Notice of Public Hearing The Municipal Officers of the Town of China will hold a public hearing at the town office on Monday, November 17, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. regarding an On-Premises Liquor License Application submitted by Nash’s Cafe LLC, located at 9 Legion Memorial Drive.
Kimberly Newby
This December, staff at the Bingham Area Health Center welcome Kimberly Newby, FNP, to their professional healthcare team.
Newby earned her Family Nurse Practitioner degree from Husson University. Previously, she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Maine at Fort Kent and her Associate’s degree in Nursing from the University of Maine at Augusta. Newby’s wealth of medical experience includes time spent in surgical nursing, primary care, and specialty care settings, with experience in pain management, chronic disease management, and more. Her extensive experience will make her a great addition to the Bingham team.
Of her new position with HealthReach, Newby said, “I’m thrilled to be joining the team at Bingham Area Health Center. I look forward to working with the people in the greater Bingham area on their health goals.”
Newby joins the existing Bingham clinical team – Doctor Abigail Cross; Physician Assistant, Cory Miller; Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Kelly Bell Bragg; and Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Leah Agren.
Founded in 1975, Bingham Area Health Center is a part of HealthReach Community Health Centers — headquartered in Waterville, Maine. HealthReach is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating eleven family medical practices and one school-based health center. The HealthReach mission is to serve the otherwise medically underserved. In 2025, HealthReach proudly marks 50 years of delivering high-quality healthcare to the rural communities of Central and Western Maine since its founding in 1975!
HealthReach services include general primary and preventative healthcare, including behavioral, substance use disorder, dental, and podiatric care services. To ensure access for everyone, HealthReach accepts Medicare, MaineCare, and major insurance providers, and there are no eligibility requirements to access care through HealthReach; all are welcome.
An Affordable Care Program is available to both uninsured and underinsured people. Assistance is available for applications to programs that help with your healthcare and medication costs, including enrollment support for Maine’s Health Insurance Marketplace.
The above is issued in furtherance of HealthReach Community Health Centers’ federally funded health center project. In 2025, HealthReach is projected to receive $4,436,654 in federal assistance, which is estimated as constituting 12 percent of project costs. Of total project costs for 2025, HealthReach estimates 88 percent to be financed with non-governmental sources.
The contents above are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the official views of or an endorsement by, HRSA, DHHS, or the U.S. Government.
by Mary GrowAt a short Oct. 28 meeting, three China Planning board members and Codes Officer Nicholas French discussed proposing changes in the town’s Phosphorus Control Ordinance, last revised in 1993.
The ordinance is found on the town website, chinamaine.org, as Chapter 4 of the Land Development Code. It says its purpose is “To control the amount of phosphorus entering China Lake and Three Mile Pond from all new development.”
Board Chairman Toni Wall had reviewed the four-and-a-half page document and recommended only minor clarifications and updates – for example, using current titles of state documents referenced in the ordinance.
French told board members he thinks China’s subdivision ordinance should be on their list for review. And, he said, new state legislation will require municipalities to amend other ordinances to conform to state regulations, he thinks by 2027.
Wall remembered the last time legislators required ordinance changes, the revisions were so complex that board members asked town attorney Amanda Meader to draft them.
Board members canceled their Nov. 11 meeting, since it would fall on the Veterans Day holiday. Unless an unexpected urgent matter comes up, their next meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 25.
by Mary GrowAs expected, the three unopposed candidates on China’s Nov. 4 local ballot won their elections.
Town Clerk Angela Nelson reported the following results:
— For two-year terms on the select board, Brent Chesley got 922 votes and Natasha Littlefield got 1,092 votes.
— For a three-year term on the Regional School Unit 18 board, Heather Neal got 1,228 votes.
For select board, there were 70 write-in votes, and 996 voters cast blank ballots. Chesley has served on the board before; Littlefield starts her first term. They succeed Wayne Chadwick and Jeanne Marquis, who did not seek re-election.
The RSU ballot had 29 write-ins and 283 blank ballots. Neal was appointed to the RSU board after her predecessor, Dawn Castner, resigned earlier this fall. John Soifer is China’s other representative on the board.
A majority of the China voters who came to the polls opposed both state referendum questions. The vote on amending voting rules was 711 in favor, 841 against. On adding a state red flag law, the vote was closer: 783 against, 763 in favor.
Almost half of China’s 3,157 registered voters cast ballots before or on Nov. 4.
Barry MacmIllan and Marie Michaud planting tomatoes for the China Food Pantry. (photo by Jude Hsiang)
Last October China resident James Hsiang met with Town Manager Becky Hapgood to propose a community garden. Her response was enthusiastic, and Hsiang wrote up a plan based on his experience at a community garden in a small Connecticut town. The garden would be built and managed by volunteers with support from the town government. Hapgood suggested that the garden, if approved by the Select Board, would become a project of the China For a Lifetime Committee which relies entirely on volunteers to improve quality of life for community members of all ages. The garden would be built on town property, and a fee of $25, $15 for seniors, would cover the season’s rental of each four-foot x eight-foot bed . A raised bed in a community garden can provide a surprising amount of vegetables, herbs, and flowers and is also a source of exercise, education, and camaraderie for people who may not have growing space, sufficient sunlight, or ability to garden without assistance.
Ed Hasselman pouring dirt into the raised beds. (photo by Jude Hsiang)
When the select board approved Hsiang’s plan in January 2025, planning and fundraising began. Several people immediately joined the effort, including Jean Marquis, a select board member and advisor to the China for a Lifetime Committee, along with committee members Marie Michaud, Sandra Isaac, and Eric Austin. The committee provided seed money to begin the building process. Tom Michaud offered space in his farm’s workshop for volunteers to build 36 raised beds which were moved to the garden’s location for temporary storage. The location just south of the Town Office included a disused well and a barn used by the Public Works Department and was also the site of a skating rink during the winter of 2025.
When spring arrived, the garden was laid out with help from Mark Hasselman whose brother Ed brought a tractor to fill the beds. Scott Brown brought his tractor and auger to set the fence posts, encountering some challenges with the ledges in the area. Local folks had begun reserving garden beds and helped with the fencing and preparing the beds. By late May, planting had begun even though the gardeners had to wait a couple of weeks for the old well to be revived and a pump installed in the barn. Several members transported large water jugs to fill the gardener’s watering cans. Soon the Public Works Department had finished digging a trench from the well and the water was turned on.
Sherry Spaulding, Marion Chasteen, and James Hsiang applying a coat of paint to the storage shed. (photo by Jude Hsiang)
Twenty-eight raised beds were rented and the remaining eight were reserved for growing food for the China Food Pantry with seedlings and seeds provided by Bill Powell and others. The tomatoes, broccoli, zucchini, sweet and hot peppers, and string beans were grown for the food pantry by the member gardeners. A three-foot by 16-foot bed was planted with herbs and flowers for all to use and enjoy.
As summer weather arrived, passersby saw the gardeners tending their beds. Week by week, the gardens became more colorful as marigolds, nasturtiums, cosmos, bachelor’s buttons, and zinnias appeared here and there among many varieties of lettuces, peppers, tomatoes, and squashes. When the dreaded Japanese beetles made their early July appearance they were attracted to the zinnias and easily caught. One gardener took some home as a snack for their ducks.
Scott Brown, with the challenging job of digging post holes. (photo by Jude Hsiang)
July 25 marked the first small delivery of vegetables to the China Food Pantry. The increasingly dry weather was a challenge, but by the season’s end, 147 pounds, 10 ounces of very fresh, very local, food was donated. The garden participated in the China Days celebration in early August with an informational display about this new community project. On August 18, the garden hosted University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s Deborah Barnett for a talk on Quick & Easy Food Preservation. Her presentation was encouraging for those newer to canning and freezing and included tips for those who have been doing it for years.
As the first season of the China Community Garden drew to a close many gardeners enthusiastically made reservations for 2026 – some adding an additional bed. Garden members Marion Chasteen, Luther King, Susan Reilly, Sherry Spaulding, and Carol Thibodeau formed a committee to plan for the future. The plans include inviting new members in the spring as well as continuing to grow for the China Food Pantry.
Thanks to the support of the Town of China and the contributions of materials, money, and labor by local businesses and individuals, the China Community Garden celebrates its first year.
By July, things were growing well. (photo by Jude Hsiang)
Gen. Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga, October 1777.
This article is the last – for now – about the Revolutionary War’s effects on central Kennebec Valley towns. It again covers towns not on the river.
As previously mentioned, one effect was a post-war population increase throughout the valley, including veterans, most with families. Some of these men and their descendants became prominent in their new towns, shaping growth and development.
Missing from the historical record, at least as your writer has found so far, is all but bits and pieces of information on how the war affected its veterans. Occasionally there is a reference to a physical disability that could have been war-related.
Surely men in the 1780s suffered the equivalent of PTSD; how was it manifested, and what if anything was done about it?
When a group of veterans gathered on the porch of the general store on a warm summer day, did they one-up each other with war stories? Or was the subject forbidden?
Did a Maine veteran enjoy hunting, because he’d become an expert shot? Or was firing a gun to be avoided, because it brought back unpleasant memories?
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Revolutionary veteran William Halloway or Holloway is buried in Windsor, where he lived for at least some of his last 40-plus years. He was born June 18, 1747, in Bridgewater, Massachusetts; there he married Mary Molly Trask (born May 1, 1756) on June 23, 1773.
An on-line Daughters of the American Revolution site says in 1775, he bought land on a lake in Hallowell, “perhaps intending to trade in furs and timber.”
The DAR writer surmised that he changed his plans in reaction to the beginning of the war in April 1775. Another site says he enlisted in Bridgewater; the DAR writer said he sold his Hallowell land “in January 1777, while on furlough from the army.”
The website shows his hand-written pension application, in which he says he enlisted in the Massachusetts line as a private for a year in January 1776, and again for three years in the Continental service beginning in January 1777. The DAR record says he was promoted to corporal and sergeant in the Massachusetts line.
Just before his second term ended, Halloway enlisted yet again for the duration of the war. In 1782, he fell ill and was hospitalized for almost a year; then he was furloughed and sent home.
Halloway wrote that he served in “the taking of Burgoyne” at Saratoga, New York, in October 1777, and in the Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey, in June 1778, and wintered at Valley Forge.
The application is undated, but Halloway wrote that he was 71 years old, making it around 1818. He was then living in Malta, Windsor’s name from 1809 to 1820.
The DAR site says the Halloways had four sons and three daughters. The writer added that oldest son, Seth, was born “the year he left for war” (another site says 1773) and the second son, John, seven years later (Oct. 1, 1780), “bespeaking the long absence he endured from his wife and home.”
Three of the last four children were reportedly born in Maine, two in Hallowell and the last-born, Lydia, in Windsor in 1789.
Halloway died April 17, 1831, and Mary died August 11, 1844, both in Windsor.
* * * * * *
Oliver Pullen, born Oct. 17, 1759, in Attleborough, Massachusetts, was living in Palermo in 1836 (or 1835; the documents on line seem inconsistent, with a decision dated before the application was filed), when he applied for a land grant under the 1835 state law intended to benefit Revolutionary War veterans.
In his application, he said he enlisted from Attleborough in January, 1776, in a Rhode Island regiment in the continental army. He was honorably discharged in Fishkill, New York, at the end of December 1776.
In June 1777, he said, he re-enlisted as a private in the same regiment, for three years. Again, he wrote, he served the full term and took his “final and honorable discharge” July 24, 1780, near Morristown, New Jersey.
Summarizing his military service, Pullen wrote that he “was at the retreat under General [John] Sullivan from Long Island and at the battles at Long Island [August 1776] and White Plains [October 1776].” The inscription on his gravestone in Palermo’s Greeley Corner Cemetery Old says he served in Colonel Henry Sherman’s regiment.
(Palermo has two Greeley Corner cemeteries close together on Route 3, opposite the Second Baptist Church, where on-line maps show the intersection of Route 3 and Sidney Road. Find a Grave calls them “Old” and “New” with the adjective at the end of the name.
(Millard Howard wrote in his Palermo history that the town bought the land for the first cemetery in 1807. An on-line photo of its sign dates New Greeley Cemetery 1901.)
Pullen’s petition was rejected. A note says he “Did not serve three years”: under it is another note, “35 m 20 d.”
FamilySearch says Pullen married Abigail Page (born in 1761, per WikiTree, or 1767, per FamilySearch) in July 1782, in Vassalboro. They had at least four sons, this source says.
Sargent Sr., was born Jan. 9, 1784, in Winthrop, when – by FamilySearch’s dates and math – his father was 24 and his mother was 17. Gilbert was also born in 1784, apparently later, as his father’s age is listed as 25 and his mother’s as 17; his birthplace was Palermo. Stephen Sr., was born in 1786, in Palermo. Montgomery A. was born in 1794, no birthplace given.
Howard listed Gilbert Pullen as one of the privates in the Palermo militia unit that marched to Belfast in September 1814 to meet a threatened British attack during the War of 1812.
FamilySearch says Oliver Pullen was in Winslow in 1800 and in Waterville in 1810 (the part of Winslow that was on the west bank of the Kennebec River became Waterville in June 1802, so he probably changed towns without moving).
Abigail Pullen died in 1803, aged 36, FamilySearch says; WikiTree says she lived until Jan. 2, 1857, and died in Attleboro, Massachusetts. FamilySearch’s report that she is buried in Readfield, Maine, almost certainly confuses her with another woman.
Oliver Pullen died Dec. 8, 1840, according to his gravestone. Abigail is not among the 10 other Pullens buried in Palermo’s Greeley Corner Cemetery Old. Gilbert and his wife, Nancy (Worthing) Pullen seem to be the only members of the second generation.
* * * * * *
In addition to Abraham Talbot, profiled last week, two more black Revolutionary veterans are reportedly buried in China, Luther Jotham and his younger brother, Calvin Jotham.
An interesting on-line National Park Service article, in the form of a story map titled “Luther Jotham: A Journey for Country and Community” summarizes Luther’s life, including his Revolutionary service. The author began by saying that his record sounds like that of a typical Massachusetts militia man, who trained regularly to be ready for an emergency – except that before the Revolution, Massachusetts law prohibited Blacks from training in peacetime.
The writer said Jotham was born about 1759, in Middleborough, Massachusetts. His parents moved the family to Bridgewater, Massachusetts, before the Revolution, perhaps for better job opportunities.
After the December 1773 Boston Tea Party and the British occupation of the city, Bridgewater, like many other towns, organized a volunteer Minute Man company. Free Blacks were allowed to join, and Jotham did.
The writer pointed out that his motives might have included the stipend (one shilling for each half day of training) or the hope of improving his “social standing” in the mostly-white town.
The Bridgewater troops’ first quasi-military experience was in April 1775, when British forces moved from Boston to Lexington and Concord and met American resistance. The writer explained that in January 1775, British General Thomas Gage had sent troops to Marshfield, a Loyalist town about 30 miles southeast of Boston and about 20 miles northeast of Bridgewater. Militia units, including Bridgewater’s, marched to Marshfield, but did not attack.
On Aug. 1, 1775, Jotham enlisted in the Plymouth County militia and served for five months, stationed in Roxbury, Massachusetts, near Boston. He enlisted again as a militia man in January 1776; came home briefly in April; and re-enlisted in the summer of 1776.
During this period, he was for the first time involved in fighting. The website writer said his unit was in the Battle of Harlem Heights in September and the Battle of White Plains in October. When his enlistment expired Dec. 1, 1776, he again returned to Bridgewater.
Jotham enlisted for the fourth and apparently last time in October 1777. He served only briefly, because, the writer said, militia units were sent home after General Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga on October 17.
Back in Bridgewater, Jotham married for what the writer said was the first time and WikiTree says was the second time. WikiTree names his first wife as Elizabeth Cordner, whom he married Sept. 24, 1774, and who died in or around 1777.
The sources agree he married Mary Mitchel, born about 1755; WikiTree says the wedding was April 8, 1778, in Brockton. According to the National Park Service writer, the couple had three children, Lorania, Lucy, and Nathan.
In January 1779, this source says, Jotham bought 15 acres of land, thereby changing his status (in town records, apparently) from “labourer” to “yeoman,” that is, a “man who farmed his own land” instead of working for other people.
The writer found that Jotham’s life was not easy, at least partly because of his race. In November 1789, he and his family, and his brother Calvin, were among “scores of… working class families” whom the town selectmen ordered to leave town – a practice called “warning out,” used to get rid of residents seen as likely to become paupers in need of town support.
In the early 1800s, Jotham did leave town, moving his family to Vassalboro, Maine, for unknown reasons. There he bought 20 acres of land.
By 1818, when he applied for a pension as a Revolutionary veteran, his resources had dwindled. He wrote that his possessions included “a house, small hut, a few tools and household items.” He had “one cow, three sheep, and one pig.”
He claimed an annual income of less than five dollars, and added: “I am by occupation a labouring man but from age and infirmity unable to do but little.” An annual pension of $96 was approved in 1820.
The National Park Service writer said that Jotham’s wife Mary and all three children died in Vassalboro. In 1816, he married Reliance Squibbs (his second wife in this account, not mentioned by WikiTree), by whom he had two more children, Mary Anne and Orlando. Reliance died before Jotham got his pension in May 1820, and a witness to his application said the two children had also died.
On Dec. 20, 1821, in Vassalboro, Jotham married a woman named Rhoda Parker. Rhoda, listed as a mulatto in the 1850 census, was born in 1787 in Georgetown.
Find a Grave says she and Jotham had at least one son, born in Vassalboro in 1829 and named Calvin (after his uncle). The Park Service writer said there were at least three children of this marriage.
(The younger Calvin Jotham died Dec. 17, 1883, in Sherbrooke, Québec, where he and his white wife had a daughter and three sons between 1863 and 1880.)
By August 1827, Jotham was considered to need a guardian to manage his affairs, and a man named Abijah Newhall was appointed. Not long afterwards, the family moved to China, where Jotham died June 2, 1832, aged 81.
Rhoda applied for a widow’s pension in 1860. She died in October 1869, in China. Find a Grave says by then her last name was Watson; apparently she remarried after Jotham’s death.
Your writer found much less information about Luther Jotham’s brother, Calvin, and no details about his military service.
Find a Grave says he was born in 1759 in Middleborough, Massachusetts. He died in March 1841 in China and is buried in the town’s Talbot Cemetery. This site says he fathered a daughter and a child who died in infancy, both in Brockton, Massachusetts; it names no wife.
Howard, Millard, An Introduction to the Early History of Palermo, Maine (second edition, December 2015)
Websites, miscellaneous.
For Regional School Unit #18 board: newly appointed board member Heather Neal, unopposed for re-election.Why did you accept appointment to the RSU #18 board, & why are you running for a full term? Please include any specific goals, changes, etc. you would like to accomplish.
Heather Neal (South China)
I accepted the appointment to the RSU 18 board because we’re living in a time of significant political, social, and cultural change and I believe strong, principled leadership is more important than ever. I’m not afraid to ask tough questions, to be a voice of opposition when necessary, and to push for meaningful, lasting solutions that put students and families first.
I’ve never been a “yes person.” I believe in examining every issue thoroughly: the good, the bad, and the uncomfortable. I’m committed to standing up for the values that will help prepare our youth to become the capable, thoughtful leaders our future needs.
Looking ahead, I want to foster real, open collaboration. It’s frustrating when meetings lack genuine public discussion. I will continue to push for greater transparency, open dialogue, and accountability because our community deserves to see how and why decisions are made.
What are your qualifications to serve on the RSU #18 board?
As a Thomas College graduate with an MBA and over 13 years of experience in school finance, federal grant management, and executive-level financial roles, I bring a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities in educational budgeting. I’m eager to apply this expertise to support thoughtful, effective planning and responsible use of district resources. As a parent of two RSU #18 graduates and two current 4th graders, I’m personally invested in the success of our schools and committed to building a strong future for all our students.
In addition to my professional experience, I’ve been actively involved in our community through various roles in China including serving as a member of FOCES/PTO, co-chairing China Rec, and volunteering as a coach and umpire for school and recreational sports. These experiences have deepened my connection to our schools, families, and students, and reflect my ongoing commitment to service and engagement.
What else would you like voters to know by Nov. 4?
I will work with integrity and purpose to ensure our students have the support they need to succeed, while representing the values and voices of our community.
NOTE: The Town Line asked two unopposed candidates for China select board, Brent Chesley and Natasha Littlefield, for similar information to be shared with voters. Neither replied by the Oct. 13 deadline.
The China Area Golden Agers are arranging a trip to the Gardens Aglow on Friday, December 12, 2025. You do not have to be a member of Golden Agers to join on this exciting, colorful experience to a venue right here in the great state of Maine.
The bus will leave China Hannaford at 3 p.m. and arrive at the Gardens at 4:30 p.m. Leaves the Garden at 6:30 p.m. and back at China Hannaford at 8 p.m. with colorful lifetime memories. The cost of the trip is $35 per person with a $19 entrance fee. Make checks payable to town of China. They need to fill the bus! Capacity is 50 to afford this price. A sign up sheet is at the China Town Office, 207-445-2014 ext. 3, and one with Karen Stankis, tour director, and her cell number is 207-592-3095. Other folks to contact are Jo Orlando, sign up coordinator, 207-242-1675 and Sheldon Goodine, Instigator, 207-215-9780.
Sign up with total payment is due by November 27, 2025.
by Mary GrowThe China Board of Appeals meeting scheduled for Thursday afternoon, Oct. 23, to continue discussion of Timothy Theriault’s application for a variance has been canceled. A new date will be set and announced.
by Mary GrowChina select board members unanimously adopted a new Pet Policy for Municipal Properties, prepared for their Oct. 20 meeting by Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood.
Hapgood explained that pets have never been allowed in certain places and situations, for example, on town ballfields during games. The new policy codifies restrictions.
It applies to “any domesticated or tamed animal kept as a companion and cared for affectionately” with the exception of service animals. The definition of service animal is “a dog that is individually trained to perform work or tasks for a person with a disability.” A companion animal, comfort animal or emotional support animal is not a service animal, under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The areas from which pets are excluded are listed at the fenced areas of the town athletic fields near China Middle School; the community garden near the town office; and trails in the Community Forest behind China Primary School “during athletic and community events.”
Hapgood’s initial draft banned pets from ballfields only when the fields are in use. Three select board members, two describing themselves as dog lovers, thought dogs should be kept off the fields at all times.
Children playing there are often on the ground; and no matter how carefully a dog-owner cleans up after a dog, a residue may be left, the board members said.
The pet policy directs the person in charge of a dog to “immediately and properly” dispose of any solid waste the dog deposits on municipal property.
In other business, board member Edwin Bailey relayed a resident’s question about Town Landing Road in South China. Hapgood said erosion control work should start soon.
By unanimous votes, board members:
— Appointed Hapgood as China’s Civil Emergency Preparedness Director, succeeding Stephen Nichols, who resigned;
— Approved an Oct. 25 catered event on 9th Fire Road; and
— Appointed personnel for the Nov. 4 election.
Nov. 4 voting will be in the portable building behind the town office, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. In addition to the state referendum questions, China voters have three uncontested elections: Heather Neal for the Regional School Unit #18 board, and Brent Chesley and Natasha Littlefield for select board.
Hapgood reminded those present the town office will be closed Thursday, Oct. 23, for staff training; Tuesday, Nov. 4, for the local and state election; Tuesday, Nov. 11, for Veterans Day; and Thursday and Friday, Nov. 27 and 28, for Thanksgiving.
The next select board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 3.