The Big Gray Rotary Club Barn opens for its sixth season on Saturday April 4 as sure a sign of spring as spring peepers and potholes. Be there to help us celebrate, 66 Montgomery Road, Boothbay Harbor from 8:30 to 11 a.m. But, dress warmly, the big gray barn has great bargains and hard to find items, but alas no heat. The current plan is to be open every Saturday from 8:30 to 11 selling furniture, collectibles, tools and household goods. It’s a lot of fun. You might get a chance to meet new people and take home a special treasure. And while you visit , ask us about the Rotary.

Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust, in partnership with the Maine Forest Service and Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District, will host a hands-on Live Staking Workshop on Thursday, April 9, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Coastal Rivers’ Salt Bay Farm in Damariscotta. 

Live staking is a natural, low-cost restoration technique that involves collecting cuttings from dormant trees and inserting them into the sides of streambanks in order to revegetate. These live stakes will grow into trees, stabilizing soil and improving habitat. 

Spring is back and that means the Edgecomb Community Church is gearing up again for their Thrift Store opening on Tuesday, April 7, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Several new items have been brought in to sell to those bargain hunters out there. The outside donation bin will be unlocked so anyone wishing to donate may drop things off during the Thrift Store’s hours, which are the same as last year: Tuesdays and Saturdays 9 to 1.  Proceeds help our neighbors in need as well as other local charitable organizations. 

Maine is a very special place for artists. Its ragged coast and interior woods, fields, and mountains have long provided inspiration for creative expression. Maine Art Gallery (MAG) in Wiscasset has chosen to focus its 2026 exhibition season on the ways in which imaginative individuals respond to the natural world and to the state’s place in the sustainable agriculture movement. 

Veggies to Table has launched its annual Dahlia Tuber Sale, offering gardeners in Maine and across the country the opportunity to grow beautiful blooms while helping provide fresh, healthy food to community members experiencing hunger.

Midcoast Conservancy is pleased to announce the successful completion of a new conservation easement protecting 108 acres of forest, wetlands, and wildlife habitat along Pettengill Stream in Union. The property, now called Herbie Hill for the landowner’s beloved tortoiseshell cat, will remain permanently conserved, safeguarding an important stretch of land within the Upper Medomak River watershed.

It's time to start thinking about registering your pre-kindergarten or kindergarten eligible student for next year. If your student is already enrolled in pre-k, you do not need to complete the form. We will automatically enroll them in kindergarten unless we hear differently from you.

Step inside the pre-kindergarten classroom at Wiscasset Elementary School, and you’ll immediately feel it — the hum of curiosity, the comfort of belonging, and the joy of learning just beginning to bloom.

One child carefully builds winding train tracks on the rug while another snuggles a favorite bear nearby. Yet another is already looking toward the door, eager for his turn on the swings outside. A fourth child brings stories to life at the puppet theater, and another happily explores the sensory room, proudly sharing stories about her 3-year-old sister, her very best friend.

If Liberty left Regional School Unit 3 and joined Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit, Alna, Westport Island and SVRSU's other members would be chipping in 5% less than they do now, and Liberty would pay about 25% less for education than it pays now, SVRSU Superintendent of Schools Howard Tuttle told Alna selectmen and other residents March 5. He said Liberty has formed a withdrawal committee, and SVRSU residents could vote as early as November on whether to accept Liberty; this does not impact the 2026-27 budget.

This spring, John "Johnny" Merry will retire as director of facilities and transportation for Wiscasset School Department, closing out a career that began in 1998 — though his connection to the schools stretches back much further.

Merry graduated from Wiscasset High School in 1975. His mother, Anne, father, Gordon, and extended family attended the same schools. Long before he was responsible for the buildings, he was a student in them — walking the halls, riding the buses, sitting in those same classrooms.

Since its inception last October, 100+ Women Who Care Lincoln County Maine has been the catalyst to raise over $33,000. By year’s end, they have a goal of raising $100,000 to support the tireless work of local nonprofits.

March 23, Wiscasset’s planning board is set to hear from Ed Harmon about a school and much more to help veterans thrive. The Boothbay man, founder of Boothbay V.E.T.S., said this would also help fill area workforce needs, by teaching the veterans a trade. And Harmon's goal has big help from the man who for years brought shoppers to “Route One, Wiscasset,” and continues to spend much of his time serving local causes, Allen “Big Al” Cohen, retired from his famous Big Al's store.

The BugTussle Annex in Waldoboro is a beautiful meeting space in which to explore plays together. Joseph Cote will lead just such a group of explorers on Fridays, 10 a.m. to noon, beginning April 9.

In the heart of winter, Camp Kieve is quiet. The cabins are swept clean and locked tight. No trace of wet swimsuits or half-finished puzzles. No backpacks left behind, heavy with headlamps, binoculars and hand-scrawled maps. No letters from home tucked beneath mattresses. In a few short months there will be a line of cars snaking up the road from Reunion Station, delivering young campers to the promise of summer.

Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust is inviting community members to help grow the local conservation movement by becoming volunteer ambassadors. A training session for outreach and events volunteers will be held on Thursday, March 19, from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Coastal Rivers Denny Conservation and Education Center in Damariscotta. 

Our 21st century culture is often focused on urban, electronically-connected life. In “Time Drives the Flocks From Field to Fold”: Voices of Modern Shepherds,” Coastal Senior College instructor Ann Nesslage introduces students to writing by 21st century shepherds each Friday, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m., beginning on April 10 in person at the Bremen Library.

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (CMBG) is asking the community to help plant the seeds for its future. President and CEO Gretchen Ostherr unveiled plans for a 35,000 square foot glasshouse/conservatory, revamped butterfly and insect house, and Wabanaki garden during a packed public forum at CMBG’s Bosarge Family Education Center March 4.

The goal was to receive and integrate public feedback while the project is still in its early design phase. Several more community meetings will be hosted in the coming months.  

Atlantic Captains Academy will be conducting their Coast Guard Approved OUPV Captain’s Licensing Course at the Fireside Inn in Belfast. The course will be begin on Monday April 13 and will meet every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through April 19. The final exam will be conducted on April 20 at the same location starting at 9 a.m.