Local high school students from Wiscasset Middle High School (WMHS) and Boothbay Region High School (BRHS) recently participated in Sticker Shock, a youth-led initiative aimed at raising community awareness about the dangers of underage drinking. Sponsored by the Maine Office of Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services, Sticker Shock specifically targets individuals over the age of 21 who legally purchase alcohol and may provide it to minors, reminding them that furnishing alcohol to anyone underage is both dangerous and illegal. 

United Way of Mid Coast Maine is extending an invitation to the community to join them at their 2025 annual meeting. The event will take place on Tuesday, June 10 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Bowdoin College. The event’s theme “United We Thrive” will be an opportunity to come together as a community, for the community. 

Midcoast Humane is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year—and inviting the community to be part of a life-saving opportunity. In honor of this milestone, two longtime supporters have pledged a $75,000 matching challenge grant, doubling every donation made during 2025, up to the full amount. 

As of May 15, the organization has raised just over $65,000 and is urging supporters to help close the gap before the summer months, when animal intake spikes. 

New Orleans native and Grammy-nominated Andrew Duhon has been busy racking up rave reviews over the past decade. On Friday, May 23 he makes a rare appearance in Maine, performing just one show, at the historic Opera House in Boothbay Harbor. Traveling with his trio, audiences can anticipate an upbeat musicality to his tunes with upright bassist, Myles Weeks and drummer, Jim Kolacek singing three part harmony.

The next Ocean on Tap event will take place Thursday, May 22 from 6 to 7 p.m. at Footbridge Brewery, 25 Granary Way, Boothbay Harbor.

Hannah Sterling of Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences will be speaking about the history of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), sometimes called "Forever Chemicals" and her research on them along Maine's coast. Join us for this highly relevant and fascinating conversation!

There is still time to join other female-identifying folks for the weather-postponed Hearty Roots “Interlude” gathering on Saturday, May 17, from 1 to 6 p.m. This is a chance to fill your cup, recharge your batteries, and find whatever your spirit is needing during this time of seasonal transition. Let the abundance of the natural world guide your experience at this event on the Hearty Roots campus in Bremen.

Students from Wiscasset Middle High School's principles of engineering class competed at University of Maine in Orono in the statewide 10th annual Windstorm Challenge. Students were tasked with creating the most stable offshore wind turbine hull and presenting their ideas to a panel of judges.

Sophia Suzanne is a 17-year-old singer/songwriter and guitarist from Boothbay. On Thursday, May 22 at 7 p.m., she will perform songs from her debut album, "Impatient Child," at the Poe Theater at 81 Academy Hill Road in Newcastle. This performance is one-night only with a band of student musicians.

May 8, Wiscasset Elementary School presented an evening of art and music for students, families and the community. The Art Show featured work from all students in grades K-5. The hallways bristled with excitement for the many amazing works from all of our students.

Art teacher Liz Proffetty displayed hundreds of pieces of student work using many different media. A highlight was the hall that featured art representing the timeline of man.

On April 28, Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust closed on the purchase of its largest independent acquisition to date in the town of Newcastle. The 270-acre Deer Meadow Brook Preserve is part of a block of nearly 4,700 acres of undeveloped wildlife habitat along Deer Meadow Brook.  

Located on West Hamlet Road, the property extends from the shore of Damariscotta Lake at State Route 215 (Pond Road) to Deer Meadow Brook, where it includes over 1,600 feet of stream frontage. 

The Center for Teaching and Learning hosted Kim Bernard, a nationally-recognized sculptor and installation artist, as a visiting-artist on Friday, May 9. While instructing a course at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in 2023, Ms. Bernard presented about her “recycled, kinetic, interactive art installations” that she created in Maine communities, with a special emphasis on “transforming plastic waste into sculpture using her portable recycling machines.”

Don’t miss the Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District Spring Plant Sale at Union Fairgrounds on Saturday, May 17 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Plants have been chosen for their value as windbreaks, lakeshore buffers, bank stabilization, erosion control, and wildlife habitat – including songbirds, pollinators, and beneficial insects. Individual varieties were selected for productivity, pest and disease resistance, a variety of soil and light conditions – and to provide beauty and color in the home landscape from spring through fall.

Open the door to the 40th Student Art Show at Boothbay Region Art Foundation, and enter a world of exploration through color, technique, history, and imagination that has led to some thought-provoking work. All (approximately) told, 450 works of art are displayed! Yes, you’ll be there for a while … and not even realize time is passing!

At their May 8 meeting, the Wiscasset Masons of Lincoln Lodge No. 3 A.F. & A.M. presented five area food pantries with a total of $4,000. The funds were raised by the Masons during their Christmas drive held at Ames Supply in Wiscasset. The $2,000 raised at that event was then matched by the Masons Assisting Charities Fund.

Memorial Day is a solemn occasion to honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation. We attend parades, place flags at gravesites, and take quiet moments of reflection. But beyond the ceremonies and speeches lies another, often invisible war, one that too many of our veterans and active-duty service members are still fighting.

The University of Maine announced funding has been restored for Maine Sea Grant to continue research and outreach. They said restored funds are in line with a funding plan abruptly terminated in February. 

According to a UMaine news release May 2, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officially notified the university last week it was awarding three more years of funding for Maine Sea Grant; funds were made immediately available for the upcoming year, with funding for two additional years contingent on congressional approval.  

River rats, unite! Outdoor enthusiasts, assemble! Anyone who believes in the power of nature to change lives, prepare to make a difference! And everyone, mark your calendars for Hearty Roots’ fourth annual Paddle for a Purpose community fundraiser on Saturday, June 14.