By now everyone has heard about Chester Greenwood and his earmuffs. And the caterpillar tread, and the zig-zag stitch. All enduring Maine inventions. But how about the doughnut hole?

Hanson Crockett Gregory, so the story goes, was only 16 when, to make the doughnut more palatable and less doughy, he invented the hole in the doughnut. History has it that in a storm-tossed sea on a fishing boat Gregory needed both hands to steer so he shoved his doughnut onto a wheel spoke. This was the beginning.

Russell will serve Washington County as governor

Here in Washington County, it is easy to see the thing Maine needs most: Jobs. What I am not seeing is a lot of action to make that happen, despite the supposedly business-friendly policies of the LePage administration.

Support Ranked Choice Voting

The class of 2018 valedictorian is Ivy Robinson, daughter of Patricia and Michael Robinson of Addison. Ivy is a member of the National Honor Society receiving many academic accolades. She has displayed many leadership qualities at J-BHS serving as the class president, and representing J-BHS at the Maine Youth Leadership Conference since 2016. She was also selected as the DAR Good Citizen Award candidate.

 Editor’s note: On Monday, June 4 Washington Academy’s class of 2018 received their diplomas. This year WA had two valedictorians, and below are excerpts from the speeches they made at the ceremony. 

Cameryn Farnsworth

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

He has his own radio show, he’s a successful activist, and he enjoys skiing every chance he gets. He rides horseback, enjoys the music of Broadway and this month he’ll hop on a plane to sing soprano solos with his chorus in France — for the second time. But first, Noah Carver will complete a two-week expedition in Nepal.

Noah Carver is 14 years old.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Voters attending next week’s annual town meeting in Machias will find a $4,000 increase in the town’s proposed 2018-19 budget. 

by Nancy Beal

The four residents of Jonesport’s Ice Hill South who have been feuding — at times, bitterly — about property lines and use of each other’s property by visitors, came to the Jonesport selectmen’s May 30 meeting with news of a reconciliation. Selectman Billy Milliken said he had been talking with the four — Anthony Casino, Brian Lawrence, Ray Jones and David Wardwell — earlier that afternoon and the outcome had been agreements all around.

Editor’s note: On Sunday, June 3, Machias Memorial High School’s Class of 2018 received their diplomas. Farrow McKenna spoke as class valedictorian, and Meagan Jordan spoke as salutatorian. Below are excerpts from the speeches they delivered to the assembly.

 MMHS Valedictorian Farrow McKenna

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Usually it’s a good thing to move up the rankings in a competition, but sometimes moving down has its merits, too. Machias Memorial High School’s Honors Physics class recently won third place in the Kleinschmidt Windstorm Challenge, an impressive placing in a statewide engineering contest. But the story of how they gave up second place may be even more impressive.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Almost 400 people attended a benefit supper and Chinese auction to benefit Melissa Hinerman and JJ Tibbetts who lost their home to fire on Sunday, June 2. The Machiasport home was built by Hinerman’s own great grandparents and had been home to four generations of her family.

On Thursday, June 14 we will observe Flag Day. For over 69 years the Hannah Weston Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution has sponsored the Flag Essay Contest, asking students in local elementary schools to write a few words on “What the Flag Means to Me.” Over the years the words and concerns of the young people have changed, reflecting for the most part the current events of the times, but in all these years, one theme has come through - love of this wonderful country and its flag.

Children. They can be the bane of our existence, the object of much affection — or not. But they are indeed the shining promise of the future.

However, Maine by all measurable accounts, comes up woefully short when it comes to nurturing and growing this most valuable resource. Yes, we say all the right words, the rhetoric regularly pours forth, and Maine has started a multitude of organizations all aimed toward children and their welfare. But actions speak louder than words, and we haven’t had many of those.

On Tuesday, July 3, Machias Bay Chamber Concerts (MBCC) offers up an exuberant performance by the Brian Nadeau Big Band at the Centre Street Church, UCC. The concert will include hits from the Big Band Era, patriotic medleys and a salute to the Armed Forces in celebration of Independence Day.

Esther (Sprague) Pellon, 84, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother left us on June 8, 2018 at a Machias hospital after an illness. She was born July 19, 1933 in Machias the daughter of the late Earl Edward and Myrtle (Vane) Sprague. Esther attended Machias schools and Husson College. She  was very involved with her beloved husband Edward Pellon and their businesses, as well as her own, Esther’s Resale Shop, for many years until she retired. Esther was a member of Order of Eastern Star #83 in Machias.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Kailee Colbeth was at the circus with her family when she heard the news that she won Washington County Teacher of the Year. “I think I went into shock!” she said. Colbeth teaches math at Washington Academy (WA) in East Machias. Last week Colbeth received more good news — she has advanced to the state semifinals. Colbeth is now one of eight candidates for Maine Teacher of the Year.

by  Lura Jackson

The process of reconciling a past of genocide that continues in some ways today was the focus of a talk held at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church on Sunday, June 3. John Dieffenbacher-Krall was the guest speaker at the event, which outlined the past relationship between the Wabanaki peoples and the European powers that colonized these lands and how today’s continuing relationship is influenced by those events. 

I am writing today in regards to the closure of Sunrise Care Facility in my hometown of Jonesport. I ask you to read my letter before you send an automated response, or before you send your press release. I’m asking you to consider the thoughts and the feelings of the people who live there, the people who reside at the facility, the employees who work there and are proud to work there. I’m so thankful to have been born and raised in this town. It is bursting with pride.

The Town of Northfield will hold the Annual Town Meetingon Wednesday, June 27, 2018, at 7 p.m. at the Northfield Town Hall.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Rumors of a pedestrian being hit by a car on Route 1 in Machias last Saturday spread far and wide leading to multiple calls into the Washington County Regional Communications Center (RCC) for more information. 

The story was circulated across several local Facebook “incident alert” sites, and said that the victim was flown out of Machias by LifeFlight. However, the RCC confirmed Monday that a review of all inbound calls and local hospital records show no such incident occurred. 

AARP Maine and our more than 230,000 members would like to extend our congratulations and best wishes to all the candidates running in the general election in November. We would also like to remind everyone that November is not that far away.  By far the biggest and most robust voting bloc in the state is that of Mainers over the age of 50.  The issues impacting older Mainers are of particular importance here in Maine, the oldest state in the country.

The Foster Field dedication was held at Washington Academy on Saturday, May 26. The ceremony preceded a WA girls varsity softball game against the Dover Foxcroft Ponies. The dedication marked the end of the “Breaking New Ground” capital campaign that supported the addition and resurfacing of WA athletic fields and dugout renovations. Washington Academy would like to thank Breaking New Ground Chairman, Larry Barker, for his extraordinary dedication to the campaign’s success. 

by Ruth Leubecker

Uniquely focusing on Downeast history, a bus tour of historic halls from Ellsworth to Eastport will examine a slice of the past heretofore largely unpresented to the public.

The two-day whistle-stop tour will focus on the civic architecture, projects and programs in these spaces, lectures and an overnight stay at Tide Mill Farm in Edmunds. The Ruggles House, the Cherryfield Historic District, Liberty Hall, Reversing Falls Hall, various granges and churches are on the itinerary. The July 21-22 tour will cost $350.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Last summer China notified the World Trade Organization that they would stop accepting 24 types of solid waste from other nations, and as a result the Machias Bay Area Transfer Station will make similar changes this week.

Effective Sunday, July 1, users of the Machias Bay Transfer Station and Recycling Center will be restricted to recycling newspapers, corrugated cardboard and metal cans only. Plastics, magazines, flat cardboard and other materials commonly recycled will now go into solid waste.