The past year saw a lot of changes in the Boothbay Harbor region. Below are some of the top stories we covered in 2019.

• A contentious year-long series of meetings on changing the ordinances on the east side of Boothbay Harbor ended with the establishment of two districts and a building height increase to 35 feet in that area. The existing Maritime/Water Dependent District has been split into two separate districts –the Limited Commercial/Maritime District (LC/M) and the Working Waterfront District (WW).
• Two notable resignations included Tom Woodin as Boothbay Harbor’s town manager after 13 years and Boothbay Region Elementary School Principal Mark Tess, who served as principal for 17 years and was at the school for 25 years. Woodin was replaced by Boothbay Harbor native Julia Latter and Tess was replaced by Shawna Kurr.
• Two groups of concerned citizens were formed to help preserve the working waterfront in Boothbay Harbor. The Waterfront Preservation group raised enough money to buy the Cap ’N Fish’s Motel on Atlantic Avenue and is looking to turn the property into a park. The Boothbay Region Maritime Foundation bought Sea Pier from Douglas Carter to preserve one of the town’s few lobster buying stations.
• The condition of Boothbay Region Elementary School’s heating and ventilation prompted a series of meetings on a $5 million bond to fix the problems. The vote on the bond was approved and repairs were made during the summer but concerns remain on whether or not to continue to operate two schools (BRHS and BRES) due to a declining student population.
• Regarding the decline in student population, the sports programs at BRHS and BRES saw changes. BRHS switched to eight-man football and its girls soccer program canceled its 2019 season due to a short roster and injuries. BRES fielded a co-ed soccer team rather than trying to field two teams. Also, a public meeting was held in November to discuss the declining student population and how it has/will affect athletics at BRHS.
• One big positive change in regards to BRHS athletics was the winning of the first girls basketball state championship in 35 years! The Seahawks went undefeated (22-0) and in the post season defeated St. Dom’s, Madison, North Yarmouth Academy and Penobscot Valley. Senior Faith Blethen completed a stellar career, scoring over 1,000 points, being named Mountain Valley Conference Player of the Year for the second straight year, being chosen as a finalist for Miss Maine Basketball, and being named the Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame’s 2018-19 high school athlete of the year.
• Staying with sports, BRHS senior Will Perkins became the school’s first-ever state champion in cross-country. Perkins’ winning time was 17:10.72. Runner-up was Aidan Laviolette of Lisbon in 17:16.34. Finishing in third was Seamus Woodruff of Maine Coast Waldorf, in 17:20.68.
• The search for affordable housing received a boost when it was announced that a 24-acre site on Middle Road in Boothbay Harbor will become a community of as many as 20 moderately priced homes, financed in large part by an anonymous benefactor. Preliminary plans call for half-acre lots and a community area for recreation. The benefactor is funding acquisition of the land and construction of the homes, and is offering significant financing to make home ownership possible.
• Another benefactor, Paul Coulombe, has pledged up to $250,000 to match any funds raised to rehab Clifford Park in Boothbay. In November, voters gave approval for selectmen to seek out federal grant money for refurbishing the park.
• Work on the replacement of two area bridges began in 2019. The Barters Island Bridge, the last manually operated drawbridge, is being replaced by a modern bridge expected to be completed in 2020. Thompson Bridge on Southport was closed this fall and construction crews began work to replace the bridge by May 2020.
• Boston Post Canes were handed out to three of the region’s oldest residents: Jean Thompson, 94, in Southport, Edna Greenleaf, 100, in Boothbay Harbor and Curt West, 97, in Boothbay.
• The region lost its oldest resident, Lucille Machon of Boothbay Harbor, who died in March at 102. She was the oldest living high school graduate. She graduated from Boothbay Harbor High School in 1934.
• The water district said good-bye to longtime trustee Harry Pinkham, who served 59 years with the district.
• Pinkham, a charter member of Boothbay Region Lions Club, and his fellow Lions said good-bye to their longtime clubhouse. The club sold its meeting place on Lakeview Road in West Boothbay Harbor, where they had met since the 1960s, and members are now meeting in the East Boothbay Fire Station.
• After five years of work by the West Harbor Pond Watershed Association, a $15,000 Coastal Communities grant, a successful $60,000 fundraising campaign, and a donation of seasonal water pipe and labor from Boothbay Region Water District, a new West Harbor Pond siphon was installed (after the 1880 siphon broke in 2008) and went into operation in March. However, when the new siphon began working, drawing water from the bottom of the pond and expelling it into the harbor, there was an odor of hydrogen sulfide in the vicinity of the siphon outfall. In mid-May, a representative of the board of directors of Oak Grove Condominiums (OGC), located adjacent to the West Harbor Pond dam, contacted WHPWA to complain about the odor. WHPWA agreed to shut the siphon down through the summer months. After months of discussions with OGCA and Maine Department of Environmental Protection, the WHPWA directors wrote to OGCA in November proposing that the siphon operate without objection from the OGCA from Dec. 2 through May 15, 2020 and again from Oct. 15, 2020 through May 15, 2021. According to the WHPWA’s calculations, running the siphon during these next two winters should be ample time to remove all the heavily hydrogen sulfide-laden water from the pond.