Issue for April 21, 2022

Celebrating 34 years of local news

Vassalboro couple invites furry friends into their home for temporary care

Entering into the apartment of Justin Saragosa and Chris Choyce you’ll most likely hear tiny meows coming from a certain corner. In the summer of 2018 the young couple was facing increasing rent prices in Portland and decided to move up to central Maine, where Justin is from. When the pandemic hit they were temporarily furloughed. This newfound time inspired them to begin something they’d wanted to do: foster animals! The in-law apartment they’d moved to had a little extra space, an empty corner to be specific. The Kitten Korner was born on Easter Sunday 2020, becoming a temporary home to their first foster kittens… by Gillian Lalime

Your Local News

Select board approves trail at Spectacle Pond; postpones decision on background checks

VASSALBORO — Vassalboro select board members approved four of the varied items on their April 14 agenda, one formally; rejected one request; and postponed other decisions for more information…

Outside activities return to VCS; other good news

VASSALBORO — Vassalboro School Board members got quite a lot of good news at their April 13 meeting. Assistant Principal Greg Hughes shared the first item, in his administrator’s report: extracurricular programs are being scheduled again, after two years of pandemic-induced hiatus…

Planners review proposed new solar ordinance

CHINA — The three members of the China Planning Board participating in the April 12 meeting unanimously approved a change of ownership for a South China business…

Transfer station members advice selectboard to buy new loader, soon

CHINA — Members of China’s Transfer Station Committee voted unanimously at their April 12 meeting to advise China select board members to buy a new loader as soon as possible, before prices rise any more…

Road committee meets to discuss foreman’s paving schedule

CHINA — China Road Committee members met April 12 to discuss Road Foreman Shawn Reed’s proposed repaving schedule for 2022. They expressed no objections…

St. Michael student in Augusta uses “Principal for a Day” to help innocent of Ukraine

AUGUSTA When Natania, a first grader at St. Michael School, in Augusta, was informed she would get to serve as “Principal for a Day” on Tuesday, April 5. Her first thought was to use her newfound “power” to effect positive change…

Vassalboro Centenarian

VASSALBORO Lois Bulger, Vassalboro’s oldest citizen, was feted recently by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, on the occasion of her 100th birthday…

Waterville Rotary Club donates money to improve high school challenges

CENTRAL ME The Waterville Rotary Club recently donated $500 to four local high schools to provide support to youth who are experiencing homelessness or other challenges that impact their learning and/or engagement in school.  Members of the Club’s Community Services Committee delivered checks in person to each of the schools…

Winslow baseball team holds clinic

WINSLOW The Winslow High School baseball team held a clinic for youth baseball on Thursday, April 7. Athletes in grades three through eight had a chance to go to an hour-long clinic to work on baseball skills with the high school team…

Files inducted in NHS

PALERMO Roger Files, a 12th-grader from Palermo, was recently inducted into the National Honor Society at Maine Connections Academy. He is among a total group of 12 students who received National Honor Society membership at the school, the state’s first online charter school. He plans to enter the workforce following graduation…

Winslow resident earns award from WGU

WINSLOW Bethanie Farr, of Winslow, has earned an Award of Excellence at Western Governors University College of Health Professions, in Jersey City, New Jersey. The award is given to students who perform at a superior level in their course work…

Local residents earn award from WGU

CHELSEA/WINSLOW The following local residents have earned an Award of Excellence at Western Governors University, in Jersey City, New Jersey. Marsha Polley, of Chelsea, and Kit Potelle, of Winslow…

Name that film!

Identify the film in which this line originated and qualify to win FREE passes to Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville: “You’ve got to ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is May 13, 2022…

EVENTS: Senior Day in China every Wednesday

CHINA China residents enjoy Senior Day, at the portable building near the China Town Office. Senior Day is held every Wednesday, from 10 a.m. – noon, in the portable building at the China Town Office…

EVENTS: Knox-Lincoln SWCD to host Maine Audubon

ROCKPORT Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District is hosting Maine Audubon to present Stream Smart Training – Phase One on Thursday, May 26, at the Camden Opera House and online…

EVENTS: Agriculture theme at Albert Church Brown Library

CHINA Spring is here and with it the Albert Church Brown Library, in China Village, is jumpstarting its programs and events with a line-up of agricultural themed activities. The upcoming schedule will provide an opportunity for the community gather indoors and out while easing back into a regular schedule…

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Blacks in Maine – Part 2 (new)

MAINE HISTORY — The first two Black men recorded in Augusta, according to Anthony Douin, one of the contributors to H. H. Price and Gerald Talbot’s Maine’s Visible Black History, were “York Bunker and Cuff.” They were in the garrison at Fort Western, built in 1754, “listed as servants and paid as privates”… by Mary Grow [2021 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Blacks in Maine – Part 1

MAINE HISTORY — So far, people in this history series have been almost entirely the group that is still Maine’s majority population: white people descended mostly from inhabitants of the British Isles, plus representatives of other northern and western European countries. For example, Millard Howard wrote in his Palermo history that early settlers in that town came mostly from Massachusetts or New Hampshire, sometimes via coastal Maine… by Mary Grow [1944 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Wars – Part 14

MAINE HISTORY — The wars on which this series has provided information so far began with fighting against the European power that once claimed the United States and continued with the 1861-1865 war between two parts of the United States… by Mary Grow [1747 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Wars – Part 12

MAINE HISTORY — The United States Civil War, which began when the Confederates shelled Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861, and ended with General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Virginia, on April 9, 1865, had the most impact on Maine, including the central Kennebec Valley, of any 17th or 18th century war… by Mary Grow [2191 words]

Give Us Your Best Shot!

The best recent photos from our readers!…

Webber’s Pond

Webber’s Pond is a comic drawn by an anonymous central Maine resident (click thumbnail to enlarge)…

CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Senior Day in China

CHINA — Senior Day is held every Wednesday, from 10 a.m. – noon, in the portable building at the China Town Office. Residents of other area towns are welcome to join in the fun and camaraderie… and many other local events!

Obituaries

CHELSEA – Gene M. West, 96, of Chelsea, passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 9, 2022. Gene was born in Saco on January 23, 1926, and was a graduate of Thornton Academy, in Saco, and Nasson College, in Springvale… and remembering 15 others.

Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!

DEADLINE: Friday, April 12, 2022

Identify the people in these three photos, and tell us what they have in common. You could win a $10 gift certificate to Retail Therapy Boutique in Waterville! Email your answer to townline@townline.org or through our Contact page. Include your name and address with your answer. Use “Common Ground” in the subject!

Previous winner: Diane Gardner, Windsor

Town Line Original Columnists

Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee | A strange phenomenon occurrs every spring in the north Atlantic. Large icebergs come floating down the south shore near Ferryland, Newfoundland, Canada. People journey to the site – some traveling thousands of miles – to see this spectacle. For the locals, it’s no big deal. But for others, seeing them for the first time, it’s a breath taking sight…

SMALL SPACE GARDENING

by Melinda Myers | Growing a beautiful landscape starts with the soil under your feet. The best place to start building a healthy soil foundation is with a soil test. The results will tell you what type and how much, if any, fertilizer is needed for the plants you are growing. Using the right type and amount of fertilizer is also good for your budget and the environment…

Peter CatesREVIEW POTPOURRI

by Peter Cates | Former First Lady Abigail Smith Adams (1744-1818) fearlessly felt little concern about the opinions of others and was a true Massa­chusetts Puritan at heart. Her father William Smith (1707-1783) was a Congregationalist minister in the Boston suburb of Weymouth and a man of importance there as was his father before him…

I’M JUST CURIOUS

by Debbie Walker | Let’s see what I can come up with tonight. This doesn’t mean I have tried them; I am seeing some of them for the first time myself. So let me know what you think?…

FOR YOUR HEALTH

(NAPSI) | If you’re like most people, this is a familiar scene: You’re nearing the end of your appointment with your physician, and they ask, “Do you have any questions?” You want to take advantage of the short amount of time you have with the one person who can decipher tests and explain medical issues specific to you, but you blank…