by Hazel Stark

While Maine doesn’t boast the longest or most intense summer season, we sure do have a pleasing variety of outdoor recreational opportunities that satisfy, regardless of the weather. Chilly morning? Hike a mountain to warm up. Hot and humid? Head to a lake or ocean beach to cool off on a swim. Warm and still? Head out for a mellow paddle by canoe or kayak and take in the sights you wouldn’t normally see on foot. Right now, a freshwater paddle in shallow water may reward you with a glimpse of the flowers of a unique and useful plant: the arrowhead.

by Nancy Beal

The Jonesport planning board began considering the most extensive and complicated building application in its history last week (August 2), when members opened their binders on a bid from Kingfish Maine to erect a $110 million land-based fish growing plant on 94 acres on Chandler Bay north of Greenwood Cemetery.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

This month, anyone climbing the stones of Jasper Beach will first catch sight of the wide Atlantic, then, below them, a lobster — a 25-foot lobster framed by white stones, to be exact. The temporary artwork is drawing appreciation from the locals, from across the internet, and from the many visitors who travel to Bucks Harbor to see Jasper Beach each year.

by Jonathan Reisman

A Few Choice Orwell Quotes:

“There is no swifter route to the corruption of thought than through the corruption of language.”

“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”

THE PRINCIPLES OF NEWSPEAK

(Appendix to 1984)

Accomplished watercolor artist Ellie Carbone will present at Machiasport’s Gates House Museum at 4 p.m. on Monday. Aug. 22, following a brief Machiasport Historical Society Meeting. 

by Joseph Horn

At the Washington Academy Class of 2022 commencement ceremony, Head of School Judson McBrine and Board of Trustees President Mike Hennessey presented a retirement gift to Associate Head of School Tim Reynolds, honoring his last year with the school. Mr. McBrine prefaced the gift presentation by stating, "I am about to make a presentation that I don't want to do." He then told students and guests how the best decision he had made in his career was asking Tim to join him as his associate head of school at Washington Academy in 2009.

by Nancy Beal

The boards that govern the Moosabec area’s three schools met jointly on July 26 and were introduced to three proposed policies: Student Discipline Procedures, Student Dress, and Rules for Student Use of Cellular Telephones. The members discussed them briefly and will study them in the intervening weeks before formally voting on them late next month.

by Jonathan Reisman

One front of the climate alarmist war on fossil fuels, freedom and prosperity is the effort to force companies to state the financial “risks” the climate “crisis” presents. This mischief has taken place not in rulemaking at the Environmental Protection Agency, but rather at the Securities and Exchange Commission and in political lawsuits filed by virtue signaling leftist Democratic State Attorneys General (like Janet Mills she was running for Governor) and green partisan warriors like the Sierra Club and 350.org.

Porter Memorial Library is pleased to announce its new event series called Authors at The Last Page, which had its inaugural event last week with a presentation from ecologist and author Kerry Hardy, will continue this fall.

Authors at The Last Page is meant to spark transformative thought by means of a book discussion group prior to a guest author’s presentation in Machias. The inaugural 2022 season explores how different perceptions of history affect equity and inclusion. The series is made possible by a grant from Maine Public Library Fund. 

by Hailey Wood

On the Kel-Daley Farm in West Lubec, Dan Daley and his wife Danielle Daley raise genetically tested, 100 percent bison. The bison they own are plains animals, as opposed to species that prefer the woods. 

The Daleys’ journey into bison farming began when Dan bought four bison from a former sergeant major in Danforth, whom he used to help guide hunts. 

“I was an avid archery hunter out west, and I would chase elk and deer, all with a bow, and would have my share of run-ins with bison over the years,” said Dan.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

The University of Maine at Machias Board of Visitors held their annual meeting on Tuesday, July 12, giving more than 50 Machias and university community members a chance to ask questions about the local institution. The meeting was held on the deck of Bad Little Falls Park and attended by UMaine Machias, UMaine Cooperative Extension, and UMaine officials, including President Joan Ferrini-Mundy, who has responsibility for both the Orono and Machias campuses.  

by Jayna Smith

Saturday of the International Homecoming Festival each year brings hundreds to downtown Calais.  Typically, in addition to enjoying the many vendors of the street fair, all enjoy the grand parade.  This year, however, due to restrictions at the border crossing resulting from the global pandemic, there will be no international parade.  Instead, the highlight of the day will be the huge street fair, set to be bigger than ever in recent years.

by Joseph Horn

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Dr. Jim Sparaga’s Machias Dental practice has just expanded with the addition of two key people. Dr. Wyatt Jones, a dentist, and Hannah Jones, a dental hygienist, are now practicing in Machias.

“They’ve come to us from Oklahoma and have started working here for at least the coming year,” said Sparaga. “He’s just graduated from school and we’re developing a patient roster for him so that he can expand on his in-depth knowledge from the University of Oklahoma dental school.”

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Kerry Hardy traces the beginnings of his interest in Native American lifeways back to the fields and woods surrounding his childhood home in Lincolnville, where he and his sister spent thousands of hours playing.

“If you’re a kid growing up in rural Maine, the idea of living in the woods, hunting, and fishing, or making a birchbark canoe is the stuff of dreams,” writes Hardy. “My childhood was filled with dismal attempts at snaring rabbits or making “pemmican” — the Indian journey food — with bitter acorns and insipid berries.” 

by Jonathan Reisman

Branded was a mid-1960s TV western starring Chuck Connors as US Army cavalry captain Jason McCord who is court-martialed and cashiered for cowardice. McCord is innocent but maintains silence to protect the reputation of his mentor and commanding officer, and to prevent corrupt Washington elites from launching another genocidal war against Native Americans. McCord travels around the 1880s west trying to prove he is not a coward, protect the innocent and punish the guilty.

by Hazel Stark

by Nancy Beal

The Brunswick rocket company that wants to send small satellites into space for scientific and business purposes says it has found a home. By press release on June 30, bluShift Aerospace announced that its intentions had been welcomed by the town of Steuben and that plans were going forward to construct a command-and-control center and a manufacturing plant within the borders of that western Washington County town of 1,200.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

A Washington County Deputy walks slowly into the classroom of a high school cafeteria where injured people lie on white linoleum. The AR-15 in her hands feels the same as the AR-15 in her cruiser, and when a shooter jumps out and fires, she fires back, but none of it is real. It’s a training simulation taking place in the conference room of the Machias Police Department, using state-of-the-art virtual reality technology called Milo Range.

A Taste of History is an Emmy Award-winning television series that recreates culinary heritage by cooking spectacular historic recipes at original locations across the globe. The show is one-part cooking, one-part history with a dash of humor and a whole lot of personality and appeals to cooks, history lovers, travelers, and anyone who loves watching an adventure. The show broadcasts on PBS stations and streams on Amazon Prime and the Hungry Channel on Apple TV and Roku devices.