Issue for May 22, 2025
Vassalboro Community School counselors are there for support, Part 2
Vassalboro Community School (VCS) counselors Jamie Routhier and Gina Davis share responsibility for assisting any among the school’s approximately 420 students who need support with social or academic (or both) problems, and teachers and administrators who need advice in challenging situations…
Town News
Select board receives satisfactory news on finances
VASSALBORO – Vassalboro select board members got satisfactory news about town finances at their May 15 meeting…
School board catches up on old business after budget sent to town office
VASSALBORO – With their 2025-26 budget recommendations in final form and forwarded to the town office, Vassalboro School Board members had time to catch up on other business at their May 13 meeting….
Resident proposes to have Hometown Heroes flags installed in town
CHINA – At their May 19 meeting, China select board members were presented with a proposal to have Hometown Heroes banners in town…
LETTERS: Beware of CryptoCurrency ATM
from Paul Armstrong (Palermo) – It is very likely that most Mainers, even if they have never used a CryptoCurrency ATM, have seen them in neighborhood grocery stores, convenience stores or liquor stores. They are easy to spot as they are designed to imitate a regular ATM. However, it is important to know that these machines are neither FDIC insured nor regulated like bank industry ATMs…
Support Maine 4-H with a paper clover donation at your local Tractor Supply
CENTRAL ME — The bi-annual Paper Clover fundraising campaign is in full swing at Tractor Supply stores across the state. Imagine a generation of young people in Maine equipped with the skills to lead, innovate and build a brighter future…
Lincoln County Historical Society opens season
CENTRAL ME — The Lincoln County Historical Association (LCHA) is kicking off its 2025 season with a range of engaging events that invite the public to experience history in different ways. Highlights include a Memorial Day ceremony, a visit from historical archaeologist Tim Dinsmore, new hands-on experiences at the Old Jail, and Community Day offering free admission to three historic sites on Sunday, June 1….
PHOTO: Achieves milestone
CHINA — Belle Pelotte, a junior from Erskine Academy, recently accomplished quite an achievement. She made her 100th goal in lacrosse! Pelotte is the daughter of Jerad and Shasta Pelotte, of China. She has made many assists as well to this date.
Skowhegan woman earns national recognition
SKOWHEGAN — In the last 20 years, the face of corporate leadership has begun to change – and many of those new faces are women. From boardrooms to balance sheets, female CEOs are making a powerful impact, reshaping industries once dominated by men…
SNHU announces Spring 2025 president’s list
CENTRAL ME — Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), in Manchester, New Hampshire, congratulates the following students on being named to the Spring 2025 president’s list. The spring terms run from January to May. …
SNHU announces Spring 2025 dean’s list
CENTRAL ME — Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), in Manchester, New Hampshire, congratulates the following students on being named to the Spring 2025 dean’s list. The spring terms run from January to May…
Area students named to All-Maine Academic Team
CENTRAL ME — Five area Maine community college students have been named to the All-Maine Academic Team in recognition of their outstanding academic achievement, leadership, and service…
Local students go to state house to support girls’ sports and spaces
AUGUSTA — Female student athletes from across the state came to Augusta to testify in favor of bills to protect women’s sports and spaces. Most Mainers recognize these bills are commonsense policy that needs to be passed…
Local happenings
EVENTS: Oakland Legion Memorial Day parade
OAKLAND — This year’s Memorial Day Parade will be on Monday, May 26, starting at noon. Before the parade there will be a service held at Lakeview Cemetery At 11 a.m., to honor and remember those veterans who have passed…
EVENTS: Vassalboro Methodist Church to hold yard and plant sale
VASSALBORO — The Vassalboro United Methodist Church (VUMC) is holding a “Yard and Plants Sale” on Saturday, June 7, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., on the same day as the Vassalboro town-wide yard sales. Good quality items of all kinds will be available, including two church pews removed from the sanctuary earlier this year…
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Nelson the horse presentation at WHS
WATERVILLE – Hold your horses! Did you know Waterville had a famous racehorse? And trotting tracks, also known as harness racing tracks? And horse farms were all around? Join us for a presentation by Stephen Thompson, founder of The Lost Trotting Parks Heritage Center, on Thursday, May 22… and many other local events!
EVENTS: Local central Maine Town Meetings schedule for 2025
CENTRAL ME – List of area town meetings. To be included in this list, visit our Contact Us page or send an email to The Town Line at townline@townline.org…
Obituaries
FAIRFIELD – Elaine Grant, 78, of Fairfield, passed away Thursday, May 1, 2025. She was born July 17, 1946. Elaine, who was originally from Caribou, was an avid outdoors person who enjoyed camping, fishing, and four-wheeling as well as crafts, and time with friends and family…
Name that film!
Identify the film in which this famous line originated and qualify to win FREE passes to The Maine Film Center, in Waterville: “A former greenskeeper, now about to become the Master’s champion.” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is June 5, 2025.
Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: Fletcher family (new)
CHINA HISTORY — A summary check on Abisha Fletcher’s parents, Colonel Robert and Nancy (Sprague) Fletcher, identified Robert as a prominent China citizen, who might well have been friends with, and perhaps wished to show respect for, a local lawyer… by Mary Grow
Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: 19th century lawyers
CENTRAL ME HISTORY — Winslow wasn’t the only small town in this section of the Kennebec River valley with its own 19th-century lawyer(s), though no other seems to have been as conspicuous as Eleazer Ripley… by Mary Grow
Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: Courts – Eleazer Ripley
CENTRAL ME HISTORY — In his Kennebec County history, Henry Kingsbury wrote that Winslow lawyer Lemuel Paine once had a partner whom Kingsbury called “General Ripley, the hero of the battle of Lundy’s Lane, Canada”… by Mary Grow
Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: Waterville F.D. history
WATERVILLE HISTORY — As the Village of Waterville grew into a dense town where a single fire could threaten the lives of thousands, the village lacked the types of institutions that would fight these fires. In other parts of the country, firefighters were organized as volunteers or were paid for by insurance companies to combat the threat of fire… by Scott Holst
Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Wednesday, June 11, 2025
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: NO WINNER!
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | Camp is open! Last Friday and Saturday my wife and I worked diligently to get things squared away at camp. Open the shelter, put away necessities for the summer, arrange outdoor furniture, check out the grill, etc. It was a busy two days, and Saturday night we finally sat down around the first campfire of the year…
MAINE-LY GARDENING
by Jude Hsiang | Terms for plants used by growers and botanists can be confusing. If a plant is labeled “annual” we might think that it will return every year like an annual canoe race. But annual plants live for only one growing season. They grow from seed, flower, form new seeds, then die. Those new seeds will germinate and become next year’s plants if they are lucky enough to drop into a place with the right conditions and the weather is favorable…
QUINN MINUTE
by Rix Quinn | In my long and unproductive life, I’ve encountered several disgusting things…and I’ve stepped in a few of them. But few gave me more displeasure than dissecting a frog. This was a school requirement, and I dreaded it for weeks…
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | Johannes Brahms was already sketching a First Symphony in 1853 as his friend Robert Schumann was praising the then young composer as the great new hope in music who would provide “yet more wondrous glimpses into the mysteries of the world of the spirit”…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
HEALTH | A little research led to a big relief for one 70-year-old and his family—and it could help you or someone you care about as well….