Issue for May 12, 2022
VCS middle schoolers take a trip down the road to witness historic event
On Friday, May 6, students from the VCS middle school took a field trip following the Outlet Stream that runs from China Lake into the Kennebec River. This educational experience was orchestrated through a collaboration of Brian Stanley, librarian at the Vassalboro Public Library, and Melora Norman, at Vassalboro Community School, with the chosen topic of Alewives. Students visited the Box Mill, in North Vassalboro, and the Masse Mill, in East Vassalboro, to learn about the seasonal migration of these fish as well as historic and ecological impacts of the run… by Gillian Lalime
Foundation receives two grants totaling $5,340
Covid brought many changes to Maine’s economy. Among them were a damaged supply chain, social isolation, and an upset in the job market. The Living Communities Foundation and many other nonprofits are working to ameliorate these challenges and help people to adapt to a new economic reality. Local philanthropic organizations such as United Midcoast Charities and SeedMoney.org are also stepping up to help nonprofits address issues such as food insecurity… Submitted by Connie Bellet
Your Local News
Planners approve four applications
VASSALBORO — Vassalboro Planning Board members unanimously approved all four applications on their May 3 agenda. They also discussed increased town permit fees, an item that will appear on the May 12 select board agenda…
Select board holds public hearing on proposed budget
CHINA — The May 9 China Select Board meeting began with a half-hour public hearing on three of the items to be submitted to voters on June 14: the Large Scale Solar Facilities Moratorium Ordinance, the updated town comprehensive plan and the 2022-23 municipal budget…
China Planning Board meeting canceled
CHINA — The China Planning Board meeting scheduled for May 9 was canceled; board members were not ready to continue work on draft ordinances. The next regular meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 24…
Broadband committee continues talks with Unitel, Direct Communications
CHINA — At their May 4 meeting, China Broadband Committee (CBC) members continued discussion of working with Unitel and Direct Communications to bring expanded broadband service to China residents…
Free dental care for military veterans
CENTRAL ME – On Saturday, June 11, from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m., Aspen Dental locations nationwide will open their doors to provide free care to military veterans across the country…
National Poppy Day is May 27
MADISON – Members of American Legion Auxiliary (ALA) Unit #39, Madison will be distributing bright red poppies in exchange for a donation throughout the month of May. The Flanders Fields poppy has become an internationally known and recognized symbol of the lives sacrificed in war and the hope that none died in vain…
Local Farms Day at ACB
CHINA – Come one and all to the first annual Local Farms Day at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library at 37 Main St. in China Village. Attendees will view displays of goods of area farmers and producers with items also for sale. This family friendly event will be held on Saturday, May 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m…
Name that film!
Identify the film in which this line originated and qualify to win FREE passes to Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville: “You can’t handle the truth!” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is June 9, 2022…
Teenage historians honored
WINSLOW – On April 2, at the Winslow Congregational Church, the Fort Halifax Chapter, NSDAR presented awards to six young adults at a Student Tea held in their honor. The American History Contest is offered to students in grades 5-12…
Legion auxiliary donates backpacks and essentials to children
MADISON – In observance of April as Children and Youth Month, members of the Tardiff-Belanger American Legion Auxiliary, Unit #39, Madison donated backpacks and many essential items such as clothes, Pj’s, toothpaste, toothbrushes, diapers, jackets, socks, hygiene products for the older children and toys…
Blood donations needed ahead of summer
CENTRAL ME – When schools let out for summer and families set off on vacation, the American Red Cross typically sees a decline in donors, which can impact patient care. It’s critically important that donors make an appointment to give now before heading out for summer activities to help maintain a stable blood supply in the coming months…
Northern Light welcomes Sydney Scott
WATERVILLE – Northern Light Inland Hospital welcomes Sydney Scott, PA, physician assistant. Sydney joins the team at Northern Light Cardiovascular Care, located at 244 Kennedy Memorial Drive, on the hospital campus, in Waterville…
Search for wolves in northeast
CENTRAL ME – John M. Glowa, Sr., president of The Maine Wolf Coalition, Inc., (MWC) a 501c(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to wolf recovery in Maine through research, education and protection, is pleased to announce a new collaboration with Princeton University and Michigan Technological University…
Tristan Morton earns second of four medals
AUGUSTA – Tristan Morton of Pack #603 was recognized by the Catholic Council on Scouting at a Mass in St. Mary Church, on Wednesday, April 27. The Mass was led by Father John Skehan and attended by the students of St. Michael School, in Augusta, where Tristan attends the fourth grade…
Local residents receive Academic honors at Northeastern
CENTRAL ME – Northeastern University, in Boston, Massachusetts, is pleased to recognize those students who distinguish themselves academically during the course of the school year. The following local students were recently named to the University’s dean’s list for the Fall semester, which ended in December 2021…
Local residents named to Simmons University dean’s list
CENTRAL ME – The following local students were named to the 2021 fall semester dean’s list at Simmons University, in Boston, Massachusetts…Allyson Cunningham, of Augusta; Kaili Shorey, of Vassalboro, Abigail Bloom, of Waterville, and Maddie Beckwith, of Winslow…
Area residents named to dean’s list at University of New England
CENTRAL ME – The following students have been named to the dean’s list for the 2021 fall semester at the University of New England, in Biddeford. Dean’s list students have attained a grade point average of 3.3 or better out of a possible 4.0 at the end of the semester…
Endicott College announces local dean’s list students
PALERMO/SIDNEY – Endicott College, in Beverly, Massachusetts, the first college in the U.S. to require internships of its students, is pleased to announce its Fall 2021 dean’s list students: Alana York, of Palermo, and Kristen Dube, of Sidney…
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: French-Canadians – Part 1 (new)
AUGUSTA HISTORY — Two distinctly non-British peoples who came to live mainly in Augusta and Waterville, the largest manufacturing centers in the central Kennebec Valley in the 19th and early 20th centuries, were French-Canadians who came south from Canada’s Québec Province, and Middle Easterners, especially Lebanese and Syrians… by Mary Grow [1841 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Blacks in Maine – Part 4
MAINE HISTORY — The Samuel Osbornes discussed in last week’s article were not the only Black family in 19th-century Waterville. Various sources mention several others, though details are often scanty and/or confusing. Local historians did not consistently state the race or nationality of people they wrote about… by Mary Grow [1754 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Blacks in Maine – Part 3
MAINE HISTORY — Records tell of a Kennebec Valley slave-owner, Captain Abiel or Abial Lovejoy (Dec. 15, 1731 – July 4, 1811), who lived in Vassalboro from 1776 and in Sidney after the west side of the Kennebec River became a separate town in 1792. He was a native of Andover, Massachusetts, who came to the lower Kennebec Valley as a Massachusetts soldier (rising to the rank of captain) in the 1750s… by Mary Grow [2050 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Blacks in Maine – Part 2
MAINE HISTORY — The first two Black men recorded in Augusta, according to Anthony Douin, one of the contributors to H. H. Price and Gerald Talbot’s Maine’s Visible Black History, were “York Bunker and Cuff.” They were in the garrison at Fort Western, built in 1754, “listed as servants and paid as privates”… by Mary Grow [2021 words]
Webber’s Pond
Webber’s Pond is a comic drawn by an anonymous central Maine resident (click thumbnail to enlarge)…
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Cruisin’ for a Cure
WATERVILLE — Join New Dimensions FCU on Saturday, June 4, 2022, for their 8th Annual Cruisin’ for a Cure Car Show to benefit the Maine Children’s Cancer Program (MCCP). Once again, they are hosting this exciting event at the Robert LaFleur Airport, located at 2 LaFleur Road, in Waterville… and many other local events!
Obituaries
VASSALBORO – Barbara E. Horner, 95, passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. She was born December 26, 1926, in Camden, the daughter of Alfred B. Nedeau and Teresa (Shaw) Nedeau… and remembering 6 others.
Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Wednesday, May 10, 2022
Identify 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: Diane Gardner, Windsor
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | There has been a lot of discussion and controversy lately about the plight of whales in the North Atlantic, in particular about the Right Whale, and their interaction with lobstermen. Maine’s lobstermen have fought national conservation groups over federal gear rules and fishery closures intended to protect endangered whales…
SMALL SPACE GARDENING
by Melinda Myers | Put rainwater to use in your landscape with the help of rain barrels. This centuries old technique allows you to capture rainfall to use for watering ornamental gardens and containers…
FINANCIAL FOCUS
by Sasha Fitzpatrick | When you’re driving these days, it’s pretty hard to get lost because your smartphone’s Global Positioning System (GPS) can get you just about anywhere. And as an investor, you can have a similar experience by employing another directional tool – a personalized financial strategy…
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | Born in New Zealand, soprano Frances Alda (1879-1952) became a big star at the Metropolitan Opera in NYC , recorded a batch of Victor acoustic discs including duets with Enrico Caruso (1873-1921) and was married to Met manager Gatti-Casazza for several years…
MAINE MEMORIES
by Evangeline T. | This week, I want to tell you about my name. When my mother was in grade school, she was required to read the story of Evangeline. Then and there, she decided that if she ever had a daughter, Evangeline would be her name…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
(NAPSI) | Roughly 20 percent of U.S. adults have sleep apnea, and as many as 90 percent of those cases go undiagnosed. The condition occurs when people stop breathing periodically throughout the night, potentially leading to severe health issues…