Issue for July 11, 2024

Celebrating 36 years of local news

Two Vassalboro scouts achieve Eagle status

“Only one in four kids in America will become a Scout,” explained former Troop #410 Scoutmaster Kevin Reed. “but it is interesting to know that of the leaders of this nation in business, religion and politics, three out or four were Scouts.” Of those who were Scouts, only one in four on average will challenge themselves enough to earn the Eagle Scout rank. On Sunday, June 2, those averages were changed as two Scouts from Vassalboro. Nathan Benjamin Polley and Cole Gregory Fortin, were presented with the Eagle Scout rank… by Chuck Mahaleris

July 4 boat parade on Sheepscot Lake attracts over three dozen entries

The Annual July 4th Sheepscot Lake Association boat parade was a great success, with 42 boats and a jet ski participating. The Grand Marshall this year was Eileen Kirby, longtime resident and founding member of the lake association…

Town News

South China boat landing topic of July 1 meeting

CHINA – China select board members and a dozen South China Village residents spent almost an hour and a half of the July 1 select board meeting discussing the South China boat landing…

Select board pays bills at short meeting

CHINA – China select board members held a short special meeting Friday afternoon, June 28, to pay end-of-fiscal-year bills (a little under $66,000 worth), make a few more local appointments and do minor business…

Road discussions dominate select board meeting

VASSALBORO – Two road projects dominated discussion at the Vassalboro select board’s June 27 meeting. Town Manager Aaron Miller summarized Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) plans for work on two stretches of Route 32 (Main Street) this summer. Longer-range, board members shared information on replacing the Mill Hill Road bridge over Seven Mile Stream, in southwestern Vassalboro…

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: “A man’s got to know his limitations.” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is August 8, 2024.

Webber’s Pond comic

Webber’s Pond is a comic drawn by a local central Maine resident (click on the thumbnail to enlarge)…

AARP Maine seeks Andrus Award nominations

CENTRAL ME – AARP Maine is seeking nominations for its 2024 AARP Andrus Award for Community Service, which honors individuals 50 and over who share their experience, talent, and skills to enrich the lives of others in their community. The annual award is named after AARP’s founder, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, who founded AARP in 1958 at the age of 73…

TEAM PHOTO: Waterville Purple Majors

WATERVILLE – Waterville Purple Majors won over Messo Red Majors, 5-3, at Mini Fenway, in Oakland, on June 17… (Team photo by Missy Brown, Central Maine Photography)

TEAM PHOTO: Winslow Minors Black

WINSLOW – Winslow Minors Baseball Black Team… (photo by Mark Huard, Central Maine Photography)

TEAM PHOTO: Winslow Minors Orange

WINSLOW – The Winslow Minors Orange baseball team… (photo by Missy Brown, Central Maine Photography)

Thomas College announces honors list

CENTRAL ME – Thomas College, in Waterville, has announced undergraduate students named to the Spring 2024 honors list. Local students named to the list are Emily Lowther, of China; Lydia Bussell, Brittney Cayford, Lindsay Given, and Eleanor King, all of Waterville.

Olivia Bourque makes spring 2024 dean’s list

VASSALBORO – Eastern Connecticut State University, in Willimantic, Connecticut, recently released its dean’s list for the spring 2024 semester, in which more than 1,200 students were recognized for maintaining high GPAs. Among them is full-time student Olivia Bourque, of Vassalboro, a junior who majors in health sciences.

Sav Lancaster named to the Champlain College dean’s list

NORRIDGEWOCK – Sav Lancaster, of Norridgewock, was named to the Champlain College dean’s list for the Spring 2024 semester, in Burlington, Vermont.

Ouellette graduates from Susquehanna Univ.

AUGUSTA – Susquehanna University, in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, has announced that Lindy Ouellette, of Augusta, graduated from Susquehanna with a bachelor of science in luxury brand marketing and management.

Sidney Hatch named to dean’s list at Plymouth State University

OAKLAND – Sidney Hatch, of Oakland, has been named to the Plymouth State University dean’s list for the Spring 2024 semester, in Plymouth, New Hampshire. Hatch is a social work major.

Dean’s, president’s lists students named at Univ. of Alabama

CENTRAL ME – Area students were named to the spring 2024 semester at the University of Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Local students include: Elizabeth Hardy, of South China, was named to the presidents list; Madison Levasseur, of Whitefield, as named to the dean’s list.

Bryant University names Samuel Schmitt to the deans’ list

WINSLOW – Bryant University, in Smithfield, Rhode Island, recognizes Samuel Schmitt, of Winslow, by naming him to the Spring 2024 deans’ list.

Indiya Clarke named to Wofford College’s dean’s list

VASSALBORO – Indiya Clarke, of Vassalboro, has been named to Wofford College’s spring 2024 dean’s list, in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Andrei Llanto named to spring deans’ list at Nebraska

WATERVILLE – Andrei Llanto, of Waterville, has been named to the dean’s list at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln , in Lincoln, Nebraska, for the spring semester of the 2023-24 academic year. Llanto, a junior majoring in business and law, was named to the dean’s list for the College of Business.

Samantha Bonneau graduates from Elms College

WATERVILLE – Samantha Bonneau, of Skowhegan, graduated with a bachelor of science degree in nursing from Elms College, in Chicopee, Massachusetts, during the May 18, 2024 commencement ceremony.

Local happenings

EVENTS: China Historical Society going back to school

CHINA – The China Historical Society will be hosting a remembrance and tour of the 75-year-old China (Middle) School following the annual meeting on Thursday, July 18. It is intended these activities will begin in the gym of the building, on Lakeview Drive, at about 6 p.m. Head Custodian Tim Roddy has offered to be the tour guide and though there is some on-going work, he is confident there will be plenty of access… by Bob Bennett

EVENTS: Annual 11-Hour continuous soccer game planned for July 13

WATERVILLE – Over 500 players, including 17 high school soccer teams from around the state, will join the 11-hour, continuous soccer game “Kick For Cass” on Saturday, July 13, at Thomas College, in Waterville. The annual event is held in memory of Cassidy Charette, former midfielder for Messalonskee High School Girls Soccer who wore the #11 jersey before her passing in a tragic hayride accident on October 11, 2014…

EVENTS: Photo contest and exhibition planned in Washington

WASHINGTON – In celebration of the natural beauty of Washington, the Washington Lakes and Watershed Association (WLWA) is sponsoring its Fourth Annual Photo Contest and Exhibition…

Give Us Your Best Shot!

The best recent photos from our readers!

CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Breakfast For Dinner in Palermo

PALERMO – The Malcolm Glidden American Legion Post #163 will be having a Red, White and Blue themed “Breakfast for Dinner” on Saturday, July 20, 2024 from 5 – 6:30 p.m., at the Legion hall on the Turner Ridge Road, in Palermo. Open to the public! Come join us for this fun meal… and many other local events!

Obituaries

VASSALBORO – Linda M. (Rice) Cunningham, 79, of Vassalboro, died Tuesday, June 11, 2024, at Maine Gen­eral Rehab & LTC at Glen­ridge, in Au­gusta. Born in Columbus, Ohio, on July 16, 1944, the daughter of Lauriston and Mildred (Willis) Rice…

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Albion (new)

ALBION HISTORY — Of the town and city names your writer has explored in this subseries, none has yet been as frustrating as the Town of Albion. Sources agree on names and dates. In 1802, Freetown Plantation was incorporated, including most of present-day Albion and the northern end of what is now the separate town of China… by Mary Grow

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: China – Palermo

CHINA/PALERMO HISTORY — The next town north of Windsor is China, which, like Windsor, began life as a plantation and did not acquire its present name for some years after the first Europeans settled there… by Mary Grow

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Windsor

WINDSOR HISTORY — Your writer has chosen next to discuss the eastern towns, starting with the southernmost, Augusta’s eastern neighbor, Windsor. Henry Kingsbury commented in his Kennebec County history, at the beginning of his chapter on Windsor, that the town had “two of its sides parallel with the general course of the Kennebec river,” though it had no frontage… by Mary Grow

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Clinton

CLINTON HISTORY — The town of Clinton, Benton’s ancestor and northern neighbor, is the northernmost Kennebec County town on the east bank of the Kennebec River. Historian Carleton Edward Fisher wrote that Clinton’s first white settler was probably Ezekiel Chase, Jr., who might have arrived by 1761, before the Kennebec Proprietors claimed the area… by Mary Grow

Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!

DEADLINE: Wednesday, July 11, 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: Jane Vigue, Winslow

Town Line Original Columnists

Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee | A little while back, while we were sitting with neighbors at camp, we noticed a bug walking along the floor of the porch. Strange looking thing…really ugly! They asked what it was. That was easy…

VETERANS CORNER

by Gary Kennedy | A question often asked is, “is there any greater benefit after one receives a 100 percent rating?” My answer is, it is possible to receive other benefits both monetarily speaking and in services. However, these areas of benefits may not be that easy to obtain. They definitely require advanced knowledge of veteran’s benefits, what is needed and how to apply…

Peter CatesPLATTER PERSPECTIVE

by Peter Cates | Violinist Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987) held a series of televised master classes at UCLA in 1962; I recently watched the first one on YouTube and was quite fascinated by his personality and teaching style for its entire 1 hour…

SMALL SPACE GARDENING

by Melinda Myers | A bit of summer pruning goes a long way to keeping your raspberries healthy and productive. So, get out the mosquito netting, long sleeves, and pruners and get busy…

FOR YOUR HEALTH

(NAPSI) | Much of the U.S. could face hotter than normal conditions this year as the climate crisis drives higher temperatures—but you can keep yourself and those you care about safe. Consider these facts and figures…