PHOTO: China Food Pantry participates in hunger walk

Participants included, from left to right, Nancy Pfeiffer, Jo Orlando, Sandy Massey, Joan Ferrone, Kylee Nicole, Brad Bickford, Caley Palow, Rachel Maxwell, Aurie Maxwell, and Peter Maxwell (cameraman). (photo courtesy of Peter Maxwell)

The China Food Pantry sent a team to participate in the Feed ME 5K Walk Challenge to End Hunger in Maine, on Saturday, April 27. The event is an annual fundraiser sponsored by the Maine State Credit Union to bring awareness to the issue of hunger in our local communities.

Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce’s premiere tradeshow to be held May 21, 2024

Central Maine’s largest tradeshow, Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce’s Business to Business Showcase, has been scheduled for Tuesday, May 21, noon to 6 p.m., at Thomas College Field House, West River Road, Waterville.

Reservations for booths at the showcase are still available to Mid-Maine Chamber member businesses only. For the most current list of exhibitors, please visit www.midmainechamber.com The showcase features nearly 100 exhibitors, free attendance and parking, cash bar, as well as a drawing for a $1,000 cash prize.

“The connections at the Showcase are unparalleled for a one-day event. If you are looking to get the word out about your business and network with other professionals, the Business-to-Business Showcase is really an unmatched opportunity for our region. Job-seekers will also find that many businesses are also hiring, offering the chance to speak directly to decision makers all under one roof,” said Cindy Stevens, Program Director for Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce.

The Business-to-Business Showcase event is made possible by major sponsors Allen Insurance & Financial, Brookfield Renewable US, Central Maine Motors Auto Group, Central Maine Power, Colby College, Kennebec Savings Bank, Maine Technology Group, Maine State Credit Union and Northern Light Homecare & Hospice. Other sponsors include Kennebec Valley Community College and Northern Light Inland Hospital.

Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting and advocating for business prosperity and regional economic improvement. Its region includes the towns of Albion, Belgrade, Belgrade Lakes, Benton, Branch Mills, Burnham, China, Clinton, Fairfield, Hinckley, Norridgewock, Oakland, Rome, Shawmut, Sidney, Thorndike, Unity, Vassalboro, Waterville, Weeks Mills and Winslow. For more information on the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce, including how to become a member, call (207) 873-3315 or visit www.midmainechamber.com.

Vassalboro planners approve new business, review planned expansion of another

by Mary Grow

At their May 7 meeting, Vassalboro Planning Board members approved a new business in North Vassalboro and reviewed preliminary expansion plans at Sidereal Brewery, at 771 Cross Hill Road. Sidereal owner James D’Angelo is likely to present a formal application at the board’s June 4 meeting.

Ray Breton, owner of two small commercial buildings on the east side of Main Street in North Vassalboro, presented Paula Stratton’s application to use 913 Main Street as a studio for her business, Passion Photography Maine.

Board members unanimously approved the application, which explained that Straton planned no exterior or other changes that would affect neighbors or the neighborhood.

Breton initially applied on behalf of Stratton at the March board meeting. Board members rejected the application as lacking specific information.

Following up on that experience, board member and former codes officer Paul Mitnik recommended the board be more strict about requiring applicants to fill out forms as directed in town ordinances. For example, he said, each application should have a scale drawing of what is proposed; many do not.

Codes officer Jason Lorrain said he would help applicants meet requirements by reviewing applications with them and pointing out deficiencies.

D’Angelo, accompanied by sons and employees, came to the meeting by request, in response to reports of changes on the Sidereal Brewery property.

He explained that he was seeking the board’s “guidance” on his proposed “master plan” for the Cross Hill Road business, which opened in October 2022. He described the present set-up, which includes the brewery building, a residential building, an outdoor firepit area and a bocce court.

Proposed changes include:

— Moving outdoor activities – the bocce court (around which he plans to plant fruit trees) and the firepit with chairs around it – to a graded area behind the brewery;
— Extending the driveway to a site where he wants to build a second house and a four-bay storage garage for tractors, other equipment and brewery supplies;
— Creating a turn-around for travel trailers at the end of the driveway;
— Renaming the driveway Sidereal Road, so that on-line directions can identify it and customers will no longer mistakenly turn into neighbors’ driveways; and
— Applying to the State of Maine for a full kitchen license to allow indoor cooking, without enlarging the existing building, David D’Angelo said.

Making the driveway a road is a 911 issue, not in the planning board’s jurisdiction, Mitnik said. Discussion of the rest of the plan revolved around the definition of “expansion” in town ordinances. Expansion requires an amended permit.

D’Angelo said he wants to relocate the firepit and bocce court immediately, for this summer’s trade. Fearing delay, he offered to scale back the plan to something board members could approve promptly in June.

Board chairman Virgina Brackett urged him to apply for the whole plan. “We’re not putting limits on your business; we just want to know what’s going on,” she told D’Angelo.

Neighbors Peter and MaryBeth Soule said conditions on the original brewery permit have been ignored. The required buffers do not exist, though trees have been planted, died and been replanted; and a required noise report has not been done.

The Soules asked for copies of the paperwork D’Angelo submits for the June 4 board meeting. D’Angelo said he would provide them. Brackett said there will be time for public comment when the board reviews D’Angelo’s application.

MaryBeth Soule asked whether the board can approve amendments to a permit before all original conditions have been met.

The June 4 meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the town office meeting room.

Endicott College announces local dean’s list students

Endicott College, in Beverly, Massachusetts, has announced its Fall 2023 dean’s list students. The students include:

Emily Clark, of China, nursing, daughter of Stacy Clark and Christopher Clark.

Oliver Parker, of Augusta, English, daughter of Katherine Parker and Walter Parker.

China committee begins work on revising TIF document

by Mary Grow

Four members of China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee started on their planned revision of the town’s TIF document at a workshop session May 13.

The group deliberately postponed any decisions, partly because some of the financial information they need is not yet firm, partly to give themselves time to consider the different points of view expressed.

One figure needing confirmation is how much TIF money is available to be allocated to projects, continuing and/or new. The amount currently expected to be on hand at the June 30 end of the fiscal year is more than $530,000.

The other important figure is how much income to expect from the TIF in 2024-25. The answer depends mostly on the 2024-25 tax rate, which has not yet been set.

For what is TIF money used, and from where does it come

The purpose of a Maine TIF (Tax Increment Financing) program is to expand employment, broaden municipal tax bases and “[i]mprove the general economy of the State of Maine.” Municipal programs need approval by the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

China’s TIF program was established by town vote on March 21, 2015, and amended on June 8, 2021. The current program extends to June 30, 2045, although funding for some of the specific activities in the program expires sooner.

Money for China’s program comes from taxes paid on Central Maine Power Company’s north-south power line through the town and, since the 2021 amendment, on its South China substation. The program estimates annual revenue declining slowly, from $366,209 in 2020 to $249,325 by 2045.

The 60-page TIF document, found on the website china.govoffice.com, under the TIF Committee under Officials, Boards & Committees on the right side of the main page, is the document current TIF Committee members are reviewing as they consider updates.

Most of the workshop session was spent discussing whether the amount in each of the categories into which TIF funds are divided should be increased, decreased or left alone. In the current TIF document, funding amounts in some categories have deadlines after which they disappear or decrease; the deadlines, too, were discussed.

Two categories, funding for economic development activities and for maintenance of recreational trails, are consistently spent each year. Committee members are considering recommending more money.

The activities account contributes to two events that bring people to town, China Days in August and China Ice Days in February. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said if she had time and money, she has lots of ideas for more events that would publicize the town and help local businesses.

For example, she said, with a portable stage and money to pay entertainers, there could be music festivals and similar events all summer.

The trails account supports maintenance work by the Four Seasons Club, on town snowmobile and four-wheeler trails, and the Thurston Park Committee, on trails in the park. In recent years, the two groups’ requests have exceeded the total in the account.

Several accounts are never or seldom used, including money for job training; the revolving loan fund intended to help businesses; and matching grant funds. Defunding them might not be a good idea, however.

Committee members Jamie Pitney and Mickey Wing pointed out how little publicity the job training program has had, suggesting it might be used if people knew about it.

From the audience, Four Seasons Club President Thomas Rumpf proposed converting the loan fund to a small grant fund, to which a town business could apply, for example, to pay for a new sign. And the Four Seasons Club might ask for matching grant funds for a major trail rebuilding project, he said; not this year, because the state grants that would be matched are being used to repair storm-damaged trails.

Reviewing on-going projects, committee members foresee continuing to use TIF money for the South China boat landing. They anticipate requests from the environmental improvements fund as proposed work in China Lake and its watershed takes shape.

The “causeway project” that made major changes to the road, sidewalks and boat launch at the head of China Lake’s east basin is finished. However, committee members and Hapgood and Rumpf recommended improvements: a second dock and buffers on the docks to minimize damage to wind-blown boats; expanded parking where boat trailers neither block access to the four-wheeler trail or impede traffic on Causeway Street; and extended sidewalks.

A related question, not answered, was whether TIF money could be used for maintenance of TIF-funded projects, like putting in and taking out the boat docks.

Pitney, who is a lawyer, compared China’s TIF document and Maine’s TIF law and found several unclear areas. For example, he said, there is no definition or description of the kinds of grants that TIF funds can match; should someone apply for a match, he believes the application would need state review.

The next TIF Committee workshop is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 29.

Copies of annual town report now available at town office and other public places

Copies of China’s annual town report for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023, are now available at the town office and in other public places around town.

PHOTO: Feeding the baby

Michelle Dorr, of Waterville, photographed this bald eagle feeding a new born eaglet on the Kennebec-Messalonskee Trail, in Winslow.

Erskine Academy announces Renaissance award recipients (2024)

Seniors of the Trimester, from left to right, Holden McKenney, Caleb Gay, Nathan Polley, and Austin Nicholas. (contributed photo)

On Friday, April 26, 2024, Erskine Academy students and staff attended a Renaissance Assembly to honor their peers with Renaissance Awards.

Renaissance Recognition Awards were presented to the following students: Olivia Austin, Delaney Brown, Ben Severy, Michael Richardson, Bryana Barrett, Kaylene Glidden, Addison Gagne, Makayla Oxley, Wesley Fulton, and Danny McKinnis.

In addition to Recognition Awards, Senior of the Trimester Awards were also presented to four members of the senior class: Nathan Polley, son of Hillary and Stephen Polley, of Vassalboro; Caleb Gay, son of Laura and Christopher Gay, of Windsor; Holden McKenney, son of Crystal and Jacob McKenney, of Palermo; and Austin Nicholas, son of Michael Nicholas and Tonya Picard, of Chelsea, and Vaunalee and Mike Pion, of Pittston. 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 presented to Chris Safford, custodian; and David Farady, English instructor.

David Farady (left), Chris Safford (right)

Messalonskee senior graduates college before high school

Ella Buck

submitted by Tania Buck

Ella Buck, is a senior at Messalonskee High School, in Oakland. Since the age of eight, Ella has known that she wanted to be a nurse. When Ella was a sophomore, just 14 years old, she took her first “college” class through the Early College Program. This program allows high school students to take courses that are not offered at their high school, through colleges/universities. Students can take up to 12 credits a year for free. With a passion for nursing, Ella began taking general education courses required for a degree in the field. She took online courses from four Maine community colleges (KVCC, YCCC, EMMC, AND SMCC). More recently, she has taken nursing classes through University of Southern Maine, where she has been accepted into the nursing program for the 2024-2025 school year.

Ella graduated from Kennebec Valley Community College, in Fairfield, with an associates degree in general studies on Saturday, May 11, 2024. She will graduate from Messalonskee High School on June 6, 2024. According to the college, she will be the first high school student in the school’s history, to receive an associates degree before graduating high school. She graduated with a 4.0 grade point average.

Ella will have completed approximately 71 college credits, taking classes year-round for the past couple of years. Because of the agreement between Maine’s Community Colleges and its universities, all of Ella’s college credits transferred allowing her to attend USM, in September 2024, as a third year college student.

If all of this wasn’t enough, while Ella was taking her high school classes, and college courses, she played sports and has been working at the Maine Veterans Home (MVH) for 10 months now. She began with MVH in June 2023 where she enrolled in a CNA certification program. In August, she received her certification, and has been working per diem on the weekends at MVH.

Ella chose not to take AP classes at her high school, as she wanted to take classes that pertained to nursing. Messalonskee only weights AP classes, so none of her college classes were weighted. As a result, despite having a 99.4 G.P.A, she will not graduate in the top 10 of her class. Initially this was hard for Ella to accept, but she knew she wanted to take classes that interested her and ultimately would help her achieve her end goal of becoming a nurse. As a high school student taking a non-traditional path, she had to overcome many obstacles along the way. She was determined, and never gave up.

According to her mother, “Ella does not like being in the spotlight. She doesn’t seek recognition or attention! However, I do believe by sharing her story, it will help others to see that hard work and determination do pay off, and perhaps even more importantly. It’s OK to deviate from the norm and chart your own path.”

Issue for May 9, 2024

FOR YOUR HEALTH: Pickleball, Anyone? Avoid Injuries While Playing This Popular Sport

Lately is seems as though you can’t pass a park or court without spotting people engaged in a lively game of pickleball. The fast-moving sport seems to have come out of nowhere and captured the interest of young and old alike, who can’t get enough of it. With all that play there is inevitably the possibly of strain and injuries, caution chiropractors.

People who may have been inactive or less active over the past few years should be especially careful when picking up a pickleball paddle and charging into “the kitchen” (the non-volley zone on either side of a pickleball net). “For some, starting to play pickleball has resulted in a rather sudden increase in physical activity, which is one of the risk factors we see for injuries in many other sports,” explains Dr. Michael Braccio, an American Chiropractic Association (ACA) member and pickleball enthusiast.

Even if you are in fairly good shape and exercise regularly, you may not have experience with racquet sports, which can also leave you vulnerable. Elbow, shoulder and wrist injuries are the most common in pickleball, says Dr. Braccio. Injuries in the knees and ankles are common in the lower body. Even low back pain can result from the squats and lateral lunges that are common during “dink rallies” (soft, low shots).

As in sports, when it comes to injuries a good offense is just as important as defense. Dr. Bracco offers a few tips to help keep pickleball players in the kitchen and out of their doctor’s office:

Do warm up. While you may be tempted to just step on the court and play, not allowing your body to properly warm up could increase your injury risk. Aim for a 5- to 10-minute warm-up and include some light cardio movements along with shoulder exercises such as arm circles.

Don’t overdo it. “It’s not uncommon to start playing pickleball multiple days in a row for several hours,” says Dr. Braccio, “which can result in a sudden increase in load, increasing the risk of injuries. So, gradually increasing the amount of load can be a useful strategy, making sure that there are recovery days so that the body can adapt.”

Do strength training exercises. Another way to prevent pickleball injuries is to condition your body so it can better tolerate the increased load. “Strengthening exercises for the rotator cuff, core and knees are all areas that people playing pickleball would benefit from focusing on,” Dr. Braccio says, “initially working on building up general strength in those areas and then working into performing quicker movements similar to the movements in pickleball.”

Don’t forget to protect your eyes. Pickleball Magazine reports that the average pickleball travels baseline to baseline in just one second – half the time it takes a tennis ball to cross the same distance.

Taking these steps can help you continue to play the sport you love without injury, while also enjoying the social benefits. “For myself, not only is pickleball a lot of fun, but the community surrounding it is awesome,” shares Dr. Braccio. “There’s a great social aspect of playing with friends and meeting new people.”

For more on chiropractic, injury prevention tips or to find an ACA member in your area, visit www.handsdownbetter.org.