HAPPY THANKSGIVING from
THE TOWN LINE!

Issue for November 24, 2022

Celebrating 34 years of local news

Owen Riddle achieves Eagle Scout

Owen Riddle, 14, of Sidney, received Scouting’s highest honor, the Eagle Scout rank, after earning more than 70 merit badges and completing a project for the Messalonskee Middle School where he attends school. Family and friends from as far away as Pennsylvania gathered at the Augusta Elks Lodge on Saturday, November 12, to witness the ceremony. “I like challenges,” Owen said before receiving the Eagle rank. “Scouting is a lot of fun and I enjoy the program a lot.”… by Chuck Mahaleris

Town News

School board reviews draft lease agreement with daycare

VASSALBORO – At their Nov. 15 meeting, Vassalboro school board members reviewed a draft lease agreement with Jennifer Lizotte’s daycare, which has been operating at Vassalboro Community School (VCS) with mutual satisfaction…

Transfer station committee debates use of RFID tags

CHINA – China Transfer Station Committee members spent much of their Nov. 15 meeting talking about whether to continue using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags to separate China and Palermo residents from out-of-town users, or to go back to stickers on vehicles…

Vassalboro town office hours adjusted for Nov. 30

VASSALBORO – The Vassalboro town office will be closed from 8 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, Nov. 30, so that office staff can meet with candidates for the position of town manager. The office will reopen at noon…

China town office, transfer station closed Nov. 24-25

CHINA – The China town office and transfer station will be closed Thursday, Nov. 24, and Friday, Nov. 25, for the Thanksgiving holiday. On Saturday, Nov. 26, both will be open as usual, the town office from 8 to 11 a.m. and the transfer station from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m…

Local happenings

Local church collects for Samaritans Purse

CHINA – Last Sunday was collection day for the ‘shoebox ministry’ of Samaritans Purse. Individuals fill shoeboxes with gifts intended for a boy or girl, in a specific age group. Suggested items include school supplies, hygiene items, hair accessories, toys, etc. These are then distributed around the world to children in over 170 countries and territories…

14-year-old Albion girl achieves hunting grand slam

ALBION – At the age of 8, Emily Peirce, of Albion, took an interest in hunting. Since then, she has harvested six deer prior to this year. She has applied for a moose permit in years passed and was lucky enough to be drawn this year…

Vassalboro Community School honor roll

VASSALBORO – List of honor roll students from Vassalboro Community School for the fall semester…

The Remembrance Tree

Help us decorate the tree and at the same time remember a loved one. For only $10 a ball, you can commemorate a love one who has passed. Mail your donation and the names of your remembered loved ones to The Town Line, PO Box 89, South China, ME 04358. Deadline is Friday, December 16!

EVENTS: Yummy, Ready-to-Be-Baked Turkey Pies Coming

WINSLOW – It’s one of Winslow’s most beloved holiday traditions! On Saturday, December 3, from 12 to 3 p.m., Winslow Congregational Church (12 Lithgow Street) will be offering over 400 incredibly yummy, ready-to-be-baked turkey pies for curbside/drive-through pick-up. Cost is just $12 per pie, with all proceeds going to empower the Christian/humanitarian work of the church, and for building improvements and repairs…

EVENTS: Volunteers still needed for Festival of Trees

WATERVILLE – Additional volunteers are still needed as the Alfond Youth & Community Center presents Family Festival of Trees again this holiday season, continuing a proud tradition begun by the Sukeforth family in 2015…

EVENTS: Waterville Rotary Club launches annual charity auction

WATERVILLE – The 59th annual Waterville Rotary Auction with hundreds of gifts, services and unique items will once again be held on-line through Bidding Owl.com. If you would like more information about the online auction November 27 through December 3, 2022…

Name that film!

Identify the film in which this famous line originated and qualify to win FREE passes to Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville: “As God is my witness, I’ll never go hungry again.” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is December 7, 2022…

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Jefferson Medical College – Part 1 (new)

AUGUSTA HISTORY – Your writer recognized a question, probably unanswerable, left over from last week’s mention of Dr. James Tuell, of Augusta. Why had he chosen to attend Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, when Maine had a medical school at Bowdoin, founded in 1820, and there was one at Dartmouth, and numerous others closer than Philadelphia?… by Mary Grow [1923 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Augusta fires & fire departments – Part 4

AUGUSTA HISTORY – Charles W. Ricker was Augusta’s chief engineer for more than a decade, starting in 1893. In the city’s annual report for the fiscal years that ended March 1, 1894, Mayor Charles A. Milliken wrote: “I think politics should be eliminated from this department. The present chief engineer is a competent man and I think should be retained… by Mary Grow [1949 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Augusta fires & fire departments – Part 3

AUGUSTA HISTORY – After the April 12, 1861, southern attack on Fort Sumter started the Civil War, James North’s Augusta history focused on the local contribution to and effects of the war. He did not neglect other events, however, including fires and firefighting. Early on, he combined the two topics, describing the patriotic parade on Thursday, April 18, 1861, that was led by the Augusta Band, with the Pacific Fire Engine Company next in line… by Mary Grow [1886 words]

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Augusta fires & fire departments – Part 2

AUGUSTA HISTORY – Another fire Augusta historian James North described was the one that destroyed Augusta’s bridge across the Kennebec River the night of April 2, 1827. It was spotted a little after 11 p.m. and spread so fast that the “citizens [who] rushed to the scene of conflagration with fire engine and buckets” could do nothing… by Mary Grow [1881 words]

Webber’s Pond

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

2022-’23 Real Estate Tax Due Dates

Real estate tax due dates for the towns of Albion, China, Fairfield, Oakland, Palermo, Sidney, Somerville, Vassalboro, Waterville, Windsor and Winslow…

CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Vassalboro Christmas tree lighting set for Dec. 2

VASSALBORO — The 2022 Vassalboro Community Christmas Tree lighting will occur Friday, December 2, at 6 p.m., at the Community Tree located on the Mill lawn… and many other local events!

Obituaries

SIDNEY – Frank D. Mathews, 57, of Sidney, passed away in Augusta on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. He was born in Augusta on October 23, 1965, the son of Manfred and Maxine (McFarland) Mathews… and remembering 8 others.

Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!

DEADLINE: Wednesday, December 14, 2022

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

Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee | Well, Christmas is closing in on us fast. What does that have to do with a sports and outdoors column? How about talking about one of the all time traditions of the holiday dinner – the Christmas goose. After all, even Ebenezer Scrooge, of the 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, written by Charles Dickens, prompted by the Ghost of Christ­mas Pre­sent, ob­served the Crat­chit family enjoying a goose for Christ­mas dinner…

CRITTER CHATTER

by Jayne Winters | As a follow-up to last month’s article about the whitetail buck with three legs and only one horn, I’d be remiss not to write about the other permanent resident buck at the Wildlife Center. Rather than simply missing an antler, this deer has two, but they’re both deformed and remain in velvet…

Peter CatesREVIEW POTPOURRI

by Peter Cates | Elected 30 times as Governor of the Plymouth Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1621 to 1656, William Bradford (1590-1657) began his massive history Of Plymouth Plantation in 1630 and abandoned further work by 1647…

MY POINT OF VIEW

by Gary Kennedy | Thanksgiving is supposed to be a cheery time of year. We get time off from work and time is allowed to join with family and friends to give thanks for all we have received this year. All this is great in theory but what if your year has been a difficult one?…

FOR YOUR HEALTH

(NAPSI) | If you or someone you care for is ever among the 5 million people diagnosed with basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma every year in the U.S., here are a few facts it would be healthy for you to know…