Issue for August 18, 2022

Celebrating 34 years of local news

14-year-old teen entrepreneur opens electronic repair store

Have you heard about the teenage boy in Maine that started his own electronics repair store? A year ago, Parker Redlevske, of Oakland, was your typical 13-year-old boy playing with friends, going to school, cracking jokes and pulling pranks. His parents say at a young age he has always been very smart, independent and curious of how things worked… by Mark Huard

90-year-old veteran creates a hand-carved legacy for future generations

On Saturday, August 6, Alan Johnston, U.S. Army veteran and commander for the Maine Chapter of the Military Order of the World Wars, led the dedication of a hand-carved wood eagle to Wreaths Across America’s founder Morrill Worcester, as part of the organization’s annual Stem to Stone event in Downeast Maine…

Your Local News

Select board sets tax rate at 14.4 mil

VASSALBORO – At their Aug. 11 meeting, Vassalboro select board members set the 2022-23 tax rate at 14.4 mils, or $14.40 for each $1,000 of property valuation, a decrease of eight cents per $1,000 over the 2021-22 rate…

Planners forward land use ordinance amendments to select board

CHINA – China Planning Board members’ Aug. 9 meeting was only two minutes longer than their Aug. 4 public hearing on proposed amendments to Chapters 4 and 11 of the town Land Use Ordinance…

County tax increase substantial

CHINA – China select board members held a short Aug. 15 meeting, followed by a tour of well-filled storage spaces in the town office building…

Cemetery committee working to update information

CHINA – China Cemetery Committee members and guest Kelly Grotton, whose town office duties include acting as semi-official town historian, met the afternoon of Aug. 9 primarily to hear a report from summer intern Savannah Clark…

Select board takes up many agenda items

WINDSOR – The Windsor select board on August 2 heard from Keith Hall, road supervisor, that all the paving is done. A few driveway repairs will need to be finished, and one on the Weeks Mills Road, which has a steep grade, will need fixing. They planned on beginning to paint lines the following week. Hall also reported the Sampson Road sign was taken and will be replaced…

Cubs learn about outdoors

VASSALBORO – Cub Scouts in Vassalboro Pack #410 enjoyed meeting with members of the Maine Warden Service recently. Sgt. Josh Bubier and Warden Jake Voter took time the first week of August to discuss with the Cub Scouts the important role the Warden Service plays in protecting Maine’s unique natural outdoor heritage… by Chuck Mahaleris

PHOTO: Central Maine Youth Football Junior Camp

FAIRFIELD – The Central Maine Football Junior Camp, directed by Lawrence High School head football coach John Hersom, and Lawrence Bulldogs players, took place on July 25-27 at the Fairfield PAL Football field…

Stevens graduates from Baylor

CHINA – Baylor University, in Waco, Texas, celebrated nearly 1,800 graduates who received their respective degrees during summer and fall commencement ceremonies. Among the graduates was Sarah Stevens, of South China, who received a master of science in communication sciences and disorders, from the graduate school, in August 2021…

EVENTS: China to hold Window Dressers workshop

CHINA – To submit an order for window inserts, or to volunteer, please call the China Town Office at 445-2014, send an email to chinaforalifetime@gmail.com, or visit the Window Dressers website and fill out the request form

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Waterville historic district – Part 1 (new)

WATERVILLE HISTORY — As sources cited in this and the following articles say, Waterville’s downtown business district was in the 19th and 20th centuries (and still is in the 21st century) an important regional commercial center. Buildings from the 1830s still stand; the majority of the commercial buildings lining Main Street date from the last quarter of the 19th century. Hence the interest in recognizing and protecting the area’s historic value by listing it on the National Register of Historic Places… by Mary Grow [1581 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Kingsbury’s people

CENTRAL ME HISTORY — This article is for people who enjoy an occasional glimpse into someone else’s life – nothing scandalous or earth-shaking, just odds and ends about the ordinary lives of people in another time. The main source is Henry D. Kingsbury’s Kennebec County history… by Mary Grow [2006 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Natural resources – Part 5

CENTRAL ME HISTORY — Gold is unusual in Maine but not completely lacking. The Maine Geological Survey has on its website a list of streams, all but one in Franklin, Oxford or Somerset county, worth panning for gold. (The outlier is the St. Croix River, separating the United States and Canada; gold has been found in Baileyville, in Washington County)… by Mary Grow [1845 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Natural resources – Part 4

CENTRAL ME HISTORY — “Augusta has been abundantly supplied…with the best of granite, easily quarried, and of convenient access,” Augusta historian James North wrote. He expressed surprise that the resource was not developed earlier; not only did the workers on the 1797 Kennebec bridge and the 1808 jail use boulders instead, but, he wrote, three gentlemen who built houses in the first decade of the 1800s brought granite for the foundations from the Boston area, “at great expense”… by Mary Grow [1858 words]

CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Rug hooking program at VHS

VASSALBORO — The Vassalboro Historical Society (VHS) will be hosting a “Rug Hooking Past and Present” program on Sunday, August 21, from 3 – 5 p.m., at 327 Main Street, East Vassalboro… and many other local events!

Webber’s Pond

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

Name that film!

Identify the film in which this famous line originated and qualify to win FREE passes to Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville: “Medulla oblongata.” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is September 8, 2022…

Obituaries

SIDNEY – Russell Cummings passed away unexpectedly on Monday, August 1, 2022, at his home in Sidney… and remembering 9 others.

Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!

DEADLINE: Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Identify the people in these three photos, and tell us what they have in common. You could win a $10 gift certificate to Hannaford Supermarket! 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: John Stevens, Whitefield

Town Line Original Columnists

Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee | This came across my desk last week, and I thought it would make a good story for this week’s column. Growing up in China, Maine, Hunter Praul said he always had an interest in exploring the outdoors, especially for reptiles and amphibians…

Peter CatesREVIEW POTPOURRI

by Peter Cates | Former President #9, William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) achieved renown as an army captain in command at Fort Washington, Ohio, when he was in his 20s; as a governor in the Indiana Territory during the early 1800s; and being promoted to Major General after defeating the Indians in a battle at Tippecanoe which was a Wabash River settlement in Indiana…

I’M JUST CURIOUS

by Debbie Walker | There are so many uses for simple, everyday products, why do we need the “newest, high-priced chemicals”? Would you have dreamed of the other uses of vinegar? Wait, unless you are from the older generation that used these products before the chemical ones came out! Confusing?…

LIFE ON THE PLAINS

by Roland D. Hallee | This week, we’re going to take a closer look at a teen hotspot during those years, 1950s and 1960s. The South End Arena was founded by a Waterville police captain, Arthur Gagne. He had a vision to provide a place for local teens to gather in a safe and family-friendly environment…

FOR YOUR HEALTH

(NAPSI) | Summer is here, and people seeking the best deals to help them get beach-ready and fit for swimming, surfing, biking, or family travel adventures have a variety of options to get active and fit. Here are three ways to take your fitness to a new level while saving some dough…