Jayna Smith

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William “Billy” W. Howard III and Vinton E. Cassidy, both of Calais, are running in the Republican primary on June 11, 2024, for Washington County Commissioner District 1.  David Burns, of Whiting, is running unopposed in the Republican primary for Washington County Commissioner District 2.

By Will Tuell

The family of a missing Steuben fisherman who did not return home from hauling lobster traps in Jonesport July 21 has not given up hope that 18-year-old Tylar Michaud will be found, according to family friend Joline Brown. Brown, who spearheaded a community effort to raise almost $25,000 in two days, said that volunteers will scour air, land, and sea as the likelihood of Michaud’s survival diminishes with each passing day.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

An early morning house fire that started before 6 a.m. did significant damage to a Bucks Harbor, Machiasport home on Saturday, Oct. 8.  

Machiasport, Machias, East Machias, Marshfield, and Jonesboro/Roque Bluffs fire departments rendered mutual aid.

“There were no injuries, and the departments did a great job saving the structure,” said Machiasport Fire Chief Dave Nielsen. 

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Extensive planning by the Machiasport Shellfish Committee has led to the reconstruction of a concrete slip that allows clammers to put their skiffs into the Machias River alongside the historical society’s Gates House museum. Rob Boynton, Zach Wood, Whitney Stevens, and David Cale serve on the shellfish committee. 

August 10,1946 - December 26, 2020

Connie Linn (Ring) Craighead, 74, of Evans, Georgia, passed away on December 26, 2020, after a brief illness. 

Connie was born in Norfolk, Nebraska, on August 10, 1946, to the late Donna Weik Ring and Theodore Roosevelt Ring. She was also raised by her beloved grandmother Sada Reeves Weik, and her stepfather Jack Muir Linn.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, announced today that she successfully secured all six of the congressionally directed spending requests, or earmarks, that she submitted for the fiscal year 2022 Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Bill and the Fiscal Year 2022 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill. 

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Richard B. Uffelman has died in prison, according to the Maine Department of Corrections, which declined to give further details. He was roughly 74 years old.

In 1992, Uffelman was convicted in the murders of his neighbors, Michael and Florence Phillips on Aug. 29, 1989, in Machiasport. According to contemporary reports, the murders were recorded by a video camera the Phillipses had set up in their kitchen to record acts of harassment by Uffelman in a feud between the neighbors.

by Ruth Leubecker

For decades Machiasport residents have been plagued by contaminated water due to chemicals released into the groundwater during the 27 years the Air Force maintained its presence in Bucks Harbor.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Machiasport voters adopted 45 articles including the municipal and school budgets at their annual town meeting held Monday, June 29.  All questions passed, and roughly 35 attendees voted to approve a budget which keeps the town’s tax commitment flat.

“It was an extremely quiet meeting, there were probably no more than three or four questions,” said selectman Mike Hinerman. “It went very well.”

For the year ending in June, the town reported $2,407,134 in total expenditures and $2,579,513 in revenues.