By Paul Sylvain 

Former Maine Game Warden and Master Guide David Craven of Bucks Harbor is speaking out against a bill to restrict coyote hunting in Maine, after defeating a similar bill during the last legislative session. 

Craven, now a respected shepherd who has judged international competitions in the field, joined popular talk radio host Ric Tyler on Feb. 28 to discuss LD 716, “An Act to Restrict the Hunting of Coyotes,” prior to a March 3 public hearing on the issue in Augusta. 

By Paul Sylvain

Machiasport officials are taking the first steps toward providing an “opportunity” for perhaps a half-dozen young families just starting out to purchase a one- to two-acre lot for their first home.

Jordan-Chandler Says, ‘It’s Kind of the Final Step Before Combining Schools’

By Nancy Beal

Crystal Blackwood, athletic coordinator for both Beals and Jonesport elementary schools, went before the respective school committees of both Moosabec area pre-K through grade 8 schools last week to suggest that the schools combine their Pee Wee basketball teams starting next year. The reason: low student numbers. “Kids aren’t playing sports like they used to,” she said, attributing the change to the availability of video games.

by Jonathan Reisman

I drove down to Augusta under the theory that showing up at the work session for LD 495, requiring the DEP to issue an estimate as to how much adverse climate change their policies were averting and at what cost to consumers in terms of energy prices, might influence the outcome. The DEP testified neither for nor against, admitting that the estimates could be provided at minimal cost.

The Washington Academy Raider Student Council is on a mission! Every Tuesday afternoon, a large group of community-minded students gather in Mrs. Carol Anthony’s classroom to discuss how to create change. The discussions are lively and creative, but they aim to influence a positive culture inside and outside of Washington Academy. 

By Paul Sylvain

The brown 1954 Bangor and Aroostook Railroad boxcar parked at the Machias Station 1898 site has a new owner, following its purchase last week by the Machias Ridge Riders ATV trail club.

Analysis by Wendell “Doss” Dennison                                         

As the old saying goes, “Opinions are like noses, everybody has one.” 

There’s no denying that the subject of transgender females, who were born biologically as males and are now competing in female athletics, is a hot topic that everyone has an opinion on.

Everyone, including myself, brings to this discussion certain ideologies and biases. However, I have endeavored to write this from a position of neutrality. If I’ve failed in that, it was unintentional.

By Paul Sylvain

Featuring art work and creations in a variety of mediums, from pencil sketches and colorful acrylic painting to models, masks and collages, the annual Porter Memorial Library Youth Art Show is something you won’t want to miss.

On March 9 at 3 p.m., Anna Maria Baeza on clarinet, Joachim Woitun on cello, and Gregory Biss on piano will present a concert for the Sunday Afternoons at the Arts Center series. The program will include Beethoven’s affecting Clarinet Trio, opus 11, written in 1798 when the composer was 28; Bach’s Suite for Unaccompanied Cello, #2 in D minor, played on an instrument fitted out in the 18th century manner; shorter works by Joseph Rheinberger and Giovanni Grazioli; plus two miniatures by Telemann written and played on an ancient clarinet called a chalumeau.

By Paul Sylvain

A seemingly improbable sequence of unforeseen events no one could ever have envisioned a year ago has resulted in former Machias Valley News Observer editor Sarah Craighead Dedmon becoming the torchbearer to “Make Here Better.”

By Paul Sylvain

Except for traveling to and from the courthouse in Machias to testify in criminal proceedings, it has been a rare sight since July 2023 to encounter a Maine State Police trooper in Washington County.

By Will Tuell

The head of Maine’s Department of Marine Resources (DMR) is stepping down next month. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said Feb. 18 that Commissioner Patrick “Pat” Keliher will be leaving the post he’s held since 2012 on March 14. 

by Jonathan Reisman

In an act of optimism, I started leeks last week. I’m not sure if my other activities reinforced or reduced that optimism. I spent a lot of time chipping ice when not writing testimony to find a way to deal with climate alarmism and DEI disregard for the 1st and 14th Amendments. I only found myself muttering to the cats, TV, or mirror once or twice a day.

Legislation Prep: LDs 183 and 495

By Paul Sylvain

Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit North is conducting an investigation in the Feb. 19 death of an inmate found unresponsive  in an intake cell at the Washington County Jail in Machias.

Jail Administrator Richard Rolfe said on Feb. 20 that 27-year-old Joseph Shields was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct late morning on Feb. 19 and booked into the jail. At about 5:15 p.m., Shields, who was still in an intake cell, was found unresponsive by officers at the jail. 

By Doss Dennison

The junior high East and West basketball finals both took place last Monday evening, with the East side playing their games at the Machias Memorial High School gymnasium, while the West side played at the Narraguagus High School gym. Most of these contests were extremely close through two or three quarters, with a few of them going right down to the final buzzer.

By Paul Sylvain

The Machias selectboard learned at its Feb. 12 meeting that a former 2.5-acre municipal landfill from 1930 until capped in 1996, is leaching per- and polyfluoroalkyl, or PFAS, substances near and possibly into the Middle River marsh behind the site, adding yet another complication to the seesaw battle over the future of the Machias dike replacement. 

The Machias landfill occupied an area near the Marshfield town line, behind the current transfer station off Broadway.

Eastport Arts Center is pleased to present the first of a recurring series of drawing classes on Saturday, Feb. 22, from 10 a.m. to noon. Ann Cannizzaro will lead sessions in “Zentangle: A Mindful Drawing Practice” in February, March, and April, at the Center. The sessions are offered for students ages 12 and up.

University of Maine Cooperative Extension is hosting online informational sessions for adults interested in becoming Maine 4-H volunteers. Participants can choose from two options: noon to 1 p.m. Fridays, Feb. 21 and 28, or 6-7 p.m. Mondays, March 3 and 10.

By Paul Sylvain 

State Senator Marianne Moore, R-Calais, and Representative Will Tuell, R-East Machias, welcomed members of the Washington Academy volleyball team to the State House on Feb. 4 to receive a legislative sentiment congratulating them on their 2024 Class B state championship. 

By Doss Dennison

Amid some disruptive weather area schools had to deal with last week, the junior high basketball season continued to move closer to its final chapter — the chance to play for a Washington County championship. 

On Monday and Tuesday evenings — Feb. 3 and 4 — both the East and the West were able to get in all of their prelim games. In the East, the Cutler girls lost to St. Stephen 76-13, the Rose M. Gaffney boys defeated Cutler 50-13, the Elm Street boys defeated St. Stephen 69-41, and the Lubec boys beat Woodland 47-33.

By Paul Sylvain

A group of students in teacher Tom Manship’s math and science class have proven once again that Fort O’Brien is the little school that can (and does). 

As Manship explained on Feb. 7, “My class created a product last fall called Astro Balm. They created a business plan for it, manufactured, advertised, and sold it.” 

Astro Balm is described as an “all natural lip balm” made from bees’ wax, coconut oil, and shea butter.