By Paul Sylvain

What began at the Aug. 26 Machiasport selectboard’s meeting as a simple appointment to fill a planning board vacancy, melted into a pointed discussion about a model aquaculture ordinance reintroduced by Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage at the selectboard’s July 22 meeting. 

Although not specifically on the selectboard’s August meeting agenda, one thing quickly became evident. The planning board and other town officials want no part of the model ordinance offered last month by Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage.

By Paul Sylvain

Cutler Selectman David Glidden met with the Machiasport selectboard on Aug. 26 hoping to resolve a longstanding clam flat access issue affecting the livelihoods of a handful of Cutler clam diggers. However, the plan he suggested hit an unexpected snag almost as soon as he finished his pitch.

As Glidden explained at the meeting, “We have an issue in the town of Cutler with accessing Holmes Bay.” He described it as “a long, dragged-out issue,” that Cutler has attempted to remedy several times without success. 

by Jonathan Reisman

Downeast Community Partners (DCP), the community action program (CAP) that serves Hancock and Washington counties, received a $20,000. gift from Versant Power, recently, for The Heating And Warmth (THAW) fund.

“The THAW fund has a tremendous impact in our community and helps families when they need it most,” said Versant President John Flynn. “Versant Power is happy to contribute to the fund and allow Downeast Community Partners to keep more homes warm this winter.”

By Paul Sylvain

Leave it to West Branch Farms to further “branch” out, if you will, and venture into the world of food trucks. We’re not talking just any old, ordinary food wagon, but one offering West Branch Farms’ take on a south-of-the-border food staple. Yes, we’re talking burritos.

By Paul Sylvain

The passage of time often blurs certain events in our lifetime. However, there are those singular events that are so deeply seared in one’s memory that, decades later, even the smallest of details are recalled as sharply as if they had occurred yesterday. This article is about one of those events..

By Pamela J. Nickerson 

If Hatchery Manager Mitchell Monini is successful then, he chuckles, he will “be out of a job.” Monini is “rearing fish in as natural a habitat as possible to mimic early life stages” along the river in East Machias at the former Bangor Hydro building.  Water from the East Machias River is pumped into an ultraviolet sterilization filter, installed last year following a devastating virus at the Downeast Salmon Federation’s hatchery; all fish at the hatchery had to be destroyed at the time.

MOTHERS Art & Antique Gallery is pleased to share that their next exhibition, ‘CALIFLORA: All Roads Lead to Downeast’ featuring works on paper by Irene Imfeld, John Watson, Clare Olivares, and Whitney Vosburgh, will open on Sunday, Sept. 1, from 4-6 p.m., and will be up until Sept. 21. 

By Nancy Beal

When Beals Elementary School students return to classes next week, they will soon welcome visiting author and award-winning illustrator Jamie Hogan, whose mission will be to facilitate students in creating panels for their story walk.

By Paul Sylvain

“If you don’t say ‘wild’, it’s just another festival.”

That’s according to Machias Town Manager Bill Kitchen who made that statement as a reminder to the town’s selectboard at the close of its Aug. 14 meeting. And indeed, last weekend’s 47th annual edition of the Machias Wild Blueberry Festival proved wild in a good way.

By Paul Sylvain

An Aug. 8 ruling issued by Maine Business & Consumer Court Judge Michael A. Duddy permanently ended all appeals by Jeanne Tennison involving the Machias Planning Board’s June 7, 2023, approval of a building permit for 12 seasonal transient bunkhouses at 19 Canal Street.

By Paul Sylvain

As the final notes of “Blueberry Blues” drifted into memory during Saturday night’s closing performance of this year’s Machias Wild Blueberry Festival musical, the production’s director, Gene Nichols, also noted it was the end of an era for the show band’s drummer, Bill Eckart.

The extraordinary life of this country’s 32nd president will be explored in a free presentation on the history made by Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the music he loved, on Sunday, Aug. 25, at 2 p.m., at Eastport Arts Center. The program will be brought to Eastport for this one-time-only performance by the educational services staff of Roosevelt Campobello International Park.

By Pamela J. Nickerson 

Trustees of Porter Memorial Library relish the triumph of preserving a landmark.

Director Lee Downing says, “This building gives people a sense of place.” Downing, of Machiasport, moved from Massachusetts nearly twenty years ago; she has found employment and community connections within the library ever since.

By Will Tuell

Lobster fishermen up and down the coast battling to stay afloat got a boost last week as the fishery’s interstate governing body known as the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission or ASMFC took the first steps of delaying a planned phase-in of gauge size changes set to take effect in January, until July 2025. Regulators also voted to hold Canadian importers of lobster to the same standards, giving American fishermen an equal footing in selling their catch.

By Wayne Smith

Tim Cotton, a former police officer who has written and published multiple books about Maine life, recently stopped by the Gallison Library in Harrington to sign several of his books for local fans and library supporters. Cotton talked about police work, being an author, and his rise to fame during his Aug. 3 visit. 

Project on Hold Until Court Decides Eminent Domain Lawsuit

By Paul Sylvain

Machiasport Town Clerk Marcia Hayward announced on Aug. 8 that her town has been awarded a $475,000 Maine Infrastructure Adaptation Fund grant to relocate a section of Port Road — formerly known as Beach Road —  in the town’s Starboard district, further away from the shoreline.

By Will Tuell

For many young people Downeast, music education is anything but a given, Jeff Shaw of the Maine Academy of Modern Music (MAMM) said in an interview on July 30. The Milbridge native, who serves as the nonprofit’s executive director, is hoping to change that by recruiting an Americorps VISTA volunteer to work with area communities, schools, potential donors, and musicians to build long-term, sustainable music education offerings commonly available across the Sunrise County. 

Overwhelming Outpouring of Community Support Brings Sister, Mother to Tears

By Paul Sylvain

For the second time in her young life, Jennifer Green Feeney of Cutler is in a fight for her life against cancer.

And hundreds of people — friends, family, even those who peripherally knew her — packed the Rose M. Gaffney School gymnasium in Machias on Aug. 3 for a benefit supper and Chinese auction on Jen's behalf in what can only be described as a massive outpouring of community support, love, and hope. 

By Paul Sylvain

Add historic renovations to Northfield resident and Machias developer Justin King’s growing resumé. King announced on Aug. 2 that he received a notice of intent to award King Construction a $450,000 contract for repair and renovations of the iconic red and white candy-striped tower and map room at West Quoddy Head Lighthouse. 

by Jonathan Reisman

August arrived Downeast with fog, unusually high temperatures, and thunderstorms in terms of both weather and politics. 

Summer music at Eastport Arts Center continues with classical pianist Danny Holt on Friday, Aug. 9, at 7 p.m. Pre-concert (6:15 p.m.) and post-concert receptions will offer a chance for attendees to gather casually before and after the performance. Holt enjoys shining a spotlight on the works of lesser-known composers from the 18th and 19th centuries and is a champion of music from the 20th century and today.