by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

A wind storm that hit early Monday morning knocked out power to thousands of Eastern Maine Electric Cooperative (EMEC) customers, including 100 percent of their Washington County customers and some customers in Aroostook County. 

The National Weather Service issued a high wind warning from 8 p.m. Sunday, April 30, to 10 a.m. on Monday, May 1, anticipating gusts up to 50 m.p.h. Along the coast.

Will Tuell

A bill sponsored by Representative Ken “Bucket” Davis (R-East Machias) to require Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) to split the state’s fall bear hunting season into two distinct parts received impassioned testimony from landowners, guides, and hunters in the Legislature’s IFW committee April 24. Davis, who sponsored the bill at the request of Machiasport bear hunters Brian and Joyce Smith, explained that he did so in an attempt to reduce conflict between hunters who use dogs to hunt bear and those who bait them. 

BY JONATHAN REISMAN

I have been offering legislative testimony for more than 30 years. Live appearances in Augusta are certainly the most effective, but in recent years I have favored written or zoom testimony over 6 hours of round trip driving. If testimony can be synchronized with op-ed columns in the daily newspapers, that is even better. Unfortunately, since I began to refer to the BDN and PPH as Pravdas on the Penobscot and Presumpscot, they do not seem to want much to do with me. Go figure! 

Will Tuell

For the second time in three weeks, Maine Forest Rangers, Wesley firefighters, and those from neighboring communities responded to a wildfire that charred part of the Route 9 community’s remote landscape last Friday afternoon (April 28). The blaze, contained at 27 acres, scorched blueberry land and some adjoining woodland, but was contained before it spread much further according to the Wesley Volunteer Fire Department Facebook page. 

City Manager Mike Ellis began the April 27, 2023 Calais City Council meeting by reminding council that it is budget time fiscal year 2023-24.  A budget workshop date of May 4 was set.

Ellis also noted that this year’s “free dump days” will be held on May 13 and 14.  The disposal of tires at the transfer station will still require a fee, however, that fee can be paid at the transfer station, not the city building, as previously noted in this publication.  

Mowing bids for various blocks throughout the city were discussed, with lowest bids accepted.

Will Tuell

Jayna Smith

Around 11 a.m. Monday, May 1st, customers of Eastern Maine Electric Cooperative were without power for nearly 24 hours, until shortly before 10 a.m. the following day.

According to Charlie McAlpin, of EMEC, there was a transmission line outage, prior to storms impacting the grid.   

Jayna Smith

A familiar face to the Calais School Department will return, effective July 1, as superintendent of schools.

Mary Anne Spearin, former Calais Middle/High School Principal for over six years, was selected to fill the role currently held by Ron Jenkins, who will retire. 

Over 1,000 days ago, mandatory universal masking became the norm across the local service area, the state, the nation, and the world.  

Jayna Smith

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