Thea Youngs, the James and Joanne Cooney GIS Fellow with the newly incorporated Town of Chebeague Island, has adjusted to the practical jokes of the public works department and the snug office that she shares with the clerks, code enforcement officer, town administrator, harbormaster and visiting children and dogs. But while adept at technological troubleshooting
Rising to the Occasion Islands tackle the problem of respite care
When a person becomes invalided by old age, stroke or dementia, family, spouse or significant other usually take over. But islanders have problems that mainlanders often don’t: family may not live on the island in question. Then, said Deer Isle’s Susan Oliver, “everybody … is like family: you take care of them whether you like
THAW Fund to hold winter event
When the people at the Washington Hancock Community Agency [WHCA] realized that in addition to the spiraling cost of fuel oil (which by January 9 had reached $3.39 per gallon and kerosene, $3.80 per gallon) this year’s fuel assistance benefit would be less than that of previous years — they knew they had to go
Veterinary Shortage On the Maine coast, large-animal doctors are few and far between
It’s tough starting a dairy farm in Washington County; it’s tougher without regular veterinary care. Carly Delsignore and her husband, Aaron Bell, have 100 cows at their four-year old organic Tide Mill farm near Route One in Edmunds. Starting a herd hasn’t always been easy. “We’ve lost probably about eight cows,” Delsignore said. Some of
“Facts”
To the editor: …I read the story “Anchor to Windward” by Sally Noble with some passing interest as it is about my competitor. I felt it necessary to pass along several corrections to “facts” contained in the story. Brown Ship Chandlery was not started by anyone in the Poole family. It was started by Mr.
From the Deck: Fog Run
A log book was very useful to a coastwise cruiser before the invention of radar and GPS as a record of courses steered and distances run. Should fog shut down, he can retrace his steps on the chart and at least give a good guess as to his position. Capt. Hugh Williams in 24-foot Helen
Nickel smelter worries Newfoundland fishermen
Newfoundland fishermen are worried about plans to construct a nickel smelting plant at Long Harbour on Placentia Bay –and with good reason according to Earle McCurdy, president of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers. The proposal by Voisey’s Bay Nickel Company Limited calls for a six-kilometer pipeline to discharge the “treated” effluent to an area
Winter Harbor dealer sells air, everything else
“The smart man ain’t the one who does it himself; he’s the one that can find the competent people to do it for him,” said Marsden Brewer, of Stonington, describing Winter Harbor business owner Christopher Byers. Byers, better known as “Buddha,” started the enormously successful D C Air & Seafood 12 years ago out of
A century ago, a Maine-built ship joined the Great White Fleet
The past few years have seen a profusion of books and articles commemorating the 100th anniversary of the circumnavigation of the globe by Theodore Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet. What was it that compelled the President to send 16 battleships on a 46,000-mile cruise around the world from 1907-1909, and how was Maine involved? The short
Missing Skills, Rising Costs Maine’s hunger rate is lower than other states, but still troubling
A recent New York Times article on Downeast poverty quoted a Milbridge woman who described her economic dire straits this way: “I cook a lot of pea soup and baked beans and buy flour to make biscuits.” So does Islesboro writer and food historian Sandy Oliver, but she doesn’t consider it a deprivation. She may