Free invasive plant management plans available

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Surveying several large, invasive autumn olive shrubs at the edge of a field, in Sidney.
Photo courtesy of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

Farm and woodland owners and operators in five Maine counties may be eligible to receive a free invasive plant survey and management plan, prepared by a natural resource professional from the local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD). Staff of SWCDs serving Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Somerset, and Waldo counties are looking for landowners or operators who would like to learn more about the invasive plants on their farms and woodlands.

Invasive plants like Asiatic bittersweet vines, thorny multiflora rose shrubs, sprawling Japanese barberry, and others can create dense tangles in forests, wetlands, and fields, crowding out native plants and young trees. Along forest edges and hedgerows, thickets of invasive shrubs can reduce the area of productive fields. Some invasive plants create habitat for ticks, cause skin rashes, or are harmful if eaten by livestock.

Many farmers and woodland owners know that invasive plants are present but aren’t sure what to do about them. Others may not know how to recognize invasive plants. Having a site visit and survey from the local SWCD is a chance to talk with a natural resource professional, learn to identify harmful plants, and get guidance on how to manage them. Survey data also help scientists understand invasive plant distribution in Maine because data are contributed to the online mapping tool iMapInvasives (imapinvasives.org), the central repository for invasive plant data in Maine.

This service is free to farm and woodland owners or operators thanks to a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS) administered by the Maine Natural Areas Program (maine.gov/dacf/mnap) in the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. The project is also funded in part by the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund (maine.gov/ifw/mohf), in which proceeds from the sale of a dedicated instant lottery ticket are used to support outdoor recreation and natural resource conservation. Space is limited and landowners/operators must meet basic USDA – NRCS eligibility requirements. Site visits will be conducted during the growing season, but sign ups are open now.

Participating landowners and operators are encouraged to act on the management plans they receive by implementing invasive plant treatments. Treatment funding may be available by applying to the USDA NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program through the local USDA NRCS office (nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/me/contact/local/).

To learn more and sign up for a free survey and management plan, please contact the SWCD in the county where the farm or woodland is located:

Somerset County: Joe Dembeck at jdembecksc15@gmail.com or 207-474-8323 ext. 3.

Kennebec County: Dale Finseth at dale@kcswcd.org or 207-621.9000.

Knox and Lincoln Counties: Rebecca Jacobs at rebecca@knox-lincoln.org or 207-596-2040.

Waldo County: Aleta McKeage at aleta.waldosoilandwater@gmail.com or 207.218.5311.

Walk-a-thon becomes Exercise-a-thon at St. Michael School

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Travis Mills, center, with students at St. Michael School, in Augusta. (contributed photo)

For five years, the St. Michael School and Travis Mills Foundation Walk-A-Thon has steadily grown into a heart-warming fundraiser that annually displays the importance placed on service and kindness at the Augusta school. Students walk laps around the block of the school, located on Sewall Street, raising money for the foundation and the school through pre-obtained pledges. The event also features an inspirational speech from Mills before the walking begins, and a barbecue lunch at its conclusion.

This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent distance learning, changes were needed to ensure the event would flourish once again.

“Students will be challenged to perform designated exercises for four days, from Tuesday, May 19 through Friday, May 22,” said Kevin Cullen, principal at St. Michael. “Travis and I will kick off the Exercise-A-Thon on Tuesday morning with a Zoom call on Facebook Live at 9 a.m.”

The four-day challenge will have a different theme each day, both in exercise and attire, with the amount of exercise time increasing with the ages of the students:

Tuesday: jumping jacks and star jacks while wearing St. Michael School colors.

Wednesday: sit-ups and dancing while wearing “crazy outfits.”

Thursday: students’ choice for exercise while wearing the uniform of their favorite team.

Friday: run/walk while in patriotic clothing.

“Each day, students are asked to take pictures or videos of themselves doing the exercises and post them on the St. Michael School Facebook page,” said Cullen. “The suggested donation for each video and picture is a minimum of $5. We are asking school families to share the videos with friends and family and support our students in raising money for this amazing cause. All donations will be split 50/50 between the school and the Travis Mills Foundation.”

Mills, a retired United States Army Staff Sergeant of the 82nd Airborne, is one of only five quadruple amputees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was wounded by an improvised explosive device during his third tour in Afghanistan in 2012. During his recovery, Mills discovered a passion for inspiring fellow wounded servicemen and women. He founded the Travis Mills Foundation, a nonprofit organization, formed to benefit and assist wounded and injured veterans and their families. He has traveled around the country as a motivational speaker, inspiring thousands to overcome life’s challenges and defy odds. In 2015, his book, Tough as They Come, was published.

“We will have so much fun this week exercising our bodies and showing support for our veterans,” said Cullen. “I’m so grateful that everyone was enthusiastic to find a way to continue the fundraiser during the pandemic.”

To donate to the Exercise-A-Thon, visit https://stmichaelmaine.weshareonline.org/ws/opportunities/TravisMillsExercise-a-Thon.

Who is that masked man?

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Masked Father John Skehan

Father John Skehan, pastor of St. Michael parish, in Augusta, brings smiles to those attending drive-through confessions with his special face mask. Drive-through confessions are being offered at many Maine parishes. To see the list, visit www.portlanddiocese.org/drive-through-confessions. The schedule is updated frequently.

Maine French Heritage Language program to hold fundraiser

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Students at the program’s Mardi Gras celebration eating les crêpes. Front left, Charlotte Shargo; back left, Libby Grant; back right, Evan Pitcher; middle right, Callan Grant. (photo source: Charlie Hicks)

The Maine French Heritage Language Program (MFHLP) sixth annual Springtime in Paris fundraising soirée is scheduled for Saturday, May 9, at Le Club Calumet, in Augusta, from 5 – 9:30 p.m. Last year’s event raised over $7,500 and it is their goal that this year’s program will continue to support the learning of French and emphasize the importance of the Franco-American culture within our community.

Springtime in Paris features dinner and music, as well as silent and live auctions. There are some extra surprises for everyone attending.

MFHLP is a nonprofit, after-school French language program that is offered by the Augusta Recreation Department and is based at Buker Community Center. Classes are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays for lively lessons whose mission is to immerse children in the French language, its rich Franco-American heritage in Augusta, in Maine, and in different French countries all over the world. Watching children gain competence in French is amazing. We offer a second language to younger students at a time when many language programs have been eliminated. What these students learn today can help them achieve success in an increasingly multilingual world!

To keep this important program alive in our community, they need your help and support. Purchasing tickets for the soirée or donating items for the live or silent auctions will contribute to the success of this fun-filled evening.

Tickets cost $50 per person or $400 for a table of eight. Please make checks out to “City of Augusta.” For more information, please call Wendy Somes, at Buker Community Center, 22 Armory Street, Augusta, (207) 626-2350.

Tickets are also available online through www.brownpapertickets.com.

Venez célébrer avec nous notre héritage Franco-Américain. Merci, beaucoup.

Kennebec Historical Society presents the Spool Mills of Western Maine

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(Editor: We’re sorry, this event has been canceled because of the coronavirus outbreak!)

In the late 18th century, patrons of James Clark’s cotton thread shop in Paisley, Scotland, first found that they could buy thread wound on wooden spools made by a local wood turner. The convenience caught on and the thread spool industry was born, first in Scotland and Finland, then in the United States. Initially Maine birch wood was shipped to cotton mills in New Jersey and Rhode Island, but it became more economical to turn the spools in Maine, eliminating heavy transportation costs.

Maine had the country’s largest supply of white birch, grown as a succession crop to massive forest fires. Oxford, Franklin, and Piscataquis counties led in the amount of birch available. Following the passage of tariffs on spool created overseas, the spool mill boom was on. Peter Stowell’s ancestors were early to the expansion of these mills as, almost accidentally, they grew the industry from a single mill in Dixfield to dominance in the industry. His presentation traces the history of this now vanished industry in Western Maine.

This month’s KHS speaker, Peter Stowell, grew up in Andover and Bethel. He was entranced early by the majesty of Oxford County’s mountains and rivers and began exploring its history and geography as a child. He is now focused on recovering cultural information long lost to present generations through assiduous research in Maine’s defunct newspapers, official state and federal directories and reports, and informed sources.

This KHS presentation is free to the public (donations gladly accepted). The presentation will be followed by some light refreshments and take place at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 18, at Hope Baptist Church, located at 726 Western Avenue, in Manchester.

China Middle Schoolers tour Kennebec Technologies

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Submitted by Ryan Sweeney

On January 14, China Middle School JMG had the opportunity to tour Kennebec Technologies, in Augusta. Eighth graders walked the shop floor with Shawn Arbour, director, sales and marketing, and Harvey Smith, director of quality, learning about the variety of machinery and jobs. Students then had an in-depth question/answer session with Shawn and Virginia Fletcher, human resources manager. Shawn and Virginia emphasized the importance of soft skills like work ethic, teamwork and cooperation. Student Sydney Laird commented that hearing Shawn and Virginia emphasize that you don’t need to be the smartest person to be successful. Instead, working hard and being committed are most important in terms of success. I feel like I always try to work hard, which gives me confidence that my effort it will pay off.”

Kennebec Technologies prides itself on a safe and professional workplace. Shawn Arbour added, “I think it’s a valuable experience for both the students and Kennebec Technologies. Kennebec gets to explain and show off to the next generation what we do every day and how it applies to the world we live in. The students get to see what’s out there in the real world and get exposure to a manufacturing environment first hand. It also gives them the opportunity to ask us questions about the work place that we don’t always see from our perspective.” It was a valuable opportunity for all involved.

Ryan Sweeney is JMG Specialist at China Middle School.

Kennebec Historical Society to present “Lost Indian Tribes of Western Maine”

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Hopelessly caught between the colonial aims of several European nations, primarily England and France, Maine’s native population never stood a chance. Dozens of tribes in western Maine were decimated by an endless series of war, disease, trauma, and displacement from their homelands. Their cultural presence has been lost to the world; their histories are told by white men. This presentation locates the tribes along western Maine rivers and identifies the forces that sealed their fates. Learn of the names of Wawenocks kidnapped by George Weymouth and Capt. Henry Harlow, of the murder of Squanto, and of the western Maine Indians who were tricked into capture at Dover, New Hampshire, and later imprisoned, hanged, or sold into slavery never to be heard from again.

Our KHS speaker, Peter Stowell, grew up in Andover and Bethel. Educated at Gould Academy, the University of Maine, and Tulane University in New Orleans, he was entranced early by the majesty of Oxford County’s mountains and rivers and began exploring its history and geography as a child. He is now focused on recovering cultural information long lost to present generations through assiduous research in Maine’s defunct newspapers, official state and federal directories and reports, and informed sources. For his presentation to the Kennebec Historical Society, Stowell has collected information on Maine’s Indians from more than 100 sources, some of them dating back to the early 1600s and most of them dating before 1900.

This KHS presentation is free to the public (donations gladly accepted). The presentation will be followed by some light refreshments and take place at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 19, at Hope Baptist Church, located at 726 Western Avenue, in Manchester.

Two local graduates receive Maine Dental Association scholarship

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Two local graduates were selected to receive the 2019 Alva S. Appleby Scholarship from the Maine Dental Association Charitable Foundation.

Jenna Fongemie, a graduate of St. Dominic Academy, in Auburn, who attends the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, and Stephanie Watson, a graduate of Cony High School, in Augusta, who attends the University of New England College of Dental Medicine, were two of 14 students that were selected for the scholarship.

Each of the students was awarded $3,500. To be considered for the annual Appleby Scholarship, a student must be from the state of Maine, have completed their first year of dental school, and be currently enrolled in a dental school accredited by the American Dental Association.

Fongemie is the daughter of Jeffrey and Joline Fongemie of Augusta, and Watson is the daughter of Thomas and Lisa Beeckel of Augusta.

“Fighting Mental Health Stigma” and “Living with Depression” presentations set for Augusta and Waterville in coming weeks

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Free presentations on the topic of improved mental health will be offered by parishes in Augusta and Waterville in the coming weeks. All are welcome to attend either presentation.

As part of its ongoing “Coffee and Conversation” series, the St. Michael Parish Social Justice Commission will sponsor a presentation and discussion on “Fighting Mental Health Stigma.” The session will be held on Thursday, January 23, at 7 p.m., in St. Monica Hall, on 5 Kendall Street, in Augusta.

St. Michael parishioners Emily Dowdell and Andrew Phinney, both professionals in the mental health field, will lead the discussion. For more information, contact the parish at (207) 623-8823 or St.Michael@portlanddiocese.org. You can also visit the parish’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/StMichaelMaine.

Corpus Christi Parish, in Waterville, and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Lyon, in Winslow, will co-host “Living with Depression” on Sunday, January 26, from 2 p.m., to 3:30 p.m. in the hall of Notre Dame Church, on 116 Silver Street, in Waterville.

Marc Sirois, a parishioner of Corpus Christi and the manager of outpatient behavioral services for MaineGeneral Medical Center, will discuss the causes and treatments of depression as well as strategies for living with depression and supporting those who do. For more information, call (207) 873-4512 or email csjsoflyon.maine@gmail.com.

For more information about these and other special events occurring in the Diocese of Portland, visit the special events section of the diocesan website at www.portlanddiocese.org.

“Manufacturing Augusta: The Cotton Mill Fire and the Breaching of the Edwards Dam” local history presentation at Lithgow Public Library

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On Wednesday, January 22, at 6:30 p.m., the Lithgow Public Library, in Augusta, will host “Manufacturing Augusta: The Cotton Mill Fire and the Breaching of the Edwards Dam,” presented by the Heritage Center at Mill Park. The event is free and open to the public.

This is the fifth in the series of presentations on local manufacturing history by the Heritage Center at Mill Park. Come learn about the rich local history of industrial Augusta in this event spotlighting the massive fire at the Bates Manufacturing, Edwards Division cotton mill in 1989 and the breaching of the Edwards Dam in 1999. Jan Michaud, founder of the Heritage Center at Mill Park, will share the video interviews and footage, concluding with a brief discussion.

Lithgow Library is located at 45 Winthrop Street, in Augusta. For more information, please call the library at (207) 626-2415 or visit our website at www.lithgowlibrary.org.