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1 week ago | 
townline.org | Mary J. Grow
by Mary GrowAt their April 9 meeting, Vassalboro Conservation Commission members continued planning work at two town parks; talked about the pending three-lake watershed survey; and rediscussed the contentious subject of cemetery trees. Chairman Holly Weidner added information on a record tree in town, a slippery elm measured in 2014 and listed as the largest in Maine on the Maine State Big Tree Registry.
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1 week ago | 
townline.org | Mary J. Grow
by Mary GrowChina’s Transfer Station Committee members put revisions to the 2021 vision statement for the facility in near-final form at their April 8 meeting. The single-page document is a list of goals. Much of the discussion was about how to help China residents, and those in Palermo who use China’s facility, realize how much money recycling saves for local taxpayers.
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1 week ago | 
townline.org | Mary J. Grow
by Mary GrowChina Planning Board members devoted their April 8 meeting to review of town ordinances, with references to the town comprehensive plan. They decided a joint meeting with China’s comprehensive plan implementation committee would be a useful next step; chairman Toni Wall will invite that committee’s members to the May 13 planning board meeting. No more ordinance changes are proposed for the June 10 annual town business meeting warrant.
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1 week ago | 
townline.org | Mary J. Grow
by Mary GrowVassalboro Planning Board members approved Novel Energy’s planned community solar farm, at 2235 Riverside Drive, at their April 7 special meeting, despite last-minute surprises from neighbors (see the April 20 issue of The Town Line, p. 9). Novel representative Ralph Addonizio brought the additional information board members requested at their April 1 meeting, an updated map showing required buffers and larger copies of the site plan, to accompany the two-inch-thick application.
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1 week ago | 
townline.org | Mary J. Grow
by Mary GrowBefore they began discussing the proposed 2025-26 school budget at their April 8 meeting, Vassalboro School Board members dealt with monthly business items. Major topics were how to prepare in case November voting is at Vassalboro Community School, and how to provide financial aid to families of students attending the Maine School of Science and Mathematics.
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2 weeks ago | 
townline.org | Mary J. Grow
by Mary GrowRemembering that Maine’s early population centers were along the coast, and mostly from Portland south, it is not surprising that three of Maine’s first four state Supreme Court chief justices came from that area. The first (mentioned last week) was Prentiss Mellen, from Portland, who served from July 1, 1820, to Oct. 11, 1834, when he reached mandatory retirement age. He was succeeded by Augusta’s Nathan Weston, serving from Oct. 22, 1834, to Oct. 22, 1841 (see below).
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2 weeks ago | 
townline.org | Mary J. Grow
by Mary GrowVassalboro Planning Board members again reviewed Novel Energy’s proposed community solar farm at 2235 Riverside Drive at their April 1 meeting (see the March 13 issue of The Town Line, pp. 2 and 3). Novel representative Ralph Addonizio gave each member a copy of an application almost two inches thick. Board members found it was missing necessary information: the updated site plan did not show the expanded buffers they had required at the initial review.
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2 weeks ago | 
townline.org | Mary J. Grow
by Mary GrowVassalboro select board members discussed multiple on-going issues at their April 3 meeting, many related to plans for the June 2 and June 10 annual town meeting. The only decision they made settled one long-discussed issue. Unanimously, board members voted to sell part of the tax-acquired property on Lombard Dam Road “back to the Estate of William H.
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2 weeks ago | 
townline.org | Mary J. Grow
by Mary GrowThe article in the warrant for China’s June 10, 2025, annual town business meeting that was not recommended by the budget committee on April 2 (see related story, p. 3) came back at April 7 meetings of the budget committee and the select board. Six of seven budget committee members met first to reconsider their April 2 vote. The reworded article, numbered Art.
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2 weeks ago | 
townline.org | Mary J. Grow
by Mary GrowDespite the draft 2025-26 China budget and the warrant for the June 10 annual town business meeting changing as they met, China Budget Committee members made their final recommendations at their April 2 meeting – they thought. The draft warrant as of the end of the meeting had 32 articles. Twenty-three dealt with money matters and needed a budget committee recommendation. The six budget committee members present voted in favor of all but one article, mostly by unanimous votes.
