by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Leslie Haynes has served on the Machias Selectboard for six years. “I just enjoy the people,” he said. Haynes was raised in East Machias and couldn’t wait to get back home after serving in the Army for a tour in Vietnam. “I had never ever seen anything like that in my life. In 1968 I was right in the middle of that big Tet Offensive over there,” he said.

“When I came home I looked at my commanding officer and said, ‘You’ve got 12 hours to get my discharge papers ready. I’m going to Maine where it’s nice and peaceful.’”