Nina Crocker is the October Featured Artist at the Henry D. Moore Library in Steuben. Her show, titled “Intimate Landscapes,” is available for viewing daily during regular library hours. 

By Paul Sylvain

The assassination of conservative Christian activist Charlie Kirk, who was gunned down while giving a speech at a Utah college campus on Sept. 10, has rippled across every fabric of American society, and in communities big and small.

One such small community is the Washington County town of Dennysville, where Selectman Scott Corey is drawing fire from locals angered by social media posts he made, including one characterizing Kirk’s death as “karma.”

By Will Tuell

Machias’s iconic Burnham Tavern — long recognized for its role as a gathering place during the Battle of the Margaretta, the first naval engagement of the American Revolution — provided a fitting backdrop on Sept. 17, as residents and history enthusiasts, some in period regalia, gathered to mark the 238th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution.

Edwards Decries 10% WCSO Wage Hike

By Paul Sylvain

Admitting that the county is facing “profound challenges,” Washington County Budget Committee Chairman Brian Schuth opened the committee’s inaugural budget forging session for fiscal year 2026, on Sept. 17.

By Paul Sylvain

Thanks to a $500,000 Brownfields Cleanup Grant that was awarded to the Washington County Development Authority (WCDA) in 2021 by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, work is now underway to remove contaminants at the former Cutler Navy base recreation building.

That’s according to a press release issued last Friday by Washington County Manager Renee Gray. The statement notes that Brownfields cleanup funding is used to remediate contaminated properties and prepare the site for redevelopment and reuse for the community’s benefit

Machias Savings Bank has awarded more than $100,000 in Community Development Grants to 23 nonprofit organizations across Maine.

The grants support projects that promote financial health, community wellness, youth and education, and economic development, with emphasis on workforce development, basic needs, digital equity, and financial stability.

By Paul Sylvain

These days, it’s a rare meeting of the Machiasport selectboard when it’s over less than 40 minutes after it started, and without stirring up drama, tempers or controversy. However, such was the board’s monthly meeting on Sept. 16, It also was the first meeting in many months that didn’t include an executive session.

The meeting opened with discussion about selling a 10-acre, town-owned lot on New Hickey Road, a short distance north of the former Air Force housing area, on the opposite side of Route 92 from Jasper Beach.

By Nancy Beal

The former Cummins & Norton store, now referenced by the town office as “46 Main Street,” was the subject of discussion at an extra, out-of-schedule selectmen’s meeting held at noon Sept. 15 to expend $5,000 of the donated funds that had been received and/or promised as of that date for stabilization of the building. 

By Will Tuell

Maine’s Department of Marine Resources (DMR) is offering 19 scallop drag and dive licenses to qualifying fishermen this fall, the agency said in a press release last week. Because Maine’s scallop fishery is “closed” to general entry, lawmakers and DMR have set up a system where newcomers wanting a chance at a license can enter either the drag or dive lottery based on the number of fishermen who have left the fishery in the past year. 

Former Washington County Commission Chairman Gardner Accepts Blame, Admits, ‘I’m Your Huckleberry’

By Paul Sylvain 

A packed trial room at Washington County Superior Court was the setting for a highly anticipated, often fiery public hearing on the county’s fiscal crisis last week with County Commissioners David Burns (R-Whiting), Courtney Hammond (R-Harrington), and Billy Howard (R-Calais) presiding.