Nov. 5, 2013 Elections: Municipal and state referendums, ordinance changes, candidates
Voters go to the polls Nov. 5 to consider five statewide ballot questions, and various individual municipal warrant articles. Following are election previews and recent issue stories for Knox and Waldo counties, as well as a rundown of the bond issues voters across the state are being asked to decide.
View a list of polling places and town contacts here: Knox County, Waldo County
As polls close election night, results will be posted on PenBayPilot.com as they are reported for Knox and Waldo counties. Stay tuned.
Time to vote: Rockland’s Lobster Trap tree in Jingle Brawls competition
The Travel Channel has Jingle Brawls, a competition among cities across the United States to find the most unique Christmas-themed celebration. The competition this year includes the singing choir Christmas tree of Muskegon, Mich., versus the Christmas Lobster Trap tree from Rockland, Maine. The episode aired on Sunday night, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m. on the Travel Channel.
Since 2003, Rockland Main Street, Inc., has been building the World's Largest Lobster Trap Tree. Volunteers,… Read more
Ann LePage joins Wreaths Across America in Belfast
BELFAST - When Rich Deneka left Barrington, NH on his Honda Goldwing trike Sunday morning, it was 19 degrees. At noon, outside the Bank of America building in Belfast, it was a comparatively balmy 25.
Inside the atrium, Deneka chatted with Maine First Lady Ann LePage about heated gloves, cell phone protocol, and other details of their upcoming trip with the Wreaths Across America convoy. Over the next week, they would travel 650 miles through eight states accompanying a convoy of… Read more
Fire destroys house near Route 3 in Belfast
BELFAST - Fire leveled a garage and caused significant damage to a home on Hayford Hill in Belfast late Sunday morning.
According to Belfast Fire Chief Jim Richards, owners Jasha and Sara Brown were inside their home with their two children when the fire started at around 10:30 a.m.
“They said they heard some kind of explosion in the garage,” Richards said. “They didn’t know what it was.”
All of the occupants escaped uninjured, he said.
Richards said… Read more
From Belfast, Rockland, Bath and Damariscotta, New Hope for Women provides sturdy lifeline
BELFAST — The door to New Hope for Women in downtown Belfast, near Opera House Video, is inconspicuous and easy to miss; its mission, however — to help victims of dating and domestic violence — is vital.
Much like the nondescript front door, victims of domestic/dating violence often “hide” in plain sight. According to a 2007 domestic violence report from the office of the Maine Attorney General, there are more than … Read more
Swanville sets date for school district withdrawal vote
SWANVILLE - Selectmen on Thursday set a date of Dec. 17 for a municipal referendum on whether to seek withdrawal from Regional School Unit 20.
Swanville is the last of six towns from the former School Administrative District 34 to hold the preliminary vote on withdrawal.
Belfast, Belmont, Morrill, Northport and Searsmont have already approved measures to petition the state Department of Education for withdrawal from the district and formed the local withdrawal committees required… Read more
Midcoast Actors’ Studio to perform ‘A Christmas Carol’ in Belfast
BELFAST – Jacob Marley’s ghost will haunt the Troy Howard Middle School ‘cafetorium’ this December as John Bielenberg’s adaptation of A Christmas Carol comes alive, courtesy of the Midcoast Actors’ Studio.
I was able to join Director Jason Bannister and the cast for part of a recent dress rehearsal, arriving just in time to catch the end of the play.
I expected something akin to my past theater experiences: frantic directors pacing around and tugging at what little hair they have… Read more
Committee rings last call on 2014 Waldo County budget
BELFAST - The Waldo County Budget Committee will hold it’s final public hearing on the county’s proposed 2014 budget, Friday, Dec. 6.
The hearing will be held on the second floor of the Fifth District Courthouse in Belfast, starting at 6 p.m. The public will have an opportunity to weigh in at the beginning of the meeting.
The roughly $8 million bottom line of the draft 2014 budget is down 2.2 percent from 2013. The discretionary portion of the budget — excluding the $2.8 million… Read more
Belfast approves Thompson’s Wharf expansion, passes on grant prospect
BELFAST - The City Council on Tuesday approved plans to expand Thompson’s Wharf, but turned down a chance to apply for grant money.
Harbor Master Katherine Pickering painted a bleak picture of city-owned dock, located in the inner harbor between properties owned by Front Street Shipyard. The steel pilings have significantly corroded, she said, and the fasteners that hold the floats together have deteriorated so much over the years that the planks came loose on a regular basis.
“… Read more
Festival of Lights Parade a winner
ROCKLAND — Despite the cold, throngs of bundled men, women and children lined Rockland's Main Street for the Festival of Lights Parade. As the spectators gathered three and four deep on the sidewalks, it was as if all of Rockland had turned out for the event. Unlike the Lobster Festival Parade that hosts thousands of tourists, the Festival of Lights Parade was for the community as a way of capping off the Thanksgiving weekend and welcoming the start of the holidays. The following gallery… Read more
Dancing through the Decades Sunday in Rockland
ROCKPORT — Swing and Sway Dance Studio, at 143 Maverick Street in Rockland, will present Dancing Through the Decades, a Holiday Dance Performance, Sunday, Dec. 1, at 2 p.m. in the Strom Auditorium in Rockport. Jessica Libby, manager and instructor at Swing and Sway, said the show will start in the 1800s and go all the way though the current styles of dance: Viennese Waltz, Cha Cha, Mambo, and Belly Dancing are all likely to be seen by the audience during the show. There will only be… Read more
Rockland community turns out for tree lighting
ROCKLAND — Rockland’s Festival of Lights kicked off at noon Friday, Nov. 29, with the arrival of Santa Claus aboard a U.S. Coast Guard boat. After disembarking at the public landing, Santa and Mrs. Claus went to his workshop in Mildred Merrill Park next to the Lobster Trap Tree, where he spent the afternoon listening to childrens’ wishes for Christmas Day. Later that evening, the community turned out in force to watch the lighting of the tree, followed by a brief ceremony that included a… Read more
Swerving to avoid dog, Rockland driver winds up off road; car demolished
ROCKLAND — At approximately 7:30 Thanksgiving night, Lisa Carlton, of Rockland, was driving north on Front Street in Rockland when a dog ran across her path. As she swerved to avoid hitting it, she heard a loud noise from the front end of her sedan just before she lost control it.
Carlton hit the curb and then slid across the property of Prock Marine. After sliding several yards, the car came to rest at the… Read more
Thomaston, Rockland are caring communities on Thanksgiving
ROCKLAND — More than 400 people were fed Thanksgiving Day dinner by three organizations whose only goal was to provide a place to get together and share a meal on the holiday. Close to 100 volunteers worked from early morning and through meal time to prepare a complete Thanksgiving dinner.
Darryl Leavitt, Post Commander at Winslow-Holbrook-Merritt American Legion Post 1 in Rockland, said volunteers prepared six turkeys, each weighing approximately 24 pounds.
“We did 50-plus… Read more
Unlocking potential of the Rockland-Rockport Route 1 strip
ROCKLAND — An effort begun more than two years ago to envision what Camden Street (Route 1) from Rockland to Glen Cove in Rockport might look like with improvements culminated Nov. 26 at Rockland City Hall as landscape architects delivered the study and assorted designs, “Unlocking the Potential”, to the Rockland City Council, Rockland Economic Advisory Committee, members of the Rockport Select Board and the public.
Car burns behind Jed’s in Belfast
BELFAST - The Belfast Fire Department extinguished a burning car on Mitchell Street, Monday evening, that according to a witness included some unusual pyrotechnics.
Fire Chief Jim Richards wasn’t working at the time of the blaze, but he confirmed that firefighters responded to the scene. Richards passed along information from a report on the incident.
The car fire was reported at 4:44 p.m., he said, at which time the vehicle, described as a white limousine, was fully ablaze.
… Read moreWinds contribute to power outages in Midcoast
MIDCOAST - High winds and downed trees accounted for pockets of power outages in Knox and Waldo Counties, Nov 24.
The National Weather Service has also issued a gale warning for Penobscot Bay along with much of the coast of Maine.
As of 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Central Maine Power reported 26,934 customers without service in the utility’s 14-county coverage area.
In Knox County, CMP reported 188 customers without power at 1:30 p.m. An hour later, that number had dropped to 103,… Read more
Last poet standing
BELFAST - On stage at the Playhouse Theater, Jacob Fricke prepared to recite a poem with his hands behind his back. It would be a challenge for “an inveterate hand talker,” like himself, he said.
Fricke had organized the event as a poetry slam, but along the way it had turned into something else — “uncharted territory, he would say, at one point with a kind of muted giddiness.
An hour earlier, it had been a different story.
Looking… Read more
Belfast home gutted by Friday night fire
BELFAST - Fire gutted a house in the residential area of downtown Belfast, Friday night.
The fire was reported at 9:16 p.m. according to records from the Waldo County Regional Communications Center.
Belfast Fire and Ambulance responded to the scene, a single-family home at 43 Pearl Street, located between Church and High Streets, across from the Jeweled Turret Inn.
According to tax records, the property belongs to Pamela Ann Callaway.
A representative of Waldo County… Read more
There is such a thing as a free lunch
CAMDEN — The First Congregational Church, at 55 Elm St. in Camden, welcomes back patrons and friends to its Wednesday Soup Kitchen, held at the church from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Debbi Hitchings is the director of Church Life for First Congregational. She is also the soup-ervisor for the Wednesday soup kitchen.
“We have about 18 volunteers here every week,” she said. “We have two chefs. One makes a meat soup and one makes a vegetarian. We also have a sous chef who helps make the soups… Read more
Monday night crash in Palermo leaves two injured
PALERMO - Two men were hospitalized after their cars collided on Route 3 in Palermo, Monday night.
Information about the crash was not immediately available. However, on Tuesday, Waldo County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jeffrey Trafton described the circumstances of the accident, which closed Route 3 for several hours and required one of the men to be transported from the scene by helicopter.
Trafton said Derek Elvin, 20, of Augusta was traveling north on Turner Ridge Road when… Read more
The Hardest Class at Belfast Area High School
BELFAST - On a recent fall afternoon at Belfast Area High School, a group of sophomores were debating the specifics of inter-regional trade in ancient Mesopotamia. Nearby, their classmates were analyzing the family values of ancient Greek society from Homer’s Iliad. Another group was discussing the strategies used by ancient Israelite rulers to secure resources.
This is Global Studies, a course that covers the entirety of human history, from the roots of… Read more
I’m sorry, but we’re out of elephants
HOPE - Almost nine years after he opened Hope General Store, Andrew Stewart has put the business on the market in order to pursue his new job as director of Hope Elephants.
When he told his friends and family the news, some of them thought he was crazy. Not only was Stewart the owner of a successful business, but the general store he resurrected from a… Read more
Hilltop crash in Knox injures five
KNOX - Five Midcoast residents reportedly suffered minor injuries as a result of a two-vehicle accident at the intersection of Routes 137 and 220, Sunday evening.
According to Maine State Police Trooper Corey Smith, Foner Curtis, 59, of Rockland, was traveling southbound on Route 220 in a 2001 Toyota Camry just before 5 p.m. when he failed to yield to a stop sign at Route 137.
His vehicle struck… Read more
Searsport voters approve $475,000 for town wharf
SEARSPORT - Voters at a special town meeting Thursday approved spending up to $475,000 toward completing a nearly-20-year-old program of repairs to the town wharf.
Roughly 80 people attended the meeting at Union Hall, Nov. 14, according to town officials. The group approved the measure by a show of hands.
The wharf dates to the 1800s and was built as a stop for passenger steamboats on the way to Boston. The wooden structure of the… Read more
Checking out Children’s Voice
BELFAST – The last time I was in preschool, I distinctly remember the furniture being much larger.
When I arrive at the historic Johnson-Pratt house at 212 High Street, I am greeted by rather tiny furniture along with the sound of what seems to be a small pack of wolf pups howling and babbling with excitement.
I follow the howls to a classroom, where I meet Iris and Dennis Hooper — the owners and operators of The Children's Voice Preschool — who are overseeing the early morning… Read more
Rockland’s youngest mayor officiates his last meeting
ROCKLAND — Rockland Mayor Will Clayton presided over his last city council meeting Wednesday evening, Nov. 13, at City Hall. The meeting was punctuated by accolades for Clayton from the public during the public comment portion of the meeting. Not all the awards, however, were lavished on the Mayor. The Rockland City Council gave three plaques to organizers of the Lobster Festival, Blues Festival and Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors show.
Steve Barrow, of Rockland, took the podium to… Read more
RSU 3 to seek transportation bids from private vendors
BROOKS - A year ago, Regional School Unit 3 switched to a single bus run system in an effort to cut down on fuel bills and driver hours. On Nov. 12, school officials voted to seek bids from private transportation companies in hopes of saving a little bit more.
Superintendent Heather Perry said the vote did not amount to a decision to contract out… Read more
How not to talk to the Belfast area school board
SEARSPORT - Public comment took up a substantial portion of the Regional School Unit 20 board of directors meeting, Nov. 12. Or rather, the evening started with a lengthy internal debate about the district’s policy on accepting public comment.
The school board meeting was the first since Superintendent Brian Carpenter released a set of cost-saving … Read more
Belfast Harbor Walk opening an occasion for reflection
BELFAST — The Belfast Harbor Walk has been open to the public since about June. Informally, the clipped string of alleys, sidewalks and parks has been passable for much longer. Nov. 9, however, the city gave the path a proper grand opening ceremony, complete with speeches and a ribbon cutting with giant scissors.
Around 100 residents gathered at Steamboat Landing to mark the occasion. In a circular plaza that anchors the southern end of the… Read more
Engineers show city officials a new view of Belfast Common
BELFAST - City officials got a first look at plans for a grant-funded overhaul of the roads and sidewalks in small portion of the downtown.
The area, which includes Cross Street, portions of Federal, Spring and MIller Streets and the north entrance to Belfast Common was the subject on Tuesday of a presentation by Sebago Technics, a South Portland-based engineering firm hired by the city to reconsider the area in light of a $500,000 Downtown Revitalization grant the city received in… Read more