Issue for March 18, 2021

Celebrating 33 years of local news

Northern Light Inland Hospital mass vaccination clinic a big success

Northern Light Inland Hospital vaccinated 1,024 people on Saturday, March 6, 2021, at its first mass vaccination clinic at Kennebec Valley Community College (KVCC) in Fairfield. The Hospital had already administered more than 1,500 doses since January 26 at smaller clinics at KVCC. The Saturday vaccination clinic was an amazing day filled with excitement and happiness from patients and more than 80 Northern Light Health staff and volunteers and KVCC staff and students…

Your Local News

Selectmen move quickly through short meeting

CHINA — At a short March 15 meeting, China selectmen:
• Elected Wayne Chadwick acting chairman in Ronald Breton’s absence;
• Held a public hearing, which drew comments only from board members, on the proposed Ordinance Restricting Vehicle Weight on Posted Ways, modeled on the state ordinance…

Planners continue work toward solar ordinance

CHINA — At their March 9 meeting, China Planning Board members continued working toward a new solar ordinance to be added to the Land Use Ordinance…

Emergency preparedness group meets monthly

CHINA — China Emergency Preparation Committee members are holding monthly meetings, with assignments in between, as they update China’s Emergency Action Plan. The most recent meeting was March 11; the next meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday, April 15…

Broadband committee narrows list to one

CHINA — China Broadband Committee members have narrowed to one the list of companies they will negotiate with, for now, about offering expanded and improved broadband service town-wide…

School board proposes expanded paving of school parking lot

VASSALBORO — Vassalboro School Board members heard more good news than bad news about the sections of the proposed 2021-22 budget they reviewed at their March 9 special meeting…

Committee discusses transfer station renovations

VASSALBORO — Vassalboro Budget Committee members met March 11 to decide what questions they need to ask town selectmen when the two groups meet March 18…

COVID-19 vaccination info

CENTRAL ME — Maine residents age 60 and older are now eligible for vaccination against Covid-19 as part of Phase 1b…

ICE OUT 2021? Take a guess. Win a prize!

CHINA — Write down your best guess (one per person) and send it to The Town Line, PO Box 89, South China, ME 04358, or email us at townline@townline.org with the subject “ICE OUT 2021“. If more than one person guesses the correct date, a drawing will be held to determine the winner. Get your guess to The Town Line office by noon, Friday, March 19, 2021…

Become a member: An open letter to our readers

Dear Reader: For the past 33 years, The Town Line has pledged a mission statement to “create a vibrant rural community connecting our towns, organizations and individuals through communication, education and public dialogue.” It’s all part of The Town Line’s mission to be a positive force in our community…

Hope’s Place meetings to be held online on Wednesdays

CENTRAL ME — The next session of Hope’s Place will be held Wednesday nights online starting April 7, 2021. Groups begin at 6 p.m., and end by 7 p.m…

Women’s Equal Pay Day to be held March 24

CENTRAL ME — The Waterville Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) will observe Equal Pay Day 2021 on Wednesday, March 24…

Anson woman celebrates 100th birthday

ANSON — On February 13, 2021, members of the American Legion Auxiliary, Madison Unit #39 celebrated the 100th birthday of member Arlene Hoyt, of Anson. The members, along with Anson Fire Department, AMS ambulance and members of the community, did a drive by parade…

PHOTO: Mother Nature masterpiece

CHINA — Emily Poulin, of South China, photographed this snowflake on the hood of her car one morning this past winter. Surely, a magnificent display of Mother Nature’s beauty…

STUDENT WRITERS: The search for happiness

ERSKINE ACADEMY — Do you want to be happy? Most people will answer yes to this question, which is good. Unfortunately, we often try to simplify happiness, and lose sight of what being happy really means. Nathaniel Hawthorne described happiness as, “like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp; but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you…” by Aidan Larrabee

STUDENT WRITERS: Why fewer people Are Getting Married

ERSKINE ACADEMY — Growing up, many Americans believed they would get a job, buy a house, get married and start a family. However, it seems that for many Americans, life did not turn out that way. The amount of marriages that happen every year in the US is at an all time low at two million a year… by Grace Kelso (China)

Vassalboro Community School Honor Roll

VASSALBORO — List of honor roll students at Vassalboro Community School…

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: 18th & 19th century agriculture (New)

CHINA HISTORY — The third farm property in the area this series covers that is on the National Register of Historic Places is in China. The Edmund and Rachel Clark Homestead is on the west side of China Lake… by Mary Grow [1871 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Agriculture history – Part 1

ALBION/BENTON HISTORY — Your writer hopes readers are ready for a change from Romanesque Revival and Hallowell granite, because the coming weeks of Kennebec Valley history will not focus on buildings, though they will continue to appear. The Register of Historic Places for the central Kennebec Valley includes a farm and two farmsteads… by Mary Grow [1810 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Historic listings, Augusta Part 9

AUGUSTA HISTORY — The Augusta historic district not yet discussed is the Capitol Complex Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. This district includes several individually listed buildings: the State House, the Blaine House (official residence of Maine’s governors) and the Gannett House, home of the First Amendment Museum… by Mary Grow [2002 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Historic listings, Augusta Part 8

AUGUSTA HISTORY — Just south of the historic buildings at the north end of the west side of Augusta’s Water Street (described in last week’s article) is a much newer building that gained a place on the National Register of Historic Places on May 2, 1986. The D.V. Adams Co .- Bussell and Weston Building, at 190 Water Street, was built in 1909… by Mary Grow [1752 words]

Listing of local town meetings

CENTRAL ME — Listing of local town meetings in central Maine. To have your town listed, please email us at townline@townline.org…

Webber’s Pond

Webber’s Pond is a comic drawn by an anonymous central Maine resident…

Obituaries

VASSALBORO – Claire (Brochu) Lavigne, 84, of Riverside Drive, Vassalboro, left this world peacefully on March 4, 2021. Claire was the daughter of Rose and Dorilas Brochu, of Cony Road, Augusta… and remembering 12 others.

2020-’21 Real Estate Tax Due Dates

Real Estate tax due dates for the following towns: CHINA, VASSALBORO, WATERVILLE and WINDSOR…

Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!

DEADLINE: Friday, April 9, 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: Thomas Doherty, South China.

Town Line Original Columnists

Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee | The turkey vulture, Cathartes aura, or turkey buzzard as it is known in some North American regions, is a scavanger that feeds almost exclusively on carrion. It finds its food using its keen eyes and sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gasses produced by the beginnings of the process of decay in dead animals…

Emily CatesGARDEN WORKS

by Emily Cates | Wake up, wake up! No more excuses for hibernation or procrastination, Springtime is here. Yes, I know I know — it’s still cold and there’s plenty of snow, each flake erasing an equal amount of motivation to be outside in the garden…

GROWING YOUR BUSINESS

by Dan Beaulieu | The way your place of business looks is important. It is a visual indication of how your business is run. The way your business looks, in many ways let’s your customers know a great deal about you…

POETRY CORNER

by Gary L. Haskell | She reaches out to me
with that same, sweet smile
Takes my hand and says, “It’s been a while.”
Though there’s a lot of pain.
I know she’s not to blame.
She can’t remember…

Marilyn Rogers-Bull & PercySOLON & BEYOND

by Marilyn Rogers-Bull | Solon Pine Tree 4-H met on Saturday, March 13, at the Solon Fire Station. In attendance were: Cooper and Kaitlin Dellarma, Lindsay and Charlotte Hamilton, Jillian and Desmond Robinson, Katelyn and Devyn DeLeonards, Autumn and Matt Ladd, and Isabella Atwood…

Peter CatesREVIEW POTPOURRI

by Peter Cates | Producer Gail Patrick Jackson saw actor William Talman (1915-1968) as the serial killer in 1953’s The Hitch Hiker, directed by Ida Lupino, and immediately knew who she wanted for the role of District Attorney Hamilton Burger on the Perry Mason TV show…

I’M JUST CURIOUS

by Debbie Walker | My hope is as you read our columns that you sometimes find information of use in your daily life. Some of the columns are aimed at giving you a chuckle. Some columns are designed to give you information we have heard and you may not have yet, so we pass it along. Some are just as the title says, just our opinions…

FOR YOUR HEALTH

(NAPSI) | Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a serious condition, affecting 15% of U.S. adults—an estimated 37 million Americans. Kidney disease can get worse over time and may lead to kidney failure and other serious complications…