By Nancy Beal

Last winter, Jonesporters voted to place a six-month moratorium on commercial windmills and a volunteer committee began putting together an ordinance to govern their development after the half-year pause had run its course. Two weeks ago, that panel held a public hearing on their draft proposal that is required before the measure is put to a binding vote of the town. Nine people showed up, the majority of them members of the committee.

By Will Tuell

The state’s housing market remains healthy, officials with the Maine Association of REALTORS® said in a news release Sept. 19 detailing the latest home sales and values from across the state.  According to Maine Listings, existing single-family sales were up 1.66 percent in August compared to August 2023. The statewide median, or average, sales price reached $400,000 -- a surge of 7.53 percent over the same period a year ago.   

By Will Tuell

A small team of staff at Elm Street School in East Machias known as the Student Staff Assistance Team or SSAT is kicking off their fall fundraiser with a Downeast dinner raffle which will help support special activities around the preK-8 school. According to school secretary Tammy Wood, tickets can be purchased directly from the school anytime during regular business hours or from a staff member. They are $1 each or six for $5. The drawing will be held Oct. 23. The dinner includes lobsters, clams, and the fixings. 

The StoryWalk® at Porter Memorial Library in Machias will feature Hector Fox and the Giant Quest by Astrid Sheckles for the month of October. This lovely picture book, the first in a series written and illustrated by Sheckels, highlights the powers of imagination, friendship, and perseverance. Hector Fox and a group of woodland friends set out on a journey far beyond their home in the friendly Green Wood to discover whether rumors of a fairy-tale giant are true, with plenty of surprises along the way.

By Will Tuell

Thursday marked the beginning of the cross country season for area schools, and two young ladies from Machiasport who happen to be sisters -- Ellie and Josie Ingrish -- set the pace in their respective divisions. In boys' action, Isaac Holmes of Jonesboro Elementary won the third-to-fifth grade race, while veteran Sean Sprague of Lubec Elementary cruised to victory in the boys’ sixth-to-eighth grade run at Rose M. Gaffney School in Machias. 

By Paul Sylvain

“Surreal” best describes the mood in Machias following the sudden passing of its beloved town manager, Bill Kitchen, on Sept. 9. He was 65.

Kitchen served a three-year term on the town’s selectboard, from 2017 to 2020. Then, on May 18, 2021, the selectboard unanimously voted to appoint Kitchen as interim town manager, after previous town manager Christina Therrien resigned, and then vacated her office six weeks sooner than expected. The board made Kitchen’s appointment permanent that October.

Search for a Permanent Town Manager Begins

By Paul Sylvain

In what visibly and emotionally was a difficult but necessary meeting for the Machias selectboard on Sept. 11, the five-member panel voted unanimously to appoint Christina Therrien interim town manager to temporarily fill the void left by the sudden passing of Bill Kitchen on Sept. 9.

By Will Tuell

By Paul Sylvain

Machias residents will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, at the Machias Memorial High School gym to act on a 55-article annual town meeting warrant, fueled by a sharp spike in discretionary or non-essential spending. 

Earlier this year Machias joined a small but growing list of towns that have moved their annual town meeting dates from June and July to late in the first quarter of the new fiscal year. The reason is simple. 

By Will Tuell

Going into last season’s Class B State Championship game against Yarmouth, the Washington Academy Raiders had not lost a volleyball contest in some sixty matchups, cementing an already impressive program as one of the state’s all-time great squads despite their heartbreaking loss in the state championship. That defeat may serve as the catalyst for Coach Corey Schwinn and his girls in the weeks ahead, but as with years past, the team’s approach, Schwinn said in a recent pre-season interview, has not changed.