On Dec. 12, a life-threatening situation ended with the successful rescue of two fishermen from the water near Great Duck Island. Islesford fisherman Jack Merrill was hauling traps from his lobster boat, BOTTOM DOLLAR, when he started having difficulty with his engine. Around 9:30 a.m. nearby fishermen saw smoke from Merrill’s direction, but it was
Chebeague and Cumberland agree on boundaries, taxation
A major step for Chebeague Island self-governance was achieved in January when the Cumberland Town Council unanimously approved an agreement that would give Chebeague all of the town’s outer islands. The tentative agreement would make 16 of Cumberland’s islands part of a Town of Chebeague in exchange for Chebeague annually paying Cumberland 50 percent of
Peaks soldier appreciated Mainers’ support for Iraq troops
War isn’t a pleasant experience for soldiers or their families back home. One thing that can make a difference, though, is an effective support system on both sides of the world. Peaks Island resident Marie Watson knows how important it is to have people to stand behind soldiers because she was once a member of
“Being an honest fisherman means everything in the world”
Herman Backman, Jr., of Beal’s Island, died unexpectedly on Nov. 25. Born and raised on Beal’s Island, after graduating from high school in 1942 he attended a trade school in Dexter to study engines and other machinery. After a stint in the U.S. Coast Guard he returned home to fish with his father. At Jonesport’s
Small Towns Face Big Questions with School Funding
School Union 96, straddling Washington and Hancock counties, might seem a prime candidate for cost-saving consolidation. But these things are never simple. When Gouldsboro found mold in its school, the solution was to move pupils to Winter Harbor, where the student population had plummeted following the closure of the Schoodic Point naval base. The Winter
The Long View – On the Cold Coast
When the darkness deepens in the winter on islands, the transition from fleeting sun to bleak and cold can come quickly, especially if you have not been born to island living. During the past seven years, the Island Institute has placed 45 island fellows in 19 different island and working waterfront communities for one to
Grant will help Vinalhaven School implement place-base education
A three-year grant to the Island Institute and Vinalhaven School from the Antioch New England Institute in Keene, New Hampshire, is enabling the Vinalhaven School to implement an innovative three-year education program. The program, called CO-SEED (Communities and Schools for Environmental Education), uses the island’s community and environment to teach a wide variety of subjects
Parallel 44 – Wal-Mart in the Midcoast
In November, at the start of the holiday shopping season, the people of Damariscotta learned that Wal-Mart was coming to town, and in a big way. The world’s largest corporation wants to build a Wal-Mart Supercenter just north of town, near the junction of Route 1 and Business Route 1. The store would have over
Coorespondents Wanted
To the editor: I would like to correspond…with any ladies on the islands. I think an exchange of sharing would be very interesting and rewarding. I am married, have grown children, love animals, like music – like reading true stories, some fiction, live on Munjoy Hill, own my home, love the winter birds and feed
Bucksport Boondoggle
To the editor: There’s more to the story of the new Waldo-Hancock bridge than was reported in December’s Working Waterfront. This $85 million project has something in common with the new span over the Kennebec River at Bath. And that “something” is the fact that neither bridge really needed to be built. The 1931 bridge