By Paul Sylvain

Amid a backdrop of Revolutionary War reenactors and members of the Hannah Weston Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a plaque set in a granite stone monument was dedicated Sept. 27, to the memory of those townspeople killed in the Battle of Machias in June 1775.

By Paul Sylvain

Asked how his department's budget looked for the coming year, Washington County Sheriff Barry Curtis chuckled and replied, “I think it looks great.”

The Sheriff’s Department’s proposed budget for 2024 is up 14 percent over the 2023  budget. In dollars and cents, Curtis is asking for $2,536,901, which is up $315,994 from this year.

“Unfortunately it had to go up,” Curtis said in an interview with this publication Sept. 28. “It’s just the nature of the beast, where things are changing with coverage here in Washington County.”

By Paul Sylvain

The clock is ticking down for the Machias Selectboard to present to town voters a revised marijuana ordinance that is expected to include both adult-use — or “legal” — marijuana storefronts as well as medical marijuana storefronts.

The handful of residents who attended a special town meeting on Sept. 14, voted unanimously in favor of placing a 180-day moratorium on accepting any new applications for medical marijuana businesses in Machias. Town officials said at the time there were no new applications pending before them.

by Jonathan Reisman

If you think area chambers of commerce, prominent banking institutions, and government-supported nonprofits, such as the Sunrise County Economic Council, are doing everything they can to defend Washington County’s way of life based on America’s founding principles, think again.

By Paul Sylvain

Organizers behind Porter Memorial Library’s first-ever StoryWalk on Oct. 6, couldn’t have asked for a better day to launch the monthly event.

On an otherwise gloomy day, the clouds gave way to clear, sunny skies as the 3 p.m. event got underway. 

By Will Tuell

Responding to the perceived environmental impact of large-scale commercial aquaculture and a feared loss of ocean-bottom, the Machiasport Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to move ahead with a moratorium on aquaculture Oct. 2, according to Town Clerk Marcia Hayward. The move comes after the board heard extensive testimony -- both for and against -- during a Sept. 25 public hearing, and gives the town up to six months to finalize an ordinance on future aquaculture activity in the seaside community. 

by Jonathan Reisman

The equinox occurs when the Earth is tilting neither toward nor away from the sun, and therefore receives almost an equal amount of daylight and darkness. In the spring, the days start getting longer than the nights; in the fall, our days get shorter as winter approaches. This past autumnal equinox took on particular significance for me; at 67, I know I am in the fall of my life, if not early winter.

Cobscook Bay State Park was the scenic locale for the 61st Annual Cobscook/Moosehorn International Scout Camporee recently. More than 140 Scouts and Scouters attended with some driving hours, or even days to attend, while a Machias-area troop picked took home the Bob McVicor Award during the “Dungeons and Dragons”-themed event.

by Hazel Stark

By Will Tuell

The Machias Valley News Observer received twelve first, second, or third place finishes at the Maine Press Association’s Annual Conference and Awards Presentation Oct. 14 in Portland. Our sister publication, The Calais Advertiser, also won or placed in eighteen categories at the gala. MVNO’s second-place finish in the “General Excellence for Print '' category and third-place showing in the “General Excellence in Advertising '' category topped the list of awards which span the publication year of April 2022 - March 2023. 

By Nancy Beal

If a student athlete misses school the day before or the day after a game, should the student be benched for the next game?

That question dominated the discussion at an Oct. 11 Moosabec CSD school board meeting. The existing policy governing conduct during non-curricular activities, specifically sports, was one of several up for review. During the 20-minute public comment portion of the meeting, Kristi Carver-Kenney opined on the rules governing student participation after absences. 

By Paul Sylvain

In what everyone present agreed will be a long process with numerous public feedback sessions involved, Machias officials and its airport runway design engineers held a public hearing Oct. 12 on the proposed expansion of Machias Valley Airport.

By Will Tuell 

Scottish poet Robert Burns had it just about right when he wrote “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry,” but he could just as easily have said “of moose and men” were he tramping through the hinterlands of the Allagash WIlderness some 227 years after his passing in search of a bull moose. That, of course, is a gentle way of saying, “We didn’t get the moose.” 

by Jonathan Reisman

Among President Biden’s first actions upon taking office was a set of executive orders, decisions and appointments keeping his campaign promises to cancel and reverse President Trump’s foreign and domestic policy, including his mean social media postings. Let’s see how that has worked out:

The southern border was opened and remains open, despite the belated wailing of blue sanctuary cities. Gov. Mills wants to welcome 75,000 illegal immigrants to Maine with taxpayer financed housing, food and medical care.

By Phil Stuart

Two Narraguagus High School runners cracked the top ten at the Penobscot Valley Conference (PVC) cross country championships in Ellsworth on Oct.14.  Alexa Johnson, a sophomore finished 7th in the girls race, while another sophomore, Lucas Pounder, came in tenth for the boys.

By Will Tuell

By Paul Sylvain

By their nature, some jobs are more “taxing” than others. Just ask J. Douglas Guy III, whose job as Machias assessor is to calculate the town’s property taxes for each year. 

Nobody enjoys seeing their taxes go up, but as Guy noted in an interview on Oct. 19, “There is never a simple answer to ‘why my taxes went up’.”

Children’s Books Are Not Just For Children

By Paul Sylvain

Since moving to its new location this past summer, Berry Vines has hosted two book signing events featuring popular Maine authors. 

In August, retired Bangor Detective Tim Cotton stopped by to chat with, and sign books for, Berry Vines customers. On Oct. 20 it was Bangor children’s author Alexandra S.D. Hinrichs’ turn at the autograph table with her featured book titled The Lobster Lady, among others that she’s written.

by Joseph Horn