Blue Hill Public Library

LIBRARY SHELF

Consolidated School graduates 31 at fairgrounds ceremony

BLUE HILL—By the evening of June 15, intermittent showers, heavy mist and overcast skies began to dissipate just in time for the musical prelude marking the beginning of the Blue Hill Consolidated School’s eighth-grade graduation ceremonies, held at the Blue Hill Fairgounds.

Sedgwick graduates six eighth graders

SEDGWICK—During the June 16 eighth grade graduation ceremonies at Sedgwick Elementary School, all six graduates had the opportunity to personally thank teachers, parents and friends for supporting them through the ups and downs of attending school during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Blue Hill Community Rowing offers outings for all

BLUE HILL—Blue Hill Community Rowing is welcoming rowers of all ages and abilities to partake in small-group rowing excursions around Blue Hill Harbor.

Orlofsky reflects on a career that's been anything but ordinary

BLUE HILL—Steven Orlofsky always thought he would be a high school band director.

Surry sends offeighth graders

SURRY—Sixteen Surry eighth-graders will be heading to high school after receiving their diplomas in a sun-filled ceremony on Osgood Field Wednesday, June 16.

GSA graduates 76 at June 13 commencement

BLUE HILL—Fair skies, seasonal temperatures, hugs, tears of joy, cheers and optimism set the tone for the George Stevens Academy Class of 2021 commencement.

Longtime area pastor Vencill to come out of retirement

Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar, New England Conference of the United Methodist Church, and Rev. Dr. Jacquelyn Brannen, Katahdin District superintendent, have appointed Rev. Gary R. Vencill to serve the Brooksville United Methodist Church and the Penobscot United Methodist Church effective July 1.

Grassroots group seeks collaborative solutions for climate adaptations

BLUE HILL—If you’ve noticed milder winters, warmer waters, and a spike in sweltering summer days, you’re not alone. “Many, many people, hundreds of people, told us that they’ve noticed over their lifetimes that Maine is warming up,” said Dr. Cassaundra Rose of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future. “Climate change is already a reality for Maine.”

Blue Hill Public Library

Book Bingo is back for the summer and everyone is invited to participate. Starting Monday, June 21, bingo cards will be available for kids, teens and adults. Participants are invited to complete fun book-themed challenges like “read a book outside” or “read a fairy tale.” Prizes, such as limited edition buttons (five original designs by Claire Malina and Kendall Chapman to collect!), will be awarded for finishing a row or a column, as well as special prizes for finishing the whole card.

Blue Hill Pride Celebration commemorates fifth anniversary of Pulse nightclub shooting

BLUE HILL—At 3 p.m. on June 12, the bells of the Blue Hill First Congregational Church tolled 50 times, marking the fifth anniversary of the June 12, 2016, mass shooting at Pulse, an Orlando, Fla. gay nightclub, in which a 29-year-old man killed 49 people and wounded another 53.

Bay School graduates look beyond pandemic

BLUE HILL—Many members of the 2021 eighth grade class of The Bay School, who graduated on June 10, said they look forward to attending high school and putting the pandemic behind them

New trail system offers woodsy summer diversion

BLUE HILL—There are roughly 261 stair steps between Parker Point Road and South Street, part of the relatively new and improved Heart of Blue Hill trail system developed by Blue Hill Heritage Trust to provide a pleasant and accessible path between downtown and the South Street commercial area. A typical afternoon sees students walking home from The Bay School, runners getting their steps in, and walkers with dogs of all shapes and sizes.

Sedgwick voters approve GSA tuition increase and other warrant items

SEDGWICK—Sedgwick voters, on June 4, approved a George Stevens Academy $1,000 per student tuition increase 105-40. The approval will cost the town $51,000 for the 2021-22 school year.

Fishermen's Wives donate $10,000 to Blue Hill YMCA

Safety programs, swimming lessons on tap

Blue Hill Public Library

The library’s ongoing plant sale closes this Saturday, June 12, so check it out while there is still time! We are very grateful to all who have donated plants, as well as everyone who has patronized our sale. There are no longer limits on the number of people who can come to the library, and people are welcome to read and relax. We still ask that people wear masks, but everything else is pretty much back to normal.

LIBRARY SHELF

Blue Hill Public Library

My Camera Obscura

A SECOND LOOK

Library kicks off a season of ‘Open Doors'

BLUE HILL—After three years of outreach and fundraising, Blue Hill Public Library is expanding its reach and invites the community to participate in the public phase of its endowment campaign, Open Doors.

Cause of May 27 Brooklin cottage fire undetermined

BROOKLIN—Five area fire departments spent more than five hours on May 27 working to contain a blaze that destroyed a Brooklin cottage.

Surry votes to purchase Newbury Neck land parcel

SURRY—It was standing room only at Surry’s special town meeting on the evening of May 24. Residents crowded into the elementary school gymnasium to weigh in on a proposal for the town to purchase an 11.9-acre parcel of land off Newbury Neck Road that encompasses the traditional parking area for the town beach. After discussion, the article passed unanimously.

GSA announces 2021 honor parts

BLUE HILL—George Stevens Academy will celebrate the Class of 2021 with Class Night on Saturday, June 12, at 4 p.m. and hold commencement exercises on Sunday, June 13, at 1 p.m. Both events, open only to students, their families, and school staff, will take place on GSA’s front lawn and be live streamed for others to enjoy.

Doremus has fun exciting little minds

Sedgwick school art teacher wins county Teacher of the Year award

Surry voters asked to approve purchase of town beach access

SURRY—For more than 40 years, residents and visitors to Surry’s town beach have parked vehicles on a small lot at the end of the Newbury Neck Road.

Lasagna for The Magic Food Bus Community Garden

ANOTHER VIEW - A grassy lawn is not always the best use of the land around a house. Instead, it can be a great place to grow an attractive assortment of flowers, herbs, fruits, and vegetables. Right in the middle of Blue Hill, across from the public library and in front of a beautiful old home now owned by Northern Light Blue Hill Hospital, Healthy Peninsula has its office. For years, we’ve had a demonstration garden in the front yard, using a raised bed system. But raised beds are often water guzzlers, and our wooden beds were falling apart.

Richard D. Goodwin

STONINGTON Richard Donald Goodwin, 53, of Stonington, died unexpectedly April 6, 2021, the result of an automobile accident. Richard, one of two children, was born April 30, 1967, in Castine, Maine.

Blue Hill voters approve GSA tuition request

BLUE HILL—George Stevens Academy received good news when results of the April 20 Blue Hill annual town meeting by referendum became available.

Michael B. Wood

After a full day of gardening with his wife, Mike Wood died on April 2, 2021, suddenly and serenely under a spring sky full of birds, serenaded by peepers, at his home in Deer Isle, Maine, after a very full life.

Eaton - Ballou

Audra Marie Eaton and William Bra den Ballou of Sedgwick were married February 12, 2021, in a private ceremony.

Blue Hill Public Library

The Schmidt Ocean institute’s scientific vessel, Falkor, the world’s first year-round philanthropic research vessel, is the subject of the upcoming Slaven lecture at the Blue Hill public library. The institute’s website, schmidtocean.org, streams real-time video whenever it has equipment deployed to the ocean floor.