by Nancy Beal

Beals family physician, Sam Hunkler, has made his home in Beals on the shores of Great Wass Island for the past 30 years, but he has traveled and worked all over the world before and during that time. After retiring last year, he turned the broad perspective he had developed in those years on Maine’s political scene. A lifelong Independent, he was dismayed when the gubernatorial race produced two political party-backed choices: Democrat (incumbent) Gov. Janet Mills and Republican (former) Gov. Paul LePage.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

At their town meetings on June 27, residents of Machiasport and Cutler will consider placing a 180-day moratorium on industrial-scale aquaculture developments, in order to then consider the creation of municipal aquaculture ordinances.

Crystal Canney of Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation spoke to Machiasport residents at their June 16 public hearing, which was moderated by Betsy Fitzgerald.

by Phil Stuart

The Washington Academy girls tennis team accomplished something no Washington County team has ever been able to do, and only two other northern Maine schools have done since the MPA sanctioned tennis in 1995.

On July 11, Woodie Moulton’s Raider girls journeyed to South Portland to take on the Flyers of Waynflete High School for the state Class C tennis championship. WA this year was the beneficiary of three international players who were all contributing factors, but sometimes there's a downside to that benefit.

Zoe Reynolds, a Jonesport-Beals High School senior, was awarded a Mainely Character Scholarship for $5000. These are awarded annually to Maine high school seniors who demonstrate exemplary concern for others, responsibility, integrity, and courage. Zoe was selected from 375 scholarship applicants statewide; her scholarship is sponsored by Richard and Anne Cass of Cape Elizabeth and Machias Savings Bank. 

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

After a two-year hiatus, the Margaretta Days Festival & Craft Fair will return to Machias this weekend, Friday and Saturday, June 17-18. 

The festival is organized by the Machias Historical Society and celebrates the first naval battle of the American Revolution, as well as the victorious actions of local 18th-century patriots and Passamaquoddy tribal members in defeating the British redcoats. 

by Nancy Beal

Jonesport selectmen announced last week that they had received word from Sen. Susan Collins’ office that she had included $1.5 million for Jonesport’s proposed Henry Point marina in her wish list of projects to be funded by Congress in 2023. Requests for money for special projects, known as earmarks, were common practice years ago but one that, until recently, had been suspended for the past couple of decades.

by Nancy Beal

Town leaders from Jonesport and Beals gathered at the Down East Institute for Applied Marine Research on Beals’ Great Wass Island last March to brainstorm about the local economy.  The project billed as “Jonesport and Beals Local Economy Project” was sparked by work done by Kristen Grant of Maine Sea Grant and UM Cooperative and Megan Bailey of UMO and the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center.

EAC’s Summer Workshop Series will run from June 28 to August 28, and include sessions for a variety of arts and crafts for all ages. Workshops include the following Tuesday sessions, which start at 1:30 p.m. and run for two or three hours: Photography with Leslie Bowman, June 28; Upcycled Mosaic Frames with Meri Fern, July 5; Joy of Acrylics with Anne Black, July 19; Paper Flowers with Jennifer Maffett, July 26; Block-printed Wearables with Susan Lehnen, August 2; Decoupage Bottle Candles with Sue Riddle, August 9; Henna Tattoos with Ashley Dhakal, August 16.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

This afternoon, the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) announced a bridge span as the preferred alternative to replace the existing four box culverts on the Machias Dike Bridge, which carries Route 1 over the Middle River in the Machias.

The current structure dates to the Civil War era and is deteriorating.

A public meeting is scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. on June 28 at Machias Memorial High School to discuss the process that led to this decision and DOT’s next steps.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Sam Allen enjoyed bouncing a basketball in his driveway but recently told his mom he would like to have a basketball hoop, too. Soon, a family friend found a second-hand hoop and gifted it to Sam. 

That’s when Sam had another idea. 

“He said, ‘Let’s put it somewhere that everyone can use it,’” recalls Sam’s mother, Katie Sell. 

by Nancy Beal

In about a half-hour, 14 Jonesporters approved a total budget of $1,966,081 to operate their elementary school next year. The responsibility of taxpayers will be reduced by a carried forward balance ($250,000) and by state subsidy ($231,068), leaving a total local share of $1,485,008.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Machiasport voters last year authorized the sale of town land abutting the Fort O’Brien State Historic Site, provided the sale price was equal to or greater than the assessed value.

According to town clerk Marcia Hayward, the six-acre parcel near the Fort O’Brien School has only been accessible through the land of abutters or by sea. 

Gateway Milbridge and Petit Manan Yacht Club will host Linda Greenlaw for a free, public speaking engagement at the Milbridge Elementary School on Thursday, July 14, at 6:30 p.m.

by Joseph Horn

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Machiasport is once again one of the state’s top clamming towns and the most productive in Washington County. 

Machiasport is Maine’s fifth-most productive softshell clam port behind Brunswick, Waldoboro, Freeport, and Scarborough, with 453,661 pounds of softshell clams landed at a value of $1.462 million, according to 2021 landings data — the pounds caught and dollar value of a fishery.

by Jayna Smith

With more time spent outdoors, it is a good time to get into the habit of checking for ticks, those small bloodsucking parasites, many of which transmit diseases to animals and people.

According to Griffin Dill, pest management specialist for UMaine’s Cooperative Extension, ticks typically spend the winter months in a state of dormancy among the leaf litter under the snow.  Now with warmer temperatures, the risk of Lyme disease is great.

by Jonathan Reisman

“Baseball has been very good to me”- Roberto Clemente

“Baseball has been berry, berry good to me”- Garett Morris as Chico Escuela on Saturday Night Live

“Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical.”- Yogi Berra

“There is no room in baseball for discrimination. It is our national pastime and a game for all.” – Lou Gehrig.

“Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand.” – Leo Durocher

Downeast Community Partners announces the hiring of Sharon Catus as the Director of Development. “I am thrilled to be at DCP, an organization that represents the best of Downeast Maine. The opportunity to help build a future for so many, and serve as a catalyst for improving the quality of life in Hancock and Washington counties inspires me. I am grateful to be here.” 

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

The Machias Planning Board this month approved Robert Boggia’s application to open a new medical marijuana business at 28 Main Street, located in the former Midtown Auto Repair building, now owned by Boggia.

On May 11, Boggia’s application went to the Machias Board of Selectmen for their review. 

by Sarah Craighead 

Local music lovers should tune in next week to hear a local son, Noah Carver of Beals, perform on National Public Radio. In recognition of his talents as a singer, Carver was selected to perform on From the Top, a prestigious radio program that celebrates young, classically-trained musicians. 

by Jayna Smith

Logan Johnson, a Calais native, now Northeast Region Coordinator for the Forest Stewards Guild, will lead a group in a Forestry for Maine Birds workshop set to take place at Devil’s Head on June 11.   

Johnson’s work with the Guild focuses on woodland owner outreach, forest climate change resiliency, and fire science.  He will be joined in leading the workshop by Joseph Roy, a landowner outreach biologist for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

by Jonathan Reisman

When the news came in Sunday afternoon about the mass shooting in Buffalo, I had a sinking feeling. First, because I have a deep familiarity and connection with Buffalo, and second because I am all too familiar with how the left and their media cheerleaders use tragedy to attack their enemies and increase their power. Democratic politicians and the media confirmed my fears before night fell Sunday.