Isaiah Vear, 14, right, attends the Waterville Alternative School. He recently constructed seven cat houses to help the Humane Society Waterville Area, where they will be placed in areas so cats can go to keep warm during the winter. With Isaiah is his teacher, Jessica Jones, at the Waterville Alternative School. (Photo courtesy of Central Maine Photography)
A message from Mrs. Claus to our Kringleville, Maine, USA friends. This certainly was a season like no other Kringleville season. Though Santa and I could not visit with you in the cabin, we were so pleased to be able to connect with so many of you remotely. The thing Santa and I missed the most were your holiday hugs.
We enjoyed our brief visit to Maine, USA for Kringleville’s “Light Up the Town” event brought to you by The Children’s Discovery Museum of Waterville. Santa and Mrs. Claus are excited to share with you that The Children’s Discovery Museum is projected to open in the fall of 2021. We sure hope that you will all visit the museum to learn, grow and have fun!
Santa was so happy to be able to receive your letters that you mailed to him at the Kringleville cabin in Castonguay Square, in Waterville, thanks to Kringleville’s postmaster Scott McAdoo. Your letters flooded into our North Pole mail room day after day.
The Kringleville Facebook page ended the 2019 season with 3,284 friends and followers.
We’re happy to share that there are even more Kringleville friends and followers in 2020: 4,612 and growing. This season, thanks to Santa’s friend Eric Lunt, Santa and Mrs. Claus were introduced to Fran Nuite. The good people at the Faith Church, in Waterville, allowed Fran to borrow their filming equipment and transport the equipment to the North Pole to film this season’s Kringleville videos for you. So much Christmas magic was able to be shared with you thanks to Fran and Eric.
It’s not too late to view the Kringleville videos. As Mrs. Claus always says, “Kringleville is not a season. It is a friendship.” The Kringleville Facebook page is active year-round, so we hope that you stay connected, because the spirit of Christmas should be more like the Hawaiian spirt of Aloha and live in all of us year-round.
This season’s videos include, storytime with Santa and Mrs. Claus, songs by Eric Lunt (a.k.a. the Big E), songs by REZ Life Church, songs from Mrs. Claus, Santa and Mrs. Claus winter waltz, Christmas dance performances and cookie time with Mrs. Claus and friends, Santa and Mrs. Claus carriage ride arrival.
We decided to have a virtual season to try our best to help keep our Kringleville friends healthy and safe during this worldwide pandemic. We know some were disappointed to not be able to sit on Santa’s lap, but thankfully you were able to get a Christmas picture with Santa 2020 style through the computer. Santa and I enjoyed our zoom visits with you and wish that we could have spent more time with you, but you know that there were so many who wanted to visit with us, and it was also our busy season here in the North Pole.
One thing that Santa and I stressed to all of you this season was during all the changes, we hoped that you were still kind to others and to yourselves. What we heard over and over again this season was honesty from children. You expressed that this was a difficult year and that you were worried about making the nice list. One even said that his halo was a bit crooked, but that he tried his best. This genuine honesty coming from child after child had Santa and Mrs. Claus telling children that as long as you tried your best, that is all we can ask. And just like that, honesty placed many children on the nice list, because being honest is what good boys and girls do.
This season’s annual Kringleville Christmas ornaments were available for purchase in downtown Waterville at Holy Cannoli and Jorgenson’s Café on Main Street with 50 % of proceeds donated to the Children’s Discovery Museum and as always, the other 50 percent was a personal donation from Santa and Mrs. Claus to the Saint Jude Children’s Hospital. Santa and Mrs. Claus hand paint the collectible ornaments each year and donate proceeds to charitable causes that directly benefit children.
If you or your business would like to contribute to the success of this timeless Waterville tradition, please contact Amarinda Keys, at The Children’s Discovery Museum. Email Amarinda at amarinda@childrensdiscoverymuseum.org to ask how you too can be a part of the magic of Christmas at Kringleville for the 2021 season. If you would like to share your time and talent with our Kringleville family in 2021, please contact Amarinda to be placed on our Kringleville 2021 “I want to help Santa list”!
Santa and I ask that you continue to try your best. You have been brave…Continue to be brave! You have been strong through all of the changes that the year 2020 brought to you and the world you live in. Always remember to be part of solutions, rather than adding to problems. Be respectful of all others, because kindness begins with respect and a smile.
Though the 2020 Christmas season started with the newspaper headlines that Kringleville was canceled, we certainly proved that no one cancels Christmas, because Christmas lives in our hearts. Santa wants everyone to keep in mind that Christmas isn’t something you should have in your heart only once a year. The spirit of Christmas should live in your heart year-round. So, take Santa’s advice and be kind to all others! Mrs. Claus sends big hugs from my North Pole home to your home. Santa and I wish you all the best in this new year!
Nancy Marshall
Marshall Communications Founder and CEO Nancy Marshall will offer tips to address how businesses and leaders can embrace adaptability, exercise empathy in the workplace, and take action to assure success during and after the pandemic. The Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce’s January breakfast will be held on Thursday, January 14, from 7:15 to 9 a.m., in the Colby/Coburn Room, at the Best Western Plus, 375 Main Street, Waterville.
Nancy Marshall is known as The PR Maven®, she’s a go-getter and social media powerhouse. Thirty years ago, Nancy started her own public relations agency, which has represented many major clients.
Nancy’s hallmark is her commitment to living clients’ businesses. Before starting work at Sugarloaf, she certified as a professional ski instructor. When she represented Northern Outdoors, she became a licensed whitewater rafting guide. For the Maine Windjammer Association, she lived the life of a crewmember on the Victory Chimes. For Orvis, she learned to fly fish and tie flies.
She hosts the PR Maven® Podcast, shares her expertise in columns for Forbes.com and MaineBiz and does speaking engagements throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Nancy specializes in all things connected to networking and media relations; personal branding and business and motivational speaking.
Before founding Marshall Communications, Nancy was a marketing associate for a Hinckley yacht-builder; corporate conference sales manager and director of communications for Sugarloaf ski resort, and Public Information Manager for a PBS TV Station, the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Network.
In her spare time, Nancy enjoys entertaining, food and wine, travel, reading for pleasure and learning, walking, cycling, swimming, fitness, skiing, boating, fishing, and spending time with her two sons.
Nancy holds a bachelor of arts degree with a double major in French and American studies from Colby College, and a master of business administration from Thomas College, both located in Waterville.
Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce holds monthly informative presentations on a variety of educational business topics at Best Western Plus, 375 Main Street, Waterville. The cost of the Business Breakfast is $20 for members, $27 at the door and for non-members. Breakfast is included with the reservation. All CDC regulations and guidelines are followed.
To register, e-mail Cindy@midmainechamber.com or call 207-873-3315.
The major sponsors for the Business Breakfast are: AT&T; Cross Employee Benefits; New Dimensions Federal Credit Union; Nicholson, Michaud & Nadeau CPAs; O’Donnell, Lee, McCowan & Phillips, LLC; Sheridan Corporation. The print media sponsor is Morning Sentinel, a division of MaineToday Media, Inc.; radio sponsor is MIX107.9; video sponsor is Kennebec Savings Bank.
Big Brother Chris Paradis, left, and his Little Brother Evan Jones, enjoy playing cribbage, watching movies and, shown here two years ago, shooting pool. Chris and Evan were matched three years ago as part of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine, which is actively recruiting adults in the community, as well as college and high school students, to become Bigs to one of 100 kids waiting to be matched. (contributed photo)
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine (BBBSMM) kicks off the New Year with a recruitment effort to match 30 waiting Littles with adult mentors and train another 70 college and high school students to serve as “Virtual Bigs” to mentor area youth, with hopes of returning to in-person programming this year. The BBBSMM campaign, “One to One in 2021” is part of National Mentoring Month, a time dedicated to recognizing the agency’s current Bigs, and share their stories to help recruit new mentors from throughout midcoast, eastern and central Maine.
Community-based matches meet a few hours each week either virtually or in person following Covid safety guidelines. School-based matches are communicating via the agency’s online virtual messaging program “MentorNet” and keeping in touch through pen pal writing, with hopes of returning to one-hour, weekly meetings at after-school programs when it is safe to return. Both community and school/site-based Bigs are screened, trained, matched and supported by professional program staff. All volunteers commit to mentoring a child for a minimum of one year, which supports the development of stronger and longer lasting relationships.
Big Brother Chris Paradis, who has a busy personal and professional life, says mentoring is about finding time for things that matter most.
“This experience has been an eye opener and has made me realize the importance of giving back,” Paradis says about his three-year friendship with Little Brother Evan Jones, who is now 16 years old. “It’s pretty powerful to be able to watch someone grow, mature, and know you are making a difference in their lives.”
BBBSMM Executive Director Gwendolyn Hudson said there has never been a more critical time for volunteers to become Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
“As we all do our part to isolate for the health of our community, the connection between Bigs and Littles is more important than ever,” Hudson said. Community Bigs, she shared, are finding creative ways to stay connected through virtual cooking classes, online games and arts and crafts, and doing outside activities together. MentorNet, the agency’s new online communication program, is making it safe and easy for college and high school Bigs to stay connected with local youth.
“The New Year is a great time to make a personal commitment to give back in your community. All you need is a desire to make a difference by igniting a child’s greatest potential,” Hudson said. “Many people think they don’t have the time or are not sure if they would be a good mentor,” Hudson said. “Bigs tell us all the time that spending a few hours just being a friend not only significantly impacts their Little’s life, but changes their own for the better. It is very rewarding.”
Interested volunteers can learn more about local Littles waiting and how to become a mentor by calling 207-236-BBBS or emailing info@bbbsmidmaine.org. Additional information can be found at bbbsmidmaine.org.
Rotary Club of Waterville president, Jeff Jolicoeur, right, and Erin Merrill, Educare Central Maine director of development, pose with the check representing the amount raised during the auction. (contributed photo)
The 57th annual Waterville Rotary Auction with hundreds of gifts, services and discount items was held in late November as a part of the Waterville Rotary Club’s commitment to support of area programs and initiatives highlighting childhood literacy.
This year, Rotary Club of Waterville identified Educare Central Maine’s Lab School and Learning Hub as the beneficiary of proceeds from the 2020 Rotary Auction. Total auction proceeds, supplemented by a Rotary divisional grant allowed for a $13,500 donation to this program.
Educare is celebrating its 10-year anniversary this year, having served more than 1,300 children from more than 1,000 families. It is a platform for change, working to provide support as they accomplish their goals to advance their schooling and employment opportunities. Children will be ready to thrive when they enter kindergarten and parents will be equipped to support their family’s needs.
For more about Educare’s Lab School & Learning Hub, go to https://www.educarecentralmaine.org/lab-school-learning-hub/).
Educare Central Maine Director of Development Erin Merrill explains that “Educare is launching the Lab School and Learning Hub in our second decade of service as a way to help train more professionals wanting to get into the early education field. Educare is partnering with KVCC and Thomas to offer field placement sites and badging qualifications for students who want to graduate and go into the early childhood field. The Learning Hub will also help community providers create and elevate their own early childhood programs with professional development assistance from Educare staff. This is truly an Educare Beyond the Walls model that will help to create more quality providers in Central Maine and beyond. Those providers will then have the tools needed to assist families and children in meeting their goals for a better, healthier, more prosperous future.”
The Waterville Rotary Club hosts the auction each year in late November to benefit what Rotarians determine to be among the worthiest causes of the region. Every year, for more than half a century, this important community event has raised money to meet area needs. Projects from multiple disciplines and organizations are all included in Rotary’s efforts to make a difference in the communities in which we all live and work.
Rotary Club of Waterville would like to thank the community for its support and contribution to area businesses and to the promotion of literacy in central Maine and beyond.
For more information about the Rotary, visit the website at http://www.watervillerotary.com.
Santa and Mrs. Claus, right, arrived in Waterville, Maine, USA, on Thanksgiving afternoon. Linanne and Chris Gaunce, left, owners of Central Maine Motors Auto Group, a major sponsor of the event, pose for a photo with Santa and Mrs. Claus on Friday, November 27, to kick off the event. (photo by Mark Huard/ Central Maine Photography)
This holiday season, the Children’s Discovery Museum hosted a city-wide light celebration! Light displays moved outside of just Main Street this year, as businesses and individuals decorated their properties with lights to celebrate the holidays. The registered parties were then compiled into a city-wide map available for members of the community so they can drive by and admire the decorations!
The event kicked off on Friday, November 27, 2020, and Santa made a loop around to visit many of the properties, waving to the participants as he went by. The properties were also visited by a panel of judges who carefully selected the winner: Chris Griswold’s World, at 12 Woodlawn Drive, in Winslow. Runners up include A Whale of a Holiday, at 585 Clinton Ave., in Winslow, A Merry FrankLin Christmas, at 39 Franklin St., in Waterville, 75% off, at 45 Roosevelt Ave., in Waterville, Frosty’s Corner, at 310 Cemetery Street, in Vassalboro, and Forest of Trees, at 451 Cushman Rd., in Winslow.
Kacie Gerow, left, with daughter Roslyn Gerow. (contributed photo by Tony Gerow)
The Winter Solstice Luminary Project will expand and amplify the Art Kits for All program across Waterville – literally lighting up the city by providing luminary kits to approximately 1,600 students enrolled in the Waterville public schools. Waterville Creates, in collaboration with community partners, including the Colby College Museum of Art, Kennebec Montessori School, Waterville School District, Family Violence Project, Waterville Parent Teacher Association, Northern Stars Planetarium, and the Children’s Discovery Museum will distribute kits to area schools on Thursday, December 17. The free kits will include materials for two luminaries per kit along with battery operated candles. Students and their families are encouraged to place the crafted luminaries at their homes and businesses throughout the city on December 21 between 4 and 6:30 p.m. to collectively celebrate the winter solstice.
“This project is designed to create a shared joyful experience while we practice social distancing and continue to navigate the challenges of the pandemic. It’s also a creative and collaborative way to illuminate our city during the solstice,” says Serena Sanborn, Education + Outreach Coordinator for Waterville Creates.
Naomi Shirley makes a luminary. (contributed photo by Shannon Haines)
The Winter Solstice Luminary Project is part of the very successful Art Kits for All program which was launched in May 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This program is an innovative, collaborative program designed to keep families engaged and connected to the arts. By providing free art supplies and instructions, this program offers high-quality, accessible art experiences in a completely reimagined way. To date, over 1,600 art kits have been distributed to hundreds of area families since mid-April. This is the largest single distribution the Art Kit team has undertaken.
The Winter Solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year and occurs each December in the Northern Hemisphere. The solstice event occurs as a direct result of the Earth’s tilt and relative position to the sun. In many cultures throughout the world, people have holidays and festivities that involve lights to celebrate the Solstice. Creating luminaries around the solstice is a tradition that dates back thousands of years.
Join Waterville Creates and its partners as they bring light to the longest night of the year! For more instructions on creating your luminary, please visit the Waterville Creates YouTube channel on or after December 4.
Critical support for this program has been provided by Kennebec Savings Bank, MaineGeneral Health, Colby Center for the Arts + Humanities, United Way of Mid-Maine with additional support from Bangor Savings Bank and dozens of individual donors.
Tax year runs Feb. 1 to January 31
Taxes due September 30, 2020
First Half
Sept. 26, 2020
Second Half
March 26, 2021
Four quarters
November 10, 2020
January 6, 2020
March 10, 2020
May 12, 2020
One fourth
Sept. 28, 2020
One fourth
November 23, 2020
One fourth
Feb. 22, 2021
One fourth
April 26, 2021
First quarter
Oct. 9, 2020
Second quarter
Dec. 11, 2020
Third quarter
March 12, 2021
Fourth quarter
June 11, 2021
First Half
September 30, 2020
Second Half
March 31, 2021
Four quarters
October 9, 2020
December 11, 2020
March 12, 2021
June 11, 2021
To be included in this section, contact The Town Line at townline@townline.org.
Rev. Barbara Sagat-Stover, Congregational Coordinator at Pleasant Street United Methodist Church (PSUMC), in Waterville, created a COVID-19 memorial after reading about a Madison, Wisconsin, congregation that created a fabric ribbon tribute on the church outdoor railings. Each of those ribbons represented one of over 1,200 individuals who had died from the virus. Barbara says, “PSUMC memorial started as an extension of our desire to have a special memorial for members of PSUMC that have died in the last year.” These people are recognized by name via the blue ribbons in the center of the display. The remaining ribbons each represent an individual who has died in Maine due to the virus.
There are currently 159 ribbons displayed on the memorial, but this number increases with every COVID-19 death in Maine. The ribbons are all colors and patterns representing the unique gifts and talents of all the people we have lost. Currently the ribbons for the Maine people lost are anonymous, but they would like to personalize them if family or friends supply the names of those lost to the virus.
The church will continue to display a ribbon for every Maine person who dies from COVID-19. To personalize a ribbon, please call PSUMC (872-7564) and leave the name of the person who died from this virus. With permission, the name will be written on a ribbon. The church will continue to add ribbons for every Maine life lost until this pandemic has ended.
Community members are encouraged to visit the COVID 19 Memorial.
Waterville Youth Football team member Logan Cimino (42) runs with the ball while Winslow defenders, from left to right, Michael Loubier (68), Benjamin Fisher (50), and Larson Ronco (32), move in for the stop. The game was played on October 25, in Waterville. (photo by Missy Brown, Central Maine Photography staff)