Maine Moose 12U Tier II team wins state championship (2025)

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Maine Moose 12U Tier II team wins state championship The Maine Moose 12U Tier II hockey team has been crowned the 2024-2025 Maine Amateur Hockey Association State Champions after an outstanding performance in the state tournament. The team showcased skill, determination, and teamwork, securing the title with a thrilling final victory. The Moose will now move on and represent Maine in the New England Regionals starting Friday, March 14.

State Championship Roster:

Goaltenders:

• #1 – Isak Harrington
• #48 – Gabe Loubier

Defensemen:

• #8 – Reagan Gendron
• #21 – Parker Boucher
• #27 – Lincoln Fogg
• #52 – Easton Gradie
• #87 – Austin Roderick
• #97 – Greyson Arnold

Forwards:

• #2 – Brendan Greer
• #4 – Eli Bilodeau
• #10 – Campbell McCarthy
• #22 – Bryson Johnson
• #24 – Bryson Nichols
• #63 – Isaac Turner
• #76 – Malcolm Campbell
• #82 – Landon Ward
• #88 – Wesley McPherson
• #89 – Ezra Orlandello

Coaching Staff:

• Head Coach: Brian Boucher
• Assistant Coach: Brian McCarthy

Outback Beauty owner retires

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Susan White

To all my customers: It is with a heavy heart that as of March 7, 2025, I have retired. Becky will be there to carry on. Her number is 207-993-2155. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart and I will miss you. Outback Beauty / Susan White

TEAM PHOTO: 2025 SVAC champions

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The Vassalboro Community School girls basketball team rolled through an undefeated season to claim the Sheepscot Valley Athletic Conference championship for 2025. (contributed photo)

Repair work taking place at Lithgow Library

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photo: Friends of Lithgow Public Library

Please note that starting March 11, there will be ongoing repair work taking place in the library’s historic wing. The first phase of work will start with the Reading Room, which will be partially closed, and then will shift to the West side where the dvds, magazines and newspapers are housed. During phase two, the magazines and newspapers will be relocated to the Reference area on the 2nd floor and some of the dvds may be unavailable.

The historic wing is the library’s designated quiet area, but during this time there will be disruption. Thank you for your patience.

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

EVENTS: Battle of Maine on tap March 22, 2025

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The 43rd Battle of Maine Martial Arts Championships will be taking place on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at Champions, in Waterville. The event kicks off at 8:30 a.m., and will feature competitions in flag sparring, full contact padded sword fighting, forms, weapons and point fighting divisions.There will also be special world champion demonstrations around 9:30 a.m. The event will go all day until around 4 p.m. Spectator Tickets are $10 each and $1 of each ticket goes to help support the Maine Children’s Cancer Program.

Desmond Robinson receives MPA Principal’s Award

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Desmond Robinson

Desmond Robinson, son of Daniel and Stacey Robinson, of Solon, a senior at Carrabec High School, in North Anson, has been se­lected to receive the 2025 Prin­ci­pal’s A­ward, according to Princi­pal Peter Campbell. The award, sponsored by the Maine Principals’ Association, is given in recognition of a high school senior’s academic achievement, citizenship and leadership.

Mr. Robinson is a well-rounded student. He is a member of the student council and student advisory team. His contributions are always thoughtful and are well received by this peers. Desmond represents Carrabec High School in other areas as well. He is a member of the math team where his high scores at meets have propelled the math team to three consecutive league championships. He is also a member of the National Honor Society and was selected as the first student to represent his class as Student of the Month. Desmond is a three season athlete, competing at a high level in cross country, basketball and track and field.

Academically, Desmond’s performance has set him apart from his peers. Desmond has and continues to take advanced classes. The most impressive achievement is that he has already taken and passed seven AP exams. Several of which, he did not even take as a class, it was done on his own.

For all of these reasons, Mr. Campbell is proud to announce that Desmond Robinson is the Carrabec High School MPA Award recipient for 2025. Desmond will attend an awards luncheon on Saturday, April 5, 2025, where he will receive his award and be eligible to be selected for one of ten scholarships.

China select board tightens social service funding, advances budget to committee

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by Mary Grow

At their March 10 meeting, China select board members put their draft 2025-26 municipal budget in near-enough final form to forward to the town budget committee. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood hoped to be able to schedule a budget committee meeting the week of March 17.

Voters will make final 2025-26 spending decisions at the Tuesday, June 10, town business meeting, which will be by written ballot.

One March 10 tweak reduced the proposed budget for donations to out-of-town social service agencies.

Hapgood had already recommended cutting most outside organizations’ requests, lowering the almost $32,000 requested to $25,500. Board member Thomas Rumpf moved to delete $500 for the American Red Cross, based on his experiences with the group.

His motion was approved 3-2, with board chairman Wayne Chadwick, Edwin Bailey and Rumpf in favor and Blane Casey and Jeanne Marquis opposed.

The account includes a recommended $500 (half the requested amount) for the Winslow Community Cupboard, which several people said serves China residents. When Casey asked about the China Food Pantry, Hapgood said that group makes no request for town funds.

The draft budget includes 3.5 percent COLA (cost of living adjustment) raises for town employees. Select board members endorsed the increase on 4-1 vote, with Casey opposed. Casey also voted, alone, against supporting all parts of the budget that include salaries.

Chadwick said he, too, would have opposed the 3.5 percent increase as too generous, until he saw what employers are offering to try to hire summer employees; although, he added, those jobs offer fewer benefits than working for the town.

Before tackling the budget, select board members heard two other issues.

China Village volunteer fire department chief Joel Nelson and assistant chief Ben Loubier requested an article in the June 10 warrant asking voters to appropriate money for a new truck for their department.

They need another tanker, to replace a 1990 one acquired in 2014 with an engine so old that parts are hard to find, they explained. Their application for a federal grant was denied in December.

Nelson had two price quotes for a new truck, which he prefers over a second-hand one so the department can customize it and for the warranty. Casey asked for quotes on a used one, too.

Selectmen postponed a decision for two weeks, expecting more price options.

Hapgood reminded board members the 180-day moratorium on new transmission lines through China that voters approved Nov. 5, 2024, will expire early in May.

The question was put on the ballot by petition, in response to the proposed north-south transmission line from Aroostook County that would have gone near or perhaps through China.

The goal was to give China officials time to write and get voter approval for an ordinance to regulate transmission lines. Nothing has been done.

Select board members decided they need to give China Planning Board members a specific instruction to develop an ordinance, and so voted unanimously. Before the expiration date they plan to exercise their option to renew the moratorium for another 180 days.

The planned line that triggered China’s November 2024 vote and similar actions in other towns has been shelved, but board members believe the idea remains alive, so protective measures are still needed.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, March 24.

Vassalboro school board gets first look at 2025-26 budget

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Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro School Board members got their first look at sections of the proposed 2025-26 school budget request at a March 4 special meeting. Finance Director Paula Pooler, Transportation Director Ashley Pooler, Technology Director Will Backman and Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer explained parts of the draft.

Pfeiffer praised Paula Pooler, who manages finances for Vassalboro, Waterville and Winslow school departments, for her hard work. The proposed budget is neither final nor complete, he emphasized. Some figures might change with additional information, and major accounts, including regular and special education for elementary-school students, are not yet ready for review.

Pfeiffer called the 2025-26 budget “one of the most challenging budgets I’ve seen so far in my career,” with inflation and other factors increasing expenses faster than usual.

One of the largest increases in the accounts reviewed at the March 4 meeting was in tuition, at that point up by almost $355,000.

The amount Vassalboro pays to send its students to high school varies every year, depending on the number of high-school students and on the schools they choose to attend. Different area high schools charge different tuition rates.

In addition, the insured value factor, the amount state law allows private schools – like Erskine Academy, in South China, popular with Vassalboro students – to charge for maintenance of buildings and grounds, is rising from six percent to 10 percent of the school’s tuition rate. This change “has caused an uproar” in other school districts that, like Vassalboro, offer high-school choice, Pfeiffer said.

Ashley Pooler summarized a projected almost $99,000 increase in the transportation account as mostly due to higher salaries and benefits. Pfeiffer and Paula Pooler praised the transponders installed in all three towns’ school buses. The new equipment lets school office personnel tell inquiring parents where their children’s buses are in real time.

Technology and health services accounts are among smaller budget lines with less influence on the total budget. Paula Pooler said the health services budget is down slightly, due to personnel changes. Principal Ira Michaud praised new school nurse Kasey Paquette, calling her “amazing” and “fantastic.”

Paula Pooler identified some of the expenditures that will be reimbursed by state funds. Nonetheless, she warned, the final draft of the 2025-26 school budget will likely cause sticker shock.

School board members were scheduled to continue the budget discussion during their March 11 regular monthly meeting.

VASSALBORO: Getchell’s Corner folks object to planned solar farm

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by Mary Grow

A dozen residents of the Getchell’s Corner area in western Vassalboro came to the March 4 Vassalboro Planning Board meeting, mostly to voice opposition to a planned solar farm in the area.

After the hour and a half discussion of the preliminary application for the solar farm, to be developed by Minnesota-based Novel Energy, another area resident, David Theriault, brought his separate question to the board’s attention.

Novel representative Ralph Addonizio explained the proposed development on Tyler Cain’s property on the east side of Riverside Drive, south of Getchell’s Corner Road. Much of his presentation described how the solar farm will meet criteria in Vassalboro’s town ordinances.

He discussed tree buffers to block residents’ views of the solar panels; the absence of traffic, noise, lights, odors or other disruptions to the rural area; the fence around the solar panels with ground clearance to let small animals pass underneath; planned maintenance (minimal); the lack of impact on municipal services; and the creation of a fund to pay for decommissioning when the project reaches the end of it 25-to-30-year life.

Addonizio promised no unnecessary removal of existing trees, pointing out that protecting trees and promoting solar power “sorta goes hand in hand with being green.” In sum, he said, Novel’s development will be “a good neighbor.”

Audience members were not persuaded.

Frank Getchell, after whose family the area is named, invited planning board members to come and see how beautiful the proposed site is now. It doesn’t need “a field full of junk,” he said.

Susan Higgins said she already has an extensive and attractive view and does not want to look instead at a wall of trees hiding solar panels. Michael and Doris Lyons also objected strongly, with Doris Lyons showing board members photos on her phone.

Higgins asked board members whether there is any way to make a town-wide plan that controls and limits location of such developments. Board chairman Virginia Brackett replied that updating Vassalboro’s strategic plan, approved by voters in June 2006, is the select board’s responsibility.

As the discussion wound down, Brackett suggested Addonizio’s final plan include more buffering on the north and east sides of the solar farm. Addonizio intends to submit a final application at the April 1 planning board meeting.

Assuming local approval in April, solar panels will not appear immediately. Addonizio said after Novel gets its state and town permits, the next step is to order supplies and components. Getting ready for construction he expects will take 10 to 12 months, during which, he said, constantly-evolving technology may lead to plan changes.

Theriault’s unrelated question was whether a former fire pond behind the old Masonic Hall,, on Dunham Road counts as a pond with a shoreland district that would limit land use.

Theriault is considering buying the former Masonic Hall and the adjacent former Methodist Church and tearing them down – after years of neglect, both are too dilapidated to be restored, he said. He would like to construct new buildings on the property.

Codes Officer Eric Currie said a nearby creek is on shoreland zoning maps, so it has setback requirements. The pond he said is on Google maps, but not on the town shoreland map.

Therefore, Brackett said, Theriault can ignore the pond, or can fill it in. She advised him to have the property surveyed before building on it.

The next regular Vassalboro Planning board meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 1.

Vassalboro select board discusses upcoming work at Webber Pond dam

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro select board members’ March 6 meeting included updates on several ongoing issues and continued review of the proposed 2025-26 municipal budget, now in draft number four. A joint meeting between the select board and the budget committee is scheduled for Tuesday, March 18 (time undetermined as of March 9).

The major topic of the pre-budget discussions was again this summer’s planned rebuilding of the fishway at the Webber Pond dam (see the Feb. 27 issue of The Town Line, p. 2). Matt Streeter, from Maine Rivers, reported on on-going discussions about traffic diversions during the work, showing photos illustrating the size of the project and the need to close the road beside it.

Preliminary plans now include rebuilding a small section of the private McQuarrie Road to eliminate a blind spot, he said. Responding to a concern from two weeks earlier, Fire Chief Walker Thompson said Vassalboro fire trucks can get to residences.

Streeter praised the crew who will be rebuilding the fishway as experienced and skilled, used to working close to older structures like the Webber Pond dam.

He plans to continue discussions and to report again in two weeks.

David St. Pierre, vice-president of the Dam Road association, was still concerned about the dam and bridge. If something does go wrong, he asked whether the town would pay for repairs, or whether the full cost would fall on local residents.

Select board chairman Frederick “Rick” Denico said the answer would depend on the situation, including whether whatever needed fixing was due to the dam’s age or a direct result of the fishway project and how much money was involved.

In other business not directly related to next year’s budget:

— Town Manager Aaron Miller and board members discussed continuing questions related to the tax-acquired property on Lombard Dam Road, part of which they would like to keep for potential future transfer station needs.
— Board members agreed with Miller that the town insurance policy should be expanded to cover committee members and other volunteers – sports coaches, people who repair cemetery stones or maintain town trails – in case someone is injured. Miller proposed increasing the draft budget to cover the $2 per person cost he quoted.
— Board members unanimously appointed Michael Cayouette as Vassalboro baseball commissioner.

The hour-long budget discussion included Miller’s recommendations for adjusting to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration; a new proposal for town office staffing; and another discussion of funding to replace Dunlap Bridge on Mill Hill Road.

Miller recommended increasing amounts budgeted for next year’s fuel in several accounts. Vassalboro has signed 2025-26 fuel contracts, but the contracting company is not entirely firm on honoring prices if tariffs raise its costs, he said.

For the town office, Miller has repeatedly urged adding a part-time person who would cover lunch hours and fill in if needed when a regular staffer is on vacation or out sick. Board member Chris French suggested increasing the community program director’s position to full-time and adding town office substituting to the job description.

Miller was noncommittal until he has time to consult the people involved.

Last summer’s federal grant that would cover a generous part of the expensive Mill Hill Road project is now in doubt, Miller and board members fear, leading to consideration of alternatives, including using Vassalboro’s TIF (Tax Increment Financing) fund.

At the Feb. 20 meeting, board members asked Miller to ask the town’s attorney whether they can repeat on the June 2 open town meeting warrant the same question about using TIF money that voters rejected in November 2024. Miller said the attorney had not yet answered.

The next Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Thursday, March 13, in the town office meeting room. The agenda includes continued budget discussions.

The Thursday, March 20, select board meeting is to be preceded by a 5:15 p.m. meeting of the transfer station task force, according to the calendar on the town website.