Jayna Smith

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Calais is once again preparing to pay tribute to the brave men and women of the U.S. armed forces who made the ultimate sacrifice. Memorial Day, observed this year on Monday, May 26, 2025, will be a day of remembrance and gratitude throughout the community.

Kayleigh Scott, a senior at Calais High School, has been selected to receive the 2025 Principal’s Award, Principal Dean A. Preston announced last week. The award, sponsored by the Maine Principals’ Association, is given in recognition of a high school senior’s academic achievement and citizenship.

Downeast Credit Union and Insurance recently donated $2,000 to the Calais Blue Devils Boosters’ upcoming golf tournament set to take place on May 17 at St. Croix Country Club. Proceeds go back to the Calais school system, supporting athletics, clubs, and groups. Students and faculty from Calais High School — including Principal Dean Preston, vice principal and athletic director Ben Collins, and boosters representatives Andrea Walton and Krista Collins — are shown with branch manager Kaileigh Deacon.

Girl Scouts from Pembroke, Ami Griffin and Amakehs Mendoza, earned their Silver Award for creating comprehensive lesson plans on flag etiquette and constructing a flag retirement box. The Girl Scout Silver Award — the highest honor a Cadette can earn — is achieved when Girl Scout Cadettes focus on an issue they care about in their community and take action to make a difference.

Will Tuell

Not even a dreary, drizzly, mid-May morning could dampen the spirits of the 70 University of Maine Machias students receiving diplomas on Saturday. Friends, family, professors, and community members packed into the Reynolds Center gym for the 10 a.m. right of passage. Yet remarks by Class of 2025 Valedictorian Emma Soctomah and Passamaquoddy Tribal historian Dwayne Tomah, the ceremony’s keynote speaker, gave the proceedings a distinctly Passamaquoddy feel. 

Jayna Smith

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In a game that came down to the final outs, the Woodland Dragons held off a late push by Calais to secure a 4–3 win in varsity baseball action Friday, May 2, 2025.

Woodland pitcher Gaige Farrar earned the win, throwing six and one-third strong innings. He allowed just three hits and three runs while striking out 12 and walking four. Liam O’Neill came in to close, earning the save.

Jayna Smith

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Students at Calais Elementary School turned pages last month during the school’s annual Read-a-Thon, organized by the Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO). The three-week literacy and fundraising event saw 113 student participants collectively read for an impressive 33,526 minutes — equivalent to nearly 600 hours.​

Downeast Credit Union and Insurance recently donated $989 to the Irene Chadbourne Ecumenical Food Pantry. This is part of the Ending Hunger in Maine campaign, a statewide initiative supported by Maine’s credit unions to fight food insecurity.

“The Irene Chadbourne Ecumenical Food Pantry noted that our donation came at a wonderful time — as they had just received a large, unexpected bill,” stated Calais Branch Manager Kaileigh Deacon. “It feels good knowing our fundraising efforts really do make a difference in our community.”

Council #49 of the Knights of Columbus recently donated $800 each to the special education departments at area schools and to the Beckett Center, thanks to funds raised through their annual “Tootsie Roll Drive.” The drive generated over $3,000 in total to support children with disabilities. Pictured are Kaylee Lursen of Woodland, Charity Williams of Princeton, Grand Knight Michael Boies, Tamara Clark of Calais, and Troy Donvan of the Beckett Center. (Submitted photo)

Bonnie Lyons

Church services are at 4 p.m. every Sunday with Pastor Ron and Colin Windhurst.

Last Thursday was the National Day of Prayer. Every year Helen Brooks opens the church for the Day of Prayer. Our Pastors, Ron and Colin, helped with the program. In the picture are Ron, Colin, Sally, Chelsea, and Helen. Mary took the picture.

Jon Reisman

Forty Mays ago, my late wife Ernie and I moved into a largely unfinished house on Cathance Lake in Cooper. May is lovely — cool, bugless mornings, full of sunrise concerts from songbirds, ravens, and woodpeckers, with loon warbles and serenades in the evening.

See below for ways to help those affected

Jayna Smith

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Fire crews from multiple towns responded to a structure fire at a two-story apartment building on Hillside Street in Baileyville early Saturday morning, April 26, 2025.

Paul Sylvain

A 67-year-old man was arrested at his Wesley home on April 23 and charged with six counts of gross sexual assault involving a minor.

According to a prepared statement issued by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Duane E. Geel was arrested without incident by sheriff’s deputies on a felony warrant issued by the Machias Unified Court following an extended Sheriff’s Office investigation.

Jayna Smith

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A high-speed pursuit that began in Hancock County and extended into Washington County on Saturday, April 19, 2025, ended in tragedy and the arrest of a 21-year-old Bangor man.

This past Saturday, Princeton’s Fire Association persevered, despite the Washington County heavy spring rain storm and a callout for a structure fire in Baileyville. The Craft Fair was set up at the fire station, with the local crafters having a wide assortment of items and the Girl Scouts’ young representatives working hard to sell their cookies. The Weenie Wagon crew of Robert Ripley, Susan Cilley, and Moses Cilley took over the kitchen. They cooked up hot dogs, sausages, and their new item, steak and cheese. All proceeds went to the association. (Photos submitted by Sandra Smith)

Jayna Smith

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Get ready for a fun, high-energy night on Friday, May 16, when the Harlem Wizards basketball team comes to Woodland High School.

This event promises a night of jaw-dropping “trick hoops and alley oops,” as the Harlem Wizards take on a team of local student-athletes and teachers in an action-packed game. Expect plenty of laughs, impressive skills, and a great time for the whole family.

Jon Reisman

“Equity” is promoted across Maine State Government and the University of Maine System as part of broad Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts and within specific policy initiatives like the Climate Action Plan, which has a significant and significantly funded equity component. What equity does not have is a definition. Promoting an undefined policy goal is pure policy malpractice. Determining what equity actually is and what Maine State Government is doing to promote it has turned into a strange dance called the equity limbo. 

Jayna Smith

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Jayna Smith

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Following the great response to April’s event, the St. Croix Historical Society has announced a continuation of its presentation, The Houses of Calais, led by local historian Jerry LaPointe.

Part two of the presentation will be held on Monday, May 5, at 7 p.m. at The Holmestead, 527 Main Street, adjacent to the Holmes Cottage. Like the first, this event is free and open to the public, with light refreshments served.

Last week, on Tuesday, the older students from the Pembroke School, who usually attend Storytime, were off on a field trip, leaving only three students to enjoy It’s Mine by Leo Lionni and making colored paper linking chains, with their names and a little something about ourselves on each strip. These are now decorating the library, instead of the, now out-of-season, snowflakes. Although the school vacation preempts Storytime this week, the Edmunds School students will be enjoying the same book and craft next week.

Jayna Smith

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As the spring season settles in, Calais and Woodland High School baseball programs are gearing up for what promises to be an exciting year on the diamond. Woodland High School, a perennial contender under Coach Ryan Lincoln, returns with high expectations and veteran leadership. Meanwhile, Calais High School enters a new era under first-year head coach Randy White, with a young team embracing a rebuilding season with optimism and youthful energy. 

The fourth annual Rhubarb Festival is set to return to Kendall Farm in Perry on Saturday, June 7, from noon to 5 p.m., with food, live music, demonstrations, and family-friendly fun in store — and a fresh batch of award-winning student artwork to promote it.

The festival’s annual rhubarb-themed art competition featured 12 entries from local students at Calais Middle High School (CMHS), Eastport Elementary School, and Shead High School. For the fourth year in a row, art teachers Bobbi Tardif (CMHS) and Sara Myrick (Eastport Schools) inspired their students to participate.