, I deployed the “better mouse trap” in camp. It consists of a five-gallon bucket, a soda can, a piece of wire, some anti-freeze and a piece of strapping. You place the wire through the can, attach it to the bucket with a piece of wire, and build a “ramp” with the piece of wood. You coat the can with peanut butter, pour the anti-freeze in the bucket, and place it in camp before you close it up in the fall.

Once the mouse smells the peanut butter, it will climb up the ramp, jump across the gap to the can, which will rotate from the weight of the mouse, and the mouse then falls into the bucket of anti-freeze. It’s very effective.

So, this spring, I had captured eight mice over the winter. After giving them a proper burial, I carefully, and properly, disposed of the anti-freeze, and placed the bucket outside until I could put it away in my storage shed.

A picnic beetle in the bucket.

In the meantime, we received some rain, often, and heavy at times, which left about four inches of water in the bottom of the bucket. Last Sunday, when I finally got around to the bucket, I noticed six beetles floating in the water. They were blackish-brown, with four orange/red dots on the back. “Never seen that before!”

According to Bug Guide, at the Iowa State University Department of Entomology, they are Glischrochilus, a genus of sap-feeding and predatory beetles better known as picnic beetles or beer bugs.

They feed on exuding sap from injured trees and decaying vegetable or fungal matter. They are also attracted to ripening fruit, as well as beer, vinegar, wine, fruit juice and fermenting beverages. So, I don’t really know what attracted them to the bucket of water, that may have still had some anti-freeze residue.

As I researched more, I found they frequently drown as they feed. They congregate in large numbers – does six constitute a large number? – when such beverages are present. They are known to ruin picnics and outdoor gatherings like BBQs, earning them the name “picnic beetles” and “beer bug.”

At the university, researchers attract the bugs using bait that contains beer, molasses, vinegar and pineapples, among other ingredients.

They can be found in North America and Eurasia. In North America, their range is from Nova Scotia to British Columbia, to Florida, Kansas, New Mexico and Oregon. Their habitat consists of hanging out under the bark of injured or dying trees, on sap, oozing tree wounds, decaying or fermenting fruit. They are considered pests of certain fruit and vegetable crops like strawberries, corn, tomatoes, apricot, raspberries and peaches. They normally only become a problem when fruits are damaged or are overripe and beginning to ferment. They are extremely difficult to control because they are attracted to the odor of food. (Could it have been some remnants of peanut butter on the can?).

On strawberries, they will leave a deep cavity very similar to the damage caused by slugs. In sweet corn, an ear damaged by corn earworm will attract sap beetles. The larvae of sap beetles then feed on the undamaged kernels. They can be found from silk to ear maturity.

But it is the strawberries that are primary targets for the insect. These beetles prefer over-ripe fruit but also readily attack ripening fruit.

The use of pesticides is not very effective and is not recommended. Sap beetles have been seen on ripe fruit, so pesticides should not be used on the crop.

Carbaryl and bifenthrin can be used to control severe infestations. These pesticides may kill existing beetles, but if the fruit is present, they cannot prevent additional sap beetles from moving into the garden. As always, follow the pesticide label directions attached to the pesticide container you are using. Remember, the label is the law.

I don’t think I have to go that far. The six beetles that I had seem to be the only ones around. I have seen no others in nearly a week.

I’m just still curious why the bucket of water attracted them.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Which NFL team appeared in four consecutive Super Bowls, and lost them all?

Answer can be found here.

Roland’s Trivia Question for Thursday, June 20, 2019

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Which NFL team appeared in four consecutive Super Bowls, and lost them all?

Answer:

Buffalo Bills, 1991-1994.

Saddened and confused: the flooding of Flagstaff village

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Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percyby Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy
grams29@tds.net
Solon, Maine 04979

Good morning, dear friends. Don’t worry, be happy!

This morning I’m going around in circles as I have been trying to find some local news to share with you. Since I couldn’t come up with anything new, I had told you I would remind you when Carolyn Waugh’s memorial would be coming up; it is on June 29, here in Solon.

Lief and I have been traveling the roads a lot, we went up to the ‘County’ and spent three days up there visiting his sisters and brother. We also stopped at the cemeteries where relatives were buried.

Because of the strange weather we’ve been having this spring, there were very few potato plants sticking up through the earth; although, as always, there were many, many fields plowed up waiting for some sunshine.

It was fun to visit with members of Lief’s close knit family and see and hear about the places where he had grown up.

We also visited with some of my family, up in God’s country, which is always a pleasure for me, (and, thankfully, Lief likes it, too.) As I have written before, two of my brothers have camps near Flagstaff Lake. We visited Tom and Insowa whose camp is right on the lake one day, and then, a few days later, when Larry and Stefhanie were up to their camp, we went there to see them, and it was a wonderful visit. As I have written before, the peace up there passes all understanding!

But……that was not always the case, this is a headline from an old clipping: Flagstaff Awaits Man-Made Flood That Will Cover Town; Tiny Hamlet Will Be Wiped Out By Construction Dead River Dam.”

This old clipping was written by Eva D. Bachelder, and she wrote,”Saddened and confused the people of Flagstaff are watching the preliminary procedure of the project which, if carried through, will wipe from existence their entire settlement. Their homes, church and lodges must go, their dead will be moved from their burial place. The Flagstaff that has marked the spot where Arnold’s men landed on their march to Quebec in 1775 and the War Memorial markers must be moved to the ground of a nearby town.

For when the Dead River Dam is constructed as now planned by the Central Maine Power Company, the Plantation of Flagstaff will be under the body of water made by the flowage. It is estimated that at least 13 feet of water will be over the location of the present post office and store and that the flowage will run back nearly to the village of Stratton, seven miles away.

Flagstaff’s present population is small, between seventy and one hundred, but it is a population of survivors, people who were born in the community, many of whom are living in the homes of their fathers.

They have heard the building of such a dam talked about for 20 years and twice during that time it almost seemed a certainty but as the years have passed it has become almost a myth, although all are unanimous in the opinion that a change began in the town when the company years ago began to buy farms and other land.

There has been a feeling of uncertainty for several years in everything that they have done and no one attempted to establish anything permanent. The sawmill of the Viles Timberland, Inc., of Augusta, sawing a cut of 2,500,000 feet of pine, has only temporary quarters in Flagstaff. ” It was a very trying, uncertain time living there during all of this uncertainty and so some people started selling their homes to Central Maine Power. The last of it, my folks moved their house to Eustis, many of the Rogers families moved to Solon. Frank and I and our 18-month-old son moved to a farm we had bought on the River Road, in Solon. It was a very stressful time for all involved…… and that is why I am so against this CMP Corridor!

And now for Percy’s memoir: What you do, what you say, what you are, may help others in ways you never know. Your influence, like your shadow, extends where you may never be.

Obituaries for Thursday, June 20, 2019

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IRENA K. YOCZ

WINSLOW – Irena K. Yocz, 79, of Winslow, died on Wednesday, May 22, 2019, at her home. She was born on November 11, 1939, in Poland, a daughter of Zofia (Jablonska) and Wladyslaw Kasperowicz.

She came to the United States on February 14, 1963 and four months later, married Stanley Yocz. She is fondly remembered as a hardworking and fun mother of five children who also had a great love for her grandchildren.

Irena enjoyed vegetable and flower gardening, biking, crocheting, knitting and cooking her polish “comfort” dishes for family and friends. She especially enjoyed her time at the family camp on China Lake where she would swim, relax around the camp fire or readily cook the catch of the day.

A woman of prayer and great faith she instilled in her children, by example, the importance of placing others first, being kind and speaking with words of love in Polish and an inviting smile.

Irena also loved looking through family photo albums which helped to keep her connected with her family near and far and would often send “care” packages to remind them they were being thought of in a special way. Trips to Poland were very poignant for Irena giving her the opportunity to reconnect with her family and friends whom she always truly loved. She belonged to Corpus Christi Parish at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church im Winslow, and the Winslow MacCrillis-Rousseau VFW Post #8835 Auxiliary.

Irena is survived by her five children: Daniel Yocz and his wife, Nicole, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, Lola Mender and her husband, Giovanni, of San Antonino, Texas, Alan Yocz, of Winslow, Eric Yocz and his wife, Jessica, of Scarborough, Irene Sophie Yocz and her husband, Derrickson Winslow Tensen, of North Yarmouth; her grandchildren: Connor, Zyla Irena, Memphis, Lydia Grace, Stella, Luke, Edward, Hayden Zofia; her niece, Ewa Rzyska-Lamarre and her husband Stephen and their daughter, Sabrina, of Winslow; her sisters, Zofia, Wiesia and Lonia, of Poland; her brother Jozef, of New York; as well as a large extended family.

Please visit www.veillieuxfuneralhome.com to view a video collage of Irena’s life and to share condolences, memories and tributes with her family.

For those who wish, donations may be made in Irena;s memory to: Sacred Heart Soup Kitchen, 70 Pleasant Street, Waterville ME 04901.

GLENN B. MacDONALD

JEFFERSON – Major Glenn B. MacDonald, USAR (Ret) former network newsman and veteran wire-service reporter died at his home in Jefferson, on Sunday, May 26, 2019. Major MacDonald was born in Gardiner, February 26, 1947, the son of the late Mrs. Marian Graffam, of Rome, New York, and the late Judge Paul A. MacDonald, of Woolwich.

He was educated at Higgins Classical Institute, in Charleston, and the University of Maine in Augusta. He also graduated from many army service schools and won numerous journalistic awards as editor of Guard Life magazine.

He was also a retired major in the U.S. Army Reserve, having risen in the ranks as an enlisted man, non-commissioned officer, company grade and field grade officer. Major MacDonald was a U.S. Army combat correspondent in 1971 and 1973. He also covered fighting in Laos and Cambodia.

MacDonald was an ABC radio news correspondent in Saigon, Hong Kong, Manila and New York during the early to mid 1970s. He later was a staff writer and broadcast editor at The Associated Press, in Newark, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New York City Bureaus of United Press International.

He was founder and editor of the website, militarycorruption.com; it’s mission was to fight for truth and expose the corrupt in the military. Beginning July 4, 2000, he wrote an article every 48 hours for the next 18 years. In failing health, he had no choice but to transfer the website to a trusted friend who picked up the baton and will carry it forward into the future.

He was predeceased by his sisters, Mrs. Faith Clark, of Rome, New York, and Mrs. Joyce Reed, of Boston, Massachusetts.

Major MacDonald is survived by his niece, Kimberly Pruitt, and nephews, Wesley Clark and Theodore Clark Jr.

Condolences, memories and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the Staples Funeral Home website: familyfirstfuneralhomes.com.

HAROLD A. TARINI JR.

UNITY – Harold “Little Turk” Tarini Jr., 44, passed away on Wednesday, May 29, 2019. He was born in Derby, Connecticut, on August 12, 1974, the son of Harold and Sally Tarini.

He graduated from Mt. View High School, in Thorndike, and attended college at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree.

“Little Turk” enjoyed hunting and fishing with his father growing up. He enjoyed working in the technical field while living in Milford, Massachusetts. He also enjoyed spending time with his mother.

He is survived by his mother, Sally Tarini, of Unity, and many uncles, aunts, and cousins.

“Little Turk” was predeceased by his father, Harold “Turk” Tarini.

An online guestbook may be signed, condolences and memories shared at gallantfh.com.

STEPHEN L. VERZONI

FAIRFIELD – Stephen Louis Verzoni, 65, of Fairfield, passed away unexpectedly at his home on Saturday, June 1, 2019. Stephen was born in Waterville on March 19, 1954, to Angelo and Estelle Verzoni.

He graduated from Waterville High School in 1972, where he excelled in football, and track and field. He majored in business at the University of Maine, Augusta, and worked as a territory manager for Altria for 32 years. Stephen was one of
the pioneering coaches of the Windham Youth Football Program. He enjoyed attending his stepsons’ and nephews’ various
sporting events, and he was an avid New York Giants football fan. He loved riding his motorcycle and spending time with family and his beloved dog Sadie.

He is survived by his mother, Estelle Verzoni Barnes; his brothers, Angelo Verzoni and wife Lisa, Richard Verzoni, and Peter Verzoni; and nephews, Richard, Jan, Angelo, and Anthony Verzoni; his former wife, Anne Verzoni; stepsons, Kevin Flaherty, Andrew Flaherty and wife Darcy; and grandchildren, Coleman, Carleigh, and Lucas Flaherty.

An online guestbook may be signed, and memories shared at www.familyfirstfuneralhomes.com.

Arrangements are by Lawry Brothers Funeral & Cremation Care, 107 Main St., Fairfield.

CARLA BOUCHARD

FAIRFIELD – Carla Bouchard, 72, of Fairfield, Maine passed away on Sunday, June 16, 2019. Carla was born in Waterville on October 10, 1946, the daughter of Abel and Cecile (Pinnette) Levesque. She attended public schools in Waterville. She was formerly employed by Scott Paper Company, in Winslow, but spent the majority of her life taking care of her family.

Carla met her husband, Gerald Bouchard, 53 years ago at Scott Paper Company. They were introduced by Aunt Agnes Charland at the time clock with the whole crew watching. Their very first date was at the Fireman’s Baked Bean Supper on Lithgow Street, in Winslow. They were married later that year on December 3, 1966.

Carla had a great appreciation of art, music, singing, sewing, gardening, and was a crossword puzzle wizard. She and her husband Gerald took great pride in creating beautiful home decor, furniture, stained glass, and woodworking pieces. She was a private person, but when in a crowd she was the life of the party. Her inner spirit and will to live was incredibly strong.

Carla is survived by her husband Gerald Bouchard; daughters Michelle (Bouchard) Bickford and her husband Brian Bickford of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, and Nicole (Bouchard) Schmid and her husband John Schmid, of Windham; son Brian Bouchard and his wife Ann-Marie Gribbin-Bouchard, of Portland; many grandchildren, Sierra and Benjamin Bickford, Colby and Kyle Schmid, Jacob, Jonathan and Justin Bouchard; her siblings George Levesque and his wife Ellen, Ronald Levesque and his wife Sue, and Pamela Levesque.

Carla was predeceased by her parents Abel and Cecile Levesque, nephews Randy Levesque and Jamie Donahue, and brothers-in-law Ronald Bouchard and Laurier Bouchard.

A Celebration of Life will be planned at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tennessee 38105, Email: donors@stjude.org or MaineGeneral Hospice, PO Box 828, Waterville, Maine 04903.

Arrangements under the direction and care of Dan & Scott’s Cremation & Funeral Service, 445 Waterville Road, Skowhegan, ME 04976.

FORMER RESIDENTS

ROBERT L. HAMLIN JR., 77, of St. Cloud, Florida, passed away on Saturday, May 25, 2019. Robert was born on January 9, 1942, the eldest child of Robert and Marionette (Desmond) Hamlin. He graduated from Lawrence High School, in Fairfield. He was married to the former Hildred Murphy.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Doing “business” in E. Vassalboro

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To the editor:

As an avid cyclist, I get to see a lot of this part of Maine, and from time to time, I need to take a break to “take care of business” in a biological sense. Whenever possible, I try and use a facility designed for that purpose and several times over the past few years, that has meant entering the “outhouse” at the boat landing in East Vassalboro.

This is certainly the most disgusting example of such a place that I have ever seen. I truly believe that to sit down in this stink hole would be life threatening. And yet, this is a very popular spot for putting boats into China Lake, and, in fact, the dock and ramp area was re-built just last year.

I brought up this issue to the folks at the Vassalboro Town Office a couple of years ago and even suggested that someone from there should go down and check out the place; nothing seems to have changed. It seems even more disconcerting when one considers the close proximity to a major public water supply. Now, I don’t know if any of the waste gets into the lake, but the smell alone is almost overwhelming. It seems like the investment in a portable toilet, like the one at the head of the lake in China, would be a prudent solution. Just a suggestion.

Bob Bennett
South China

Vassalboro planners approve two applications

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Planning Board members quickly and unanimously approved both shoreland zoning applications on their June 6 agenda.

Mary Rider has approval to rearrange and enlarge the deck on her family camp on Tilton Lane, on the east shore of Webber Pond. Builder Ray Breton, representing the applicant, said the planned increase in size meets ordinance requirements, and there will be no expansion toward the water.

Wendy Pietraszweski has approval to build a second house on a lot at 405 Taber Hill Road. The lot is bisected by a very small stream, which Codes Officer Richard Dolby said puts most of the land in the shoreland zone, according to state maps.

Surveyor David Wendell said the proposed house and a new septic system are located so as to meet legally-required setbacks from the water and the property lines.

Vassalboro Business Association announces scholarship recipients

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The Vassalboro Business Association has announced that the following students will each receive a $500 scholarship from money that was raised by Freddie’s Cruise-In, a Vassalboro Day’s Event, sponsored by Bill and Roxanne Pullen for the last three years, with 39 local sponsors and by sales of advertisements for the Vassalboro Welcomes You booklets. These booklets are given out in mid-summer at the town office, the community school, and the library.

Gwinna Remillard

Gwinna Remillard is a Waterville High School graduate and will attend the College of St. Scholastica, in Duluth, Minnesota. She will be competing as an athlete on both the cross country running team and the Nordic ski team. She will focus on the health science programs and the opportunities that lie in Duluth, Minnesota. She is excited to further her studies and move on to new and exciting adventures!

Abby Watson

Abby Watson is a graduate of Messalonskee High School , in Oakland, and will attend Belmont University, in Nashville, Tennessee. She will major is songwriting and minor in music business. At Belmont, she hopes to develop a better understanding for this art and better her skills. She is not exactly sure what she wants to do in life, but hopes to discover life-changing opportunities and find out just who she is supposed to be!

Caitlin Labbe

Caitlin Labbe is an Erskine Academy graduate, in South China, and will attend Thomas College, in Waterville. She will major in business administration. She plans to play soccer and lacrosse at Thomas!

Molly Wasilewski

Molly Wasilewski is a Water­ville High School graduate and will attend the University of Maine at Farmington. She will study actuarial science. She loves working with numbers and figuring out equations. She is excited to learn how to assess risk!

Seth Reed

Seth Reed is an Erskine Academy graduate, in South China, and will attend the Univer­sity of New Hamp­shire, in Durham, New Hampshire. He will ma­jor in mech­anical engineering. With the skills and experiences he learns, he aspires to return to Maine and pursue a career in engineering.

 

 

Vassalboro selectmen discuss sewer expansion fundings, speeds on So. Stanley Hill Rd.

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro selectmen had only one formal public hearing on their June 13 agenda, but two issues drew extensive comment from residents in the audience.

The hearing was on disbursement of Tax Increment Finance (TIF) funds, specifically a $120,000 request from the Vassalboro Sanitary District (VSD) to help with continued work on its connection to the Waterville-Winslow sewer system.

Sanitary District Board Chairman Ray Breton said the project continues to receive grant funds, and the district expects additional future revenue as more people take advantage of new opportunities to hook onto the sewer system. One way trustees would like to use TIF money is as an incentive to help new customers with the cost of running pipes from the street to their houses.

The district intends to charge property-owners who can hook on but choose not to a small fee for having the option available, in case individual septic systems fail. Other sewer districts have similar charges, Breton said.

More revenue might make it possible to modify future rate increases, he said.

He expects the extended system will be “running by fall” and finished in 2020.

After the hearing, selectmen agreed to postpone action until the VSD provides more specific figures on pending income and expenditures. Breton had no objection to a delay.

Later in the meeting, resident Mike Poulin proposed amending Vassalboro’s TIF agreement to allow additional projects to seek funding. Selectmen tabled the issue pending more VSD information.

The second discussion was with Maine Department of Transportation Mid-Coast Area Regional Traffic Engineer David Allen, a Vassalboro resident, about the speed limit on South Stanley Hill Road between Route 32 and the intersection with Priest Hill and Lombard Dam roads.

Currently, the Route 32 end has a 30-mile-an-hour limit that changes to 45 miles an hour after less than half a mile. Residents have petitioned for a 25-mile limit in the current 30-mile zone.

Allen said by state criteria, there are two choices:

  • If the 25-mile limit is introduced, it would extend from Route 32 to about the Friends Meeting House, with the rest of the 30-mile zone increased to 35 miles an hour; or
  • The present 30-mile and 45-mile zones could remain as they are.

His goal, Allen said, is a safe road, which is not necessarily a slow road. He tries to choose the speed at which most people travel, because speed differentials are dangerous. He agreed with residents that enforcement is a problem whatever the limit.

Selectmen and Allen discussed other measures that might be helpful. The issue will reappear on a future selectmen’s agenda.

In other business:

  • Selectmen approved Road Commissioner Eugene Field’s plan to buy a 2020 Dodge plow truck from Darling’s, in Augusta, and add plowing equipment from Viking-Cives, in Lewiston, with the understanding he will report back if he finds a better deal.
  • They reviewed 10 paving bids and voted to contract with Hopkins Paving, of Hermon.
  • After discussion with Department of Environmental Protection Project Manager Matthew Young, they voted to “work with the state” to allow testing of Vassalboro’s landfill cover to see if it works better than other types of covers. Re-elected Board Chairman Lauchlin Titus voted against the motion, after describing himself as “100 percent in favor of the advancement of science” and “100 percent opposed to seeking possible problems and maybe having to remediate.”
  • Selectmen postponed action on Young’s second request, to check the landfill area for PFAs, defined by Wikipedia as “per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances,” industrial compounds that don’t break down and might have health effects.
  • They hired Vassalboro resident Mike Petito as the new transfer station and public works employee, starting in July.
  • They authorized Codes Enforcement Officer Dick Dolby to take legal action in the case of a mobile home moved without a permit and, having lost its grandfathered status, no longer meeting local ordinance requirements.

The next regular Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, June 27. As in past years, they plan to meet only once a month in July and August; after June 27, their regular meetings are scheduled for July 18 and August 15.