The fight for St. Andrews

On Oct. 1, the fight to save St. Andrews hospital ended — or did it? We lost our hospital signs, we lost our beds, we lost our ER, but we gained an urgent care center and a new foundation dedicated to ensuring the entire community has a voice in healthcare decisions.

This saga may yet see an epilogue after the Department of Health and Human Services weighs in on the creation of Lincoln County Healthcare and the merger of St. Andrews and Miles Memorial Hospitals early in 2014. Reporter Sue Mello, the members of the St. Andrews Task Force-turned-Health and Wellness Foundation, and our readers contributed to the telling of this story.

Coulombe buys golf course, spends millions on improvements

It started out a mystery. The Bank of Maine sold the Boothbay Country Club, but to who? Reporter Susan Johns dug her way to the new owner: Former Pinnacle liquor company owner and Southport summer resident Paul Coulombe. The club got a new name (Boothbay Harbor Country Club) and in October, Coulombe told the Register that he had spent $11 million on the course and planned to spend $16 million more on a new club house.

The course was open for the summer, while the former owners battled in court over the legality of the closed-door public sale.

Blowing in the wind

For a long time in 2013, it seemed as though the Gulf of Maine might be the site of one of the few wind farms on the East Coast. But after months of meetings, agreements and securing a $4 million Department of Energy grant, the Norwegian company Statoil pulled out of its Hywind Maine project. Statoil said its decision was a direct result of a 2013 Maine legislature vote, under pressure from Gov. Paul LePage, to change the requirements on Statoil’s agreement with the Maine Public Utilities Commission.

Although a University of Maine-led consortium has proposed another wind farm off Monhegan Island, that project is not without its own obstacles. At a November meeting in Bristol, fishermen argued with UM researchers about the toll the infrastructure of the project would have on their livelihoods.

Southport buys Hendricks Head Beach

Many people simply know it as the Southport beach, but Hendricks Head has been a popular spot for locals and visitors alike for many years. Although the beach was private, the owner, mapmaker Ruth Rhoads Lepper Gardner, let the public use it.

When Gardner died and her relatives decided to sell, Southport took the question of “should we buy” to the townspeople. The resounding “yes” vote settled it, an offer of $1.25 million was tendered and accepted, and now construction of a new parking lot and a new driveway are taking place. Selectmen have said the remaining land will probably go up for sale. Reporters Ben Bulkeley and Suzi Thayer covered this story.

Seahawks go big

Boothbay Region High School had one state championship team in 2013, as the boys' cross country team edged Orono High School to win the State Class C title in November.

In March, the boys' varsity basketball team battled Penquis for the Class C championship in the final game at the Bangor Auditorium. Boothbay cut the lead to 1 with 38 seconds to play, but came up short at the final buzzer, 61-54.

Townspeople turn down TIF

Voters summarily rejected the controversial tax increment financing district proposed in Boothbay in November. The TIF would have sheltered the town from the increase in value from Boothbay Harbor Country Club’s improvements, selectmen said. The board plans to bring back the TIF at the May Town Meeting after educating the public further about the TIF’s benefits. 

Region is epicenter of January earthquake

We came into January with a jolt, as our own region was the epicenter of a 2.4-2.5 magnitude earthquake. Here at the Register offices, we thought someone had driven a truck into the building. Thankfully there was little damage from the quake.

With the 4.0 quake in October 2012, we were no strangers to the effects, but that didn’t stop everyone from commenting on the quake and describing it to their neighbors and friends. Where were you when the quake shook?

Great white feeds in Boothbay waters

On the morning of Aug. 1, lobsterman Ryan Casey brought in a video clip taken while out on the waters off Monhegan. It was hard to tell what it was on his small camera phone, but our resident videographer Ryan Leighton downloaded it, cleaned it up, enlarged it and posted it on our website.

Reporter Sue Mello went to work, getting expert opinions on the animal, which was feeding on a dead whale. Her sources confirmed it was a great white shark. Read the follow-up story here.

A burglar and his ‘71 Chevy

In what could have been the plot of a TV show or Hollywood movie, Boothbay Harbor police exposed a long-operating burglar who had plagued the region over a period of 20-plus years. On March 28, they uncovered a “motherlode” of stolen jewelry and other goods, but not before Ronald Fuller simply walked away from his residence during the search and didn’t return.

Fuller turned up months later in a stolen 1971 Chevy Malibu. He was apprehended on April 10, then charged. He pleaded guilty on Nov. 8, and will be sentenced in February 2014.

Getting Away Together raises $55,000

The community, led by Cottage Connection, rallied around an opportunity to have a reality show episode feature the Boothbay region. The travel show, created by Emmy-winning producer Jerry Smith, depicts families or groups of friends as they caper on a vacation. After a hard push, the region raised the $55,000 needed. Filming took place in early October.

Although there was a little controversy about whether or not Getting Away Together is a PBS-produced show (it isn’t) and a donation can was stolen from Coastal Maine Popcorn, the project came together. It’s due to premiere at The Harbor Theatre in January 2014.

At the Register

In Register news, Executive Editor Joe Gelarden retired, although he is still writing his weekly editorial as our new editor-at-large. Our newspapers won 25 awards at the Maine Press Association, including several first place prizes.

Our free website, which launched in 2012, can tell us exactly which stories our readers looked at most this year. Suzi Thayer’s story about Red’s Eats jumped to the top, along with Ryan Leighton’s insider’s guide, “11 things not to do in Boothbay.”

The staff’s reports about last year’s blizzard drew a lot of eyes, as did Sue Mello’s article about the region’s missing monarch butterflies. Many of the stories detailed earlier in this article also figured into the highest numbers.

Some stories are a pleasure or a challenge to write, and the following lists each reporter’s favorite piece from 2013:

Ben Bulkeley, “Life’s a fish, then you fry,” a story about Bet Finocchiaro’s fish fry business;

Katrina Clark, “From landlubbers to seafarers,” about students learning to sail during a week on Burnt Island;

Susan Johns, “Bears in Wiscasset, oh my!”;

Lisa Kristoff, “A soulful spirit in life and verse,” a profile of Andrea Goodman;

Ryan Leighton, “‘As good as gold,’” a story about elver fishing;

Sue Mello, the lonesome dove series about birds nesting on the books at the Friends of the Library Used Bookstore;

and Suzi Thayer’s, “McSeagull’s, in the beginning,” about a local dining landmark

What do you think was the biggest story of the year?

Leave a comment or check out the staff’s favorite photos from 2013.