Our daughters attended Sheepscot Valley Children’s House on Federal St. in Wiscasset in the early 1990s. That’s where we met (Miss) Ethel Stansfield. Recently we returned to the school, along with probably, at least 100 other folks to pay our respects, honoring Ethel and the gift she gave to us all. Ethel passed in July after some serious health challenges.

It was quite an event. People we hadn’t seen for over 30 years along with ex-students and their parents. Ethel touched a lot of lives. She was a special spirit who kind of became the mother greeter so many looked forward to seeing outside

Dear Editor:

Several years ago the Maine Department of Transportation redesigned Main Street in downtown Wiscasset. They changed the traffic pattern in order to reduce “traffic friction” and increase traffic flow. Besides creating three-minute waits for pedestrians crossing Main Street, MDOT also prohibited left turns onto Railroad Avenue and South Water Street. I have observed in my daily walks downtown that the left turn prohibitions are mostly ignored by residents and visitors alike.

I have inquired of Police Chief Hesseltine about these frequent traffic infractions. The Chief was

I answered the phone the other day and snarled at the robo caller. At least I thought it was a robocall. It was not.

Oops. It was Ms. Pigette herself, calling from her post as she held up a mailbox on Route 27. Of course, she replied in kind using language and colorful words I hadn’t heard strung together since I mustered out of the USMC over 50 years ago. Some of the sentences didn’t even feature verbs, just, well, NSFW nouns.

She ranted on and on about the White House being redecorated by the new administration. “They pulled out the rose garden lawn, put down tiles and tables with silly

va•ca•tion (veɪˈkeɪ ʃən, və-) n. 1. a period of suspension of regular work, study, or other activity, used for rest, recreation, or travel.

By the time you read this, I will probably be returning from six-plus days of suspending my regular work, enjoying times of rest, putting in some hours of recreation and traveling to and from Omaha, Nebraska on Delta Air Lines.

Yes, we’ve been to Omaha several times before as it is where our son and daughter-in-law live and work. However, whenever we’ve gone, it was either for graduations (niece's and nephew's), weddings (niece's and nephew's) or college

Looking back to July before August is also in the rear view, we continue noting five good things that happened in or near Wiscasset each month of 2025.

One is Wiscasset Future of the Schools Committee's finishing of its report. No matter where you fall on the issues, the committee's report moves the town and perhaps neighboring towns closer to having the information needed to consider what's next.

Another is the continuation this growing season of Alna's community garden. Volunteers' efforts are many and commendable. Kudos all around.

Two longer, one of them much longer, traditions continued

Dear Editor:

Recently, there have been two widely publicized housing developments in the region funded with affordable housing funds and celebrated as a great step forward in righting the “underproduction of housing.” Such is the cause attributed to the housing shortage by state studies. However, I identify the deeper reason for the ever-expanding wealth divide, engineered by Maine's centrally managed economic development policy.

News Center Maine reports Governor Mills as saying,” We don't have the 70 to 80,000 homes that the study said we need in the coming years, but my goodness, we're

Dear Editor:

The radical Right and their Supreme Court justices claim the high ground in American jurisprudence by being “originalists.” They assert that they, and they alone, understand the intentions of our Founding Fathers and base their legal and political decisions on this assumed insight. Fair enough.

Having forgotten most of what I learned in high school civics class, I took my $1,000 President Donald J. Trump Signature Edition Bible out of its $14.99 God Bless the USA gift bag and re-read the Declaration of Independence.

Using the “originalist” lens, here are some unequivocal

As we slide into August, the bird soundscape here in Maine undergoes a major change compared to May and June when the morning chorus of bird songs can seem deafening. Now there are periods of almost silence. True, the cicadas, crickets, grasshoppers, and other sound-producing insects are reaching the height of their contributions to our natural soundscape. But their mostly higher frequencies are more of a sizzle in the ear rather than the full-throated, all-encompassing caroling of five robins, three cardinals, two red-eyed vireos, a song sparrow, and a house finch—those are some of the

Domestic abuse, sometimes called Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), goes hand in hand with food insecurity. People are considered food insecure whenever they have limited access to safe, healthy food. Although food insecurity is not a cause of abuse, each can intensify the negative effects of the other. For example, domestic abuse can make survivors and their families more vulnerable to food insecurity when abusers strategically withhold money or other resources in order to maintain control. They may limit access to groceries or spend household funds on things that benefit only themselves

The Boothbay region’s laugh meter dropped to near zero last week with the passing of two men who incidentally were named after their fathers and who kept us all laughing during their time here.

Dave Parkhurst Jr. and Sereno Brown Jr. were two of the most humorous men I knew. Both of their obituaries make mention of their quick wit and their penchant for telling funny stories anywhere and everywhere.

And they weren’t just funny – they were kind, loved their family and helped make this community stronger by their volunteerism and work.

I knew Dave the longest and we kind of ran in the same

Last week, I said social media helped spread the word when traffic lights in Wiscasset were stuck on red. And I gave a somewhat vague clue to this week's somewhat related topic that stems from a post found when searching Facebook under "lights stuck on red Wiscasset." I said the post was something we could "pond-er" this week and it involved a place far outside New England. Did you figure it out?

The pond part is from the expression "across the pond," for across the Atlantic Ocean to England, and the far outside New England part also alluded to England. So how does Great Britain relate to

“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” – Henry David Thoreau

Hiking remains a popular outdoor activity and those of us fortunate enough to make our home in the Boothbay/Wiscasset area have many land trusts and preserves to explore that are suitable for all ages. Two small, but enjoyable places to visit are Colby Preserve and Singing Meadows. Located within five minutes of each other on opposite sides of Edgecomb,  these open areas are managed by Boothbay Region Land Trust.

Let's start with a walk around Singing Meadows located a short distance from Edgecomb Community

Getting ready for our second fifty. 

Turning 50 is a milestone birthday; a time to celebrateand reflect. Debra Whitman, PhD and EVP and Chief Public Policy Officer for AARP used her own 50th birthday to research aging in American society. Her book, "The Second Fifty: Answers to the 7 Big Questions of Midlife and Beyond" explores her questions related to longevity, health, work life, happiness, finances, housing, and the end of life. 

Each chapter focuses on one topic.You could read the entire book or select a few chapters for the most personally relevant information. After reading the book

The other day, the online news feed mentioned a story from the U.K. suggesting a pair of royals got in a scuffle over something.

In case you’re wondering, I couldn't care less if Prince Harry took a swing at his brother, Prince William. Did you ever take a swing at your brother? After all, isn’t that what brothers do? Did one of the princes get a drop of royal blood on his royal upper lip? Who cares.

I don’t care about J Lo’s latest squeeze, either. Nor do I care about antics of the rest of the Hollywood acting club. And, I couldn't care less about snarky internet wise cracks and fake AI posts

From my earliest years here in Maine, Monhegan has held an almost mystical fascination for me and ultimately my family. Every summer or fall someone in our circle of friends, members of our family or visiting guests makes a restorative visit to the island. It’s an almost imperative day trip, overnight, or longer stay.

My visits in the 1970s mixed well with the island residents. There were a lot of fishing families then, reminding me in a funny way of people I had known as a younger person in the work a day world of coal. Something about the manual labor set that shares a common thread

Dear Editor:

I want to give a shout out to Senator Cameron Reny—she’s not just showing up for housing in Lincoln County, she’s doing actual work that delivers results.

Just on July 29, Senator Reny stood beside Gov. Janet Mills at the ribbon‑cutting for the new 16‑unit affordable housing complex in Newcastle—an achievement rooted in the Rural Affordable Rental Housing Program that Maine has backed for rural communities. Her comment that “all Maine people deserve access to safe and affordable housing close to where they live, work and shop” wasn’t just rhetoric—it’s reflected in this built

Dear Editor:

In 1975, Gerald Ford was president, the USSR was a world power, and Microsoft was founded. On Aug. 2 and 3 of that year, ten Maine towns set their current record high temperatures, including Newcastle at 101°F and Portland that tied their 1911 record of 103°F.   

Fifty years later little has changed. Maine’s record high temperature of 105°F, set in1911, is now 114 years old. Since 1900 Portland’s temperature has exceeded 100°F in only six of the 125 years. In the last 50 years, Portland has reached 100°F only once. The average age of the record highs of the 28 tracked towns in

The next public supper will be Wednesday, Aug. 20. The meal will consist of watermelon gazpacho, salad, rolls, BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, potato salad, and chocolate chip zucchini cake.

The cost is $10 for members and $12 for non-members. Additional meals may be purchased for takeout at the same cost when reserved. Takeouts should be picked up at 5:45 p.m.  For more information or to make a reservation, call 882-8230 and join us for a wonderful meal.

Cribbage results for Tuesday, July 22 with 24 players: First place: Gail Thayer, 825. Second place: John Downs and James Kip Kelsey, 821. High

Cryptocurrency kiosks, also known as crypto ATMs or virtual currency kiosks, are used to convert dollars into digital currency. These machines may look like regular ATMs, but criminals can also use them as a fast, easy and hard-to-trace way to get access to victims’ cash. Crypto ATMs make it easy for scammers to convince victims to deposit thousands of dollars to “solve” urgent financial problems, making it more difficult to recover stolen funds. 

In many cases, these scams begin with a message from someone claiming to be a trusted source, directing you to withdraw cash from your financial

Thirty-two years ago, Susan Quinby had a vision to support the Boothbay Region YMCA’s aquatics program. With her father being the namesake of the Y’s Emery Pool, Susan created a one-of-a-kind event for non-powered watercraft, combining fun on the water with fundraising for the Y’s beloved aquatics program. 

The event’s first launch point in 1994 was the Newagan boat landing, with participants rowing around Southport, passing Cozy Harbor, Robinson’s Wharf, and the Capital Island Bridge. During the pandemic, the event moved to Barters Island. The new course is a bit shorter, with an easy launch