Renaissance awards at Erskine Academy (2025)

June Seniors of the Trimester recipients, from left to right, Andra Cowing, Carlee Sanborn, Chase Larrabee, and David Thompson III. (contributed photo)

On Friday, June 6, Erskine Academy, in South China, students and staff attended a Renaissance Assembly to honor their peers with Renaissance Awards.

Renaissance Recognition Awards were presented to the following students: Stella Martinelli, Sabrina Studholme, MacKenzie Chase, Shannon McDonough, Brandon Hanscom, Jordyn Smith, Kaden Crawford, Victoria Rancourt, Lillian Crommett, Kaiden Kronillis, Josiah Fitzgerald, and Eleanor Maranda.

In addition to Recognition Awards, Senior of the Trimester Awards were also presented to four members of the senior class: Carlee Sanborn, daughter of Jennifer and Robert Sanborn, of China; Andra Cowing, daughter of Kirsten and Anthony Cowing, of Palermo; Chase Larrabee, son of Carrie and Jeremy Larrabee, of China; and David Thompson III, son of Laura Thompson, of Jefferson. Seniors of the Trimester are recognized as individuals who have gone above and beyond in all aspects of their high school careers.

In appreciation of their dedication and service to Erskine Academy, Faculty of the Trimester awards were presented to Celina Page, Foreign Language Instructor; and Ryan Nored, English Instructor.

Congratulations to all award recipients!

June Faculty of the Trimester recipients Ryan Nored, left, and Celina Page. (contributed photo)

COMMUNITY COMMENTARY: A matter of fairness and responsibility

by Tory Stark

Take a moment to visit the Town of China’s interactive tax map and search for Tax Map 63, Lot 078, located at the head of the lake. You’ll find something surprising: a parcel of land with no listed owner. This isn’t a glitch — it’s the result of a long-standing error. For decades, this land was mistakenly claimed by the town, despite being used, maintained, and taxed as part of The Landing LLC’s property. The town has since received a legal memorandum affirming it does not own this land — yet it has refused to take the simple, corrective step of updating the public record.

Instead, Town leadership is effectively requiring The Landing LLC to initiate a court case in Superior Court — a process that would come at significant cost to us, and an unknown legal expense to the Town and its taxpayers. This is despite the fact that ownership is no longer in question. According to legal professionals I’ve consulted, this issue has already resulted in approximately $20,000 in title research and legal fees. The matter is resolved — with no legitimate dispute remaining.

This isn’t a bureaucratic oversight — it’s a political decision. Rather than submit a $22 municipal quitclaim deed to the Registry of Deeds to reflect what is already legally established, the town continues to delay. Meanwhile, taxes are not being collected on the parcel in question. To offset this, the Town has incrementally increased the tax burden on the adjacent parcel owned by The Landing. Even then, the full value hasn’t been recovered — leaving the remainder quietly absorbed by every other property owner in China.

Over the past five years, The Landing has made significant investments to help build a better restaurant that showcases our lake, supports local jobs, and contributes to a stronger community. In just the past three years, we’ve invested over $200,000 in electrical upgrades, lighting, IT infrastructure, dock and driveway improvements, picnic tables, equipment, and operational enhancements — all to improve The Landing and better serve the town. We’re proud to contribute — but we cannot continue to grow while operating under the cloud of a title dispute. Banks will not finance a deed clouded by controversy, and this unresolved issue now stands in the way of further investment and development.

If you believe the town should take responsibility and formally correct this error, please contact town leadership and respectfully share your concern. A single phone call could help ensure that our local government acts with fairness, transparency, and accountability.

Town Manager: Becky Hapgood – (207) 445-2014
Selectman: Edwin Bailey – (207) 692-6930
Selectwoman: Jeanne Marquis – (207) 649-3836
Selectman: Blane Casey – (207) 631-2412
Selectman: Wayne Chadwick – (207) 445-3500
Selectman: Thomas Rumpf – (207) 314-1644

Community Commentary is a forum The Town Line makes available for citizens to express their opinions and/or concerns on subjects of interest to our readers, and is not necessarily the views of the staff or the board of directors. The Town Line welcomes, and encourages, supportive comments, differing opinions, counterpoints or opposing views. Keep the rebuttals positive, and informative. Submissions containing personal attacks will be rejected.

China planners prepare for ordinance discussions

China Town Officeby Mary Grow

China Planning Board members held a very brief June 10 meeting to prepare for ordinance discussions, to start at their June 24 meeting.

First priority is a new ordinance to regulate high impact transmission lines through town. In November 2024 voters approved a moratorium on such developments, to give the board time to prepare an ordinance. The moratorium expires in November 2025.

Chairman Toni Wall had just distributed a draft new ordinance, based, she said, on the Town of Benton’s. Board members agreed they should review it individually before discussion.

Also pending is a change in China’s subdivision ordinance to allow what are called cluster developments or open space developments (see the April 3 issue of The Town Line, p. 3). In addition to previous information, Wall had documents from the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments; and resident Robert Bernheim had sent board members information they found useful.

Again, board members needed time to review and integrate available information before drafting ordinance language.

Board members thanked Wall for her work, and Bernheim for his contributions. The next meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 24. Interested residents are welcome at all planning board meetings.

China transfer station committee discusses future of facility

by Mary Grow

At their June 10 meeting, China Transfer Station Committee members started what is planned as an ongoing discussion of the future of the facility.

They had been invited beforehand to consider three issues: plans for the next five years, potential improvements and “one really great thing about our transfer station.”

The “really great thing,” committee members made clear, is the staff. With station manager Thomas Maraggio listening, they commended the crew for being helpful; praised the decorations (mostly by Maraggio and his wife) that change frequently, and the informational signs; and commended staff for extra work, like the time Maraggio and Cheyenne “Cj” Houle spend applying for grants.

Committee member James Hines suggested the staff do too good a job: perhaps if the place were less welcoming, traffic would move faster.

Replying to committee chairman Chris Baumann’s invitation to discuss future plans, Maraggio said the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is encouraging consolidation of transfer stations. Palermo residents already use China’s transfer station, by contract. Other area towns that do not have their own facilities, like Freedom or Albion, might join a China-based regional facility, he said.

Maraggio would like to see a revised traffic pattern that would eliminate the need to back up to the waste hopper. A one-way drive-through would be safer and faster – and would require a costly redesign.

Bob Kurek, one of two committee members from Palermo, suggested if DEP wants a regional facility, the department should help pay to design and build it.

Committee member and free for the taking building volunteer Rachel Anderson said a redesign should relocate and enlarge the building where people leave usable things for other people to take home. Meanwhile, she said, more volunteers to help keep the area orderly would be welcome.

Committee members’ next meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 8. On Baumann’s recommendation, they agreed by consensus not to meet in August.

China select board presented with two traffic problems

China Town Officeby Mary Grow

China select board members were presented with two different traffic problems at their June 16 meeting, and took preliminary steps toward solving both.

Seven residents of Danforth, Dutton and Pleasant View Ridge roads attended the meeting in person, another zoomed in and more sent emails, all urging a lower speed limit on the three roads in the northern part of town.

Currently, people said, Danforth Road is posted at 40 miles an hour. The limit is 45 on the other two roads. Either limit they consider too high to be safe on a narrow road with inadequate shoulders, overhanging tree limbs, hills, curves, driveways and unmarked school bus stops.

Residents had tales of problems getting out of their driveways, “scary” attempts to walk along the roads, pets killed by vehicles, cars veering off the road and nearly hitting houses.

Drivers’ behavior is a significant part of the problem, they indicated. Cars and trucks speed recklessly, and their drivers are discourteous to anyone who tries to slow them. They asked for better enforcement of speed limits, as well as lower limits.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said the June 16 discussion was the first step toward getting the state Department of Transportation, which sets speed limits, to review the situation. Select board members unanimously approved the next step, a letter to DOT requesting a review.

DOT experts will inspect the roads, count driveways, review accident records and collect other relevant information before making speed limit recommendations. Hapgood said the process is likely to take about three months.

The second issue brought to select board members’ attention was parking along Peking and Canton streets, two short, very narrow intersecting streets in China Village. Board members talked briefly about no parking signs and about making the streets one-way.

They scheduled a public hearing on parking on Peking and Canton streets for their June 30 meeting.

In other business, two Kennebec Valley Council of Governments (KVCOG) staff members attended the June 16 meeting, Executive Director, Joel Greenwood, and Community and Economic Development Director, Jessie Cyr. Their list of things KVCOG does for its members included:

Technical assistance with ordinances and amendments, used by China for work on the Solid Waste Ordinance, at no charge.
Assistance with finding out about and applying for grants, another free service China has used.
Providing a joint purchasing program for municipal supplies, like culverts, road salt and snowplow cutting edges.
Sponsoring household hazard waste collection events.

Greenwood said KVCOG is currently working with China Primary School staff and students to set up onsite composting, and a new China business recently used KVCOG’s revolving loan fund to help get started.

After the presentation, select board members unanimously approved allocating $7,504 from China’s TIF (Tax Increment Financing) fund for KVCOG dues for 2025-26.

They also approved spending $16,992 to replace the aged and often malfunctioning two-sided digital sign at the town office on Lakeview Drive, taking the money from the contingency fund.

They signed a 2025-26 contract with Delta Ambulance, as authorized by town meeting voters.

Hapgood reported that deputy clerk Julie Finley was recently added to a municipal clerks honor roll. In October, Finley will have worked for China for 25 years, Hapgood said.

From the audience, former select board member Brent Chesley asked when the kayak and paddleboard rental station near the causeway at the head of China Lake’s east basin will be installed. Select board members approved it in January.

Hapgood had heard that Rent.Fun has assessed the site. Chesley commented that people are already enjoying the lake.

In other updates from town employees:

Town Clerk Angela Nelson said the 277 voters who participated in the written-ballot June 10 annual town business meeting amounted to 8.8 percent of China’s registered voters, an unusually low turnout.
Director of Public Services Shawn Reed reported the well on the town-owned property south of the town office complex has been connected to provide water for the new community gardens; and work has started on the new storage vault at the town office.

Hapgood reminded those present that town departments will be closed Thursday, June 19, for the Juneteenth holiday; and on Monday, June 30, the town office will close at noon to give staff time for end-of-fiscal year business.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, June 30.

China select board approves purchase of second-hand ambulance

China Town Officeby Mary Grow

At their June 2 meeting, China select board members unanimously approved China Rescue Unit’s request to buy a second-hand ambulance.

Benjamin Loubier, from China Rescue, explained that the unit recently received a $50,000 state grant, with no local match required, which can be used for equipment. Members found a used four-wheel-drive 2013 Ford ambulance with under 100,000 miles on it, for $80,000.

Autotronics, the Bangor dealership that has the vehicle, will provide a three-month warranty, Loubier said. Loubier and Webb Shaw took it for a test drive and were satisfied.

Loubier asked for and got select board approval to spend $30,000 from the rescue reserve account, which he said has $56,000 available. For now, the new unit will be housed in the China Village fire station with the rescue truck.

Also on the select board’s June 2 agenda were three bids to finish the building at the China School Forest, behind China Primary School. Board members unanimously accepted the lowest, $4,285, from Wentworth Enterprises, LLC, doing business as J & J Home Improvements, on Branch Mills Road, in China.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said she and resident Jacinth Allard had continued to collect information on hanging flags on existing power poles to honor veterans through the Hometown Heroes program (see the May 22 issue of The Town Line, p. 3).

Hapgood described Central Maine Power Company’s policy as “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” She said CMP employees ignore flags attached to their poles unless they need to use a pole; then they’ll remove the flag.

Board members again discussed where in town the flags should go, reaching no conclusion.

Hapgood announced that all China town departments will be closed Thursday, June 19, for the Juneteenth federal holiday. On Monday, June 30, the town office will close at noon so staff can finish end-of-fiscal-year financial work.

The select board meeting was followed by visits to China’s three fire stations, in China Village, South China and Weeks Mills. Hapgood said members of China Rescue and the volunteer fire departments gave board members tours of the buildings and equipment.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, June 16.

Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: More China lawyers

by Mary Grow

On May 15, this series profiled three 19th-century China lawyers, Abisha Benson (practiced in China Village in the 1820s); Alfred Fletcher (born in 1817 or 1818, practiced in China, probably China Village, died in 1868); and Sanford Kingsbury (born in 1782, probably practiced in the southern part of China [given connections with Gardiner], died in 1849).

This article will introduce eight more men who practiced law in or around the town of China in the 19th century.

* * * * * *

The Greeleys or Greelys were early settlers in Branch Mills, the village on the west branch of the Sheepscot River shared between China and its eastern neighbor, Palermo. The China bicentennial history says Jacob Greely was a Revolutionary War veteran who moved to China after 1782.

Millard Howard, in his extensively researched 2015 history of Palermo, wrote that the China history probably referred to Jacob Greeley, Sr. (1739 -1820). Howard found that in 1777 Jacob Greeley Jr. (Aug. 22, 1762 – Aug. 3, 1838, according to WikiTree) settled near Beech Pond (a small pond northwest of Sheepscot Lake, on the north side of Route 3).

But, Howard wrote, Jacob Jr. was too young to own property legally. Howard surmised that Jacob Sr., whom he described as active in the Revolutionary movement in Newcastle, put the land in his son’s name to provide a safe inland refuge in case the British won.

Jacob Jr.’s, son, Jose (1798 – 1884), was a Branch Mills businessman. FamilySearch says Jose and his wife, Anna (Hacker), had three daughters and a son they named Josiah Hacker (May 23, 1826 – March 12, 1896. James W. Bradbury, in his chapter on lawyers in Henry Kingsbury’s 1892 Kennebec County history, wrote that in 1856, Josiah H. “was admitted to the bar at St. Paul, Minnesota.”

Bradbury also said that Josiah H. “was admitted to practice in Kennebec county” in 1867. The China history and Milton E. Dowe’s 1954 Palermo history suggest he was back in Branch Mills before then: both cite an 1859 Palermo business directory with listings including four Greelys (spelled without the second e).

J. and J. H. (presumably Jose and Josiah H.) were “Manufacturers of Lumber, Flour and Millowiers.” (Any reader who knows what a millowier is or was is invited to contact The Town Line. The reference is a copy of a copy, so a typographical error is possible.)

J. H. was listed separately as “Counsellor and Attorney at Law.”

And Jonathan Greely was listed as “Counsellor and Attorney at Law, Dealer in Stock.” (Your writer suspects livestock, not financial instruments, although the New York Stock Exchange originated in May, 1792, Wikipedia says.) Howard identifies Jonathan as Jacob Jr.’s, brother and says he worked with the Kennebec Proprietors in 1802 and 1809, sorting out land claims. Your writer found no more information about this lawyer.

Josiah Greely (no e) is listed as a China selectman in 1857 and from 1858 through 1861, according to the China history. Bradbury added that he was a state representative in 1861.

As with most of the lawyers your writer has been describing, information about Greely’s practice is non-existent. The China history tells a story from his days as a selectman, however.

In 1861, for the first time, the annual China town report listed delinquent taxpayers, as of 1859, by name and amount owed. The lowest amount that earned dishonorable mention was $1.98, the highest $11.88.

The man who owed $11.88 on his farm did not pay up. On April 27, 1861, the history says, selectman Greely bought the property “‘for the inhabitants of the town of China” for $15.88, the amount due for back taxes and the expenses of the auction.”

* * * * * *

Washburns were numerous among early settlers in China Village, while the area was still part of Albion. Bradbury listed one them, Zebah (sometime Zeba), “a son of Zalmunah,” as a lawyer.

The China history says Japheth Washburn and his son, Japheth Coombs Washburn, arrived in 1804. The Washburn genealogy included in the history shows a Zalmuna (September 11, 1772 – Sept. 7, 1844), older brother of Japheth Coombs (Jan. 20, 1780 – Aug. 29, 1850).

When the Town of China was organized in February 1818, Japheth C. was elected the first town clerk, and his brother, Zalmunna/Zalmuna, was the first treasurer/tax collector and one of the first nine school agents.

This Zalmuna married Deborah Benson. The oldest of their eight children was Zebah, born Jan. 26, 1797, in Wayne; died April 12, 1888, in China; buried in China Village cemetery.

Bradbury said Zebah Washburn “practiced law until he was seventy years old.” The China history says he also served as cashier of the China Bank, in China Village (1853 – 1855) and the Canton Bank, in South China (1855 – 1856).

(The history says the China Bank attracted only $300 in local deposits, so the state banking commission advised liquidating it “even though it was in good financial condition.” Its successor is described as “spectacularly unsuccessful.”)

Your writer has failed to find details about Zebah Washburn’s legal practice. She deduces it did not provide him enough income, because Ruby Crosby Wiggin’s 1964 history of Albion lists Zeba(h) Washburn as getting a liquor license for his store annually from 1821 to 1824; and as owning a potash factory (undated) with his brother, Zalmunnah, at Puddle Dock, the nineteenth-century industrial center southeast of the present-day village.

* * * * * *

Jacob Smith is named in the China bicentennial history as a 19th-century China Village lawyer. Bradbury said Smith sent him (Bradbury) his first client, around 1830; and “later” (unspecified) was a municipal court judge in Bath.

On-line records include two documents, from February 1838 and August 1839, naming a Jacob Smith (not proven to be the same man) as the court clerk in Wiscasset; and a March 13, 1868, petition “recommending the reappointment of Jacob Smith to be the judge of the Municipal Court in the City of Bath.”

(The 1838 document, which Smith attested in his capacity as clerk, was a petition to the county commissioners to make Roland Fisher the new ferryman “due to a change in ownership of the property in Georgetown where the ferry’s run originated”; and to lower the ferry rates. There were 20 signatories.

(A ferry from Georgetown currently runs to McMahan Island in July and August, “for islanders and their renters/visitors only,” according to the island’s website.)

* * * * * *

Bradbury’s list of area lawyers included three related Warrens. He wrote that George was the son of “General Warren and the celebrated Mercy Warren, daughter of James Otis, of Barnstable”; Samuel S., who practiced briefly in China, was “a nephew of General Warren, of Bunker Hill fame”; and Ebenezer T. was Samuel’s brother.

Bradbury was apparently talking about two different General Warrens. The one who married Mercy Otis was James (Sept. 28, 1726 – Nov. 28, 1808); he was paymaster in the Continental Army and later a Massachusetts politician. Wikipedia names George (1766–1800) as the youngest of their five sons.

The Bunker Hill General Warren was Joseph (June 11, 1741 – June 17, 1775). He was a doctor and a major-general in the Massachusetts militia; volunteering to fight at Bunker Hill, he was killed in action.

General Joseph Warren had three brothers, Samuel, Ebenezer and John. WikiTree says Ebenezer’s sons – the General’s nephews — included Ebenezer Tucker Warren (born in Hallowell Sept. 11, 1779; died about Sept. 1, 1830) and Samuel Stephens (or Stevens) Warren (born April 14, 1793, in Foxborough, Massachusetts; died Sept. 26, 1881, in Wrentham, Massachusetts).

Bradbury called George Warren “one of the lesser lights of the Kennebec bar,” a man who “possessed fine natural talents, but led a dissipated life, dying in Augusta in penury.” He practiced in Winslow before Waterville became a separate town in June 1802.

Rev. Edwin Carey Whittemore, in his centennial history of Waterville, said George Warren was “Winslow’s first lawyer,” in practice by 1791, and the town’s representative to the Massachusetts legislature in 1791 and 1792.

Bradbury wrote that Samuel S. Warren began his law practice in Hallowell before 1825. About 1835 he moved to China, from there to Albion and about 1844 to Massachusetts.

An on-line source names one of his law students in China as a 17-year-old from Albion named Artemas Libby, who later studied with “Z. Washburne”; was admitted to the Kennebec bar at 21 in 1844; and served as associate justice of the Maine Supreme Court from April 23, 1875, until he died Aug. 15, 1894.

Kingsbury lists S. S. Warren as a China selectman in 1832. Warren is not on the list of selectmen in the bicentennial history.

Samuel’s brother Ebenezer, Bradbury said, had a law practice in Hallowell around 1824 and later was president of a Hallowell bank.

A Vaughan family papers website says Ebenezer Warren was born in Foxborough, Massachusetts, in 1779. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard in 1800 and a master’s in 1803, and lived in Hallowell from the time he married Abiah Morse. The wedding date is not specified, but the couple had a daughter born in 1810 and a son born in 1816.

Warren “was a lawyer, federal county attorney for Kennebec County, a justice of the peace, and a Massachusetts senator in 1816,” the website says. He was also president of two banks and from 1821 to 1830 an overseer of Bowdoin College.

He died suddenly in 1830, in Quincey, Illinois, while he was “inspecting soldiers’ land claims,” the Vaughan papers say.

* * * * * *

Newell Washburn Brainerd grew up in China, one of two sons and two or three daughters of a China Village merchant named Fredus Oldridge Brainerd (Dec. 15, 1831 -May 9, 1900) and his wife Maria (Washburn) (Jan. 26, 1832 – March 31, 1895), attorney Zeba/Zebah Washburn’s daughter.

Newell Brainerd’s November, 1900, obituary, pasted on his Find a Grave page (not including the name or location of the newspaper in which it was published; content suggests the paper covered Skowhegan), says he was born Aug. 20, 1860, in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, whence his parents moved to China “in his early childhood.” FamilySearch says he was born in 1860 in Milburn, Maine (now Skowhegan).

Both agree he attended China Academy in the early 1870s; the obituary on Find a Grave says he graduated. In February 1883 he was its principal, with his sister Estelle or Estella, four years his senior, as his assistant, the China history says.

Brainerd’s obituary adds a second graduation, from Oak Grove Seminary, in Vassalboro. The obituary and Bradbury agree that Brainerd studied law under E. F. Webb, in Waterville; gained admittance to the bar in 1886; and began practice in Fairfield that year, soon adding a Clinton office.

In November 1890, Bradbury said, Brainerd moved to Skowhegan. The obituary explains that he was elected Somerset County clerk of courts, a position he held for 10 years with success enough to be re-elected in September 1900.

On Jan. 15, 1887, FamilySearch says, Brainerd married Flora T. Brown (born in Fairfield April 13, 1860; or April 13, 1859). His obituary calls her Flora T. Lawrence and refers to her son Fred Lawrence; her obituary, on a separate FamilySearch page, says her first husband, Charles P. Lawrence, died in 1881.

The Brainerds had two (Find a Grave) or three (FamilySearch) daughters, Marion, born April 19, 1888, and twins Edith and Ethel born Jan. 11, 1890. Marion, listed on FamilySearch but not on Find a Grave, died in 1967 in Gardiner.

Edith died in September 1890; Ethel died Jan. 26, 1935, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The obituary says nothing about Brainerd as a lawyer, but reports he was “for many years a trial justice.” He was active in the Methodist Church, helping with Sunday school and serving on the board of Island Avenue Methodist Church.

“He was an obliging and very competent official, a Christian gentleman, a respected and honored citizen. He has many sincere and warm friends, particularly in Somerset county, where he served the public so faithfully,” the obituary writer summarized.

This source said Brainerd had been in ill health for five years, and died in Massachusetts General Hospital at 5 a.m. Friday, Nov. 9, 1900, aged 40. He had had a necessary operation a few days earlier and failed to recover.

His body was returned to Skowhegan, where, after a well-attended service, he was buried in Southside cemetery. His widow, Flora, died Oct. 19, 1847, and is buried with her husband and daughters Ethel and Edith.

Main sources

Grow, Mary M., China Maine Bicentennial History including 1984 revisions (1984).
Howard, Millard, An Introduction to the Early History of Palermo, Maine (second edition, December 2015)
Kingsbury, Henry D., ed., Illustrated History of Kennebec County Maine 1625-1892 (1892).

Websites, miscellaneous.

CORRECTION: The photo in last week’s issue was not the Augusta, Maine, jail. It was an editing error.

China voting results (June 2025)

by Mary Grow

The small number of China voters who came to the polls on June 10 approved all ballot questions presented.

A 34-article annual town business meeting ballot authorized town government funding and various select board actions for the 2025-26 fiscal year, plus repealing two ordinances and amending two others.

Town Clerk Angela Nelson’s tally said 277 voters filled out these ballots. Of the 34 questions, only three received fewer than 200 “yes” votes.

The vote to repeal China’s recreational marijuana ordinance (because state regulations supersede it, Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood had explained) was 156 in favor, 112 opposed.
The vote to repeal China’s quorum ordinance (because it is not legal, Hapgood had said) was 163 in favor, 107 opposed.
The vote to appropriate $64,000 for community support organizations was 199 in favor, 76 opposed.

On the two-question Regional School Unit #18 ballot, 192 voters approved the annual budget referendum, endorsing the 2025-26 school budget approved in May. Seventy-nine voters were opposed; five left the question blank.

The second question, whether to continue the annual referendum for another three years, was approved 199 to 68, with nine blank ballots.

Complete results from the June 10 voting are on the town website, chinamaine.org, by clicking on the Elections tab on the right-hand side of the main page.

China schools forest day “huge” success

by Elaine Philbrook

What do Snickles the snake, Henry the Owl, and Smokey Bear all have in common? These are some of the characters you would have encountered on Friday, May 30, during the China Primary School Forest Day.

The first Schools’ Forest Day was in the spring of 2000. On that day about 600 students in grades kindergarten-seventh, plus 60 staff members from the China Schools spent half a learning day outside with 25 different presentations. It was a huge success! After that about every two years a Schools’ Forest Day became part of the China Schools experience. The last Schools’ Forest Day was in 2017. In 2019 plans were in the works for the 10th Schools Forest Day but the pandemic put the brakes on the plans.

Like other events before the pandemic it has taken some time to get things up and running. Earlier this year at the end of a China Forest Committee meeting I asked if there was any interest in providing a mini Forest Day for the students at the China Primary School. One committee member had participated as a student in Schools’ Forest Day. She was very excited to see this event return for the China Primary School’s students. Once the rest of the committee understood what happens on a School Forest Day they were all on board. The China Primary School was contacted to see if there was interest for a School Forest Day. Once confirmed the plan was put into motion to have a School Forest Day for the China Primary School students. After months of planning and organizing, on May 30, Pre-K through fourth grade students all ventured outside for a day of learning and fun in the China Community Forest.

This event was a “HUGE” success according to all who were involved. Students were overheard hearing, “Best day ever” and “I’ll never forget this day.” Teachers and volunteers were all smiles even though they were quite exhausted!

Many thanks to everyone who supported this day in the China Community Forest. Thanks to the teachers and staff at the China Primary School who did not hesitate to trust us with their students outside for the day, all the classroom volunteers who gave of their time providing those much needed extra adults in the classrooms on this special day, the presenters who gave their time, expertise and shared their love of the out of doors with our young students.

Thank you to the PTO, RSU #18 Central office, School board, China Select Board, TIF Committee and Town Manager for ongoing support and partnerships with the China Community Forest and the opportunities it offers to our amazing community.

This day would not have been possible without the dedicated commitment of Beth Swahn, Larry Lemieux, Nancy Lemieux, Jess Parlin, Susan Cottle, Peter Moulton, Robert Kanzler, Donna Loveland and myself, Elaine Philbrook, a/k/a China Com­munity Forest Com­mittee.

China town meeting to be held via written ballot June 10

China Town Officeby Mary Grow

China’s annual town business meeting will be held by written ballot on Tuesday, June 10. Polls in the portable building in the town office complex will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Absentee ballots are available at the town office until 4:30 p.m. Thursday, June 5, for voters unable to come to the polls.

Voters will act on 2025-26 municipal and school budgets, on two separate warrants. The municipal warrant was developed by China select board members with input from the town’s budget committee, municipal employees and other interested parties.

The RSU (Regional School Unit) 18 budget for 2025-26 was developed by school officials, including the 10-member school board. China’s representatives on the board are Dawn Castner and John Soifer.

China’s June 10 meeting begins with election of a moderator at 6:55 a.m. Following articles include action on proposed expenditures for the fiscal year that begins July 1; policy decisions; and four ordinance changes.

As in past years, major expenses are to run the town. Relevant articles include:

Art. 4, requesting $1,208,981 for municipal services (town office employees and their services, with related items like insurance and software). The comparable figure in the June 2024 warrant was $1,184,525.
Art. 7, $467,493 for public safety, including support for local fire departments and China Rescue, animal control, Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office services and Delta Ambulance. The article includes $154,280 for Delta Ambulance, as the 2025-26 fee to member towns will increase from $25 to $35 per capita. Art. 29 authorizes the select board to negotiate for ambulance service, in case Delta finances fail.

Last year’s public safety request was $420,931. Art. 28 in last year’s warrant was the same as this year’s Art. 29.

Art. 8, $646,799 for the transfer station, down from $666,325 last year. Much of the change is due to rearranging staff-sharing with public works.
Art. 9, $1,818,420, for public works (including appropriating state road funds), down from last June’s appropriation of $1,848,100 for the current year.

The largest proposed decreases in public works are for paving, capital equipment and truck repairs.

Town employees’ pay is part of the administration, transfer station and public works budgets. After debate among themselves and with budget committee members, the select board majority recommends a 3.5 percent cost of living increase. Board member Blane Casey voted against the increase as too generous and therefore does not recommend voters approve articles including town salaries.

After smaller appropriations requests come policy articles asking permission for the select board to carry out its functions – deal with foreclosed property, apply for and use grants, sign contracts, buy and sell items as needed. Budget discussions showed no striking changes from last year’s warrant articles.

Art. 32 is another appropriations request, for $30,000 to finish improving Town Landing Road in South China Village, primarily to reduce erosion into China Lake.

Voters are asked to amend two chapters of the town’s Land Development Code, to complete removal of unneeded provisions (Art. 31); to repeal two complete ordinances, one obsolete and one illegal; and to re-amend the Budget Committee Ordinance.

The Land Development Code amendments will match China’s ordinance with state requirements for timber harvesting, Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said.

The ordinance dealing with retail (as opposed to medical) marijuana facilities (Art. 30) should be repealed because it has been superseded by state law. China’s ordinance requiring a quorum for town meeting should also be repealed: it has been deemed illegal under state law.

The final article on the town warrant asks voters to amend the Budget Committee Ordinance to restore the committee membership to seven (instead of five, as in the version approved in November 2024). Committee members will continue to be appointed by the select board, not elected by districts (leaving untouched two other changes approved last fall).

The shorter RSU #18 warrant asks only two questions:

Will China voters approve the FY 26 budget adopted by the RSU board and approved at the most recent RSU budget meeting (this question is the “annual budget referendum”)?
Do China voters want to continue the annual budget referendum vote for another three years?

The 2025 RSU budget meeting was held the evening of May 22, in Oakland. If the second question is defeated this year, the final budget decision will be made at the annual budget meeting for at least three future years, without a follow-up referendum.

The RSU budget for 2025-26, found on the RSU website, totals $45,563,358.69. The document says this figure is an increase of $1,185,863.98, or 2.67 percent, over the current year’s budget.

China’s share is listed at $3,728,828.33 for local EPS (Educational Programs and Services) plus $2,249,442.19 in local additional funds, for a total of $5,978,270.52. The budget document says China’s EPS figure is a $241,301.99, or 6.92 percent, increase over the current year; the town’s local additional figure is an increase of $82,865.47, or 3.82 percent.

The total increase for China is $324, 167.46. At an April select board meeting, RSU Superintendent Carl Gartley explained the main reason is a legislatively-authorized increase in the Insured Value Factor, the amount allowed to private schools, like Erskine Academy, for facilities maintenance.

The annual school budget is divided among RSU #18’s five member towns – Belgrade, China, Oakland, Rome and Sidney – according to a formula based on student numbers and municipal valuations.