by Will Tuell

The Machias Area Little League 11-12 girls’ softball team erupted for six runs in the fifth inning after trailing 2-0 for most of Thursday night’s fog-plagued game against Sunrise (western Washington County) to lay claim to what most observers believe is their first ever District 1 championship. Unlike their previous contests, which Machias won comfortably, the Shiretowners fell behind early and left it till their next at-bat to come surging back for the victory. 

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Washington County doesn’t have the highest drug overdose rate in the state of Maine, but it does have the poorest overdose survival rate, according to information shared by Maine’s Director of Opioid Response, Gordon Smith, speaking last week in Machias.

Dr. Reza Namin, Superintendent of Maine Indian Education and the former University of Maine at Machias Chemistry Professor has been recognized by the National Association of School Superintendents from all over the country who are representing the best in the profession as a member of its Hall of Fame and a Finalist for the National Superintendent of the Year.

Bad Little Falls “Sounds Like This” Summer Concert Series will happen every Thursday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. every Thursday beginning this Thursday, July 6, with an opening performance by The Filthy Casuals. The following performances are July 13, Cook ‘n’ Lamb, featuring Alan Cook and Gary Lamb (www.cooknlamb.com); July 20, The Steele Hill Band; July 27, The Milk & Honey Rebellion; Aug. 3, Heavenly Hash; Aug. 10, The Stillwater Band; Aug. 17, The Lamplighters; and Aug. 24, The Drisko Street Barn Band & The Crows. 

by Will Tuell

The Machias Area Little League 9-10-year-old baseball all-star team punched their ticket to the state championship playoffs with a win Wednesday night against Ellsworth, behind lights-out pitching from hurlers Jace Albert and Lincoln Fergerson who combined for a 5-0 no-hit victory to earn their second District 1 title in as many years, while the 11-12 boys baseball and 9-10 girls softball teams battle for pennants of their own this week. 

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon 

In the late 1800s, Washington County was a land “in the last glow of the age of sail” with a thriving economy based on its “forests, rivers, granite, and other natural resources within reach of the ocean,” writes mapmaker Jane Crosen. “Packet schooners and steam ferries, stagecoaches and railroads, horse-drawn wagons and canoes transport passengers and freight around the county and beyond.” 

by Nancy Beal

The Roque Bluffs Arts and Crafts Gallery and Learning Center will have its first One Woman Art Show featuring Robin S. Rier at the Roque Bluffs Community Center in Roque Bluffs, 4 Shoppee Point Road. 

Ms. Rier is a local Plein-air artist, which means she does most of her painting on location, outside. It enables the artist to better capture the changing details of weather and light. 

By Will Tuell

Rose Mondville has been a fixture at the University of Maine at Machias for over 42 years, serving generations of students, staff, and faculty from her days working in the school’s now-defunct bookstore to her most recent role providing administrative support to Head of Campus Meghan Walsh. That era came to an end recently as Mondville retired from her longtime employer with an eye toward spending more time with her son and his family in the Rockland area, but not before sharing some candid insight into the once-vibrant Machias campus.

By Will Tuell

On Wednesday night, the Machias Area Little League 9-10 softball All Star team bested Acadian Little League of Bar Harbor 15-4 to become the third Machias Area Little League team to win a District 1 championship this year. Machias, led by pitcher Sarah Hennessey, traded runs with Acadian early on but broke out to a six-run lead in the third inning and never looked back, jumping out to an 11-run lead before the game was called after five innings due to the run rule.

By Will Tuell

Maine’s association of town and city governments is urging lawmakers to fund a bill sponsored by Sen. Marianne Moore (R-Calais) that increases the rate the state reimburses them for providing temporary relief to the state’s poorest residents from 70% to 90%. The bill, estimated to cost $8.5 million, is currently being paid for through local property taxes, the Maine Municipal Association (MMA) said in an email to municipal officials urging them to contact lawmakers on the Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs committee last week.

Step back in time to 1874 when Liberty Hall, the historic town hall of Machiasport, Maine, was opened. It was used not just for town meetings but also served as a venue for community events, dances,  meetings of community organizations such as the Grange, and as a performance venue for traveling shows. Located on Maine State Route 92,  in the town's village center, it is one of Maine’s most distinguished civic buildings, built in grand Italianate style and overlooks the site of the first naval battle of the American Revolution.

by Hazel Stark

By Paul Sylvain

Machias residents will gather this week to consider a 49-article annual town meeting warrant to fund the town’s operation through Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24). The current fiscal year began July 1 and ends June 30, 2024. 

The meeting is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 26, at the Rose M. Gaffney School gymnasium.

By Will Tuell

Several area churches are pitching in to hold what has become a mid-summer tradition: Vacation Bible School or VBS at Larrabee Baptist Church in Machiasport during the week of July 31 – Aug. 4 from 9-11:30 a.m. Organizer Paula Maker says the themed weeklong program designed to immerse children aged 4-12 in the Bible has grown so much over the years that this year organizers have worked with Fort O’Brien Elementary School to relieve traffic congestion at Larrabee by utilizing the school’s parking lot as a staging area.

by Jonathan Reisman

I first met Ernie in September of 1975 in the hallway of the Dana dormitory on the Colby College campus in Waterville, Maine. It was not love at first sight or a cute moment. I was a junior visiting a friend and was introduced to a freshman woman. I don’t remember who introduced us or what Ernie said. Four years later, we were married and starting a life adventure together. Now I am the memory for both of us.

By Paul Sylvain

Kazoos, juice harps and ukes, oh my, my, my. If it’s late July in Machias, it can mean only one thing. Music whiz Gene Nichols is leading group rehearsals for this year’s Machias Blueberry Festival musical at Centre Street Congregational Church.

This year’s show, titled The Record of Washington County, was written and is being produced by Nichols.