Issue for October 24, 2024
Madison Legion Auxiliary gathers school supplies
Over the years, the American Legion Auxiliary Tardiff-Belaner, Unit #39, Madison, has supported community programs such as children and youth. In recent years the organization has sponsored a school supplies collection which included backpacks, pens, pencils, markers, notebooks, binders, crayons, colored pencils, water bottles, hand sanitizer, etc. With the generosity of cash donations and school supplies from the community and members, the American Legion Auxiliary of Madison was able to donate $450 worth of school supplies to 6 schools in the SAD #59 Madison and RSU#74 Anson area!… by Chuck Mahaleris
CAMPAIGN 2024
CAMPAIGN 2024: Candidates address issues concerning Maine voters (Part 1)
CENTRAL ME – The following are the responses candidates provided to us based on a questionnaire we sent out. (We received so many responses, they couldn’t all be included in a single issue of the paper. This is part one of those responses. Please view part 2 in this issue)…
CAMPAIGN 2024: Candidates address issues concerning Maine voters (Part 2)
CENTRAL ME – This is the second part of the responses candidates provided to us based on a questionnaire we sent out…
CAMPAIGN 2024: Candidates address issues concerning Maine voters (Part 3) (new)
CENTRAL ME – This is the third part of the responses candidates provided to us based on a questionnaire we sent out…
Town News
Five vie for three select board seats: five questions on Nov. 5 ballot
CHINA – China voters have a two-sided local ballot on Nov. 5, local elections on one side and five referendum questions on the other…
Work begins on updating town’s subdivision ordinance
CHINA – China Planning Board members and Codes Officer Nicholas French began work on updating the town’s subdivision ordinance, which is Chapter 3 of the Land Development Code, at their Oct. 8 meeting…
Weeks Mills residents seek reduced speed limits
CHINA – Weeks Mills residents Marilyn Reed, Dwaine Drummond and Kyle Pierce attended the Oct. 21 China select board meeting to ask board members to try to get the speed limit reduced through their village in southeastern China…
Select board hears second presentation on TownCloud system
VASSALBORO – Vassalboro select board members heard a second presentation on the TownCloud company’s system for municipal computer functions at their Oct. 24 meeting…
Local referendum questions well publicized
VASSALBORO – Vassalboro’s three local referendum questions for Nov. 5 have been well publicized, thanks to information from select board members and Town Manager Aaron Miller on the town website and elsewhere…
Traffic and construction updates in Augusta, Waterville
CENTRAL ME – The Maine Department of Transportation project to replace the bridge that carries Western Avenue (Route 202) over I-95 in Augusta is going to begin having significant traffic impacts later this month…
Vassalboro Legion collecting items for Togus veterans
VASSALBORO – During the holiday season for the last three years, members of American Legion Post #126, Vassalboro, gathered personal care products, puzzle books, and snacks for veterans at Togus Veterans Home, in Augusta. With the support of various organizations and individuals this has been an amazing display of generosity and thanks to our veterans…
The Town Line welcomes new columnist Virginia Jones
PALERMO – Virginia Jones and her husband live on a six-acre farm, on Western Ridge, in Palermo…
OPINIONS: Make sure your vote counts on Nov. 5
from André Chassé (AARP Maine Volunteer State President) — One of the core American freedoms is the right to cast a ballot on election day, whether you’re voting for your local school board or having your say on who will run our country for the next four years…
Local happenings
EVENTS: Socktober at China Middle School
CHINA — This month the JMG China Middle School program is collecting unused socks for their annual Socktober initiative to support those in need of clean, warm, and cozy socks. Socktober is a month-long community outreach collaboration with “Socks For Remy” and JMG to spread kindness to all through socks…
EVENTS: Fall Fest in Vassalboro
VASSALBORO – A “Fall Fest” will be held at Vassalboro United Methodist Church (VUMC), on Saturday, October 26, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., when crafts and homemade pumpkin and apple baked goods will be for sale. During the same hours, a variety of “To Go” hot soups, chili and mulled cider will be available to take home…
EVENTS: Veterans urged to take part in Veterans Day parade
WATERVILLE/WINSLOW — All veterans and community members are invited to participate in the Waterville Veterans Day parade on Monday, November 11, 2024. Lineup begins at 10 a.m., at The Elm, 21 College Ave. Waterville. A ceremony will be held at Castonguay Square, on Main St., at 11 a.m…
EVENTS: Local vets invited to march in Veterans day parade
CENTRAL ME – All veterans and community members are invited to participate in the Waterville Veterans Day parade on Monday, November 11, 2024. Lineup begins at 10 a.m., at The Elm, 21 College Ave. Waterville. A ceremony will be held at Castonguay Square, on Main St., at 11 a.m. It will be followed by lunch at MacCrillis-Rousseau Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #8835, on Veterans Drive, in Winslow.
TEAM PHOTO: Messalonskee youth football grades 3 and 4
OAKLAND – Team photo by Missy Brown, Central Maine Photography.
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: “Take your stinking paws off me you damned dirty ape!” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is November 7, 2024.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Post #163 to host veterans dinner
PALERMO – Malcolm Glidden American Legion Post #163, 33 Veterans Way, in Palermo, is having a Veterans Meatloaf Dinner, on Sunday, October 27, from 5 – 6:30 p.m… and many other local events!
Obituaries
FAIRFIELD – Ellen (Siket) Rice, 71, passed away peacefully on Monday, October 7, 2024, at MaineGeneral Long Term Care-Glenridge, Augusta. She was born August 28, 1953, the daughter of Andrew and Lois (Coombs) Siket…
Around the Kennebec Valley: Augusta education – Part 2 (new)
AUGUSTA HISTORY — By 1820, James North wrote in his 1870 history of Augusta, the town was again thriving after the economic downturn caused by the War of 1812… by Mary Grow
Around the Kennebec Valley: Augusta education – Part 1
MAINE HISTORY — The town – now city – of Augusta was created on Feb. 20, 1797, when the Massachusetts legislature, responding to a local petition, divided the town of Hallowell… by Mary Grow
Around the Kennebec Valley: Education in 18th & 19th centuries, Part III
MAINE HISTORY — The local responsibility for public education made it one of the first topics for voters in each newly-organized 18th and 19th century Maine town. Frequently, historians wrote, it was not easy for people in a low-cash economy to raise money to pay a teacher, provide instructional materials and maintain a building… by Mary Grow
Around the Kennebec Valley: Education in 18th & 19th centuries, Part II
MAINE HISTORY — Massachusetts residents who moved to Maine brought with them the Massachusetts enthusiasm for education, as noted last week. Alma Pierce Robbins, in her 1971 Vassalboro history, quoted from a report coming, ironically, from an October 1785 Portland convention called to discuss separating Maine from Massachusetts… by Mary Grow
Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Wednesday, November 14, 2024
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: Carrie McGrath, So. China
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | Sometime between 5 and 5:30 a.m., a few weeks ago, I was unceremoniously reminded the season on Canada geese had begun in Maine. It’s rather startling when you’re awakened from a sound sleep with the clapping of gun fire. For a second, I thought I was back in Vietnam. There was either a lot of hunters, or they were bad shots…
FARMGIRL AT HEART
by Virginia Jones | Dear Readers, “The greatest fine art of the future will be the making of a comfortable living from a small piece of land.” – Abraham Lincoln….
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | In the Introduction to her 1994 memoir, Arthur Fiedler: Papa, the Pops, and Me, the late Johanna Fiedler (1944-2011) writes the following about being in New York City and watching the live CBS TV presentation of her father conducting the Boston Pops at the 1976 Bicentennial 4th of July concert at the Charles River Esplanade Shell…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
HEALTH | In 2022, Lisa Reed was eagerly anticipating her 70th birthday. She had plans to travel to Italy and was looking forward to spending more quality time with her grandchildren…