by Nancy Beal

Shortly after Christmas, the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) officially submitted to federal authorities its alternative plan to reduce the danger to Atlantic right whales from Maine lobster gear. As recently reported in these pages (MNVO, Dec. 11, 2019), the DMR initially agreed to a plan that was crafted by federal fisheries managers and lobstermen in Rhode Island last spring, then rejected it on science and safety grounds.

Down East Community Hospital welcomes its first baby of 2020!  Alison Furman, of Princeton, gave birth to Chase Alexander Furman at 9:14 a.m. on January 3.  Chase, who is cuddly and very sweet, weighed in at 6 pounds and 13 ounces.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office released a statement following a crash that took place in Columbia on the afternoon of Friday, Jan. 3, killing two and closing Route 1 for several hours.

The incident took place at approximately 1 p.m. when a Ford Explorer driven by Angela Skidgel, 43, of East Machias crossed into the path of a tractor-trailer owned by the JB Hunt Corporation and driven by Sean Kelly, 56, who was traveling west on Route 1. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the tractor-trailer was unable to avoid the collision.

by Wayne Smith

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

After attending plenty of celebrations during his 33-year career, Machias Savings Bank Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Donny Reynolds attended his own retirement party on Saturday, Jan. 4 where fellow board members and MSB coworkers recalled a career filled with kindness, integrity, and fond friendships.

“There is nobody I respect more,” said former MSB President and Board Chairman Ed Hennessey, who hired Reynolds 33 years ago. “Donny Reynolds brought credibility to everybody he dealt with.”

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Speaking on behalf of her entire family, Angela Skidgel said she was “forever grateful” for the outpouring of support, sympathy and kindness showered on them after the deaths of her grandfather Darold Ames and son Gavin Skidgel in a car accident that took place on Friday, Jan. 3.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

The numbers are bleak: One in six Maine seniors don’t have enough to eat; one in five Maine children go hungry, and 37 percent of Maine’s food-insecure population does not qualify for public assistance. The numbers also hit close to home. Since she began volunteering in 2017, Machias Food Pantry Director Eunice Mommens has seen a significant increase in the number of clientele using the pantry’s services.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

At their first meeting of the new year, the Machias Board of Selectmen heard from Machias Police Chief Todd Hand who was hired last year and this month assumed the role full-time. Hand’s background includes 25 years in Florida law enforcement, as well as several years teaching at Florida State Law Enforcement Academy, Saint Leo University, and Unity College.

by Wayne Smith

by Hazel Stark

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) last week announced it would be conducting a lottery to award nine licenses into the lucrative elver fishery. Authorized by the legislature in 2017, the lottery will take the fishery to its legal limit of 425 licenses statewide. The lottery opened for entries on Jan. 16 and will close at 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 21.

The nine available licenses are the result of licenses that were not renewed in 2018 and 2019.

by Wayne Smith

Samantha Williams, owner of Bold Coast Yoga, is pleased to announce she will offer two yoga teacher training programs, a 200-hour and 300-hour course, beginning in April at West Quoddy Station in Lubec. The 200-hour training program is for those who want to become yoga teachers or learn more about yoga, while the 300-hour training is for those who have already completed the 200-hour level training. Participants will be guided through a wide range of yoga-focused topics including anatomy, alignment, teaching techniques and methodology, and yogic philosophy.

Cobscook Community Learning Center (CCLC) in Trescott was created more than 20 years ago to find ways to improve life in the rural region of Downeast Maine. As the organization grew and matured, it developed into something far more than a community learning center, and they believe their name should reflect that. So effective January 15, CCLC is changing its name to Cobscook Institute.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

A case originally filed in Maine is on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

University of Maine at Machias Professor Jonathan Reisman is the plaintiff in Reisman v. Associated Faculties of the University of Maine (AFUM), et al, the union which represents all faculty members in the state university system. The University of Maine at Machias, Board of Trustees of the University of Maine, and the state of Maine are also parties to the suit.  

by Nancy Beal

Kingfish Zeeland, the Dutch company that aspires to build a $100 million land-based fish farm in Jonesport on 95 acres of waterfront on Chandler Bay and employ up to 70 local laborers, wants to be a good neighbor. Aware of the difficulties that similar ventures have encountered elsewhere on the Maine coast (read Belfast and Bucksport), Kingfish Zeeland’s managers have gone out of their way to extend an olive branch to the folks whose community their project would dramatically alter.

Stephen Sanfilippo, known to many in our Downeast communities for his performances of historic music and his volunteer work with the Pembroke Historical Society, was a participant at the annual meeting and conference of the American Historical Association held in New York City in early January 2020. Stephen, who taught grades 9-12 history courses for many years, served as chair for a teacher training session on the use of local historical archives by high school, middle school and elementary school students.

by Hazel Stark

by Wayne Peters

by Nancy Beal

Jonesport’s budget committee met with their selectmen and treasurer January 22 and reviewed and approved a slate of expenses for 2020-21 to be sent to the voters for action at the upcoming town meeting, scheduled for March 9 at 3:30 p.m. The grand total is $688,598 but that figure includes $40,000 in the off chance that voters break with recent tradition and approve a discount for taxes paid early. If the $40,000 is rejected, the 2020-21 budget will be under last year’s amount by $2,005.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

It started with a third-grade classroom assignment: write a persuasive letter to your teacher about something you want.

“We want more playground equipment because it’s not much fun on our side of the playground,” said Aynslee Emery, one of the Jonesboro Elementary students who have organized themselves into a fundraising team called “Four Girls with a Goal.”

Principal and teacher Marjorie Hicks said the assignment wasn’t only about making a wish.