AND THEY’RE OFF!
AND THEY’RE OFF! Many youngsters took part in the Easter egg hunt held
at Maritime Munchkins, a daycare center in Charlotte, on April 4. See
more Easter egg hunt photos in this issue. (Edward French photo)
April 10, 2026
Front Page Stories
Proposed underwater data center off Eastport raises concerns
A proposed underwater data center has gained little traction since its backer submitted a request to move ahead in February, and many of those near its proposed location in Western Passage off Moose Island are skeptical. In fact, one Eastport resident...
Area legislators support bill to boost state’s share for county jails
A legislative bill to increase state funding for county jails received strong support from Washington County legislators during a hearing on March 18 before the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. The committee then voted 10-2 at a work session on March 30...
Last herring smokehouse in U.S. may get a second act
In 1991 when the McCurdy Smokehouse in Lubec closed, it was the "last of the last" commercial herring smokehouses in the country. For 100 years it was a place where herring were smoked, packaged and shipped all over the world.
St. Stephen looking at costly 15-year water system overhaul
St. Stephen faces major decisions on its 120‑year‑old water system. Rory Pickard with the engineering firm of Dillon Consulting Ltd. presented a 19‑page strategic plan to the municipal district council on March 25 proposing a 15‑year program that would cost tens of millions of dollars...
Child labor complaint roils lobster industry way of life
John Drouin, a lobsterman in Cutler, put his first few wooden traps out from a skiff with his stepfather as a 13‑year‑old in the spring of 1979. A month later, Drouin was setting traps on his own, like other young teenagers in his small Downeast town. As an adult, he took all five children...
A SURE SIGN OF SPRING.
A SURE SIGN OF SPRING. A young lamb, one of triplets, peers out from its
pen at Shofar Farms in Perry, which raises the Icelandic sheep. (Edward
French photo)
LOCAL WEATHER
Politics & Government
2026
Area legislators support bill to boost state’s share for county jails
A legislative bill to increase state funding for county jails received strong support from Washington County legislators during a hearing on March 18 before the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. The committee then voted 10-2 at a work session on March 30...
2026
Lubec board eyes tax status of area land trusts
Members of the Lubec Select Board, at their March 25 meeting, reviewed an analysis by Marc Perry, the town's assessor agent, of the town's property tax revenue losses resulting from the state's land‑use property categories for tree growth, open space, farmland and working waterfront.
2026
County meets deadline to make payment to bank for 2025 TAN
The Washington County government made it to the bank on time, paying its 2025 tax-anticipation note (TAN) to Machias Savings Bank on February 18, two days before the due date.
2026
Most all towns to prepay TAN to help bail out county
While it appears the Washington County government may have raised enough funds from municipalities to be able to pay its tax-anticipation note (TAN) to Machias Savings Bank by February 20, the meeting of that obligation is coming at a significant cost to the towns in the county.
2026
Bankruptcy bill not supported during hearing
On January 21, the Maine legislature's Committee on State and Local Government held a hearing regarding LD 2009, a bill sponsored by Senator Marianne Moore of Calais that would allow political subdivisions, including municipalities and counties, to declare bankruptcy.
2025
County adopts budget with 17.3% increase
With the adoption of a budget on December 17 with $11.6 million to be raised by taxation and so far about half of the towns in the county agreeing to prepay on the estimated $8 million tax-anticipation note (TAN) that the county owes for the current year's budget...
2025
County eyeing options after bond rejection
With Washington County voters rejecting the proposed $11 million county bond question by a margin of 53% to 47% in the November 4 election, county officials are struggling to figure out how to pay the current tax anticipation note (TAN), due December 31, without defaulting...
Business & Development
2026
Proposed underwater data center off Eastport raises concerns
A proposed underwater data center has gained little traction since its backer submitted a request to move ahead in February, and many of those near its proposed location in Western Passage off Moose Island are skeptical. In fact, one Eastport resident...
2026
Last herring smokehouse in U.S. may get a second act
In 1991 when the McCurdy Smokehouse in Lubec closed, it was the "last of the last" commercial herring smokehouses in the country. For 100 years it was a place where herring were smoked, packaged and shipped all over the world.
2026
St. Stephen looking at costly 15-year water system overhaul
St. Stephen faces major decisions on its 120‑year‑old water system. Rory Pickard with the engineering firm of Dillon Consulting Ltd. presented a 19‑page strategic plan to the municipal district council on March 25 proposing a 15‑year program that would cost tens of millions of dollars...
2026
Lubec's Safe Harbor project ready to go back out to bid
While the Lubec Safe Harbor breakwater project is expected to go back out to bid next month, after initial bids were too high, questions have arisen about how long the project has taken and how much the anticipated cost has increased.
2026
Committee recommends replacing Machias dike with exact replica
A recommendation to replace the Machias dike with an exact replica will be handed to the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) in April and could result in a new structure constructed over the Middle River in five years if everything goes according to plan.
2026
War in Iran hiking Quoddy gas prices
Passamaquoddy Bay might seem like a long way from the Persian Gulf. However, the war unleashed when the United States and Israel launched coordinated attacks on Iranian targets on February 28...
2026
Proposed tidal project would power underwater AI data center
A new tidal power project is being proposed off Eastport, but whether the developer has the technical expertise and financial backing to proceed with the proposal is not clear. Along with planning to provide electricity to local communities, the company, DeepGreen Western Passage SPV LLC...
Crime & Public Safety
2026
Child labor complaint roils lobster industry way of life
John Drouin, a lobsterman in Cutler, put his first few wooden traps out from a skiff with his stepfather as a 13‑year‑old in the spring of 1979. A month later, Drouin was setting traps on his own, like other young teenagers in his small Downeast town. As an adult, he took all five children...
2026
Peroxide leak occurs at Woodland Pulp mill
Following a toxic gas exposure incident in January, which caused the deaths of two workers, the Woodland Pulp mill experienced another accident on Saturday, March 7. The January 27 exposure to hydrogen sulfide gas occurred when the mill was shutting down operations because of the high price...
2026
Tide kills periwinkle picker; another hurt
One man was killed and a second was hospitalized when they were caught by the tide while picking periwinkles off Grand Manan's Castalia Marsh on February 19. Sanjaya Gurung, 39, died, while his companion is recovering. The men were employed by Benson Lobster; both were from Nepal.
2026
Second mill worker dies from gas exposure
A second worker at the Woodland Pulp mill has died following exposure to a toxic gas on January 27. Allen Hornberger, 26, had been hospitalized in critical condition for nearly three weeks before succumbing on February 17. Hornberger, who lived in Lee ...
2026
Worker dies after exposure to gas at Woodland Pulp mill
A student intern working at the Woodland Pulp mill has died and another worker was critically injured following exposure to a toxic gas at the mill's bleach plant on Tuesday, January 27, when the mill was in the process of shutting operations down because of a large spike in natural gas prices.
2026
Supreme court vacates Brackett's conviction in murder of Neptune
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has voided the conviction of Kailie Brackett for murdering Kimberly Neptune of Sipayik in April 2022. Brackett had been sentenced to 55 years in prison following a three-day jury trial in Machias in December 2023.
2026
Deliberately set fire destroys St. Stephen apartment building
The RCMP say the fire that destroyed the vacant apartment building at 449 Milltown Boulevard, St. Stephen, was deliberately set. The emergency call to the former Starshine Properties Ltd. building, which had been sold at a tax auction on October 17, came in at 4:05 a.m.
Local News
2025
Tribe's solar project raises questions about net energy billing
The Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is conducting an investigation into whether a rooftop solar project by the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township qualifies for the state's net energy billing program. The PUC held an initial case conference on the matter on March 11...
2025
St. Stephen apartment building boarded up; 30 people evicted
Life might settle down for residents and business owners on lower Marks Street, St. Stephen, these days, but about 30 former neighbours now need new places to live. Police showed up at 18 Marks St. on Friday morning, March 7, with a judge's order...
2025
Local legislators, residents urge support for rural patrol funding
Washington County legislators and residents offered strong support for increasing rural patrol services in the county during a recent legislative hearing, pointing to the drug crisis, the county's having the second highest violent crime rate in the state in 2020 and elderly people now being...
2025
Concerns assessed about cruise ships’ possible discharges
With approximately 55,000 cruise ship passengers expected in Eastport in 2025 -- up from 7,000 the previous year -- concerns are being raised related to discharges from the ships and how they may impact the sensitive marine ecosystems of Passamaquoddy and Cobscook bays.
2025
Lubec school board weighs budget cuts
The prospect of further tax increases dominated the February 10 meeting of the Lubec school board, despite a limited turnout. Snowed out of the customary first Thursday meeting date, the rescheduled date attracted a crowd of eight participants plus four members of the board.
2025
EMNH adjusting to nursing home reimbursement rate changes
Eastport Memorial Nursing Home (EMNH), one of only three nursing homes in Washington County, is contending with statewide changes to how nursing homes are reimbursed. The challenging new reimbursement rate will require cost saving measures for the facility, which employs between 55 and 60 people.
2025
Two Addison fishermen perish on way home
A search for two Addison fishermen off the coast of Trescott and Cutler was suspended the evening of Sunday, January 19, after rescue crews combed over 950 square miles of ocean and coastline.
Education
2026
Officials in county support bill to revise school funding formula
Legislation proposing changes in the state's school funding formula received strong support from Washington County officials and residents, along with school representatives from throughout the state, during a hearing by the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee on March 9.
2026
SCRTC teacher wins national recognition
The journey that brought Lauren Remington, an early childhood educator at St. Croix Regional Technical Center in Calais, to Washington, D.C., to receive the Travelers Award for Teaching Excellence at the Salute to Excellence in Education Gala was not a short or easy one.
2025
Robbinston school board passes budget, retains school choice
At its July 10 meeting the Robbinston School Committee unanimously approved a budget that maintains school choice, is $131,002 higher than the previous school year and calls for a 62% hike in the amount raised by local taxation.
2025
Robbinston weighs cost of school choice
The June 13 meeting of the Robbinston School Committee saw a review of two prospective budgets, only one of which maintains school choice for Robbinston students.
2025
Local family sets up foundation for youth
Youth in Washington County will have the opportunity to engage in more outdoor activities with the establishment of the Jeffrey A. Stanhope Foundation in memory of the late Perry resident.
2025
Collaboration brings musicians to local schools
“Where words fail, music speaks," wrote Hans Christian Andersen of music's ability to facilitate communication – and yet there are key places where music literacy is lacking, including in Washington County elementary schools.
2025
Staff cuts feared as Lubec board eyes budget with 16% local share hike
Emotions surfaced during the budget workshop hosted on March 6 by the Lubec school board, during which the budget proposal calling for a nearly 16% hike in the local share was discussed.
Image Archive
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BUDDING ENTREPRENEURS Anika and Letti Hibbard of Eastport negotiate the sale of an apple with Griffin Coes. The sisters had set up a stand in front of their High Street house on the spring-like afternoon of Tuesday, April 5, and were selling one apple for 25 cents, two apples for 50 cents or three apples for a dollar. (Edward French photo) 
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SHARING A WARM SPRINGTIME MOMENT are friends Jake Fredette, 6, and Little Topsy and her filly Sparrow, ponies owned by Jamieson's grandparents, Brenda and Richard Ferrar of Eastwind Farm in Perry. (Chessie Johnson photo) 
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Rainy days and Mondays always get me down. This passenger on an Eastport school bus, on a rainy Monday, looks like he's had a long day. The spell of wind and rain is expected to last through this coming weekend. (Edward French photo) 
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WELCOME TO EASTPORT, where the Grand Independence Day Parade is ended with the return of the fisherman statue. 
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EXCITED, Isaiah J. Mitchell and Frances Mitchell of Eastport, Logan King of Maui, Hawaii, Alex Mitchell of Fort Kent, Leah King of Maui, Jade St. Pierre of Madawaska and Lucas King of Maui react to a fire truck's siren during the Eastport parade. Photos by Edward French and Don Dunbar. 
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A PATRIOTIC CONTESTANT, Caroline O'Donnell of Winchester, Mass., waits for a decision in the Little Miss 4th of July contest. 
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ARTIST - PAINTING - BOAT IN FOG. Bonnie Foster of Voorheesville, N.Y., is among the students taking a course taught by artist Jim Salem of Eastport. It is one of the offerings of the Eastport Arts Center's SummerArts program. (Edward French photo) 
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SAILING ON A SUMMER'S DAY, the Sylvina W. Beal of Eastport approaches East Quoddy Head Lighthouse on Campobello. Passengers aboard the sailboat have seen lots of whales and other marine life in the past few weeks. (Edward French photo) 
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ADDRESSING A CROWD OF OVER 1,000 PEOPLE in the W.C. O'Neil Arena in St. Andrews is LNG opponent Art MacKay. (Gary Guisinger photo) 
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AS IN A COMMUNITY BARN-RAISING, nearly 100 people from throughout Washington County joined in the inaugural production, Noye's Fludde, at the Eastport Arts Center's new theater space on Labor Day weekend. Here, the Gossips in the Benjamin Britten opera are trying to convince Mrs. Noye not to board the ark as Noye and his animal friends prepare to depart. (Edward French photo) 
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POSING ON THE NARROW LEDGES at Gulliver's Hole in West Quoddy Head State Park, two September tourists are among many who are willing to risk a dangerous tumble to enjoy a stunning photo-op. (Chessie Johnson photo) 
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OVER HILL, OVER DALE during the Eastport Invitational cross country meet on September 28 are Shead's Justin Cyr and Calais High School's Zachary Carle. (Edward French photo) 
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GHOSTS AND OTHER STRANGE CREATURES can be seen in Downeast yards during the weeks leading up to Halloween. (Edward French photo) School space crunch forces towns to act GHOSTS AND OTHER STRANGE CREATURES can be seen in Downeast yards during the weeks leading up to Halloween. (Edward French photo) 
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CALLING ATTENTION to their struggle, (left to right) Hilda Lewis, Madonna Soctomah and Gracie Davis drum and sing during a smudging and prayer ceremony at Split Rock at Pleasant Point, the proposed site for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal. The Passamaquoddy women and their supporters held a press conference there one day after filing an LNG-related lawsuit against the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Secretary of the Interior. (Edward French photo) 
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A REBIRTH OF DAIRY FARMING in Washington County includes Tide Mill Farm in Edmunds, where Aaron Bell's three-year-old daughter Paige, representing the ninth generation living on the farm, pets Moonshine, who is due to calve soon, as another Jersey, Peck, chews her cud. (Edward French photo) 
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IT IS BETTER TO LIGHT ONE CANDLE... Placing his candle on the altar in the International Day of Action to Stop Global Warming service in Eastport is Davis Pike Grady. Held on December 3 at the Central Congregational Church, the observance included a talk by Mark Dittrick, conservation chair, Atlantic Chapter, Sierra Club of Canada. (Edward French photo) 
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BALSAM AND LIGHTS decorate the exterior of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Eastport this Christmas season. (Edward French photo) Season of goodwill shines in communities BALSAM AND LIGHTS decorate the exterior of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Eastport this Christmas season. (Edward French photo) 
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CASTING THEIR VOTES during the Downeast LNG referendum in Robbinston are Edward and Alice Ingersoll as town attorney John Churchill and ballot clerk Kathy Mekelburg look on. Over 300 residents dropped by the fire station on January 10 to vote, and the vast majority were in favor of having an LNG facility constructed in their town. (Edward French photo) 
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MAKING A SPLASH at the start of the Polar Bear Dip on Friday, February 3, are some of the participants who helped raise $15,000 this year for the Ronald McDonald House in Bangor. The amount since the Washington County Community College Student Senate inaugurated the event six years ago now totals over $100,000. (Don Dunbar photo) 
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THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL, and these two cats, Daisy and Meatball, don't seem to mind watching the snow fall from inside their warm Eastport home. (Edward French photo) THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL, and these two cats, Daisy and Meatball, don't seem to mind watching the snow fall from inside their warm Eastport home. (Edward French photo) 
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NO, YOU GO FETCH! That thought seems to be expressed on the faces of two springer spaniels, Charlie and Digby, who were playing on the shore of the inner basin of the Eastport breakwater with owner Jason Kissell. (Edward French photo) 
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OUTSTANDING IN HER FIELD. The new kid on the block is a spring lamb, born on the Overman farm in South Lubec. (Chessie Johnson photo) 
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AGROUND near Split Rock, Pleasant Point, is Scott MacNichol's vessel, Miss Amy, on April 24. Angus McPhail's boat, Julie Ann, assisted in keeping the vessel upright as it began to float off the ledge with the incoming tide. The Miss Amy had towed a barge from one side of the causeway to the other for Maine Test Borings Inc. of Brewer, which is conducting work for Quoddy Bay LNG, and hit the ledge as it headed back out into the bay. The boat was not damaged from the grounding. (Edward French photo) 
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TAKING PART IN A MOCK ACCIDENT, Captain Teddy Morse of the East Machias Fire Department and Vanessa Reed remove a Washington Academy student from a fatal automobile re-enactment. Wakeup Call, a program aimed toward teen drivers, is a realistic portrayal of a deadly accident. See articles about mock accidents at Shead and WA on pages 13 and 25. (Chessie Johnson photo) 
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BLOWING AWAY dandelion seed, on a spring afternoon with rain and sunshine, is six-year-old Mary Bartlett of Eastport. (Edward French photo) 
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ESCORTED BY A FLOTILLA of welcoming kayakers as she approaches land in Eastport is adventurer Renata Chlumska of Sweden (far left). Chlumska is aiming to be the first person to circumnavigate the lower 48 states of the U.S., by kayak and bicycle, having begun in Seattle, Wash. She received a warm reception in Eastport. (Edward French photo) 
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RAISING THE ROOF? No, members of ASSIST-JC from All Souls Congregational Church in Bangor are constructing one of the walls for the new Labor of Love Food Pantry in Eastport. (Edward French photo) Elvis, fireworks, Navy ship, parade mark Eastport 4th Perry board’s authority to hire law firm raises legal question 
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LOWERING THE COLORS at the end of the day on July 4 are members of the USS Porter crew (above). "Look, ma, no hands!" CMC Musso of the Porter seems to be saying in the codfish relay (below). Using hands but not their feet, competitors in the sack race in Lubec (below) dive for the finish line. (Photos by Edward French, Don Dunbar and Chessie Johnson) 
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LOWERING THE COLORS at the end of the day on July 4 are members of the USS Porter crew (above). "Look, ma, no hands!" CMC Musso of the Porter seems to be saying in the codfish relay (below). Using hands but not their feet, competitors in the sack race in Lubec (below) dive for the finish line. (Photos by Edward French, Don Dunbar and Chessie Johnson) 
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LOWERING THE COLORS at the end of the day on July 4 are members of the USS Porter crew (above). "Look, ma, no hands!" CMC Musso of the Porter seems to be saying in the codfish relay (below). Using hands but not their feet, competitors in the sack race in Lubec (below) dive for the finish line. (Photos by Edward French, Don Dunbar and Chessie Johnson) 