DECH Auxiliary 51st Holiday Craft Fair a Success

The Down East Community Hospital Auxiliary hosted the 51st Annual Holiday Craft Fair on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. The Rose Gaffney Elementary School generously allowed the Auxiliary to use their gym and hallways in the school.

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Floods, Festivals, and a Christmas Eve Fire Among News Toppers in 2024

By Paul Sylvain

As we prepare to put 2024 in the proverbial rear-view mirror and usher in 2025, let’s take a look back at some of the local stories and events that topped the news in this 366-day leap year.

Barely 10 days into the new year, coastal Maine was slammed with the first of two major winter storms, three days apart, that could have been named “Peat” and "Repeat” for their similarities.

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Downeasters’ Resilience Tested in 2024 with High-Profile Deaths

By Will Tuell

From the sudden passing of Machias Town Manager Bill Kitchen on Sept. 9 to the loss of beloved family physician Dr. John Gaddis weeks later, Downeasters had a lot to grapple with in 2024.

Avowed environmental activist Nancy Oden passed away in May. Three Machias mainstays — former selectman and first responder Les Haynes; former Machias lawmaker, businessman, and philanthropist Ed Pellon; and former selectman Stephen “Smitty” Smith — died within two months of Kitchen. 

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PFAS Remediation Tests Using Hemp Plants at Machias Valley Airport Planned for 2025

By Paul Sylvain

The long talked about plan for PFAS remediation research testing at Machias Valley Airport, appears to be cleared for take-off in 2025, according to Machias Selectboard Vice Chairman Ben Edwards.

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Machiasport Celebrates New Town Office with Well-Attended Open House

By Paul Sylvain

On Dec. 20, Machiasport Town Clerk Marcia Hayward and Deputy Clerk Ashley Warren put out the red carpet and opened the doors for an open house and tours of the new town office building at 3 Bayview Drive.

The event, held from 3 to 5 p.m., attracted a steady stream of residents who stopped in for an up-close look-see inside the former hospice building. There were plenty of goodies to snack on and beverages, including coffee and tea, to wash it down.

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Machias Nearing Completion on Town’s First Ever Shellfish Conservation Ordinance

By Paul Sylvain

Machias Selectboard Chairman Jake Patryn is moving closer to presenting a final draft of what will be his town’s first-ever shellfish conservation ordinance, if adopted by town voters.

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Damaged Working Waterfront Towns Focus of State Agency Meetings

By Nancy Beal

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Upsets, Gold Balls, and Epic Performances Mark Busy Year in Downeast Sports

Wood, Shimabukuro, Schwinn Picks for Player, Coach Awards

By Will Tuell

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‘From the Mouths of Babes’: Area Children Mark Christmas in Word, Song

By Will Tuell

Even as last-minute gift-givers scurried around to finalize those must-have purchases last week, some area youth and their families made sure that the true meaning of the season — a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ — was not lost in the shuffle. That’s not to say that Santa, his elves, Rudolph, and the gang weren’t on everyone’s minds, but for the children of Larrabee Baptist Church in Machiasport and those attending the Machias Valley Christian School, Christ truly took center stage. 

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Dr. Raymond Howard to Become Medical Director for Machias Ambulance Service Jan. 1

By Paul Sylvain

It’s safe to say that the last thing Raymond Howard could have ever imagined as a young boy growing up in Iowa was that one day he’d find himself seeing patients in Jonesport, Maine, and tending to a handful of lobster traps in Moosabec Reach. 

But, Iowa’s loss became Downeast Maine’s gain, in 2022, when, in the midst of the pandemic, Dr. Howard moved to the tiny fishing village of Jonesport and began seeing patients at Arnold Memorial Medical Center.

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