Issue for January 6, 2022
Longtime Boy Scout leader steps down
As 2021 is now in the rear view mirror, we can not let the year pass without recognizing one milestone that took place. Scott Adams stepped down as Scoutmaster of Scout Troop #479 in China, a position he held since August 29, 1989… by Chuck Mahaleris
Your Local News
School board approves raising hourly wage for substitutes
VASSALBORO — Vassalboro School Board members had the usual variety of issues on their Dec. 21 agenda, with more discussion than decision-making…
Select board to meet Jan. 6
VASSALBORO — The Vassalboro Select Board will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in the town office meeting room. The advance agenda is the same as for the Dec. 22, 2021, meeting that was canceled due to treacherous roads…
Hapgood: with budget time coming, short meetings have come to an end
CHINA — With work on the 2022-23 budget not quite ready to start, China Select Board members had another short meeting with a varied agenda on Jan. 3. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood reminded them their brief meetings are about to end…
Name that film!
Identify the film in which this line originated and qualify to win a FREE pass to Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is January 7…
China resident looks to fill a need for women veterans
CHINA — “Women veterans in general are so overlooked and underappreciated,” says China resident and U.S. Army veteran Nichole Jordan. “Women are truly the invisible aspect of after-service to our country”… by Eric W. Austin
Vassalboro food pantry to receive matching grant
Submitted by Don Breton — We are fortunate to have a group of volunteers that run and manage the Vassalboro Food Station Pantry. They have been recognized and selected to receive up to $1,000 from American Precision, Inc., a machine shop business from Indiana, with whom I am associated. They have challenged the residents of Vassalboro and friends of the pantry to make monetary donations between December 23, 2021 and February 1, 2022, to the pantry. They will match whatever is donated up to $1,000…
NFPA urges prompt removal of Christmas trees
CENTRAL ME — Nearly one-third (30 percent) of U.S. home fires involving Christmas trees occur in January. With this post-holiday fire hazard in mind, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) strongly encourages everyone to keep the festive memories and remove the hazards by disposing of Christmas trees promptly after the holiday season…
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Wars – Part I (new)
CENTRAL ME HISTORY — For the next however many weeks, this series will discuss 19th-century wars that affected central Kennebec Valley residents. After the British gained legal control of the region by the 1763 Treat of Paris, the valley was mostly peaceful, but military actions elsewhere had local effects. Your writer will start with the American Revolution (1775-1783), and go on to summarize some of the local connections with two more wars that finally ended quarrels over Britain’s interest in this side of the American continent, the War of 1812 (1812-1815) and the Aroostook War (1838-1839)… by Mary Grow [1950 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Library series conclusion
VASSALBORO/WATERVILLE/WINSLOW HISTORY — There is no evidence that the Town of Vassalboro had a public library before 1909, when the ancestor of the present lively institution was founded. The 1909 association’s bylaws give it two names, the Free Public Library Association of Vassalboro, d/b/a Vassalboro Library Association. The library has always been in East Vassalboro, and the bylaws say it must remain there… by Mary Grow [1975 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Palermo & Little Free Libraries
PALERMO HISTORY — Palermo residents are currently enjoying at least the third library in the town’s history. The earliest, according to Millard Howard’s history of Palermo, was started by Benjamin Marden 2nd, “around mid-century [1850], apparently at his home on Marden Hill,” and was called the Palermo and China Social Library… by Mary Grow [1952 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Albion, South China libraries
CHINA/ALBION HISTORY — The majority of the central Maine towns and cities this series is covering have public libraries. Previous articles have talked about the three whose buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places – Lawrence Library, in Fairfield, Lithgow Library, in Augusta and Brown Memorial Library, in Clinton. This piece will describe other local libraries your writer finds interesting, mostly arranged alphabetically by town… by Mary Grow [1750 words]
Webber’s Pond
Webber’s Pond is a comic drawn by an anonymous central Maine resident (click thumbnail to enlarge)…
2021-’22 Real Estate Tax Due Dates
2021-2022 Real Estate tax due dates for the following towns: CHINA, FAIRFIELD, PALERMO, SIDNEY, VASSALBORO, WATERVILLE, WINDSOR and WINSLOW…
Obituaries
SOUTH CHINA – Norman E. Bragg, 60, of South China, passed away after a brief illness on Thursday, December 16, 2021. He was born in Augusta, on October 22, 1961, to Omar Bragg and Brenda (Cunningham) Bragg… and remembering 19 others.
Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Friday, January 7, 2021
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: Susan Little, Waterville
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | Recently, a family member moved into a rented house in a central Maine town that will remain nameless. Within weeks after occupying the house, they encountered a severe infestation of fruit flies. They called in an exterminator who assured them they were not the cause of the infestation, but that it had been present long before the move. Treatment has alleviated some of the nuisance, but the problem remains. Additional treatments have been scheduled…
VETERANS CORNER
by Gary Kennedy | Since we last communicated V.A. at Togus, Maine, was in the middle of rebuilding some roads and sorely needed sidewalks. Recently they have, for the most part completed that segment of their construction plan. There are currently two buildings under construction, one of which will be an interior extension of building 200. Building 200 is the main medical entrance to specialty medical areas, emergency, operating rooms, dental, x-ray and medical supplies etc. The new formation of the Veterans Advocacy department as well as the pharmacy is located there on the first floor. Most advocates have been replaced…
MAINE MEMORIES
by Evangeline T. | For this installment, I’m remembering when I raised chickens. At about age 12, each girl in a club I belonged to had to do a summer project. Being raised on a farm, I opted to raise bantam chickens…
SOLON & BEYOND
by Marilyn Rogers-Bull | This week I’m going to print an old article from The Town Line dated April 1, 2021: It was called, The time I let Percy write the column in my absence. Now I would like to thank Roland from the bottom of my heart, for leaving Percy’s picture beside mine on our column, for all these years…
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | A select number of actors and actresses could enhance mediocre films and television shows with their contributions; in vehicles worthy of their talents, the nominations for Oscars and Emmys came pouring in. Those no longer living (excluding the obvious superstars) would include Max von Sydow, George Sanders, Robert Ryan, Jo Van Fleet, Susan Hayward, Lee J. Cobb, Ray Collins, Agnes Moorehead, Judith Anderson, Everett Sloane, Martin Balsam, Alastair Sims, Jeannette Nolan, etc…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
(NAPSI) | As the world celebrates the new year, many will make an annual list of resolutions and goals, which often include improving overall health and fitness. As we continue to weather the COVID-19 pandemic, improving overall health is front and center, more so than usual. However, according to the U.S. New Year’s Resolutions 2020 study conducted by YouGov, over half of those who set New Year’s resolutions can’t follow through…