Video: Weather vane removed from former Hallowell fire station

Cmnews

Published
April 6, 2023

Video: Weather vane removed from former Hallowell fire station

A historic weather vane has been removed from the former fire house in Hallowell. The city will store the object in its vault while it seeks to get it appraised for its value and to determine the cost of duplicating the item so it can display the original at City Hall and use the duplicate on the building. Video by Joe Phelan.
Published
April 6, 2023

Photos: Historic weather vane, once stolen and ransomed back, is removed from Hallowell tower

A historic weather vane has been removed from the former fire house in Hallowell, this time, with the city's permission. The instrument, which depicts a horse pulling a fire-hose cart with a single fireman, has a rich history. In November of 1983, it was stolen from the tower of the Second Street building and ransomed back about a week later, when the publisher of a Maine antiques newspaper met up with two strangers in the woods near Manchester, New Hampshire, and paid them $1,000 of city funds in exchange for the valuable item. The next year it was returned to the building with help from an Augusta Fire Department ladder truck. The city will store the object in its vault while it seeks to get it appraised for its value and to determine the cost of duplicating the item so it can display the original at City Hall and use the duplicate on the building. All photos by Joe Phelan.
Published
April 6, 2023

Pittsfield town manager to step down at end of year, become grant administrator

Kathryn Ruth, who has been the top manager in Pittsfield for 21 years, plans to serve as the town's grant administrator for a year before retiring.
Published
April 6, 2023

Day’s Jewelers to move Waterville corporate offices to The Elm on College Avenue

The company will lease the first floor from local businessman Bill Mitchell, who says the City Council chambers and First Congregational Church United Church of Christ and its related Essentials Closet will remain on the lower level of the building.
Published
April 6, 2023

Winthrop School Board approves budget proposal with less than 1% increase

The $12.8 million school spending plan has a modest increase from last year, despite what officials called a "difficult" budget year.

Published
April 6, 2023

Gardiner City Council chooses McGough again for school board vacancy

Cullum McGough, who was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Gardiner-area school board in 2021, was chosen again Wednesday to fill a different school board vacancy as elected officials opted to delay filling the vacant City Council seat.
Published
April 5, 2023

Gardiner names police chief, library director

The Gardiner City Council unanimously approved the permanent appointments of Todd Pilsbury, interim police chief, and Dawn Thistle, interim library director. Pilsbury and Thistle are longtime city employees.
Published
April 5, 2023

Augusta school officials must ask city for additional $800,000 following budgeting mistake

The error increases the amount to be raised through taxation by more than 6%, from about $13.2 million to nearly $14.1 million.
Published
April 5, 2023

Skowhegan pushes to position itself as a destination for outdoor enthusiasts

Several projects are in the works to lure outdoor adventurers to town, and Main Street Skowhegan this week is organizing an Outdoor Rec & Tech Summit to address obstacles facing the outdoor recreation industry in Maine.
Published
April 5, 2023

Augusta budget could hike taxes 9.3%

Wage increases for city employees, rising utility costs and the need to pay down debt for a new police station are among the factors driving an increase in spending.