The early bird may get the worms, but they may also get an unexpected dump of snow that makes the worms hard to find. Although the snow has been relatively light (at least closer to the coast) and has melted pretty quickly, it certainly impacts many birds, especially early spring migrants.

We noticed the impact this last weekend. Along many country roadsides we traversed, there was a 2-3 foot strip of sand and gravel between the snowbanks (such as they were) and the road. As we drove along, flocks of sparrows flew up. Occasionally, we could see the flash of white on the sides of the tail

These past couple of weeks I have had to deal with the retirement of a longtime local columnist, the ever steady, hard-working and knowledgeable Southport columnist Leigh Sherrill. She has moved from Southport to St. Andrews Village and will not be in constant contact with the island – although her face, I’m sure, will show up there regularly when she can. We wish good things for her in her new home. Thank you, Southport Central School students, for your cards and notes thanking Leigh for her service.

I have also had to deal with the absence of the same ever steady, hard-working and

Watch for a catch-up in the coming week(s) on our latest five good things that happened in or near Wiscasset. There were plenty, as you may have read on our pages and at wiscassetnewspaper.com, but the monthly honor will have to wait due to the shocking national development at press time, on the news and on radio sports talk shows, all about the use of "torpedo" baseball bats and all the home runs they were being associated with.

Tenpin bowling went down a lot of pegs for us longtimers when, 30 or more years ago, changes in the lanes and other equipment made talent and earned skills less

My first Maine water tour was on the Argo with Captain Eliot Winslow. It was a glimpse of things from a different perspective which included loads of wit and wisdom, with a few odd-ball comments thrown in for good measure. Anyone who ever crossed paths with Captain Winslow, be it on the Argo, on tugs, or in the Robinson’s Wharf parking lot, knows what I am talking about. Eliot had some stories and some rather unique points of view! You never quite knew when the next curve ball might arrive! 

My next most interesting interaction with Captain Winslow occurred during a visit with Eliot at home

The cell phone on the table buzzed and, stupidly, I picked it up. Of course, it was herself, Ms.Pigette, and her ever-changing and sometimes interesting collection of insults.

Where have you been boy? Someone said you were sick, but I guessed Elon Musk and his minions finally got to you and sent you to the sheriff’s office in Jackman.

Wrong-o-mondo, sister, I replied. I just got sick, and my pal Bill Haney convinced me to go to Miles in Damariscotta, and they whisked me to Maine Med. The medical chart tells me they saved my bacon, no offense intended, Ms P.

I used to joke about wanting a

Cribbage results for Tuesday, March 18 with 23 players were: First, Ron Bodge, 842. Second: Roger Downs, 832. Third: Bob Gilman, 827. High hand: Roger Downs, 22. Low score: Mary Ellen Anderson, 721.

Results for Thursday, March 20 with 21 players were First: Catherine Rolerson, 844. Second, Joe Campbell, 833. Third: Pam Frenier, 831. High hand, John Downs, Rita James, Sallie Curtis, all tied at 24. Low score: Joe Sullivan, 730.

Dear Editor:

Year after year, the Edgecomb school board creates large surpluses by under budgeting revenue and over budgeting expenses. The most obvious example is the underbudgeting of tuition. This year, for example, there are 37 nonresident students that should produce $696,081 in tuition revenue. The Edgecomb school board, however, only budgeted $236,000, thereby creating a “windfall” surplus of $460,081.

So, where do those surpluses go? Based upon Maine DOE accounting principles* that surplus resides in the “General Fund” of the Edgecomb Education Department. Prior to 2021, after

Dear Editor:

I want to echo Tom Perkins remarks about dialogue with Wiscasset about education for Boothbay/Boothbay Harbor students. The quality in terms of breadth and depth of curriculum in a District with greater enrollment is significant. Nobody knows right now if possibly combining high schools is the right answer long term, but we should at least be asking those tough questions and having productive discussions with a diverse group of people to make sure we can arrive at some well-researched conclusions.

It is unfortunate that this topic hasn’t been a bigger part of the conversation

Dear Editor:

We have a reality star as president. He cares not about the facts but only about the spectacle. Several times he has been quoted recently as saying “This will make good TV.”

His base believes the lies that Fox News commentators and the conservative Internet sites and web pages peddle about the downsizing of the federal government and national security policy. Trump sells misinformation and his base salutes.

The independent press has to be much more active in exposing the lies. Unfortunately, much of the press is dominated by those who make money off the lies. And some of the

Dear Editor:

Town meeting as the customary construct of local governance has a revered history across the state of Maine. By 1652, Plymouth Colony requested townsmen settled in Maine (a region then named Yorkshire County) sign a statement accepting the authority to make decisions concerning local matters; this transfer of authority began the tradition of public participation in town affairs. Throughout New England, town meeting became the legislative body of the community; it passes local laws, approves the annual budget, sets the level of taxes needed to support the budget. Town meeting

Fraud reached unprecedented levels in 2024, with a staggering $12.5 billion lost, a shocking increase of 25% over 2023. The number of reports remained stable from 2023 to 2024, but the percentage of reporters who had money stolen jumped from 27% to 38%.

Key takeaways:

-Impostor scams continue to rise, with criminals impersonating trusted individuals, companies, or government agencies to deceive victims.

-1 in 5 victims of impostor scams had money stolen from them, with an average loss of about $800 per person.

-Many scams were tied to gift card purchases or cryptocurrency, with a total of

Yes, Mother Nature, we get it. You like to humor us at the end of March by dumping snow, ice, sleet and rain – making sure we have a wonderful mud season – as a reminder that spring comes slowly to our state.

We have had enough reminders of winter. The amount of sand on the roads, and now appearing on the sides of the roads, indicates that our road crews have been “hard at it,” especially during February and March. We are sure that those departments are ready to park their plow trucks until next winter. From our standpoint, they have done a fine job keeping the roads cleared this winter (and

From my earliest time in Maine, I have been fascinated by the seas around us. Where I grew up, in the central Appalachians of Pennsylvania coal country, nothing compared to the magnificence that surrounds us here on the Boothbay peninsula. We had a few lakes and the West branch of the Susquehanna River, but there was not a view that compared to the endless waters of the Atlantic. 

I find the actions of the ocean to be almost hypnotic. The comings and goings of the tides, the surf and waves, the ice in cold winters and the full activity of summers filled with boats. It was all new to me. I

Dear Editor:

The last Edgecomb Education Department audit, dated June 30, 2022, showed a surplus in the school’s general fund of $669,331. Since then, the underbudgeting of expected tuition from nonresident students compared to actual expected revenue* should have added an additional surplus of $679,219 to the general fund, bringing the total to at least $1,348,550.  This assumes, however, there has not been an undisclosed overrun of each subsequent year’s budget.

According to Maine regulations (MRS Title 20-A, §15689-B.(6)) all but a small portion of excess funds “must” be applied to the

Dear Editor:

Officials from Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor should be applauded for reaching out to Wiscasset to discuss the future of education in our area.

Nobody knows right now if possibly combining high schools is the right answer long term, but we should at least be asking those tough questions and having productive discussions with a diverse group of people to make sure we can arrive at some well-researched conclusions.

It is unfortunate that this topic hasn’t been a bigger part of the conversation over the past several years because it has potential to benefit students and taxpayers

Dear Editor:

Over 150 years ago, a relative of mine was arrested for voting in the 1872 presidential election. She argued that citizens who pay taxes should have the right to vote and refused to pay the $100 fine. Susan B. Anthony’s protest mirrored the “Boston Tea Party” almost 100 years earlier, whose motto was also “No taxation without representation!”

Why bring up these historical facts now? My wife and I purchased our cottage in Edgecomb in 2011. Since then, we have attended this town’s annual meetings and watched small town government in action ... from chairs for “Visitors” on one

Dear Editor:

Maine's Department of Education has recently released assessment data for the 23-24 school year. The data is available for all the schools in Maine at https://www.maine.gov/doe/dashboard. 

The Statewide Assessment indicates that 34.6% of our students are below expectations in English Language Arts (roughly 1 out of 3), 52.8% are below expectations in Mathematics (roughly 1/2), and 66.0% are below expectations in Science (roughly 2/3). Maine's public schools are failing our children. 

Wiscasset Middle/High School Assessment indicates that 43.7% of our students are below

Dear Editor:

There’s been a lot written about Edgecomb budgets and taxes.

The school is 60% of the budget, so gets the most attention.

The solution isn’t to close the school, but rather to address its efficiency. We all know it would be much less expensive to bus students to Boothbay, so painful as it is, now is the time to take a hard look at the added programs, salaries and efficiency problems being discussed.  We can still give Edgecomb students the best possible education, and keep Edgecomb Eddy an asset and focal point of the town, as it should be.

In hindsight, mistakes produced