Western Maine Neighborhood News, April 23, 2026
Hi, Neighbors! This week, the Locke’s Mills, Newry, and Woodstock columns are free to all readers. Upgrade to a paid subscription to read this week’s Andover, Bethel, East Bethel, and Gilead columns. News from the AFCI—the Age-Friendly Community Initiative—is always free to all—be sure to check it out! And if you’re enjoying WMNN, please help us spread the word!
Locke’s Mills News
Amy Wight Chapman
What is “civic capital?” I’ve been hearing the term a lot lately, so I went online to look for a concise definition. Here it is, from the website of the National Civic League: “Civic capital is the capacity of a community to solve problems and thrive…the formal and informal relationships, networks, and capacities that communities use to make decisions collaboratively and solve problems.”
It occurs to me that many of the things the town correspondents who contribute to this weekly newsletter focus on most—and, in fact, Western Maine Neighborhood News itself—are things that increase our communities’ civic capital.
Whether it’s the monthly Neighbors Feeding Neighbors dinners at the Bethel Methodist Church; Andover’s Annual Birthday Supper tradition and the volunteer efforts of the Andover Common Folk to beautify and maintain the town common; the annual Smile Fund sale at the West Parish Congregational Church; Chris’s Haven of Hope sober living house in Bryant Pond, created with the help of many volunteer community members; or the work of the Age-Friendly Community Initiative to create, enhance, and spread the word about supportive programs for seniors, our towns are rich in those important networks and relationships that enable us to thrive.
Here in Greenwood and Woodstock, our Conservation Commissions, which have taken the lead on the maintenance of hiking trails, the Swap Shop at the Transfer Station, and the upcoming Green-Up Day in several communities are a great example of these networks.
Another is the Bethel Wood Bank, which receives donations of wood, processes it into firewood, and donates it to those in need. They can also use monetary donations and volunteers to help at their “processing parties,” held on Wednesday and Saturday mornings from 9 to noon at the wood bank site, 343 Walkers Mills Road in Bethel. Visit their Facebook page, Bethel Wood Bank, to learn more.
Saturday, April 25, from 9 to 11 a.m. at the West Parish Congregational Church: Smile Fund Sale. Proceeds from this annual community yard sale go to help purchase dentures for adults in the SAD 44 region. The church is looking for donations for the sale. Items can be dropped off at the church between Friday, April 17, and Thursday, April 23. Appropriate items include toys, books, housewares, tools, gardening supplies, and small furniture. Please NO electronics, clothing, jewelry, or stuffed animals. For an application or more information about the sale, contact the church at 824-2689.
Saturday, April 25, at 9 a.m. at Maggie’s Nature Park, 290 Greenwood Road: The Greenwood Conservation Commission will host a light trail maintenance day on the hiking trails in the park. Bring loppers if you have them. Paint and supplies for freshening up the trail blazes will be provided.
Wednesday, April 29, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Opening Day for the Swap Shop at the Greenwood-Woodstock Transfer Station, a sure sign of spring, no matter what the weather has in store for us. Stop by and see what your neighbors have decided to part with during spring cleaning!
Saturday, May 2, in several area towns: Green-Up Day, annual roadside clean-up. Greenwood volunteers will meet at the Legion/Town Office parking lot for road assignments at 9 a.m. Trash bags and disposable gloves are provided. If you choose to do clean-up on Greenwood roads prior to May 2, please email Lynn Cobb (cobblynn12@gmail.com) or let the town office know, so they will know which sections have already been completed before making road assignments.
Saturday, May, 2, at noon: “Along the Andro: History and Habitat in Our Community.” Meet at Davis Park at noon to join Will Chapman of the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society and an ecologist from the Mahoosuc Land Trust to explore the history and ecology of the Androscoggin River, including indigenous people, the importance of the river to agriculture and early industries, the pollution of the river and subsequent efforts to clean it up, river ferries, bridges, floods, and the flora and fauna of the riverside. This program is part of Jane’s Walk, a global festival of free, volunteer-led walking conversations inspired by community activist Jane Jacobs. Jane’s Walks combine the simple act of exploring a place with personal observations, local history, and civic engagement.
Sunday, May 10 (Mother’s Day), at 4 p.m. at Gould Academy’s Bingham Auditorium in Bethel: The Mahoosuc Community Band will perform its Spring Concert. Ed Ryan is conducting the band, consisting of adults and Gould students. The concert is full of familiar favorites. Donations are welcome at the door to defray the cost of music.
Saturday, May 16, at 9 a.m. at the American Legion on the Gore Road: Annual Greenwood Town Meeting. Enjoy coffee and breakfast goodies with your neighbors, and take the opportunity to have a say in the government of your town! Copies of the Town Report, including the Town Meeting warrant, will be available at the Town Office and at the meeting.
Sunday, May 17, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Silver Spur in Mechanic Falls: Per Hanson and Robin Right will be inducted into the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame at the 49th Annual Induction Ceremony and Show.
The First Universalist Church of West Paris has provided the following information about their May services, held on Sundays at 9 a.m. at the church at 208 Main Street in West Paris. Music is provided by guitarist Davy Sturtevant, and refreshments follow the service.
The May 3 service will be led by Bob Neal, whose sermon is titled “My Father’s House Has Many Rooms.” There are many paths to heaven or rewarding life here.
May 10: “Who is this?” The Rev. Scott Campbell will explore the question, “Who is Jesus and what does he have to do with us?”
On May 17, the First Universalist Church will join the congregation of the South Paris Universalist Church for a service in South Paris, which will start at 9 a.m.
May 24: “Ain’t She Sweet?” The Rev. Scott Campbell will tell the story of a woman who battled depression throughout most of her life, but who knew a deeper inner truth in the end.
May 31: “Choosing the Land of the Blessed,” led by the Rev. Jodi Cohan Hayashida, who will explore how grounding ourselves in the gifts of everyday life strengthens us to meet the moments that break our hearts.
For more information about the church and services, please contact Marta Clements, 674-2143, mclements96894@roadrunner.com, or Suzanne Dunham, 665-2967, dunhamfarm@msn.com.
I’m writing this on Wednesday, which is Earth Day. The very first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970, as a nationwide environmental teach-in. I actually remember it—partly because yes, I am That Old, but also because that spring I had, at the tender age of 11, been shipped off on a Greyhound bus to spend my April vacation with my brother Steve’s family in Virginia, where he was stationed with the Air Force, while my mom got our house in Milford, Conn. ready to sell (we were only moving a couple of miles away, to a smaller house). Peggy took me, along with Keith and Eric, who were toddlers, to some kind of Earth Day celebration that I seem to remember involved arts and crafts and music and maybe planting a tree.
This year on Earth Day, I called in to the Maine Calling program (which was all about the “Reuse” part of the “Reduce—Reuse—Recycle” mantra) to share that my mom was legendary for her reuse of plastic Ziploc bags. I joked that it might be possible that when she passed away in 2004, she still had the first box of Ziploc bags she had ever bought, when they came out in 1968, in her kitchen cupboard.
But, on a more serious note, I added that the reuse of plastic bags was just one of my mom’s environmentally friendly (and frugal!) practices, and the example she set had far-reaching effects, as she raised five kids, who in turn raised 14 grandkids, who are raising a raft of great-grandkids, and I don’t think any of us would dare to toss out a perfectly good Ziploc bag (or piece of aluminum foil, or yogurt container) after just one use. Several years ago I wrote a blog post called “Rinsing out baggies (and other ways Mom was ahead of her time),” which you can read by clicking here.
This online newsletter is intended to keep our communities informed, so if you have news, events, or photos you’d like to have included here, I hope you’ll share them with me! You can reach me by email at amy.w.chapman@gmail.com or by phone or text at 207-890-4812.
Obligatory weekly pupdate: Lena weighed 15.2 pounds at her vet visit on Wednesday—just about exactly double her weight when she came home 3.5 weeks ago! She’s discovered the joys of digging holes in her pen and started going for very short trail walks in Maggie’s Nature Park. And she still has extremely sharp puppy teeth!
“Puppies are constantly inventing new ways to be bad. It’s fascinating. You come into a room they’ve been in and see pieces of debris and try to figure out what you had that was made from wicker or what had been stuffed with fluff.” – Julie Klam, You Had Me at Woof: How Dogs Taught Me the Secrets of Happiness
Newry News
Amy Henley
We’ve definitely had spring weather with near 70° and then snowing a couple days later. The daffodils are in bloom and tulips are on the way.
With the propane tanks filled, we have done some grilling but I did resort back to a beef stew on the cold Sunday when I was under the weather. Pancakes with locally made syrup along with some sausage gravy were on the menu this past weekend. I also whipped up a couple of loaves of pumpkin bread in an attempt to use up my stock in the freezer. I think pumpkin tastes good year round and I definitely don’t save it just for the fall.
We took a trip to Colebrook, NH, to check out a Marketplace find. It was a lovely ride and thankfully it was before the rain as it was on some dirt back roads which were quite bumpy but not muddy. Eliot would love to live there as they are ATV friendly and he could do lots of riding. There were some beautiful views and lots of tree farms which was nice to see. I was hoping to see a moose but they were nowhere to be seen. It reminded me of childhood when we would bake up some pizzas on a Friday night, watch a movie and take a trip to Grafton and hope to see a moose on what we called a “moose cruise.”
I sure am thankful to my mom for running my kid to baseball practice and getting him where he needs to go. The game schedule came out and she’s willing to help me with that as well. I couldn’t do it without her.
Monday the office was closed in observance of Patriots’ Day and although I was feeling better, I still was not feeling great and it went from sunny with blue sky to snowing and no visible mountains so I stayed inside and did some spring cleaning. It really was more sorting, throwing, and organizing than anything but it made me feel good. It sure is amazing how much stuff we accumulate from old papers to gadgets we don’t need but don’t want to throw away as they are still useful. That closet is still waiting but I did do one shelf which is at least a start.
Just a reminder that the Select Board meets the first and third Tuesdays at 5pm. Agendas can be seen on the town’s website: newrymaine.org. Town meeting is on Tuesday, May 12, at 6 p.m. Just a reminder the office will be closing on Wednesday, May 6, at 4 p.m. and will be closed all day Thursday, May 7, for staff to attend training in Bangor. The code enforcement officer will be available.
That’s all for this week. Send me your news to newrynews24@gmail.com and I’ll happily add it to my column next week.
Woodstock News
Linda Stowell
Greetings! I hope those of you who got away during vacation week are enjoying warmth and sunshine somewhere! You can never plan on a certain kind of weather this time of year. I can recall vacations with temperatures in the 70s, or mostly rainy, or snowy.
It takes me back to April vacation 2010, when four of us had a trip to Ireland planned for the week. Of all the things that could cancel our trip, it was a volcano in Iceland! There was so much ash in the air it was affecting flight visibility. That was extremely disappointing. However, we did take the trip in August that year, and had absolutely perfect weather and a fabulous time.
Both times I’ve visited Ireland, I was very fortunate to be traveling with someone licensed to drive in Ireland. There’s no way I’d have attempted it. It worked out very well, and we were able to take ourselves to numerous places at our own pace. We landed in Shannon, so we stayed in that area for the week. We toured the Ring of Kerry, the Cliffs of Moher, saw the Book of Kells at Trinity College in Dublin, and of course, had to go to a castle for a medieval dinner. Blarney Castle was another spot we visited and I recall how incredible the gardens and grounds were.
I have been down with a cold for a week and a half now. I am starting to have more energy, but this has been ridiculous. Stuffy nose and coughing/blowing. A few others around me have also been afflicted with this bug. It makes me so grateful that I don’t have to be anywhere, or call out sick for work. That was something I rarely did—take a sick day.
I finally have some daffodils in bloom! They have to be tough to survive in these up and down temps. Last fall I planted some more tête-à-têtes. Several of them are up and blooming. I’ve also spotted lupines and hollyhocks, and my heather is starting to blossom.
The highlight of the weekend was watching my great-niece, Madison LaForce, perform her senior recital at UNH. Because I had been under the weather, I watched it online from home. What a talent this girl is! She had a varied program, with several different genres. Of course, there was a jazz set, and her dad, Marc LaForce, stepped in to play sax in one number, and her Uncle Brian Hathaway played bass in the combo. It’s hard to believe she’s graduating from college this year.
Upcoming:
This coming Saturday, April 25, from 9-11 a.m. the West Parish Congregational Church in Bethel is hosting its annual Smile Fund Sale. Stop in to find just what you didn’t know you needed! All proceeds go toward dentures for adults who need them in the SAD 44 area.
Services for the First Universalist Church of West Paris this coming Sunday, April 26: The Good Shepherd and whose voice deserves our allegiance. Here’s an excerpt: “Beloved, we hear a thousand voices calling for us to follow every day. Advertisers hawk their ware, image vendors would make us over in to their desired likeness, culture tells us what success looks like, and politicians offer the promised land; beware of all their claims. Make room in your quiet times to listen for the voice of the Good Shepherd—the One to whom you are a sacred trust, the One who will lead you to places that will sustain you the One who will protect you in the face of danger, and the One whose heart is tender and merciful. This is the voice to listen for. Let all others fall on deaf ears.” The church is located at 208 Main Street, West Paris.
The Mahoosuc Community Band will perform its Spring Concert on Sunday, May 10 (Mother’s Day), at 4 p.m. at Gould’s Bingham Auditorium in Bethel. Ed Ryan is conducting the band consisting of adults and Gould students. The concert program is full of familiar favorites. Donations are welcome at the door to help defray the cost of music.
The Woodstock Conservation Commission is sponsoring a Green-Up Woodstock Day on Saturday, May 2, from 9 to noon. This is in collaboration with the conservation commissions in Greenwood and Bethel and the Town of Newry. Meet at the Bryant Pond ballfields at 9 AM and bring work gloves and wear colorful clothing. All are invited to Davis Park in Bethel for a lunch at 11:30 a.m. FMI contact Jane Chandler at jane.h.chandler@gmail.com.
This is ongoing, but this Friday, which is the last Friday of the month, is Blood Donation Day through the Red Cross at the Ripley Building of Stephens Hospital in Norway. Anyone can make an appointment by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767). This takes place on the last Friday of every month.
Coming up on Saturday, May 9, at 1 p.m. at the Deering Community Center, South Paris, is a presentation by Rivera Sun, author of the Ari Ari Series. This is being hosted by the Paris Public Library and the Whitman Memorial Library. There is no cost to come, and there will be refreshments.
Please send me your news/events: Note a change in email— lalalindastowell@gmail.com
Thanks! Have a great week!
AFCI News
Melinda Remington
Hello Folks,
I hope you have been enjoying the brighter days of some sunshine. As I mentioned last week, I love having my yard and gardens prepped so that I can relax and enjoy them through the summer and fall. I know many of you feel the same way; dreaming of the beauty and enjoyment of these milder seasons after this past long, cold winter.
I have been trying to get out and rake leaves. Even in the middle of some recent snow flurries! Loading the wheelbarrow and dumping the leaves in the woods involves lot of bending and stretching. Great exercise, but I will admit, I am feeling a little lame.
We have a big yard, and at 74 years old, I am pleased that I can still do these chores. However, I remind myself often that I might eventually need the help of our Handy Neighbor Program that I wrote about last week.
If you feel the burden of not being able to tackle some yard work, please consider asking for help. The students at Telstar team up with adult volunteers and spread out to our area towns to do the work for you. They are amazing willing workers and accomplish so much in two days. (Of course, we all remember when being outside with our friends was better than sitting in a classroom.)
Each day, AFCI is pleased to show appreciation to all these hard workers. Pizza, snacks and a BIG THANKS greet them when they return to school. They look tired, maybe a little dirty, but with wide smiles because they know they have accomplished so much for area folks.
Importantly, this Students’ Days of Service allows teens to earn school credits while also serving and getting to know their neighbors. Sometime the residents like to work alongside the students and volunteers.
This is a free service. You must contact me at melindaremington@yahoo.com or call the AFCI telephone 207-824-4444 in advance. Leave a message with your name, telephone number, and your request. Someone will return your call. Do not delay in calling as the workdays are scheduled for Thursday and Friday, May 7 and 8. It takes a lot of work to coordinate this program. The sooner you call, the better.
Speaking of Tools and Help for our older citizens…...
I wanted to share with you that our Bethel Area Age-Friendly Community Initiative (AFCI) is offering free technical tools that can assist you in everyday tasks. As the AFCI Community Connector, one of my goals in writing this column is to keep you informed of opportunities that can help you age in place, living comfortably in your own home, near family and friends. The University of Maine Center on Aging/Lifelong Maine provides Alexa-Echo-Dots and Smart Plugs, technological assistive devices for our older citizens. This outstanding U of M department, along with our local AFCI board, supports my work as the Community Connector.
Alexa-Echo-Dot and Smart Plugs are like having a virtual assistant to make life easier, safer and more enjoyable for you. A knowledgeable volunteer will set up the devices in your home.
You probably have already heard of, or used, the popular Alexa. With Alexa Dot you can easily speak to Alexa to call non-emergency medical services and offices, family members, and friends. You can request weather details or listen to your favorite music or literature. Or if you are feeling a little lonely, you can ask questions and start a conversation. The Echo Dot can also be programmed with a regular daily routine with reminders to take medications, attend appointments, add to your grocery shopping list.
Make sure to watch the video (link below) of how residents of Saco, Maine are helped by using their Alexa Echo Dot and Smart Plug.
The Smart Plug is placed in a regular outlet and programmed with the Alexa-Echo-Dot to turn on and off a light. You just speak to Alexa. ” Please turn on the light.” For example, if you must walk across a dark room to switch on your bedside light, asking Alexa to turn the light on first can help to prevent a fall. A simple solution to stay safe.
To request a free installation of this assistive technology for yourself, an older friend or relative, please reach out to me. melindaremington@yahoo.com
The person will need:
Internet access
Amazon account (and password). This will be done at time of installation, if needed.
Alexa App--which is free on iOS and Android devices.
Smart Phone or Notebook
Please watch this video produced by the Saco, Maine age friendly organization. Click here to watch the video (with the waking up or going to bed routines).
In recent years Age-Friendly Saco has distributed several hundred Alexa-Echo-Dots and Smart Plugs to older folks to help them stay safe, socially connected, and healthy.
I hope this column is helpful to you and your families. I will feature current information about our free local AFCI services.
Also, articles and information from Lifelong Maine. You will find many of the activities and supports available throughout our state very interesting. The monthly Lifelong Maine publication provides many human-interest stories; featuring examples of what age-friendly organizations are accomplishing. You will be delighted to learn that Maine is a leading model of how communities can provide support and help for their older citizens to thrive.
The Bethel AFCI Community Connector work was highlighted in the December 2025 edition—click here to read the article.
Andover News
Diana Nadeau
Well, the weather this past week has sure been a mixed bag. Last Thursday evening we had a very strong thunderstorm roll through, then Friday afternoon it was 72 beautiful degrees. Sunday brought an inch of rain followed by a coating of snow overnight into Monday. This morning (Tuesday the 21st) it was 19 degrees at 6 a.m. OK, Mother Nature…time to settle down.
