Local scouting leaders receive prestigious district awards

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Luanne Chesley, Advancement and Recognition chairman, left, presented the District Award of Merit to Russell Cahn. (contributed photo)

by Chuck Mahaleris

Russell Cahn, of Augusta, received the highest award a local Scouting District can bestow upon a volunteer on Saturday, September 25, when he was presented the District Award of Merit during the annual District Scouters’ Recognition Dinner held at Camp Bomazeen.

Cahn currently serves as Scoutmaster of Troop #631 at St. Augustine church but his Scouting career began when he joined Cub Scouts as a leader in New York Pack #349 where he served as Den Leader for Tigers, Wolf, Bear and Webelos dens. He was also Little League Coach from 2009-2014, in Forest Hills, New York. When the family moved to Maine, he and his family quickly got involved in Augusta’s Cub Scout Pack serving as Assistant Cubmaster and Den Leader.

When his son Tyler was old enough to cross over, Russel joined Troop #631, in Augusta, as an Assistant Scoutmaster and became Scoutmaster in 2020. Russell also served as the Cub Scout Rangemaster for Kennebec Valley District and served as Rangemaster for Pine Tree Council since 2017. Cahn teaches several merit badges and was a member of various Merit Badge Colleges. He also was a member of the 2017 National Jamboree Staff and the 2019 World Jamboree contingent.

Julie McKenney, Cub Day Camp Director at Camp Bomazeen and Kennebec Valley District Activities chairman, praised Cahn. “Russell’s knowledge from his previous unit in New York helped shift the way the Kennebec Valley District holds their Pine Wood Derbies. His guidance has molded the derbies into a far more enjoyable format for our Scouting families.” Cahn’s wife Tracy is a member and the chairman of the Troop Committee and their son Tyler is working on his Eagle Scout project. Both were present when the award was presented to him by District Advancement & Recognition Chairman Luanne Chesley, of Vassalboro. Cahn said, “Scouting allows me to share knowledge about the outdoors and the values of Scouting that they otherwise would not receive. Scouting gives them outstanding experiences that will help them develop into leaders.”

Heidi O’Donnell

Also receiving the District Award of Merit was Heidi O’Donnell, who volunteers in Scouting with Camden Troop #200. She has been involved with both Girl Scouts and Scouting since her son Matthew was a Tiger Cub Scout in 2011 and her daughter Taylor first joined Girl Scouts. Both joined her at Camp Bomazeen to receive the award.

Matthew is currently working towards his Eagle Scout rank and Taylor has submitted her Gold Project award. Heidi has been involved at various levels of both programs and has also served on Camp Bomazeen staff and worked at several Merit Badge colleges. Like Cahn, she was a member of the 2017 National Jamboree staff and also attended the 2019 World Jamboree.

O’Donnell was co-trek leader for Philmont in 2019. Outside of Scouting, Heidi has been involved with the YMCA and was awarded its Volunteer of the Year in 2016. Heidi said, “I love being part of the scouting program – both Scouts BSA and Girl Scouts. It is my hope that my involvement in scouting has made a positive impact on many. I know it has had a significant effect on myself and my two children and I am grateful that they were both there to celebrate with me. I look forward to many more years in scouting and encourage others to consider helping to make scouting strong in their communities as it is fulfilling work on so many levels.”

John Wood, a long-time Scouting volunteer from Hope said, “Scouting has been this young lady’s life. She is well deserving of this award.”

District Chairman Joe Shelton, of China, said, “We are very blessed to have so many outstanding volunteer Scouting leaders in Kennebec Valley. They make this program happy and it is only fitting that we take the opportunity to recognize those who have given so much.”

Vassalboro selectmen approve purchase of two compactors

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by Mary Grow

At their Sept. 16 meeting, Vassalboro selectmen unanimously approved purchase of two new compactors for the town transfer station, concluding a years-long discussion of updating the facility.

Tom Maguire, head of Maguire Equipment Inc., of Readville, Massachusetts, reviewed his company’s proposals with selectmen, Town Manager Mary Sabins, Transfer Station Manager George Hamar and Public Works Director Eugene Field.

Selectmen plan to order two compactors immediately. One will be installed when available – Maguire estimates delivery within five or six weeks after he receives an order.

There will be a pause to repair the cement underneath the site of the second machine; then it will be installed, probably not until 2022. Maguire will store it until the town is ready for it.

Selectmen will also order two new large trash containers.

Board and staff members debated spreading the work over several years and decided to get it done in one blow. They discussed related work, like electrical changes and how extensive the concrete repairs are likely to be.

Their plan is to have the town public works crew do the concrete work. Field reminded them that his men might need to be plowing by November and will have spring road work.

If selectmen want them to make concrete work at the transfer station a priority, they will, of course, he said.

“You guys answer to the residents,” he reminded them.

Selectmen agreed it is time to make the transfer station upgrade a priority. They are satisfied that the approved additions and changes can be made within the $156,000 budgeted.

In other business, after hesitation, selectmen approved a short policy statement requiring all employees “whose duties include routine work in the Town Office” to be vaccinated against Covid-19. The only exception is a medical exemption; any exempted employee must be masked when within six feet of anyone else.

Hesitation was because the issue has become politically controversial. Approval was because all town office staff are already vaccinated, Sabins said, so the policy would affect only job applicants; and because social distancing is difficult in the “super-close quarters” (Selectman Barbara Redmond’s phrase) in the office, as well as in some transactions with the public.

Selectman Chris French voted against the policy, because he thinks it should apply to all town employees who meet the public, not just those in the office.

The meeting began with a very short public hearing on the annual update to the appendices to the General Assistance Ordinance, adjusting the allowable amounts of aid. There being no public comment, board Chairman Robert Browne closed the hearing and the selectmen unanimously approved the changes.

Sabins said resident and retiring Codes Officer Paul Mitnik would like to rejoin the Conservation Commission. Selectmen unanimously appointed him to finish out Betsy Poulin’s term, which ends in 2023.

There is still a vacancy on the Conservation Commission, since French resigned after he was elected selectman. That term ends in 2022.

Selectmen unanimously approved the annual resolution declaring the week of Sept. 17 through 23 Constitution Week, honoring the United States Constitution.

Sabins reported the Vassalboro annual report for 2020 had earned a Supreme award from the Maine Municipal Association, for the ninth year in a row. “Supreme” means Vassalboro produced the best annual report of any Maine town in its size category.

Because selectmen plan an extra meeting they have labeled a goal-setting workshop, and because November holidays disrupt their usual Thursday schedule, they developed the following list of pending board meetings.

— Regular meetings at 6:30 p.m., on Thursdays, Sept. 30, Oct. 14 and Oct. 28;
— A special goal-setting workshop meeting at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 21, open to the public to watch and listen but not to participate; and
— One November meeting, unless a press of business requires another, scheduled for Thursday evening, Nov. 18, at 6:30 p.m.

French led an inconclusive discussion of the unsatisfactory solid waste disposal situation, which Browne suggested as a topic for Oct. 21. French objects to too much landfilling and too little recycling, due to the failure to restart a successor to the Hampden facility that minimized landfilling and emphasized recycling.

CHINA: People’s Park group dealt major disappointment

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The property in question, from Google Streetview.

by Mary Grow

[There has been an update to this story: CHINA: Follow-up on land sale story from last week]

Lindsey Harwath, President of the The People’s Park group hoping to create a public park off Lakeview Drive on land that town officials just sold, has reported a major disappointment.

At the Aug. 30 selectmen’s meeting, selectmen reviewed two bids for the approximately 40-acre parcel with their chosen realtor, Lucas Adams, of Adams Realty, in South China. One bid was for $10,000, from The People’s Park. The other was for $80,000 from a then-unnamed party, now identified as former China resident Austin “Gerry” Ogden.

Adams had valued the land at between $80,000 and $100,000. Selectmen had split the difference and set $90,000 as their preferred price.

They authorized Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood to negotiate and contract with the higher bidder. Adams told selectmen that person’s plan was to keep two lots and offer the remainder of the land to The People’s Park, at a “reasonable” price.

Hapgood reported at the Sept. 13 selectmen’s meeting that she and Ogden had agreed on $83,000. Closing was postponed to sometime in October, she said, because the title company is so busy.

Harwath said before town selectmen acted, Adams had discouraged another interested resident from making a formal offer and had told Harwath that if Ogden became the landowner, The People’s Park “would be in a better financial position than if we tried to buy the lot from the town.”

On Sept. 15, Harwath met with Adams, Ogden and Ogden’s wife Lynda at Adams’ office. Fellow People’s Park board member Jeanne Marquis joined the meeting late.

At that meeting, Harwath said, Ogden said he intended to keep three lots from the property. He offered to sell the remaining acreage to The People’s Park for $110,000. Or, Harwath said, he would sell the group the entire almost-40 acres for $160,000.

Ogden worked with Lawrence “Larry” Adams, the family-owned real estate firm’s previous head, when the Ogdens lived in China.

China planners to hear application to convert Knowles building to marijuana business

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by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members have scheduled a Sept. 28 public hearing on Miguel Rivera’s application to convert the Knowles Mechanical Building at 1097 Route 3 to a medical marijuana business.

The building is a short distance east of Dirigo Corner, where Dirigo and Alder Park roads intersect Route 3 (also called Belfast Road). Codes Officer Jaime Hanson, summarizing Rivera’s application, said Rivera plans no changes to the exterior of the building, the parking areas or the grounds.

Hanson said the existing septic system, approved in 2013, should be adequate for the proposed new business. Rivera said he has not had it inspected, but the facilities indoors seem to work properly.

The change of use will have no effect on a mapped wetland on the property, Hanson said. Referring to a requirement that no medical marijuana business can locate on a property within 500 feet of a school, day care or other child-oriented use, Hanson said the provision is met.

That issue later raised two others: whether the existence of a medical marijuana facility prohibited a child-based use in an adjacent building and thereby “burdened” surrounding lots, and whether home-schooling counts as a child-oriented use. The questions were left unanswered.

Rivera said he has a state medical marijuana caregiver’s license. He plans no more than two or three employees in the building at a time, he said. He will not have a marijuana growing operation in the building.

Planning board members agreed the next steps are notifying abutters of the proposed change of use and holding the Sept. 28 public hearing. Unless new pandemic regulations require a change, the hearing should be at 6:30 p.m. in the portable building behind the town office on Lakeview Drive, with interested residents invited to attend in person.

Hanson said there might also be an application to amend a subdivision, by approving the already-accomplished relocation of Fire Road 19, at the Sept. 28 meeting.

In other business, Hanson reported that he remains backlogged on permit applications, but Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood has authorized staff help. Planning Board Chairman Randall Downer expressed appreciation to the manager.

Board member Toni Wall said she plans to spend six months on the Appalachian Trail next year. She asked whether she should ask for a leave or resign from the board.

Board member James Wilkens said he considered the question the board’s business and made a motion to authorize a six-month’s leave for Wall. The motion was approved 4-0 with Wall abstaining.

China Broadband Committee (CBC) drafts printed publicity material

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by Mary Grow

At their Sept. 16 meeting, China Broadband Committee (CBC) members continued planning publicity for the bond issue they are sponsoring on China’s Nov. 2 local ballot. They focused on drafting printed materials, and briefly discussed the next scheduled public presentation.

That presentation will be at 2 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 26, at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library. The meeting is only on Zoom; there will be no in-person audience. Pre-registration is required by emailing chinalibraryacb@gmail.com; the Zoom link will be provided.

CBC Chairman Robert O’Connor intends to tape the meeting for later viewing. It should become available on the town website, under Live Stream’s list of previous events.

CBC members scheduled another committee meeting at 4 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 23, to agree on who will say what on Sept. 26 and to put their proposed flyer in final form.

The Nov. 4 ballot asks voters to vote yes or no on a long question that, if approved, would authorize, but not require, China selectmen to issue a bond to provide up to $5,608,700 to build new broadband infrastructure in town.

The CBC expects enough additional funding from state and federal grants to cover the total cost of the project, estimated at almost $6.5 million.

During the Sept. 16 discussion, John Dougherty, of Mission Broadband, consultants to the CBC, said that grants are already being awarded. If voters approve on Nov. 2, one use of the bond money could be to provide matching funds so the CBC can start grant applications.

The Sept. 16 discussion of the flyer covered two points, content and distribution methods.

CBC members are working with a two-sided document on standard 8½-by-11 paper. Their task is to explain complexities, including technical internet information, clearly enough so that voters understand what their Nov. 2 decision will mean.

They agree on what the flyer and other informational materials should say, but have different ideas on what to emphasize and how to convey their points most clearly. Both Doherty and Mark Ouellette, head of Axiom Technologies, the CBC’s choice to oversee construction of new broadband infrastructure and to run and maintain the expanded service, advised them to simplify the information to essentials.

Committee members discussed distribution through various means, with the goal of informing as many China residents as possible. In addition to the flyer, they plan yard signs advertising the ballot question.

They also plan to schedule future public informational meetings and discussed possible places to hold them.

More information is available on the CBC website, chinabroadband.net.

Windsor selectmen approve three tax abatements

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by The Town Line staff

Windsor selectmen approved three tax abatements at their August 31 meeting.

Abatements were awarded to Heather Vannah in the amount of $141.70, which was assessed to the deleted account; James A. Donnell and Melissa L. Blodgett, in the amount of $1,404, which as assessed to the wrong owner; and Augusta Rockland Rd., LLC, in the amount of $52, which was assessed to the deleted account. A supplemental tax was approved for Benjamin Powers, in the amount of $1,404, which was omitted from assessment. All passed unanimously.

Town Manager Theresa Haskell also presented the 2021 municipal valuation return (MVR) for the board’s signature.

In other business, Selectmen Chairman Ray Bates asked about the poverty abatement that was mentioned at the last board of selectmen meeting, and Haskell said she left a message to schedule a date. This matter will be held in executive session.

Also, Haskell reported she sent an email to China Town Manager Becky Hapgood and advised her that Bates was available to have a discussion regarding the China Region Lake Alliance (CRLA).

Haskell also informed the board that Keel Hood, the auditor, was at the town office the week of August 23 and needed only two days to complete the audit instead of the normal three days.

In the absence of cemetery sexton Joyce Perry, Haskell reported that Jaime Carle, of J.C. Stone, donated two granite stone benches for the Veterans Memorial. The new flagpole, which looked slightly crooked, has been straightened by Nor’East Flagpole Co.

Selectmen unanimously approved holding a public hearing to adopt the MMA Model Ordinance and GA Appendices (A-H) for the period of October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, September 28.

Selectmen also approved the naming of a non-town road as Country Lane.

The next meeting of the Windsor Selectmen was held on September 14.

China resident John Glowa announces as Democratic candidate for governor

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John Glow (image credit: ballotpedia)

John M. Glowa, Sr., of South China, has become the first declared Democratic candidate for governor in the 2022 election. Glowa, 67, is a seventh generation Maine native who was born in Aroostook County and who, like many Mainers, moved with his family to Connecticut in the 1950s. He became the youngest government official in Connecticut at the age of fifteen after he tried, unsuccessfully, to preserve an important wildlife habitat. He moved back to Maine with his family in 1983 and has resided in South China since 1986. He is the father of two grown sons and the grandfather of six.

He is best known for his wildlife advocacy, primarily natural wolf recolonization, and his advocacy for open, fair, and inclusive government. He worked for the State of Maine, mainly as an environmental specialist with the Department of Environmental Protection, from 1986 until his retirement in 2016. According to Glowa, “I am the first professed animal/wildlife advocate and environmentalist to run for governor in Maine since Percival Baxter a century ago. Maine’s economy depends on its environment and ecosystem and it’s time to begin making both a priority. My work inside state government, my environmental and wildlife advocacy, and my education have taught me not only how government doesn’t work, but how it should work.”

Glowa’s post-secondary education includes a bachelor of science degree in economics and a master’s degree in public administration. “We teach our children in school that ours is a government of, by, and for the people. When they get older and try to effect social change, they learn that ours is a government of, by, and for itself and the special interests. Government puts into place laws and rules that give the appearance of fairness and inclusiveness, and then implements those laws and rules for its own benefit. We must reform our government to motivate people, especially young people, to work to make our world a better place.

Unfortunately, government’s intent is to get the public to give up and go away. It’s no wonder that so many people have become disengaged. As one who has tried for decades to bring about positive change, I refuse to give up and go away,” Glowa said.

Glowa co-founded The Maine Wolf Coalition, Inc., in 1994 and the organization recently identified the first DNA documented live Eastern Wolf in Maine. Additional DNA analyses and photographs indicate that there may be a breeding population in the state. According to Glowa, “We have done, and are doing on a shoestring, what the state and federal governments have refused to do for more than 20 years.”

As governor, Glowa’s initial focus will include bringing in a non-partisan task force to look at Maine’s constitution, laws, rules and programs to come up with recommendations for change and system reform. Glowa also wants to establish an effective, non-biased internal system of compliance auditing to maximize government accountability, effectiveness, and efficiency.

“Maine’s system of government is rigged to favor the government and those with political clout. This is a fact. Unless and until we reform this rigged system, Maine’s government will continue to attempt little more than politically motivated window dressing and will live from budget to budget, never solving the myriad of problems, many of which the government has created. The task will be huge, but we must start now to turn this government around if our state and nation are to survive,” said Glowa.

Glowa formally announced his candidacy on September 14, in a brief speech outside the State House, in Augusta.

For more information, contact John Glowa at 207-660-3801 or at jglowa@roadrunner.com.

CHINA: Four candidates vie for two selectmen’s seats

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by Mary Grow

With the deadline for returning nomination papers passed, China Town Clerk Angela Nelson reported only one contest on the Nov. 2 election ballot, four candidates for two seats on the Board of Selectmen.

There are four town positions for which no name will appear on the ballot.

Candidates for selectman are incumbent Wayne Chadwick and Brent Chesley, Peter Foote and Jeanne Marquis. Incumbent Irene Belanger did not hand in papers.

For the planning board, Natale Tripodi is a candidate for re-election as the alternate at-large member. There are no names on the ballot for District 1, Chairman Randall Downer’s position, or District 3, a seat that has been vacant for months.

For the budget committee, Thomas Rumpf, currently the representative from District 2 whose term would end in 2022, is unopposed for election as chairman, the position Robert Batteese is retiring from after many years. Kevin Maroon is seeking re-election as the District 1 representative.

There is no candidate on the ballot for the budget committee District 3 seat currently held by Dana Buswell. If Rumpf is elected chairman, Town Clerk Angela Nelson said selectmen will be able to appoint a new member from District 2, to serve for one year.

Neil Farrington is not seeking re-election as one of China’s two members of the Regional School Unit #18 board of directors, and no other name is on the ballot.

Vacant positions for which no candidate is on the ballot can be filled in one of three ways:

— A resident can announce he or she is a candidate and ask voters in advance for their write-in votes;
— Voters can write in a name of their choice, and town officials will run down the list, starting with the name that appears most often, until someone accepts the position; or
— If neither of those methods works, selectmen can seek and appoint a volunteer.

China’s District One is in the northwestern part of town; District Two, northeastern part; District Three, southeastern part; and District Four, southwestern part. Maps of the districts are on the website, china.govoffice.com, under the planning board and the budget committee.

In addition to choosing town officials, China voters will be asked whether they want to approve a bond issue to fund new broadband infrastructure.

China transfer station subcommittee agrees on mission statement draft

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by Mary Grow

Members of the China Transfer Station Visioning Subcommittee agreed on a draft mission statement at their Sept. 10 meeting and discussed possible items to include in a vision statement.

The mission statement is intended simply to state the purpose of the transfer station. The draft wording – subject to change – says it is “to transfer, recycle and dispose of solid waste for residences and businesses in China and Palermo, in accord with state Department of Environmental Protection solid waste rules.”

The vision statement is a summary of proposed future activities and services. Discussion ranged from the relatively obvious, like encouraging recycling and promoting public education about all aspects of waste management, to the controversial, to the definitely visionary.

Discussion of costs and cost control led to a brief discussion of recommending a pay-per-bag requirement for China residents (Palermo residents are already required to buy trash bags). The proposal was quickly shot down the last time it was suggested, subcommittee members remembered.

Lawrence Sikora, who chairs the main Transfer Station Committee, talked about an automated system that could be available 24 hours a day. An identification card, similar to the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags that now confirm China and Palermo residents’ right to use the facility, would open bins for different recyclables and for waste.

The necessary technology is “probably far in the future,” he commented.

Another possibility discussed was turning waste into a useful commodity, doing on the local scale what the regional Fiberight facility in Hampden, has failed to accomplish so far. A variation on the theme was some way to use trash to generate energy, again locally rather than as regional incinerators have been doing.

Subcommittee Chairman Chris Diesch said in addition to issues like costs and equipment, the vision statement ought to mention intangibles, like employee satisfaction.

Transfer Station Manager Ronald Marois said that employee turnover is low right now and that almost all facility users are cooperative and courteous. Sikora and Diesch commended Marois and staff for keeping the transfer station clean.

China Broadband Committee (CBC) discusses how to publicize ballot question

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by Mary Grow

China Broadband Committee members spent their Sept. 9 meeting discussing plans to publicize and explain the Nov. 2 ballot question asking voters to authorize borrowing to support expanded and improved internet service.

The question is long and complicated (see The Town Line, Sept. 9, p. 3). Committee members hope for lopsided approval from local voters, to encourage selectmen to go ahead with the requested bond issue.

The ballot question says specifically that if too few customers sign up to make the new service self-supporting after the first two or three years, selectmen are not obligated to apply for the loan.

The question does not say the town will run the internet service, a point CBC members believe should be emphasized. If voters approve and selectmen proceed, the town will contract with Machias-based Axiom Technologies, and Axiom will be responsible for enrolling customers, overseeing construction of the system, collecting payments, doing repairs and all other aspects of operations and maintenance.

A committee member compared the broadband plan with the way China officials had roads plowed, before the town had its own public works department: they signed contracts with area plowing services, whose operators provided trucks and drivers and were responsible for getting roads clear.

Smaller Maine towns provide most services the same way, other committee members have pointed out. Selectmen and town office staff are not expected to teach in the schools, repave roads, collect trash or do other services they delegate.

CBC members reviewed a draft two-sided flyer explaining how the planned system would work and its benefits to townspeople. Committee member, former selectman and retiring Regional School Unit #18 board member Neil Farrington stressed the latter point. Fast, reliable and widely available broadband will benefit all residents, especially students, business owners and older residents getting medical attention without leaving home, he argued.

More information is available on the CBC website, chinabroadband.net.

Committee members scheduled a public informational presentation for 2 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 26, at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library, in China Village.

They discussed preparing roadside and yard signs; doing mailings to China voters; taking out ads in The Town Line and getting articles into other area papers; and organizing door-to-door informational visits.

The next CBC meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 16.

(See all our stories about the China broadband initiative here.)