Week of April 9, 2020
Alfond Youth & Community Center cranks out meals for the needy
In response to the necessary closures and call for self-isolation, the Alfond Youth & Community Center, in Waterville, is getting creative in finding ways to continue serving community members now unable to walk through their doors on a daily basis.
As schools began to close their doors on Monday, March 16, the AYCC was forced to follow suit. To the question: What about all the evening meals served to 250 at risk youth populating our programs, Ken Walsh, CEO rallied with a far reaching solution… by Mark Huard
Chefs volunteer time and resources to feed the young
The Alfond Youth Community Center reached out to Chef Matt Crate, Culinary Arts Instructor of the Somerset Career & Tech Center to see if he had any ideas on how he or anyone else could assist our food needs for our After School Backpack Program. Without hesitation, Chef Crate offered to bake 200 loaves of bread!
With his connection, Desiree Sirois and Jay Coelho, owners of GRUB on College Avenue, in Waterville, jumped on board and offered to pay for all the ingredients to bake the bread!… by Mark Huard
Local Coronavirus Updates
China Town Office COVID-19 Update (April 2, 2020)
CHINA — In light of the Governor’s latest order, I am informing you of actions we are taking to comply. I have discussed this with our department heads first thing this morning, coordinated with the Chairman of the Select Board, then informed the entire staff via a Zoom meeting… from Dennis Heath, Town Manager
Vassalboro Town Office COVID-19 Update (April 2, 2020)
VASSALBORO — Effective, Thursday, April 2, 2020 and due to Governor Mills’ recent Stay at Home Order, the Vassalboro Town Office will be closed and unmanned through the end of April. Every few days, staff will monitor messages on the Town Office answering machine and return calls as needed. Call the town office at 872-2826 with questions…
China Food Pantry to implement new procedures for safety
CHINA — When you arrive, please form a line on the shoulder of the road starting at the rock wall and extending back toward The Landing. It is important that you stay in your car to avoid contact with others…
New procedures at Vassalboro Food Pantry
VASSALBORO — The Vassalboro Food Pantry will remain open on Thursdays with the following changes to procedures. These procedures will remain in effect until further notice…
Diocese of Portland announces directives for Holy Week observances
CENTRAL ME — The Diocese of Portland has informed Maine parishes of the protocols that will be in place for the celebration of the liturgies of Holy Week and Easter…
Area churches prepare for virtual services on Good Friday and Easter Sunday
CENTRAL ME — Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, April 5, and continues through Easter Sunday, April 12. Here, you will find a list of livestreamed Masses and liturgies at local parishes during Holy Week…
Your Local News
Selectmen approve several projects during virtual meeting
VASSALBORO — Demonstrating their increasing comfort with virtual meetings, Vassalboro selectmen resolved several issues and consulted with their consultant the evening of April 2…
Uncertainties persist as selectmen, budget committee prepare budget
VASSALBORO — In a normal year, Vassalboro selectmen and Budget Committee members get increasingly reliable figures as they move through the municipal budget process, from initial requests in January to definite figures in April…
Agricultural producers eligible for SBA paycheck protection program
CENTRAL ME — The Department of Treasury and Small Business Administration (SBA) has released an interim final rule on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Agricultural producers are eligible to participate in the program and should reach out to their bankers and/or agricultural lenders to apply…
Maine Department of Labor announces new alphabet system for unemployment claims
CENTRAL ME — After receiving an unprecedented number of unemployment claims due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Maine Department of Labor (MDOL) announced a new alphabetical-by-last-name call-in schedule for Maine people filing for unemployment benefits…
Please help support your local restaurants!
During these unusual times, local restaurants are closed for dine-in services. However, many of them are open, offering take-out, drive-up or delivery services. PURCHASING ONE MEAL A WEEK FROM YOUR FAVORITE RESTAURANT WILL HELP IN THEIR BEING ABLE TO SURVIVE DURING THIS CRISIS!
Take our weekly survey!
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Jack Sylvester is back home!
CHINA — Firefighters, law enforcement and rescue personnel from China and nearby towns paraded their vehicles down Main Street in China Village Sunday, April 5, in honor of retired firefighter, fire chief and China General Store owner Jack Sylvester, home after five months at the Woodlands Center, in Waterville…
Sprucing up Fairfield’s temporary Police Department
FAIRFIELD — Seven-year-old Keira Knight, of Fairfield, displays the poster she created in response to the Fairfield Police Department COVID-19 art challenge, as part of her homeschool art class, to help decorate the walls of the Fairfield Police Department temporary offices…
Someday we’ll look back…
by Melissa Martin — The future will find us looking back on the pandemic of 2020. Articles in newspapers will be archived. Children will grow up with school cancelation tales. Each individual will have a similar, yet a distinctive story about the coronavirus. The days of COVID-19 will be transcribed in history books…
Dealing with difficult times
WATERVILLE — Max Poulin, 8, of Waterville, made this special letter during the last week of March, honoring the hospital workers at MaineGeneral Medical Center, Thayer Unit, in Waterville…
Conservation district plant sale canceled
ROCKPORT — The Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District’s Board of Supervisors made the difficult decision to cancel our Spring Plant Sale, scheduled for May 2 and 3, 2020, at Union Fairgrounds…
Ezhaya scholarship deadline announced by Chamber
CENTRAL ME — Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce is encouraging all eligible students to apply for its Joseph B. Ezhaya Scholarship. This $750.00 scholarship is awarded annually for all four years to a recipient upon successful completion of his/her first semester of college with a 2.0 GPA or better. Criteria for application are…
Maine French Heritage Language program to hold fundraiser
CENTRAL ME — The Maine French Heritage Language Program (MFHLP) sixth annual Springtime in Paris fundraising soirée is scheduled for Saturday, May 9, at Le Club Calumet, in Augusta, from 5 – 9:30 p.m…
Celebrating Maine history
Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Waterville – Sidney
CENTRAL ME — As previously described, what is now the Town of Sidney, on the west bank of the Kennebec River north of Augusta, began as the western half of Vassalborough, now a separate town on the east bank of the river… [1553 words] by Mary Grow
The Kennebec Indian tribe
CENTRAL ME — The Kennebec tribe, also known as Norridgewock and Kennebis, was an early Abenaki band who lived in the Kennebec Valley of Maine. Their name comes from the Kennebec River, which was named after the bay it emptied into — kinipek meaning “bay” in the Abenaki language… [385 words]
School News
Schutte makes the deans’ list at Azusa Pacific University
SIDNEY — Sidney resident Anna Schutte made the academic deans’ list at Azusa Pacific University, in Azusa, California. An English major, Schutte is honored for a fall semester 2019 academic standing of a 3.5 or better grade-point average…
Erskine Academy second trimester honor roll
CHINA — List of students at Erskine Academy who made the honor roll for the second trimester for the 2019-20 school year…
Local Town Meetings Schedule 2020
Local town meetings schedule for 2020 for Albion, China, Fairfield, Vassalboro and Solon. To add your town to this list, email us at townline@townline.org…
Obituaries
OAKLAND – Joyce Bushey, 84, of Oakland, passed away on Wednesday, April 1, 2020, at Woodlands Memory Care, of Lewiston. She was born March 25, 1936, daughter of Percy and Lena (Joseph) Fotter… and remembering 10 others.
Common Ground – Round 15: Win a $10 gift certificate!
DEADLINE: Friday, April 10, 2020
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: Paige Richardson, of So. China.
Town Line Original Columnists
SCORES & OUTDOORS
by Roland D. Hallee | I think this week we will make a diversion from the usual. To paraphrase an old adage, “Even though our ancestors came across on different ships, we are all in the same boat, now.” I don’t mean to beat a dead horse, but I will present my take on observations I have made since the outbreak of the pandemic…
THE FRUGAL MAINER
by Shell Rowe | Were you aware of the fact that approximately 35,000 of Maine’s children are impoverished? A recent Kids Count survey taken in 2018 revealed that up to 14 percent of Maine’s youngest are living in poverty…
GROWING YOUR BUSINESS
by Dan Beaulieu | In business, as in life, things go wrong. It can’t be helped; we are all human, and we all make mistakes. No matter how good we are, no matter how hard we try to be careful, every so often something will go wrong. The important thing is how we recover. The trick is to “Recover Boldly”…
REVIEW POTPOURRI
by Peter Cates | Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921) was displaying perfect pitch before he was three years old and would be a child prodigy on the piano by age five; however, his mother sensibly decided he was too young for any exposure to the rigors of public acclaim through an official debut…
I’M JUST CURIOUS
by Debbie Walker | I saw a small article about words that are fun to say, according to the writers in the January issue of “First.” On the list are words like indubitably, kumquat, brouhaha, flabbergasted, discombobulated, and flummoxed. I did not think some of them would be in the dictionary. Guess again!…
SOLON & BEYOND
by Marilyn Rogers-Bull | Today as I sit here at my computer, I’m thinking about the walk I took this afternoon; it brings back many happy days in the past. As many of you know who have been reading this column back in the good old days about a walking group I started…
FOR YOUR HEALTH
(NAPSI) — If you’re among the increasing number of Americans keen on natural solutions to boost immunity these days, you may be glad to know the answer may be right in your refrigerator—or should be…