by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Washington County Commissioner Chairman Chris Gardner says union employees of the county will receive a 20 percent pay increase over the next three years, roughly broken out to 10 percent the first year, and five percent for each of the following two years.

Gardner says the pay increases were done in negotiation with the unions that represent different aspects of county government and in response to the county’s lagging pay rates, especially relative to wage inflation. For instance, an entry-level dispatcher can earn $17 per hour.

by Ruth Leubecker

Maine’s fast-moving aging demographic is now dealing with a nursing-home crisis moving mightily in the opposite direction.

“We’re working on this piece by piece,” explains Rep, Anne Perry, of current legislative action. “But the main problem is MaineCare pays for it. And MaineCare, paying 90 percent-plus, is not sustainable (with its present reimbursements).” 

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Washington County last week nearly doubled its record for weekly cases since the beginning of the pandemic. The previous high of 88 cases was reported in the week ending Sept. 18, and the week ending Oct. 2 reported 170 new cases. Maine Center for Disease Control Director Nirav Shah attributes a statewide increase in cases to the highly contagious Delta variant.

by Jonathan Reisman

We live (at least for now) in a republic- a representative democracy. By constitutional, statutory and judicial decree, representation should be apportioned fairly and equitably amongst and within the states, and citizens are guaranteed a republican (meaning representative democracy) form of government. Every ten years the census measures our population, and redistricting efforts commence thereafter in each state to supposedly assure a fair, equitable, compact, contiguous and reasonable reapportionment. 

by Gordon L. Weil - Maine Monitor

Help wanted.

These words are usually a sign of prosperity and opportunity. Now they are a symbol of frustration as employers search in vain for workers. 

The conventional wisdom had been that when COVID-19 cases went down, so would unemployment. Some maintained that federal unemployment benefits were discouraging people from job seeking, but that would change once the benefits ended.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

A quiet gesture of respect between two high school runners has gone viral in the best possible way. After watching Orono high school athlete Ruth White present her 1st place medal to Washington Academy senior Noah Carver, Cindy Moore-Rossi says she wiped a tear from her eye. Then, she wrote a post that has been shared coast to coast more than 200 times, by individuals and by news agencies.

by Ruth Leubecker

Reporting 29 deaths and 836 new cases, Dr. Nirav Shah also announced that Maine had reached the milestone of one million people now at least with one COVID shot.

The occasion was his weekly Wednesday briefing. The message was “get the shot.” And a footnote: as of October 1, Maine had had 4,167 breakthrough cases.

“It’s very different from a year ago, explained Shah, Maine’s CDC director. “We could call it COVID-21. It’s much more contagious than COVID-19, more transmissible, and there are fewer outbreaks.”

by Nancy Beal

Stage East opens their 30th anniversary season on Oct. 15 with 30 plays—or rather, with 30 Neo-futurist Plays from Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind (30 Plays in 60 Minutes) by Greg Allen. This show originally ran in Chicago for 30 years and has been chosen by Mark Macey as the first play of his inaugural season as Artistic Director. “The interminable title aside, it’s a fun, funky, fast-paced show. If you’re looking for something entertaining and lively, this is it,” says Macey.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Former Governor Paul LePage spent last Thursday driving the campaign trail through Washington County, stopping at Wreaths Across America, Whitney Wreath, the Bluebird Family Ranch Restaurant, and Helen’s Restaurant, finally ending his day in an evening meet-and-greet at the Calais Motor Inn. 

LePage served as governor from 2011-2019 and in July formally announced his candidacy for a third term, last month hosting a kickoff event in Augusta. 

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Down East Community hospital today provided clarification on recent ambulance diversions from its Machias emergency department, which took place over the weekend and ended midday Monday. There is a lot of confusion around the diversion status, said the hospital.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

For weeks, Troy Quimby noticed an orange cat hanging around his property in East Machias. The cat seemed at ease and knew when Quimby’s dogs were kenneled so he could move safely around the yard. Then one Sunday morning, Quimby spotted the cat just lying in his garden.

“It looked like it was trying to get warm, I walked over and wondered what was sticking out from his arm,” said Quimby. “Then I realized the cat had something impaled in it.”

by Natalie Boomer

A woman from northern Maine has recently moved Downeast and has noticed there is something missing in the area. 

Hannah Toothaker is opening a dance studio for children in East Machias!

“It will be small, privately hosted dance classes owned and operated by myself and I will rent space from a local church,” she said. 

by Jonathan Reisman

“Do you want to ban the construction of high-impact electric transmission lines in the Upper Kennebec Region and to require the Legislature to approve all other such projects anywhere in Maine, both retroactively to 2020, and to require the Legislature, retroactively to 2014, to approve by a two-thirds vote such projects using public land?”- Question one on the November Ballot.

by Hazel Stark

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

With a helping hand from Hammond Lumber, the Bear Den of Cub Scouts Pack 125 recently constructed brand new bat houses to be installed in local nature preserves. Cub Scout Lucas Johnson, 8, said the idea for the boxes came to him after reading a school library book. His mother and den leader, Shannon Johnson, suggested they turn it into a scout project.

Lucas is happy with the results.

by Jayna Smith

Kelly Bartlett grew up believing her grandparents Herbert and Olive (McLean) Bacon of the Calais area had been shot and killed on October 31, 1947. The alleged incident occurred in Kellyland, near Baileyville. Bartlett’s mother Jean, daughter of Herbert and Olive, was only six years old at the time of their unfortunate deaths.

by Nancy Beal

Nearly two years ago, a company in the Netherlands that grows what it has branded “Dutch yellowtail” sent its top executives and scientists to a public meeting in Jonesport’s library to tell the town that they wanted to build a $100 million land-based fish farm on Chandler Bay on 93 acres north of the town’s largest cemetery. The meeting concluded with all arms raised in a show of hands of those who supported the project.

by Jayna Smith

Bats are often thought of as part of Halloween scares, but they are much more than an image representing the eerie night. Each October, bats are recognized as part of Bat Appreciation Month. 

The winged mammals likely got their unfavorable reputation way back in 1897 with Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel, and although vampire bats, whose food source is blood, are indeed a real thing, those types of bats don’t live in Maine. 

by Hazel Stark