Issue for September 21, 2023
Eagle Scout completes LifeFlight helipad
Kaleb Brown, the Senior Patrol Leader of Palermo Boy Scout Troop #222, recently finished his Eagle Scout project by installing a helicopter pad for LifeFlight. This is the only permanent, concrete pad between Augusta, Waterville and Belfast. This is a multi-community asset as the First Responders of Palermo, China, Somerville, and Liberty will have access to the pad…
Town News
Town to go back to stickers at transfer station; scuttle RFID
CHINA – After another discussion of how to limit the number of unauthorized people trying to use the China transfer station, transfer station committee members voted unanimously at their Sept. 12 meeting to recommend that the town go back to a sticker system…
Board meets new member, codes officer
CHINA – China Planning Board members met briefly Sept. 12, mostly to get acquainted with a new member and China’s new codes enforcement officer…
Select board deals with variety of issues
WINDSOR – At their August 29 meeting, the Windsor Select Board dealt with a variety of issues, and heard from some department heads…
LETTERS: Here it Comes
from Chris Wright (Belfast) – Tired of pricey TV ads trying to mislead us about the clear benefits of Pine Tree Power? We haven’t seen anything yet. We complain a lot about big money controlling our lives. The question is, are we going to do anything about it when we have the chance?…
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…
Skowhegan scout given award for patch design
SKOWHEGAN – Taylor Hayden, of Skowhegan, is a Star Scout in Troop #485. He is 15 years old and attends Skowhegan Area High School. On Wednesday, September 13, Taylor stood before Scouting leaders from all over Kennebec Valley District to receive a plaque for his contributions to Scouting by designing the patch for the Spring Camporee which was held in May, at Camp Bomazeen, in Belgrade…
PHOTO: Boys of summer
CHINA – On behalf of the China Region Lakes Alliance, kudos for the great work done by the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) during the summer of 2023…
PHOTO: Sheepscot Lake Courtesy Boat Inspectors
PALERMO –Sheepscot Lake’s Courtesy Boat Inspection (CBI) program was very successful again this year…
Chandler Dugal inducted into honor society of Phi Kappa Phi
SIDNEY – Chandler Dugal, of Sidney, was recently initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society. Dugal was initiated at Pennsylvania State University…
Local residents earn award from WGU
CENTRAL ME – The following local residents have earned an Award of Excellence at Western Governors University, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Whitney Poplawski, of Augusta, has earned an Award of Excellence at Western Governors University Leavitt School of Health. Brenda Ryder, of Liberty, has earned an Award of Excellence at Western Governors University College of Business…
Local student named to UAF chancellor’s list
WHITEFIELD – Jeff Beyea, of Whitefield, has been named to the fall 2022 chancellor’s list at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, in Fairbanks, Alaska…
Bella Wallingford named to the dean’s list at Tufts University
OAKLAND – Bella Wallingford, of Oakland, class of 2026, was named to the dean’s list at Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts, for the fall 2022 semester…
Local happenings
EVENTS: 5th Annual Nosh & Knock Off set
WATERVILLE – The Waterville Public Library is planning to get away with criminal mischief again this October as it hosts Nosh & Knock Off: An Interactive Mystery Event – an evening of mystery and magic at the Waterville Public Library, on Saturday, October 28, 2023! This 5th annual fundraiser will be a live-acted, not-to-be-missed once-in-a-lifetime event!…
EVENTS: Messaloskee girls to host girls youth soccer mentoring day
OAKLAND – Messalonskee High School girls soccer and the ShineOnCass Foundation will host its 8th annual girls youth soccer mentoring day “ShineOn Saturday” September 23, from noon to 2 p.m., on the Messalonskee High School Turf Field, in Oakland. The event is held to honor former Messalonskee soccer player and youth mentor Cassidy Charette, who died in a hayride accident October 11, 2014…
EVENTS: KVCOG schedules household hazardous waste pickup dates
KENNEBEC VALLEY — The Kennebec Valley Council of Governments, based in Fairfield, plans to host Household Hazardous Waste Collection Days in October in Kennebec and Somerset counties…
EVENTS: Maine Pond Hockey Classic fundraiser actively seeking business sponsors and participating teams
WATERVILLE – The popular Maine Pond Hockey Classic – a fun-filled throw-back experience that attracts thousands of fans and participants each year – will be held Saturday, February 9, through Monday, February 11, 2024, at the scenic Snow Pond Center for the Arts, in Sidney 8 Goldenrod Lane. The event is a fundraiser for the Alfond Youth & Community Center – a unique partnership of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Waterville…
EVENTS: Lincoln County Dems to hold harvest dinner
JEFFERSON — The Lincoln County Democratic Committee (LCDC) will host its annual Harvest Dinner from 4 to 6 p.m., on Sunday, October 1, at Jefferson’s Le Barn event center, the restored gambrel-roofed barn, at 132 Waldoboro Rd. The event includes a menu of locally sourced stews and soups, and local elected officials will deliver updates on legislative initiatives…
EVENTS: Share the Road set for October 1
WINDSOR — The sixth annual Share the Road with Carol memorial bike ride will take place on Sunday, October 1. Share the Road with Carol is an all ages commemorative bike ride that takes place in Windsor and Whitefield, which has 12-mile and 27-mile options, starts and ends at the Windsor Town Office…
Good Will-Hinckley’s L.C. Bates Natural History Museum to offer free admission
HINCKLEY – Good Will-Hinckley’s L.C. Bates Natural History Museum is pleased to announce free admission on Saturday, September 30, 2023, thanks to the generosity of Skowhegan Savings Bank…
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Vassalboro Grab ‘n’ Go
VASSALBORO — Due to the storm experienced on Sept. 16, the Grab ‘n’ Go Suppah has been rescheduled to Saturday, September 23, from 4:30 – 6 p.m., 614 Main St., North Vassalboro. They are winding down for the season with only two more Grab ‘n’ Go Suppahs to go for 2023. They include baked beans, hot dog, coleslaw, chop suey, roll and a seasonal dessert for $9.00. Can’t beat it! Take one home and enjoy. They are convenient and delicious… and many other local events!
Obituaries
SOUTH CHINA – Michael A. Higgins, 65, of South China, passed away peacefully at Glenridge Comfort Care, in Augusta, on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, following a brief but valiant battle with cancer. Mike was born towards the end of May 1958, at Thayer Hospital, in Waterville, to Seth and Constance Higgins, of Columbia Falls and Windsor, respectively… and remembering 12 others.
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Agriculture – Part 3 (new)
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
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Agriculture – Part 1
KV HISTORY — Families who settled the central Kennebec Valley in the 1700s were, of necessity, farmers: one of the first actions was to clear enough land to raise food crops, for both people and livestock. Alice Hammond wrote in her history of Sidney, “In the late 18th century, almost every Sidney home would have been a self-sufficient farm, with oxen, dairy cows, sheep, chickens, and steadily expanding fields that provided food for people and livestock…” by Mary Grow
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Music in the Kennebec Valley – Part 5
KV HISTORY — In the course of reading about the history of music in the central Kennebec Valley, specifically George Thornton Edwards’ 1928 Music and Musicians of Maine, your writer came across two intertwined musical families who lived in Hallowell, before and after Augusta became a separate town in 1897… 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 | Every so often I get emails from people who have read my columns and contribute their own experiences. This one involved the sighting of a Mountain Lion. Now, let us not forget that depending on with whom you speak, mountain lions either do, or, do not exist in Maine. Here is the email I received recently. It came from Brian and Colby Prescott, of Windham…
VETERANS CORNER
by Gary Kennedy | Well, another week has passed and with it brings both good and bad news. For those of you who frequent the VA. The building we have all been waiting for these past few years is finally under way, or so it seems. Pipes have been layed and footings have been poured…
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | The 36th President Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908-1973) was, for good and bad, one formidable leader during his five years at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue…
THE BEST VIEW
by Norma Best Boucher | We ran down the roadway to the Old Orchard Beach Ball Park. We were a little late because of the traffic, but that didn’t make any difference. His golden voice filled the air, and each perfect note sent a shiver through me…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
(NAPSI) — If any of the approximately 74 million schoolchildren in the U.S. is someone you care about, here’s something you may want to look into: According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), visual health can have a great influence on students’ academic performance. Visual disorders, the NIH says, are one of the best predictors of educational success…