Week of August 27, 2020

Celebrating 32 years of local news

Area scouts receive recognition for patch design

New design to celebrate 75 years of Camp Bomazeen

Scouts Dalton Curtis, of Skowhegan Troop #485, and Zachary LeHay, of Sidney Troop #401, both received $75 prizes from the Bomazeen Old Timers on August 12 during a special presentation at Camp Bomazeen. The Scouts had drawn the two winning patch designs during the camp’s 75th anniversary season celebration…. Submitted by Chuck Mahaleris

Your Local News

Selectmen set tax rate at 14.9 mils for 2020-21

CHINA — At their Aug. 24 special meeting, China selectmen, in their capacity as assessors, set the 2020-21 tax rate at 14.9 mils, or $14.90 for each $1,000 of valuation. Last year’s rate was 16.3 mils, or $16.30 for each $1,000 of valuation…

Selectmen make progress on several issues, make no decisions

VASSALBORO — Vassalboro selectmen made progress on several issues at their Aug. 20 meeting, although the only absolutely final decision they made was to appoint Charlie Plourde as a recreation committee member…

School board approves opening plan

VASSALBORO — At their Aug. 18 meeting, Vassalboro School Board members approved the reopening plan developed by staff over the summer, in consultation with many students’ families, other state educators and state officials. Board members voted with the understanding the plan is subject to change as local circumstances or state recommendations change…

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B2B canceled for 2020

WATERVILLE — Due to the closing of the Colby campus through the end of the year and the large gathering restrictions currently in place, it became necessary for the Mid-Maine Chamber to postpone the Business to Business Showcase to 2021…

Skowhegan tailgate gathering rescheduled

SKOWHEGAN — The Skowhegan High School Class of 1963 Tail Gate Gathering is being canceled due to rain on Saturday, August 29. The event will be held on Saturday, September 19, 2020 at noon on Hilton Hill…

Belfast Senior College fall session begins Sept. 2020

BELFAST — Value awaits you beginning next month at the virtual zoom classes offered by the Belfast Senior College. Literature, history, technology, wellness, language courses among others commence in September…

Golf Fore Kids’ Sake set for Belgrade Lakes and Rockport

BELGRADE — Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine (BBBSMM) invites local businesses, organizations and individuals to sign up to Golf Fore Kids’ Sake at two of Maine’s top golf courses, located in Belgrade Lakes and in Rockport, to support local youth mentoring…

Anderson Buck earns scouting second class rank

PITTSFIELD — Anderson Buck, of Pittsfield, passed his review and earned his Second Class Rank with Boy Scout Troop #63, in Newport. Some of the requirements were two hours community service, being able to start a fire by himself, staying physically fit for 30 days and coming up with a plan to earn money in order to buy something he wanted… by Mark Huard

Volunteers needed to help set up outdoor classrooms in the China Schools Forest

CHINA — Anita Smith, Director of the China Schools Forest, has been preparing the grounds for outdoor learning experiences in time for the beginning to the 2020-21 to year. The China School Forest provides ample space for students to socially distance in a calm, safe atmosphere, while learning. Volunteers have been essential…

Northern Light named to best maternity care list

WATERVILLE — Northern Light Inland Hospital has been named to Newsweek’s 2020 list of Best Maternity Care Hospitals. The distinction recognizes facilities that have excelled in providing care to mothers, newborns and their families, as verified by the 2019 Leapfrog Hospital Survey…

Youth football in Waterville

WATERVILLE — The season begins next month (photos by Central Maine Photography)…

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Fires were common in 19th century (New)

MAINE HISTORY — Readers might remember that this historical series started at the end of March in reaction to the pandemic, to divert readers’ minds and fill a page in the newspaper. What plan there was at the time included stories about disasters, not only plague and pestilence but fires, floods, wars and other cheerful topics. Given California’s situation, this week seemed appropriate for a story on fires in some of our Kennebec Valley towns…  [1911 words] by Mary Grow

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Notable citizens – James G. Blaine

MAINE HISTORY — James Gillespie Blaine was born Jan. 31, 1830, in West Brownsville, Pennsylvania. The town is on the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh; Interstate 40 now runs through it. The current google map shows an area called Blainsburg between the river and the interstate, a major road called Blaine Hill Road and a Blainesburg Bible Church. The 2010 census reported a population of 992; by 2018, it had decreased to 965…  [1305 words] by Mary Grow

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Notable citizens – Conclusion

ALBION HISTORY — Elijah Parish Lovejoy was born Nov. 9, 1802, in Albion. His grandfather, Francis Lovejoy, was one of the town’s first settlers. His father, Daniel, was a Congregational preacher who, according to extracts from the sermon preached at his funeral, was a good man and a good minister, but was sometimes too carried away by enthusiasm to be tactful and was subject to periods of depression…  [1641 words] by Mary Grow

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Notable citizens – Part 2B of 3

CHINA HISTORY — After the early life summarized in the July 30 issue of The Town Line, prominent South China Quaker Rufus Jones entered Haverford College, in Pennsylvania, in 1882 as a sophomore, receiving a full scholarship (which he later repaid). His 20th birthday would be Jan. 25, 1883…  [1402 words] by Mary Grow

Webber’s Pond

Webber’s Pond is a comic drawn by an anonymous central Maine resident…

Give Us Your Best Shot!

The best recent photos from our readers!

Obituaries

SOUTH CHINA – Margaret E. “Marge” Glowa, 88, of South China, and formerly of Shelton, Connecticut, passed away on Sunday, August 16, 2020, following a lengthy illness. She was born in Monticello on August 23, 1931, to the late Harry and Dorothy Beaton… and remembering 8 others.

Become a member: An open letter to our readers

Dear Reader: According to a 2018 study published in the Oxford Journal of Communication, communities without a local source of news become more partisan, divided and politically fractured. You’ve seen it happen on the national level. It’s a growing problem around the country. Part of the problem for this is the loss of local publications like ours…

Common Ground – Round 20: Win a $10 gift certificate!

DEADLINE: Friday, September 4, 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: No winner.

Town Line Original Columnists

Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee | Last week, a friend of mine texted me with the photo of a cricket-like bug for identification. Before I could get back to him, he ID’d it as a katydid. A few days later, I saw one hanging on the screen door at camp. It had been a while since I had seen one…

CRITTER CHATTER

by Jayne Winters | I love chatting with Donald Cote at the Duck Pond Wildlife Center. He always has a story (or two or three) to share and I never know what little critters I’ll find harbored in his living room and the area that used to be strictly for his late wife Carleen’s doll collection…

VETERANS CORNER

by Gary Kennedy | Here we are closing in on the Fall season. Some are receiving this with great enthusiasm but others are not. Fall, for many is a thing of beauty and some are sighting in their bows and guns. The older veterans are starting to lean toward the beauty as they reach the fall of their lives…

Peter CatesREVIEW POTPOURRI

by Peter Cates | Poet Constance Hunting (1925-2006) taught English literature and creative writing at the University of Maine’s Orono campus from 1968 until her death. She originally trained to be a classical pianist but left that to focus on her writing…

I’M JUST CURIOUS

by Debbie Walker | I believe I found this material on Facebook, a social website, and I really wanted to share it. I don’t know who the original author is but I liked the thought behind this. And, of course, I had to add a few of my own thoughts. Any thoughts or comments you have I would be glad to hear from you…

Marilyn Rogers-Bull & PercySOLON & BEYOND

by Marilyn Rogers-Bull | I was very happy to receive two e-mails with wonderful news this week! The first one was from Mary Frear and she wrote, The Embden Thrift Store, at the Embden Community Center, is back in operation…

FOR YOUR HEALTH

(NAPSI) — Did you know if you have high blood pressure you are at increased risk for chronic kidney disease? High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is the second leading cause of chronic kidney disease in the United States. About 1 in 5 adults with high blood pressure may have chronic kidney disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…