The Rising Stars cheerleading squad, made up of little ones in grades K to 2, put on a stellar performance at a recent high school varsity basketball game.  The team is coached by Kristie Cyr and is part of Calais Rec.  (Photo by Jayna Smith)

A highlight of a recent boys’ varsity basketball game was a halftime performance by The Bouncing Blue Devils.  The Bouncing Blue Devils is an afterschool introductory-level basketball program for kids in grades kindergarten through 2, sponsored by The Blue Devil Fund and CHS JMG.  The little guy pictured decided to have a seat while the others lined up to begin their performance.  (Photo by Jayna Smith)

Jon Reisman

“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” - Matthew 12:25

"A house divided against itself, cannot stand.” - Senate candidate Abraham Lincoln, 1858

Friends and acquaintances from left, right, and middle have shared their anxiety and concerns concerning possible violence and social unrest this year. Fear of desolation is a rare area of unity in our otherwise divided American house.

Jayna Smith

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On Thursday, February 8, 2024, the Calais City Council met for its regular meeting, with Councilor Mike Sherrard filling in for Mayor Artie Mingo, presiding over Councilors Kevin Niles (remotely via Zoom), Marcia Rogers, Elery Beale, Bill Quinn, and James Macdonald.

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

Jayna Smith

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Flat Iron Park in downtown Calais is poised to see a significant addition: an exhibit of sorts to recognize its historical importance as the site where Passamaquoddy Tribal members were recorded in 1890.  What’s most significant is that the recordings mark the first recording of any indigenous people in the world.

Fishermen Skeptical of ‘Ropeless Gear’ Study at Zone A Council Meeting

Will Tuell

Jayna Smith

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It’s a fun week for the local schools as they are leading up to February vacation.  The Blizzard Bash is taking place all week at CES, with fun and activities planned, including various dress-up days.  At CMHS, the students are in the midst of Winter Carnival with contests among the grades. 

Jon Reisman

To paraphrase Don McLean in American Pie, “February makes me shiver.” February has Groundhog Day (the rodent predicted at least six more years of relentless climate catastrophe propaganda following every storm), Valentine’s Day (the legacy media is embarrassing itself with its slobbering embrace and protection of Joe Biden), and President’s Day, (which will probably be celebrating mandated electric vehicle sales).

Here are a few other items that are giving me chills:

Paul Sylvain

Rebecca Moores, the 43-year-old Robbinston woman who in December pled guilty to murdering her former lover and principal drug supplier in 2022, was sentenced Monday in Washington County Superior Court in Machias to serve 32 years in prison.

Jayna Smith

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The Calais Lady Blue Devils traveled to Machias to take on the Lady Bulldogs on Wednesday, Jan. 31, only to suffer a setback with a score of 50-36.  

Junior Kate McPhee emerged as a standout for Calais, leading the charge with an impressive 13 points and securing 15 rebounds. 

Senior Brenna Critchley also made her mark with 10 points, while freshman Kaci Small contributed eight points to the effort.

On Tuesday, January 30, 2024, at approximately 8 a.m., a tractor-trailer unit driven by 41-year-old Kristofer Higgins of Baileyville was traveling on the westbound on-ramp of I-395 in Brewer when Higgins failed to negotiate the turn. 

His vehicle rolled over, taking out the center portion of the guardrail and striking a Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office cruiser, which was traveling eastbound at the time. 

Instructor Arlene Wren, Lucy Zwigard, and Tammy Corn show their completed braided rugs.  Wren will be teaching another braided rug class at Cobscook Institute in Trescott on Saturday, March 2nd.  (Photo by Susan Bolles)

By Will Tuell

Northern Light Health announced on Feb. 2 that an unspecified number of its computer servers were compromised by hackers earlier in the day, adding that patient information is safe and that care would not be disrupted across Northern Light’s sprawling network of care providers. 

Nurses Working Since October Without a Contract

Paul Sylvain

Bone-chilling cold on Jan. 27 failed to deter at least 22 nurses and techs employed at Down East Community Hospital in Machias from rallying on the Jeremiah O’Brien Bridge. The nurses have been working without a contract since October and are trying to leverage public support for what they call “safe staffing” levels as part of their new contract. 

Jayna Smith

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In an unfortunate incident at Dunkin’ last week, a 65-year-old female inadvertently caused minor chaos when her 2021 Ford Expedition rolled into the exterior wall of Dunkin’. The woman, parking in front of the building, exited her vehicle but forgot to secure her vehicle in park, Calais Police reported, leading to the unexpected collision.

Jayna Smith

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At Shead High School in Eastport on Wednesday night, Jan. 24, sophomore Karleigh Smith and freshman Mishun Cornelius propelled the Woodland Dragons team to a 54-41 victory over the Tigerettes. 

Both girls dropped in 18 points for the winners.  Cornelius also dominated the boards with an impressive 24 rebounds

A total of 505 student-athletes from the 14 institutions of the North Atlantic Conference have been recognized with Fall 2023 NAC All-Academic Team honors.

In order to be eligible for All-Academic honors, student-athletes must be participating members of their respective teams and achieve a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Member institutions are responsible for identifying eligible student-athletes.

Jayna Smith

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It’s Girl Scout Cookie time!  Through selling cookies, girls earn badges representing proficiency in skills ranging from financial management to business planning and more. They also learn the basic skills and acumen they need to be leaders in business and sales, manage their personal and family finances, and gain self-sufficiency and confidence handling money.  Be on the lookout for girls selling locally!

Sandra Smith

The event in honor of Virginia Newman was held at the Princeton Town Office. The ever-busy town treasurer, Donna Worden, and town clerk, Sue Lawless, had set up tables for guests and decorated a serving table to display the cane and plaque, along with a cake commemorating her special day. The presentation of the cane and plaque was made by selectman Wayne Croman, and Princeton photographer Fred Knapp took the official photograph, which will be hung in the town office.

Will Tuell

It’s a common refrain in law enforcement circles that the number of applicants for open police and corrections officer positions is dwindling while the demand for qualified officers continues to rise. Whether it’s the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, any one of Downeast Maine’s small-town police departments, or state law enforcement agencies, the demand for officers is high while interest is sagging. 

The Woodland cheerleading team, coached by Holly Mercier-Ward, was one of five teams that competed at the DAC Championship last Saturday at Calais High School.  (Photo by Jayna Smith)

Down East Community and Calais Community Hospitals are proud to announce that both facilities will begin offering low-dose lung cancer screenings in February.