Issue for October 14, 2021
Local Dancer in the spotlight
Wyatt Woodbury, 11, of Fairfield, recently traveled to Weymouth, Massachusetts, to appear in a photo shoot for the Turn It Up Dance Challenge. Wyatt is a member of the Stage Presence Dance Team, in Winslow. The team competes locally and throughout the country at various competitions, earning many regional and national awards for their work… by Mark Huard
New child care center opens in Winslow
When two hundred thirty one child care centers in Maine closed during the pandemic, we were determined to find alternative care for families in our community. There are currently 210 programs that have reopened for care for children ages birth through age 12. Make that number 211 as a brand-new childcare center has opened in central Maine… by Laurie Lizotte
Your Local News
In narrow vote, selectmen agree to sell Lakeview Drive property for $65,000
CHINA — By a 3-2 vote, China selectmen have sold the 39-acre lot on Lakeview Drive to China resident Brent Chesley, for $65,000. Eight bids had been submitted by the selectmen’s Oct. 12 meeting. They ranged from $10,000 to $75,000…
Transfer station: Proposed fee increase postponed to November meeting
CHINA/PALERMO — China Transfer Station Committee members made progress on their Oct. 12 agenda items, while postponing decisions to their Nov. 9 meeting, mostly to give them time to collect more information…
Planning board: two applicants are approved
VASSALBORO — Vassalboro Planning Board members found that two applicants for Webber Pond shoreland permits met all town standards and unanimously approved their permits…
Vassalboro selectmen cancel next meeting
VASSALBORO — Vasssalboro selectmen have canceled their meeting that was scheduled for Thursday evening, Oct. 14. Their next meeting is an Oct. 21 goal-setting workshop…
LETTERS: Voting “yes” for better internet service
from Joann C. Austin (China) — I feel compelled to write to the Selectmen of China, and the townspeople. The town selectboard asked in 2017….., that’s four years ago….., for help. The Town,….we…., needed some people who understand the workings of the internet to solve our connectivity issues. For many in our town, Covid has made poor internet connectivity and poor internet speeds even more apparent…
ERIC’S TECH TALK: CBC wants to revolutionize internet access in China, but will it work?
by Eric W. Austin (China) — On the ballot this November is a question that has the potential to revolutionize internet access for residents of China. The question is also long, at over 200 words, a bit confusing and filled with legalese. As a resident of China, a technophile, and a reporter for The Town Line newspaper, I wanted to understand this initiative, figure out exactly what it’s attempting to accomplish, and try to find out what residents of China think about the future of local internet access… [2944 words]
LOCAL EVENTS
Candidates forum canceled
CHINA — The annual China candidates’ forum, intended to introduce candidates for local offices to voters and scheduled for Oct. 17 on Zoom only, will not be held…
LakeSmart presentation from state director slated
CHINA — The China Region Lakes Alliance (CRLA) will sponsor a presentation on Wednesday, October 20, 2021, at 6 p.m., by State LakeSmart Director Mary Wicklund on Maine’s LakeSmart Program, designed to help improve the health of Maine’s lake resources…
Vassalboro Fundraiser for Fortins
VASSALBORO — The Spaghetti Supper Fundraiser for the Fortin’s will be held at St Bridget Center, Saturday, October 16, from 4 – 7 p.m…
Question #1: CMP corridor debate Oct. 14
LINCOLN — The next Lincoln County Community Conversations event will take place on Thursday, October 14, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The panel discussion focuses on the November referendum Question 1 in order to provide voters “Views from Both Ends of the CMP Corridor”…
Cross Country Journey – Conclusion: The final leg to Edmonds, Washington
by Steve Ball — There was something about riding into Montana that gave me a sense that we were really making progress. Montana was our 13th state and I had completed over 2,500 miles on the bike. My bike was holding up well and I was feeling good – strong with no aches. The idea of finally getting into Montana, “Big Sky Country,” as it’s affectionately referred to, just sounded uplifting…
Cross Country Journey – Stage Two: Defiance, Ohio, to Medora, North Dakota
by Steve Ball — We left Cleveland with new found enthusiasm. Allane and I had made it 1,000 miles and our friends and riding partners, John Williams and Nancy Beardsley, joined us for our journey continuing to Davenport, Iowa…
Cross Country Journey – Part 1 Stage One: From Belfast to Ohio
by Steve Ball — This is a story of a trip across the United States, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The idea of making the trip was crazy. Ride across the country on a bicycle. Are you nuts? I am one of those riders who peddles along our local roads, streets, and byways: Lake View Drive, Rte. 3, Rte. 32, Rte. 17… and the list goes on. It’s how I find my inner peace…
St. Michael students lend helping hand during “Day of Caring”
AUGUSTA — Students at St. Michael School, in Augusta, put down their books and iPads on October 1 and picked up rakes, rags, and gloves to help make their community a better place…
PHOTOS: Opening day for Waterville youth football
WATERVILLE — Photos from the opening day for Waterville Youth Football on October 10, by Central Maine Photography…
Local residents named to Simmons University dean’s list
CENTRAL ME — The following local residents were named to the 2021 spring 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…
Winslow resident graduates from UMass Lowell
WINSLOW — Treva Campbell, of Winslow, is among 4,582 graduates in the University of Massachusetts-Lowell’s class of 2021, Lowell, Massachusetts. Campbell received a bachelor of arts degree in psychology…
St. Anselm College presents dean’s list
WINSLOW/SIDNEY — Saint Anselm College, in Manchester, New Hampshire, has released the dean’s list of high academic achievers for the second semester of the 2020-2021 school year…Area students include, Katherine E. King, of Sidney, class of 2021, majoring in biology, and Christine M. Quirion, of Winslow, class of 2022, majoring in business…
Sidney resident inducted into Honor Society for First-Year Success
SIDNEY — Saint Anselm College student Christopher King, of Sidney, a biology major in the class of 2024, has been accepted into Alpha Lambda Delta, a national honor society for first-year success, for the 2020-2021 academic year, in Manchester, New Hampshire…
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: More high schools (Vassalboro) (new)
VASSALBORO HISTORY — In Vassalboro, which until 1792 included Sidney on the west side of the Kennebec River, voters first discussed schools in 1771, the year the town was incorporated. According to Alma Pierce Robbins’ Vassalboro history, voters at a September town meeting approved “Thirty Pounds Lawful money” to support a minister – and refused to appropriate anything to support a schoolmaster… by Mary Grow [1944 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Even more high schools
ALBION, BENTON & CLINTON HISTORY — Continuing the discussion of (mostly) 19th-century high school education, this article will talk about Albion, Benton, and Clinton. In following weeks, continuing alphabetically, readers will find information on Fairfield, Palermo, Sidney (don’t expect much), Vassalboro, Windsor and Winslow… by Mary Grow [2215 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: More high schools
CHINA HISTORY — The Massachusetts legislature chartered China Academy in June 1818. Charter language quoted in the China bicentennial history is almost identical to the language used 50 or so years later for Hallowell Classical and Scientific Academy: purposes are to promote “piety, and virtue,” and to provide instruction “in such languages and in such of the liberal arts and sciences” as the trustees prescribe… by Mary Grow [1976 words]
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Hallowell academies
HALLOWELL HISTORY — Remaining to be described are numerous other 19th-century public and private schools in central Kennebec Valley towns. A few are well documented; for most, local histories offer only tantalizing glimpses… by Mary Grow [1608 words]
Webber’s Pond
Webber’s Pond is a comic drawn by an anonymous central Maine resident (click thumbnail to enlarge)…
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2021-’22 Real Estate Tax Due Dates
2021-2022 Real Estate tax due dates for the following towns: CHINA, FAIRFIELD, PALERMO, SIDNEY, VASSALBORO, WATERVILLE, WINDSOR and WINSLOW…
Obituaries
SIDNEY — Robert W Cunningham, 89, passed away on Wednesday, September 29, 2021, comfortably at home. He was born in Windsor, on May 23, 1932, to Montie and Marguerite (Rainey) Cunningham… and remembering 9 others.
Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Friday, November 5, 2021
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: Greg Wood, Rome
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | One day last week, as we were backing out of our driveway, I noticed something hanging from the front door knob. I stopped, and my wife jumped out to see what it was. What else but a political notice to vote “No” on Question 1. That is not the subject of this column. What is that on her way back to the car, at the base of a pine tree, she picked up a dead monarch butterfly. What had caused its demise?…
GROWING YOUR BUSINESS
by Dan Beaulieu | Who you gonna call? The name of your company is one of the most important aspects of building your business. The scary thing is that you have to have a name to even start a business. So, you have to come up with the right name even before you leave the proverbial parking lot to start your business ownership journey…
I’M JUST CURIOUS
by Debbie Walker | Sometimes I never know where or when one curiosity just moves right into another one. A couple of weeks ago I was writing about people being encouraged to speak out about their interesting experiences in life. I commented that so many people were brought up to “not toot their own horn” or “brag”…
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | The Beast That Walks Like Man is a 1955 history of the grizzly bear by author, naturalist and explorer Harold McCracken (1894-1983). He writes, “I have never lost that deep fascination which Old Ephraim inspires, and in the matter of personal experiences with these marvelous creatures, out in their natural haunts, I have been considerably more fortunate than most men”…
FINANCIAL FOCUS
by Sasha Fitzpatrick | October is National Retirement Security Month. But what does retirement security mean to you? And how can you work toward achieving it? Here are some suggestions…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
(NAPSI) | Scientists have searched for decades without success for ways to repair the devastating damage caused by neurodegenerative diseases, but there are now new compounds in clinical development that offer hope…