by Nancy Beal

Next year’s budget, teacher hires, and policy review highlighted the agenda of the May 3 meeting of the Jonesport Elementary School board, but an unannounced and unlisted changing of the guard was first inserted into the nearly two-hour session. Immediately after approval of the minutes and a brief public comment period, Morgan Monroe asked to take the item labeled “Other” out of order, She wanted to know if the board should hold an election of officers.

by Will Tuell

Majority Democrats in the Maine House turned aside four bills that would have rolled back school vaccination requirements May 4. The bills, some in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, others an effort to repeal 2019 legislation that would have closed religious and philosophical exemptions to the state’s child vaccination law, were rebuffed mostly on party lines. 

Eastport Arts Center’s next Open Mic will be held Friday, May 26, from 6-8 p.m. The event, which has run monthly since January, has grown steadily, and each evening is a lively mix of 10-minute music and spoken word acts, with always some surprises. An array of snacks and hot beverages are provided in a casual coffeehouse-style atmosphere. Those interested in performing may sign up at the event for a 10-minute slot. A limited number of slots will be available for those who’d prefer to sign up in advance.

by Hazel Stark

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

A.O.S. 96 Superintendent Scott Porter led a presentation to the Machias Budget Committee last Wednesday, taking them through the Machias school’s 10-page budget, which projects an overall increase to taxation of $79,804.31 for the 2023-24 academic year, a 5 percent budget increase over last year.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

It’s an exciting season for Brecken and Ryle Mortland, owners of two Machias lodging businesses, the Schoppee Inn and Margaretta Inn. Spring is here, and tourists are beginning to return, just in time for the launch of their new venture — Downeast Adventures, an ATV rental business. 

Also, they’re newlyweds.

by Michael Hinerman

The Washington Academy Alumni Association strives to bring alumni together on Saturday, Aug. 5, to celebrate 231 years of WA’s educational history and the 200th anniversary of the construction of the “Old Academy” building, still in use today. A small group of alumni is working to revive our Association, create networking opportunities with other alumni, enhance our sense of community worldwide, and help graduates with scholarship opportunities. 

by Will Tuell

For the second time in three weeks, Maine Forest Rangers, Wesley firefighters, and those from neighboring communities responded to a wildfire that charred part of the Route 9 community’s remote landscape last Friday afternoon (April 28). The blaze, contained at 27 acres, scorched blueberry land and some adjoining woodland, but was contained before it spread much further according to the Wesley Volunteer Fire Department Facebook page. 

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

A wind storm that hit early Monday morning knocked out power to thousands of Eastern Maine Electric Cooperative (EMEC) customers, including 100 percent of their Washington County customers and some customers in Aroostook County. 

The National Weather Service issued a high wind warning from 8 p.m. Sunday, April 30, to 10 a.m. on Monday, May 1, anticipating gusts up to 50 m.p.h. Along the coast.

by Nancy Beal

The introduction of telemedicine in 10 of Maine’s 250 public libraries is approaching its one-year anniversary, but it appears that few know it exists. Jonesport’s Peabody Memorial Library and Steuben’s Henry D. Moore Library are two of the 10, but PML librarian Heidi Hinkley reports that only a handful of residents from Jonesport, Beals, and Addison, who have access to the facility, have taken advantage of the ability to consult with a health care provider remotely.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

After six successful years on Hadley Lake Road in Marshfield, Bold Raven Salon owner Lida Rolfe is delighted to announce her business is moving to Main Street in Machias. On Tuesday, May 2, she’ll open the doors on her new, larger space at 97 Main Street, the former location of Berry Vines. 

“This space offers even more space where more women, or men, can come,” said Rolfe, who says throughout her 10-year career, she has worked to create a safe space for her salon’s clientele. 

by Will Tuell 

Downeast Community Partners (DCP) is hosting a “Top to Bottom Drive” to collect critically needed personal hygiene and home cleaning items. The drive will take place Friday, May 26, at Hannaford in Bar Harbor, Ellsworth, and Machias; Walmart in Calais; and the Blue Hill Co-op. “SNAP benefits do not cover hygiene items or cleaning supplies,” notes DCP’s Development Director Sharon Catus, “yet without these items, one’s quality of life can be severely impacted. Imagine not having diapers for your children; soap; shampoo; toothbrushes; deodorant; disinfectant spray; paper towels.

by Joseph Horn

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Like a game of musical chairs where everyone finds a seat, multiple Machias businesses are relocating, opening new doors, and expanding this spring.

Berry Vines Florist and Gifts last month relocated to a new location at 247 Main Street, where this weekend it held a re-blooming open house. In early May, The Bold Raven Salon will relocate from Marshfield to Berry Vines’ former location on Main Street in Machias, next to the River’s Edge Drive-In. 

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Technology issues and the need for legal clarification cut short the first Machias Board of Appeals meeting held in living memory which took place last Thursday, April 13, in the Machias Telebusiness Center. 

Through her attorney Mary Costigan, Machias resident Jeanne Tennison has appealed the Machias Planning Board and CEO Kevin Brodie’s February decision to approve a building permit for Graham Holdings, which plans to construct 12 seasonal rental cabins on its Canal Street property in Machias.

by Jonathan Reisman

Thanks to special grant funding provided by the Maine State Department of Education's “Summer 2023 Coastal Science & Marine Trades” initiative, Chewonki is excited to announce it is now accepting applications for the summer 2023 Coastal Ecology Kayak Expedition.

The no-cost program is 100% free for participating students, including travel and equipment expenses. It will provide ten Maine high school students the chance to travel the mid-coast region in ocean kayaks and explore marine ecology, as well as marine careers and research opportunities. 

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Life in the Maine Mineral & Gem Society laboratory is much busier this week after throngs of treasure hunters have descended on Washington County, hoping to find a piece of the bolide meteor that streaked across the midday sky on Saturday, April 8. 

Now those hunters are delivering their finds to the museum for analysis.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Beginning this summer, nature and local history lovers will enjoy hiking Maine Coast Heritage Trust’s Meserve Head Preserve in Machias, a 69-acre preserve with frontage on Elm Street and the Machias River.

The property is named for the Meserve family, early Machias settlers with ties to the Burnham family. Two Burnham sisters, Elizabeth (Betsy) and Pamela, married two Meserve brothers, Joseph and William.

Cellar holes from two Meserve homesteads are still visible, along with at least two stone-lined wells, now collapsing. 

by Jim Lenke

Without any help from Buzz Lightyear, Machias Memorial high school has a team of students getting off the ground in a big way. These students have been working all year using Downeast ingenuity to get a couple of experiments, literally, off the ground and as close to space as one could get. 

by Jonathan Reisman

In 2022, the Democratic Party operatives financially supported a number of “MAGA” Trump Republicans in primary contests because they believed them easier to beat in a general election. In gubernatorial and Senate races in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Arizona and Michigan, they were correct. Politics ain’t beanbag, as the saying goes.