Jayna Smith
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Emergency crews from Calais and surrounding towns battled a structure fire Sunday night that destroyed a downtown business.  
The call for the fire at The Roost Pub, 445 Main Street, Calais came in just before 9 p.m., Calais Fire Chief Ken Clark said.

According to owner Carl Bailey, eight apartments in the three-story building were occupied by tenants.  Some were not home when the fire broke out, and those who were escaped without injury.  

On April 14 students from WCCC’s Outdoor Leadership degree program traveled to Portland to attend the Maine Governor’s Conference on Tourism where they learned about the importance of outdoor recreation and other types of tourism to Maine’s economy.  The trip was part of their Capstone course, a project in which students create an outdoor recreation-based business and apply the outdoor leadership skills they’ve learned in a business setting. The conference allowed students to meet and hear first-hand from industry leaders and included an address from Governor Janet Mills.

Jayna Smith
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A new store has filled a space downtown, and its owners say they are looking forward to serving the community.  

The White Birch Exchange, at 345 Main Street in the former Urban Moose building, opened its doors last week.  

Owners Craig Bruce and Michael Novack are no strangers to border-town business, having recently moved from Windsor, Ontario, directly across the river from Detroit, Michigan where their online business was based.  

Jayna Smith
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Fiddleheads are a springtime delicacy across Maine and New Brunswick, and in the downeast area, are nearly ready to be harvested.
The ostrich fern fiddleheads can be identified by the brown, papery scale-like covering on the uncoiled fern.  Because they are perennial, they come back year after year, and according to University of Maine Cooperative Extension, nearly all ferns have fiddleheads, but not all fiddleheads are edible.

Natalie Boomer
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Bill and Arlene Gibson of Grampie Bill’s Place hosted what they thought would be their last free Easter dinner in 2021. They want the entire community to know that they are back for one last time!

Kobe Saunders (percussion), Paige Wilson (percussion), Tristan Seavey (trumpets), and Zachary Wentworth (alto sax) participated in their final school band concert, the Calais Middle/High School Music Department’s Spring Concert, held last Tuesday evening under direction of Mr. Steven Gregory.  The four, along with fellow band member Cassidy Carr (flutes, absent from the event) will be graduating next month. The five seniors have been integral parts of the school band all four years of high school.  (Photo by Jayna Smith)

Natalie Boomer
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Calais Free Library has had some interesting visitors this month.  Painted Lady Butterflies have made their way to the children’s section!
“I am super excited to be raising butterflies again this year,” mentioned youth services librarian Skye Green-Hall. “This is our second year raising Painted Lady Butterflies at the Calais Free Library.

Jayna Smith
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Before the closing of the congregational church, the women’s club there held an annual plant and pie sale.  That sale was always successful, with many coming for a healthy, happy plant and a sweet treat, all for a great cause.

Now, like last year, Calais Downtown Revitalization Coalition (CDRC), with lots of help from everyone’s favorite local gardener Jane Eaton, will host a plant sale on Saturday, June 4.