The Kirk & Greg Powell Building, located at 173 Main St., was dedicated in honor of their generational work in Waterville.

The search will start anew since four candidates interviewed won't be invited to a second interview, Mayor Mike Morris says.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos April 18-25, 2025.

Redesignating more than $400,000 toward the project should allow the town to complete the baseball field portion of a larger plan for an athletic complex, the project’s clerk of works said.

Amanda Quirion-Clark, 30, was transported to a hospital via LifeFlight helicopter, according to the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.

Here is a partial list of area markets open on designated days.

Michael Williams of Waterville, who suffers with a terminal illness, applied for and was granted a wish for his daughter and grandson to visit him from North Carolina, Amy Calder writes.

ShineOnCass, created by Monica Charette after the 2014 death of her daughter Cass, works with organizations to promote youth literacy in memory of Cass, who was an avid reader.

Eight others are scheduled to receive 2024 Mid-Maine Chamber awards Thursday at the organization's annual awards event, to be held at the Waterville Elks Banquet Center.

The news of Dawn DiBlasi’s resignation after one year as town manager came at the end of a contentious 3 1/2-hour select board meeting Tuesday.

The new business, run by a husband-and-wife duo out of the kitchen at the Mercer Community Center, offers ready-to-bake meals for pickup and delivery each week.

The project, which brings together a hotel, apartments and restaurant in a former mill hopes to capitalize on the momentum brought by other investments and planned projects in Skowhegan.

President Donald Trump’s threats to cut federal funding for Maine schools played into budget deliberations this spring.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from the past week.

Waterville fire Chief Jason Frost and deputy chief of EMS Everett Flannery III also want to run a third ambulance as need will increase with the closure of Northern Light Inland Hospital.

While U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, spoke at a private Colby College event Wednesday about his desire to engage voters, protesters along upper Main Street in Waterville criticized him and others for failing to hold town hall meetings.

As part of a plea deal with prosecutors, murder and gun possession charges against Tyler Quirion, 21, were dropped.

Somerset County Sheriff's officials and Waterville police searched a home on Crane Drive early Wednesday and seized drugs with a street value estimated at $40,000.

Acadia Healthcare has contacted town officials to begin the application process under a new ordinance to open its clinic at the Madison Business Gateway, Town Manager Denise Ducharme said.

Two officials of Northern Light Inland Hospital in Waterville answered questions Tuesday from city councilors and a former mayor about the reasons why the hospital is closing and how its patients and employees will be affected.

When we were young, Easter was about dressing up for church, consuming candy and sharing a sumptuous meal on a day whose significance became clear only after we had aged, Amy Calder writes.

A 'Born to Run' concert, Earth Day events in Farmington, a Michael Jackson experience, and the Anah Shrine Circus are also planned in central Maine and beyond.

Michael Corson, 55, had asked for the charge to be dropped in March.

The fire was reported on Warren Hill Road in Palmyra at 9:58 a.m., according to Hartland fire Chief Glen Carmichael, who responded to the scene.

Major crimes detectives are investigating the death of a woman Saturday at a residence on the Canaan Road in Hartland.

A detective’s affidavit supporting charges against Rhaheem Friend, the driver in the August 2024 crash, also describes what happened in the five hours between the crash and when it was reported.

As spring sets in, Waterville officials are working on paving Burleigh and Park streets and sidewalks, as well as Averill Terrace and Maura Court to fix the roads in the worst condition.

Vivian Myers-Jones, a trans woman and U.S. veteran living in New Brunswick, says she feels privileged that she can exercise her right to protest anti-transgender polices in Maine and return home to Canada.

The friends who met while staying at the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter in Waterville share their hopes and sorrows as they dream of a better life, Amy Calder writes.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from the past week.

Rhaheem Friend, 34, was driving the vehicle in the August 2024 crash on South Solon Road in Solon that left Nicholas Foss, 39, of Madison, dead.

Northern Light official says most of Inland primary care patients will be able to stay with their provider as the company moves closer to closing its Waterville hospital in June.

The poem by 15-year-old Raleah Truman of Augusta was adapted to song and will be performed Saturday by Colby College students.

State fire investigators said they determined Jason Woods, 47, intentionally set the fire in a parking lot early Thursday morning.

Investigators said they found cocaine and methamphetamine hidden in a coffee tumbler.

The system does not protect important data and its issues have interfered with town business, Town Manager Dawn DiBlasi said.

At least one property owner along the western strip of Drummond Avenue wants his land rezoned from General Industrial to Residential-B so he can develop houses there.

Town officials said they are waiting for the audit to schedule a third date to finish town meeting, which was tabled partway through after two attempts in March.

Investigators seized more than 53 grams of suspected fentanyl from a Gagnon Road residence, along with other items and drugs, according to the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.

Those who have supported the Madison manufacturer said the bankruptcy was unfortunate, but not unexpected, and are cautiously optimistic that the restructuring will allow the company to succeed.

MSAD 54 Superintendent of Schools Jon Moody told the board of directors that the Skowhegan-area district complies with both state and federal anti-discrimination laws and encouraged the board to focus on finishing this year’s budget process.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from March 28-April 4, 2025.

Judy Cabana, 86, of Waterville, loves volunteering at the Waterville Area Soup Kitchen, Amy Calder writes.

Waterville city councilors and fire Chief Jason Frost discussed the need for more firefighter-paramedics and an extra ambulance on the road full time to help with the impact of Northern Light Inland Hospital's closure.

School board members in the Oakland-based school district debated where funding for an advisory position for Superintendent Carl Gartley, who is retiring at the end of the year, should come from.

Some county commissioners think the sheriff should auction off forfeited guns that may still have some value instead of destroying them.

Hospital options for emergency transport services may be limited after the June closure of Waterville's Northern Light Inland.

Front & Main in the Lockwood Hotel at 9 Main St. is kicking off a special 'Flamingos & Mint' tiki-themed culinary dinner experience through Saturday this week.

The City Council voted Tuesday to hire Cornell Knight to fill the gap after City Manager Bryan Kaenrath leaves May 1 to become city manager in Lewiston and before Waterville hires a new city manager.

The two men from Massachusetts were arrested in the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office’s 24th similar bust since January 2024, and the second at the Harmony home.

Residents drinking from highly contaminated wells face a new financial burden as state PFAS funding draws to a close.

Transportation officials said the closure is necessary to remove a tractor trailer truck that rolled over Monday night.

Police responded to the crash at the intersection of U.S. Route 2 and Beans Corner Road shortly after 12 a.m. Tuesday.

Employees at Northern Light Inland Hospital in Waterville say they are worried for their peers and concerned about patients who will lose their health care when the hospital closes.

The odor was found to have been caused by a furnace malfuction, fire chief said.

When allocating nearly $24 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, the Kennebec County commissioners included affordable housing in Kennebec County, including Manor Gardens.

More than 60 people from around central Maine stood in the snow Saturday at a Tesla charging station off Main Street at Elm Plaza to protest Elon Musk's gutting of the federal government and firing of thousands of workers.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from the past week.

The crash slowed northbound traffic in the Pittsfield area Friday for more than three hours.

Wade Willette, 46, of Cornville, used the Kik messaging app to upload videos containing child sexual abuse materials in 2021.

Thomas College student Gracie Weymouth of Canaan plans to work in cybersecurity when she graduates from the Waterville college later this year, Amy Calder writes.

Ester Franklin, organizer of the 2nd annual Gas Money Picture Show, knows the importance of travel: she grew up off the grid in Brighton Plantation and has since lived around the globe.

Wintery weather contributed to the crash, which closed the highway between Madison and Norridgewock for hours Monday as a tractor-trailer had rolled over across the road.

The wood fiber insulation manufacturer expects business as usual after filing the prenegotiated reorganization plan Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.

Residents have filed a petition to remove Heather Donahue, one of the town's three select board members, from office at a recall election scheduled for April 23.

The Maine Department of Transportation will host an in-person open house April 1 for area residents to get information about the project, which gets underway in mid-April.

Officials said they are investigating an incident Friday night in which a man attempted to rob another man and assaulted him with a knife outside his home on River Road.

The Hinckley school’s sugar shack was one of dozens across the state open during the 42nd Maine Maple Sunday Weekend.

The crash occurred Feb. 10 at the railroad crossing on Main Street in Waterville, when a CSX Transportation train pushed the vehicle about 100 yards down the tracks.

Residents also approved a proposed spending plan for this year that totals about $1.88 million.

The layoffs will occur in mid-April, president and CEO Nathan Howell said.

The vote at Monday’s town meeting was prompted by a proposal from two developers to build a commercial solar farm at a former military radar site in Moscow and Caratunk.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from the past week.

Reporting Aside: Bruce Smith can no longer use the carpentry tools he used to earn a living for many years, and wants to give them away, Amy Calder writes.

Rich Abrahamson captures ice jams and high waters.

Noah Weeks, 40, was arrested Tuesday when police tried to execute a drug search warrant and he fled in his vehicle and then by foot into the woods, according to the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.

Jesse J. Harvey, 31, to serve 10 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release as part of a plea deal reached after the victim, an extended family member, made further disclosures to officials recently.

The city applied for the money a year ago and was on track to receive it, but was notified late last week the money will not be coming this year, a city official said.

Southbound traffic to be detoured to Exit 157 in Newport, and then to Pittsfield via Route 100 and Somerset Avenue.

Prosecutors believe that Nicholas J. Worthing, 37, of Pittston sent dozens of threatening, profanity-filled messages over several years to the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page and directed at Sheriff Ken Mason.

Rien Finch, a Democrat who represented Ward 6, cited recent physical and mental health challenges, worsened by overwork and having a president who says transgender people do not exist.

The remains were seized from Poulin Antiques & Auctions Inc., where an 'Apache scalp' was listed for sale online.

State Sen. Richard Bradstreet, R-Kennebec, will present a bill Tuesday seeking $2 million from the state's general fund to help pay down the debt of the Vassalboro Sanitary District.

While Bee's operated for nearly eight decades through natural disasters and economic swings, the owners say the closure of the Ticonic Bridge for repairs and high operating costs have taken their toll.

Prosecutors agreed last year to move the case to Somerset County and drop one stalking charge against Nicholas Worthing, of Pittston, who has gone through a dozen defense lawyers over four years.

One of the home's residents was preparing dinner when cooking oil became too hot and burst into flames, an official said.

Northern Light Inland Hospital is slated to close June 11, putting 309 employees out of work.

Staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is recommending proposals to increase fish passage at four dams in Waterville, Fairfield and Skowhegan, which a coalition of environmental groups pushing for dam removal have criticized.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from the past week.

Tuesday’s Planning Board meeting will be one of the final opportunities for the public to weigh on the plan, which is expected to be voted on for adoption at town meeting in June.

A small piece of the former fire station on Island Avenue extends on to Brookfield’s neighboring property, which is presenting an issue as town officials consider what to do with the building.

The old landmark awaits the same wrecking ball that took down buildings on either side of it to make way for the construction of modern, multi-story apartment buildings, Amy Calder writes.

Somerset County Sheriff’s Office investigators said they seized more than 25 grams of cocaine and fentanyl along with other items while searching an Ingalls Street residence.

The board backed construction of 12 two-story condominiums on Evergreen Drive and 28 apartments on Washington Street.

The Maine State Police say no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.

The hospital had diminished its outpatient and maternal care services in recent months.

Spencer Krigbaum, a 5-year-member of the Waterville Board of Education, defeated Travis Moulton in Tuesday's election.

Maine State Police detectives were investigating Wednesday morning at 531 Madawaska Road.

The select board set the usual mid-June date for town meeting but will consider a proposal to move it to May, or earlier, in the coming years.

After being open for almost a year, A Coffeehouse at 252 Main St. is set to end regular hours at the end of the month.

The town in Somerset County is considering leaving Regional School Unit 74 and paying tuition to send students to another school district.

Evergreen Drive residents say they plan to attend a Waterville Planning Board meeting Tuesday where the board is scheduled to consider final approval for 12 two-story condominiums.

After a board member tried to force a vote Thursday about whether the board would explicitly follow the Trump administration’s orders, the board chair said the matter would have to be taken up at the next meeting.

Jared and Mary O'Roak had their first formal date 25 years ago Tuesday at Silver Street Tavern in downtown Waterville, and he surprised her with an anniversary lunch to remember.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from Feb. 28-March 7.

Andrew Carlton is to start in his new position July 1, succeeding Carl Gartley, who is stepping down at the end of the school year.

Jason Servil is appealing his 45-year sentence to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on the grounds that the judge who sentenced him made several mistakes during a tense hearing last year.

Rich Abrahamson captures services that mark the beginning of Lent.

Gartley attended Oakland's budget and advisory meeting Tuesday night to present next year's estimated school budget and answer questions from the town.

The Ticonic Gallery and Greene Block + Studios will show off artwork from more than 450 local students.

The Waterville City Council voted 4-1 Tuesday to approve zoning changes to church property that enable the church to raze two buildings and expand its parking lot, thus leading to an expected dismissal of a church lawsuit against the city.

Waterville has seen an uptick in the number of nonfatal overdoses this winter and while the city of Augusta is not seeing an increase.

No arrests were made during the execution of the search warrant Tuesday morning, according to the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.

Students were never in danger, Superintendent Jon Moody told parents.

Clancy Trenton Scott, 24, pleaded guilty Tuesday to 10 counts of possession of sexually explicit materials.

Voters rejected the proposed community event and engagement coordinator position, but the construction of a new gazebo at Oosoola Park narrowly passed.

Daniel V. Markey, 59, of Norridgewock is charged with killing 39-year-old Christopher Nickerson.

Thomas Allen, 18, of Pittsfield was arrested following the incident at a convenience store Sunday.

In an anonymous survey, more than 40 current or former employees in Regional School Unit 18 have raised concerns about working conditions and district leadership.

The parade of planets, when all seven of Earth's solar system neighbors can be seen in the night sky, starts Friday and continues through next week.

The office named Quincy McDonald in an indictment after previously refusing to identify the boy who was killed in Sidney in December.

The four were each charged aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from the past week.

Town Manager Dawn DiBlasi wants to move the annual town meeting from June to May, but some other town officials have doubts.

Reporting Aside: There are great resources available in Maine for those thinking about starting a garden, Amy Calder writes.

J.P. Devine shares childhood memories of the one-cent token.

Nikeshia Knight, 25, of Waterville was sentenced Thursday to serve more than three years in federal prison.

More than 50 people gathered Thursday morning on the sidewalk in downtown Waterville to protest President Trump and Elon Musk.

Elijah Seth Yeaton of Waterville is alleged to have started a fire on or about May 3, 2024, in an attempt to cause the death of another human being, the indictment says.

The store at 180 JFK Plaza off Kennedy Memorial Drive is one of hundreds of Joann stores slated to close.

Selectmen developed the policy after rejecting a proposal to name a field after a longtime coach.

The pair led activities Feb. 15 at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife's Winter Extravaganza at Range Pond State Park in Poland.

During a long career in Maine journalism, Judy Meyer championed open records and open meetings in Maine.

The town’s municipal elections and town meeting are scheduled for Monday, March 3.

Tian Tao, 54, was arrested Thursday as part of an investigation into a business, Asian Massage, in Rockland, police said.

The homeowner died of injuries from the Halloween fire on Waterville Road.

The town and school district had asked the attorney general’s office for an opinion about whether a school board member can be employed by a contractor that provides services for the school district.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos for Feb. 14-21, 2025.

Reporting Aside: The duo fled Venezuela and entered the U.S. legally, now they fear being deported as they wait for a court hearing, Amy Calder writes.

Firefighters responded to a fully involved fire, believed to be started by a woodstove, early Thursday morning, a fire official said.

Church leaders say the city has stymied its religious land use by failing to let it remove two buildings from its property.

Redington-Fairview General Hospital is planning to expand with a 24,000-square-foot medical office building and two new parking areas.

The 90 mph chase through Winthrop and Monmouth on Tuesday ended with a crash that totaled two vehicles.

City councilors were set to take a final vote Tuesday night to allow demolition of two buildings, but instead decided to send the proposal back to the Planning Board.

Giovanni Sinclair, whose work-issued firearm was taken away when he was served a protection from abuse order, was later charged with misdemeanor domestic violence assault.

Faced with cold temperatures and icy wind gusts, the protesters outside the Maine State House shielded their faces with homemade signs whose messages included "SAVE DEMOCRACY," "JUSTICE NOW" or "ARREST MUSK."

The fire reported at 6:51 a.m. Saturday on Depot Street drew firefighters from 12 towns, according to a fire official.

The new store in China Village celebrated its grand opening this weekend.

Officials said a wiring malfunction caused the blaze at 24 Rowell St., where a couple and six children were living.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from the past week.

The Board of Selectmen has signed off on a transportation study that also recommends changes to the rotary and adding sidewalks and bicycle lanes.

Cianbro and Patriot Renewables are proposing a 60-megawatt solar farm at an old military radar site in Moscow and Caratunk.

The new store at Elm Plaza on upper Main Street is at the space that housed JCPenney until late last year.

There are hundreds of 'problem roads' in Maine, one expert says, pitting landowners against the general public.

The services are to be relocated over the next several months to the Inland Hospital campus on Kennedy Memorial Drive, officials said.

Reporting Aside: Feb. 15 is National Gumdrop Day. But where are the celebrated candies?, Amy Calder writes.

Slippery conditions are expected Friday, and snow and sleet are expected over the weekend.

A building at 60 Front St. is the first of several to be demolished as part of Head of Falls Village.

Voters on Tuesday chose Whitney Cunliffe to serve the remainder of a term that runs through June 2026.

Ryan Ansart, 22, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, is expected to serve three years in federal prison for crimes in April 2022.

The Office of State Fire Marshal continues to investigate the cause of a fire early Sunday that destroyed Morrissette Inc. at 223 College Avenue.

The driver failed to stop at railroad safety gates that had been lowered on Main Street, police said.

Volunteers harvested more than 3 tons of ice Sunday in Freeman Township for a mikvah, a Jewish ritual bath used in rites of renewal and purification, at Beth Israel Synagogue.

Three men and a woman were arrested at the apartment on Kennedy Memorial Drive, where police seized illegal drugs and a handgun, officials said.

Kendall Purnell, 38, of Norridgewock is accused of killing Harold Burgess, 71, and seriously injuring Shawn Haggan, 45.

Andre Jones, 36, of Bronx, New York, was arrested after Waterville police and agents from the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency's South Central District Task Force intercepted drugs being trafficked into Maine, police said.

Activities are scheduled to begin Saturday at Lake George Regional Park and run until the flagship event, Skijor Skowhegan, at the fairgrounds Feb. 22.

The Somerset County Sheriff's Office responded to 40 Walnut Drive just before midnight Friday for a reported assault.

Skowhegan Area High School’s team also won the Maine Principals' Association Sportsmanship Award.

Jack Clukey was the town manager of Dover-Foxcroft, his hometown, for the past two decades, and spent 10 years before that as a town manager in Washington County.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from the past week.

Reporting Aside: Jean Theriault is retiring after 50 years of catering everything from weddings and funerals to gun shows and birthday parties, Amy Calder writes.

The City Council voted 6-0 Tuesday to hire Eaton Peabody Consulting Group of Augusta for $8,000 to search for a new city manager following Bryan Kaenrath's resignation.

Michael R. Mooney, now 53, of Waterville was hired in 2019 as the administrator at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House of Pittsfield.

One city councilor who voted against the proposal said it sets a bad precedent on housing. Another vote is needed.

'It's completely illegal and it removes Congress from having the financial control that is constitutionally theirs,' one protester said of the billionaire's access to government payment systems.

Damiean Marcial-Alexander stole firearms from J.R.'s Trading & Pawn in downtown Waterville in 2022.

Plans for the site at 201 Waterville Road include 36 mobile home lots and six recreational vehicle lots.

Paul Dunphy drove into a man who was reporting his erratic driving in a store parking lot and then fled the scene, according to the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.

Waterville first responders rushed Tuesday afternoon to Walmart, which was cleared of shoppers.

Alexander Wyman and Sarah Wyman of Solon are facing charges in connection with the incident that took Somerset County Sheriff’s Office investigators days to unravel.

Company officials said the contractor was working last month at the Skowhegan mill when he was seriously injured.

"I don't think I've ever seen one quite this old," said the lawyer representing the estate of Edward E. Spaulding Sr., who officials say paid his taxes every year for decades.

The town’s waste management and recycling supervisor recommended the town stop paying for commercial trash disposal and encourage businesses to recycle more.

Lovers of Model T snowmobiles were showing off their antique vehicles during the Model T Ford Snowmobile Club’s 25th annual meet.

City Manager Bryan Kaenrath sent an email to councilors just before midnight Thursday notifying them he is leaving his job May 1.

MaineGeneral Health and Redington-Fairview General Hospital expect more demand once birthing services in Waterville close March 1.

Reporting Aside: Nick Cyr landed his first full-time job about two months ago at the Goodwill store in downtown Waterville, Amy Calder writes.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from the past week.

Jamie Rooney, 52, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, died Thursday when his snowmobile struck a box truck driving on Hastings Road in Jackman.

With engineering costs also increasing, town officials are taking a hard look at the project’s budget.

Selectman Steven Govoni said his company, Wentworth Partners & Associates, has been losing money on the project.

Frank Foss Jr., 28, of Dresden fatally shot himself in the head July 23, 2023, after being shot in the stomach by a Maine State Police detective, the panel said.

While Wednesday's snow added to the snowfall totals this winter, the region is still lagging behind last year's totals by the end of January by about 7 inches.

Selectmen said the town needs a policy detailing the process for dedicating public spaces.

The crash occurred near mile marker 117 southbound in Sidney during this morning's snowstorm, state police said.

The Planning Board voted 4-1 on Tuesday night to recommend that the City Council approve revisions to the zoning contract for 3, 5 and 7 Park St.

The restoration of the endangered historic building is expected to finish this year.

Police say they found 37.3 grams of fentanyl in the vehicle, which officers had stopped outside George’s Banana Stand.

Todd Bouchard, 62, of Madison was northbound in a Ford F-150 pickup truck when he crossed the centerline and collided with a southbound tractor-trailer, officials said.

After a former board member questioned why his replacement was not given his seat on a committee, district officials determined they were violating bylaws defining town representation on committees.

Reporting Aside: Dropping everything digital may be a way to find respite in a world spinning out of control, Amy Calder writes.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from the past week.