Issue for June 16, 2022

Celebrating 34 years of local news

25th annual Maine International Film Festival to honor actor Debra Winger

Star of An Officer and a Gentleman will appear at Waterville festival in July

The Maine International Film Festival (MIFF) will present its annual Mid-Life Achievement Award to actor Debra Winger at a special ceremony held at the Waterville Opera House, on Friday, July 15, following a special 35mm screening of A Dangerous Woman, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. Best known as an Academy Award nominee for her work in An Officer and a Gentleman, Terms of Endearment, and Shadowlands, Winger has had a stellar acting career, working in a wide variety of genres with directors including Bernardo Bertolucci, Jonathan Demme, James L. Brooks, Bob Rafelson, and James Bridges…

Your Local News

Municipal building committee to make presentation to select board

CHINA — Three members of China’s Municipal Building Committee met June 9, for the first time since January, and agreed they need to make a presentation and two requests at the June 21 select board meeting…

Assessor recommends second revaluation in two years

CHINA — China select board members held two meetings in succession June 6, first as the town’s board of assessors and then as the select board…

Paving contract awarded to Maine-ly Paving for $471,985.50

WINDSOR — At their May 24 meeting, the Windsor Select Board voted unanimously to award a paving bid to Jamie Ward of Maine-ly Paving Services, LLC, in the amount of $471,985.50…

Select board authorizes church demolition

VASSALBORO — Vassalboro select board members began their June 9 meeting with a party, recognizing retiring board chairman Robert Browne’s final meeting…

China election results

CHINA — China Town Clerk Angela Nelson reported that voters in China’s June 14 written-ballot annual town business meeting approved 37 of the 38 articles presented, by varying margins. The only one disapproved was Art. 37, asking if voters want a temporary moratorium on new commercial solar developments in town; 283 voters were in favor, 368 were opposed…

Vassalboro election results

VASSALBORO — Vassalboro Town Clerk Cathy Coyne reported the following June 9 local election results. Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., was elected to the select board with 269 votes. He succeeds Robert Browne, who did not seek another term…

Fairfield election results

FAIRFIELD — Unofficial returns from June 14, 2022, primary election according to Fairfield Town Clerk Christine Keller…

Name that film!

Identify the film in which this line originated and qualify to win FREE passes to Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville: “You don’t understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender.” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is July 8, 2022…

Waterville American Legion Post #5 installs new officers

WATERVILLE – American Legion Post #5, in Waterville, installed its officers for the coming year on June 8, 2022. Post #5 is still active fulfilling its mission of honoring men and women who served their country by wearing their uniform proudly…

EVENTS: Brian Bielanski to perform at St. George Café in July

WARREN – Bryan Bielanski, singer-songwriter, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is touring the United States in 2022 to promote his new music release and will perform on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, in Warren, at Saint George River Cafe…

Kaitlin Dixon Named to D&E president’s list

SOLON – Kaitlin Dixon, of Solon, a student at Davis & Elkins College, in Elkins West Virginia, has been named to the president’s list for the spring 2022 semester…

Oakland resident receives degree from Simmons University

OAKLAND – Katiann Carey, of Oakland, earned a bachelor of arts degree, in economics, cum laude, from Simmons University, in Boston, Massachusetts…

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Native Americans – Part 3 (new)

CENTRAL ME HISTORY — The Kennebec tribe’s village at Cushnoc (a word that means head of tide, most historians agree) was on high ground on the east bank of the Kennebec River in what is now Augusta, about 20 miles south Ticonic village (described last week)… by Mary Grow [1967 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Native Americans – Part 2

CENTRAL ME HISTORY — Earlier articles in this series have identified the Kennebec River Valley as a throughway connecting the coast and the St. Lawrence River, used by, among others, Benedict Arnold going north to attack Québec in 1775 and Canadians coming south to find jobs in Maine in the 19th century… by Mary Grow [1891 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Native Americans – Part 1

CENTRAL ME HISTORY — Logically, your writer should have started this series on the history of the central Kennebec Valley with the first human inhabitants, the groups once called Indians and now more commonly called Native Americans. Your writer is a coward. She did not want to take on a topic about which there is no contemporary written evidence and limited later evidence… by Mary Grow [2029 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Immigrants

CENTRAL ME HISTORY — The French-Canadians and the Irish were not the only groups coming to the central Kennebec Valley from other countries. Stephen Plocher wrote in his Waterville history (found on line) that in the 1860s, people he called “Syrian-Lebanese” from Syria (Lebanon and Syria were French mandates until 1943, when they became two separate countries) began arriving… by Mary Grow [1807 words]

PHOTO: A gaggle of geese

CENTRAL ME Monique Eldridge took this photo of two geese and six gosslings during Memorial weekend…

Webber’s Pond

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

CALENDAR OF EVENTS: China Four Seasons Club life jacket giveaway

CHINA — On Saturday, June 25, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., The China Four Seasons Club (CFSC) will be hosting their first Life Jacket Giveaway and Exchange Event at the North end of China Lake on Causeway Road, in China. This water safety program is open to children and young adults 16 and under and while supplies last… and many other local events!

Obituaries

PALERMO – Pauline Horak, 93, of Palermo, passed away peacefully on Thursday, May 19, 2022. She was born in Russia on November 19, 1928. She was married to Anton Horak for 54 years… and remembering 8 others.

Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!

DEADLINE: Wednesday, June 17, 2022

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: Frank Hersey, Winslow

Town Line Original Columnists

Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee | A reader recently told me they saw some fireflies recently, and asked whether it is early for them. I guess it all depends on a number of factors. Most people associate fireflies with soft summer evenings, but late in February and into March it is possible to see winter dark fireflies glowing in the woods…

FOR YOUR HEALTH

by Becky Upham | Fatigue may be a sign of an underlying health issue if it does not improve with rest and good nutrition. How fatigued activities like walking, light housework, or heavy gardening make an older person feel may be a predictor of how likely they are to die in the next few years, according to a new study…

LIFE ON THE PLAINS

by Roland D. Hallee | Before we go into the era of growing up on The Plains, in Waterville, maybe we should take a tour of the area in our “way back machine”. This will take a little time, so plan on a couple of weeks. Let’s start at the northern end of the south end, if that makes sense?…