Wiscasset area’s 2023

In 2023, Wiscasset and other towns dealt with how to get and keep workers, improve residents’ and businesses’ internet access and, in Wiscasset’s case, how to protect the wastewater treatment plant from the rising water of climate change. Schoonerfest took a break, while longer local traditions played on and one of them, Wiscasset Art Walk, danced in celebration of its first decade. And in other kinds of news, the Wiscasset-Westport Island area hosted one or more whales, townspeople and others closely followed the proposed and then approved dismissal of Wiscasset Middle High School’s latest principal, paint exploded in pieces off the Wiscasset-Westport Island bridge, and Wiscasset Community Center briefly closed due to a scarlet fever exposure.

January 

 School Resource Officer Jonathan Barnes of Wiscasset Police Department told Wiscasset selectmen Jan. 3, the extra money town employees got at Christmastime “came at a great time ... It meant a lot.” Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission Executive Director Mary Ellen Barnes told Wiscasset’s broadband committee Jan. 5, applying without other towns would not hurt Wiscasset’s shot at Maine Connectivity Authority funds toward publicly owned broadband. Barnes said the Authority likes the municipally owned model.  Woolwich selectmen on Jan. 3 were not interested in becoming a “community partner” with Wiscasset Community Center. That would have cost Woolwich $6,000 annually and offered residents reduced rates for WCC memberships and for participation in the parks and recreation department’s adult and youth programs. Selectboard Chairman David King Sr. said people who wanted a WCC membership, or membership at Bath YMCA, could do so on their own, without funding from the town. Wiscasset has started a new text program for residents. Several cities and towns in Maine are using it. Visit wiscasset.org to sign up.  A Route One, Woolwich crash Jan. 6 killed a Lewiston man and injured a Southport man.  Woolwich shipwright Rob Stevens and fellow volunteers are working at Wiscasset’s waterfront on a recreated Virginia. The 1607 one the Popham Colony built with Maine wood and the iron, ropes and sails the colonists brought over from England, was pretty much a UPS truck, created, like the colony, to make money, Stevens explained. He said this one, a project of Maine’s First Ship (MFS) in Bath, is 95% done, has a mission to take classes of schoolchildren out on it. Wiscasset selectmen Jan. 17 approved 5-0 a letter of support for Consolidated Communications’ would-be application for a Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) grant toward a broadband project. Consolidated’s Simon Thorpe told selectmen, depending on guidance he gets from MCA, the firm might apply with Wiscasset and other towns separately or, more likely, as a single, regional application. Dresden Town Administrator Daniel Swain told selectmen Jan. 17, things are going well at the transfer station, but he is concerned over people driving around the gate when the transfer station is closed. He suggested getting a jersey barrier to put at the right of the gate. The impending closure of Chewonki Foundation’s elementary and middle school in Wiscasset has inspired the possible opening of a school at Morris Farm. Responding to email questions after Wiscasset Newspaper got a press release Monday night, Jan. 23 about the possible partnership between Morris Farm and Brightfield School for Place-Based Education, Maria Vettese of Brightfield Development Committee wrote: “Yes. Brightfield came to be because the Chewonki Foundation board decided to close the elementary and middle school.” April Thibodeau became Westport Island’s town clerk.  Two of Alna’s three selectboard seats will be on the ballot in March and neither incumbent is running. Third Selectman Charles Culbertson said in January, “ultimately, professional and family considerations in the coming couple of years would make it difficult for me to devote the necessary time and energy to be an effective selectboard member.” And Second Selectman Linda Kristan said in January, “I have chosen not to run again for personal reasons but I wish the new selectboard members well and stand ready to assist them in the transition in any way that I can.” Wiscasset Community Center reopened Tuesday, Jan. 31 after staff cleaned the building with a hospital-grade disinfectant late into Monday night, Operations Manager Robert MacDonald said in a phone interview. The closure was due to a weekend scarlet fever exposure WCC learned about on Monday afternoon, MacDonald said. 

February

 With a grant Maine State Housing Authority (MaineHousing) announced Feb. 10 and a nod Feb. 12 from St. Philip’s Church on space, Portland-based Amistad is prepping to offer a warming shelter with food and overnight stays at the Hodge Street, Wiscasset church through April.  Feb. 10 at Wiscasset Community Center, fathers and daughters enjoyed dancing to upbeat tunes played by deejay Cedric Maguire. Dancers could take a break from the dance floor and keep their energy up by enjoying delicious treats. Wiscasset Middle High School students Payton Blagdon, Madison Westrich and Bryan Gagnon met with the Wiscasset School Committee Feb. 15 to answer questions and explain their involvement in revising the school’s dress code policy. Blagdon said he and other student council members worked for months at lunchtime with student council advisors, teachers and Principal Charles Lomonte to revise the policy to make it “non-targeting and as generalized as possible while keeping its core.”  Woolwich will soon have a Public Safety Advisory Committee as a sounding board for first responders and public safety issues. The group will examine ideas and offer suggestions, and will not be directly involved in the fire/EMS budget process. Winterfest went on without snow Feb. 15-18 at Wiscasset Community Center. Wiscasset Elementary School held a read-a- thon fundraiser on Friday, Feb. 17 (National Random Acts of Kindness Day), for pre-K teacher Samantha Crawford and her daughter Angelina Puiia, a past WES student. Angelina had a very rare pediatric stroke last summer, and mother and daughter returned home to Maine Feb. 18 after Angelina far surpassed initial prognoses.  Wiscasset selectmen agreed 5-0 Feb. 21 to send the ordinance review committee a proposed change for public safety agencies’ free use of communications towers. According to Town Manager Dennis Simmons and the night’s discussion, the ordinance change could get local and county emergency devices free access to a prospective tower near Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset and maybe other towers in Lincoln County The Wiscasset School Committee on Feb. 21 unanimously approved Gina Stevens as Wiscasset Middle High School’s interim principal for the rest of the school year. Principal Charles Lomonte’s resignation was announced at the committee’s Feb. 15 meeting. 

March

 Westport Island announced in March, Maine Department of Transportation plans to reduce traffic to one lane on the Westport Island-Wiscasset Bridge at times, to paint the bridge, after February’s cold and then rapid rewarming caused paint to explode in pieces off the bridge.  As Wiscasset faces possibly moving its sewer plant and how moving or not moving it could impact rates, selectmen are seeking to expand the town’s options: March 7, the board agreed to recommend Wiscasset Water District propose its charter allow sewer services. The charter change would not commit the town to turning over sewer services to the district, Town Manager Dennis Simmons said. “It simply allows for the option down the road and saves from having to make another charter change later.  Wiscasset Elementary School Principal Kathleen Pastore is resigning effective June 30. In her March 8 letter to Interim Superintendent of Schools Robert “Bob” England Jr., Pastore said this was one of the hardest decisions of her career. She wrote: “A family situation that arose in the spring of 2022 has given me pause to reflect on the need to have flexibility in my schedule in order to be more available for my family in Massachusetts ...” Thursday, March 9 in a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, U.S. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) questioned U.S. leaders and experts in the nuclear energy field about the need and timeline for centralized nuclear waste storage. Pointing to nuclear waste storage at the former Maine Yankee power plant in Wiscasset , Sen. King highlighted waste buildup as a fundamental problem which needs to be addressed. As part of the Pendleton family that had Wiscasset’s Pendleton’s Market about 60 years, Jeff Pendleton worked at the market in high school. He worked at Mason Station power plant in Wiscasset 28 years as part of his career with Central Maine Power and later worked 18 years for Renys department stores. Friday, March 17, the longtime woodworker was helping a new Wiscasset business, Sweets & More, get ready to open at the site of a famous former one, Big Al’s Super Values.  Sweetz & More announced its Wiscasset location would open April 1. With 8,100 square feet of pure sweetness, Sweetz & More is New England's largest sweet shop, a press release stated. Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum in Alna is renovating its Sheepscot Station at 97 Cross Road with new platforms, an enlarged passenger waiting area and improved passenger access. As part of the renovation process, museum volunteers and contractor Chesterfield Associates removed the shelter, set it on a flatcar and moved the entire building to the Railway’s Top of Mountain Station. Wiscasset’s school committee Wednesday night, March 22 named past Wiscasset schoolteacher and past Wiscasset selectman Kim Andersson its next superintendent of schools. Tuesday night, March 22, Wiscasset selectmen voted to name Wiscasset Community Center’s gym the Robert MacDonald Community Gymnasium. The past school board chair had just retired as WCC’s facilities manager and gotten Maine Recreation and Parks Association’s outstanding parks professional honor. Maine State Housing Authority on March 23 announced a $916,000 grant to Amistad to create 12 permanent housing units in Wiscasset. They would be upstairs at St. Philip’s Church, all single-room units, with shared kitchens and bathrooms, Amistad Executive Director Brian Townsend said in a phone interview March 23. With school shootings occurring around the country, why does Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit 12 not have law enforcement officers in schools at all times to interact with students, teach good habits and drug abuse resistance “and also there’s someone there protecting them at all times,” Alna resident and Fire Chief Mike Trask asked district representatives in Alna March 22. The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program ended when it was no longer offered to the schools, not for lack of district funding, Superintendent of Schools Howard Tuttle said about that part of Trask’s question. “We don’t at this point have any officers on the payroll in the schools. But both Kennebec ... and Lincoln (sheriff’s departments) are in our schools quite frequently. If we call them, they’re there ... I’d say it’s a very regular occurrence that officers are in our buildings ...” Alna voters at the annual town meeting Saturday, March 25 passed a moratorium on commercial or community solar energy facilities, and another on mineral extraction facilities and operations, First Selectman Ed Pentaleri said. He said voters also updated the building code ordinance and agreed to put $50,000 into the fire truck reserve account instead of the $35,000 selectmen had recommended putting in.  Wiscasset Interim Superintendent of Schools Robert “Bob” England Jr. announced March 30: “(March 29) at the Wiscasset School Department School Committee meeting they unanimously agreed to hire Gina Stevens as the principal for Wiscasset Middle High School. Mrs. Stevens has been interim principal since the departure of Mr. Charles Lomonte earlier this year.” 

April

 Town Manager Dennis Simmons said Tuesday night, April 4, the $1.3 million in federal funding Wiscasset recently got for the Old Ferry Road culvert project was great, but it and funds the town approved fell about half a million dollars shy. Then Simmons told selectmen he just got word from Maine Department of Marine Resources that it is providing a $500,000 grant. Dirigo Assessing Group of Sidney will carry out Woolwich’s property revaluation, although before it begins the select board wants an informational meeting. “It’s what we promised the townspeople when we asked them to set aside money for this,” David King Sr., selectboard chairman, commented Wednesday night, April 5 when the board awarded the contract. The skies were clear but a chilly wind was blowing Saturday morning, April 8 at Wiscasset Parks and Recreation’s annual Easter egg hunt held for its 24th year at Wiscasset Middle High School’s track. According to Parks and Recreation Director Duane Goud, between 150 and 200 local children under the age of 11 attend the event each year. A dozen would be single-room apartments now have St. Philip’s Church’s vestry’s approval. So does another use of space at the Hodge Street church by the same Portland- based organization, Amistad, from which the town code enforcement officer and planning board chair said they have not yet heard; and neighbors continue asking about the apartments project, including at the latest planning board meeting, Monday night, April 10. Wiscasset selectmen April 10 held a moment of silence in memory of Katharine Martin-Savage. She was “a devoted public servant and a friend to a lot of us,” Chair Sarah Whitfield said. Martin-Savage had served on the selectboard, planning board, budget committee and Two Bridges Regional Jail Authority, was a member of Friends of the Wiscasset Public Library and Wiscasset Female Charitable Society, and had worked for the district attorney’s office and Lincoln County Sheriff ’s Office, according to Wiscasset Newspaper files. Does a board member taking part remotely pay as much attention as those meeting in person? Some fellow Alna residents raised the issue April 20 as selectmen loosened a policy that sprang from the pandemic. The changes conform with revised state law, First Selectman Ed Pentaleri said. Wiscasset’s planning board Monday night, April 24 approved a pharmacy that will serve Wiscasset Family Health at 35 Water St. According to a letter from Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission’s Emily Rabbe to the board, only interior changes were proposed. Westport Island officials said they would like to hear from any townspeople who would like to help with a possible expanded task for the broadband committee: Exploring how to use technology to spread word to residents in an emergency. Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit 12 will get $92,698 a year for five years as part of a $9 million investment in several programs around the state, Maine Department of Education (DOE) announcemed. The investment is funded through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, to increase school- based mental health staff and services in Maine. Expanding Access in School Environments (EASE) Maine will provide grants to nine high-need school administrative units (SAUs) to support efforts to recruit and retain mental health providers and expand services to students. Wiscasset’s Julie Jones said the Wiscasset Christian Academy girls volleyball team she has long coached recently won its fifth straight Athletics Christian Education League championship and, with daughter Maddie graduating, Jones has finished coaching Wiscasset Christian but is not finished with coaching volleyball. She plans to host clinics at the family’s sand court.  Wiscasset Interim Superintendent of Schools Robert “Bob” England Jr. spotted water coming out of the ground next to Wiscasset Elementary School Thursday, April 27 around the same time as students were finding trouble in flushing the toilets. It turned out to be a water main break that was then handled in what England said was “a great team effort.” Alna selectmen and resident Jeff Spinney continue to square off over his boat ramp off Golden Ridge Road. Friday night, April 28, the board voted to authorize the town’s attorney to “file and pursue an appeal to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court” an April 19 Lincoln County Superior Court order. 

May

 Fort Hill Street’s Leslie Roberts on May 2 proposed planting native grasses and native perennials on Wiscasset’s Pleasant Street Extension, at Fore and Pleasant streets. She told selectmen the project “won’t cost the taxpayers money, with the exception of maybe a little bit of assistance from public works.” The project would leave a foot path and would not prevent bridges to White’s Island from being rebuilt, according to the written proposal and Roberts, in the meeting and via email to Wiscasset Newspaper. Town Manager Dennis Simmons wanted to run the proposal by department heads. Wiscasset’s school committee is proposing a $10,308,529, 2023-24 budget, which is up $976,458 from 2022-23. Documents provided  estimate a less than $100 tax increase on a $150,000 home. Woolwich will begin advertising for an emergency medical services (EMS)/ambulance director following the resignation of Brian Carlton effective no later than July 1. “The exact end date will depend on the transition to the next EMS director as I will remain in the position to assist in the transition,” wrote Carlton in his May 3 resignation letter.  Alna selectmen on May 4 went with the low bidder for the next three years of plowing. Besides the savings, the board cited the job the contractor, Whitefield’s Mike Jewett, did in the 2022-23 winter, and the inclusion of subcontractors’ Ben Jewett and Calvin Cooper’s names in the bid. “We’ve seen their work, we know their work, we like their work,” Third Selectman Coreysha Stone said. Flooding that washed out some area roads also piled inches of dirt and gravel onto an Old Bath Road, Wiscasset family’s driveway. Wednesday morning, May 10, public works took the deposit away, making Michelle (Chase) Bailey’s day.“What a great town we live in,” she said. Wiscasset Schoonerfest organizers announced, with waterfront plans being discussed for repaving launch ramps, installing a pump-out station, and shoring up the seawall next to the recreation pier this summer, the event is taking a gap year for 2023 and returning full speed ahead in mid-August 2024. “We're using the extra time to begin planning for a more locally involved Schoonerfest in 2024," said Jan Flowers, who will head up volunteers. Everyone Wiscasset Newspaper asked at Garden Club of Wiscasset annual plant sale May 13 was pleased about the mild sunny morning as they waited for the sale to open; moments later while lined up to pay; or manning the sale, a spring tradition that raises money for scholarships and the club’s beautification projects, according to an announcement. According to Maine Preservation’s Brad Miller and Maine Art Gallery’s board of trustees president Richard Riese, MAG, in Wiscasset, won the highest possible grant the organization was giving out, $10,000, and it and matching funds will go to exterior painting and preparation for exterior painting. Woolwich voters decided to keep their ambulance service rather than hire Bath Fire & Rescue at their annual town meeting, Wednesday evening, May 17. They approved monies for providing broadband internet service and passed an ordinance regulating future solar projects. The 2023-24 municipal budget approved amounted to a little over $2.43 million. May 25, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Wiscasset has been picked to receive a $700,000 Brownfields Cleanup Grant to clean up the 4.5-acre North Point Fill Area at the northern tip of Birch Point Peninsula. 

June

 Sarah Heald is retiring from and selling Sarah’s Cafe, the Wiscasset restaurant where generations of local students and others have worked and have been treated to trips to Boston and elsewhere, and where, Heald said, except for the flat tortillas for wraps, everything is made from scratch. Jodie Roquemore is buying the Water Street property and moving her Jodie’s Cafe and Bakery there from its Route One location. According to Woolwich officials, the nearly half century old Montsweag Flea Market off Route One has not opened for the season and it is not known when or if it will reopen or who would reopen it. Wiscasset now has an idea what an engineering plan for a seawall would cost. Town Manager Dennis Simmons said nothing has been budgeted for a plan so he is trying to get grant money for it. “But it looks like (the bids are) all going to be over what I could really get” in grants, he told selectmen June 6 when he opened the three bids received. Tighe & Bond of Portland bid $69,000; GEI Consultants, Portland, $106,700; and John Turner Consulting, Dover, New Hampshire, $46,500. Woolwich officials will pursue flashing traffic warning signs for Woolwich Central School on Nequasset Road. Road Commissioner Jack Shaw told the select board June 7, the state will provide the lights alerting drivers they are entering a school zone, but the town would have to pick up the cost for their installation. The solar-powered lights would be similar to two recently installed on Route 27 near Wiscasset Middle High School and others near Wiscasset Elementary School. Wiscasset Middle High School got to host its 121st annual alumni banquet on Saturday, June 3 in Stover Auditorium after previous celebrations had been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the onset of the summer boating season, Wiscasset is developing a Volunteer Dock Master Program to assist the town’s har- bormaster and police chief, Larry Hesseltine. Approved by the waterfront committee and the selectboard, the volunteers will man the Harbor Master’s Office at the Recreation Pier to assist visiting boaters seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. They will assist in landings, dockage, mooring rentals and be ambassadors for the local merchants and restaurants. Twenty-five seniors at Wiscasset Middle High School marched into commencement at Stover Auditorium June 8. Keynote speaker Ed Thelander, a decorated combat veteran, former Navy Seal, and Congressional candidate, spoke of perseverance and strength in the face of adversity before closing, “Congratulations to the class of 2023, I can’t wait to see the incredible things you do.” Due to what the two said was the possible appearance of bias on Alna First Selectman Ed Pentaleri’s part, Second Selectman Steve Graham and Third Selectman Coreysha Stone decided June 8 to censure him, and said from now on, they will handle the court matters over Jeff Spinney’s boat ramp without Pentaleri. The Wiscasset planning board was set to take up Portland-based nonprofit Amistad’s proposed wellness center June 12 until Chair Karl Olson determined, based on town ordinances, Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission’s Emily Rabbe will handle it and the planning board will review her decision.  Terry Heller will stay on Wiscasset’s selectboard and longtime member Pamela Dunning will rejoin it after voters elected the two in a four-way race for two seats June 13. In results Town Clerk Linda Perry provided June 14, Dunning garnered the most votes, at 357; followed by Heller with 311; Donald Davis, 303; and Heller’s fellow in- cumbent, Dusty Jones, 276. Victoria Hugo-Vidal, the lone candidate on the ballot for school committee, won with 419 votes. Voters passed both non-binding referendums selectmen posed to gauge townspeople’s wishes on the idea of selling Scout Hall and Wiscasset Academy, home to Maine Art Gallery. The Scout Hall vote ran 374-260; Wiscasset Academy, 328- 310. MAG, which has a long-term lease, had urged for a “no” vote on that question and a “yes” on proposed matching funds toward work on the building. Voters agreed to the funding request, 349-308. The school budget passed 426- 216; and the town budget questions and marijuana ordinances passed. Lisa Jonassen won Westport Island’s third selectboard seat and Richard Devries, the Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit seat, Town Clerk April Thibodeau reported Tuesday night, June 13. Four years into Wiscasset School Department’s energy-saving steps with Siemens, the savings are surpassing the contractor’s annual guarantee, Siemens told the school committee June 13. Company representatives said the department’s investment will be paid off in about year 12 or 13 of the 20-year contract and then the rest will be all be “excess savings” as students and staff continue to benefit from the improved lighting, insulation and more. Wiscasset officials will go forward with efforts to clean up land near Mason Station, although the town manager believes meaningful development at the Birch Point site will not happen until something is done with the former power plant building that remains vacant on the riverfront. In the meantime, Maine Department of Environmental Protection wants to do more testing within and around the building for hazardous materials but said so far it has been denied entry by owner National Resources/Mason Station LLC. As one Alna boat ramp issue continues, another has emerged. And part of the talk June 15 was on its potential impact on the older issue.The older matter, involving Jeff Spinney’s boat ramp off Golden Ridge Road, has gone through the town’s planning, appeals and selectboards and is now in the courts. The new issue is on the other end of town, at Pinkham Pond. According to officials and other residents at the selectmen’s meeting held at the town office and on Zoom, an area once consisting of dirt and rock recently got more rocks when the town had work done near a dry hydrant and on Bailey Road’s edges that were falling apart. Over 150 people joined Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce to mark Wiscasset Community Center’s 25th anniversary. The June 15 celebration had the feeling of a family reunion as friends gathered in the gymnasium, shared many fond memories and raised a toast to the community center’s continued success. Partridge Cemetery Association (PCA) in Woolwich paid memorial tribute to a longtime, dedicated member, David Wallace, at the annual meeting held June 2 at North Woolwich Methodist Church (NWMC) on River Road. Wallace, who died of cancer while wintering in Florida in late April, had served as PCA treasurer and superintendent of grounds since the association was reactivated in 2011. President Eunice Leach read a Resolution of Respect and asked for a moment of silence in Wallace’s memory. The phone started ringing the day after Wiscasset voters passed marijuana ordinances June 13, Town Manager Dennis Simmons told selectmen June 20. He was readying applications and people were coming in June 22 to start picking them up, he said. The ordinances cover medical cannabis licensing and adult use cannabis businesses. The immediate interest in applying was “as expected,” Simmons said. Two Alna selectmen finalized their censure decision involving the other member June 22. Second Selectman Steve Graham and Third Selectman Coreysha Stone found First Selectman Ed Pentaleri in violation of the ethics code on one of five points resident Ralph Hilton raised. The other four were not proven, Stone and Graham found. The one they said was proven was “perceived (conflict) of interest and appearance of bias.” The document’s final version Graham provided June 23 states: “Although these actions used in evidence relate to (efforts) taken by Ed Pentaleri as a private citizen and not while acting as an elected (official), these interests and (efforts) could impact Mr Pentaleri’s decision-making as it relates to a course of action connected to the litigation ... and therefore could be perceived as a (conflict) of interest/ bias.” The litigation involves Jeff Spinney’s earthwork-boat launch off Golden Ridge Road. In Wiscasset Saturday, June 24, St. Philip’s Episcopal Church held its 69th annual Strawberry Festival. By mid-morning, cars lined Hodge and Warren streets and filled the church parking lot with license plates from New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey and beyond. Jodie Roquemore enjoys people. That is a good thing, because on June 27, the owner of Jodie’s Cafe and Bakery on Route One, Wiscasset bought the longtime Sarah’s Cafe property on Water Street. Roquemore, of Edgecomb, con- firmed the sale’s closing happened that day. Wiscasset police are investigating the destruction of two flags on a Federal Street home, Officer Jonathan Barnes said. In a phone interview June 29, Barnes said the poles were snapped and the flags, described as a pride flag and a Ukrainian flag, were thrown into the street. The incident was reported June 28.  A fundraising effort is underway to repair and repaint the historic Murphy’s Corner School in Woolwich. The former one-room schoolhouse built in 1868 continues to be used as a neighborhood gathering place. 

July

 Westport Island’s conservation commission got selectmen’s support July 3 to apply for funds commission member and treasurer Dennis Dunbar said would be used to review the impact of sea level rise and storm surge on critical infrastructure in the decades ahead. The grant would be through the Community Resilience Partnership (CRP), in connection with Gov. Janet Mill’s “Maine Won’t Wait” initiative, Dunbar said. People from near and far gathered in Maine’s Prettiest Village Tuesday morning, July 4 to celebrate America’s 247th birthday with a colorful parade under a sunny sky. The predicted rain showers held off just long enough for members of the American Legion to raise Old Glory at the waterfront and for the judges to award the blue ribbons for the best parade floats. The gazebo at Lincoln County Historical Association (LCHA)’s 1811 Old Jail and Museum, 133 Federal St., Wiscasset is being restored this summer, thanks to a lead gift from First National Bank. Built in Newcastle around 1850, the gazebo is a product of this region’s shipbuilding heyday. It features decorative carvings attributed to William South- worth, one of Maine's prominent 19th century wood carvers. Westport Island is starting an ordinance review committee (ORC). Selectmen Monday night, July 10 said an ORC could do research, including looking at other towns’ ordinances. “We may have holes in our ordinances and maybe need to rewrite some of (them). We can clone, plagiarize what other towns do,” Second Selectman Jeff Tarbox said.  Midcoast Youth Center (MYC) in collaboration with Chewonki Foundation, announced that beginning Sept. 1, Waypoint, a mentoring program for the Bath-based Regional School Unit 1’s middle and high school students, will move from Chewonki to MYC, next to Morse High and Bath Middle schools.   About 200 people strolled from Homes on Tour (HOT) site to site in Wiscasset July 8. Changes are coming to Wiscasset Middle High School’s athletic programs. Cameron Bishop, athletic director and assistant principal, told the school committee Tuesday, July 11, the Wolverine basketball program has moved to Class D for the 2023-2024 season. “Because we’ve won less than 25% of our games the last four years, the MPA (Maine Principals Association) has allowed us to drop down from Class C to D,” said Bishop, adding WMHS has left the Mountain Valley Conference and joined the East/West Conference. Asked if a currently smaller group of lifeguards at Wiscasset Community Center has forced pool or program shutdowns, Parks and Recreation Director Duane Goud told Wiscasset Newspaper July 12, except for an occasional pool closing when it looked like a shift would go unfilled, “Not yet. But we’re close. And we’re hoping we don’t get to that point.” Wiscasset’s code enforcement officer of five years, Bruce Mullins, resigned in a letter dated July 16. Despite rain and fog July 16, 104 Westport Island history supporters gathered under tents at Jack and Gail Swanton's East Shore Road property to hear Ken Swanton introduce his new book, "The Maritime Age on a Maine Island.”  Alna property owners were in for a tax rate hike, but First Selectman Ed Pentaleri said in a phone interview Friday afternoon, July 21, the tax bills sent out the week of July 17 showed a higher rate than the board agreed on. July 13, the board approved making the rate $21.45 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation. Since 2020, the rate had been $18.95, according to Wiscasset Newspaper files. Wiscasset selectmen Tuesday night, July 18 put off until Sept. 19 a decision on Amistad/commonspace’s request for a business license for Harbor Peer and Wellness Center at St. Philip’s Church on Hodge Street. Selectmen and Town Manager Dennis Simmons said the discussion – filled with concerns over trust and potential safety and property impacts, and support for the proposal as a benefit to the town and people in recovery – left them with more questions than answers. Wiscasset Middle High School has its new soccer scoreboard, less than a year after the fundraising effort began. The Woolwich Selectboard got the go ahead from voters July 19 to spend $80,000 from the undesignated fund balance to buy a two-acre lot across from the municipal building. The land purchase was the only item of business at the special town meeting. About 25 residents crowded into the hearing room over the town office including Philip and his wife Marilyn Bailey, the property owners. “Helping and meeting people, that’s really the best part of being an EMT (emergency medical technician), that, and being able to do something positive for my community,” said Danny Evarts, Woolwich’s newly appointed ambulance director. Evarts made it official Thursday, July 20 by accepting the selectboard’s offer. He had been been serving as the department’s EMS lieutenant and second assistant deputy director. Live music, crafts, pooches on parade and more made for a memorable 40th Summerfest celebration Saturday, July 22 on Wiscasset’s town common. First Congregational Church’s midsummer fair has been a tradition since 1983. Proceeds go to local outreach organizations at a special Sunday service set aside for the presentations. Wiscasset’s police and fire departments responded Thursday afternoon, July 27 when a vehicle rolled into Back River, Wiscasset Police Sgt. Perry Hatch said. No one was in Zachari Dalton’s 2003 Tacoma truck and no one was hurt recovering the fully submerged vehicle, Hatch said in a phone interview the next morning. Hatch said Dalton, 36, had been near the river to go digging. Dalton went to speak with someone and saw his truck roll into the water, Hatch said. Alna selectmen July 27 put another 180 days on mining and solar moratoriums town meeting voters passed earlier this year. Selectmen said the reasons for the temporary bans remain and the planning board is making progress drafting ordinances on these types of development. Westport Island’s Dee Dow went to Brunswick Landing last Friday, July 28 to see and photo- graph Air Force One’s arrival with President Biden. The President went on to an appearance in Auburn. “It’s not every day that a President lands in our own back yard, so to speak,” Dow shared. She said it was “quite the production to see the landing of Air Force One and the coordination behind it.” There will not be varsity boys’ soccer games to watch this fall at Wiscasset Middle High School. Cameron Bishop, athletic director/vice principal, cancelled the program for the second season in a row due to a lack of players. Boys who want to work on their soccer skills will be permitted to practice with the Wolverine girls’ varsity team, the same as last season, said Bishop. Bishop told Wiscasset Newspaper the numbers of boys expressing an interest in playing soccer did not warrant going forward with a team. The contractor on Maine Department of Transportation’s replacement of the Frank J. Wood Bridge spanning the Androscoggin River between Brunswick and Topsham is Reed & Reed, Inc. of Woolwich. The contract amount is $49,869,767. In the second Wiscasset Art Walk of the summer Thursday, July 27  a thunderstorm arrived as predicted at 5 p.m. but quickly passed and the sun returned. “It just goes to prove the old New England saying, if you don’t like the weather just wait a few minutes,” said Heather MacLeod, who was playing the flute outside Treats on the corner of Main and Middle streets. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has announced she advanced $40,433,000 in Congressionally directed spending for wastewater development proj- ects throughout Maine in the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, including $5 million for Wiscasset wastewater infrastructure improvements, according to a press release July 27. The bill, which was officially approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee July 27, now awaits consideration by the full Senate and House. Friday night, July 28, commonspace withdrew its business license application for Harbor Peer and Wellness Center at St. Philip’s Church in Wiscasset. Commonspace Executive Director Brian Townsend Friday afternoon confirmed those plans and Friday evening shared a letter he said he had just sent the selectboard. In the interview and the letter to the selectboard, Townsend explained the board’s recent delay in deciding the license request, and the uncertain outcome, have led commonspace to seek space elsewhere in Lincoln County for the state-contracted program.   

August

 Passenger rail is returning to Wiscasset with weekend trips planned soon, a Damariscotta man told Wiscasset selectmen Aug. 1. The “Coastliner” Brunswick-Rockland rail line is an “informed experiment,” George Betke said. Betke is a founder and vice president of Midcoast Railservice, which he said leased the line from Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) a year ago and has been carrying freight.  A draft report by Wiscasset’s future of the schools committee stated “discontinuing grades 9-12 does not decrease transportation costs as all students ride together currently. Given that the discontinuing (of) grades 9-12 does not relieve the district of financial responsibility of those students, there would be no savings realized in this scenario and instead introduce the potential of several hundred thousand dollars in cost to taxpayers.” The Ladies Organ Society presented a new pulpit to First Congregational Church of Wiscasset on Aug. 6. The gift is in honor of the society’s 200th anniversary, and to celebrate the church’s 250th anniversary. The new pulpit will replace the dais donated by the Organ Society 115 years ago. With Wiscasset still eying options to force the issue, and with the latest rainstorm sweeping through, a spokesman for the Ralph Doering family responded Aug. 8 to Wiscasset Newspaper’s email questions on the state of re- pair work on the Wawenock block. Bricks fell from the facade in April 2021 and scaffolding remains in front of it on Main Street. “The Doerings are pressing the construction team for an answer on timing that is reliable, and pressing to get this job done as soon as possible. They are working with their contractor to firm up the timeline for completion,” Spokesman Mark Robinson said.  Alna selectmen Aug. 10 named longtime resident Darcie Hutchins to the planning board over past planning board chair Jeff Spinney and past selectman Linda Kristan. Earlier in the meeting, on another topic, Spinney started to make a point about the road commissioner’s powers as an elected official, and Spinney told planning board member Cathy Johnson to “shut the (expletive) up” after she told him the selectboard had not recognized him to speak. Wiscasset’s students from pre-k to grade eight are once again “Set for Success” for the coming school year thanks to St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, community-minded businesses and many volunteers. The Aug. 12 event at Wiscasset Community Center marked the fifth year backpacks, pencils, pens, notebooks, crayons, glue sticks, scissors and more were given away to students. Along with stocking up on school supplies, elementary school students could meet their new principal, Amy Bayha. Woolwich hosted its annual community picnic under a sunny sky Saturday, Aug. 12. The event had live music from The Montsweagers, free grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, cold soft drinks, cotton candy and four flavors of homemade ice cream to choose from, and the doors were open for tours of the historical society’s 1810 farmhouse museum. About five months after a water issue at Wiscasset’s Whippoorwill Mobile Home Park appeared resolved, other problems have occurred and are being addressed, according to emails Wiscasset Newspaper received Monday, Aug. 13 from a lawyer for park management. After hearing from lawyers, selectmen and fellow residents Aug. 14, Alna’s appeals board determined it does not have jurisdiction to hear Jeff Spinney’s appeal of selectmen’s handling of an ethics hearing involving First Selectman Ed Pentaleri.  After parts of Wiscasset’s months-old medical cannibas licensing ordinance did not make it into the final version, Town Manager Dennis Simmons said Aug. 16, “As it stands right now medical cannabis operations would be (allowed) in all zones but are excluded from the safe zones listed in the ordinance.” The town is working to get ordinance changes on the November ballot.  Coastal Maine Regional Broadband (CMRB), a regional partner of Maine Connectivity Authority, has partnered with Wiscasset Public Library to help improve the digital landscape and encourage digital equity for residents of Lin- coln County. CMRB has awarded the library a grant of $2,000. The library plans to use the funds to improve internet access and buy several tablets/e-readers for public use.  Marge Kilkelly and the crew from Dragonfly Cove Farm took top honors in the “Battle of the Boards” in Wiscasset Saturday evening, Aug, 19. The inaugural event was hosted by Maine Tasting Center and sponsored by Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce. It drew 13 contestants eager to match their culinary and artistic skills and close to 100 guests eager to sample the cuisine. A whale or whales were seen, photographed and video-recorded the week of Aug. 21 in the Sheepscot River in Wiscasset and nearby waters. The 18th annual Westport Island Shore Run 10K Road Race on Sunday, Aug. 20 got cool temperatures  and a record turnout of over 70 runners and walkers. Wiscasset Middle High School is searching for a new vice principal and athletic director following the resignation of Cameron Bishop. Bishop is leaving to become dean of students at Morse High School in Bath. Saturday morning, Aug. 26, Wiscasset’s Jan Flowers said she and husband Larry had just seen “things we never get to see from the road ... Beautiful, lot of pines, we saw the backs of houses that we’ve never seen! It was great. I loved it,” she said after stepping off the one-car Coastliner train in Bath. They were on the first run out of Wiscasset on a three-round trip day for the self-propelled train with which Midcoast Railservice has started passenger rail on Maine Department of Transportation’s Midcoast branch. A truck struck Red’s Eats’ deck at about 5:40 a.m. Aug. 26. The driver reported hydroplaning, police said. Deb Gagnon, co-owner of the famous business at the corner of Wiscasset’s Water Street and Route One, said the impact shifted the entire deck, broke light posts, tables and planters and threw lumber everywhere, but she was “so grateful” no one was hurt.   Wiscasset High School’s Class of 1973 had a 50th Class Reunion at Montsweag Farm Restaurant in Woolwich Saturday, Aug. 26. If Alna removes the rocks placed last spring at Pinkham Pond and subsoil gets into the pond, “according to (Maine Department of Environmental Protection), you will have a problem,” roads committee member Jeff Averill told selectmen Aug. 30. “(They were) very satisfied with the way things are right now. All you have to do is get a permit by rule, it’s all done, forget it.” About 65 people marched up Main Street Thursday, Aug. 31 in Wiscasset in remembrance of loved ones lost to overdoses. The 716 Candles Project was a weeklong series of events throughout Lincoln County, surrounding International Overdose Awareness Day and culminating with the Parade of Candles at Wiscasset Art Walk. 

September 

 Renovations at Wiscasset’s two schools this summer have included new roofing at the middle high school and prep work for an elevator at the elementary school. Together the improvements will cost about $1.2 million, according to Director of Transportation and Maintenance John Merry. “The roof is finished and work is progressing for the new elevator,” said Merry, who gave Wiscasset Newspaper a tour of the buildings Friday morning, Sept. 1. The Labor Day tradition “Bands for Books,” the end of summer celebration held to raise funds for Wiscasset Public Library, continued Sept. 4. Monday evening’s event sponsored by Friends of the Library had a new venue, Lakehurst Lodge in Damariscotta.  Sarah Hubert returned to Wiscasset Middle High School as the new vice principal and athletic director. Her hiring was finalized just in time for the start of the school year. Earlier in the week, Hubert was on the school’s front steps with Superintendent of Schools Kim Andersson greeting students. Because the proposed changes to one of Wiscasset’s new cannabis ordinances are fixes to the wrong version that passed, those changes will be retroactive to the June town vote, Town Manager Dennis Simmons explained in a phone interview Sept. 6. Sept. 5, selectmen agreed to put the would-be fixes on the November ballot. Tiny homes would not be an option as accessory homes, at least not initially, under Wiscasset Selectman Pam Dunning’s ideas for an ordinance. The board on Sept. 5 was discussing what guidance to give the ordinance review committee on short-term rentals and on accessory homes as Wiscasset and other Maine towns address LD 2003. The state measure aimed at adding to affordable housing stock takes effect next July. Sept. 7, Wiscasset celebrated the official groundbreaking for the senior living facility at the former primary school. Sept. 7, the rocks at a walk-in area to Pinkham Pond were called jagged, dangerous, a mistake and not what pond-goers wanted. Alna selectmen and fellow residents talked more about the rocks and the board moved closer to action. Organist Joel Pierce played a collection of traditional hymns and selections in remembrance of 9/11 Saturday afternoon, Sept. 9 at Wiscasset’s First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ. The recital, followed by a gathering in Fellowship Hall, was part of the weekend observance of the 250th anniversary of the church atop the town common. Supporters of Lincoln County Historical Association (LCHA) gathered Sunday evening for the organization’s annual Preservation Party, a fundraiser for LCHA’s educational programming and stewardship of the 1761 Pownalborough Court House in Dresden, where the event was held; the 1811 Old Lincoln County Jail in Wiscasset; and the 1754 Chapman-Hall House in Damariscotta. A sold-out crowd of 128 attended, up from 95 last year. Dresden has again expressed an interest in possibly sending its students to Wiscasset schools. Wiscasset Superintendent of Schools. Kim Andersson told the school committee Tuesday, Sept. 12, she met recently with a newly formed exploratory committee. Dresden has its own K-grade five elementary school on Cedar Grove Road and had 72 students in the 2022-23 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. When meeting with the public, those drafting Wiscasset’s next comprehensive plan will seek a balance between sharing the committee’s ideas and seeing what attendees have to say. “I don’t want us to put in so much work that then if it totally doesn’t match with any of what the public says, we’ve wasted our time and we need to totally rewrite,” Committee Chair and Selectmen’s Chair Sarah Whitfield said Sept. 13. Maine Yankee might or might not end up paying Wiscasset as much as the town has decided. Selectmen Sept. 13 passed new property valuations for the ex-nuclear plant. Sept. 14, Maine Yankee’s longtime spokesman Eric Howes confirmed in a phone interview and an email, an abatement request is coming. It was announced in September, the 1990-91 Wiscasset High School Boys’ Basketball State Class C Champions will be honored as an “Outstanding Team” at the Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame banquet on Oct. 21. The event will be held at the Rockland Elks Lodge. For another year, Woolwich’s property tax rate is $15.40 per $1,000 dollars of assessed valuation. The rate has remained unchanged since 2020. The selectboard set the rate Monday afternoon, Sept. 18 after meeting with accountant William Brewer of Bath and assessing agent Juanita Wilson-Hennessey. Wiscasset continues exploring getting its sewer plant the sea wall officials have said could avoid having to move the plant. Town Manager Dennis Simmons told selectmen Sept. 19, he and Olver Associates – the town’s contractor on a climate action plan for the plant – met recently with Maine Emergency Management Agency on how to possibly fund a wall. The Environmental Protection Agency does not want to fund it, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency has different roles and might be willing to help, he said. Eight Wiscasset Elementary School second graders got to celebrate their hard work over the summer. They voted for an ice cream sundae/soda celebration in their pajamas and with their favorite stuffy. Revisiting sending the Wawenock building’s owner a lawyer’s letter, Wiscasset selectmen decided again Sept. 19 to hold off. They favored Chair Sarah Whitfield’s suggestion to reassess progress on repairs every couple of weeks. Wiscasset Town Manager Dennis Simmons announced Tuesday, Sept. 19: “While entering the recently approved tax commitment figures into the town’s TRIO system, a small error was found in the non-property tax revenue calculation. The result is an increase in non- property revenue of $83,422. This reduces the property tax commitment slightly, lowering the mil rate from the approved $17.182 (per thousand dollars of assessed valuation) to $17.047. The selectboard will be asked to void the approved commitment warrant and approve the recalculated warrant.” The rocky walk-in to Pinkham Pond remained an issue at the close of Alna selectmen’s Sept. 21 meeting after partly contentious talks continued among selectmen and between selectmen and the public. Second Selectman Steve Graham and Third Selectman Coreysha Stone again urged First Selectman Ed Pentaleri to focus his comments on a solution and not preface his proposal with theories on the matter’s origins. Eventually, Pentaleri agreed to stop that part of his comments. He said the board’s opposition to those comments was ridiculous, he had a right to speak and has received local praise for points he has made and tried to make in recent meetings, and he was stopping under protest. Wiscasset Art Walk wrapped for the 2023 season Thursday, Sept. 28 with music, fare and more, including a dance party after dark and celebration cupcakes in honor of WAW’s first 10 years.  On Saturday, Sept. 30, about 25 people looked on in Westport Island as Richard DeVries, chair of the Wright Landing Committee, unveiled a plaque to honor longtime, former selectman George Richardson as the “founding father” of Wright Landing public boat landing. Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce on Saturday, Sept. 30 celebrated the opening of Jodie’s Cafe and Bakery on Water Street, Wiscasset with a ribbon-cutting. The bridge on Alna’s Dock Road has a deck and substructure both in poor condition and a superstructure in satisfactory shape, according to Maine Department of Transportation. MaineDOT has the state-owned bridge on its work plan for rehabilitation in 2024-25.  Having a resident as a code enforcement officer risks conflict, Alna First Selectman Ed Pentaleri said. The statement Sept. 27 was in response to Third Selectman Coreysha Stone’s asking if two possible candidates, both residents, would be considered for the CEO job that has been vacant for weeks. 

October 

 Citing some costs that are climbing and others that might climb, Wiscasset Town Manager Dennis Simmons got selectmen’s OK Oct. 3 to carry forward hundreds of thousands of unspent dollars from departments’ 2022-23 budgets to this year’s. That money will, among other things, help the town redo and extend the veterans’ wall walkway; and possibly help Wiscasset Ambu- lance Service (WAS) recruit workers, according to Simmons’ report to the board. Only comments of support were aired at a public hearing in Woolwich for OpBox, a company which assembles and sells modular structures and other products made from recycled plastic. David King Sr., chairman of the selectboard, said the Oct. 4 hearing at the town office was a condition for the company’s owner, Ben Davis of Nobleboro, applying for Maine Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding.  Alna announced via email Oct. 4, Maine Municipal Association (MMA) has recognized Alna's 2022- 2023 Annual Report as "Superior" among towns with populations be- tween 500 and 999. The criteria focused on attractiveness of the cover and layout, reader appeal, and the presentation of materials to succinctly inform readers of the community's achievements. Alna joins Carrabassett Valley and Starks as award winners in this population category. Wiscasset will take a fresh look at two ties to the school district to which it once belonged, Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit. As Wiscasset Superintendent of Schools Kim An- dersson explained in the Oct. 10 school committee meeting and in email responses to questions, one of those ties is different from how it was long viewed. “There has been a notion in town over the past 10 years that the withdrawal agreement expires in 10 years,” Andersson said via email. It does not, she said. “The agreement does state ... if Wiscasset closes one of its schools but continues to provide for (those) grades ... then Wiscasset would have to provide placement ” for affected SVRSU students for 10 years; after the town left the district, Wiscasset Primary School closed. “I believe that 10-year requirement may be what has led the public to believe Wiscasset’s withdrawal agreement would expire after 10 years.” Julee Ketelhut and Tracey Whitney of Wiscasset said they looked forward to Scarecrowfest. And they arrived in costume early Oct. 14 in the parking lot outside the town office. They were part of a small group calling themselves the “Pirates of Federal Street.” Tucker Chevrolet seeks to put a dealership and service center of about 22,100 square feet at 771 Bath Road, Wiscasset, opposite Norm’s Used Cars and Wiscasset Trading Post. Priority Real Estate Group’s (PRE) Oct. 16 letter on the business’s behalf to Planning Board Chair Karl Olson states the business would go on a 12-acre parcel where a vacant, circa 1970 home would be demolished, and the curb cut and driveway moved. An area, high end craft brewery owner said he wants to offer a “watering hole” in downtown Wiscasset. Jeremy Meyers, owner of Aekeir Brewing, LLC that he runs out of his 15 Yankee Way, East Boothbay home, seeks a taproom at 111 Main St., Wiscasset.  Maine’s environmental protection board Thursday, Oct. 19 upheld a Department of Environmental Protection decision to exempt from taxes Maine Yankee’s canisters that hold spent nuclear fuel, the casks that hold them, and the pads the casks sit on. God help the children of Ukraine,” Westport Island’s Damian Sedney said. Sedney, telling Wiscasset Newspaper about a nonprofit he and wife Katrina have started for Ukrainian relief, was sharing a photo of a boy he met at a school in Kharkiv. “We were giving new school backpacks to his class. He was very curious and talkative. He was killed by the Russians one week later, with his grandma as he slept in his Spider Man pajamas in their flat,” Damian said.  Wiscasset Selectman James Andretta told the board Oct. 17, a developer is still interested in leasing about 150 acres for a solar project on town land opposite Maine Yankee on Old Ferry Road. The board agreed to Andretta’s suggestion to have the budget committee look into it. Oct. 19 in Alna, Second Selectman Steve Graham and Third Selectman Coreysha Śtone agreed to end the town’s enforcement action on a Golden Ridge Road boat ramp and settle with Jeff Spinney. For the town, the deal is more a surrender than a settlement, the pact’s opponents argued. Others in the hearing at the fire station and over Zoom supported the proposal. Just out of a briefing with Wiscasset Police Chief Lawrence Hesseltine Thursday morning, Oct. 26 in connection with the mass shootings in Lewiston the night of Oct. 25, Town Manager Dennis Simmons, a paramedic and past head of Wiscasset Ambulance Service, said the town had a rescue crew staged in Topsham the night of the shootings in case it was needed to help. And, interviewed separately, Hesseltine told Wiscasset Newspaper he had three officers on duty instead of the usual one officer for a Wednesday night. Westport Island may be looking at a 2026 revaluation rather than 2025, Selectman Jeff Tarbox told fellow board members Oct. 30. He explained, based on his research, a lot of the firms that do revaluations tend to do it part-time, except for larger ones, possibly out of state, who he said might be in town five days a week. Three years after Woolwich voters approved the purchase of a two-acre wooded lot on George Wright Road, the selectboard is seeking a buyer for the property. Before selectmen can sell the lot, they will need voter approval at a special town meeting. At Wiscasset’s Nightmare on Federal Street event Tuesday, Oct. 31, families were in costume, 40 Federal Studio gave out over 400 slices of pizza, and other tables weremanned by groups including First Congregational Church, offering lots of cider, Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce, with lots of sweets, Jodie's Restaurant, with cookies and cupcakes, and The First National Bank, also with lots of sweets. 

November

 A camera’s installation led to an investigation before Wiscasset Middle High School Princpal Gina Stevens was placed on leave, according to statements Wiscasset Newspaper obtained Nov. 2 from Stevens and Superintendent of Schools Kim Andersson. Wiscasset’s and Pittston’s code enforcement officer will now also be Alna’s. Nov. 2, selectmen vot- ed Bruce Engert CEO and local plumbing inspector (LPI). Nov. 2, Alna selectmen announced Doreen Conboy as their choice for the Spirit of America award. Conboy is the town archivist and a steward of the town’s historic buildings, First Selectman Ed Pentaleri noted. Wiscasset selectmen Nov. 7 agreed to appeal in Lincoln County Superior Court a Maine Board of Environmental Protection decision in Maine Yankee’s favor. Oct. 19, the BEP upheld Maine Department of Environmental Protection decision to exempt from taxes Maine Yankee’s canisters that hold spent nuclear fuel, the casks that hold them, and the pads the casks sit on. Nov. 7, Wiscasset selectmen decided they will voice displeasure, in writing, at the moved timeline for work to finish on the Wawenock building, 63 Main St. Also Nov. 7, Wiscasset selectmen met the town’s new economic development director, Aaron Chrostowsky. Town Manager Dennis Simmons said Chrostkowsky last worked 10 years as Wayne town manager.  Wiscasset Public Library received a $40,000 gift from Garden Club of Wiscasset. The intent of this gift is to help finance maintenance and garden projects. Saturday morning, Nov. 11. was sunny but blustery when Woolwich veterans and guests gathered on a windswept hill in front of the Sailor and Soldiers Memorial at Laurel Grove Cemetery to commemorate Veterans Day. Red and green were the colors of the morning Nov. 11 for the annual Hanging of the Greens on Wiscasset’s Main Street. Volunteers teamed up to wind evergreen garland, hang wreaths on lamp posts and string lights. The Wiscasset School Committee voted, 4-0, to conduct a dismissal hearing regarding the middle and high school principal, Gina Stevens, following a public Nov. 13 personnel discussion. Stevens has served as the full-time principal since July 1 after previously serving on an interim basis.   After a year and a half effort, Alna has won a federal grant to get the town office an automatic generator, First Selectman Ed Pentaleri said Nov. 16. Citing the town’s best interest to go with 14-month old quotes Pentaleri said are bet- ter than what the town would find now, selectmen waived bidding and went with Mid Maine Generator for the generator, at $12,191; and Dead River Company for the propane tank, at $5,940.   The newly formed Dresden Digital Equity Group met Nov. 11 to explore uses of a recent bequest from a resident to promote access to digital devices and training in conjunction with a grant application submitted on behalf of the town to fund fiberoptic broadband construction and coverage. Karen D. Vitelli, who died Sept. 12, left money for townspeople who could not afford computers, tablets, modems, routers and subscriptions for internet services, along with education and trainings for all residents to effectively use such devices. Judy Tunkle, who chairs the Dresden Broadband & Technology Committee, reported the new fund totaled $356,092.69 as of Veterans Day. Spending a little extra time outdoors during the last week in October earned Wiscasset Middle High School sixth, seventh and eighth graders a $1,000 prize in the “Life Happens Outside Challenge” sponsored by Teens to Trails. The student body learned of the award at an assembly Thursday afternoon, Nov. 16.  December sometime, Wiscasset School Committee Chair Jason Putnam told a heavy turnout at Wiscasset Middle High School and online Nov. 14: The date for the committee’s dismissal hearing on WMHS principal-on leave Gina Stevens was still to be set with the lawyers and others, Putnam said.   Amid the controversy over Wiscasset Middle High School Principal Gina Stevens’ being put on paid leave, with a dismissal hearing pending, WMHS Athletic Director-Assistant Principal Sarah Hubert said she and a teacher accompanied 17 students Monday, Nov. 20 to keep them safe on a walkout from school across Route 27 to the Superintendent of Schools Office.   Wiscasset Selectmen’s Chair Sarah Whitfield wants board representation at Alternative Orga- nizational Structure (AOS) 98’s long range planning committee meetings. In a selectmen’s meeting Nov. 21, Whitfield said she was not happy to learn other towns had selectmen and school committee members at a planning committee meeting, but Wiscasset’s select- board, she said, was not invited. A chair of the long range planning committee, Kelly James, said Nov. 22, “It was not our intention to exclude any part of any of the surrounding communities. We cast the invitation net as wide as we could based on the means at our disposal. I’d like to extend an apology to the Wiscasset select- board if they did not receive an invitation, as that was never the intent. I’d love to have them join the next meeting.”   Wawenock LLC expects masonry work to be finished next March on its Main Street, Wiscasset building that shed hundreds of bricks in April 2021. Wawenock’s latest update to the town follows Town Manager Dennis Simmons’ admonish- ing letter the selectboard requested Nov. 7 and praised him for Nov. 21.   Fourth and fifth graders at Wiscasset Elementary School hosted Dwayne Tomah of the Passamaquoddy Tribe Nov. 15. He talked to the students about the history and modern-day lives of Maine’s indigenous populations.    Wiscasset’s planning board on Nov. 27 declared Aekeir Brewing’s application for a tap room at 111 Main St. complete and passed the proposal on to Lincoln County Planner Emily Rabbe. Aekeir Brewing owner Jeremy Myers first met with the board Oct. 23. Nov. 27, he said except for a small amount that will be made there, the beer will be “an outlet” for his brewing operation on the Boothbay peninsula.   The Turkey Trot in November had Wiscasset Elementary School fourth and fifth graders walking donated food to St. Philip’s Episcopal Church for the Help Yourself Shelf (HYS) Food Pantry. Sheepscot Valley Children’s House and Wiscasset Community Center also participated in collecting donations.   The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Maine State Director Rhiannon Hampson announced Nov. 29, USDA is awarding Fields Fields Blueberries in Dresden $10,000 in planning grant funds to assess the feasibility of expanding the market for its blueberry crisp.   Midcoast Railservice Vice President and co-founder George Betke told Wiscasset Newspaper Nov. 30, if not for an engine issue and a lack of replacement parts, the rail service would be adding a planned second car. Instead, both cars were being sold and Midcoast Railservice has been looking for its next move to continue passenger service. Nov. 30, Alna’s selectboard hired Dresden’s Sam Cameron as deputy town clerk at $20 an hour, up to 15 hours a week.  

December

  Commonspace’s planned single-room apartments upstairs at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Wiscasset might be ready in January to propose to the town, the Hodge Street church’s senior warden told Wiscasset Newspaper Dec. 1.   On Saturday, Dec. 2, Wiscasset fourth through 12th grade choral students provided the music for the annual Wiscasset Christmas tree lighting. The event took place on the town common and the steps of the First Congregational Church. Wiscasset Middle High School teacher Warren Cossette served as the master of ceremonies.   Wiscasset Holiday Marketfest on Dec. 1, 2 and 3 was set to have many free activities, including an outdoor wreath-making demo, horse and wagon rides, music in the gallery, wine tasting, a decorated wreath display, and a shopping extravaganza – hosted by elves – exclusively for children.   Woolwich hosted its annual Yuletide sing-along and holiday tree lighting Dec. 3 at Nequasset Meetinghouse. The popular event also serves as an occasion to collect canned goods and cash donations for Bath Area Food Bank.   Wiscasset selectmen Dec. 5 amended the longtime, midnight to 6 a.m. Nov. 15 to April 15, on-street parking ban to instead have public works place a ban as needed, based on the weather.   Also Dec. 5, selectmen learned Wawenock LLC expected masonry on its Main Street building to start Dec. 11 or 12. “Fingers crossed,” Selectmen’s Chair Sarah Whitfield said.   Selectmen sanctioned an ad hoc ‘‘trails in Wiscasset” committee to maintain the trails from Willow Lane to Gardiner Road, including the ones behind the Superintendent of Schools office and ball field. The board named Tom Eichler, Nicky Sontag, Sarah Loud, Emily Bell-Hoerth, Joan Barnes, David Pope and Dan Sortwell to the committee.   Reviewing the school budget and getting appointed instead of elected are among Wiscasset’s budget committee’s ideas for itself. The ideas will be a topic the next time the selectboard and budget committee meet jointly, Selectmen’s Chair Sarah Whitfield said Dec. 5 Committee Chair Tom Joyce said Town Manager Dennis Simmons had asked for ideas.   Wiscasset’s Climate Action Team announced in early December that on Jan. 16, it will propose a municipal resolution to the selectboard to act on priority items that will also inform Wiscasset’s application for a $50,000 Community Action Grant from the Community Resilience Partnership.   Articles authorizing sale of a residential lot on George Wright Road and raising the mileage rate charged by the ambulance department passed at a special town meeting Dec. 6 in Woolwich. Voters also granted the selectboard permission to assist in administering Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds sought by the owner of OpBox, a Route One business selling construction products made from recycled plastics.   A town-wide property tax revaluation is underway in Woolwich and will take until the fall of 2025 to complete, Dirigo Assessing Group, the Sidney-based company hired to carry out the work said in early December.    Dec. 11, in a public hearing on proposed ordinance changes to meet state housing law LD 2003, former Wiscasset resident Wells, told the planning board he is working with Wiscasset Neighborhood Association and wanted to know how the proposed changes might affect the would-be apartments at St. Philip’s Church. Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission’s Emily Rabbe responded, that is a little hard to answer since the town has not re- ceived an application.   Minutes after Wiscasset Superintendent of Schools Kim Andersson on Dec. 12 previewed budget season and talked student recruit- ment, some residents and teachers aired concerns, among them the impact of Principal Gina Stevens being on leave from Wiscasset Middle High School while she awaits the school committee’s Dec. 20 and, if needed, Dec. 21 dismissal hearing.   Alna’s planning board is getting technical help with the mining and blasting ordinance it drafted. Selectmen Dec. 14 authorized spending up to $1,500 for consultant Carol White to review it and maybe take part in the eventual public hearing on it.   “This is the best place to work in the state of Maine. It’s a rare thing to have such great com- munities to work with. My ride’s been sweeter than Tom Brady’s in the NFL!” That is how Mary Ellen Barnes summed up her years of service first as Lincoln County’s planner, and later as executive director of Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission. Friends and colleagues gathered in LCRPC’s Bath Road office to honor Barnes Dec. 14 at a surprise retirement party.   Wiscasset’s school committee voted shortly before midnight Thursday, Dec. 21 to dismiss Wiscasset Middle High School Principal Gina Stevens. Right after, her lawyer said it was too early to say if the decision would be appealed. The committee’s unanimous decision followed a two-night hearing.