Issue for May 8, 2025
Toni Wall presented with Spirit of America award
Planning Board chairman Toni Wall was presented the annual Spirit of America award for volunteerism at the May 5 meeting of the China Board of Selectmen. She received the award – to her surprise – in recognition of her years of work on the board, during which she has spent a great deal of extra time creating and updating town ordinances.
China’s CEO named Municipal Employee of the Year by Mid-Maine Chamber
China’s Codes Enforcement Officer, Nick French, was recently awarded Municipal Employee of the Year by the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce.
Benton Alewife Festival to be celebrated on May 17
The annual Benton Alewife Festival will be back again this year on Saturday, May 17, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., at the Riverfront Park, to celebrate the return of the alewives to the Sebasticook river. The alewife, also known as river herring, is one of many anadromous (migrating) fish that make their way over ninety miles from the ocean to find its habitat in the Sebasticook lake…
Town News
Large turnout for China’s public hearing on May 5
CHINA – China select board members got updates on the community garden and Thurston Park, accepted Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood’s idea of contracting with a professional grant-writer and presented the annual Spirit of America award for volunteerism at their May 5 meeting…
Select board updated on first responders grant money
VASSALBORO – Dan Mayotte, co-founder and director of Vassalboro’s First Responder unit, updated select board members on grant funds at their May 1 meeting…
Cemetery committee continues talks on trees
VASSALBORO – Four members of the Vassalboro Cemetery Committee met April 28, mostly to continue discussion of who’s in charge of tree removal in cemeteries. In the audience were Holly Weidner, chairman of the conservation commission; Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., chairman of the select board; and, until he had to leave for another engagement, Town Manager Aaron Miller…
Vassalboro local election slated for June 10
VASSALBORO – Vassalboro town clerk Cathy Coyne reports the following candidates for elective office have qualified for the June 10 local ballot….
The history and the fate of the building at 363 Route 3
CHINA — Historical information on the wooden building at 363 Route 3, in China, comes from a combination of town records, provided by China Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood and Codes Enforcement Officer Nicholas French, and local people’s memories… by Mary Grow
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: “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, this is the war room.” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is May 8, 2025.
PHOTO: Competes at martial arts challenge
BELGRADE — Club Naha team member Donovan Hayden, 11, of Belgrade, competing in forms, at the Elm City Martial Arts Challenge, at the Alfond Community Youth Center, in Waterville, on Saturday, April 19. Hayden placed third in the competition.
Winfree honored for academic success
HALLOWELL — Seven Maine community college students were honored Wednesday for their academic success and campus and community involvement at a luncheon ceremony, at Maple Hill Farm, in Hallowell. The event was hosted by the Maine Community College System (MCCS) Board of Trustees…
More Americans now enrolled in Auto-IRA Programs
CENTRAL ME — More than one million private sector workers nationwide have enrolled in state retirement savings programs, a major milestone in the effort to address the nation’s retirement savings challenges. These options allow employees whose workplaces do not offer retirement plans to automatically contribute a portion of their paycheck to a retirement savings account…
Local happenings
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…
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Make and Take Bookmarks
PALERMO – As part of its “Second Saturday Events”, the Palermo Community Library presents “Make and Take Bookmarks” on Saturday, May 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Come and make bookmarks to trade with others or bring home. Learn how to finish off your bookmarks with braids or tassels. All materials and laminating will be provided. Come create and have fun with your friends. This event is open to all ages… and many other local events!
Obituaries
CLINTON – Stephen M. Koller, 55, passed away unexpectedly at home, on Saturday, April 26, 2025. He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on November 12, 1969, to Charles and Janet (Collins) Koller…
Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: Courts – Eleazer Ripley (new)
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
Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: Small town lawyers
CENTRAL ME HISTORY — While looking for information for the previous articles on Maine’s legal and court systems and people who made them work, your writer came across related information that falls under two headings, people and buildings… by Mary Grow
Up and Down the Kennebec Valley: Courts – Part 4
CENTRAL ME HISTORY — William Penn Whitehouse has been mentioned in each of the three articles about Maine courts so far in this subseries; it’s time he got a page of his own (after a digression). The first mention, March 27, identified Whitehouse as the author of the chapter on the history of Maine courts in Henry Kingsbury’s 1892 Kennebec County history… by Mary Grow
Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Wednesday, May 14, 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: James Vigue, Winslow
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | It’s that time of the year again when snapping turtles appear everywhere to lay their eggs. Snapping turtles, Chelydra s. serpentina, range across the eastern United States to the Rocky Mountains, from southern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, and into Central America…
MAINE-LY GARDENING
by Jude Hsiang | After considering some spring flowering shrubs we’ll be enjoying soon, let’s think about shrubs that will provide us with floral displays during the coming months. Previously I wrote about the big-leaf hydrangeas because the correct time for pruning – if needed at all – depends on when the leaves appear on the stems that can look like dead sticks…
QUINN MINUTE
by Rix Quinn | I’ve always been jealous of people who discover their talents early. There was this kid in my middle school class named Karen. She drew nature scenes better than anybody…
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | Kurt Masur (1927-2015) was forced as a teenager to fight in the German army when the Nazi government was feeling increasingly desperate on both sides after the 1944 D-Day invasion and the Battle of Stalingrad. He was one of 150 boys in his unit, of which only 27 survived…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
HEALTH | It may seem surprising to some but dry eye is one of the most common conditions women going through the menopause experience…