Jonesport

by Nancy Beal

 Jonesport selectmen discussed the cost of clam licenses at their June 21 meeting. Presently, resident diggers pay $80 for the privilege, while non-residents, who obtain licenses through a lottery system, pay twice that. Although the authority to set license fees rests with the town’s Shellfish Conservation Committee, selectmen, noting the gap between revenue and costs of running that committee, weighed in last week.

Jonathan Varnum, from Oakland, Maine will serve in the Gouldsboro area after completing Marine Patrol’s nine-week Full Time Officer Training Program and the Maine Criminal Justice Academy’s 18 week Basic Law Enforcement Training Program. A graduate of Beal College’s Conservation Law program, and the Maine Criminal Justice Academy’s Law Enforcement Pre-Service Course, Officer Varnum is an experienced outdoorsman, having worked for guide services in central and northern Maine.

As the local ATV season finally gets underway, the Downeast Trail Riders Association would like to thank all the sponsors of the groomer program, and remind everyone that safety and conservation are their goals, as well as to share our trails with walkers, runners, and cyclists. Last winter’s snowmobile season wasn’t lengthy, but DETR was able to replace one of their groomers. They also built a third blazer from scratch, a project that they started in the spring of 2016 and completed this March.

 Sharon and John Church with their daughters Elizabeth Parker (left) and Sarah Alley at a welcome home party held June 22 at Jonesport’s Community of Christ church. In late April, Sharon sustained a serious leg injury from an accident while the couple was cycling in Bermuda on a 40th wedding anniversary vacation. She was flown to Florida and eventually reached Portland by air ambulance, where she underwent multiple surgeries. She recently arrived home in Jonesport and was greeted by scores of well wishers last week with a buffet supper in the church she pastors.

Brig. Gen. Hugh T. Corbett, assistant adjutant general, Maine Army National Guard, promoted Lt. Col. Dean A. Preston to the rank of colonel in front of family, friends, and service members at Camp Keyes on Monday, June 12. Preston is a 27 year veteran having served in both Iraq and Afghanistan in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, respectively.

One of the loveliest flower beds in Washington county sits on Court Street in front of the Machias Post Office. This week you’ll see white peonies, purple lupine, orange poppies and white iris alongside the brick building across from the library. More spectacular perennials will present themselves as the season moves on. Photo by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

by Nancy Beal

 Bob Simons and Renee Goodwin are folk guitarists who have been friends since the 1960s and who merged their singing and instrumental talents in 2006. In the past eight years, as a duo they call simply Simons and Goodwin, they have entertained audiences in various settings: pubs, coffeehouses, outdoor and indoor concerts and private parties. Next week (2 p.m., Saturday, July 8), they will bring their songs back to Jonesport’s Peabody Memorial Library in a repeat of a popular performance of last August.

 The Washington County Children’s Chorus performed its annual spring concert in Jonesport last Sunday. The concert was a fundraiser for the chorus’ planned trip to France in June, 2018. Chorus musical director Christine Guy led the children through a program that included the French national anthem, “La Marseillaise”, and four other pieces performed in French. For their next fundraiser, the chorus will be selling lobster rolls and dessert at the Machias Wild Blueberry Festival, scheduled for August 18-20. Photo by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Photo: Local artist Ellie Carbone’s work will be on exhibit at Expressions Gallery & Studio in Machias, with an opening reception scheduled for Friday, June 23. “I find boundless opportunities and adventure as a watercolor artist, painting places. I’m able to spend my days doing the thing I really love to do,” said Carbone.

Watercolor artist Ellie Carbone set to exhibit in Machias 

Expressions Gallery & Studio in Machias hosted the first reception of the 2017 summer season 5:30 p.m. on June 23.