(contributed photo)
The Sheepscot Lake Association held its sixth annual boat parade on July 4, with 35+ boats joining the parade, and several residents cheering the parade on from the lakeshore.
Lynda Pound, (top photo, standing) founding member of the lake association, with 10 years of service on the board, was Grand Marshal of the parade this year. (contributed photo)
contributed photo
To the editor:My friend Marty and myself are convinced that CMP – Central Maine Power, is responsible for placement of the osprey nests on the power line poles. Have you ever noticed that these nests are typically adjacent to the road? You can look through the clear cut area and see multiple poles, but the nests are on the pole immediately next to the road. There are numerous examples of this on Turner Ridge Rd., the 105, and along Highway 95. south before Fairfield. With all these options … Why would an osprey build a nest on the exact pole next to the road ?
You may say that it’s close to the road to allow these birds to eat road kill. To my knowledge osprey catch live fish and it’s typically crows or vultures that eat road kill. My wife Margaret talked to the CMP crew that was installing new power poles about this question and they just had a good laugh at our expense. I have Googled the question and there are some examples of CMP intervention to relocate Osprey nests that could cause harm to the birds or cause power outages. It shows some type of human intervention but it still does not answer the question about CMP placement of nests adjacent to roads.
The purpose of this letter to the editor is to solicit feedback on whether it’s true or false that CMP is responsible for the placement of these osprey nests.
Okay, I know I’m retired and I have extra time on my hands to ponder these types of questions. So please if you have any facts on this subject please write your own letter to the editor to The Town Line with the information. Please help us in this debate!
Gary Mazoki
Palermo
Post Adjutant Duane Alexander placing the first flag in the fire. (contributed photo)
American Legion Post #163, in Palermo, held a flag retirement ceremony on Flag Day, June 14.
Post #163 worked in collaboration with the Palermo Fire Department, Cub Scout Pack #609, American Legion Auxiliary, and the Sons of the American Legion. (contributed photo)
Cub Scout Pack #609, led by pack leader Shawn McFarland, assisted in folding the flags in preparation for the ceremony the week before. (contributed photo)
Taps was played by Erskine student Sabrina Studholme, right. A brunch at the Palermo Historical Society wrapped up the day’s events. (contributed photo)
Malcolm Glidden Post #163, in Palermo, visited four local cemeteries on Memorial Day to honor fallen comrades. A prayer and poem, “Decoration Day,” was read by Commander Paul Hunter, above, volleys were fired by the rifle squad. (contributed photo)
Five area Maine community college students have been named to the All-Maine Academic Team in recognition of their outstanding academic achievement, leadership, and service.
Area students receiving the award and a $500 scholarship from the MCCS Board of Trustees are:
Stephanie Wright, Oakland, Eastern Maine Community College.
Skye Havey, Somerville, Kennebec Valley Community College, in Fairfield/Hinckley.
Andrea King, Unity, Kennebec Valley Community College.
Jaikari Rada-Gonzalez, Palermo, Kennebec Valley Community College.
Jasmine Sanders, Augusta, Kennebec Valley Community College.
PHS volunteer Michelle Glidden looks on with pride as Sawyer Cotter-Hayes works the grain grinder, full of Palermo-grown dent corn. (contributed photo)
To live in Palermo is to live among history, and this is true whether you know the history or not. It’s in the name and shape of our roads – Turner Ridge, Banton, Parmenter – and of the families who have lived here for generations. It’s in the houses, like the ones that survived the Branch Mills Fire of 1908 or the camps that surround Sheepscot Pond. It’s in the people, like local sons Millard Howard and Milton Dowe, who had so much love for this town that they each wrote a comprehensive history of it. That love and pride brought townsfolk together 30 years ago to found the Palermo Historical Society, and keeps us celebrating and preserving that history today.
We recently got to celebrate some local history with the third graders of Palermo Consolidated School, restarting a fond tradition. It was a delight to see the excitement and wonder in these kids’ eyes as they contemplated a 19th century life without electricity or iPads. Our intrepid volunteers demonstrated homesteader techniques like grain grinding, hand and loom weaving, and log cabin construction, and told stories of settlers working together to erect sawmills, grain mills, and churches (in that order!).
Our Society meets in the historic Worthing House, at 54 North Palermo Rd, right in the Branch Mills village. We love to collaborate with other local organizations, and are hosting Palermo’s American Legion Post #163 for a Memorial Day commemoration, starting at 11 a.m., on the May 26.
The society’s vice-president, Paul Hunter, is leading a popular monthly series on ancestry and genealogy in partnership with the Palermo Community Library – see their Facebook for more information. Later in June, we celebrate the anniversary of Palermo’s founding with our annual Founder’s Day Cookout, scheduled for June 21.
August means Palermo Days and the return of the 20th Maine Company B Civil War reenactors, camping out on our lawn. Our 30th anniversary season concludes in October with a new apple festival, organized in collaboration with PHS member and renowned apple expert, John Bunker. Mark Saturday, October 11, in your calendar for what is going to be a fun and hands-on celebration of all of what the humble apple provides us. All of our meetings and events are family-friendly and all are welcome.
The cornerstone of the Society’s achievements over the past 30 years is our dedicated membership, and there’s never been a better time to join us! Annual dues are just $5, and to commemorate our anniversary all new members receive a gift copy of Millard Howard’s definitive “An Introduction to the Early History of Palermo.” Members receive our seasonal newsletter, support our collection of antiques and artifacts, and guide our future. Our work in maintaining the historic Worthing House and grounds is never done, and we are always open to partnering with local businesses in pursuit of that goal.
The Palermo Historical Society was founded in 1995 with the express mission of preserving and cataloging our town’s history. That mission has taken many forms over the past 30 years, and our collection now includes books, maps, diaries, mementos, furniture, clothing, plateware, tools, all available to be viewed at our gifted home, the Worthing House, at 54 North Palermo Rd. We also have some especially rare treasures, like an antique barn loom (gift of Elsie Adams), one of the oldest telephones in Palermo (gift of Miriam Keller), the homemade diving helmet Milton Dowe used to walk across the bottom of Branch Pond, a working Edison phonograph with a collection of wax cylinder recordings (gift of Janet Potter).
To view any of our collection, please contact palermohistorical@gmail.com or join a meeting on the fourth Tuesday, at 6 p.m., March through October. You may get in touch with William Armstrong, PHS president, directly at armstrongpalermo@gmail.com.
Down in Vidalia, Georgia, the Vidalia onions are ripening. They are big, sweet, and juicy, and are just waiting for you to order a bag. A 25-pound bag of these beauties costs $30 and will arrive at the Palermo Community Center around Mothers Day. To order, please call Connie Bellet at 993-2294 or email pwhitehawk@fairpoint.net and leave your name, phone or text number and the number of bags you want. Save money and order four bags for $115! Connie will get back to you to confirm, and as soon as we learn the exact date of arrival, we will let you know.
The proceeds from this sale will be used for much-needed maintenance of the Community Center, at 26 Veterans Way. New nut trees and thornless blackberries are going in the front yard, and the seedlings for the Community Garden are coming up. If you are interested in volunteering, there is a lot of planting to be done. We are also building a new lighted sign with reflective letters! That will be going up in early summer. The parking areas are also being expanded to accommodate the nearly 250 people who use the Food Pantry every Tuesday, from 11 a.m. to noon. All are welcome!
Thank you very much for your support. To donate or to pay for your onions when you order, please send your check to LCF (Living Communities Foundation), P.O. Box 151, Palermo, ME 04354. We appreciate all that you do to help our community.
Spring has sprung, and it’s time to order Vidalia onions! There hasn’t been a shipment since Covid struck, but now they are back, and as sweet and juicy as ever. A 25 lb. bag costs $30.00 and can be ordered by calling Connie Bellet at the Palermo Community Foundation, where they will arrive around Mother’s Day. Connie’s number is 993-2294, or text to (207) 242-0431.
The deadline for orders is April 27. Since there is time, you may want to save money by getting together with friends and neighbors and order four bags for $115.00. To order by email, go to pwhitehawk@fairpoint.net. Please be sure and leave your phone or text number for confirmation. If you can pay for the onions when you order them, it would be helpful.
Please make your check payable to LCF (Living Communities Foundation). As a Charitable Foundation, one-third of your cost is tax-deductible – if you get your order in before April 15. You can also pay with cash or check when you pick up your onions. The Community Center is across from the ball field at the intersection of Turner Ridge Road and Veterans Way. There is an orange tractor by the corner.
Proceeds from the fundraiser will go toward much-needed maintenance of the Palermo Community Center, which also houses the Food Pantry. We are also looking for able-bodied volunteers to help with tree-planting, sign-raising, gardening, Food Pantry, and painting the deck. If you would like to do some community service, please contact Connie Bellet at one of the numbers above. Your volunteerism is what keeps towns like ours alive! Volunteers are always appreciated and welcomed.
by Mary GrowAt the March 11 China Transfer Station Committee meeting, member Bob Kurek shared his calculation of the economic benefit of charging all users a per-bag fee to dispose of trash at the China facility.
Palermo users currently buy colored bags for their trash. China residents do not, since their taxes support the facility along with other town services.
Kurek calculated that adding pay per bag (PPB) for China users would generate enough additional revenue to make the transfer station self-supporting, assuming Palermo continues to contribute.
PPB is also fair, he and station manager Thomas Maraggio said; those who use the facility the most pay the most. Maraggio said PPB would make attendants’ work easier, since all trash would be bagged.
Town Clerk Angela Nelson found on the cover of China’s 2014-15 town report, published in June 2016, a caption: “The year of the great PAYT [Pay As You Throw] debate.” She quoted a comment on p. 57 that said, “As of this writing February 6, 2016, the Select Board has rescinded their earlier action to initiate a Pay Per Throw Program to a time uncertain in the future.”
Committee member Lee Buzzell said one effect of PPB would probably be more residents switching to dumpsters. Chairman J. Chrisopher Bauman asked members to consider other unintended consequences, and asked Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood to calculate the effect on taxes.
Maraggio had compiled recycling statistics for China: the recycling rate is just over 25 percent if demolition debris is not counted, just over 20 percent if it is. The state average is around 30 percent, he said; the state goal is 50 percent.
The list of recyclables on the China website includes plastics, metal and aluminum cans, glass, newspapers and magazines, and corrugated cardboard. Maraggio said collection of newly-added #1 plastic is going well. He would especially like to see more composting of food wastes.
Committee members scheduled their next meeting for 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 8.
Select board approves projectMore than two dozen residents attended the Palermo Planning Board meeting on Thursday, March 13, to voice concerns and raise questions during the preliminary hearing to approve a proposed 12-unit subdivision on Hostile Valley Road. Many of those present spoke to potential impacts to the local ecology and environment, traffic and public infrastructure, and other anticipated consequences from increased population density. The five member planning board recorded input from community members, as well as developer, James Boyle, for over two hours before voting unanimously to approve the preliminary application as complete, moving the proposal forward to a public hearing at a future date.
In November 2024, Gorham based developer, James Boyle purchased 27 acres, in Palermo, between Log Cabin Lane and Belden Pond. He promptly began the application process to subdivide the parcel into 15 house lots ranging in size between one and four acres, including the development of a 50-foot wide private road.
In the intervening months, Boyle has worked with K and K Land Surveyors, based in Oakland, to finalize his proposed development plan to meet the preliminary application requirements of the planning board, including mapping protected wetlands and slopes unsuitable for building on, identifying at least 10 percent of the total acreage to be preserved as open space for recreation, and designating a 75-foot protected buffer area along Belden Pond Brook.
The submitted proposal reduced the number of house lots from 15 to 12 and significantly shortened the length of the proposed Pine Hill Road. Boyle intends to sell the lots individually, rather than developing the entire housing division himself, but specified that including deed restrictions and the creation of a Road Association or Home Owners Association within the subdivision would ensure the common maintenance and upkeep of the shared assets, the private road and the preserved recreation land.
Several abutting land owners present addressed their wide ranging concerns both to the planning board members, and to Boyle directly. Four community members read prepared statements focusing on the potential impacts of the development to the health of the ecology and wildlife of the surrounding area, road repair and travel safety related to increased traffic, and impacts to other social and cultural aspects of the town, like the school system. One resident, Henry Holden, presented the planning board with a petition of 100 names signed in opposition to the planned development as currently proposed.
One common refrain spoke to concerns about changing the “rural character,” of the town. One attendee noted that 12 new homes on a 27 acre parcel would be a 1000 percent increase in population density compared with the current average in Palermo. Another worried that, with no plan to restrict development to single family homes, the lenient zoning ordinances in Palermo could potentially allow the 12 lots to be built up into a mix of up to 27 single family and multifamily units, even more with the allowance of Auxiliary Dwelling Units. Board Chairman, Janelle Tirrell, commented that, while preserving and protecting the rural character of Palermo is enshrined in the towns Comprehensive Plan, rural is in the eye of the beholder, and not necessarily determined by lot size. Boyle responded by citing another section of the Comprehensive Plan, which identified the need for at least 70 new housing units to be built in Palermo by 2040 to keep up with demographic changes. He pointed out that “relying of market forces and natural housing stock,” as recommended in the previous Comprehensive Plan from the 1990s, has seen median house prices in Palermo double in recent years, from $165,000 to $323,000.
Another neighbor, Pamela Paige, spoke extensively about the potential negative impacts the proposed development could have on the environment, specifically the Sheepscott Lake Watershed. The development site sits squarely within the watershed and the activities of clearing the land and building the structures could inevitably introduce nonpoint sources pollution into Sheepscott Lake and River by way of Belden Brook and disturb the natural ecosystem for wildlife present. Sheepscott Lake supports populations of lake trout and landlocked salmon and Sheepscott River is one of only seven rivers in the country to maintain a wild Atlantic salmon run. “As habitat blocks shrink and are fragmented,” Paige said, “entire wildlife species are driven away.”
Chanel Cyr also spoke to impacts to the watershed, but in the context of the recent phenomenon of many area wells running dry. The climate trends in Maine towards hotter temperatures and less annual precipitation has had a detrimental effect on groundwater levels. An additional 12 households drawing water from the same source would only make the problem worse.
Finally, resident Loraine Eliot spoke to the unsafe conditions and unreasonable congestion that could be brought to Hostile Valley Road with the Pine Hill Development. Running through the numbers, Eliot made the case that 12 new lots could easily result in 72 new driving adults traveling on the road, potentially hundreds during holidays or in the case of someone starting a home business. The intersection with Level Hill Road is notorious in town for being dangerous and difficult to see. In the event of new signage or a traffic light being deemed necessary to accommodate the increase in traffic, Eliot asked, who is expected to pay for that?
The meeting adjourned with the board unanimously approving the preliminary application as complete. Boyle took extensive notes during the period of public comment and asked concerned citizens to contact him directly to include their input in the plan as it moves forward.