By Paul Sylvain

The spirit of giving is alive and well, thanks to more than a dozen merry elves at the Parish Hall on Broadway. Thanks to the unselfish efforts of these community elves, more than 600 needy people in the Greater Machias Area will enjoy a warm and happy Christmas this year.

For the 23rd straight year, the Community Christmas Giving Tree Program is continuing its mission to “help area children, elderly, and adults with special needs to have a Merry Christmas.”

By Will Tuell

The Elm Street Panther junior high boys’ and girls’ basketball teams moved to 3-0 in the young season with strong wins over Rose M. Gaffney School of Machias and D.W. Merritt School of Addison last week. The back-to-back blowouts solidified the East Machias-based Panthers as one of the early favorites this season as Elm Street picked up victories on back-to-back nights. 

By Paul Sylvain

From Santa and a live Nativity display to Wesley’s Tree Festival and brightly decorated floats, the spirit of Christmas was on full display throughout the Shiretown this past weekend in Machias. 

By Phil Stuart

The 2023\2024 high school basketball season officially opens on Dec. 8.  That is the date that high schools are eligible to play their first countable games.

For the most part, girls' teams kick things off with their season openers on Dec. 8. The Jonesport-Beals Royalettes travel to Machias for a matchup with the Lady Bulldogs.  Calais journeys up to Lincoln to face Mattanawcook Academy, and Woodland plays the Narraguagus Lady Knights in Harrington.

By Will Tuell

With the Christmas season in full swing, Downeasters could be forgiven for not paying attention to the goings on in the mountainous country of Nepal -- some 7,100 miles from Machias, as the crow flies. But for one local church, the festive time of year is the perfect time to be working to spread the Gospel to and improve the quality of life in a remote Himalayan nation gripped by sex trafficking.   

by Jonathan Reisman

“I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.

By Will Tuell

In what has quickly cemented itself as a Downeast Christmas tradition, the Wesley Tree Festival returned to the Lee Pellon Center in Machias last weekend. The festival, which got its start in and quickly outgrew the East Machias Town Hall (fire department), seems to get bigger and bigger with each passing year, even though four-year-old Wesley Keeton lost his life a decade ago in a tragic four-wheeler accident. 

Addison

Shalbajean "Mammie" Farren age 84 of Addison, fell asleep in the arms of Jesus, surrounded by her family, unexpectedly on December 3, 2023. She was born on August 1, 1939 in Harrington to the late Sidney and Beryl (Seavey) Mitchell. 

Shalba graduated from Harrington High School in 1957. She married her best friend and love of her life, Phillip Farren, on July 2, 1959. She was blessed with a large and loving family.

By Paul Sylvain

Look up the definition of “midwife” and most sources online state it is a person trained to deliver babies. Washington County’s only certified nurse midwife does that, of course, but she delivers much more than babies -- she delivers comprehensive women’s care to an area where healthcare professionals are badly needed.  

Licensed master of surgery and certified midwife-nurse Bjarni Thomas has been helping Machias area women meet their obstetrical and gynecological needs locally for more than four years.

By Paul Sylvain

The planned closure of the Route 1 dike and causeway between Helen’s Restaurant and Dunkin’ in Machias has been delayed a week by Maine’s Dept. of Transportation. 

The project, which was scheduled to start Nov. 27, has been delayed until Dec. 4 at the request of town officials to allow for a full weekend of Christmas festivities the first weekend in December.

By Will Tuell

State Senator Marianne Moore (R-Calais) received a “2023 Elected Women of Excellence” Award, the third-term senator’s office said in a media release before Thanksgiving. Moore, who serves as the Senate’s top Republican on the Legislature’s Health and Human Services (HHS) and Marine Resources committees, joined the Legislature in 2018 and has fought to restore funding for Downeast Correctional Facility in Bucks Harbor, reopen the Calais DHHS office, and served as an ex-officio member on the county’s budget committee. 

By Paul Sylvain

A townhouse-style apartment project on Cooper Street that began in earnest this past spring with groundwork and the pouring of a foundation is expected to be completed with its first tenants moving in sometime in January.

That’s according to Northfield developer Justin King, of King Construction and IMK Properties. A sign showed up on the site a few weeks ago advertising “apartments for rent.” King explained that he is accepting applications for the building's six apartment units.

By Paul Sylvain 

Meeting children’s author Tona Mareglia, you quickly discover she has a deep and genuine passion for writing and especially about the characters she creates.

Mareglia, who lives and writes from her home in Robbinston, was on hand at the Machias River General Store Nov. 17 to sign copies of her book, Manny and Lizzy: Friends Forever. The book, published late last year, tells the story about a big, burly moose named Manny, who hears a strange sound coming from a “box” stuck in the rocks on a nearby shore. 

By Wayne Smith

On Nov. 5, Andy Santerre, formerly of Cherryfield, got inducted into the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame.

Santerre reflected, “There were six that were inducted in the Hall of Fame, and there were two from Maine. I felt pretty special. I’m going to be inducted in the Maine Hall of Fame next October, but I didn’t think I would ever get in the New England Hall of Fame. For a Maine guy, it’s pretty tough.”

by Jonathan Reisman

In early November, I sent the following request to Rep. Golden:

I am writing about the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which the Maine Legislature will be voting on in 2024 (LD 1587). I am specifically requesting that you submit legislation granting Congressional consent to this interstate compact, as required by Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3 of the Constitution.

By Paul Sylvain

Hey, Machias! Dunkin’ has reopened with a new, updated look and all your favorite coffees, donuts, and sandwiches.

After being closed for two weeks for major renovations, the popular morning hot-spot reopened for business-as-usual with a full crew on board Nov. 20. It will take a few days for workers to get used to new procedures and finding things that have been moved from once-familiar places, but customers appeared to like the new updated look.

By Hazel Stark

By Paul Sylvain

Many communities in Washington County took time out on Veterans Day weekend to honor the men and women who have served and are serving on active duty and in the Reserve and National Guard units of the United States armed forces.

The holiday, originally named Armistice Day to commemorate the end of World War I on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918,  was changed in 1951 to Veterans Day.

Town Manager Predicts Project Could Take ‘Years’

By Paul Sylvain

A years-long debate over whether to simply rebuild Machias’s crumbling Civil War-era dike and Route 1 causeway with a new, improved version or remove and replace the dike with a bridge was decided last week by Maine Department of Transportation with news that sections of the existing structure are teetering on the edge of catastrophic failure.

by Jonathan Reisman

It was gloomy and raining when I went to the Cooper Community Center (the former Grange) to vote. I brought some cake for my neighbors who were working the polls and defending democracy, hoping to give them a little cheer on what would be a long, dark, and stormy day. If Election Day was somber, at least most of the results in Maine were not. The results across the nation were more of a mixed bag.

By Joseph Horn