by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

For the first time since last year adopting a remove participation policy, remote participants were able to attend last Wednesday’s meeting of the Machias Board of Selectmen via Zoom. Selectman James Jackson, who is currently traveling out of state, attended the meeting online. As always, the meeting opened with the pledge of allegiance.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Machiasport was once home to a historic piece of American engineering and railroading history, the Whitneyville and Machiasport Railroad. Today, the remaining pilings of the Machiasport trestle are still visible from the Port Road. 

by Jonathan Reisman

Sesame Street is now a property of HBO, which has made the Muppets even more woke and insufferable than they were on PBS.  There are now specific BIPOC and LGBTQ Muppets, and Sesame Street has apologized for earlier incarnations, which apparently promoted systemic racism, implicit bias, and white supremacy. I was a big fan of the Muppet Show back in the day, and I wondered how some of my favorite iconic characters would fare in wokeville.

Statler and Waldorf : My role models

EAC’s Sunday Afternoons at the Arts Center series continues January 23 with Stage East Artistic Director Mark Macey on Theater Appreciation and the Basics of Dramaturgy. Macey will cover the basics of theater history and dramatic theory. Attendees will learn to better "read" and understand scripts, staging, and design. "I'm providing folks with a toolkit to enjoy theatre in a more engaged and meaningful way," said Macey, a graduate of Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre who also holds a BA in Theatre Studies from the University of Utah.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Residents and staff of Narraguagus Bay Health Care nursing home in Milbridge have been evacuated after high winds created roof damage. Parts of the roof have collapsed during the storm which covered the entire coast of Maine today, Monday, Jan. 17. The National Weather Service warned of gusts greater than 65 mph.

An employee of the nursing home has confirmed that no one has been injured by the damage.

The Jonesport-Beals School Board has reversed its original ban on out-of-town basketball spectators and limited numbers of home fans and voted unanimously Tuesday night to open the gym to all fans.

The Jonesport-Beals girls and boys have a total of three home games between today, Jan. 12, and Jan. 14, and another home game on Juan. 22.

Kristi Doten and Dan Jones’ daughter, Indira, is seen here with Mom and Dad shortly after becoming the first Washington County baby born in 2022.

by Nancy Beal

Several members of the committee tasked with writing an ordinance covering aerospace activities attended the Jonesport selectmen’s meeting last week (Jan. 5) to request help in determining what the town’s citizens want in the ordinance. Reading from a prepared request, Jane McMichen said the group specifically wanted a yes-or-no vote from the town at a special town meeting.

Stuart Donovan, from Englishman’s Bay in Jonesport, visited Down East Community Hospital at the end of December to deliver a check in the amount of $10,000 for the Comfort Care Suite in memory of his wife.  Stuart’s wife, Carole M. Donovan, who passed away on April 30, 2021, after a courageous battle with cancer, told her husband she wanted to donate to the suite. “This is what my wife wanted, and this is what I’m doing”, stated Mr. Donovan when presenting the check.

by Jayna Smith

In 1992, the Worcester Wreath Company in Harrington first sent wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery. Those wreaths were placed in one of the older sections of the cemetery that had been receiving fewer visitors with each passing year.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Nathaniel Kerruish, 23, of East Machias, on Jan. 5 was indicted by a grand jury with charges of felony murder and burglary class B, according to the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit - North and Washington County Jail.

Kerruish was directed to report to the jail on Jan. 5 and was released the same day on $2,500 bail.

Kerruish is the first local person indicated in the Nov. 4 shooting of 17-year-old Brandin Guerrero, whose body was found on High Street in Machias. 

by Nancy Beal

The environmental activists who organized against a proposed aerospace company that intends to launch nano-rockets from a Jonesport island has turned its sights on a Dutch company that proposes to build a $100 million land-based fish farm on 94 acres fronting on Chandler Bay. The most recent battle site was a Jonesport planning board meeting late last month at which Kingfish Maine sought approval for structures covering over half a million square feet on the property locally known as Dungarvin.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

In the new year, a person’s fancy turns to thoughts of clean closets, garages, and attics. But after you’ve cleaned out that extra toaster, those dusty golf clubs, or winter coats, how can you put them in the hands of someone who could use them?

If you live in the Machias area, making that donation could mean taking a bit of a drive, but it all depends on what you have to donate.  

The Pembroke Historical Society is honored host Charles Lagerbom on Tuesday, January 18th, for his Zoom presentation "Risk & Reward off Cape Horn: The Story of Captain Jesse Thayer Carver, of Searsport, Maine, and the Wreck of the Maine-built Downeaster St. Mary. The presentation will start at 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Register at www.pembrokemainehistoricalsociety.org under Events.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Extensive planning by the Machiasport Shellfish Committee has led to the reconstruction of a concrete slip that allows clammers to put their skiffs into the Machias River alongside the historical society’s Gates House museum. Rob Boynton, Zach Wood, Whitney Stevens, and David Cale serve on the shellfish committee. 

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

University of Maine at Machias students will return to in-person classes on Tuesday, Jan. 18, according to a Jan. 4 press release from the UMaine system.

Though UMM has held in-person classes since September 2021, the announcement ends weeks of speculation following news that many New England schools, such as Harvard, have already announced students will return from winter break via remote learning due to the nationwide upsurge in COVID-19 cases.

by Ruth Leubecker

“It’s not that Downeast Broadband Utility is actively trying to get other towns on board. We’re not,” says Dan Sullivan, president of DBU, “but when they approach us, we’re encouraging them to join.”

Sullivan, who created the nonprofit for bringing high-speed broadband to rural Maine, is a passionate cheerleader for the increasing potential of the fledgling initiative. Calais and Baileyville are now nearly 100-percent connected with the fiber network infrastructure. 

Sunrise County Economic Council (SCEC) announces the conclusion of its Capital Campaign and expresses much gratitude for the strong community support. The campaign exceeded its goal with $1.28 million in received and pledged contributions. Additional pledges from individuals and a $243,000 contribution from Libra Foundation helped SCEC surpass its $1.055 million goal, set to cover the cost to construct and launch the new center.

The cast and crew of Almost, Maine would like to wish everyone Season’s Greetings! Taking a well-deserved holiday break after their first three shows, the actors will resume performances on Friday December 31 and Saturday January 1 at 7 p.m., concluding the run with a matinee on January 2 at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $15, available in advance through the ‘Now Playing’ tab at stageeast.org or at the door. Patrons under 17 are admitted free of charge.

by Joseph Horn

In a very real, tangible, evolutionary way, we humans are a tropical species. Our genetic code speaks to this clearly as Africa has the greatest diversity of human genes—a marker of a species’ origin. So while you might feel most at home sitting on a bucket on a frozen lake pulling togue bare-handed through a hole in the ice, your ancestors evolved basking in the hot sun and stifling humidity of tropical Africa. As we slide ever closer to winter, how do we not freeze to death? Today, let’s take a little dive into keeping warm.

To celebrate the holiday season and the meaningful value of community, UScellular has donated toy trucks, game balls, dolls, Barbies, throw blankets, board games, models, baby toys, fishing pole/tackle box, arts & crafts, and more to Downeast Community Partners. To bring locally grown joy to Machias, UScellular worked with their local team to learn about the needs of the community and then reached out to Downeast Community Partners to get their ideal wish list. Traveling in a holiday-themed truck, the company delivered the holiday gifts to provide children and seniors a merry holiday.