Down East
New waste transfer station opens in Jonesboro
JONESBORO, Maine — The gates opened this week on a new privately owned transfer station in the Washington County community of Jonesboro that is now accepting trash at 8 cents a pound and is paying 4 cents a pound for metal. “Our biggest customer will be us,” owner Mark Wright ...
Mike Michaud to visit Eastport lobster storage plant
The Associated Press on Feb. 22, 2012, at 5:46 a.m.
EASTPORT, Maine — Congressman Mike Michaud is in Eastport, where he’ll be touring a new lobster storage facility. Michaud said the Lighthouse Lobster and Bait was built on the former Consea factory site that previously operated as sardine cannery. The new plant will be able to hold up to 135,000 ...
Federal judge: Machiasport let principal go due to budget cuts, not abuse
BANGOR, Maine — A federal judge has ruled the Machiasport School Department did not breach the contract of a former principal when it cut her position in 2008 due to reductions in state funding. Patricia A. Godin, who was principal at Fort O’Brien School, sued the district and the school ...
USDA honors Washington County’s Whitney for wreath business venture
WHITNEYVILLE, Maine — David Whitney has come a long way from a wrestling match with an older cousin at a family Thanksgiving Day gathering when he was only 8 years old. “He clamped his hand over my face, and I wondered what that smell was,” Whitney recalls. “It was balsam, ...
Births, Down East Community Hospital, Feb. 17, 2012
on Feb. 20, 2012, at 3:29 p.m.
Down East Community Hospital, Machias To Joshua and Jilliane Sawyer of Hancock, a daughter, Ellianna Grace, Feb. 17, 2012.
Community college advocate Joyce Hedlund stepping down after 25 years
CALAIS, Maine — It’s time. Joyce Hedlund said her recent decision to retire after a long career in higher education came not so much as an epiphany but as a result of seeing what a great time her husband, Wesley, has been having since he retired 18 months ago after ...
Maine lobster boat races scheduled
The Associated Press on Feb. 20, 2012, at 5:32 a.m.
WINTERPORT, Maine — It may be the dead of winter, but summer’s schedule of Maine lobster boat races is coming into shape. The Maine Lobster Boat Racing Association says the season will kick off June 16 with races in Boothbay, followed the next day with races in Rockland. Additional races ...
Machias Main Street eyesore garage eyed as seasonal tourist destination
MACHIAS, Maine — A small group of visionaries is eager to transform a long-abandoned Main Street eyesore into a downtown Machias tourist destination, with plenty of ways to educate and entertain kids. What years ago was a Ford dealership at 31 Main St. is now an aging hulk of a ...
Three arrested in Lubec prescription drug bust
LUBEC, Maine — Three Lubec residents were arrested on Saturday after Washington County sheriff’s deputies executed search warrants that yielded seizure of hundreds of doses of the prescription drug alprazolam, weapons and cash. One of those search warrants was executed in Lubec at a home at 138 North Lubec Road. ...
VIDEO
Ron Paul wins big in Washington County, statewide results unchanged
EAST MACHIAS, Maine — Ron Paul’s strong showing in weekend caucuses in Washington, Hancock and Kennebec counties is challenging the notion that Maine belongs to Mitt Romney. In the presidential preference poll conducted at Washington County’s GOP caucus on Saturday, Paul attracted 163 votes to Mitt Romney’s 80. In the ...
Live updates from the GOP caucuses in Hancock and Washington counties
on Feb. 18, 2012, at 10:51 a.m.
BDN reporter Tom Walsh is covering the final GOP caucuses in Maine today as Republicans in Washington County and parts of Hancock County declare their preference for a presidential nominee.
Controversy continues as some Maine towns gear up for GOP caucuses this weekend
EAST MACHIAS, Maine — The controversy that continues to plague efforts by Maine’s registered Republicans to indicate their presidential nominee preferences moves to Washington and Hancock counties on Saturday, Feb. 18. A snowstorm prompted cancellation of Washington County’s caucus last weekend, and Hancock County’s two GOP caucuses were long-scheduled for ...
Machias hospital refutes union’s patient safety claims
MACHIAS, Maine — The administration of Washington County’s Down East Community Hospital terms “misleading” allegations by a union representing 60 nurses and technical employees that patient safety would be undermined by proposed staffing changes. The 25-bed hospital and the union are now embroiled in efforts to reach an agreement on ...
Births, Calais Regional Hospital
on Feb. 17, 2012, at 4:57 p.m.
To Megan James and Lewey Harnois Sr. of Indian Township, a son, Rylan James Harnois, Jan. 12, 2012.
Machias Memorial High School, honor roll
on Feb. 17, 2012, at 4:57 p.m.
Second quarter honor roll Seniors, high honors: William Baker; honors: Michael Beal, Brandon Gonzalez, Aynsley Hermanowski, Brandon Hooper, Megan Huntley, Morgan Look, Catrina Pennell, Meghan Rodgers. Juniors, honors: Crysta Bourque, Andrew Dolley, Lyric Foss, Jennifer Gallant, Dustin Betchell, Jordan Griffin-Schencks, Catherine Morse, Emily Morse, Alyssa Preston, Jocelyn Prout, Marissa Seeley, ...
Steuben fire chief suspects chimney as cause of blaze
STEUBEN, Maine — A house fire Thursday afternoon in Steuben remains under investigation, but is thought to have been sparked by a problem with the chimney. No one was home when the fire at 114 Tunk Road was reported at 4:17 p.m., Steuben Fire Chief Adelbert Pinkham said. The house ...
USDA pushes back release of 2011 blueberry yield figures
MACHIAS, Maine — Federal budget cuts have delayed until March the release by the U.S. Department of Agriculture of its estimate of Maine’s 2011 wild blueberry harvest. Government statisticians traditionally release those figures in early February, but this year they won’t be ready for prime time until March 15, said ...
Down East Community Hospital struggling with red ink and labor relations
MACHAIS, Maine — Down East Community Hospital in Machias finished its last budget year with losses of $2.3 million, and facility President and CEO Douglas Jones is predicting harder times ahead given state cutbacks in reimbursements. In a recent in-house memo to the staff of the 25-bed facility, Jones said ...
POLL QUESTION
Officials investigating oversize salmon catch reportedly shared on Facebook
MACHIAS, Maine — If you’re going to poach North Atlantic salmon, it’s probably wise not to boast about it on Facebook. The Maine Warden Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are jointly investigating a report that an oversize salmon was illegally taken by an ice fisherman on Second ...
Study shows few local options for Calais nursing home residents
CALAIS, Maine — The 32 residents of the Atlantic Rehabilitation and Nursing Center facility in Calais who are facing displacement have very few options for local relocation, a study by the city of Calais shows. The 50-bed Washington County nursing home and assisted living facility faces closure under a business ...








