It was a year full of speaking up in Wiscasset and its neighbor towns, over data centers, trash, national issues, the future of local schools and the future of the sewer plant. Along the way, Main Street's railroad crossing got named for civil rights advocate James Weldon Johnson, who died at that spot in 1938; and, at long last for some, the senior living facility Islebrook Village was opening where Wiscasset Primary School once was. Read all about these past 12 months again, the short version, sort of, in our 2025 summary.

January

See if nuclear power made with "small modular reactors" (SMRs) could be an industry in town, past Wiscasset selectman and recent legislator Ed Polewarczyk suggested to selectmen Jan. 7. If it can be, that could mean "a bunch of property tax revenue," Polewarczyk said.  He was concerned housing — one of the uses being eyed for former Maine Yankee acreage the town owns near Old Ferry Road — could cost the town more in education dollars than it would contribute to the tax base.

Amid some of their and others' concerns, Wiscasset school committee members Jan. 14 agreed to apply to the state to serve children younger than the schools' youngest students. The unanimous vote came after Superintendent of Schools Kim Andersson said applying does not commit Wiscasset to taking part. Within a few years, Andersson expects the state to transition to having schools serve that age group she said has been the purview of Child Development Services. Maine Department of Education is taking applications from school districts to take part sooner, in "Cohort 2"; Andersson said it would be 100% state funded, prior to each quarter.

Wiscasset Middle High School's boys' high school basketball team will be a top-three seed in D south regionals, and the girls' team "just snapped a 122-game losing streak," Athletic Director Brandon Rogers told the school committee Jan. 14. "So all this is huge."

The Alna appeals board Jan. 8 eyed potential fixes and improvements to appeals board rules and how to approach that work.

According to the discussion at the town office and over Zoom, numerous Alna ordinances say things about the appeals board and do not all jive. If the board proposes changes to the appeals board ordinance and those parts of other ordinances are not also addressed, alternate member Dan Weeks said, "We're setting ourselves up."

Three water wheelchairs have been bought for Wiscasset Community Center’s pool, mostly through donations, including one from Islebrook Village, the senior living facility about to open down the road at the former site of Wiscasset Primary School. Parks and Recreation covered some costs also, including the narrower, third chair, for fitting through some doorways if needed, Aquatics Director Nori Mcleod said.

The recent installation of an updated firewall is aiding cyber security for Wiscasset schools, Technology Coordinator Chelsea Taylor said. “I know we’re a small school district, but it’s still important to be aware of the threats and … be as prepared as we can against that. This updated firewall is a big piece of ensuring that protection and moving in the right direction, with the times that we’re in.”

This statement from Wiscasset schools' athletic director, Brandon Rogers, went out to parents, Wiscasset Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kim Andersson said: “Effective Friday, Jan. 24, the Wiscasset Athletic Department has made the decision to part ways with (Girls Varsity Basketball) Head Coach Daniel Wall. This change comes as part of our ongoing commitment to uplift our athletic programs and support our student body in achieving their fullest potential. We are pleased to announce that Coach Jamey Roy will step in as the Interim Head Coach for the remainder of the season. Coach Roy brings a wealth of experience and a positive attitude that we believe will greatly benefit our athletes and the overall program.”

Westport Community Association agreed to form the Westport Community Support Organization Exploratory Committee to look at "how best to replace the important work of Helping Hands as that organization winds down. This committee will determine the needs of our community and assess what neighboring towns are doing to address their residents' needs, Westport Island Town Clerk April Thibodeau said. 

Thibodeau also reported, the town's incoming, electric sign would present helpful information and have "low key colors and strategic dimming to go easy on the eyes."

Past Alna selectman Greg Shute, longtime staff member of Chewonki Foundation, was picked for a Special Recognition Award from the American Camping Association (ACA). An announcement stated the award honors efforts "to promote camp on a national level.”

Alna Town Clerk Sarah Perkins said she received completed papers from Michael Trask, for road commissioner, a one-year term; Sherry Lyons, for school board, a three-year term; Steven Graham and Ed Pentaleri, both for the second selectman's seat, a two-year term; and Coreysha Stone, for third selectman, also a two-year term.

February

Wiscasset Town Manager Dennis Simmons said Feb. 4, he had ordered work to stop on cleanup of the North Point area near the former Mason Station power plant. Simmons said the Environmental Protection Agency informed the town its grant for the work had been frozen. “I do expect it to be unfrozen. But I don’t want to take a chance of us accumulating liabilities that we haven’t budgeted and don’t want to pay for," Simmons told selectmen. 

Artificial intelligence can help summarize some things for Wiscasset's comprehensive plan committee, Chair Sarah Whitfield said Feb. 12. "Honestly ... Then (we'd) also edit, because AI is not always so smart."

Comments Wiscasset selectmen and Town Manager Dennis Simmons had received ran 11-3 in favor of a letter of support for a bill naming the downtown railroad crossing for James Weldon Johnson. Wanting to ensure people knew about the proposal and had a chance to comment, the board on Feb. 18 put off considering the letter and planned a March 5 public hearing at the town office. That is one day after a state public hearing on the bill. But a March 5 local hearing and any board vote would likely still come before a state work session on it, the bill's submitter, Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross, told the board via Zoom. 

Town Manager Dennis Simmons praised Wiscasset Emergency Medical Services Chief Erin Bean's months' long participation in a LeaderGov (leadergov.com) leadership program. "Erin has invested a lot of time in herself so (that) she can invest a lot of her time in others ... This is an up and coming person right here ...," Simmons, a fellow responder and past Wiscasset EMS chief, said in handing Bean a plaque from the Georgia company. 

Wiscasset Middle High School senior Anna Strozier just learned she will be part of the next Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic, including a week's training camp at Central Maine Community College in Auburn, a game eve banquet and the July 19 game.

March

Tariffs' potential impact on fuel, food and supplies is a concern, Wiscasset Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kim Andersson told the school committee March 4. The school department received letters from fuel providers that day, Andersson said. "They are already concerned about the tariffs that are coming at us and they said that they will just pass them along directly, that they have no other option."

Wiscasset unveiled its new website at wiscasset.gov March 4. The town said the site was more secure and user-friendly than its predecessor.

A bill to name the Main Street, Wiscasset railroad crossing for the poet-diplomat-civil rights advocate who died there in 1938 got selectmen's support March 5. After a hearing, selectmen's vote ran 4-1 to send the letter informing the legislature's transportation committee the board supports the proposed naming of the crossing in James Weldon Johnson's memory. 

March 7 in Wiscasset, a fugitive gave chase,  climbed a tree and was later taken into custody on a roof. 

Wiscasset's nearness to water and Portland have likely contributed to its light industry and can attract more of it, according to findings aired March 12. The session was part of the town's ongoing, state-aided look at what to do with its 297, former Maine Yankee acres at Old Ferry Road and with 33 acres, partly private and partly town owned, at Birch Point, where Mason Station once made power.

Wiscasset Elementary School Assistant Principal Danielle Harris told the school committee March 12, she is 100% for Wiscasset taking part in Cohort 2, the second wave of Maine Department of Education's piloting of early childhood special education. "I think it's the smartest thing that we could ever do (and) it would be ridiculous not to take advantage of this."

Harris explained, having trouble speaking can lead to maladaptive behaviors; so getting speech therapy early can help avoid those and help the child be able to love school and learning, she said.

"We've gotten our money's worth out of this vehicle, and it's just now becoming more of a liability than anything," Wiscasset Town Manager Dennis Simmons said March 11 about a plow truck Public Works Director Ted Snowdon is asking to replace in 2025-26. Simmons told selectmen the replacement and its plow and sander are figured to cost "somewhere around" $125,000.

The Wiscasset school committee agreed to apply to the state for a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant for a preK through grade 12, academics-focused after school program at the two schools and Wiscasset Community Center.

Alna town meeting voters March 29 are set to consider accepting from the estate of Richard Plunkett the late 1800s general store opposite Head Tide Dam. For Plunkett, who died at home in Boothbay last November at 86, buying the place fulfilled a longtime dream to own it, according to Wiscasset Newspaper files. And now the town can, if it chooses. Selectmen honed the question and the rest of the town meeting warrant March 13. 

Wiscasset and Boothbay area speakers agreed March 17, their communities should be thinking over what's next as student numbers have declined and residents still feel a connection to the local schools. Boothbay Town Manager Daniel Bryer Jr. sat with Boothbay Selectman Russell Pinkham to his right and, to Bryer's left, Boothbay Harbor Selectman Kenneth Rayle, in the audience of a Wiscasset Future of the Schools Committee meeting. “The biggest thing in our area," said Pinkham, "is emotionally ... Emotions run high on keeping it, where as realistically when you look at the budgets year after year and the number of students keeps dropping ... it's just, it's not sustainable. And plus, socially, what are you doing to the kids? When I was in school, we had 400 students. Now there's 160. I think socially, sports are better and everything else when there's more kids."

Wiscasset's school committee and the public March 18 further questioned whether to join the second round of Maine schools providing special education to pre-kindergarteners. Then, 4-1, Jonathan Barnes dissenting, the panel voted to move forward with Cohort 2. Barnes suggested Wiscasset sit out Cohort 2 and learn from other schools' experiences, and how the program is taking shape.

Mason Station Redevelopment Co. might seek to coordinate with the town of Wiscasset on developing some of the town-owned land near Mason Station, Mason Station Redevelopment President Ryan Gahagan said. Besides that prospect, he said the company’s signed option on the former power plant is to either buy it or its owner, Mason Station, LLC. He told selectmen March 18, the exclusive, three-year option began in August 2023.

March 25, Maine’s Joint Standing Committee on Transportation voted unanimously in support of a bill from Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, that would name a railroad crossing in Wiscasset in honor of civil rights leader James Weldon Johnson, who died in a car-train crash at the crossing in 1938. The bill now heads to the full legislature. 

For a second consecutive week, a split vote of Wiscasset's school committee March 25 moved the would be 2025-26 school budget nearer the first of two town votes.

With 196 votes to his past fellow selectman Ed Pentaleri's 166, Alna Second Selectman Steven Graham won re-election March 28, in results Town Clerk Sarah Perkins provided Friday night. Third Selectman Coreysha Stone, unopposed on the ballot, got 308 votes and another two-year term. Graham's seat is also for two years. Road Commissioner Michael Trask, lone candidate on the ballot for that office, won another one-year term; he got 323 votes. And Sherry Lyons, also unopposed on the ballot, won 325 votes and a three-year term on Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit's board. 

Sarah Perkins' last day as Alna's town clerk is June 26, according to her resignation letter Third Selectman Coreysha Stone read from on March 27. First Selectman Nick Johnston had just announced the letter's submittal. He said Perkins is "very good at her job" and is leaving because her farm has gotten too busy to balance with the job.

 April

Wiscasset announced it was one of the top-ranked small towns in the Northeast in the USA Today Readers’ Choice Awards 2025. Wiscasset was number six. Economic Development Director Aaron Chrostowsky said, “This recognition is a testament to the dedication and spirit of our community that makes Wiscasset a truly special place.”

At the bottom of Wiscasset Common April 10, area residents rallied for federal aid for libraries, In the hour-plus Wiscasset Newspaper was there, including as Bath Iron Works’ day shift headed home, honks were frequent and, of the occasional callouts from vehicles, one voiced opposition. 

Some Alna residents April 10 continued questioning the point of seeking bids on trash and recycling collection since the town already contracts with Wiscasset Transfer Station. They said bidding now would tip contractors' hands for any subsequent bid requests, when other firms would know how low to go; another concern was that contractors would be turned off if they put time into a bid and none is awarded. 

The request for proposals (RFP) would note the board reserves the right not to choose a bid, Third Selectman Coreysha Stone said. While last year's survey showed satisfaction with the transfer station, respondents also wanted to learn more about alternatives, thus the RFP, she explained.

An asbestos-filled dumping ground from the days of power plant Mason Station in Wiscasset will, when covered, become nice — walkable and mowable, project participants said. Federal and state environmental officials and others including Town Manager Dennis Simmons, Economic Development Director Aaron Chrostowsky and developer Ryan Gahagan spoke over Zoom about the federally funded remediation project aimed at protecting people and the environment and getting the site fit for reuse. Then it can become "hopefully ... something pretty spectacular," Simmons said. 

According to information Wiscasset Town Clerk Linda Perry provided, Alissa Kee Eason and incumbent Pamela J. Dunning each filed their nomination papers to get on the June ballot for the two, two-year selectboard seats up for election; Selectman Terry Heller did not file papers. Filing papers for the two, three-year terms up for election on the school committee were Laura Ann Mewa, Richard Lutes Jr., Douglas Merrill and Christopher Daniel Hart; the seats' current holders, Jodi Hardwick and Jason Putnam, who serves as chair, did not file papers to seek new terms.

Wiscasset Elementary School Principal Stacy Clements said the school is working with Partners in Education (PIE) on a capital campaign "to enhance our outdoor space incorporating elements of a nature-based PreK playground space within the current playground space." The campaign was set to kick off April 18 with a readathon. 

Norm's Used Cars donated $20,000 for a new sign for Wiscasset Community Center. 

By paring parking on Hodge Street, Wiscasset selectmen April 15 hoped to up traffic safety in that in-town neighborhood. The plan was to ban parking from the Route One-Washington Street-Hodge Street intersection to 80 feet along 4 Hodge St., which is on the left side if coming from Route One.

The proposed 2025-26 Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit budget is $28.6 million, a would be hike of 5.1%, according to Superintendent of Schools Howard Tuttle's presentation in Alna April 24. "Honestly, this is definitely the toughest budget we've had," Tuttle said. Among factors, he said high school tuition costs and out-of-district placement costs are both up and, due to property valuations' being up, state subsidy is poised to hike by $64,099, instead of its usual hike of about $400,000. 

Amendments April 29 to parts of the proposed, $10.8 million, 2025-26 Wiscasset school budget all lost, keeping the budget offer intact as it moves to a June 10 vote at the polls, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kim Andersson said. Responding to questions after the special town meeting at Wiscasset Middle High School, Andersson said over 100 people attended, most items drew questions, all items went on to pass unchanged, and the meeting ran about three hours. The budget proposal, with 3% more in costs and a 4.54% higher local ask than in 2024-25, resulted from months of talks and a split school committee vote favoring it.

Maine Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), an office of the Department of Defense (DoD), announced that Wiscasset Middle High School (WMHS) and Principal Sarah Hubert received the Patriot Award in recognition of extraordinary support of employees serving in the Guard and Reserve.

May

Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum in Alna launched the “Finish Coach 9 to the Nines” campaign to raise $120,000. A press release said the new coach 9, under construction since 2017, is a “carefully researched and faithful reconstruction of a car built by Jackson and Sharp in 1894 for the WW&F’s predecessor, the Wiscasset & Quebec Railroad. Painstaking detail has been given to every aspect of construction with the goal of creating a car that uses and preserves the technology and skills required to recreate a passenger car of a late 1800s vintage.”

Alna Third Selectman Coreysha Stone reported the community cleanup yielded 29 and a half pounds of trash and, for Alna's food pantry, about 17 pounds of bottles. The bottles weren't counted at the event because some were "disgusting," she said.

May 8, Wiscasset Elementary School presented to the community a concert and an art show with hundreds of works students created in different media. 

When Sarah Perkins leaves as Alna's town clerk in late June, Deputy Town Clerk Lisa Arsenault, a familiar face at the town office and next door when it was the town office, will become clerk. Selectmen announced Arsenault's promotion after an executive, or closed door, session May 8. Arsenault was Alna's town clerk a few years in the 1990s, again from February 2016 to June 2017, and from June 2021 to summer 2022, according to Wiscasset Newspaper files. In January, selectmen announced Arsenault’s hire as deputy clerk.

Also May 8, Ed Pentaleri of Fund to Support Historic Alna announced receipt of Nick Thaw and wife Irena Gapkovska's $10,000 donation toward the ceiling repairs at the 1789 Alna Meetinghouse. Pentaleri added, former Maine State Historian Earle Shettleworth recently said the meetinghouse was among about half a dozen of that vintage in Maine, and is the best-preserved.

Mail delivery in Alna, largely gone recently, is tracking better, at least for some. "Truly a miracle — the mail is being delivered!" resident Mary Bowers said May 16. Deliveries in the Lincoln County town had dropped to just parcels, with residents and town officials having to go to the Newcastle post office to pick up the rest; then, some postal customers were starting to receive mail again, at least sometimes. 

Turn in that cell phone to the captain when you board and expect schooner travel's challenges and a potential career idea, according to a signup wiscassetschools.org links to, for a program called the Marine Learning Project. According to marinelearningproject.org, this is planned to involve multi-day trips, Maine students, Wiscasset School Department and the 131-foot, 1973 South Bristol-built schooner Harvey Gamage. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kim Andersson told the school committee about the program May 13.

Alna selectmen on May 23 went with Treasurer Amy Stockford’s recommendation to finance the next fire truck through Bath Savings. First Selectman Nick Johnson said the interest rate is 6.17%. “However, she recommended it due to they only are going to require just a minimal payment on the interest the first two years until we actually have to draw on it.”

From treating townspeople to her Christmas cookies, to helping Wiscasset Public Library and other local institutions, including First Congregational Church's Summerfest fundraiser for area charities, Linda Winterberg "will long be remembered for her countless hours of volunteering and dedication to the Wiscasset community," Selectmen's Chair Sarah Whitfield read May 20 from the annual town report. It is dedicated to Winterberg, who died last November. With family and friends of Winterberg in the town office's meeting room for the presentation, Whitfield called her an incredible woman.

Maine Department of Transportation's Rockland rail branch, that includes Wiscasset, is starting to see regular rail traffic again; it's freight and, by fall, might be excursion, too. Wiscasset Economic Development Director Aaron Chrostowsky mentioned the prospect of excursion rail in a May 27 email advising the public to "use caution around the rail line" because, starting May 29, a train would be coming through again, for an estimated two to three trips a week, on freight runs. And the new operator answered Wiscasset Newspaper's questions May 28 about the excursion part. 

"We are aiming to begin excursions on the Rockland Branch by fall of this year," Maine Switching Services' government affairs manager, Finn Kelly, said via email. 

The rain did not stop Barbara Chace from taking part in the second annual Wormfest in Wiscasset May 31. The Wiscasset woman, selling wall-hangings and tumblers including Wormfest-themed ones, said she goes to craft shows every weekend, "and I've had five straight weekends of rain." This year, turnout was strong again. One of the organizers, Sarah Whitfield, told Wiscasset Newspaper they thought the event all along Railroad Avenue and in Scout Hall on nearby Lincoln Street got close to 1,000 people, "similar to last year."

Wiscasset Middle High School Principal Sarah Hubert Hubert will explore starting a skeet shooting club. She said no public school in Maine has one. Hubert favors the idea Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kim Andersson said came from resident John MacLaren. Andersson and husband Mikael are members of Wiscasset Rod & Gun Club down the road. “I’m actually a really great shot,” Andersson added. 

Alna’s Climate Action Committee (CAC) announced that after six months of continuous run-time, the municipal solar energy conversion project is a “resounding success,”with Alna now obtaining 100% of its annual municipal electricity use from a renewable solar power source.

As all stood at the veterans' wall at Wiscasset's town office Memorial Day morning, American Legion Post 54 placed a folding chair and fit a POW/MIA cover over its backrest. Post Cmdr. William Cossette Jr. told attendees, the empty chair, a part of all official Legion meetings, is for those "still unaccounted for in all wars and conflicts involving the United States of America."

June

June 3, the Wiscasset Elementary School Chorus visited the Maine State House as guests of Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, and Sen. Cameron Reny, D-Bristol, who represents Wiscasset. The students performed the National Anthem in the Senate Chamber before singing in the State House Rotunda, where their set included “This Land Is Your Land” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the hymn written by civil rights leader James Weldon Johnson. Their visit came just weeks after Gov. Janet Mills signed into law legislation from Sen. Talbot Ross to name a railroad crossing in Wiscasset in Johnson’s honor.

Programs and signs of support doubled as fans June 5 in a hot Stover Auditorium as Wiscasset Middle High School Class of 2025's families, friends and community waited to welcome the seniors down the aisle to graduate on stage. Speakers talked friendship, futures, words to live by, and thanks to family members and teachers.

The four-way race for two Wiscasset school committee seats June 10 wound up close for three of the candidates. In results Town Clerk Linda Perry provided, Douglas Merrill got 243 votes, Christopher Hart 230, Laura Mewa 226 and Richard Lutes 83.

Neither Jason Putnam nor Jodi Hardwick sought new terms. For two selectboard seats up for election, Terry Heller did not seek a new term and Pamela Dunning did. Dunning got 341 votes and the other candidate on the ballot, Alissa Eason, got 332. And the school budget offer lost 281-206. Asked for comment and what happens next, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kim Andersson said, "I view (the results) as an opportunity for our new School Committee to coalesce around the revision of our FY 26 budget and enable a positive start to the new year. I am grateful for the opportunity for another revision."

Donna Curry's 89 votes June 10 kept her on Westport Island's selectboard, in results Town Clerk April Thibodeau reported. And James Cromwell, also uncontested on the ballot, got the nod to stay road commissioner, with 98 votes.

Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit voters passed the $28.6 million, 2025-26 budget offer June 10. In results Superintendent of Schools Howard Tuttle provided, Alna's vote ran 37-8; Westport Island's, 85-14; Chelsea's, 51-33; Palermo's 45-10; Somerville's, 18-33; Whitefield's, 60-13; and Windsor's, 144-76. That is a "strong" 70% approval rate, Tuttle said June 11. “This outcome is particularly meaningful given the challenges we faced this year, including a nearly 10% increase in high school tuition that significantly impacted our local budget. Despite these challenges, the community has once again demonstrated its deep commitment to our schools and our students.“

Unlike the SVRSU budget vote that had Somerville dissenting, the unit's other ballot question — keeping the budget validation referendum process for another three years — got a clean sweep of the member towns. Alna went 37-6; Westport Island 72-25; Chelsea 60-21; Palermo 38-16; Somerville 34-17; Whitefield 55-17; and Windsor 164-54.

A demonstration Saturday, June 14 stretched along and beyond Donald E. Davey Bridge that spans the Sheepscot River from Wiscasset to Edgecomb. Participants estimated more than 1,000 people turned out for the event that was among that day’s “No Kings” demonstrations in Maine and the nation.

June 18, Darryn Petersen of Pond Road Restoration fit and installed six plinths at Head Tide Church in Alna. 

According to draft subcommittee reports of Wiscasset's future of the schools committee, regionalization is feasible; teachers', voters' and the community's caring set Wiscasset apart; and, if the high school grades were tuitioned out, Wiscasset Middle High School could, with upgrades, serve PreK through eighth graders, leaving Wiscasset Elementary School for reuse or sale; and no both doable and "beneficial" alternative to Wiscasset has been found for the high schoolers to go. The town posted the draft reports at wiscasset.gov along with the agenda for the committee's June 16 meeting.

Wiscasset school committee members June 19 said they want to cut no employees as they prepare the next budget offer. They also urged caution if any cuts in maintenance spending are considered. Members were asking questions and commenting as they start budget work. The first budget offer lost at the polls June 10, under the prior school committee.

Take a million dollars, or take a $10 million bond package and pay back $9 million. That is the question Wiscasset Town Manager Dennis Simmons shared with selectmen June 17. He said the town sought funding from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), toward the sewer plant's move and upgrading two pump stations. The Fund turned down the request on the station upgrades and, on the plant's move, offered a $10 million bond package with a 30-year term at 2.5%, Simmons said. He said $1 million is forgivable, making it more like a grant; and the town can choose to take only the $1 million, not the bond package with Maine Bond Bank, he said. He wasn't asking for an answer that night.

The educational schooner Harvey Gamage was in Wiscasset June 22 welcoming people aboard to check out the vessel at the center of a partnership with the school department on the Marine Learning Project.

Eighty-seven years to the day James Weldon Johnson died in a car-train crash at the Main Street, Wiscasset railroad crossing, gatherants June 26 unveiled signs naming the crossing for the civil rights advocate, U.S. diplomat and "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" writer. Helping unveil the signs on north and southbound Route One on the Wiscasset side of Donald E. Davey Bridge, State Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross, D — Cumberland, noted another way this was a full circle moment. In the 1970s, her father, then-legislator Gerald Talbot, and, years later, Native American leaders, each got Maine to bar offensive place names, she recalled. And Ross, who submitted the bill to name the crossing for Johnson, said, "Now, today (with this) beautiful testimony to the life and legacy of James Weldon Johnson ... we are adding to the place names that Mainers will be able to look to with pride."

Saturday, June 28 turned out rainy and windy but, thanks to St. Philip's 71st Strawberry Festival, was a pleasant day nonetheless.

July

After an executive, or closed door, session July 1, Wiscasset selectmen nodded a new three-year contract for Town Manager Dennis Simmons. Via email, Simmons confirmed a 3.5% hike, to $114,099 a year.

The theme for Wiscasset’s July 4 parade was “Generations."

The proposed 2025-26, $10.74 million Wiscasset school budget passed intact at a special town meeting July 23 at Wiscasset Elementary School, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kim Andersson said. This is the department's second try. Voters this spring passed a budget offer intact at a special town meeting and then rejected it at the polls, 281-206. This proposal, headed for a vote at the polls in September, asks $152,151 less of local taxpayers.

Morris Farm's new owner, Maine Farmland Trust (MFT), announced in July that it is looking for a qualified farm buyer to buy Morris Farm, or “enter into a short-term lease that would lead to the purchase of the farm. MFT’s goal is to have Morris Farm in active agricultural use within the next year and to transfer ownership within one to four years,” the announcement stated. 

Wiscasset remains committed to "enhancing the marketability of the Mason Station property and realizing its highest and best use," Town Manager Dennis Simmons told selectmen in his written report for the board's July 15 meeting. Simmons noted the engineering work for environmental cleanup at North Point at Mason Station is ongoing and cleanup is anticipated for next spring.

Sharman Ballantine, one of the longtime volunteers for Help Yourself Shelf at St. Philip's Episcopal Church, thanked the town for contributing $3,000 she said will go toward buying food from Good Shepherd Food Bank. “We are so grateful that the Wiscasset citizens recognize the need for the food pantries. Despite best efforts, food insecurity remains a problem in Lincoln County," Ballantine said. 

Speaking strictly for herself July 21, Wiscasset Selectmen's Chair Sarah Whitfield said of Wiscasset's future of the schools committee's final report, 69 pages including the appendix, "As a personal member of the selectboard, not as a whole, I am going to recommend that we send it along (to the school committee) with a recommendation in the direction of regionalization. “But, we'll see what the rest of the board thinks," added Whitfield, the board's liaison to the future of the schools committee. The committee’s report makes no recommendation on what Wiscasset should do. But discussing options, it states in part: "Regionalization offers a potential path to long-term sustainability by partnering with neighboring communities to form a larger, more robust high school program. This option envisions Wiscasset serving as a hub for a new regional school, potentially in partnership with Boothbay, Alna, Westport Island, Dresden, Whitefield, and other Lincoln County towns." The report notes this would take "extensive planning, trust-building, and transparent community engagement across multiple towns. The (regionalization) sub-committee envisions a phased approach to regionalization, beginning with shared discussions and pilot collaborations, followed by exploration of formal governance models ..."

Alna selectmen July 31 nodded a tax rate of $24.40 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, up from last year's $23.50. Treasurer Amy Stockford cited some bright notes. Thanks to the built-up surplus and good cash flow, the town took out a smaller tax anticipation note (TAN) this year, has not had to touch it, and might not have to get a TAN next year.

July 24 brought an “Alive on the Common” concert on Wiscasset Common, featuring The Dooryarders with classic Top 40s and sponsored by First National Bank and Davis Construction.

Summerfest, First Congregational Church of Wiscasset's annual fun day on the common, was July 26 with the dog parade, music, silent auction and more.

The July 31 Wiscasset Art Walk was busy, damp and colorful. 

August

First Congregational Church of Wiscasset announced in August that it would welcome the Reverend John R. Hogue as its settled pastor Sept. 1. After 30 months as First Congo’s interim pastor, David Meyers, preached his farewell sermon Aug. 24.

A ribbon-cutting was planned in Wiscasset Aug. 14 to celebrate new fiber connectivity in Lincoln County. 

Starting on a path toward being in a regional school unit again would not commit Wiscasset to it, according to information Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kim Andersson shared with the school committee Aug. 12. At the committee's request after the future of the schools committee finished its report for selectmen, Andersson described the RSU process she said is the same as when the town and several others formed RSU 12. 

Wiscasset selectmen Aug. 19 nodded the town’s application to the Governor's Office of Policy Innovation and the Future Community Action Grant for the waterfront resilience project.

And Wiscasset selectmen honored John Merry for his 50 years at the fire department, and Linda Perry for her 10 years as town clerk.

Wiscasset Art Walk Aug. 28 wrapped another season of attracting people downtown for entertainment, shopping and more in the warm months.

September

In results Wiscasset Town Clerk Linda Perry provided, the latest version of the 2025-26 school budget prevailed by two votes. Voting was Sept. 4 at Wiscasset Community Center. And the referendum results showed 123 yes votes, 121 no. The $10.74 million offer, which passed at a special town meeting July 23, came after voters rejected an offer that asked $152,151 more of local taxpayers than this one, according to Wiscasset Newspaper files. 

Can Wiscasset avoid moving its sewer plant and instead build a seawall and do other upgrades for climate resilience? Not and still get state or federal funds for the project and avoid the risk of fines, according to the manager of one of the multiple sources of funds the town has sought toward moving the plant. That fresh word from a program manager at Maine Department of Environmental Protection came in a phone interview Wiscasset Newspaper sought Sept. 3, a day after town leaders, an engineering firm and a group of villagers talked for two hours. The residents had been given time on selectmen's agenda after those residents started a website and put up lawn signs opposed to the plant going where public works is now, which is near them. The town has never stopped trying to get government environmental agencies to support a seawall instead, Town Manager Dennis Simmons told residents who spoke Sept. 2 against moving the plant to the public works site. 

Wiscasset Creative Alliance announced the second year of its Fund for Good grant program, “to support projects and initiatives that reflect the Alliance’s mission to connect and strengthen Wiscasset’s cultural, historical and creative communities,” a press release stated. 

Wiscasset was investigating what the town described as “a fraudulent scheme involving the distribution of invoices to Planning Board applicants, falsely requesting payment via wire transfer. Please be advised that the Town does not issue invoices nor does it request wire payments for any Planning Board-related matters,” an announcement read. 

Friends of the Wiscasset Public Library’s “Bands for Books” fundraiser Sept. 1 “exceeded expectations,” a press release stated. “Party-goers filled Lakehurst Lodge for an evening of music by the Salty Dogs, appetizers, and a silent auction. The dance floor was crowded throughout the evening. A recent tradition has been to acknowledge those who have gone before us in the preceding year and have contributed to our community. This year we toasted Linda Winterberg. For many years, Linda chaired our Fundraising Committee and was instrumental to the success of Bands for Books.”

Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce Manager Patricia Cloutier announced she will be retiring as of Oct. 1. She wrote in a Chamber newsletter, “Your support and love continues the mission we set out in 2011, to promote a positive business environment that contributes to the economic vitality of the Wiscasset Area. Great job, people, go forth and prosper!"

Wiscasset selectmen Sept. 16 set the tax rate at $13.67 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation. Properties’ valuations were upped 30% across the board while the town anticipates its next town-wide revaluation, which will take a couple years, Town Manager Dennis Simmons said. The board agreed to take $325,000 from the undesignated fund balance to reduce the commitment. 

Alna selectmen Sept. 25 supported Road Commissioner Mike Trask's plans, including shimming Dock Road in the low spots, "so that the water runs where it needs to," Trask said. Repaving the whole road would be "huge money, which we can't afford," he said. "So this is the best option ..."

October

A potential data center on Old Ferry Road in Wiscasset was not on selectmen's agenda Oct. 7, but was on the minds of Wiscasset and Westport Island residents who told the board their concerns. One concern was not about the would-be center, but a "non-disclosure" deal the town made.

"That is the absolute opposite of transparency," Westport Island's Sam Godin said. 

Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce, Wiscasset Recreation Department and Maine Obsolete Auto League and event goers came together Saturday, Oct. 4 for the annual Scarecrowfest and chili/chowder contest. It all took place in and around Wiscasset's municipal buildings.

 St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Wiscasset announced Reverend Suzanne F. Colburn  as part-time Priest In Charge

The Climate Action Committee (CAC) of the Town of Alna announced a program to provide any resident in need of emergency backup power access to portable, non-toxic, high-capacity rechargeable batteries to be distributed out of the fire station. The battery lending program (BLP) “is part of Alna’s broader commitment to transitioning away from fossil fuels to more sustainable clean energy power resources where possible,” the announcement read. 

Oct. 8, the Wiscasset school committee, following recent months' talks, agreed unanimously to apply to the state for a regional grades nine through 16 school. According to the discussion, applying commits the local department to nothing, and the state will give feedback to all applicants. 

The research and development campus Peregrine Turbine Technologies (PTT) wants more Birch Point land for "will have the aesthetics of a college campus," Chief Executive Officer David Stapp told Wiscasset selectmen Oct. 7.  PTT is based at other town property the company got, behind the former Mason Station power plant. Stapp said the company wants to buy the town's remaining tax-acquired parcels on Birch Point, for the R & D campus. “It's very early ... but we know we want it to have elements of public access (to) enjoy some of those beautiful features down there." 

Ten years after 146 Gardiner Road stopped being Wiscasset Primary School and four years after a senior living facility was proposed, the 105-unit Islebrook Village is looking to open the first or second week of November, after final state inspections, Executive Director Jenalee Hill told Wiscasset Newspaper Oct. 22. “I really just cannot wait to throw those doors open and welcome everybody home," Hill said.

For a second consecutive selectboard meeting, speaker after speaker Oct. 21 had questions or urged against letting a data center go up on land Wiscasset got when Maine Yankee closed. The topic — not on the agenda, nor discussed by the board that night — was the lone one raised in public comment. “It will upend our lives," Wiscasset's Regina Martin-Cronk said of a data center.

It was another successful Nightmare on Federal Street for Wiscasset Oct. 31 with the annual parade, food and other festivities.

Wiscasset's non-disclosure agreement with whoever is eying putting a data center off Old Ferry Road obligates neither party to make further agreements, or to "proceed with any possible relationship or other project," the NDA states. On a request to the town, Wiscasset Newspaper has received via email the NDA, redacted to protect the identity of the party interested in the town-owned acreage opposite the former Maine Yankee nuclear power plant. The document shows Town Manager Dennis Simmons signed it Aug. 19; the NDA ends in a year, or in 30 calendar days "following written notice by either Party to the other of its desire to terminate this Agreement, whichever occurs first. However, the obligations (in the NDA) shall remain in effect for (a year) from the date the Confidential Information was disclosed ..."

A new organization in Westport Island, Neighbor to Neighbor, planned to offer services including food and heating assistance, and adaptive equipment to borrow.

A No Kings” demonstration took place in Wiscasset Oct. 18, the same day as others in Maine and elsewhere.

When Dresden Takeout owner Kathy Dubord learned Narcan was used to aid Wiscasset's police chief after his accidental exposure to what was believed to be fentanyl, she got proactive. “It just made us realize, if (the emergency) could happen to the chief it could happen to anybody," Dubord said in an October phone interview from her Route 27, Dresden business. Wiscasset Emergency Medical Services Director Erin Bean said the Sept. 8 incident “has triggered lots of private business owners to want to be more proactive not only for their clientele but also for their staff.”

November

Drawing residents' praise and questions, Wiscasset selectmen Nov. 4 unanimously paused review of any proposals that involve tax-acquired properties. Richard Davis of Young's Point Road asked how one party's interest in the town's Old Ferry Road property for a possible data center fits into the pause. Selectmen's Chair Sarah Whitfield explained, the board will look at no proposals until the evaluation process is in place, which is the point of the pause.

Wiscasset voters Nov. 4 passed all three local questions, in results Town Clerk Linda Perry provided. Local question 1, “Shall the Town appropriate an amount not to exceed $325,000 from the Undesignated Fund Balance to be used to secure a $4 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency for the purpose of upgrading the Wastewater Treatment system-wide infrastructure,” passed 1,033-472. Local question 2, “Shall Article X, Section 16, Solar Energy Conversion Systems, be amended,” passed 815-578. And local question 3, “Shall Article VI, Zoning Summary of Permitted Uses, be amended,” passed 761-605.

A draft version of goals Wiscasset’s ad hoc economic development advisory committee was working on, to present to selectmen, so far consisted of: Leveraging the energy infrastructure to drive development; expanding affordable housing options; alleviating traffic congestion and providing visible, easy parking in the village; maximizing the town’s “potential as a tourist destination by enhancing the experience while maintaining the historic and cultural integrity of the area”; ensuring Wiscasset Municipal Airport is financially sustainable, “through increased promotion”; “strengthen the town’s waterfront and deep-water port as a hub for both recreation and commerce”; “cultivate a thriving small business environment, to enhance the community's reputation as a vibrant hub”; capitalize on rail “to promote tourism and connectivity to the region”; and “preserve the historic nature of the village … and enhance its role as a service, culinary arts, arts and antiques, and cultural center …”

Woolwich voters Nov. 4 went with Dale Chadbourne (903 votes) and Thomas Davis (727) over Mechelle Given (599) for selectboard.

Wiscasset School Department will look at whether the planned spot at Wiscasset Middle High School for two new basketball hoops is the best place for them. Resident Chet Grover raised concerns to the school committee Nov. 12 when Principal Sarah Hubert said the grant-funded hoops will replace the portable ones in the parking lot above the softball field. Grover said when kids play basketball there after hours, balls get bounced off cars or end up in the baseball field and the kids “don’t go pick them up.” After-hours supervision is up to the parents, Hubert responded. And during school hours, she said, “When it comes to recess time, that's the best place because we (can) see them in that basketball/parking lot area as well as the kids who are on the track.”

At the urging of selectmen, the town's economic development director and most residents who spoke, Wiscasset's planning board Nov. 24 did not make a policy of defining a recent survey as one from the last six months.

It looks like Alna's share of replacing Ben Brook Bridge on Egypt Road will run about $41,000, versus the $167,000 once thought, Second Selectman Steve Graham said Nov. 6. Updating the board and public at the town office and over Zoom, Graham said the anticipated smaller chip-in is due to "talking and working with (Maine Department of Transportation). I think they're anxious to have the project done ... and they're very responsive," he said.

Woolwich officials planned to ask Maine Department of Transportation to do a safety audit of Route One, due to a series of serious crashes. 

In other Woolwich/MaineDOT news, MaineDOT, at the urging of local officials, returned a rumble strip to Route One months earlier than planned. 

And the legislature approved the Woolwich selectboard’s request to call the Station 46 bridge on Route One the Woolwich Veterans Bridge.

Veterans Day observances in Wiscasset and Woolwich told about Honor Flight, which takes veterans to the Washington, D.C. area to visit memorials. 

Wiscasset Town Manager Dennis Simmons said the town office had a plumbing issue Nov. 26 that backed up the toilets and flooded the bathrooms, the hall, and his office. He said the cause was a deteriorating pipe under the floors of the office and the fire department. 

The more people within walking distance from Wiscasset village, the better for businesses, Code Enforcement Officer and Town Planner George Chase said Nov. 24. Given the infrastructure and a new state law to encourage housing, Wiscasset could, with some zoning changes, promote growth that would aid the downtown businesses, he said.  

Edgecomb selectmen planned to look at their options for an abandoned sailboat Edgecomb became responsible for and which turned up in Woolwich. 

It was announced that Wiscasset’s Walt Gorneau, who has officiated soccer for 53 years and basketball for 51, would be inducted as a charter member of Maine State Soccer Hall of Fame.

Wiscasset residents once again bundled up and banded together to decorate Main Street with wreaths and more for the holidays.

The turnout was "wonderful" Sunday, Nov. 23 at a free Thanksgiving meal at Wiscasset Community Center, Dave Sawyer of Lincoln Lodge of Wiscasset said. 

December

Wiscasset voters will reconsider moving the sewer plant to public works and public works to the transfer station. Faced with residents' petition that fell short on certified valid signatures, the selectboard Dec. 9 said it would put the sewer plant/public works location question on the June ballot, anyway.

Wiscasset Sno-Goers drew selectmen's thanks and smiles Dec. 9 for a wreath and calendar the club presented in honor of the town's support. The club maintains a 30-mile trail system, some of it on town-owned land, President Chet Grover said.

In Woolwich Dec. 13, Camden Paquin of Camden's Mission, his Maine Gladiators teammates, coaches, family and friends, laid wreaths at veterans’ graves at Laurel Grove Cemetery on Wreaths Across America Day.

A holiday event in Woolwich Dec. 7 brought the community together for carols and more, including donations to Bath Area Food Bank. 

Wiscasset lit its tree again Dec. 6 with local students singing. Wiscasset Holiday Marketfest Dec. 5-7 had a cookie contest, horse-drawn wagon rides, Santa, a night parade and more. 

Alna continued work on a second try at a mining ordinance. Helen Rasmussen called for covered truckloads and fines for violators. Crooker Construction said it would be exempt, "because Crooker's operations are not expanding." And the firm recommended revising the draft ordinance's setback, reclamation and groundwater standards, calling them "overly restrictive." Ed Pentaleri suggested ending existing operations' grandfathering in five years so they would need to then seek permits that follow the mining ordinance. And Jeff Spinney said there will be a "giant fight" if the ordinance targets small pit owners. 

Culverts and beavers have a history together in Alna that has cost the town about $700-$1,000 a year and cost some beavers their lives, according to Third Selectman Coreysha Stone. Dec. 18, the board welcomed wildlife expert and "Beaver Deceiver" inventor Skip Lisle, via Zoom from home in Grafton, Vermont. Stone and Lisle said he makes a unique device to benefit people and beavers. Stone is looking into possible grants. 

Wiscasset selectmen agreed Dec. 16 to recommend the planning board proceed as if a potential change involving surveys is already in the site plan review ordinance. Selectmen were also going to ask the ordinance review committee to make the matter a top priority and to get them a proposal by March 1. 

The selectboard applauded and rose when Wiscasset Police Officer Jonathan Barnes got a plaque Dec. 16 for administering Narcan to Wiscasset Police Chief Lawrence Hesseltine Sept. 8 after Hesseltine's accidental exposure to possible fentanyl. The plaque read in part: "In honor of heroic service ... In recognition of your quick thinking and life-saving actions ... Your decisive response and use of Narcan saved the life of a brother officer during a critical moment ... Your dedication to duty and the well-being of your fellow officers exemplifies the highest standards of law enforcement ..."

Dec. 10, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kim Andersson told school committee meeting goers the school department is “desperately seeking” substitutes for custodians and for van drivers. “If anybody out there knows anyone who wants to drive a van part-time or work very flexible custodial subbing, I mean you can almost make your own hours. We would welcome you.” Contact the superintendent’s office to apply, she said.

Wiscasset Middle High School Principal Sarah Hubert shared her idea to form a "school and community engagement collaborative" with the Boosters and Partners in Education (PIE) and seek to also include businesses and others. Hubert said participants would be people who "want to support and help WMHS in one way or another.”

Siemens representative Avae Traina said Wiscasset School Department's performance contract project seven years ago has so far resulted in more than $50,000 "in cumulative excess savings. And we don't take any of that. It goes straight back to the school district," she said.