Issue for March 3, 2022
China Ice Days exceed all expectations
Record number take part in ice fishing derby
On February 20, the China Four Seasons Club and the China Village Fire Department held its 3rd Annual Ice Fishing Derby. With over 500 estimated participants, this looked to be the most successful derby yet. “The turnout was amazing again this year,” said Tom Rumpf, China Four Season’s President, and Chairman for the Ice Fishing Derby… by Sandra Isaac
Winslow High School senior wrestler crowned state champion
Winslow High School Senior, Sam Schmitt, captured Maine’s Class B State Wrestling Championship at 138 pounds on Saturday, February 19, at Morse High School, in Bath, continuing a family tradition of state champion titles… by Mark Huard
Your Local News
Special select board meeting acts on tax abatement requests
VASSALBORO — Vassalboro select board members held a special Feb. 24 meeting, partly to act on a tax abatement request (approved after a discussion in executive session) and partly to consider again Road Commissioner Eugene Field’s request that the town buy a roadside mower…
Mowing contractor to cut back on roadside mowing
WINDSOR — All members of the Windsor select board were present for the February 1, meeting except for Richard H. Gray Jr. Keith Hall, road supervisor, reported that following the most recent snow fall, a culvert on the Legion Park Road was frozen, causing water to overflow…
China, Palermo agree on new transfer station fees
CHINA — China Select Board members held a brief meeting Feb. 28. With one member absent and another participating remotely, board Chairman Ronald Breton had postponed continued review of the proposed 2022-23 town budget…
Planners decide to schedule two public hearings
CHINA — China Planning Board members decided at their Feb. 22 meeting that they need at least two public hearings. They scheduled one, on SunRaise Investments’ expanded solar project on Route 3, for their March 8 meeting, with a review of the application to follow…
Rec committee talks about possible pickle ball court
CHINA — Pickleball, anyone? Reacting to local requests, China Recreation Committee members discussed the possibility of adding a pickleball court to the town’s recreational facilities at their Feb. 23 meeting…
LETTERS: Support broadband expansion
from Pamela Partridge (North Anson) – In the ‘90s, teachers and community volunteers ran wire in Maine’s local schools to connect our students to the world. Technology continued to grow rapidly, but our broadband expansion faltered. We connected our schools, but failed to light up our homes. The pandemic made the impact of this issue painfully acute, and it is an ongoing problem…
LETTERS: People need respectful representation
from John M. Glowa, Sr. (South China) – This letter is in response to Senator Scott Cyrway’s false and misleading press release announcing his candidacy for the Maine House of Representatives. Cyrway falsely claims that removal of the Shawmut dam on the Kennebec River, “…would result in the closure of the Sappi mill, resulting in the loss of tens of millions of dollars and hundreds of jobs”…
STUDENT WRITERS: To Recycle or Not to Recycle
by Mackenzie Roderick (Erskine Academy) — Miltimore claims that recycling has been a hoax for years and is just a giant placebo to make society feel better about themselves. Overall, I disagree with Miltimore’s claim that recycling is a waste. I believe that there are downsides to recycling, however it is better to recycle than not…
EVENTS: Prayer hour at China Baptist for Ukraine
CHINA – The crisis in Ukraine has prompted the China Baptist Church to invite the community to prayer, this Saturday, March 5, from noon to 1 p.m. Pastor Ron Morrell is announcing an hour of prayer for the people of Ukraine…
EVENTS: Spaghetti supper and no talent show
MADISON – The Madison American Legion will be hosting a spaghetti dinner and “No Talent” Show, on Saturday, April 2, 5 – 6:30 p.m., at Madison American Legion Hall, 20 S. Maple Street. A Fun Night of Laughter, “No Talent” Show, at 7 p.m., with special guest: Gary Crocker, a Maine humorist, Vietnam veteran, public speaker who feels laughter is the key to a well-balanced life…
EVENTS: Mid-Maine Chamber’s premier trade show to be held March 24 in Waterville
CENTRAL ME – Central Maine’s largest tradeshow, Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce’s Business to Business Showcase, has been scheduled for March 24, 2022, noon to 6 p.m., at Colby’s Harold Alfond Athletic & Recreation Center…
New president named at Northern Light Sebasticook Valley Hospital, in Pittsfield
PITTSFIELD – Northern Light Health has announced that Randy Clark, MBA, will become Northern Light Sebasticook Valley Hospital’s next president. In this role, Clark will also serve as a Northern Light Health senior vice president. He succeeds Terri Vieira, who retires on April 1, 2022…
Pediatric orthopedic surgeon joins Northern Light Inland Hospital
CENTRAL ME – Northern Light Orthopedics and Northern Light Inland Hospital welcomes William Bassett, MD, the only fellowship-trained surgeon in the state performing complex pediatric orthopedic surgery…
Backyard composting and rain barrel sale
ROCKPORT – Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD), in cooperation with Maine Resource and Recovery Association, is again offering local residents the opportunity to improve soil and conserve water right in their own backyards at deep discount prices…
ICE OUT 2022? Take a guess. Win a prize!
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 2022“. 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, 2022…
Name that film!
Identify the film in which this line originated and qualify to win FREE passes to Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville: “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is March 4, 2022…
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Wars – Part 9 (new)
MAINE HISTORY — In the course of reading about the War of 1812, your writer found information on Maine soldiers of less exalted rank than brigadier general, which she hopes readers, too, will find interesting. Colonel Elnathan Sherwin (born in 1759 from his cemetery record, or 1762 or 1763, from on-line genealogies; died Sept. 10, 1822), from Waterville, has been mentioned more than once… by Mary Grow [1865 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Wars – Part 8
MAINE HISTORY — Two national military leaders in the War of 1812, Brigadier General John Chandler and Brigadier General Eleazer (or Eleazar – sources differ) Wheelock Ripley, were from Maine, according to Louis Hatch’s state history. Both had connections with the central Kennebec Valley: Chandler lived most of his life in Monmouth, and Ripley practiced law in Waterville for a short time… by Mary Grow [1532 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Wars – Part 7
MAINE HISTORY — War of 1812:Hampden and Wiscasset. Two events in September 1814 involved central Kennebec Valley residents directly in the war against the British, fortunately without recorded casualties. The first and less significant began in Hampden, where British forces sailed up the Penobscot River to capture the USS Adams… by Mary Grow [1940 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Wars – Part 6
MAINE HISTORY — War of 1812: The end of the American Revolution did not end enmity between Britain and its former colonies. They fought one more war, the War of 1812 (June 18, 1812 – Feb. 18, 1815). Even after that war, the border between the United States and British Canada remained partly unsettled until the Oregon Treaty of June 15, 1846… by Mary Grow [2014 words]
Town Meetings Schedule for 2022
A list of local town meetings for Albion, China, Fairfield, Palermo, Sidney, Solon, Vassalboro and Windsor…
Webber’s Pond
Webber’s Pond is a comic drawn by an anonymous central Maine resident (click thumbnail to enlarge)…
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Albion Book Club
The Albion Public Library Book Club meets from 6:30 – 8 p.m., on the last Wednesday of the month. The Book for February is Salvage the Bones, “ by Jesmyn Ward. Other books that will be read are World Made by Hand, by James Howard Kunstler and Dangerous New World: Maine Voices on the Climate Crisis… and many other local events!
Obituaries
VASSALBORO – Judith E. Westman, 72, passed away Saturday, Feburary 19, 2022, at the Mt. Joseph Nursing Home, in Waterville. Born in Caribou on April 22, 1949, she was the daughter of Orick E. and Marjorie F. (Danforth) Westman… and remembering 8 others.
Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Friday, March 9, 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: Frances Wittek, Skowhegan
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | During the blizzard that swept through our area a little while back, I was standing at my kitchen window, watching the bird feeders. To my surprise, even during the peak of the storm, with heavy snowfall and howling winds, the birds kept coming to the feeding stations. “Tough little buggers,” I thought while watching…
VETERANS CORNER
by Gary Kennedy | March, named for the Roman God, Mars, must have been a very confused god as he allowed more than a 120 holidays to be celebrated in the month of March. I went through the list and came up with two favorites. The first was National Corn Beef Day…
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | During these times of conflict in Ukraine, I was led to read up on former Soviet premier Nikita Khruschev (1894-1971), as he was the head Russian grizzly in Moscow for most of my formative years between 1953 and 1964. I vividly remember first encountering his toothy grin and shiny bald headed dome via the AP wire photos on the front page of the Waterville Morning Sentinel when he toured the U.S. in 1959…
I’M JUST CURIOUS
by Debbie Walker | Some people have money/jewelry they prefer to keep in a “hidy hole” (oops, that’s day care speak) instead of a safety deposit box. Sometimes when you need your hidden treasure, if it’s in your home it is available to you 24/7. In hiding your treasures there are some of what I see as common and well known. My favorite, new to me, is to cut open (slit) a tennis ball and put treasure inside. Who is going to steal tennis balls?…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
(NAPSI)—Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, myths and misperceptions about COVID and vaccines continue to arise and evolve on social media, online, and in daily conversation. Getting facts from a reliable source can keep myths from complicating decisions about getting vaccinated and boosted or following other prevention measures…