Issue for June 8, 2023
Erskine Academy announces top 10 seniors
Erskine Academy has announced the class of 2023 Top Ten Seniors…
Town News
China to hold business meeting by written ballot
CHINA – China voters will conduct their 2023 annual town business meeting by written ballot on Tuesday, June 13, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., in the former portable classroom behind the town office on Lakeview Drive. The local warrant has 32 articles. On a separate Regional School Unit #18 ballot, voters will accept or reject the 2023-24 school budget approved May 18 by voters from the five member towns (Belgrade, China, Oakland, Rome and Sidney)…
Public safety, recreation draw most of town meeting discussion
VASSALBORO – Voters at Vassalboro’s annual town meeting devoted most time to two sections of Article 6, the article asking for more than $2.7 million for 14 town departments. The two sections were the public safety department, for which the select board recommended $102,108 and the budget committee recommended $94,189; and the recreation program, for which both boards recommended $65,898…
Voters have two written ballots on June 13
VASSALBORO – Vassalboro’s annual town meeting did not end after voters acted on 38 articles Monday evening, June 5. They have two written ballots on Tuesday, June 13, with polls open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the town office. One ballot is for local elections, for one member of the select board and two members of the school board…
Windsor town office closed for voting June 13
WINDSOR – The Windsor Town Office will be closed on Tuesday, June 13, due to voting being held at the Windsor Elementary School…
Inland Hospital and Purdue Global collaborate on new Simulation Center
WATERVILLE – A unique healthcare education collaboration kicked off in Waterville on June 6, 2023 as Northern Light Inland Hospital and Purdue Global officially opened the new Simulation Center for Healthcare Education and Excellence…
Angela Hallee promoted to ND Winslow branch manager
WINSLOW – New Dimensions Federal Credit Union is pleased to announce its new Winslow Branch Manager, Angela Hallee, who came on board in January 2022 as head teller with 15 years in the financial industry. Soon after her arrival, her financial knowledge and experience owning a small business in Waterville…
Oakland creates new TIF district to support downtown revitalization
OAKLAND – Encompassing 37.27 acres, the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development has approved a newly designated Downtown Tax Increment Finance (TIF) district within the Town of Oakland…
Hemenway announces new release
NORTHPORT – Band member, Northport resident and songwriter for “The Slouch in the Couch Children’s Corner Band,” Stephen J. Hemenway, announces the release of a new music album from the band titled, Songun’s Fer Youngun’s…
School News
Ecology Ctr. accepting ninth grade enrollment
UNITY — The Ecology Learning Center, a public charter high school (9-12 grades) in Unity, enrollment is still OPEN for 9th grade! If interested, please fill out the Intent to Enroll form on our website…
Local happenings
EVENTS: Outdoor Eucharistic processions planned for Sunday
CENTRAL ME – In honor of the Feast of Corpus Christi (also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ) on Sunday, June 11, parishes around Maine are planning outdoor Eucharistic processions and other special events to celebrate the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, recalling the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper…
EVENTS: Senior Seminar to be held in Vassalboro
VASSALBORO – A Senior Seminar, hosted by Gateway Retirement Solutions, will be held at The Mill, 934 Main St., in North Vassalboro, on Wednesday, June 21, from 9:30 a.m. to noon…
Webber’s Pond
Webber’s Pond is a comic drawn by an anonymous central Maine resident (click thumbnail to enlarge)…
Name that film!
Identify the film in which this famous line originated and qualify to win FREE passes to Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville: “I feel the need — the need for speed!” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is June 7, 2023…
Listing of local town meetings
CENTRAL ME — Listing of 2023 local town meetings in central Maine. To have your town listed, please email us at townline@townline.org…
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Work songs with Bennett Konesni
CHINA — You’ve heard of “whistle while you work,” but did you know there is a long history of folks singing while they work? Just think of some of the old sea shanties. Farmer and internationally acclaimed folk musician Bennett Konesni is an expert on the songs that farmers, loggers, and sailors alike have sung to pass the time and foster unity. Bennett will be visiting the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library on Tuesday evening, June 13, at 6 p.m… 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
BENTON – Anne E. Hood, 76, passed away peacefully Saturday April 22, 2023, in her home, following a long courageous battle with cancer. Anne was born on September 22, 1946, in Waterville, the daughter of Albert Lemelin and Bertha Roi… and remembering 8 others.
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Windsor’s Colburn family (new)
WINDSOR HISTORY — Exceptionally attentive readers with exceptionally good memories might remember that Francisco Colburn was one of the commanders of Windsor’s Marcellus Vining GAR Post in the 1880s. Marcellus is not a typical Maine name, to be sure – presumably his classically-educated parents named him after the Roman Marcus Claudius Marcellus (42 – 23 B.C.). But for some reason, your writer was struck by Francisco, and began wondering why a couple in Windsor, Maine, in the 1830s would choose that name for their son… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: GAR and Togus
MAINE HISTORY — The Grand Army of the Republic, or GAR, was responsible for more than organizing the local Posts and Memorial Day observances described in previous articles in this series. Additional information on this Civil War veterans’ organization, from various sources, says it assisted veterans in many ways, including advocating for legislation and policies, providing financial support to needy members and helping them stay in touch with each other… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Memorial Day – Part 3
MAINE HISTORY — Continuing with central Kennebec Valley GAR Posts in the order of their formation, the next after Billings Post #88, in Clinton, was Fairfield’s E. P. Pratt Post #90 (in Somerset County, therefore not on the Kennebec County list in Henry Kingsbury’s history). According to Barbara Gunvaldsen, of the Fairfield Historical Society, this Post was organized Oct. 18, 1883… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Holidays: Memorial Day
MAINE HISTORY — Waterville’s W. S Heath GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) Post #14, described last week, was the second founded of the eight in the part of Kennebec County covered in this series, according to Henry Kingsbury’s county history. It was the third of 19 in the whole county, Kingsbury wrote… by Mary Grow
Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Wednesday, June 15, 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: Sarah Cunningham, Waterville
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | OK, get ready for another invasion from Asia. This time, it’s a mosquito. Plain and simple, it’s called the Asian tiger mosquito. The mosquito can transmit a number of diseases, including the dengue fever, chikungunya, and Zika virus…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
(NAPSI)—It may come as a surprise to some, but an ophthalmologist can help you keep an eye on your overall health. In fact, an ophthalmologist—a physician who specializes in medical and surgical eye care—may be the first to detect if you’re at risk for a heart attack, stroke or other life-threatening conditions. That’s because subtle, early damage to tiny blood vessels in the eyes can provide important clues about what is happening in the small blood vessels of the brain and heart…
I’M JUST CURIOUS
by Debbie Walker | I keep coming across information that interests me and I am hoping you will find some of it useful, too. You would think with all the information I find and pass along to you that my mind would be overflowing. It might if my memory worked at all! That is not the case!…
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | The 30th President Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) had the kind of wife in the former First Lady Grace Goodhue Coolidge (1879-1957) who was a rarity when it came to truly being on the same page as her husband. She catered to just about every whim in him possible, although Cal had such a calm balanced unflappable personality and may not have given into whims very often…