Issue for February 1, 2024
Becky Hapgood cited for 30 years of community service
Ask China Town Manager Rebecca “Becky” Hapgood what’s the best part of her job, and she gives you a quick double reply: “Every day is different; and the people.” “People” includes her fellow town employees, residents, visitors – everybody she meets, personally or virtually… by Mary Grow
Winslow Cub Scouts learn about constellations
On Tuesday, January 23, Winslow Cub Scout Pack #445 held its meeting at the Waterville Children’s Discovery Museum. They learned about constellations, which ones we could see in the night sky above Waterville and Winslow and the stories behind them… by Chuck Mahaleris
Town News
Select board to hold two public hearings
VASSALBORO – Vassalboro select board members plan February and March public hearings on two town ordinances they intend to finish revising in time for voter action at the June 3 town meeting…
Select board postpones decision on revised ordinances
CHINA – At their Jan. 29 meeting, China select board members postponed decisions on submitting two revised ordinances to voters and on a Recreation Committee idea…
Commercial solar ordinance ready for review
CHINA – At their Jan. 23 meeting, China Planning Board members discussed one permit application and forwarded one draft ordinance to the select board…
Webber’s Pond
Webber’s Pond is a comic drawn by an anonymous central Maine resident (click thumbnail to enlarge)…
Elise Brown, of Liberty, announces run for Waldo County Commissioner seat
LIBERTY – Elise Brown, of Liberty, announced her candidacy for the position of Waldo County Commissioner in District #3 to represent the towns of Brooks, Burnham, Freedom, Knox, Montville, Morrill, Palermo, Liberty, Searsmont, Thorndike, Troy, and Unity…
Northern Light Health glows red for American Heart month
CENTRAL ME – Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States. While education and technological advancements have helped increase awareness and survivorship, thousands of Mainers have lost friends or loved ones to cardiovascular disease…
Towns seek Spirit of America nominations
CENTRAL ME – Several area towns, including China and Vassalboro, are seeking nominations for 2024 Spirit of America awards. According to its website, the nonprofit Spirit of American Foundation was established in Augusta in 1990 to honor volunteerism. Initially, municipalities presented awards “to local individuals, organizations and projects for commendable community service”…
Name that film!
Identify the film in which this famous line originated and qualify to win FREE passes to The Maine Film Center, in Waterville: “They’re here!” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is February 8, 2024…
Carrabec High School Second Quarter Honors
NORTH ANSON – List of honor roll students for Carrabec High School for the second quarter of 2023…
Local students named to dean’s honor list
CENTRAL ME – Zachary Craig, of Benton, Catherine Estes, of Sidney, and Rebecca Riley, of Chelsea, were named to the dean’s honor list at Cedarville University, in Cedarville, Ohio, for Fall 2023…
Payton Bell named to dean’s list at UW-Superior
SIDNEY – The University of Wisconsin-Superior, in Superior, Wisconsin, has named Payton Bell, of Sidney, to the dean’s list for academic achievement during the Fall 2023 semester….
Rebekah McKay named to dean’s list
CHELSEA – Rebekah McKay, of Chelsea, was named to the dean’s list at Olivet Nazarene University, in Bourbonnais, Illinois, during the recently completed fall 2023 semester. To qualify for inclusion on the dean’s list, a student must have been enrolled as a full-time undergraduate student and must have attained a semester grade point average of 3.50 or higher on a 4.00 grading scale…
Local happenings
EVENTS: Smithfield celebrates leap year with winter events
SMITHFIELD – If you are looking for something fun and engaging to do with your children this winter, plan on attending any number of free events planned by the Smithfield Leap Year Committee. Generous business sponsors helped make most everything free. Events are both indoors and outdoors so dress accordingly…
EVENTS: Upcoming Area Caucuses
CENTRAL ME – Caucus locations and dates for Somerset County, Waldo County and Lincoln County…
EVENTS: Knox-Lincoln SWCD launches annual plant sale
CENTRAL ME – Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District’s 2024 Spring Plant Sale Catalog is now available in print and online! Plants are available for pre-order, either online or by mail through Tuesday, April 16, 2024. They are offering curbside pick-up of your orders on Friday, May 10, and Saturday, May 11, and “Cash and Carry” on Saturday, May 11, at Union Fairgrounds. Quantities are limited so order early for the best selection…
EVENTS: Kennebec Performing Arts Company is looking for conductors
CENTRAL ME – With the recent retirement of its longtime leader, Charles T. Milazzo, the Kennebec Performing Arts Company (KPAC) board of directors is accepting applications for conductors of its three groups…
EVENTS: AARP Tax-Aide program available in central Maine
CENTRAL ME – The AARP Tax-Aide program provides free federal and state income tax preparation and electronic filing to low-and moderate-income individuals. Returns are prepared by IRS-certified volunteers. The program is funded by the AARP Foundation, a tax-exempt charitable organization, and the IRS…
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Pickleball lessons in China
CHINA — The China Rec Committee is hosting a learning event for pickleball at China Middle School on Sundays. The current session is full but if someone has interest in joining the group in the future, please send an email to chinarecpickleball@gmail.com… and many other local events!
Obituaries
SOMERVILLE – Diane M. Glidden, 70, of Somerville, died suddenly at home, on Friday, December 22, 2023, following a one-year battle with lung cancer. She was born in Augusta, on May 1, 1953, the daughter of the late Richard and Jaqueline (Roy) Bouffard… and remembering 11 others.
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: People for whom ponds are named – Part 2 (new)
ALBION HISTORY — Moving east from Winslow to Albion, that town has Lovejoy Pond, named after an early family who settled beside it.
Which family member came first is debated. Henry Kingsbury, in his Kennebec County history, named Rev. Daniel Lovejoy. Ruby Crosby Wiggin, in her history of Albion, said no, Daniel’s father, Francis Lovejoy, came first… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: People for whom ponds are named
WINSLOW HISTORY — Previous articles have mentioned ponds and lakes in central Kennebec Valley towns with people’s names, like Pattee or Pattee’s Pond, in Winslow. Some of these water bodies are named for early settlers. Your writer intends for the next few weeks to match ponds and people, to the extent permitted by available resources… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Diary-keeping, Ballard & Bryant
CENTRAL ME HISTORY — Kennebec Valley, your writer recently read Richard Beeman’s Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution (2009). Beeman described the 1787 convention in Philadelphia at which men from 12 of the 13 original states (Rhode Island refused to play) wrote what became the Constitution of the United States, succeeding the 1777 Articles of Confederation… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Streams of northern Winslow
CENTRAL ME HISTORY — As promised last year, this article finishes the story of mills and dams in 19th-century Winslow, or as much of the story as your writer has found, before moving south to Vassalboro’s Seven Mile Stream… by Mary Grow
Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Wednesday, February 15, 2024
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: Diana Gardner, Windsor
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | It’s the first of February, and time for my annual trek into the woods to find my friend, the weather prognosticating groundhog named Woodrow Charles. So, for the umpteenth year, I bundle up and head out the door, not quite sure where I was going…
SMALL SPACE GARDENING
by Melinda Myers | Just like us, insects spend their winters in different locations. Unlike us, they spend their winters in different stages of development. Some may overwinter as adults, others in their immature stage as grubs, caterpillars, or nymphs, while others will be in the pupal stage like a chrysalis or cocoon…
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | Novelist John Dos Passos (1896-1970) was most famed for U.S.A., a trilogy of 3 novels- The 42nd Parallel, 1919 and The Big Money– all of which were published between 1930 and 1936, years of the “Great” Depression and the resulting misery and turbulence…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
(HEALTH) | Many factors, including consuming more calories than you need from food and beverages, lack of sleep, and low levels of physical activity, may play a part in gaining excess weight. Here are some factors that may influence weight and overall health…