UNITY NEWS: Bird Walk planned

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The birds are back!  Break out the binoculars and enjoy the outdoors and our feathered friends at the Rines Wetland and Wildlife Preserve.  Tom Aversa, the co-author of several bird guides and an adjunct instructor at Unity College, will be the guide of this short, SRLT-sponsored bird walk, on Saturday, May 20, at 7:30 a.m.  Meet on the south side of Rt. 139 – 2.5 miles west of Unity near the SRLT kiosk.  Bring binoculars and waterproof footwear.  All ages welcome but please leave pets at home.

For more information or to register, please call Doug 948-3766.

Waterville News: LaLiberty named to Waterville Creates! board

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Jim LaLiberty

Waterville Creates!, one of Maine’s leading arts and cultural organizations and a key driver in making the city a vibrant destination in central Maine, has elected Jim LaLiberty to the role of vice president of the Waterville Creates! board of directors effective February 28. Jim also serves as chair of the Waterville Opera House board.

Jim is currently an attorney at Jabar, LaLiberty & Dubord LLC and has practiced law in Waterville for 36 years. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the University of Maine School of Law. His practice is concentrated in the areas of business and commercial law. In addition to his role on the Waterville Opera House board, Jim is also a member of the board of directors of MaineGeneral Health.

He lives in Waterville with his wife, Julie, a seventh grade teacher at Waterville Junior High.

“I am proud to serve the arts in Waterville through my dual roles on both the Waterville Creates! and the Waterville Opera House boards,” stated LaLiberty upon being voted in as vice president. “Working in tandem with my fellow board members as well as our communities’ collaborative partners in the arts, including the Harold Alfond Foundation and Colby College.”

CHINA NEWS: Two local questions on China ballot in June

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by Mary Grow

China voters will have at least two local ballot questions on June 13.

The exact wording remains to be decided, but at the April 17 selectmen’s meeting board members voted to present two questions, asking voters if they want to:

  • Prohibit growing marijuana for retail sale, selling marijuana for non-medical purposes or running a marijuana social club – the three main items state voters, but not a majority of China voters, approved in November 2016 – within town boundaries;
  • Appropriate money from the Undesignated Fund Balance (surplus) to install a septic system and a well to serve the portable classroom behind the town office, with the well to supply the office also. Town Manager Daniel L’Heureux will suggest an amount, after some research, and will call a meeting of the Budget Committee to get its recommendation on the proposed expenditure.

Selectmen scheduled a short special meeting for 8 a.m. Thursday, April 27, to review and approve final wording of the ballot questions.

The decision to put the first question to voters was made on a 3-2 vote, with Joann Austin and Jeffrey LaVerdiere opposed. Austin sees a local marijuana industry as economic development and a source of new tax revenue. LaVerdiere, while opposing large out-of-state operations, said, “We’re an agricultural town. I don’t see why we should outlaw growing anything.”

Austin also argued that before asking China voters to act, selectmen should see what regulations the state develops. Board member Irene Belanger said other town managers have expressed similar opinions. But, Belanger said before she voted to put the question on the ballot, “We’re a family-oriented community” and should not send a message that drug use is okay.

Ronald Breton proposed both questions and voted in favor of putting both to voters. Board Chairman Neil Farrington considered it appropriate to “give voters an opportunity to decide whether they want marijuana in their neighborhood.”

Board members were unanimous in presenting the proposed appropriation. Adding running water is a step toward readying the building for potential use as an emergency shelter. It is already used for voting and occasional meetings.

The other major topic at the April 17 meeting was a presentation by retired teachers Anita Smith and Elaine Philbrook on the China School Forest. Using about 50 acres of the 75-acre property the town bought in 1984 for the new primary school, ball fields and other education-related purposes, forest supporters are celebrating the 20th year after its 1997 designation as a Maine Outstanding Tree Farm.

The forest belongs to the town, not the school department, and is open to residents of all ages for walking, bird-watching and similar activities. It also serves as a classroom and a source of natural resources, Philbrook and Smith said.

Forest Field Day will be held Friday, May 26, rain or shine, with a variety of activities for China elementary students and the public. On Saturday, Oct. 14, Maine Project Learning Tree, the state division of the international environmental educational organization, will hold its 40th anniversary celebration in China’s forest.

Selectmen commended Philbrook and Smith for their many hours of volunteer work in and for the school forest.

In other business April 17, Four Seasons Club President Frank Soares described the club’s changed plan to use its $50,000 appropriation from China’s TIF (Tax Increment Financing) program. Some of the proposed trail work was done at no charge by Coutts Brothers, Inc., so the club plans to improve additional trail mileage and to divert $5,000 to replace the dock at its swimming beach, Soares said.

Selectman Breton questioned the legality of adding dock replacement to a TIF project authorized by town voters. L’Heureux will check out the issue.

Club contractors and volunteers use state guidelines for multi-use trails, Soares said; trails are available for walking and horseback riding as well as use by four-wheelers and snowmobiles. He said the club has state approval to take out a beaver dam on Hunter Brook that has flooded a trail section.

China fire and rescue chiefs submitted a preliminary proposal for distributing the $44,000 voters approved at the March town meeting for stipends for volunteer firefighters and rescue personnel. More discussion is scheduled for May, after each department has discussed the plan.

Breton and Farrington, who received the proposal the morning of April 17, said there was also agreement that at least one selectman will attend each quarterly joint meeting of the emergency services, as a liaison between the selectboard and the services.

Selectmen appointed the following committee members:

  • Christopher Hahn to the China for a Lifetime Committee;
  • Lindsey Harwath to the Thurston Park II Committee;
  • Belanger and Breton as China’s representatives on the Regional School Unit #18 cost-sharing committee; and
  • Farrington, Tod Detre, Robert O’Connor and Raymond Robert to the Broadband Committee.

Vassalboro News: Budget workers frustrated over state’s lack of action

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Budget Committee and School Board members trying to work on the 2017-18 school budget are frustrated by the state legislature’s annual inability to decide on state funding.

Additionally, some budget committee members are frustrated by school board members who, they say, made minimal budget reductions between the two groups’ joint meetings March 30 and April 11.

At the March 30 meeting, AOS (Alternative Educational Structure) Superintendent Eric Haley and Finance Director Paula Pooler talked about potential savings in teacher salaries, health insurance and high-school tuition. By April 11, they presented a revised budget that was $137,698 lower than the March 30 draft, with most of the savings in the three areas previously listed. However, under currently estimated state funding the revised budget would still require an increase in local property taxes approaching $388,000, which would raise the tax rate by close to one mil ($1 for each $1,000 of valuation).

Meeting without the school board on April 13, budget committee members advocated another $139,000 be taken from the school budget. They scheduled their next meeting for Tuesday evening, April 25, instead of the previously planned April 18, hoping to give school board members time to react (despite school vacation week).

Factors likely, but not guaranteed, to improve the financial situation include a more generous state subsidy for schools and, Town Manager Mary Sabins said, more state revenue sharing to the town than she currently projects and/or a larger than anticipated increase in property valuation when the assessor finishes his work.

Until at least some of these possibilities are realized, budget committee members made only tentative decisions on endorsing proposed municipal expenditures. In general, they accepted the proposals from Sabins and the board of selectmen, with the following exceptions:

  • Transfer Station Manager George Hamar asked for up to $20,000 for two new roll-off containers (about $7,500 apiece) and a snow-pusher attachment and chains for the backhoe he is acquiring from the Public Works Department. Selectmen approved both; budget committee members recommended $15,000 for the containers only.
  • After talking with Dan Mayotte, chief of Vassalboro’s First Responders, budget committee members on a 4-3 vote recommended $10,000 for the service instead of the $4,900 Sabins and selectmen recommended.
  • Selectmen endorsed the request for up to $35,000 to buy a new police vehicle in 2017-18. The budget committee recommended delaying the purchase.
  • Both boards advise voters to give $5,000 to the China Region Lakes Alliance (which requested $15,000), but selectmen plan to use money from taxes and the budget committee recommends appropriating it from the alewife fund (money from the sale of alewives caught at Webber Pond dam each spring).

Both boards agreed to recommend a $500 donation to Waterville Area Literacy Volunteers, the selectmen on a 2-1 vote. Selectmen have not had a chance to react to budget committee members’ recommendations on expenditures on which the two boards disagree. The next selectmen’s meeting is at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 20, in the town office meeting room.

Vassalboro’s annual town meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, June 5. Budget committee members discussed postponing it to the end of June to get firm state figures on which to base local decisions; Sabins pointed out legal requirements surrounding the annual meeting and the school budget validation vote that made postponement too difficult to be seriously considered. Local elections will be held June 13 in conjunction with the state election day. Nomination papers for positions on the board of selectmen, school board and sanitary district board are available at the town office.

Ice Out on China Lake

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“A trip around China Lake Sunday evening, April 16, indicated large areas of floating ice in the middle and north end of the lake on the China side and in the Vassalboro basin.

Monday morning, with the lake flat calm, the sun was reflecting from the open water, a very pretty sight.

There was some ice in the coves in the Vassalboro basin and a little ice south of the narrows on the China side, but the lake was virtually clear of ice at that time.

It is the decision of the judge that ice out for 2017 occurred on China Lake on Monday, April 17.”

The judge’s decision is final.

For his accurate guess of April 17, Jason Fleming, of China, is this year’s winner of The Town Line’s ice out contest.

Local scout troop conducts food drive

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Local Scout Troop 479 collected over $480 in canned and dry food, and over $450 in cash donations over the Friday and Saturday before Easter.

 

Madison Bodine, right, reconnected with his former kindergarten teacher Ann Austin, during the food drive he helped spearhead for the China Food Pantry.

Boy Scout Troop #479, of China, did some good this past Good Friday and collected food and donations to support the local China Food Pantry.

Led by Scoutmaster Scott Adams, with committee member Priscilla Adams, Assistant Scoutmasters Matt and Madison Bodine, and scouts Nick Shelton, Tucker Leonard and Misha Littlefield, the team prepared ahead of time by creating a fundraising flyer and posting a notice for volunteers on the troop’s Facebook page. Then early Friday morning the good Samaritans set out on their mission of Easter love.

They worked tirelessly all day Friday and most of Saturday, collecting over $580 in food and $451 in cash donations!

“It was very rewarding to support the China community in this way,” said Madison Bodine, “and it was nice to reconnect with Mrs. Austin, my former kindergarten teacher.”

Ann Austin, who has run the food pantry for more than 25 years with her late husband, Lee, was blown away by the generosity.

“Such a pleasant surprise!” she said. “There’s a lot of need this time of year for something most of us take for granted. Madison and his scout troop have changed a lot of lives this Easter season!”

The China Community Food Pantry is located at 1320 Lakeview Drive in China Village, and is open Friday and Saturday, noon – 1 p.m. For more information, or to donate, please call 968-2421, or email Ann Austin at lee.ljaustin@gmail.com.

Clarence Jones presented with gold cane as Bingham’s oldest living citizen

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by Marilyn Rogers-Bull

BINGHAM — One evening last week Clarence Jones of Bingham was presented the Boston Post Cane at a surprise event at Thompson’s Restaurant, in Bingham. Clarence is now the oldest resident in Bingham at the age of 98. The cane was presented to him by Bingham selectmen, First selectman Steve Steward, Second selectman Julie Rihard, and Third selectman Gloria Jean Shaw. He was also presented with a pocket watch.

Clarence Jones, front seated, receives the Boston Post Gold Cane. From left to right, First Selectman Steve Stewart, Second Selectman Julie Richard and Third Selectman, Gloria Jean Shaw. Photo by Marilyn Rogers-Bull

Clarence and his wife Dorothy Jones moved first from Flagstaff to Eustis (moving one of the houses from Flagstaff to Eustis with them when Flagstaff was flooded back in 1949.) They then moved to Bingham many years after that. Dorothy died several years ago and when Clarence’s eye sight failed in recent years, his son and daughter in law, Steve and Liz moved up to Bingham with him.

Clarence has two other sons, Tom and wife Insowa, who live in Farmington, and Larry and wife Stephine, who live in Limington.

Clarence has always been a hard worker but perhaps the one he enjoyed the most was working on the annual River Drive, he tells some very interesting events he was in on that job.

The above event when he received the honor of accepting the Boston Post Cane was a complete surprise for him.

For those of you who may not know that the recipient of the cane does not get to keep it in their possession these days, because so many of the canes were lost. The origin of the tradition: Back in 1909, the publisher of the Boston Post , a newspaper, forwarded to the Board of Selectmen in 700 towns (no cities included) in New England a gold-headed ebony cane with the request that it be presented with the compliments of the Boston Post to the oldest male citizen of the town.

The custom of the Boston Post Cane took hold in those towns lucky enough to have canes. As years went by some of the canes were lost, stolen, taken out of town and not returned to the selectmen or destroyed by accident.

In 1930, after considerable controversy, eligibility for the cane was opened to women as well.

Vassalboro News: Public hearing planned for revised sanitary district charter

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by Mary Grow

VASSALBORO — At the April 6th Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting, selectmen and Sanitary District trustees discussed the revised sanitary district charter that town voters will be asked to approve or reject at the June 5th town meeting.

Selectmen scheduled a public hearing on the document for Thursday evening, May 4. Town Manager Mary Sabins suggested a hearing on proposed revisions to Vassalboro’s shoreland ordinance the same evening if the date is acceptable to the Planning Board.

Raymond Breton, chairman of the sanitary district board, said the current charter dates from 1972. The trustees had an attorney prepare the revision to bring the charter up to current standards.
Selectmen had questions about whether the revised charter matches actual practice. In other business April 6, board Chairman Lauchlin Titus congratulated public works employee James “J.J.” Wentworth on receiving a Road Scholar award for participation in state training sessions.

Sabins explained that the Road Scholar designation, granted by the state Department of Transportation, is the “highest achievement of public works employees,” equivalent to certification for a town clerk or a town manager. To earn Road Scholar status, a public works employee must attend ten workshop days, seven mandatory classes and three optional, sponsored by the department’s Local Roads Center.

Public Works Director Eugene Field attained his Road Scholar certification in the spring of 2014, Sabins said.

Selectmen awarded two bids. The cemetery mowing bid went to Scott’s Property Care, of Oakland, the company which did the work last year for the same price, $24,500, Sabins said. The 1984 fire truck was sold to David Saunders, of Orland, highest of seven bidders, for $4,125.25. Board members unanimously agreed that the transfer station will be closed Sunday, April 16, for Easter.

They approved and signed a letter asking the school board to take time to advertise future vacancies, instead of filling them immediately.

The next regular Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting will be Thursday evening, April 20. The budget committee is scheduled to meet on Thursday, April 13, and if necessary again on Tuesday, April 18, to make recommendations on proposed town meeting expenditures.

CHINA NEWS: TIF group asks who will supervise expenditures

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by Mary Grow

CHINA — China TIF (Tax Increment Financing) Committee members spent their April 10 meeting discussing who should supervise expenditures approved at the March 25 town meeting and what additional projects the committee should consider.

Since the TIF Committee is an advisory body, members thought they should not implement programs. However, several said, the groups that do implement programs should keep the committee, and town selectmen, informed, especially if projects change.

The largest appropriation from TIF funds was up to $750,000 over three years for the causeway project at the head of China Lake. After a long discussion, committee members agreed the first step is an RFI (Request for Information) to selected engineering firms asking for proposed design and build plans. Committee members Frank Soares and Stephen Nichols will write the RFI. The revolving loan fund for businesses, for which voters authorized up to $25,000, should be the selectmen’s responsibility, committee members said. The Kennebec Valley Council of Governments is slated to administer the program, under town guidance.

The $20,000 appropriated for the Alewife Restoration Initiative and the $40,000 for Thurston Park should be spent by the respective groups heading the projects, ARI and the Thurston Park II Committee.

Soares, who is president of the Four Seasons Club, said a small part of the $50,000 previously appropriated to the club for trail work is being reallocated to rebuild the dock at the swimming beach off Lakeview Drive opposite the town office. Volunteer work took care of some of the planned trail expansion, he said, freeing up money to extend trail improvements and for the dock. Other potential TIF Committee projects include public access to China Lake, a community center, senior housing and expansion of access to broadband internet service. China’s Lake Access Committee has been inactive since voters rejected its proposal to buy the former Candlewood property. Town Manager Daniel L’Heureux mentioned two other properties that might be available in the future; Soares said the Four Seasons Club would consider leasing its beach to the town..

Committee member Dale Worster said he preferred to develop the public beach where it would be best for the town, not where property is available. His initial idea of buying a large parcel in South China village including the present boat landing was not supported. He now proposed seeking willing sellers of land at the north end of the lake, west of the causeway, either including or adjoining Church Park.

Committee member Robert MacFarland reminded the group that China owns a small parcel off Lakeview Drive, opposite the end of the road that used to connect Lakeview Drive and Hanson Road at the Bog Road intersection. He was authorized to look into clarifying the extent of the town’s property there.

Suggestions for a potential community center included the former Fairpoint building on Route 3 and the present China Middle School, if the school department is able to consolidate China’s elementary education in an enlarged China Primary School. Neither property is likely to be available soon. Senior housing would require transportation, committee member Amy Gartley suggested. Committee member and Selectman Irene Belanger said residents responding to a recent survey were not enthusiastic about taxpayer-funded transportation.

L’Heureux said the newly-formed Broadband Committee is looking into expansion of internet service. Worster recommended expansions feature buried cable, which he said is much easier to maintain than overhead cable.

The meeting ended after a moment of silence in memory of the late Albert Althenn.

CHINA NEWS: Board holds preliminary talks on health insurance

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by Mary Grow

CHINA — China selectmen spent the first hour of their April 3 meeting talking about town employees’ health insurance, with several employees and other residents listening and asking questions. No decision was made; board members emphasized the discussion was preliminary.

Susan Smith, of the Maine Municipal Employees Health Trust (MMEHT), summarized various plans her group offers, working with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and an administrator called Group Dynamic of Falmouth.

Town Manager Daniel L’Heureux invited Smith in response to a request from selectmen to look into saving money on health insurance. Smith explained the concept of health reimbursement accounts, which allow a town to offer a lower-cost plan and repay employees for increased out-of-pocket expenses.

She offered a variety of different plans, and many of the questions opened up still other options. Employees and selectmen needed time to review the choices. Smith is likely to be invited back for a discussion with employees and perhaps another public meeting with selectmen.

After Smith left, board member Jeffrey LaVerdiere asked about talking with representatives of insurance companies other than Anthem, and former Selectman Robert MacFarland asked if town officials had looked into self-insuring.

In other business April 3, L’Heureux said China is looking for one budget committee member and additional members for the China for a Lifetime Committee. The latter is exploring ways to make China more welcoming for people of all ages, including services to help older residents stay in their homes.

Selectman Ronald Breton reported on the significant increase in the draft RSU (Regional School Unit) #18 budget for 2017-18. (ep)

China Village resident Margo Allen attempted to clear up what she saw as conflicting information given at the March 25 town business meeting, when a voter asked whether the appropriation for the causeway project at the head of China Lake included replacing the bridge. One selectman promptly said no; two others said yes. The disagreement continued, with modifications, at the selectmen’s meeting; it appears that the $750,000 voters approved could include the bridge, perhaps with supplemental funds or adjustments to other parts of the project.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, April 17. The Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee, the group tasked with developing further plans for the causeway project and other TIF expenditures approved March 25, is scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 10.