Issue for July 13, 2023
How will new mooring ordinance impact recreation on Palermo waters?
In March 2023, Palermo residents voted to approve a mooring ordinance for lakes and ponds in Palermo. The ordinance and its impact on Palermo waters, including Sheepscot Lake, will be the focus of the Sheepscot Lake Association’s upcoming Annual Meeting on Thursday, July 20, 6 p.m,. at the Fish and Game Clubhouse, on Rte 3… Submitted by Pam McKenney, Sheepscot Lake Association Board
Pirates visit the China Village library to celebrate summer reading
It was a quiet Monday morning, June 26 it was, when a pair of pirates descended on the China Village Library. Children and their parents and grandparents gathered to see if rumor was true, or was it mere hearsay? Would pirates really come to the village? By way of China Lake? Rumor had it that their ship was hidden in a cove somewhere, but to what end? In haste they appeared like an apparition before the group of young Bookaneers. Of those present, some donned pirate attire suitable for the occasion… by Carla Gade
Town News
Committee updated on reopening of waste facility
CHINA – China transfer station committee members spent their July 11 meeting mostly on updates – the latest news locally and from the former trash-to-energy facility in Hampden to which China used to send waste and may again…
Select board OKs PSAP agreement with Waterville
CHINA – At a very short special meeting June 30, the last day of the 2022-23 fiscal year, China select board members paid about $78,000 in end-of-year bills and approved a PSAP (Public Service Answering Point) agreement with the City of Waterville…
Webber Pond Assn. president issues post meeting report
VASSALBORO – Webber Pond Association president John Reuthe recently presented his anual report from the annual meeting, which provides information that people have been asking…
PHOTO: Giving a helping hand
WEEKS MILLS – On Sunday afternoon, July 9, ten members of Dirigo Lodge #104 Masons, of Weeks Mills, gathered at the home of the widow of their former lodge secretary to split and stack winter’s wood into the woodshed…
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: “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is August 10, 2023…
SCHOOL NEWS
Veronica Black graduates from Beal University school of nursing
WEEKS MILLS – Veronica Black graduated from Beal University school of nursing on June 20. She is the daughter of Debra Hyler and Norman Black, and granddaughter of Alice Baxter, of Weeks Mills…
Local happenings
EVENTS: Annual 11-hour continuous soccer returns
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 15, at Thomas College, in Waterville. The annual event is held in memory of Cassidy Charette, a 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…
Webber’s Pond
Webber’s Pond is a comic drawn by an anonymous central Maine resident (click thumbnail to enlarge)…
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Kennebec River Brew Fest
AUGUSTA — The Kennebec River BrewFest will be held on Saturday, August 5, from | 2 – 6 p.m., at Mill Park, in Augusta. Must be 21 years of age or older. Tickets are nonrefundable… and many other local events!
2022-’23 Real Estate Tax Due Dates
Real estate tax due dates for the towns of Albion, China, Fairfield, Oakland, Palermo, Sidney, Vassalboro, Waterville, Windsor and Winslow…
Obituaries
CLINTON – Eugene Edmond Joseph Bourgoin, 85, passed peacefully Thursday, June 15, 2023, at Lakewood Continuing Care, in Waterville. He was born on August 14, 1937, in Van Buren, to father Edmond and mother Albertine (Berube) Bourgoin… and remembering 13 others.
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: How towns cared for the poor – Part 3 & 4 (new)
KV HISTORY — This article is the third of four that will talk about how central Kennebec Valley towns took care of their destitute residents, when welfare was a local responsibility. Last week’s piece summarized actions in China from the 1820s into the 1870s, when the poor farm on the east shore of China Lake housed many of the town’s paupers (some were still bid out or assisted as they lived with family members)… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Caring for the poor – Part 2
KV HISTORY — This article will continue the theme started June 14, how central Kennebec Valley towns took care of their poor residents, jumping across the Kennebec River from Augusta and Sidney to Vassalboro, Windsor, Palermo and China. The focus will remain – mostly – on the 19th century… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: The story of Independence Day
KV HISTORY — According to Wikipedia, celebrating Independence Day on July 4 each year is most likely an error. The writer of the on-line site’s article on this national holiday says that the Second Continental Congress, meeting in a closed session, approved Virginia representative Richard Henry Lee’s resolution declaring the United States independent of Great Britain on July 2, 1776… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Society of Friends in Vassalboro
QUAKER HISTORY — On Sunday afternoon, June 18, Joann Clark Austin, of South China, a semi-retired lawyer and self-described “fifth-generation China Quaker,” spoke on the local history of Quakerism at the Vassalboro Historical Society… by Mary Grow
Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Wednesday, July 13, 2023
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: Carrie McGrath, So. China
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | Slugs! They have been raising havoc with my sweet peppers and broccoli. They have also done major damage to my wife’s flower beds. Last year they were responsible for the complete destruction of my cucumber, green peppers and marigold plantings at camp. There seems to be no end to them. That raised the question: what are slugs, what are their usefulness and how do we get rid of them?…
LAKE LIFE TODAY
by Elaine Philbrook | Last week’s article covered rain gardens and how they help “slow the flow” of rainwater by capturing and filtering that stormwater from roofs, driveways, downspouts, and other hard (impervious) surfaces. This week’s article on Best Management Practice (BMPs) features “berms” and how they are an effective BMP to prevent pollutants and excess nutrients from entering the lake from your yard…
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | Singer Tiny Bradshaw (1907-1958) was an important figure in the development of what came to be known as rhythm and blues. A 1951 King label (4447) ten-inch 78 rpm record features him vibrantly vocalizing two blues selections – Brad’s Blues; and Two Dry Bones on the Pantry Shelf – with very leisurely paced but riveting backup instrumentalists who convey a very powerful sense of oneness with his singing…
I’M JUST CURIOUS
by Debbie Walker | I have been collecting seasonal tips for some years now and once again they are for what’s left of your summer. Wish I had been able to get them out sooner. Of course, summer weather for Florida lasts a lot longer…
VETERANS CORNER
by Gary Kennedy | Well since we have returned from our humanitarian trip to S.E. Asia much has happened surrounding the Veterans Administration and veterans. Where does one go when they are told by the VA that they don’t qualify for VA programs as they make too much money?…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
(NAPSI) — Angie King, of Detroit, has been in healthcare for more than 20 years, currently as a medical assistant. She loves her job and helping people. But being on her feet all day caused her varicose veins to swell, causing pain and heaviness in her legs. “Some days I was in real pain and it’s hard not to show it…