Issue for October 5, 2023
Waterville woman organizes inaugural Maine Book Festival
More than 20 vendors from all over Maine filled the Stevens Commons lawn, in Hallowell, on Sunday, October 1, for the first Maine Book Festival. Well over 100 attendees circulated among the stalls of local authors, crafters, and book sellers throughout the day-long event in the warm autumn sunshine. Besides the vendors, the event featured book and poetry readings, presentations from varied literary organizations and live music… by Jonathan Strieff
Vassalboro scouts welcome home Honor Flight veterans
Scouts from Vassalboro and the Winthrop area were on hand to welcome home the 24 veterans when they returned home after visiting Washington, D.C. as part of Honor Flight’s third “mission” of 2023… by Chuck Mahaleris
Town News
Community solar garden topic for China planners
CHINA – The topic at the Sept. 26 China planning board meeting was the proposed community solar garden on the west side of the section of Parmenter Hill Road locally called Moe’s Mountain…
Research sessions effort to collect data on PFAS
CENTRAL ME – Doctors from Redington-Fairview General Hospital, in Skowhegan, and the MaineHealth Institute for Research, in Portland, hosted six research session over three weeks in Waterville and Thorndike in an effort to collect data regarding PFAS exposure in central Maine… by Jonathan Strieff
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: “If you build it, he will come.” Email us at townline@townline.org with subject “Name that film!” Deadline for submission is October 5, 2023…
Webber’s Pond
Webber’s Pond is a comic drawn by an anonymous central Maine resident (click thumbnail to enlarge)…
Scouts hold uniform distribution day
WATERVILLE – Dozens of youth from across central Maine came to the Goodwill Store, in Waterville, on September 27, for the Scout Uniform Bank. The annual event is a way to assist families during these difficult financial times. Scouts who attended the event left with a gently-used uniform shirt, pants, neckerchief, hat and even patches… by Chuck Mahaleris
Update: Eagle Scout project is a LifeFlight helipad
PALERMO – The ribbon cutting ceremony held on September 23, 2023, in Palermo, was for a lifesaving resource added into the Recreational Field, on the Turner Ridge Rd. Family, friends, fellow scouts, first responders and law enforcement officers from Palermo and neighboring towns were present to celebrate this vital resource… by Roberta Barnes
HealthReach welcomes family nurse practitioner
BELGRADE – This September, staff at Belgrade Regional Health Center are happy to welcome Kaylee Wolfe, Family Nurse Practitioner, to the team…
Better Business Bureau: Online shopping scams
CENTRAL ME – Recently, BBB Scam Tracker has received multiple reports of an online shopping scam on TikTok. It’s a sneaky one! It starts with a disgruntled employee supposedly seeking revenge and ends with victims ordering hundreds of dollars in phony merchandise…
Timmins joins CMGC staff
CENTRAL ME – The Central Maine Growth Council (CMGC), a public-private collaborative economic development partnership, is pleased to announce the appointment of Nicole Timmins as Grant and Finance Manager. Nicole is responsible for overseeing CMGC’s granting efforts, which include optimizing the grant administration process, preparing financial reports, and ensuring compliance with grant regulations…
PHOTO: Messalonskee homecoming
FAIRFIELD – The Messalonskee High School homecoming parade was held on September 25. Messalonskee Youth Football players, from left to right, Dawson Dube, Sawyer Bearce and Andrew Proctor riding in the parade. (Photo by Galen Neal, Central Maine Photography)…
PHOTO: Spirit Squad in Waterville
WATERVILLE – Team photo by by Missy Brown, Central Maine Photography…
Ella Conway earns dean’s list honors for Spring 2023 semester
SKOWHEGAN – Ella Conway, of Skowhegan, is majoring in media arts production and is a member of Emerson College’s Class of 2026, in Boston, Massachusetts…
Griffin Brown welcomed into the Honors College at the College of Charleston
OAKLAND – Griffin Brown, of Oakland, will attend the Honors College at the College of Charleston, in Charleston, South Carolina, starting this fall…
Logan McDonald is enrolled at Lehigh University
BINGHAM – Lehigh University, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, welcomes the Class of 2027, which includes Logan McDonald, of Bingham…
Local happenings
EVENTS: Carrabec Homecoming
No. ANSON – Carrabec High School is planning a big homecoming this year starting on October 10, with classes having competitions throughout the week. On Friday, October 13, they will be having a pep rally and parade with homecoming games under the lights. The middle school will start with a soccer game at 4 p.m., and then the high school games begin at 5:30 p.m…
EVENTS: Free offerings at Muskie Community Center in Waterville
WATERVILLE – Free health services being offered at Muskie Center in Waterville…
EVENTS: One night only! The Poe experience
AUGUSTA – Begin your Halloween season with a free night out when Recycled Shakespeare Company presents The Poe Experience. One night of chilling tales and Gothic poetry by Edgar Allan Poe will be brought to life in the darkness, surrounding the audience with sights and sounds in this unique Reader’s Theater…
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: 11th Annual Craft Fair at Palermo Legion
PALERMO — The American Legion and Auxiliary Post #163, in Palermo, will be holding its 11th Annual Craft Fair, on Saturday, October 28, from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Along with many great local crafters there will be a bake sale, raffle in Memory of Pauline York to send students to Dirigo State, and they adopt six veterans for Christmas, door prizes, and the Legion will be doing a hot dog meal for lunch… and many other local events!
Obituaries
PALERMO – Jack Steve Giguere, 77, of Palermo, passed away on Wednesday, September 13, 2023. Jack was born in Oberlin, Ohio on October 21, 1945, to Bernard and Evelyn (Greszler) Giguere… and remembering 9 others.
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Agriculture – Part 5 (new)
KV HISTORY — Some of the central Kennebec Valley agricultural pioneers chose to breed racehorses, specifically trotters, instead of, or in addition to, the cattle discussed last week. For example, Kingsbury mentioned in the chapter on Waterville in his Kennebec County history that George Eaton Shores, of Waterville, who bred Hereford cattle, “also handled some horses, selling in 1879 the race horse Somerset Knox for $2,700″… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Agriculture – Part 4
KV HISTORY — Continuing with the agricultural theme, this article will move readers north on the west bank of the Kennebec River from Sidney to Waterville and will focus on 19th-century cattle breeders… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Agriculture – Part 3
KV HISTORY — This subseries began last week to talk about some of the central Kennebec Valley’s agricultural pioneers whom Samuel Boardman named in his chapter on agriculture in Henry Kingsbury’s Kennebec County history… by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Agriculture – Part 2
KV HISTORY — Last week’s essay was about early farming in the central Kennebec Valley, as reported in local histories, with emphasis on Samuel Boardman’s chapter on agriculture in Henry Kingsbury’s Kennebec County history. This week’s work describes one important farming family and detours to talk about Boardman and another historian who contributed to Kingsbury’s opus… by Mary Grow
Common Ground: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Wednesday, October 12, 2023
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: Mary Jane Vigue, Winslow
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | I know I’ve written about gray squirrels in the past, but, I have to tell you about the two in particular that have made their home in my backyard. High in a tree, overlooking the garage, sits a large squirrels’ nest where these two reside. You rarely see them together, but when you do, it’s a comedy act rivaled by none…
THE BEST VIEW
by Norma Best Boucher | As I ask myself when this journey all began, I must start with my mother in the ‘60s when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had been an older mother when I was born, so I had the advantages of having a mother who was secure with herself…
VETERANS CORNER
by Gary Kennedy | There is a lot of interest on the upcoming VA pay increases, veteran’s percentage of increase and Special Monthly Compensation (SMC). I will share with you what I know and perhaps extrapolate some to use as filler. However, I should be very close. COLA is Cost of Living Increase…
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | Roy Rogers (1911-1998) and Bob Nolan (1908-1980) were the two most recognizable founding members of the Sons of the Pioneers, a vocal group that would have immense success through radio, TV, film, records and live appearances…
I’M JUST CURIOUS
by Debbie Walker | I love getting e-mails from people like Joey Green. He has quite a few books about the different hacks (different uses for ordinary things.) Look him up online, his books are entertainment and a great deal of useful information. Today I am passing on information he collected about Jello. I loved it, the uses, not the Jello!..
FOR YOUR HEALTH
(NAPSI) — Here’s news to help you breathe easier: Although respiratory virus season is upon us, you can protect yourself and your loved ones. How? Make sure you’re up to date on all of your vaccinations. Following vaccination, it takes time for your body to build protection against the flu, COVID-19 and RSV, so it’s recommended that you get the vaccines you’re eligible for as soon as possible to support your health and the health of your community…