By Paul Sylvain

A group of students in teacher Tom Manship’s math and science class have proven once again that Fort O’Brien is the little school that can (and does). 

As Manship explained on Feb. 7, “My class created a product last fall called Astro Balm. They created a business plan for it, manufactured, advertised, and sold it.” 

Astro Balm is described as an “all natural lip balm” made from bees’ wax, coconut oil, and shea butter. 

The demonstration and informal discussion for area fishermen and the public on the use of alternative lobster fishing gear that was scheduled for Feb. 6 has been rescheduled for 1-5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18.

By Paul Sylvain

Fort O’Brien School might be small in size and student count, but it definitely has a supporter in Machiasport School Board member Frank Rodriguez.

Rodriguez met with the town’s selectboard on Jan. 27 to discuss the school and the accomplishments he’s witnessed since the start of the current school year after Labor Day.

Local Businessman, Jeff Huntley, Floats Possible Solution

By Paul Sylvain

If words were punches, there would have been a lot of black eyes in Machiasport, following a fiery discussion on Jan. 27 between fishermen, members of the Jasper Head Homeowners Association (HOA), and the town’s selectboard about a proposed truck turnaround on Pettegrow Point Road.

By Paul Sylvain

The body of one of two South Addison scallop fishermen lost when their boat, F/V Sudden Impact, sank on Jan. 18, in high winds and rough seas near Moose Cove, was recovered by a dive team on Feb. 2.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources reported on Feb. 2, that a team of “highly-skilled volunteer divers” located and recovered the body from inside Sudden Impact’s cabin. The body of the second crew member was not not found on or near the wreckage. 

By Will Tuell

By Paul Sylvain

Fort O’Brien School in Machiasport remembered their much-loved secretary, Jen Green Feeney, during a brief ceremony prior to the school’s final regular season basketball game on Jan. 30. The school unveiled a new electronic scoreboard and a memorial banner, which will be hung under the new scoreboard in the school’s gymnasium

By Paul Sylvain

The Washington County Sheriff's Office has a new “Deputy Dog” with the arrival of K9 Tango and his handler, Cpl. Matt Carter.

Tango is an 18-month-old German Shepherd who began his training on drug and evidence detection, in addition to tracking, on Jan. 28 with Cpl Carter. 

“We are expecting big things from this team and they are a great addition to the agency,” the Sheriff’s office said in a post on its Facebook page. “We consider ourselves pretty fortunate, as we have several MCJA trainers.”

By Nancy Beal

The Maine Historic Preservation Commission is pleased to announce that the McCurdy Smokehouse in Lubec has been recognized by the National Park Service as having a “National level of Significance” in the National Register of Historic Places.