by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Twelve youth basketball teams will come from all over Washington County to compete in the first annual Camron Roberts Memorial Pee Wee Basketball Tournament to be held Friday, March 9 and Saturday, March 10 at Washington Academy in East Machias.

Shelley Roberts said the tournament will be a positive, light hearted way to remember her son Camron, who passed away in August of 2017. There will be knockout games, skill challenges and throw-for-dough games held between the games, and they’ll play Camron’s favorite music, too.

The Washington County Extension Association (WECA) seeks nominations for the 2018​ Norman W. Duzen Volunteer Award, which honors a Washington County resident whose volunteerism has enhanced the lives of community members.

Bestselling author Bruce Robert Coffin will give a talk and sign copies of his work on Wednesday, March 14 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Porter Memorial Library in Machias.  Coffin’s new novel is entitled  Beneath the Depths,  the second of his Detective Byron series, published by HarperCollins.

 Fellow Maine writer Paul Doiron has called Coffin’s first crime novel, Among the Shadows, “...the best debut I’ve read in ages.” The talk is free and open to the public. Copies of Coffin’s books will be available for sale at the event. For more information, call the library at 255-3933.

Maine State President of Children of the American Revolution, Cameryn Farnsworth, recently began fundraising for the activities department at Maine Veterans’ Homes in Machias. With a great deal of hard work, Cameryn was able to present Maine Veterans’ Homes with a very generous donation of $1,000. Her efforts were driven by compassion, as her donation was made in loving memory of her grandfather, Everett Farnsworth.

By the end of this week a nor’easter may have brought our snow cover back and frankly, I am okay with it. With the bare, March ground exposed, I can only see the chores it’s too early to begin, all waiting for me on the lawn and in the garden. The minute the ground is ready, I will begin what is sure to be a months-long project of deweeding my neglected garden and flower beds.

Rep. Robert W. Alley, Sr., D-Beals, welcomed Dr. Cathleen London of Milbridge to the Maine State House on Thursday, March 1. Dr. London is a family practice physician and she served as the “Doctor of the Day” in the Maine House of Representatives.  Submitted photo

 Editor’s note: On Wednesday, Feb. 28 Melissa Hinerman traveled to Augusta to participate in a public hearing in front of the criminal justice committee. She spoke in favor of two bills put forth by Rep. Will Tuell (R-E. Machias) and Sen. Joyce Maker (R-Calais). Hinerman is the founder of the Facebook page “Save Downeast Correctional Facility” and has a personal connection to the prison’s fate. This is an excerpt of the testimony she gave at the hearing.

Senator Rosen, Representative Warren and Members of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, 

by Sherry Rier

Editor’s note: This is the first of four chapters we will run from  the story of Sherry Rier’s maternal grandmother, Harriet Means of Machias. For the background, see our Threads column on page 8.

A benefit dance was held for the little boy who was injured in a car accident in Hancock earlier this fall. The music was provided by the band called Deep Six. There was a good turnout and not too cold an evening.

Last week’s nor’easter and high tides caused saltwater to backup through storm drains into the bottom of Court Street. Cars were diverted around the flooded area by cones and barrels. Photo by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Ron and Linda have fun at Juskiddin Acres with holidays and for St. Patrick’s Day they have been dressing up goats.  I was laughing so hard it was difficult to get good pictures. 

Went out Sunday morning and picked up $11 dollars worth of bottles on Route 192.  Roads are starting to get rough.  The frost heaves need to be marked.

Visited with Carola on Wednesday the 28th. I can’t believe this month is over. 

Went into Little Seavey Lake to rescue a chicken Ruth Ann wanted me to take because her other chickens were picking on her. 

Upcoming events

Basketball Clinic at Narraguagus Gym- Intramural Athletics will be offering a free Basketball Clinic on March 4 and March 11 at the Narraguagus Gym for grades K-6. Grades K-2 time is 4 – 5 p.m. and Grades 3-6 time is 5:15 to 7 pm. For more information, call Dan at 461-9090 or Mindy at 461-8878.

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High School One Act Review, $5 admission to benefit schools. March 7, 6 p.m.,

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EAC’s monthly Kids’ Movie and Food Club continues with a meeting featuring J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone from noon- 4 p.m., Saturday, March 10. In addition to a screening of the  2001 film version of the story, participants will enjoy a magic-themed food activity. EAC Island Institute Fellow Tarah Waters hosts this program which features movies paired with food activities.

Two new artworks have arrived on campus at the University of Maine at Machias. Both donated by Machias resident Sandi Bryand, the sculptures are in place by the pond at the center of campus. 

One metalwork sculpture by Peter Jackson, a piece called “Ta Da,” is suggestive of an anchor and serves as a nod to the seafaring heritage of the region. The other, by Ray Murphy of Hancock, is a chainsaw sculpture of an angel. Bryand purchased both pieces directly from the artists before donating them to the university. 

by Nancy Beal

Ruth Fenton, a 57-year-old Jonesport wife, mother, grandmother and activist, has written all of her life, starting in high school where she wrote for the school newspaper and took every writing course offered, to the present day. “I enjoy the craft,” she said at her kitchen table last week while preparing for a reading at the local library that evening.

Strong take to the glass by Royal

Freshman Alvin Beal gets off a smooth three-pointer over SA defender. 

Royal forward Kaiden Crowley takes soft one-hander easily over Garrett Siltz.

by Phil Stuart

Two teams very familiar with each other battled 32 minutes for the right to represent Northern Maine in the class D state title game in Augusta on March 3rd. Top seeded Woodland and number two Jonesport-Beals would meet for the 3rd time after splitting two regular season contests. They played both games at the end of the season in a three-day stretch with the Royals winning in Woodland 40-37 and Woodland winning in Jonesport 50-45. 

by Phil Stuart

The second-seeded Mount Desert Island Trojans (MDI) proved to be a tough matchup for the Washington Academy Raiders. They only met once during the regular season, and that game was played down in Bar Harbor on Dec. 19.  The Trojans completely dominated and won 79-43.

The young Trojans finished as a number two seed in the Heal Point standings with a 15-3 record while the Raiders closed out their regular season in seventh place with a 13-5 mark.

by Phil Stuart

The University of Maine at Machias (UMM) Clippers men’s basketball squad entered the postseason on a high note with a road victory over the Central Maine Community College Mustangs in Auburn on Feb. 9.

The prior evening at Machias, UMM hosted the Bengals from UMFK at the Reynolds Center. The Bengals were dominant in this one with a 56 point first half offensive explosion to go along with 44 more in the second half en route to a 100-66 decision.

by Lura Jackson

The first WE Believe event to be held in New Brunswick will be showcasing three young women from the local area. Cassidy Carr of Calais, Brianna Jack of Nackawic, N.B., and Skyla Libby from Jonesport will each be speaking about the volunteering projects they are engaged in at the May 17th event, which will be attended by 7,600 students and teachers.

The University of Maine at Machias has received a $200,000 Davis Educational Foundation grant to improve student retention and academic performance by expanding a program called Supplemental Instruction. SI has been offered at the university in STEM subjects since 2015. The new funding allows the university to expand the program to include courses in all disciplines. The grant was received from the Davis Education Foundation established by Stanton and Elisabeth Davis after Mr. Davis’s retirement as chairman of Shaw’s Supermarkets, Inc.