by Ruth Leubecker

Although several vendors were considered in the selection process, Down East Community Hospital recently settled on Envision Physician Services to provide Emergency Department services.

“After an in-depth review and discussion, Envision best met our needs and requirements,” said Steve Lail, hospital CEO. “The decision to change service providers will keep the same access to service, but be more financially sustainable over time.”

by Nancy Beal

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Every Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. you’ll see lights on in the old terminal at Machias Valley Municipal Airport. That’s because it’s now the permanent home of the ME075 Machias Valley Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), an organization that has been introducing Washington County youth to the joys of aviation for more than 30 years.

by Camille Hawkins

Jewel has a new job training a new mustang addition to their farm.  I will have to go out and get a look-see.

Karen has been working on her woodpile and also starting to move into the remodeled house.

I also worked all day Monday on my wood supply. I worked with the wood splitter and also put a few loads in under cover. I think we slept good that night.

Linda and I cleaned up from bear camp and got everything packed up for next year.

Calais Celtic Concerts will present the hottest group in folk music out of Wales this year. The Trials of Cato will perform at a special show on Sunday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. at The Calais High School. The group has won the 2019 Best Emerging Artist Award, at the Wales Folk Award ceremony this year and is up for two more BBC Awards this November. They are only in the states for a short, two-week stint, as they continue with their world tour.  

by Nancy Beal

Palliative care, a medical specialty that focuses on improving the quality of life for those with serious illnesses, was the subject of the twelfth annual Washington County Cancer Conference held in Machias on October 4. According to the definition presented by conference speakers, palliative care “emphasizes pain and symptom management, counseling for patients and families, support for patients making decisions about their treatment and goals of care, and care coordination.”

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Maine newcomer Dr. Todd Landry has weathered the transition from southern summers to northern winters before. His 20-plus year career working with children and families has taken him in and out of Texas several times, including two years spent as the head of Nebraska’s Division of Children and Family Services.

“A few folks have asked, ‘Are you sure about winters in Maine?’’ said Landry. “But my wife and I joke that we know the first winter is usually the hardest, then it gets better after that.”

by Peter Duston

Scouting proved alive and well at the 57th International Camporee held at Cobscook State Park on Saturday, Sept. 28, when 130 scouts and leaders from the United States and Canada gathered, camped, played, and demonstrated outdoor skills under the open skies of Downeast Maine.

by Wayne Smith

Ida McGee and her husband David have had a farm in Steuben for 13 years. This is a story of devotion and love for a dream. After they retired, they bought a farm. Maybe they didn’t know what they were getting themselves into. Every day is a new adventure; just getting up in the morning can be a chore. It’s a story about grinding things out from one day to the next. Every day is different. Every day can bring challenges. Every day is new and unique. And I kind of got an idea of what that was like when I sat down and talked to Ida McGee.

The University of Maine at Machias Clipper Athletics Hall of Fame hosted its annual induction ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 5, in conjunction with the university’s homecoming festivities.

Mike Merritt, a graduate of the UMM class of 1971, is the newest member of the Clipper Hall of Fame. Inductees are nominated for their athletic achievements and for positively representing the university after graduation, and are voted on by a committee.

by Kaileigh Deacon

The Eastport City Council met on Wednesday, Oct. 9, to consider and vote on a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant of $5.2 million. The matter was before the council at the previous meeting, but with a councilor missing the vote was tied at 2-2, thus sending the matter back before the council.

by Ruth Leubecker

Maine’s food-insecure elderly have more than doubled in number since 2010.

Even more ominous, as the baby boomer generation hovers in the wings, by 2025 when the youngest of that generation reaches 60, the number of food-insecure seniors is projected to increase by 50 percent.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

For the fourth time in almost 25 years, Mike Burke of Northern Fire Equipment handed a set of keys over to the Machiasport Fire Department.

“When was the first time we bought a truck from you?” asked Machiasport Selectman and Firefighter Mike Hinerman.

“It was 1995,” said Burke, who made the delivery from his company’s headquarters in Watertown, New York.

by Ronie Strout

On Sunday, October 6th I ventured forth to Ellsworth early in the morning to take the Chainsaw Safety Course at the Great Maine Lumberjack Show on the Bar Harbor Road in Trenton, taught by Timber Tina and Michelle M. Braley. Ten ladies were there to take this course, and we learned a lot. We learned how to take the saw apart and take the chain off and put it back on, we learned how to sharpen the chain and to make sure it was tight enough and not loose.

The Peabody Memorial Library in Jonesport will host a Down East Photography Group (DEPG) photo exhibition that will run during the month of October.

The Down East Photography Group was founded by a half dozen local photographers interested in creating a supportive environment for sharing knowledge and networking for all photographers, regardless of skill level and experience.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

A Decision and Order released by the Maine Board of Veterinary Medicine on Wednesday, Oct. 16, announced that the veterinary license of Dr. Cynthia Teer has been revoked.

The 14-page legal document was produced after a hearing held Sept. 25 in Augusta and states that Teer continued to practice veterinary medicine on a regular basis between January 24, 2018, and May 22, 2019, in spite of the fact that her license was suspended. 

Teer is the sole veterinarian in the Machias Animal Hospital practice.

by Ruth Leubecker

Child abuse and neglect have undoubtedly always been a sad fact of life. But in 2019 two individuals brought the crime front and center. Each is now serving lengthy prison sentences as Maine’s child welfare system reels from its revealed crisis in operation.

by Nancy Beal

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

It isn’t often that statements from the U.S. Department of Commerce contain the word “Machias,” but that was the case on Sept. 27 when an email from Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced the Economic Development Administration has awarded a $1.53 million grant to the Axiom Education & Training Center in Machias, Maine.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

A Career and Technical Education (CTE) training center slated for the former 4 Corners Shop & Save location in Columbia is one step closer to becoming reality. Superintendent Donald Ramsay said that the sale of the building closed on Thursday, Oct. 10.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

The sequence of events that shut down Elm Street in Machias for 24 hours this week began much earlier, when Hurricane Dorian laid waste to the Bahamas on September 1.

Regarded as the worst natural disaster in the history of the island nation, Dorian hit with winds topping 185 miles per hour, killing more than 60 and leveling a home built there by Clay Thomas of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 

The theater students at Washington Academy will bring Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to the stage at the University of Maine at Machias’ Performing Arts Center this November. The play is an exciting new adaptation by the father-son team Peter and Hans Bloedel blending original background music by Benji Inniger. Poetry, dance, and a touch of humor also add a new twist to this gothic classic.

by Hazel Stark

by Ruth Leubecker

Jail funding problems have festered for decades with all proposed solutions leading to more money being requested, then less money being allotted.

Through several commissioners of corrections, the dilemma has continued, but Comm. Randall Liberty, the latest and most outspoken to head the department, has a different take on how to address inmates and their immediate future behind bars.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Arise Addiction Recovery Director Paul Trovarello knows that for kids, serious addiction can begin in innocent ways.

“With me it just started as something to do, having fun. I didn’t know I was a drug addict until I needed to take Percocet so I wasn’t sick,” said Trovarello. “Fun and addiction can really go hand in hand for a kid.”

To help Washington County youth avoid addiction, Arise Addiction Recovery is making presentations in eight area schools.

by Wayne Smith

The year was 1967. An October wind blew a gale in Jonesboro. The trees were naked with leaves blowing into the local streets and off of the side roads that barely got plowed in the wintertime. Children rode bicycles up and down these streets, all day long, until winter came. Birds were finding their way south. The Red Sox played the Cardinals in the World Series. Everyone watched the flashy arm of St. Louis’ pitcher, Bob Gibson. The impossible happened and the Red Sox lost in game seven.