By Will Tuell

Machias’s iconic Burnham Tavern — long recognized for its role as a gathering place during the Battle of the Margaretta, the first naval engagement of the American Revolution — provided a fitting backdrop on Sept. 17, as residents and history enthusiasts, some in period regalia, gathered to mark the 238th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution.

By Paul Sylvain

Thanks to a $500,000 Brownfields Cleanup Grant that was awarded to the Washington County Development Authority (WCDA) in 2021 by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, work is now underway to remove contaminants at the former Cutler Navy base recreation building.

That’s according to a press release issued last Friday by Washington County Manager Renee Gray. The statement notes that Brownfields cleanup funding is used to remediate contaminated properties and prepare the site for redevelopment and reuse for the community’s benefit

By Paul Sylvain

These days, it’s a rare meeting of the Machiasport selectboard when it’s over less than 40 minutes after it started, and without stirring up drama, tempers or controversy. However, such was the board’s monthly meeting on Sept. 16, It also was the first meeting in many months that didn’t include an executive session.

The meeting opened with discussion about selling a 10-acre, town-owned lot on New Hickey Road, a short distance north of the former Air Force housing area, on the opposite side of Route 92 from Jasper Beach.

By Will Tuell

Maine’s Department of Marine Resources (DMR) is offering 19 scallop drag and dive licenses to qualifying fishermen this fall, the agency said in a press release last week. Because Maine’s scallop fishery is “closed” to general entry, lawmakers and DMR have set up a system where newcomers wanting a chance at a license can enter either the drag or dive lottery based on the number of fishermen who have left the fishery in the past year. 

Former Washington County Commission Chairman Gardner Accepts Blame, Admits, ‘I’m Your Huckleberry’

By Paul Sylvain 

A packed trial room at Washington County Superior Court was the setting for a highly anticipated, often fiery public hearing on the county’s fiscal crisis last week with County Commissioners David Burns (R-Whiting), Courtney Hammond (R-Harrington), and Billy Howard (R-Calais) presiding. 

By Paul Sylvain

Machias business owners and residents should sleep a little easier at night beginning Sept. 21. That’s when the Machias Police Department will initiate 24-hour, ‘round-the-clock law enforcement coverage at least three nights a week.

Machias Police Chief Keith Mercier told the selectboard on Sept. 10 that providing a 24-hour presence had been a priority goal for him since his arrival in Machias four years ago. His biggest hurdle, he said, was building a department with enough reserve officers to make it happen.

Bonnie Ellen (Bassett) Healy of Whiting leaves $207,716 of her estate to Down East Community Hospital.

CEO, Steve Lail, on the donation, “We are very appreciative and humbled to receive this very generous donation from Bonnie Healy. It is coming at a time when hospitals are experiencing challenging changes in state and federal reimbursements. This donation will help us to continue our mission to improve healthcare for those in Sunrise County. I didn’t have the pleasure of knowing Mrs. Healy but am so grateful she thought of us and the healthcare of the people in this county.”

By Will Tuell

But for the heroic actions of the family’s St. Bernard, Jeremiah and Katherine Jurdak of Pembroke, their daughters, and infant grandchild would not have escaped a blaze that took their Pembroke home, and virtually all of their belongings recently. 

By Paul Sylvain

If last week’s special meeting of the Washington County Commissioners meeting is a preview of budget discussions to come, the 2026 county spending package could be in for a long, rocky ride over the next two months. 

Commissioners Billy Howard, Courtney Hammond and Chairman David Burns bounced around between three versions of the budget, trying to decide which one they would turn over to the county budget advisory committee this week at the commissioners' Sept. 11 meeting.

Board Mistook Existing Motel Buildings as Proposed New Construction

By Paul Sylvain

A misread of a building permit application by the Machias Planning Board at its Sept. 3 meeting may have cost the owners of the Bluebird Motel valuable time in their effort to rebuild a 20-unit building that was destroyed by fire last Christmas Eve.

By Paul Sylvain

A special meeting of the Washington County Commissioners on Sept. 3 has left those who were there asking when is a resignation a resignation?

By Will Tuell

Peals of laughter ripped through the Elm Street School gymnasium Friday morning as Missouri-based ventriloquist Doug Mickan regaled the nearly 200 students and staff with a puppet show featuring a fourth grader dressed as a pirate, a talking rooster named Roscoe, and an animated drawing aptly named Drew. While Mickan and his puppets deftly told fairy tales, sang songs, and bantered back and forth, the message was clear — we all have unique talents and abilities that distinguish us, and it is how we use them that makes each of us special. 

Reshingles Main Building, Boat House

By David Cale

Cross Island is a hidden gem for visitors passing through our waters off Machiasport’s Bucks Harbor and Starboard districts. It offers a place to camp for the night, along with walking trails to enjoy the scenic views. 

As Machiasport’s harbormaster, my position is more than just placing moorings, helping with the upkeep, and seeing to improvements and upgrades to our working waterfront. A lot of time is spent on the phone taking calls. 

By Paul Sylvain

The Machiasport selectboard on Aug. 28 stood by its original June 4 decision denying former Machiasport resident Kenny Fass a resident clam harvesting license despite a disputed non-binding 2-1 shellfish conservation committee vote recommending that Fass be issued the license.

Fass, who owns property and resided at 55 Corn Hill Road, lost his home to a fire in 2020. The lot was cleared of debris and has remained vacant during the five years since the blaze. Fass now lives in Machias with his girlfriend.

By Nancy Beal

It has been a busy Raider summer! 

Shortly after the school year ended in June, rising seniors Lucas Cushing and Jade Gardner participated in an interactive experience at the Cohen Institute's High School Summer Leadership Program on the University of Maine's Orono campus. Throughout their years at Washington Academy, Lucas and Jade have been engaged student leaders as members of the Raider Student Council and National Honor Society. 

By Paul Sylvain

“We’re just staying afloat, and I mean just barely.”

Those words, spoken by Washington County Commissioner Billy Howard at an Aug. 21 public hearing, sum up the current state of the county’s government finances. And the situation could get worse — a lot worse — if a $11 million bond referendum being sought by the county fails in the Nov. 4 election. Among other things, the county will be unable to repay its $7.6 million tax anticipation note that comes due in full on Dec. 31.

By Nancy Beal

“It’s utterly ridiculous!” was Paul Farnsworth’s opening salvo at the Aug. 13 meeting of Jonesport selectmen. His remark was aimed at any rebuilding effort the town might undertake on behalf of the old Cummins & Norton store in front of the firehouse and adjacent to his auto repair business in the part of town that used to be considered West Jonesport.

By Will Tuell

Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025, will be a solemn day for the family of slain Korean War soldier Oscar Sprague, who lost his life serving our country during the Korean War. Sprague, 22, was reported missing in action on Sept. 3, 1950, in the vicinity of Yongsan, South Korea, and, until recently, remained unaccounted for. Now, 75 years later, Sprague’s hometown of Milbridge will welcome home their fallen hero with full military honors, funeral organizers said last week. 

by Jonathan Reisman

“Don’t it always seem to go,

That you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone?”

-- Joni Mitchell (Big Yellow Taxi)

Freedom Studies is going on hiatus while I ponder Joni Mitchell’s lyrics on my 69th birthday,

Including:

“I’ve looked at life from both sides now,

From up and down, and still somehow

It’s life’s illusions, I recall

I really don’t know life at all.”

-- Joni Mitchell (Both Sides Now)

By Paul Sylvain

And just like that, it was over. The 48th almost annual Machias Wild Blueberry Festival, that is. And what a festival it was.

Mother Nature even held off Sunday’s forecasted rains until after the live performances on the outdoor stage were finished and most of the festival’s vendors had packed up and were heading home or to their next festival stop away from Machias.

By Will Tuell

Twenty years ago last Friday — Aug. 15, 2005 — Maine Veterans Home in Machias opened its doors. In the two decades since, the residential care facility serving area veterans and their spouses has seen its share of ups and downs, from expansions and national awards to a worldwide pandemic and a near-closure three years ago after repeated warnings about the home’s financial woes.