By Jayna Smith

Last week, Rev. Robert S. “Bobby” Oliver Jr., of Baileyville, was presented with a Quilt of Valor in recognition of his dedicated service to both God and country. The handcrafted quilt was formally awarded by Paula Z. of the Kaleidoscope Quilters, honoring Oliver’s courage and sacrifice during his time in the United States Army.

By Nancy Beal

The first of three public hearings aimed at discussing and answering questions about the county’s upcoming $11 million bond referendum, aimed at easing the county’s fiscal pinch, attracted about 100 citizens to Narraguagus High School’s cafeteria. 

While long on information and opinions, attendees hoping to hear about alternative plans to the bond left disappointed, as none were presented.

By Nancy Beal

The Jonesport Elementary School Board met Oct. 6 and hired Jason Mills to coach the junior high girls’ basketball team. There have been no applicants for the junior high boys’ team, which is expected to field between five and ten boys. Interviews for the cheering coach position are in progress.

By Paul Sylvain

How does an $11 million bond referendum question become something much less? It happens when Washington County’s Board of Commissioners pledges to cap the amount to be borrowed to only what is needed to pay for the principal and interest on the county’s 2025 Tax Anticipation Note (TAN), due payable in full on Dec. 31, 2025.

Betty Louise Lovejoy

October 10, 1933 — August 30, 2025, Murphy

Our hearts are heavy as we share the news that Betty Louise Lovejoy, a cherished wife, mother, grandmother, and sister, went to be with God on August 30, 2025. She was 91 years old and passed away at her daughter Kim's home in Murphy, NC.

Betty's life was a testament to enduring love. She married her childhood sweetheart, Donald William Lovejoy, not once but twice. Together, they built a beautiful life, ran a business, and raised a family until his passing.

By Nancy Beal

The recent meeting of the Union 103 school board, which oversees schools in Beals and Jonesport, ended with a discussion of changing the schools’ policy regarding transgender students in sports. 

By Will Tuell

Since its humble beginnings in the East Machias Municipal Building years ago, Wesley’s Tree Festival has been a big hit with local businesses, community organizations, and the public at large, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Downeast youth activities and paving the way for the foundation which started it in honor of four-year-old Wesley Keeton who lost his life in an ATV accident over a decade ago to purchase the fairgrounds across the way from Down East Community Hospital with visions of developing a multi-purpose youth rec center. 

By Jayna Smith

Baileyville’s annual Octoberfest kicked off on Oct. 6, with a community supper at the Spednic Club, and continues Friday, Oct. 10, with high-energy performer Jason Tardy, sponsored by Heatherwood Gardens.

by Jonathan Reisman

‘Nothing but a Money Grab’ by Conservation Nonprofits, Machias Businessman David Whitney Says

By Paul Sylvain

According to Machias businessman David Whitney, the efforts to replace the 150-year-old Machias dike and its flapper gates with a full-span bridge, mainly led by several nonprofit conservation groups, are simply a bridge too far.

By Paul Sylvain

Machias residents on West Kennebec Road may be few in number, but many showed up in force at the Machias Selectboard’s Sept. 24 meeting to voice their concerns about unabated traffic and safety concerns in their neighborhood.

Residents say they’ve been nearly hit in their yards and while walking their dogs by vehicles traveling well beyond the posted 35 mph speed limit. The road is narrow, barely measuring 18 feet wide in places, and features a steep, blind hill lacking painted divider lines. 

By Will Tuell

This summer, about 1,400 lobster fishermen — nearly 40% of the active fleet — participated in a survey of all license holders designed by Maine’s Department of Marine Resources (DMR) and the Lobster Advisory Council (LAC), which informs state policy on lobster fishing. At a Sept. 25 Zone A  meeting in East Machias, newly appointed DMR Commissioner Carl Wilson noted a key change: there are 2,000 fewer lobster license holders than there were 15 years ago when fishermen were last surveyed. 

By Nancy Beal

At their Sept. 23 meeting, Beals selectmen chose a contractor for repair of the town landing, damaged nearly two years ago in fierce winter storms. Carver Construction Inc. of Jonesport, whose bid was $25,600, was the only bidder on the job, which includes replacing a piling and removing and replacing asphalt in the parking lot. The town was awarded $21,350 for the job and has used $2,000 already. The board agreed to invite Jim Carver to their Oct. 14 meeting to sign a contract and discuss the timing and end date of the project.

Nina Crocker is the October Featured Artist at the Henry D. Moore Library in Steuben. Her show, titled “Intimate Landscapes,” is available for viewing daily during regular library hours. 

By Will Tuell

Machias’s iconic Burnham Tavern — long recognized for its role as a gathering place during the Battle of the Margaretta, the first naval engagement of the American Revolution — provided a fitting backdrop on Sept. 17, as residents and history enthusiasts, some in period regalia, gathered to mark the 238th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution.

By Paul Sylvain

Thanks to a $500,000 Brownfields Cleanup Grant that was awarded to the Washington County Development Authority (WCDA) in 2021 by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, work is now underway to remove contaminants at the former Cutler Navy base recreation building.

That’s according to a press release issued last Friday by Washington County Manager Renee Gray. The statement notes that Brownfields cleanup funding is used to remediate contaminated properties and prepare the site for redevelopment and reuse for the community’s benefit

By Paul Sylvain

These days, it’s a rare meeting of the Machiasport selectboard when it’s over less than 40 minutes after it started, and without stirring up drama, tempers or controversy. However, such was the board’s monthly meeting on Sept. 16, It also was the first meeting in many months that didn’t include an executive session.

The meeting opened with discussion about selling a 10-acre, town-owned lot on New Hickey Road, a short distance north of the former Air Force housing area, on the opposite side of Route 92 from Jasper Beach.

By Will Tuell

Maine’s Department of Marine Resources (DMR) is offering 19 scallop drag and dive licenses to qualifying fishermen this fall, the agency said in a press release last week. Because Maine’s scallop fishery is “closed” to general entry, lawmakers and DMR have set up a system where newcomers wanting a chance at a license can enter either the drag or dive lottery based on the number of fishermen who have left the fishery in the past year. 

Former Washington County Commission Chairman Gardner Accepts Blame, Admits, ‘I’m Your Huckleberry’

By Paul Sylvain 

A packed trial room at Washington County Superior Court was the setting for a highly anticipated, often fiery public hearing on the county’s fiscal crisis last week with County Commissioners David Burns (R-Whiting), Courtney Hammond (R-Harrington), and Billy Howard (R-Calais) presiding. 

By Paul Sylvain

Machias business owners and residents should sleep a little easier at night beginning Sept. 21. That’s when the Machias Police Department will initiate 24-hour, ‘round-the-clock law enforcement coverage at least three nights a week.

Machias Police Chief Keith Mercier told the selectboard on Sept. 10 that providing a 24-hour presence had been a priority goal for him since his arrival in Machias four years ago. His biggest hurdle, he said, was building a department with enough reserve officers to make it happen.

Bonnie Ellen (Bassett) Healy of Whiting leaves $207,716 of her estate to Down East Community Hospital.

CEO, Steve Lail, on the donation, “We are very appreciative and humbled to receive this very generous donation from Bonnie Healy. It is coming at a time when hospitals are experiencing challenging changes in state and federal reimbursements. This donation will help us to continue our mission to improve healthcare for those in Sunrise County. I didn’t have the pleasure of knowing Mrs. Healy but am so grateful she thought of us and the healthcare of the people in this county.”

By Will Tuell

But for the heroic actions of the family’s St. Bernard, Jeremiah and Katherine Jurdak of Pembroke, their daughters, and infant grandchild would not have escaped a blaze that took their Pembroke home, and virtually all of their belongings recently.