Issue for March 23, 2023

Celebrating 35 years of local news

ShineOnCass Animal Baby Shower & PJ Party planned May 7, in Albion

Children dressed in their pajamas will welcome baby lambs, goats, calves and other newborn animals also wearing pajamas, on May 7, at the ShineOnCass Animal Baby Shower & PJ Party, at Hart-to-Hart Farm & Education Center, in Albion…

Opening to receive the gift

Waterville Mom writes book redefining the term ‘Special Needs’

When asked about parenting, Lisa Lichterfeld, author of My Name is Kwayah, a children’s book about her daughter, starts with some self analysis. “I was the youngest of five. They say the youngest children tend to be more Bohemian. Some might even describe them as reckless and irresponsible. I tended to part ways with many conventions, and one could say there were more than a few misadventures in those departures… by Gillian Lalime

Town News

Budget committee begins draft review for 2023-24

VASSALBORO – Vassalboro budget committee members held their first 2023 meeting March 16, unanimously electing Peggy Shaffer chairman and reviewing the draft 2023-24 municipal budget with select board members and Town Manager Aaron Miller…

Select board advised investments lost money

VASSALBORO – Vassalboro select board members covered varied topics at their March 16 meeting. Matthew Weaver, chief investment officer at The First Bancorp, in Damariscotta, updated board members and Town Manager Aaron Miller on Vassalboro’s investment funds…

Cemetery sexton seeks to upgrade computer software

WINDSOR – Cemetery Sexton Joyce Perry informed the Windsor Select Board, at their February 14 meeting, that she has been researching information regarding software for the cemeteries. The costs have ranged up to $6,000. There are several different companies and she recently talked with Julie Finley, from China, regarding a Crypt Keeper program which is what they use…

Mount Merici students raise over $1,300 for “The Lighthouse”

WATERVILLE – A recent penny collecting competition at Mount Merici Academy, in Waterville, engendered friendly competition, laughs, and, most importantly, funds to support “The Lighthouse”…

Waterville’s façade & building improvement program announces new funding cycle

WATERVILLE – Complementing revitalization within downtown Waterville’s Main Street corridor, Central Maine Growth Council (CMGC) has announced the successful grantees of its Façade and Building Improvement Grant Program (FBIGP)…

LETTERS: Please keep solar panels out of sight

from Linda Morrell (China) – A question…wondering if anyone knows if DOT is planning on putting solar panels in the Waterville freeway exits? I have never seen anything uglier then what they did in Augusta. I understand the city had nothing to say about it, that the land is owned by the state. Hard to believe that anyone thought that was a good idea…

Winslow Community Cupboard food pantry to benefit from Hannaford shopping bag promotion

WINSLOW – Looking for an easy, effective way to support a local food pantry? For the month of April, Winslow Community Cupboard food pantry will receive a $1 donation from each purchase of the $2.50 reusable “Fight Hunger” Shopping Bag sold at the Hannaford supermarket located at 190 JFK Plaza (Kennedy Memorial Drive) in Waterville…

Scouts: Bear Den carnival held in Augusta

AUGUSTA – The Bear Den Carnival took place on Monday, March 13, at the Fitzgerald-Cummings Post #2, American Legion Hall, complete with games and activities for kids old and young. The annual event was hosted by the youth of Cub Scout Pack #684’s Bear Den as part of their “Grin and Bear it” Elective Adventure…

COMMUNITY COMMENTARY: My life with history

by Bob Bennett – In all of the lives of human beings, the one factor that can never be changed is our history. It is there in all of its glory or shame. The deeds of those who came before us, and ourselves from the moment they are carried out, are forever in place. So, if it can’t be altered why is history important?…

PHOTO: RSU #18 chess champ

CENTRAL ME – Second grader, Gavin Henderson, won first place in a chess tournament, in Bangor, over February vacation. It was Gavin’s first tournament and he placed first in the K-4th grade unrated division…

PHOTO: Sunset over China Lake

CHINA – John Gardner photographed this dazzling sunset over China Lake…

Local happenings

EVENTS: Sew for a Cause plans Mothers-to-be Tea in Vassalboro

VASSALBORO – A special Mothers-to-be Tea is planned for Saturday, May 6, by the Sew for a Cause ladies, at St. Bridget Center, in Vassalboro. The event is free and open to all new mothers or soon-to-be mothers in central Maine, but because space is limited, attendees are encouraged to register by April 15. Owner of St. Bridget Center, Rachel Kilbride, says they are expecting about 50 new mothers to attend along with a guest…

EVENTS: Battle of Maine slated for March 25

WATERVILLE – The 41st Battle of Maine Martial Arts Championships will be taking place at Champions Fitness Club, in Waterville, on Saturday, March 25, 2023. The competition and demonstrations kickoff at 8 a.m., and will last throughout the day until about 5 p.m…

EVENTS: Golf Fore Kids Sake to be held at Samoset Resort in May

ROCKPORT – Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine’s 2023 Golf Fore Kids’ Sake, at Samoset Resort, presented by Dover Ford and Union Fair Auto, welcomes teams to participate in its May 26 tournament to support one-to-one youth mentoring…

Webber’s Pond

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

SCHOOL NEWS

Local residents named to RIT dean’s list

OAKLAND/SKOWHEGAN – The following students were named to the dean’s list at Rochester Institute of Technology, in Rochester, New York, for the fall semester of the 2022-2023 academic year. Kieran McCarthy-O’Flaherty, of Oakland, who is in the computer engineering program. Jasmine Ward, of Skowhegan, who is in the accounting program….

Local residents earn award from WGU

AUGUSTA/LIBERTY – The following local residents have earned an Award of Excellence at Western Governors University, in Salt Lake City, Utah: Whitney Poplawski, of Augusta, has earned an Award of Excellence at Western Governors University Leavitt School of Health. Brenda Ryder, of Liberty, has earned an Award of Excellence at Western Governors University College of Business….

Brianna Paine named to dean’s list

MADISON – Brianna Paine, of Madison, was named to the Fall 2022 dean’s list at Berry College, in Rome, Georgia. The dean’s list honors students who posted an academic average of 3.5 or better on a 4.0 scale while carrying a class load of at least 12 hours during the semester…

Pono selected for dean’s list at Champlain

SKOWHEGAN – Maggie Pono, of Skowhegan, has been named to the Champlain College dean’s list, in Burlington, Vermont, for the fall 2022 semester…

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…

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…

CALENDAR OF EVENTS: China Historical Society to meet

CHINA — The China Historical Society will be meeting on Saturday, March 25, at 10 a.m.; “we will be out of town.” This meeting will be hosted by the Vassalboro Historical Society, at their facility in East Vassalboro, near the boat landing on Rte. 32. We will be exploring their outstanding museum and learning about how they function and continue to grow… and many other local events!

Obituaries

BENTON – Gregory James Peters, 74, of Benton, passed away on Monday, February 20, 2023, at the Comfort Care Unit at Glen­ridge Facility, in Augusta. He was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Nov­ember 26, 1948, the son of James and Shirley Peters (Kinseth)… and remembering 10 others.

Town Line Original Columnists

Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee | Over the past weekend, I read a news release about materials collected at a Chinese market near where the first human cases of Covid-19 were identified showing raccoon dog DNA comingled with the virus, suggesting the pandemic may have originated from animals, not a lab…In China, raccoon dogs are often bred for their fur and sold for meat in animal markets. So, that brings the question, what is a raccoon dog?…

Peter CatesREVIEW POTPOURRI

by Peter Cates | Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) has recently become my favorite novelist of all, supplanting such favorites as Graham Greene, John Le Carre, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. His combination of slyly understated wit, of a very perceptive awareness of the hearts of darkness in all hu­man­kind and of his own genius level of mastery of English as a second language are seen in his Lord Jim, Typhoon, Victory and Under Western Skies

THE BEST VIEW

by Norma Best Boucher | I bought cotton candy today…in a bag. That’s right – that’s what I said – in a BAG. I was standing in line at a gas station store when I spied the blue spun sugar treat. Suddenly, I was bombarded with childhood memories of fairs, carnivals, Gene Autry, Annie Oakley and Rin Tin Tin…

FOR YOUR HEALTH

Ah, Spring: Flowers in bloom, birds on the wing, fun in the sun—and itchy eyes, runny noses, sneezing, coughing, hives, wheezing, fatigue, and difficulty breathing for the more than 60 million Americans the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America say suffer from asthma or allergies…