From Cassie Oakes Alexander news column: The Alexander Grange Hall was hopping on August 9th when the Kids at the Grange arrived for a day of fun. The weather did not cooperate, so their plans of visiting the Alexander Art Trail got washed away with the rain. But never fear, there were back up plans that included learning a little bit about the Grange, sharing some fun facts about butterflies, designing personal jigsaw puzzle, and playing BINGO (with everyone going home with two prizes). The day ended with some singing and dancing thanks to Jen Sanford’s piano skills

Sarah Craighead Dedmon

There are days when Machias feels like a bustling small town, days when Machias feels like a sleepy small town, and then there are the three days of the Machias Wild Blueberry Festival, when Machias feels like the center of the summer fun universe. After a two-year pandemic hiatus, festival organizers say people are ready to celebrate. This year’s festival kicks off this Friday, Aug. 19, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 21.  

The 56th Peskotomuhkat Ceremonial Dances took place on Sunday, August 14th at the 56th Annual Passamaquoddy Days Celebration at Sipayik Indian Reservation at Split Rock in Perry. (Photo by Natalie Boomer)

Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Five more small earthquakes have been reported in central Washington County, bringing August’s total to 13, which constitutes a “swarm,” according to Maine Geological Survey’s Henry Berry. [See previous earthquake story in the Aug. 18 edition of The Calais Advertiser]

Local lore says the earthquakes are caused by a fault line running under Centerville, but that’s only partially true, says Berry.  

Woodland High School Class of 1971 celebrated its 51st year graduation reunion on August 12. Classmates came from the local area, Orono, Bangor, Ellsworth, Augusta, and as far away as North Carolina and Georgia.  Activities started with a guided tour of the High School by Administrative Assistant Holly Mercer-Ward (WHS97) where we visited the new cafeteria, old classrooms and the Dragon Den, remembering when it was brand new!  After the tour the class gathered at the Spednic Club and enjoyed several hours of catching up and re-connecting with old friends.

From the Alexander news column by Cassie Oakes: The Alexander Grange Hall was a busy place this past week. It all began on Tuesday the 16th when Kids at the Grange met with guest speaker and Granger Lenny Hanson. The topic of the day was safe hiking. The kids then decorated backpacks and filled them with some items that would be helpful during a hike. Of course, there is always some unplanned fun when the kids found some mushrooms and quizzed herbalist and Granger Esther Tozer about them.

David Dahl, Maine Monitor

Ricky Cleghorn

The hours of operation for the Vanceboro, Maine Port of Entry will be reduced from 24 hours a day to only 12 hours a day–from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.--beginning September 11, 2022, per a press release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

According to a CBP spokesperson, the change to operational hours comes as an attempt to better allocate resources during peak travel periods within the Calais area of operations.

Local wildlife/portrait artist Ann Dalton (Reilly) has found yet another creative avenue.  Among her many offerings and talents to make the world a more colorful place, she has literally brought new life to the scene with plants.  She has approximately 500 plants, with a large portion of them including African violets and succulents.