1. State Police ‘Pull Out’ of Statutorily Mandated Patrols in Rural Maine

    By Paul Sylvain

    Chances are you won’t find a state trooper patrolling Washington County these days. The same is also true in at least six other rural Maine counties. As a result, county sheriff’s departments have had to step in to fill the void.

    Washington County Commissioner Chris Gardner explained at the Aug. 10 county commissioners session that he’d just attended the Maine County Commissioners Association (MCCA) meeting at which the lack of rural patrols by Maine State Police took center stage.

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  2. Jonesport-Beals Supt. Collins Returned to Post in Close, Weighted Vote

    by Nancy Beal

    Union 103 Superintendent Lewis Collins announced last winter that he would retire Aug. 31; and a search committee was formed to find a replacement for the post that oversees all three schools in the Jonesport-Beals region. However, there had been no movement over the summer — Collins told this reporter that there had been no applications — until last week when the joint board that handles matters pertaining to all three schools held a meeting at 5:00 p.m. Aug. 9.

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  3. Tempest in a T-shirt: Commissioner Cautions Against Censoring Blueberry Fest Vendors

    By Paul Sylvain

    Referring to an incident involving obscene T-shirts sold by a vendor at last year’s Machias Wild Blueberry Festival, Washington County Commissioner Chris Gardner cautioned festival organizers against censorship at this year’s festival.

    The discussion arose at the Aug. 10 Washington County Commissioners meeting in Machias and was initiated as an agenda item by Gardner.

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  4. Machiasport Planning Trail, ‘Outdoor School’

    By Will Tuell

    The Town of Machiasport is looking to develop a mile-long interpretive trail on 27 acres of land behind the town office complex, clerk Marcia Hayward said in a phone interview earlier this month. But first, Hayward says, town officials are asking the public to write letters of support for a $15,000 grant from the Maine Community Foundation’s “Conservation for All” program.

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  5. Climate Con Continues

    by Jonathan Reisman

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  6. DA’s Office On-the-Move to Talbot Building

    By Paul Sylvain

    Washington County Commissioners on Aug. 10 reaffirmed an earlier decision green-lighting the District Attorney’s (DA) office to immediately move from its current 82 Court St. location to its new home at the former Talbot Law office building at 24 Center St..

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  7. Machias Planning Board Approves $1 Million + Expansion at West Branch Farms

    By Paul Sylvain

    At its Aug. 2 meeting, the Machias Planning Board approved building permits for four separate projects at West Branch Farms, located at 180 West Kennebec Road. Two of the permits have a total estimated cost of more than one million dollars.

    The farm features the  Coffee+Crisp Cafe,  a “mercantile” shop and a seasonal pick-your-own business, in addition to raising various farm animals. It has been open since 2020.

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  8. The Nature of Phenology: Mycelium

    by Joseph Horn

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  9. Wesley Foundation Purchases Machias Fairgrounds, Honored by Washington Academy

    By Will Tuell

    The Washington Academy (WA) board of trustees on Aug. 5 presented its Distinguished Community Service Award to the Wesley Foundation, so named after four-year-old Wesley Keeton of East Machias, who lost his life in an ATV accident 10 years ago. 

    In accepting the award on the Foundation’s behalf, Wesley’s aunt, Beckie Hennessey, announced that “Team Wes” has officially closed on the fairgrounds across from Down East Community Hospital and plans to develop an outdoor recreational center for area youth.

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  10. Jonesport Selectmen Eye Sidewalk Replacement; Discuss Broadband

    by Nancy Beal

    Jarod Farn-Guilette of the Maine Department of Transportation’s (MEDOT) Village Partnership program attended the Jonesport selectmen’s meeting last week and described how the DOT works with towns to bring about improvements to infrastructure. Although most of the talk was general, in which Farn-Guilette described how the Village Partnership program works and what it could help with, the sidewalks that run through downtown Jonesport alongside State Route 187 were the focus.

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  11. ‘Hands Down,’ Machias has Best Municipal PD in County, Chief Says

    By Paul Sylvain

    Just 20 months ago, you could drive through Machias without seeing a town cop or cruiser. In fact, the town’s police department had been decimated by then and existed only on paper. It had no chief, no officers and keeping peace in this town of 2,200 people was left to the sheriff’s department.

    That all changed in October 2021, when the town’s selectboard hired veteran cop Keith Mercier as the department’s new chief. The position had been vacant since July that year.

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  12. Crafts, Food, Music and Chainsaw Carving Highlights ‘Summer Fling’ Fundraiser

    By Paul Sylvain

    Perhaps it was a case of Divine intervention, but after a night of heavy rain and early morning fog, the skies above Sawyer Memorial Congregational Church in Jonesport cleared Saturday morning just in time for the church’s “Summer Fling” steeple restoration fundraiser.

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  13. School Worker Shortage Prompts Federal Legislation

    By Will Tuell

    In response to the intensifying school worker shortage, United States Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) have put forward legislation to help rural schools cope with the exodus of teachers, administrative staff, and school workers, though some, like AOS 96 Superintendent believe the effort may not be enough as area schools continue to struggle to find qualified people weeks before the start of the 2023-24 school year is set to begin.

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  14. Community Mourns Beloved School Administrator

    By Will Tuell

    Family, friends, and community members paid tribute to beloved Machias Valley Christian School administrator June Ashmore last week as news of her passing after a short illness spread across the tight-knit community Ashmore had served for generations.

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  15. Make My Day: The Biden-Trump Nightmare

    by Jonathan Reisman

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  16. Holmes Remembered for His Blue-Collar Roots During WA Ceremony

    By Will Tuell

    The Washington Academy (WA) board of trustees on Aug. 5 bestowed their 2023 Distinguished Educator Award on revered English teacher Bill Holmes of Machiasport.  Holmes taught generations of high-school students and coached basketball during his storied tenure at the East Machias-based high school. 

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  17. The Nature of Phenology: Bog Plants

    by Hazel Stark

    We’ve all been through a rough couple of years, haven’t we? Just about everyone I know has had some major, life-altering change in the past couple years. Loss in the form of sudden or young deaths, breakups, economic insecurity, wildfires and floods, you know the rest. It’s been a lot. But it always helps to look to the places that have lasted the longest through incredible stress and turmoil for some advice on how to thrive even when things appear to fall apart. My favorite place to revel in that resilience is a bog.

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  18. Fire and Police Respond to Oil Spill on Broadway

    By Paul Sylvain

    At approximately 1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9, Machias police responded to a report of a mysterious oil spill in front of the Machias Valley New Observer (MVNO) office on 41 Broadway.

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  19. Fatal Crash in Jonesboro Leaves One Dead

    By Will Tuell

    The Maine State Police, Washington County Sheriff’s deputies and the Jonesboro Fire Department responded to a fatal auto accident on Route 1 in Jonesboro Tuesday, Aug. 8 near the Jonesboro-Columbia Falls town line.

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  20. Concern Grows Over Selectboard Member’s Possible Conflict of Interest; Board Considers New Recreational Adult-Use Marijuana Storefront Ordinance

    By Paul Sylvain

    Barely a year after an adult-use marijuana ordinance was enacted in Machias, the town’s selectboard is considering taking  up the subject again with the intent of expanding or replacing the town’s current ordinance to include non-medical “recreational,” adult-use stores that could sell so-called “legal” marijuana.

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  21. Eastport Health Care Opens 10,000 sq. ft. Machias Facility

    By Will Tuell

    Eastport Health Center (EHC) opened the doors to its newly retrofitted office space at 106 Dublin Street in Machias last week. The facility, which hosts primary, behavioral, and pediatric care providers serving rural Washington County patients, went from two significantly smaller offices in the area to one 10,000-square-foot facility on Dublin Street, according to CEO Ellen Krajewski and Medical Director Dr. John Gaddis. 

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  22. Transfer Station Deficit Dominates Machias Town Meeting Discussion

    By Paul Sylvain

    A warrant article seeking up to $65,000 to fund the town’s share of operating the Machias Bay Area Transfer Station on Broadway easily passed at the July 26 annual town meeting, but not before drawing the longest discussion of the 83-minute meeting.

    Past Machias Budget Committee member and retired University of Maine at Machias Business Division Chairman Richard Larson opened the discussion by noting voters can choose to pass or decrease the amount in such enterprise account warrant articles, but cannot increase the dollar amount.

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  23. Building for the Future: Justin King Eyes Townhomes, Community Center for Machias

    By Paul Sylvain

    From his youth growing up next to blueberry fields on the Mason’s Bay Road in Jonesport to a home he built and shares with his wife and two – soon to be three – children on Bog Lake in Northfield, Machias-based contractor and developer Justin King has earned a reputation as a shaker and mover in Washington County’s construction business.

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  24. Machias Area Little League State Runners-Up in Wild Week of Action

    By Will Tuell

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  25. Midsummer Night Memes

    by Jonathan Reisman

    AI to save DEI?

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  26. “Anchors” Away, New Bar, Eatery Rockin’ Machias

    by Paul Sylvain

    According to Anchor co-owner Kelly Davis, her husband of 36 years, Larry, always wanted to own a bar and be a bartender. On May 29, he got his wish.

    That’s the day the Anchor opened its doors for business on 36 Main St., in Machias. “The only thing,” said Davis, with a laugh, “is that I do most of the bar tending.”

    The Filthy Casuals band played the Anchor its first Saturday after opening and packed the house. “It was overwhelming,” Davis said, “especially for the first time doing this.”

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  27. Police Arrest Three in Western Washington County Drug Bust

    By Will Tuell

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  28. Washington Academy Science Teacher Selected as 2024 Maine Teacher of the Year Semi-Finalist

    Washington Academy Head of School Judson McBrine announced Mrs. Colleen Maker has been selected as a 2024 Maine State Teacher of the Year Semi-Finalist. She is one of eight educators the Maine Department of Education chose to move forward in the naming process. Mrs. Maker teaches biology, honors biology, and marine biology classes at WA. 

    McBrine said in a press release last week that Maker is one of “the most passionate and enthusiastic teachers” he’s worked with over the course of his 32-year career, 

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  29. The Nature of Phenology: Great White Sharks

    by Joseph Horn

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  30. Gas Odor Prompts Hannaford’s Evacuation; Store Reopens 

    By Paul Sylvain

    The Machias Hannaford store on Dublin Street was evacuated and closed its doors to customers and store associates for nearly five hours Tuesday, Aug. 1, as the Dead River Company investigated the reported odor of gas. 

    The evacuation occurred around 10 a.m. and the store remained closed until 2:30 p.m, while shoppers and employees in the store at the time were quickly evacuated. 

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  31. Washington County Game Warden Wins International Honor

    By Will Tuell

    Maine Game Warden Joe McBrine got quite the shock recently when he was named Officer of the Year at the North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Association (NAWEOA) annual conference in Provo, Utah. McBrine, who has served as a game warden for nearly thirty years – most of it here in Washington County -- said that he “choked up” when the 9,000-member organization of fish and game officers from the United States and Canada called his name July 10.

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  32. Machias Voters to Consider 49-Article Town Meeting Warrant

    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.

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  33. Washington County Dispatcher Takes Call Reporting Fire at His Home

    By Paul Sylvain

    The last thing long-time Washington County emergency dispatcher Phil Roberts ever expected was to take a call reporting his Marshfield home on fire, but that’s exactly what happened around 5:30 p.m. on July 20.

    “I took the call,” Roberts said, when asked if he was on duty at the time.

    The cause of the fire at Roberts’ Marshfield residence “technically remains under investigation,” said Roberts, during a phone interview July 21. 

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  34. Area Churches Gear Up for Vacation Bible School Week of July 31

    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.

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  35. Collins Lands $35 Million for Lobster Industry

    By Will Tuell

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  36. Count on Me

    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.

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  37. Jane Crosen at Porter Memorial Library for Book Signing July 27

    Meet artist/editor and mapmaker Jane Crosen at Porter Memorial Library on Thursday, July 27 at 6 p.m. for an informal talk about her new Coastwise Geographic Edition of Colby’s 1881 Atlas of Washington County. The book signing event is free and open to the public. Copies of the atlas will be available for purchase.

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  38. Blueberry Festival Musical Returns After Four-Year Break

    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. 

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  39. The Nature of Phenology: Water Lillies

    By Hazel Stark

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  40. Community Raises $25,000 as Search for Missing Fisherman Continues

    By Will Tuell

    The family of a missing Steuben fisherman who did not return home from hauling lobster traps in Jonesport July 21 has not given up hope that 18-year-old Tylar Michaud will be found, according to family friend Joline Brown. Brown, who spearheaded a community effort to raise almost $25,000 in two days, said that volunteers will scour air, land, and sea as the likelihood of Michaud’s survival diminishes with each passing day.

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  41. Mondville Looks Back on Four Decades at UMM

    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.

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  42. Jackie O’Clair named DECH Board Chair at annual meeting

    Down East Community Hospital and Calais Community Hospital held its annual meeting of the Corporators on Thursday, June 30. During the meeting,  board officers were announced, and Jackie O’Clair, who most recently served as the Vice Chair and Secretary, held her first meeting as Board Chair. 

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  43. Machias Routs Acadian for Third Little League Divisional Championship This Summer

    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.

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  44. Machias Selectmen Discuss Drafting New Marijuana Ordinance Allowing Recreational Purchase

    By Will Tuell

    The Machias Board of Selectmen continued discussions on whether to update the town’s adult-use marijuana ordinances during their July 12 meeting.

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  45. Towns Lobby for Moore Bill to Step up General Assistance Funding

    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.

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