Jayna Smith

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Calais Downtown Revitalization Coalition (CDRC) is excited to announce the return of the popular summer concert series, once again lighting up Tuesday evenings downtown at Flat Iron Park.

This year, CDRC is taking a large role in organizing the concerts, working alongside longtime organizer Brittani Holloway. Local businesses will continue to sponsor the concerts, helping to bring great music and vibrant energy to the heart of the community.

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.

Linda Maxwell, age 18, was last seen in the Calais area on August 23, 1984, after spending the evening with friends. Two days later her body was recovered along the shoreline of the St. Croix River in Robbinston, in Washington County. Despite an extensive investigation at the time, the case remained unsolved.

On Thursday May 1, 2025, over 40 years later, the Maine State Police made an arrest in Linda Maxwell’s murder.

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)

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.”

Jayna Smith

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Every second Saturday in May marks the annual Stamp Out Hunger National Food Drive, a nationwide event hosted by the National Association of Letter Carriers.

This Saturday, May 12, 2025, letter carriers across the country will once again take part in this massive one-day food collection effort – the largest of its kind in the nation. Now in its 32nd year, the initiative has contributed over a billion pounds of food to local pantries and shelters.

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.​

Jayna Smith

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Fiddleheads — the young, coiled fronds of the ostrich fern — are a treasured spring delicacy in Maine, New Brunswick, and across the Northeast and Maritime provinces. According to the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, although many ferns have fiddleheads, not all are edible. Only the ostrich fern is recommended for safe consumption.

Jayna Smith

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On Thursday, May 8, 2025, the Calais City Council met for its regular meeting, with Mayor Marcia Rogers presiding over Councilors Kevin Niles, Mike Sherrard, Elery Beale, Bill Quinn, and Jame Macdonald. Councilor Pete Foster was absent from the meeting.

What follows is a brief summary of the meeting, with the full meeting available for viewing on the City of Calais’s Facebook page.

Zachary Wentworth, a 2022 graduate of Calais High School, is the Outstanding Graduating Student in the College of Education and Human Development (COEHD) at the University of Maine, Orono. He is a secondary education major with a concentration in social studies and a minor in history. 

A Maine Top Scholar, a Maine Seacoast Mission scholar, and a Galen Cole Family Foundation scholar, Wentworth served as president of the University of Maine chapter of the Student Maine Education Association for the past two years.