January

During a public Zoom meeting, Wilton Selectmen reviewed two concept designs for replacing the retaining wall at Wilson Lake. Jeff Read from Sevee & Maher Engineers (SME) and Jessica Kimball from Terrence J. DeWan & Associates Landscape Architects and Planners (tjd&a) presented the designs, Concept A and Concept B.

Both concepts include a paved parking area and pedestrian access connecting downtown Wilton to the lake and Bass Park with a 6 foot wide waterfront pathway and crosswalks. The current, 20-year-old cement retaining wall would be replaced by a rip rap wall which utilizes layers of stone to break waves and prevent erosion. Concept A would keep the current parking system while B would use parallel parking. Residents proposed a hybrid option that would include both parallel and linear parking spaces, but officials voiced concerns over the potential of causing further congestion and traffic confusion.

Livermore Selectpersons agreed signs should be erected at the Brettuns Pond town beach area listing winter rules. People park on the beach instead of the parking area, tearing up the town beach. The area needs to be protected, should be vegetated in the summertime. Recently a camper, giant ice shack and truck were on the beach and an ATV had gone through the ice, according to Selectperson Brett Deyling.

An update on the RSU 73 mental health program for student athletes was shared at the Board of Directors meeting. Prior to the start of the winter 2019 sports season, Spruce had 13 kids on the ineligible/probation list because of grades, Marc Keller, athletic director at the high school, said. At the same time this year, there were 47 kids on the list failing 126 classes, he added. Once it was known sports would be available, Keller spoke to each of those students and all but 14 are eligible for sports. The eight week mental health program focuses on a different issue each week.

Volunteers are making a difference in Spruce schools. Despite changes needed because of the pandemic, even more is now being done. “One thing about this community, it’s always been amazing, comes together in a time of crisis,” high school guidance counselor Chris Beaudion said at the Jan. 14 school board meeting. During remote learning, a group of volunteers has been delivering meals to students at their homes. Student organizations and businesses worked together to provide 70 Thanksgiving food baskets, up from 30 the year before, and donors have kept the Phoenix food pantry stocked. Judy Hamilton of Hartford stitched almost 1,600 masks for students at the elementary school.

Dwindling membership plus COVID-19 are straining veterans organizations. In a joint report from across Western Maine, VFW and American Legion officials shared their finances, participation, and outreach challenges. Getting younger veterans involved plus limited participation by older veterans because of health issues or pandemic concerns are issues posts across the region face. For many posts, fundraising activities halted after the pandemic hit, making it difficult to cover expenses or continue programs. The Jay VFW is again hosting Friday night meals, take-out style only with pre-registration. That post’s present motto for fundraisers is “help us survive to keep our traditions alive.”

February 

The school nutrition program at Regional School Unit 9 launched its home delivery service of breakfast and lunch to reach remote learners with hunger needs. A newly purchased delivery van and part-time driver were to travel to towns throughout Franklin County on a daily basis. RSU 9 continued to offer a 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. window for families to pick up pre-ordered meals at their students’ school.

The Spruce Mountain Adult and Community Education culinary workforce program opened The Cafe at the adult education headquarters at 9 Cedar St. where the program’s classes are held. The students will provide meals 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Cafe does not open when schools are not in session.

Mackenzie Walker, a Spruce Mountain High School senior from Jay, was keeping busy with schoolwork and her job at Berry Fruit Farm. A Life Skills student in the advanced culinary arts program at Foster Career and Technical Education Center on the Mt. Blue Campus in Farmington, she began an internship at the business in September. Owners Joel and Melissa Gilbert hired her in January.

Many local, home-based makers were experiencing a steady flow of business during the pandemic with surges during the holidays and the upcoming Valentine’s Day. Home-based business owners were using social media as free advertising platforms to spread the word about their products. Megan Brown who runs Meg’s Sweets bakery out of her home at 158 Middle St. in Farmington said she posted a Valentine’s Day special on her social media accounts and was instantly flooded with orders.

The proposed budget for 2021-2022 in Regional School Unit 73 was $20.75 million, a 2.93% increase, almost $600,000 over the current spending plan. Thursday night, Feb. 11, Superintendent Scott Albert told directors prior to the budget review that salaries and benefits make up 76.5% of the new budget and those lines increased 3.2%. The district would receive a little over $300,000 more from the state and there would be some carryover to help offset the increases, Albert noted.

Livermore Selectpersons Tuesday night, Feb. 16, were asked to consider the formation of Economic Development and Capital Improvement committees. An Economic Development committee could influence private investments and drive responsible growth while a facilities or capital improvement committee could look at buildings, trucks and other high ticket purchases, administrative assistant to the selectpersons Aaron Miller said.

The Wilton Planning Board on Thursday, Feb.18, reviewed the New England Clean Energy Connect’s site plan application relative to the town’s Energy/Transportation Conduits Ordinance and accepted that it was complete. The NECEC application requested approval to erect five high-transmission poles in Wilton as part of Central Maine Power Co.’s 145-mile corridor for transporting Hydro-Québec energy from the province of Québec, Canada, to Massachusetts. A public hearing was to be held March 4 before the Planning Board made a decision on the application.

March   

Superintendent Scott Albert discussed what it would look like if the current budget was maintained for Regional School Unit 73. About $597,000 would have to be cut from the proposed budget, he said. To keep the next budget the same as the current one, seven positions would need to be eliminated even after 10% cuts to supplies, equipment and maintenance, he noted. Director Michael Morrell, who had asked for the information at the last board meeting thanked Albert and his staff for taking time to gather the information. It shows just how damaging it would be for the district, he said.

Opposition groups propose CMP’s NECEC corridor could be a corridor to nowhere. The NECEC project would provide hydropower to Massachusetts through a 145-mile transmission line from Canada through Maine.

“Too often or for too long people believe that the Indian were dead,” Counsellor Patrick Boivin of the Wemotaci community, part of the Atikamekw First Nation, said during a Zoom interview from his home located in the Wemotaci reservation about 180 miles northeast of Québec City, Canada. The Wemotaci have a strong oral tradition and since the 1930s, passed down stories have included the horrors of homes being flooded without any warning and disoriented trappers perishing in waterways they once knew like the backs of their hands as the Shawinigan Water & Power Company (SWPC) built the Rapide-Blanc Reservoir.

There are now nine hydropower facilities operated by Hydro-Quebec on Wemotaci territory. The Wemotaci have partnered with other indigenous communities to form the Anishnabe-Atikamekw-Innu Coalition and are asserting that based on the capacity of facilities on their lands, 36% of the power exported through the NECEC would be stolen.

The Maine Department of Transportation informed Livermore officials that Church Street should be designated a state aid highway, meaning the town would be responsible for winter maintenance and DOT would retain all other duties. According to information provided to the Select Board, to be designated a state highway, a road must serve functionally as an arterial highway, carry relatively high existing traffic volume and connect or serve a facility of unique importance to the State.

In other business, selectpersons were told an adjusted amount due of $3,615 was received last week from the Internal Revenue Service because a payment had not been applied correctly. In November, then treasurer Amy Byron said the deposit dates were off for quarters one and four. One was because of technology issues, the other because she was out sick, she said then. Penalties and interest paid to the IRS for 2019 and 2020 total $4,919.

Regional School Unit 73 directors voted unanimously Thursday, March 11, to allow conditioning practices for baseball and softball to begin March 22 at the middle and high school. The reason is that’s a week of conditioning arms. That week is very important. There’s no hitting, no fielding, only throwing a ball back and forth. Spring sports are coming as winter sports are culminating, which is not usual, Spruce Mountain High School Athletic Director Marc Keller noted. Final determination on spring sports participation would be made by the superintendent following release of the Maine Principals’ Association guidelines, which was expected before the next scheduled Board of Directors meeting.

The Workforce Innovations and Opportunities Act (WIOA), implemented by Congress in 2014 is making workforce training available for vulnerable youth in Franklin County. Community Concepts Incorporated has been subcontracted in Androscoggin, Oxford, Franklin, Somerset and Kennebec Counties to provide WIOA services, linking up workers with host sites that commit to training a participant with new skills. The funding provides host sites with 300 hours of labor, but each participant’s work plan varies depending on their needs and the host’s capacity.

Spring sports were on for Spruce schools, according to an email sent by Superintendent Scott Albert Thursday, March 18. The final decision on spring sports was left to the superintendent because the Maine Principals Association (MPA) had not released their guidelines for the various sports. Baseball, softball and lacrosse were labeled as “moderate risk” sports by the MPA. Outdoor track and tennis were labeled “lower risk”. The MPA also set various protocols in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Thursday, March 25, Regional School Unit 73 directors unanimously approved the warrant for the April 27 district budget referendum vote. A hearing via Zoom to review the budget will be held 6 p.m. April 15. The April 27 referendum vote took place at the polls in the towns of Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls. The proposed $20.749 million Fiscal Year 2021-22 budget was almost $200,000 higher than the current spending plan, which ends June 30. At the Feb. 25 board meeting, $400,000 was cut from the original proposal.

At the March 23 Farmington board meeting, selectmen approved two expenditures from the Downtown TIF District account. Half of the expected cost, $2,500 was approved to finance a media relations person for the Farmington Downton Association. The Association is looking to hire a part-time person on average three hours per week to work on marketing, update their website and maintain its social media presence. Selectmen also approved using $150,000 from the Downtown TIF District reserve account to complete decorative street lighting for the High Street renovation project.

April

Livermore Selectpersons in a special board meeting Monday, April 5, decided to wait until April 26 to decide the format of the annual town meeting. The town has the right to determine whether to have an open town meeting or a referendum vote, Administrative Assistant to the Selectpersons Aaron Miller said. For an open town meeting the warrant would need to be posted seven days prior, he noted.

Per the governor’s order notice, notice would be needed 30 or more days prior to holding a referendum vote, which was May 8 for a June 8 or 9 vote at the polls, he said. A public hearing would need to be held 10 days prior to town meeting and the warrant posted seven days before the meeting, he noted. The type of meeting to hold was because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Hardware stores locally saw an increase in demand for some items last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Some were preparing for similar trends this year. Big increases in seeds, soils, seedlings, baby chicks, grain and fencing supplies were seen by some. Painting supplies were in high demand at others.

RSU 73 directors approved the first reading of changes to the district’s placement policy. With more students than usual at risk of being held back a year in their schooling, principals asked to lower eligibility requirements for summer school. Changes included lowering the passing grade from 50 to 30 for eligibility; removing the stipulation that students with 30 or more absences were not eligible for summer school while making summer school mandatory for students failing at least one core class when they have missed 30 days, and students with two or more failing grades must attend summer school if eligible.

For students in kindergarten through grade five, two or more ‘Does Not Meet’ would serve as referral to the Placement Committee. The Committee may assign students to the next grade level if they failed only one class. The policy was for students in kindergarten through grade eight. A separate policy covered high school students.

Monday, April 12, the Wilton Select Board and Finance Committee reviewed and voted on items for the town’s $3.8 million proposed budget which was to appear on the warrant at the June 14 annual town meeting. The board and committee voted to reduce the new pension and benefits Capital Reserve account in half to $10,000. The account was proposed by Town Manager Rhonda Irish to establish a savings fund for paying out benefits when town employees leave their positions.

The board and committee also adjusted the Capital Paving budget. It was reduced from $603,000 to $591,000 of which $265,000 would come from the Undesignated Fund balance to ease the burden on taxpayers.

Superintendent Scott Albert presented information Thursday night, April 15, on the Regional School Unit 73 proposed 2021-22 budget ahead of the April 27 referendum vote. Pursuant to order of the Governor, the budget meeting was held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic. Most of the 26 people signed in were school board directors and administrators.

In the first part of the meeting Albert reviewed expenditures as well as state subsidy plus local and other tax revenues associated with the almost $20.75 million budget. Of that, almost $2.95 million is for programs not fully funded by the state. The total amount appropriated would be $16.67 million. The total raised would be almost $7.22 million. The proposed budget was almost $200,000 more than the current spending plan. It was $400,000 less than the initial proposal.

The Flowers for Food fundraiser that supports the Tri-Town Ministerial Food Cupboard was back but in a new location — Berry Fruit Farm in Livermore Falls. People were encouraged to leave whatever they could give in the donation jar and take a bunch of fresh cut daffodils. The fundraiser was not held last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. In prior years daffodils were available at the credit union in Jay and Food City in Livermore Falls.

By a vote of 130 to 125, Gloria McGraw was elected in Farmington to serve a three-year term on the Regional School Unit 9 Board of Directors. The position was contested by University of Maine Farmington freshman Brandon Reed. The term had been held by school board member Dennis O’Neil who chose not to seek reelection.

Voters passed all articles on the Town Meeting referendum warrant with the resolution urging federal elected officials to enact national cash-back carbon pricing being the closest. The vote was 201 to 75 in support of the measure. For all other articles, votes in opposition ranged from a low of 11 to a high of 48.

COVID-19 vaccination sites were seeing a significant decrease of people making appointments in Franklin and Androscoggin counties where over 65% of the population is either fully vaccinated or has received their first dose. New or first dose registrations were at a steep decline, approximately 25 a day.

During the week of April 7 when Governor Janet Mills made the vaccine available to anyone 16 and older, FMH was at about 250 new, first dose registrations a day. FMH started walk-in appointments the week of April 25. Both the Walmart and Hannaford in Farmington were encouraging people to register online.

May  

Auditor Ronald “Ron” Smith told Livermore selectpersons that while some progress has been made, his position hasn’t changed. The town is not always in compliance with federal, state, its own policies and procedures, he said. While some improvements have been seen, some concerns noted in 2019 remain, he noted. The board had asked Smith to look at the math, various other concerns regarding errors in payroll calculations and other procedures. “There’s been some evolution, progress,” he said. “The issues we talked about through June 30, 2020, are real. As far as applying them to 2021 we’re not there yet.” There were a lot of mistakes; maybe the math was just that, bad math, Smith said.

The Franklin Group was pleased to welcome Staff Writer Kay Neufeld to its ranks. Neufeld, writing for both The Franklin Journal and the Livermore Falls Advertiser, is a graduate of New York University with a bachelor of arts in journalism and gender & sexuality studies. She was most recently with the Camden Herald/Knox VillageSoup, where she wrote about government, industry and the people in mid-coast Maine, and wrote a regular column about her adventures in the area.

The Wilton Planning Board on Thursday, May 6, granted a business use permit to Vera Johnson for her property at 87 High St. to be converted into an artistic workshop, Belle Art Center, for metalworking and pottery. Johnson also operates Vera’s Iron & Vine at 127 Broadway St. in Farmington where products from over 30 Maine-based craftspeople are sold.

After renovations which will take about a year, Johnson plans to offer classes and events at the center in Wilton which is currently designated in the industrial zone. Code Enforcement Officer Charlie Lavin said Johnson might have to apply for a zoning change or come before the board to ask permission for specific events and educational classes.

After a year in hiatus due to the pandemic, The Farmington Farmers’ Market kicked off the 2021 season with “slow and steady” opening days on Saturday, May 1, and Friday, May 7. The market, which has been around for “30 or 40 years,” was gone for an entire year after the Farmington Farmers’ Market Association (FFMA) decided not to hold a winter market due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regional School Unit 73 directors Tuesday, May 13, voted to continue its contract with Bailey Bros. Ford for bus repairs and maintenance. The vote was seven to four. The two year contract with the Livermore Falls-based business will begin July 1. The contract’s hourly wage increased $3 to $63 per hour. At the April 29 meeting directors were given a proposal by Transportation Director Jim Shink for the district to set up its own garage. The district having its own garage was also suggested last year when the three year contract with Bailey Bros. was up for renewal. A one year extension was signed in June because of COVID-19 and the uncertainty of how things would proceed.

Scavenger hunters ran across Franklin County finding and solving clues to compete in United Way of the Tri-Valley Area’s (UWTVA) first ‘Scavaganza’ on Saturday, May 15. UWTVA raised $2,000 during the two-hour event. The pandemic had prevented other fundraisers traditionally held earlier in the year.

Avery Cook, a fourth grade student at Spruce Mountain Elementary School was a winner in the 2021 Lyme Disease Awareness 12th Annual K-8 Poster Contest. Even more notable, in the 12 years since Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services and Center for Disease Control and Prevention began the contest, a student of art teacher Tammy Lindsey had won for their grade division.

Residents from the Livermore Falls area had mixed feelings as Maine lifts its mask mandate. Maine has entered the next phase in the COVID-19 pandemic. Following a change in guidance from the national Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the administration of Maine Governor Janet Mills updated Maine’s mask mandate and physical distancing guidelines for vaccinated individuals on Friday, May 14.

The new Maine guidelines, which went into effect Monday, May 24, allow fully-vaccinated individuals “not to wear face coverings indoors.” Pauline Gagnon, owner of ice-cream stand Softie Delite in Livermore Falls felt uncertain about the CDC’s “muddy” plan to “distinguish who has been vaccinated and who hasn’t been vaccinated.”

June

Livermore Selectpersons were told there are no upfront costs to install streetlights just the ongoing monthly. Selectperson Scott Richmond had asked at the last board meeting that costs to install lights on Dudley’s Corner, Boothby and Federal roads be obtained. Concern about a streetlight being out near the town garage on Church Street was also mentioned. A streetlight that had been at Long Green’s needed to go back up as well.

Domestic abuse victims were facing unique challenges, particularly in rural areas such as Franklin and Androscoggin counties. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a time defined by the act of staying at home and feelings of isolation, those challenges had been further exacerbated.

Advocates said the isolating conditions of the pandemic made for increased risk of domestic abuse incidents, defined as “a pattern of coercive behavior in which one person attempts to control another through threats or actual use of physical violence, sexual assault, and verbal or psychological abuse.”

The state was looking to add pool testing to its tool kit, Regional School Unit 73 Superintendent Scott Albert told school board members. “They’re looking at districts COVID testing their students in the hope of lessening outbreaks,” Albert said. “At the moment it is tied to doing away with some of the social distancing for fall.” Students would be tested weekly in groups, he said. If there was a positive, that group would be tested again, he noted.

There was an “unprecedented skilled labor shortage” taking hold in America, Forbes reported in 2019. The pandemic has only exacerbated that shortage. Many fear skilled trades such as masonry and blacksmithing, art forms in their own right, are “dying out.” All the while, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that available employment opportunities and wages, which reached a decade high in 2018, will continue to grow for skilled trades such as construction through 2026.

Steve Mitchell, founder of the Maine School of Masonry, said he’s had trouble recruiting at the country’s only private, non-profit masonry school while the demand soars for masons that graduate from his program. Mitchell said the school had a long list of contractors “that will take any student that graduates from school here.” That begged the question, why aren’t more people interested in the skilled trades? Tradespeople in the region believe a generational change was partly to blame.

The 57 seniors in Spruce Mountain High School’s Class of 2021 were told during Sunday’s graduation ceremony to rely on their perseverance and determination from the last two years to achieve their future goals. Both Valedictorian Drew Delaney and Salutatorian Hannah Coates had the same piece of advice for their fellow classmates, shared by the same teacher, Mrs. Fenlason: “Yes you can, and yes you will.”

Delaney said that the last two weeks were especially important because, “up until marching practice, it was the first time many of us have seen each other face-to-face in awhile.” Coates said that Fenlason’s quote taught her and a lot of other students the importance of perseverance. Coates told her classmates to use their “determination, creativity and our ability to think outside the box” during their post-graduation years.

Voter turnout was light in Livermore for the annual Town Meeting held by referendum ballot vote on Tuesday, June 8. In the only contested election, Randy Ouellette received 100 votes and Brett Poisson 51 for a two-year term as selectperson. Voters approved amendments to the town’s medical marijuana ordinance by a vote of 91 to 59. Elected officials’ terms of office were changed to coincide with the annual Town Meeting by a vote of 127 to 24. Selectpersons had recently voted to change the date of the annual Town Meeting from June to April.

The owners of Wilson Lake Marina, LLP, filed a complaint against the Town of Wilton regarding its pending application on June 10. The complaint was filed just ahead of Wilton’s annual town meeting Monday, June 14, where voters approved two ordinance amendments that would limit the owners of WLM at 10 Rowell Street to establish a marina business on Wilson Lake. The complaint makes multiple requests, but most notably asks that the court make the new ordinance amendments “null and void, and of no effect” as a whole and also “as applied” to WLM.

Esther Bizier, a Livermore native and resident, was elected president of the Maine section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). She was previously named ASCE’s 2016 Young Engineer of the Year. Bizier attended Livermore Falls High School, where her science teacher, Mr. Nichols encouraged her to pursue engineering. She was drawn to engineering because “it’s applying the math and science to real world problems.”

Administrative Assistant Aaron Miller shared details with the Board of Selectpersons about a meeting held with owners of Barnyard All Terrain and other officials. Representatives from the State Police, Androscoggin County Sheriff Office and Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife were there, Miller said.

During the weekend of June 4 to 6, law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical personnel were tied up with several incidents at the Boothby Road business. Josh Lovewell owns and operates the venue with his father, David, and mother, Jill. Meeting discussions focused on how to move forward with these events without taxing local emergency medical services (EMS), law enforcement and the fire department, Miller noted.

The Wilton Selectpersons dedicated the 2020 Town Report to Hazel Flagg. In the dedication, Flagg was acclaimed as “civic minded” and “one of the most energetic, spirited people we know.” The dedication named her “‘unofficially’ the official overseer of the Flags in Wilton.” In an interview, Flagg said she was “very surprised” but “honored” to be chosen as the dedicatee.

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