by Hailey Wood

After years of residing in the same space, Berry Vines will be moving to 247 Main Street in Machias. The move will happen over the first weekend of March. The store will be closed starting March 2nd to reopen on March 7th while they complete the moving of merchandise and equipment. 

This new location will be in the same building as WIC and Family planning, next to the Reid Emery Building. 

by Will Tuell

A member of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit, K-9 Memphis, who has been on active duty with his handler, Deputy Toni Bridges, will be receiving some much-needed protection in the form of a bullet- and stab-proof protective vest courtesy of the nonprofit Vested Interest in K-9s later this winter. 

March 17 is the Feast Day of St. Patrick, one of the Church’s great evangelizing saints. It is a day that holds special significance in the Diocese of Portland because St. Patrick, along with St. Jean Baptiste, is a secondary patron of the Diocese of Portland, chosen because French missionaries and, later, French and Irish immigrants brought the Catholic faith to Maine and helped it take root and grow. St. Patrick Church in Newcastle was actually the first church in the country named for St. Patrick and has been in continual use longer than any other Catholic church in New England.

Ever wonder what to do with that old but still serviceable t-shirt? Or think about what the world should do with all of the cast-off, “don’t want to wear it anymore,” pieces of clothing that clutter up our closets? The Lubec Community Outreach Center has a fun and practical idea that could be a perfect (and beautiful) solution.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

In response to inflation and the ongoing EMS crisis, towns serviced by the Machias Ambulance Service will see significant rate increases in the coming fiscal year. [See EMS stakeholders and town officials meet to address ambulance crisis, MVNO, Jan. 19, 2023].

Machias, East Machias, Machiasport, Marshfield, Roque Bluffs, Jonesboro, Northfield, Whitneyville, Cutler, and half of Whiting will see an increase from $12 to $50 per capita, or per resident as of the most recent census. The new rates will take effect Jan. 1, 2024.

by Nancy Beal

by Jonathan Reisman

“Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive”- Walter Scott

“Liar, Liar, pants on fire”- various attributions, most recently credited to anyone exposed to Joe Biden, Adam Schiff, Anthony Fauci, Andrea Mitchell, and/or White House spokesweenies.

by Jane Lanctot

“Put on your eighteenth-century ears.”

by Will Tuell

With the final buzzer sounding on the high school basketball season, the Maine Principals Association has given preliminary approval to a draft reclassification system that could dramatically change the look and feel of high school basketball in rural Maine, particularly in communities where student enrollment has seen a sharp swing. 

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

A strong alumni association can boost school pride, enhance a sense of community, create networking opportunities, and help other graduates with scholarship money. Those good reasons and more are behind Wendy Schoppee’s drive to enroll more Bulldogs in the Machias Memorial High School Alumni Association.

“We have between 15 and 20 active members right now. We meet online,” said Schoppee, who serves as the association president. “We span a wide range of ages, from Class of 1969 to some early 2000s graduates.”

by Will Tuell

On Wednesday, March 8, Representative Ken “Bucket” Davis (R-East Machias) presented a bill before the Legislature’s Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee that would lift limits on bass fishing in most Washington County rivers. The bill, supported by those looking to restore endangered Atlantic salmon Down East, generated widespread testimony from anglers, sportsmen’s groups, guides, nonprofit organizations, and the state itself. 

by Jonathan Reisman

by Hazel Stark

by Will Tuell

A bill sponsored by Representative Ken “Bucket” Davis (R-East Machias) that would have given landowners and their immediate family members along the banks of a section of Middle River in Marshfield the opportunity to fish from their property was unanimously rejected by the Legislature’s Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee March 15. 

by Will Tuell 

Washington County Community College is moving ahead with plans to offer an intensive three-month course for area residents who want to become emergency medical technicians (EMT) thanks to a partnership with the Kennebec Valley Community College and funding through the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, which allows most enrollees to take the 150-hour course free of charge, according to Nichole Sawyer, WCCC’s Dean of Workforce Development and Community Engagement. 

by Jonathan Reisman

Now that I am retired, I have more time to keep an eye on legislative mischief. I keep an eye on education, energy, and environmental policy, generally tracking four committees: Education and Cultural Affairs, Energy and Utilities, Environment and Natural Resources, and Agriculture and Conservation. Occasionally I will take a flyer on Veterans and Legal Affairs and Judiciary. In this post-Covid age, I generally do not travel to Augusta but instead offer written or zoom testimony when a legislative proposal piques my interest or concern.

by Lupe Soto

The last youth wrestling meet was held in 2015 at Washington Academy.  The youth program had been on and off since the 2015 season due to constrained available meeting space for a few years and the pandemic for two years. 

It was time to hold another meet, so on Saturday, March 18, the youth wrestlers of Washington County came together for a day of family-friendly fun and competition.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Andy Patterson of Cutler is reported to have died in a plane crash Saturday, March 25, in Johns Island, South Carolina.

Patterson was piloting the small aircraft when it crashed. Initial reports indicated Patterson was traveling with a passenger, but officials later clarified Patterson was alone in the Piper PA-28, according to the Charleston County News.

The Machias Valley Municipal Airport, where Patterson served on the airport committee, today posted about Patterson’s death.

by Nancy Beal

Between 40 and 50 citizens of Beals turned out for their annual town meeting on March 21, including former selectman Daniel Davis, who has been absent in recent years for health reasons, but who attended what would be a marathon three-hour and, at times, a raucous meeting that he was selected to moderate. How to deal with two private roads generated much of the buzz.

by Jonathan Reisman

Washington Academy Head of School Judson McBrine proudly announces senior Isabel Cates as the 2023 Maine Principal's Award recipient. The award, sponsored by the Maine Principals' Association (MPA), is given in recognition of a high school senior's academic achievement and citizenship. Isabel is the daughter of Jeremy and Charlene Cates of Cutler.