September 29, 2025 • 43 mins
LCN general assignment reporters Christina Wallace and Ali Juell discuss the headlines from the Thursday, Sept. 25 edition of the paper. In a follow-up to Ali's first Voluntary View feature, Coastal Rivers stewardship and volunteer coordinator Bell Moroney talks with Ali about her background in conservation work and helping people get connected to the range of volunteer opportunities at Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:09):
Welcome to be on The Broadsheet,a podcast by the Lincoln County
News. We are a community newspaper
based in Mid Coast Maine and we provide the most comprehensive,
in depth coverage available anywhere of the 18 towns and 1
plantation that make up Lincoln County.
My name is Christina Wallace andI'm a reporter here at LCN,
covering the towns of Bristol, South Bristol, Nobleboro and
Bremen. And I'm Ally Jewel.
(00:31):
I'm the reporter covering Edgecombe, Whitefield,
Damerscotta and Newcastle. In our last episode, we talked
about live music recommendationsin Lincoln County to catch
before it gets too cold. In this episode, Ally will be
kicking off her volunteering series with an in depth look at
her first adventure. She will be interviewing Belle
Maroney, the volunteer coordinator at Coastal Rivers.
(00:53):
Stay tuned. But first, here are some of the
top stories from the Thursday, September 25th edition of the
Lincoln County News. A suspicious device closes
Newcastle Main Street. A device that authorities
believed to be potentially explosive was found during a
routine traffic stop in the early morning of Monday,
(01:13):
September 22nd. During a search of the vehicle
during the traffic stop, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office
found material that resembled anexplosive device, according to
Maine State Police spokesperson Shannon Moss.
Moss said the device was securedby authorities and removed for
further evaluation, which will include a a laboratory analysis.
(01:34):
The driver was arrested at the scene on an outstanding warrant
and transported to Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wisconsin.
The Newcastle Fire Department briefly closed down Main Street
between Damarascata Newcastle Bridge and its intersection with
the River Rd. for roughly 3 hours beginning shortly before
3:00 AM. Due to the nature of the
evidence that was found at the scene, the office of State Fire
(01:57):
Marshall has assumed the role oflead investigative agency.
The identity of the involved parties is currently being
withheld from the public as the investigation continues,
according to Moss. Sheriff Todd Brackett deferred
comments on the investigation tothe Fire Marshall's office.
He acknowledged his office quotecould have done a better job
putting out some information to address the public's concerns
(02:19):
regarding the closure. Brackett said.
I understand there has been someanxiety.
That was not our intention. Until the state's press release
on the subject on Tuesday afternoon, the only information
available was the Newcastle FireDepartment's announcements of
Main Street's closing and opening on their Facebook page.
It's important to note that I know that there is a lot of
(02:41):
concern online going on about the lack of information and as
always, we can only report on what is given to us by the
authorities. So I just wanted to make a note
that we always do our best to communicate with our authorities
and get information to you as soon as possible and just know
that that information will be released to you as soon as we
know. Yes, it's a matter of wanting to
(03:04):
get information out, but it's also a matter of going through
the proper and appropriate channels to get that
information. Yes, absolutely.
In other news, emergency response community honors former
Walderboro Fire Chief By Sherwood Olin Firefighters,
first responders, and law enforcement and personnel from
(03:25):
across 3 counties gathered in Walderboro on Saturday,
September 20th to pay their respects to the late Walderboro
Fire Chief Richard Dick Glidden.Glidden, 92, passed away
peacefully at his home on Tuesday, September 16th.
On Friday, September 12th, the Waldo Rd.
Fire Department chauffeured Glidden home from Maine Health
(03:46):
Lincoln Hospital in Damn Rescotta in the department's
ladder truck after he was diagnosed with terminal
cancelled cancer the day before.On September 20th, the same
ladder truck followed by a procession of fire trucks from
around the area transported Glidden's body from the strong
Hancock Funeral Home in Damariscotta to the Walderboro
(04:07):
Fire Station for the service. Many members of Lincoln County's
18 fire departments came along with members from a number of
Knox County Fire Departments whoshare mutual aid with
Walderboro. Members of the Main Warden
Service, Marine Patrol, Color Guard and officials from The
Maine State Federation of Firefighters in Augusta, as well
as members of the Masons and Shriners were also in
(04:29):
attendance. Glidden was a Thomaston native
and lived in Walderboro for over70 years.
He was noted for his devotion tohis adopted hometown and for his
devotion to the Walderboro Fire Department.
He became the town's first deputy Fire Chief in 1964 and
served in that role for 42 yearsalongside his cousin, the late
Walderboro Fire Chief Bob Maxie.When Maxie passed away in 2006,
(04:54):
Glidden succeeded him as chief and would serve in that position
for roughly 2 1/2 years before stepping down.
He was succeeded by the current Fire Chief, Paul Smeltzer,
Smeltzer said. Quote, Even after he retired, he
still responded more than any other member on the roster for
years. Even as his health started to
decline, he would still show up.He was really the cog in the
(05:14):
wheel that kept us going. That's really sweet.
Definitely a very touching storycoming out of all the barrel.
Yes. Former director of Central
Lincoln County YMCA Paddle sports honored at U.S.
Open. This is by our sports reporter
Mick LaBelle. The former Central Lincoln
County YMCA paddle sports director, Lisa Gilbride was
(05:37):
presented with the New England Champion of Equality Award at
the US Open tennis tournament onSeptember 4th in Flushing, NY.
The Champion of Equality Award honors women who have worked to
make the sport more equal and inclusive for for players.
Gilbride was celebrated alongside Billie Jean King and
15 other US Tennis Association representatives.
(05:58):
In her early days, Gilbride was a trailblazer at Providence
College, where she launched the women's tennis program, was
captain for both the tennis and basketball teams, and became the
first woman to earn Providence'sAthlete of the Year award in
1975. She led the paddle sports
program at CLCYMCA for nearly three decades and work to make
(06:21):
tennis accessible to all with free programs, red ball lessons
and family stay and play sessions that offered homework
help and nutrition guidance in addition to tennis, Gilbride
said. Quote Just getting the award was
humbling and wonderful. It's very cool, Yeah.
Didn't realize we had such a tennis legend.
It's. Really cool to see people from
(06:44):
Lincoln County being honored on a national level.
I think like ever since moving here, I have developed much more
of an appreciation for what our community offers and we have
some really cool people in it. 100%.
Including Lisa Gilbride. So very.
True, Newcastle nods a shared public works department, with
(07:05):
Damariscotta presenting the samepublic works proposal.
On October 1st, the Newcastle Select Board expressed support
for continuing develop to develop plans for a shared
Public Works Department with Damariscotta during a meeting on
Monday, September 22nd. During a presentation on the
project, Damariscotta Town Manager Andy Dorr and Newcastle
(07:27):
Town Manager Kevin Sutherland presented general plans for the
shared department, which included estimates for staffing
and resource needs. Sutherland said the idea for a
combined public works departmentwas fueled by the belief that in
house services would cost less than contracted winter
maintenance, while providing an opportunity for more year round
service. If approved by residents in the
(07:50):
twin villages, the department would hopefully begin operations
in July 2028. The department's work would
primarily be seasonal maintenance, including snow
plowing in the winter and unclogging culverts and filling
potholes in the summer. And residents of the two towns
probably feel like they have heard about this kind of thing
before because the two towns didattempt an agreement from 2011
(08:15):
to 2015, but it was ultimately dissolved for a number of
different reasons, including concerns about whether the cost
savings or as much as anticipated.
But everyone in attendance at the meeting, including Town
Manager Andy Dorr, seem to believe that the circumstances
are different this time. And they're really going to work
(08:37):
to try to set this up in a way that it will be beneficial and
permanent for both towns. So more to see.
Hopefully this will be a big asset for them A. 100%.
And use out of Bristol A Bristolduo uses their individual skills
to make custom cakes. Melanie S Royce and Florence
(08:58):
Martinez use their individual skills to create custom cakes
and cupcakes in their licensed home bakery.
During a chance in conversation between neighbors, the two
discovered they both have similar passions for cakes, Mr.
Royce baking cakes and Martinez decorating them.
They opened 2 Sugar Mamas in June of this year and cater to
lots of different dietary restrictions.
(09:19):
Sir Royce was diagnosed with celiac disease six years ago,
wanted to alter her baking to not only fit her own dietary
restrictions, but also fit a variety of others such as dairy
free. So they have lots of different
options that you can choose from.
In addition to custom cakes, SirRoyce and Martinez sell their
baked goods locally at Bayan Tree Food Truck and Oxbow
Brewing Company. For more information, go to 2
(09:42):
Sugar mamas.com. Very nice, it loves the name
too. I know.
Apparently it was inspired by the fact that they're both
mothers. Yeah, which is really sweet.
And it was really awesome to seea place with gluten free options
because I am gluten free so. Did you try anything?
I did not try anything. No, you got to report that.
(10:02):
I will. I'll take a get some.
Our own Charlotte Boynton went to Westport Island where voters
adopted deputy code enforcement position. 43 Westport Island
residents convened at the town office Wednesday, September 17th
to consider a three article warrant that proposed creating
an Office of Deputy Code Enforcement Officer overseen by
(10:26):
the Select Board. After a lengthy debate, the
article is approved with little opposition, allowing the Select
Board to appoint up to two deputy Code Enforcement officers
for one year terms as the board deems necessary.
Select Board Chair Donna Curry explain the town's upcoming
revaluation is expected to generate more permanent requests
for the CEO, increasing the needfor more personnel.
(10:49):
The Marine Municipal Associationwas contacted and recommended
the town to write a warrant article as soon as possible to
legally establish the position, according to Curry.
Veterans honored at 19th Annual Quilts of Appreciation ceremony.
And this is by our very own Paula Roberts.
Veterans from 5 branches of the military were recognized and
(11:11):
honored at the 19th Annual Quilts of Appreciation Ceremony
on Saturday, September 20th at the Charles E Sherman American
Legion Post 36 in Boothbay. The event was organized by
quilter Pat Johnston of Nobleboro and featured a
volunteer jazz band ensemble. Retired U.S.
Army General William Lisinski was the keynote speaker for the
(11:31):
event. He thanked Johnston, the
Quilters and Long Arm Quilters for their effort and time spent
making the quilts. He said quote, thank you for all
you do to create these incredible works of art.
It's very sweet. It is very sweet, very cool way.
To honor their service. Absolutely, and they get to keep
that forever, which is so cool, and pass it down.
(11:53):
Very true. Our character of the county this
week was Brianna Lawrence, entitled Brianna Lawrence Crafts
a Career as a Contractor. Sherrod Olin spoke with Brianna
Lawrence, a contractor in Jefferson who doesn't like to
wait to get things done. She's been on the top of her
game since she was barely a teenager.
(12:14):
A licensed electrician, she has been working in the trade for 24
of her 38 years, all of them spent working with Waltz
Electric Incorporated, a companyfounded by her father, Arthur
Waltz. Over the summer, Waltz and
Lawrence traded places, with Lawrence taking on the role of
president for the company and Waltz taking on the role of vice
president. To learn more about how Lawrence
(12:35):
get things done, pick up a copy of this week's edition of the
Lincoln County News or go to lcnme.com.
Sounds like a great duo, yeah. It's very true in but in some
final. News, you guys.
Got to attend a fiber. Fair.
I did get to attend a fiber fair.
I had no idea what to expect going into it, but it was an
(13:02):
inaugural fiber fair and it was at the Pemaquid Mill in Bristol.
And the mill used to be used notonly for like grinding grain and
things like that, but also processing fabrics.
And so they were bringing the history of the mill back to
life. And there were different vendors
there and demonstrations going on that showed the process of
(13:25):
wool in all stages of development, from being sheared
to being dyed and woven and spunand things like that.
And it was really fun to go see it.
I kind of felt like I was at a Renfair.
It was really great. The event was put together by
Julia Lane, and it was a combination between the Pemaquid
(13:48):
Mill and the Bristol Historical Society, which is right next
door to that. So if you ever go, you can see
Bristol history along with like actually walking through the
mill, which was really cool. There are lots of cool
demonstrations. And yeah, it was a really good
time. And my favorite quote from her
because she said that this was all volunteer run, she said
(14:11):
people jumped on board and I basically stood back and let the
wheels turn as they say. As they say, yes.
So it was, it was really cool tosee wool like going from what
they call raw to like all the way to a product that you can
buy. That's super cool.
Yeah. Very exciting.
It's one of the great things about this job is just learning
(14:32):
about things that you would otherwise never think.
Yeah. Absolutely, and it was a great
day for it too, she said. The turn out was really good and
moving forward, not really sure if they're going to make this a
yearly thing, but that is definitely on the table.
They definitely had been planning on bringing back more
of the Mills history. So she said it depends on how
(14:52):
the crowd responds and everything like that and seeing
what they can do differently fornext year.
But yes, more plans are are on the table, yes.
Yes, things are in the works, Yes.
So now owie, we're going to be kicking off your volunteering
series. Do you want to give a little bit
of an intro to that? Yes, for sure.
(15:14):
Well, so I had tossed out this idea of basically just
highlighting different volunteering efforts across the
county because I, I've said thisin this week's editorial, but
coming from California and Texas, I feel like I have never
seen like, volunteerism be so like crucial and interwoven into
(15:39):
a community the way that it is here.
And it's impressed me in a lot of ways just how I feel like
basically every sector of life in Lincoln County, like it's
fueled in some way by people giving their time, like for, you
know, no monetary like value or anything.
So yeah, I kind of just decided Coastal Rivers would be a great
(16:05):
first organization to spotlight by talking with the staff there,
talking with some volunteers to understand everything that goes
into working there and all the benefits that come from it.
So yeah, I got to go on the trails, I got to go out on the
water, I got to like really get immersed in it all.
(16:25):
That's so cool. Well, I'm very excited to hear
about it. So let's jump into.
That Let's do it. All right, So we have Belle
(16:51):
Maroni. That's how you pronounce your
last name, right? OK, perfectly good.
From Coastal Rivers, their volunteer coordinator as of when
did you? April, mid-april, yes.
So you're still fresh on it, very new.
I mean, yeah. Well, so I've heard about like
your history leading up to coming to coastal rivers.
(17:14):
But could you recap it a bit forour listeners?
Absolutely. Yeah, so, so I went to school in
New York City for environmental studies and politics.
And then after four years in thecity, I was ready to never live
in the city again. So I moved out West to
California, joined a conservation corps out there and
started working on the trails kind of in Big Sur and Northern
(17:37):
California, Southern California,and just, yeah, fell in love
with conservation work, trail building, did another core in
Colorado. And then I have a bunch of
family in Maine. So came to Maine, worked on
Hurricane Island for center and leadership as an educator for a
season doing a lot of marine ecology, and then missed the
conservation world. So I jumped back in with Maine
(18:00):
Conservation Corps as like a field supervisor.
And then I found Coastal Rivers,which kind of yeah, was my,
like, perfect job, I like to say, because I get to be
outside. I get to hang out and talk to
people. So it's, yeah, it's been a, a
fun journey to get here and I feel like I'm in like my ideal
space right now. Totally.
(18:21):
I find it so cool that you, likehave gotten to work in so many
different places because I imagine like, I don't know,
there's just like there's so many like cool unique things
about like all the different states you've worked in.
Yeah, absolutely. It's.
Been it's been really, really cool.
Yeah. Like, I'd never really been out
West before. And it's, it's just so big out
(18:42):
there, which is kind of crazy. But yeah, I'm very, I'm happy
that I ended up in Maine, though.
Yeah. It seems like you have a fun
journey getting to Maine too. So every person's path is
different. That ends up here.
So true, So true. Well, so, yeah.
Do you want to talk a bit more about just like what, what does
your job entail? What it's been like, like
(19:04):
getting into the groove, Especially because like the from
what I remember, the volunteer coordinator position is like a
new thing. Yeah, it is.
So yeah, I joined as stewardshipand volunteer coordinator in
April. So I was joining the stewardship
team, but then also trying to, yeah, figure out like a better
management system for volunteering and trying to kind
(19:26):
of, yeah, streamline it a littlebit.
Because at Coastal Rivers we have just like so many volunteer
programs, like between stewardship and facilities and
then our education and communityscience program, it's just like
there's so many opportunities for people, but it's also like a
ton of people coming in and like, how do we best organize?
How do we best like manage incoming volunteers?
(19:48):
So that's been like a really bigpart of my job is like figuring
out like what is the best intakesystem?
But luckily it's like it's allowed me to talk to a lot of
new volunteers. So like I get to be the first
point of contact for them, whichis fun.
So either through like e-mail orcalling, I basically just get to
talk to them, be like, what are you most excited about?
Like what, what do you want to do with coastal rivers, Which
(20:10):
has been really fun. And then I've gotten to work a
lot with the stewardship volunteers, obviously doing our
like trail tamers events, trail trimmers events or bittersweet
brigade. So spending a lot of time
outside with people. Which is great, Yes.
No, yeah. I like, can't say enough about
(20:30):
like how much I loved being at the Trail Tamers event.
That's so good, I'm glad. It was genuinely just like so
awesome and enriching. And I, yeah, I'm, I'm very
intrigued by like all the other events since, you know, I only
got like a little taste of like the kind of stuff you do.
So. Yeah.
The Trail Tamers events are always just like so much fun.
(20:52):
It's typically like the volunteer event for stewardship,
at least where we get the biggest groups, which is always
fun. But then it's also like, yeah,
people are like really excited about them.
They're like once a month. So it's something for them to,
like, look forward to like at the either beginning or end of
the month. And yeah, all the volunteers are
awesome. You got to meet some of, you
know, our superstars and yeah, it's just like hanging out on
(21:15):
the trail together, but like, doing the work, you know, like
you cut down some trees too. So it's just like, it's really
satisfying, but also like it's such a great like social
community event as well. 100% no.
Yeah, I, I talked to so many people about it afterwards.
I'm like, I was totally exhausted afterwards.
I went home and took a nap, but it was like I felt very just
(21:39):
like my my cup was filled from just like getting to interact
and. Absolutely.
I don't know, Yeah, it's a, it'sa good type of exercise because
it's like, you know, it's, I think it's like a it's a
sustainable exercise too, in a way, because it's like you're
going at your own pace. You know, there's like there's
no harsh deadline that we reallyhave to follow for a lot of
(22:01):
these events, which is kind of nice.
So it's like, you know, we're going to try to get this done.
If we don't get it done, like there's other days for it, I
think, which is nice. Like the trail is going to wait
for us. Totally.
No, I appreciated that. Like it.
I didn't feel as if I was like, yeah, we must get this far on
the trail in the next two hours.We're not trying to run like a a
(22:24):
hard and tight ship where it's like you must stay in line.
It's like, yeah, we're all thereto have fun.
Like everyone's just like contributing their time and
energy and yeah, we just appreciate them being there
100%. Could you tell me a bit more
about like how the Tremors events and like the Bittersweet
(22:45):
Brigade? Is it, you know, very much the
same thing or is there like a lot of different components
going on from? Yeah, it's like similar and
different, I would say. So for the trail trimmers, it's
like a pretty core group of people that show up every week.
These are both weekly events, soyou know, not as many people as
(23:05):
the Trail Tamers event, but the people we do get tend to show up
week after week. So for trail trimmers, it's
spearheaded by one of our volunteers, Joy Vaughn, and she
walks a ton of our trails all the time.
So she kind of, you know, has anidea of like, oh, this trail
needs to be trimmed or this one.And obviously we help out as
well-being like I think we need to go to this one, but that ones
(23:27):
also great. We like walk around with
loppers. Make sure like the ferns aren't
encroaching, especially during tick season.
That's a huge thing. We don't want people to walk off
the trails with like 100 ticks. So we try our best to help out
in that regard and then. Bittersweet Brigade.
We have another amazing volunteer, Bob Barklow who helps
us out with that one. He's kind of our invasive guy.
(23:49):
We do we have hire him for some like contracting work.
So we go out with him. This summer we were mainly
focused on Round Top invasives. So it was a lot of you know,
jumping in hedgerows. We often times get caught in
rose bushes are very bushes. So you sometimes come out with,
(24:10):
you know, some scratches on yourarms, but it's definitely like
one of the more like, I feel like we often describe it as
like it's kind of meditative because.
Totally. If it's not meditative, it it
can be a little frustrating, butlike once you step back and be
like, oh, like all of this tree used to be covered by like an
invasive vine and now it's like free to grow.
(24:31):
It's like you have to like take a moment to be like, notice the
absence instead of like, like a different kind of impact.
I guess so. No, that makes sense.
Yeah, I could. I could imagine it being a
frustrating process, but yeah, knowing that you are doing
something that is like enhancingnature, yeah, so directly.
(24:52):
Yeah, and it's it's cool to likelearn about the invasives too,
because like if you come to bittersweet gate, we like kind
of show you like, oh, this is this is bittersweet, this is
Barberry, this is multi floor rose.
And then unfortunately after that you're going to see them
everywhere. So along the roads on your own
property, which you know, it's blessing and a curse.
So. Yeah, that's true to me, You
(25:14):
know, it all looks, it all looksgood.
You know all the nature. We could change that.
So get out there. Yeah.
Dang, that makes sense. It it was very crazy to me when
I was like, working on my story and looking at the volunteer
interest form and like, countingup all the things that are on
there. I'm like 22 different things.
(25:35):
Yeah, it's a lot over. Yeah, it's a lot.
So we definitely, yeah, on our intake form, we have it like
broken up like the pretty specific like our programs.
So like community science alone probably has like I want a 10 or
12 different programs that we have.
And yeah, that's all Sarah Gladu, our community science
(25:55):
director has really just like grown that program over the
years. She's been at Coastal Rivers for
quite a long time and is, yeah, I started, you know, can't mummy
chug or like education camp and has really like started all
these amazing community science programs that I think people
like every spinger like so excited to do like our, our
horseshoe crab monitoring program.
(26:17):
I know she had to run like 2 separate trainings because if
she was, it was like everyone wanted to learn about horseshoe
crabs and that's awesome, which is really exciting.
But yeah, we kind of, I like to say that like we have something
for everyone, whether it's like you want to be out on the trails
or you want to be like, you know, doing water monitoring
stuff or, you know, if you want to like help out at the front
(26:39):
desk or with our events. There's there's definitely
something for everyone. And I think the community is
definitely super welcoming and any one of the programs you do
so 100%. So what is it, I know you said
you, you're like the point of contact.
You're like kind of the first person, like talking with people
and they like fill out the form.But like what?
(27:01):
What are those conversations kind of like?
And do you very often like have to feel like concerns or just
like points of worry about? Yeah.
Any given area. So I'd say the conversations
typically I I like usually they filled out the form so I have
like a vague idea of of what they're interested in.
(27:22):
And I essentially just asked them like to tell me like, yeah,
what are you most excited about here?
Like what's what has caught yourinterest?
So they tell me a bit about the programs that they're looking at
or a lot of people have just moved to Maine and they're
really, I'm looking for community in different ways to
get involved. So we talk about that a little
bit and then I think sometimes people's worry is like, I've
(27:45):
never done trail work. Like can I go out to this like
event? And it's like, absolutely.
We don't have like any barriers of entry, I would say.
So every event is open to everyone.
So that's definitely something we we try and highlight like we
will teach you everything you have.
To know and like. None of the things we do require
like any sort of like qualification really.
(28:07):
So like, everyone can do it totally, which is, I think
another awesome part of it. Yeah, no, I mean, I was on I all
of it seemed intimidating to me as someone who just like has
I've never like before this donereally any kind of volunteering,
Yeah, kind of stuff. So in general, like a new thing
(28:27):
to me, but also, yeah, like cutting down trees and like
going out on the water. Like definitely.
I can understand why people might think it's like, you got
to have like a certain set of skills to do it, but yeah, yeah.
Yeah, anyone can do it. And yeah, I think definitely
like the volunteers that we already have definitely like are
(28:49):
really good about welcoming new people in and like showing them
how to how to use tools, how to collect samples, totally.
So it's really cool that we havethese other representatives that
are just like such good members of the Coastal Rivers community
and do like such a good job at representing who we are as an
organization. 100% Oh yeah. Like I yeah, just like going out
(29:14):
on the trail and like being withlike Betsy Evans and Joy Vaughn
and everyone like they were all just so sweet and like,
interested in like getting to know like me as a person, which
is nice. And they're the best.
They. Yeah, they really are.
Like Betsy is awesome. She's so cool.
Yeah. No.
That's like, yeah, I just love like, yeah, getting to know
(29:37):
people. I think like that's like a big
part of like the work that we'redoing is like getting to know
people in the community as well.It's like, yeah, we cannot do
the work that we do without like, developing relationships
along the way. It's a super important part to
it, so. Totally.
Yeah. I feel like that must be like
such a gigantic part of your job.
(29:57):
It's just like getting to interact with like so many
different. Kinds of people, yeah.
And that's how you conserve land.
It's like you make relationships, you talk to
people about the mission and youkind of share what you're
passionate about and try to get them to be passionate about it
too. And most people are like,
totally. I think a lot of people in this
(30:17):
community love the area and lovethe land and the waters that
they live on. So it's luckily in a place like
this. It's definitely an easier sell,
I think. Totally.
Which is nice, yeah. No, I mean, I remember, like at
the volunteer celebration when Iwas talking to some people,
like, they were saying how especially in a place like
(30:39):
Maine, like people are so like, environmentally conscious and
like, a place like Coastal Riveris a great place to put like,
those beliefs and, like, thoughts about the environment,
like into action. Yeah, totally.
Which is very true, yeah. It's a way to, yeah, take your
passion and make it into something tangible. 100% Well,
(31:00):
yeah, I mean as you're like kindof closing, I mean closing out
the busy season, I assume like especially your first like go
around at coastal rivers, like how have you been feeling?
Pretty good. I mean, yeah, I feel super
grateful for yeah, for one, likegetting this job.
(31:22):
I think it's definitely a dream opportunity.
All my Co workers are just the best.
It's a really, really awesome office community.
And then super grateful for all the volunteers that have
welcomed me and the board members, committee members.
It's been a really great summer season.
It was definitely kind of like hit the ground running as soon
as I got in, organize all these volunteer events just like jump
(31:47):
in head first. But luckily the landing was was
softened by the many people who are willing to help me out along
the way. So I'm excited for fall.
Maybe it'll be a little slower, but we're jumping into
monitoring season now. So I'll be getting to walk
around of a lot, a lot of our properties more, which I'm
excited about. Yeah, I feel like it's a good
way for you to just like get super acclimated and like,
(32:10):
familiar with everything. Yeah, no, totally.
There's like I'll like look downour list, be like, oh, what is
this, you know, small 2 acre place and then I get to go out
there, check it out and of course it's another like
beautiful, beautiful place. So 100% I'm super stoked.
And like, volunteers help with that too.
Right. Yeah, No, we have, I want to say
70 volunteers who help with our monitoring process.
(32:33):
So I mean, yeah, it's a huge, huge part of yeah, keeping
staying an accredited Land Trustis we have to monitor every
single property every year, right?
So yeah, we have so many properties and it's amazing that
volunteers are willing to go bushwhack through the woods to
help us check that all and ensure that, like, everything's
(32:54):
looking good everywhere. So totally.
Which is awesome. But yeah, I'm excited to go out
with some of them, so hopefully they'll let me.
I'm sure they. Will.
Yeah, I'm sure they will. So.
What else like is, what else areyou kind of transitioning into
like with the changing of the seasons, Yeah.
I think there's definitely been some, you know, just some tasks
(33:16):
that I've, I've had on my list for a while that I'm excited to
check off, whether that's like some maintenance tasks or like
bigger trails project, like some, you know, small reroutes
here and there. So I'm excited to start checking
some of those things off my list.
And then yeah, being maybe beingin the office a little more in
the winter could be fun. You know I love that.
(33:38):
Getting to hang out a bit more, yeah.
But yeah, really just looking forward to more time spent with
Co workers, volunteers and yeah,kind of finding where I fit in
this organization. Totally.
It's going to be awesome. Yeah, I do have to say, Stephen
Huffnagel, like, spoke very highly of you at the volunteer
(34:00):
celebration. And it was, it was very sweet.
Yeah, like we're very lucky. To have her so yeah, Steven's
the best. He's great.
We're very excited that he's back after his extended vacation
this summer. So it'll be really nice going
into fall with with him back into the office.
Just this week I I came in earlyand I as he came in he was like
singing a little song and I was like, oh, it's so nice that
(34:22):
Steven is back. So that's been great.
That's. Awesome.
Yeah, I love it. Do you have any like big, I
guess, personal goals at coastalrivers, like things that you
want to kind of like champion? Yeah.
I think my big thing is I definitely want to get more
young people volunteering. I think that's like hopefully
(34:42):
what I'm going to do over the next year, either through like
partnerships with schools. I know, like I'm hoping that we
can partner with like Lincoln Academy, we already partner a
lot with the other schools through our education programs,
which is amazing. So trying to kind of get some
more volunteer power through that as well because yeah, I
(35:02):
think, yeah, education programs are amazing.
They're like getting all these kids at the schools out into
like the woods on the trails. Sarah Gladu and our education
manager Angela Devoe is they're really great.
And then I think volunteering just adds like another aspect of
like appreciating the outdoors. So 100%.
That's what I'm hoping for over the next year or so.
(35:24):
It's really expanding that. That's awesome.
No, I think like, it's definitely really valuable to
have kids like see what's going into like what's like, yeah,
just everything it requires to make these beautiful, like
places accessible to them. Absolutely.
I know before I started working on trails, I was like, well, I
(35:44):
wonder how like they got these like bridges in here, like how
they moved all this stuff. And it's like, the answer is
like people just like picked it up and moved it.
But it's like, you know, you don't always know that.
So like, yeah, getting kids out there and like seeing just like
the work that you can put in andthen your impact like it's, it's
such like a, like a, a tangible thing that you can see.
(36:05):
So I think it'd be really cool to, yeah, get more kids out and
like, it's definitely a future career path for some of them.
So get them started earlier steps.
Yeah, absolutely. No, I do have to say, to be
like, completely Frank, I don't think I ever thought before,
like, about the work that went into making a trail.
(36:26):
I think in my head I was just like, oh, just like so many
people have walked there. Yeah.
No, yeah, totally. And like, I mean, that
definitely helps. Like people walking trails
definitely works. But yeah, I definitely like
didn't really either of like, oh, you have to like actually
like through the forest. Yeah, smooth out the ground and
and everything else that goes into it.
(36:47):
Yeah. So yeah, it's kind of, it is fun
to have that like realization moment of like, oh, people did
this. You don't just cruise through
enough times and you have a trail.
Yeah. Especially after like all the
monitoring bushwhacking of like,Yep, there's definitely not a
trail here. Right.
It's so much nicer to to walk ona trail.
(37:08):
Yeah, very true, very true. I feel like Katie Beaver also
mentioned you're trying to do some like more volunteer
opportunities that are like accessible.
It's people who maybe like work during like the hours that some.
Events are on. Yeah, definitely trying to
increase that. So I, I hosted one trail tamers
(37:30):
after hours event this summer. So that was definitely aimed at
like trying to get the people inthe regular 9 to 5 jobs that
like couldn't normally come because most of our volunteer
events are, you know, during theday, during Monday to Friday
working hours. So I definitely want to try to
increase that moving forward, maybe have some some fall events
of more after hours. Yeah, the one we had was really
(37:53):
fun. We were out doing bog bridging
at Bass Rock. We had a little picnic
afterwards by the water. It was super fun.
Our intern helped us out with it.
But yeah, I think there's definitely like some barriers to
volunteering and a lot of that is just like the times that
volunteering events typically happen.
So as much as I can, and I thinkSarah does a good job of it at
(38:15):
like letting people kind of schedule their own times for
volunteering. We we want to try to like expand
our opportunities for, for people who do work and those
like normal nine to five hours. Yeah, no, I thought that was
awesome because I definitely like, you know, I, I don't
exactly work at 9:00 to 5:00 schedule, but I can totally
(38:37):
understand like at someone working full time, it can be
hard to like fit it into your schedule.
So anything that helps to like squeeze it in there like.
After work hours, yeah, yeah. And I think that's how we get
like a more diverse volunteer base too, is like creating more
opportunities for people, so. Yeah, it's exciting.
(38:57):
It's. Very exciting I'm.
Very. I'm looking forward to seeing
just like what what's in store for you and like continuing to
work on some of this stuff. So and hopefully you'll come to
some more trail tamers events. Bring your friends.
I really want to because yeah, it just like was genuinely such
a good time that I'm hoping to come out again.
(39:20):
I so do you like do you have more trail tamers events coming
up or is it done for this? Season, no, we'll have one in
October and probably November and those will be ours.
Maybe December, depending on, you know, how the weather is
looking. But I think next month in
October we're gonna do a trail tamers events on our Riverlink
(39:41):
trail. So that'll be exciting.
It's it's a trail that people don't often get out to.
There's not too many visitors, so it'll be fun.
I feel like it's trail that not many people or not everyone has
seen. So yeah.
So yeah, we'll probably be be posting that soon, so definitely
be on the lookout. That would be another fun one.
I, I will actually do my best toattend because I would love to
(40:02):
make it out. Yeah, I and like, it's a great
way to like go to new trails because I am definitely very
guilty of I live near the Plummer Point trail.
Yeah, it's an amazing. Trail.
It's an amazing trail, but I basically, like, only go to that
trail. Yeah, I need to be more
explorative with my hiking. Yeah, I mean, it's easy to like
(40:23):
get attached to trails and it's like, oh, like this is my trail
and you kind of like feel a sense of like a little ownership
and like like a home base there.So it's definitely
understandable. But yeah, I would I would
recommend you can go down to Tracy Shorts right by plumber
point. It's also amazing.
OK, I'm gonna. Need more trail wrecks from
(40:44):
overtime? But yeah, yeah, the volunteer
events are a great way to see like trails that maybe you
haven't visited or haven't heardof before.
Makes sense. Well, yeah, I mean, I feel like
that's that's all the big questions I had for you.
But is there anything else on onyour mind that you'd like to
(41:05):
share with the listener? Let's see, I guess come
volunteer with us, like we always want more people to come
out. We're always looking to expand
our community totally. I think Coast Rivers is a really
special place filled with a lot of really special people, so
(41:26):
everyone's welcome. We want like the community to
feel like we are. We are a part of them.
So we'd love for you to come out.
It's super fun, you'll get a hang out with me and probably
some other staff members. Yes, I promise we're cool and
fun. All are the coolest and the
funnest. Exactly.
(41:47):
I thank you SO. Much Allie, I appreciate.
That of course, of course. Well, thank you so much for
joining me. I really appreciate it and I
appreciate all the time you gaveme as I was working on my story.
Yeah, we, we were very excited. And yeah, we all read your story
this week and we were like, wow,Ali's great.
(42:08):
Like she's such a good writer. And yeah, our board president
was like, what a great young reporter.
So yeah, we are super stoked to be a part of the story.
And yeah, just grateful for the opportunity to to highlight
ourselves. I appreciate that.
Awesome. Well, thank you again.
And Sally. Yeah, thank you to our
(42:28):
listeners, and we look forward to seeing you in our next
episode of Beyond the Broadsheetnext week.
Thank you for listening to Beyond the Broadsheet, a podcast
by the Lincoln County News. This podcast is produced by
Lucas McNally and Maya Ziebert. Tyler Davis of Tyality
Productions provides production support.
(42:48):
Our theme music is by Stu Mahan and LCN associate editor slash
bassist Sherwood Olin. The Lincoln County News hits
news stands across the county every Wednesday afternoon and
you can also access our work online at lcnme.com.
If you have a question, comment or suggestion, please e-mail us
at info@lcnme.com. As always, we're grateful for
(43:13):
the support of our readers and listeners in Lincoln County and
beyond. It's been great catching up
today and we'll talk with you again soon.
Welcome to be on The Broadsheet,a podcast by the Lincoln County
News. We are a community newspaper
based in Mid Coast Maine and we provide the most comprehensive,
in depth coverage available anywhere of the 18 towns and 1
plantation that make up Lincoln County.
My name is Christina Wallace andI'm a reporter here at LCN,
covering the towns of Bristol, South Bristol, Nobleboro and
Bremen. And I'm Ally Jewel.
(00:31):
I'm the reporter covering Edgecombe, Whitefield,
Damerscotta and Newcastle. In our last episode, we talked
about live music recommendationsin Lincoln County to catch
before it gets too cold. In this episode, Ally will be
kicking off her volunteering series with an in depth look at
her first adventure. She will be interviewing Belle
Maroney, the volunteer coordinator at Coastal Rivers.
(00:53):
Stay tuned. But first, here are some of the
top stories from the Thursday, September 25th edition of the
Lincoln County News. A suspicious device closes
Newcastle Main Street. A device that authorities
believed to be potentially explosive was found during a
routine traffic stop in the early morning of Monday,
(01:13):
September 22nd. During a search of the vehicle
during the traffic stop, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office
found material that resembled anexplosive device, according to
Maine State Police spokesperson Shannon Moss.
Moss said the device was securedby authorities and removed for
further evaluation, which will include a a laboratory analysis.
(01:34):
The driver was arrested at the scene on an outstanding warrant
and transported to Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wisconsin.
The Newcastle Fire Department briefly closed down Main Street
between Damarascata Newcastle Bridge and its intersection with
the River Rd. for roughly 3 hours beginning shortly before
3:00 AM. Due to the nature of the
evidence that was found at the scene, the office of State Fire
(01:57):
Marshall has assumed the role oflead investigative agency.
The identity of the involved parties is currently being
withheld from the public as the investigation continues,
according to Moss. Sheriff Todd Brackett deferred
comments on the investigation tothe Fire Marshall's office.
He acknowledged his office quotecould have done a better job
putting out some information to address the public's concerns
(02:19):
regarding the closure. Brackett said.
I understand there has been someanxiety.
That was not our intention. Until the state's press release
on the subject on Tuesday afternoon, the only information
available was the Newcastle FireDepartment's announcements of
Main Street's closing and opening on their Facebook page.
It's important to note that I know that there is a lot of
(02:41):
concern online going on about the lack of information and as
always, we can only report on what is given to us by the
authorities. So I just wanted to make a note
that we always do our best to communicate with our authorities
and get information to you as soon as possible and just know
that that information will be released to you as soon as we
know. Yes, it's a matter of wanting to
(03:04):
get information out, but it's also a matter of going through
the proper and appropriate channels to get that
information. Yes, absolutely.
In other news, emergency response community honors former
Walderboro Fire Chief By Sherwood Olin Firefighters,
first responders, and law enforcement and personnel from
(03:25):
across 3 counties gathered in Walderboro on Saturday,
September 20th to pay their respects to the late Walderboro
Fire Chief Richard Dick Glidden.Glidden, 92, passed away
peacefully at his home on Tuesday, September 16th.
On Friday, September 12th, the Waldo Rd.
Fire Department chauffeured Glidden home from Maine Health
(03:46):
Lincoln Hospital in Damn Rescotta in the department's
ladder truck after he was diagnosed with terminal
cancelled cancer the day before.On September 20th, the same
ladder truck followed by a procession of fire trucks from
around the area transported Glidden's body from the strong
Hancock Funeral Home in Damariscotta to the Walderboro
(04:07):
Fire Station for the service. Many members of Lincoln County's
18 fire departments came along with members from a number of
Knox County Fire Departments whoshare mutual aid with
Walderboro. Members of the Main Warden
Service, Marine Patrol, Color Guard and officials from The
Maine State Federation of Firefighters in Augusta, as well
as members of the Masons and Shriners were also in
(04:29):
attendance. Glidden was a Thomaston native
and lived in Walderboro for over70 years.
He was noted for his devotion tohis adopted hometown and for his
devotion to the Walderboro Fire Department.
He became the town's first deputy Fire Chief in 1964 and
served in that role for 42 yearsalongside his cousin, the late
Walderboro Fire Chief Bob Maxie.When Maxie passed away in 2006,
(04:54):
Glidden succeeded him as chief and would serve in that position
for roughly 2 1/2 years before stepping down.
He was succeeded by the current Fire Chief, Paul Smeltzer,
Smeltzer said. Quote, Even after he retired, he
still responded more than any other member on the roster for
years. Even as his health started to
decline, he would still show up.He was really the cog in the
(05:14):
wheel that kept us going. That's really sweet.
Definitely a very touching storycoming out of all the barrel.
Yes. Former director of Central
Lincoln County YMCA Paddle sports honored at U.S.
Open. This is by our sports reporter
Mick LaBelle. The former Central Lincoln
County YMCA paddle sports director, Lisa Gilbride was
(05:37):
presented with the New England Champion of Equality Award at
the US Open tennis tournament onSeptember 4th in Flushing, NY.
The Champion of Equality Award honors women who have worked to
make the sport more equal and inclusive for for players.
Gilbride was celebrated alongside Billie Jean King and
15 other US Tennis Association representatives.
(05:58):
In her early days, Gilbride was a trailblazer at Providence
College, where she launched the women's tennis program, was
captain for both the tennis and basketball teams, and became the
first woman to earn Providence'sAthlete of the Year award in
1975. She led the paddle sports
program at CLCYMCA for nearly three decades and work to make
(06:21):
tennis accessible to all with free programs, red ball lessons
and family stay and play sessions that offered homework
help and nutrition guidance in addition to tennis, Gilbride
said. Quote Just getting the award was
humbling and wonderful. It's very cool, Yeah.
Didn't realize we had such a tennis legend.
It's. Really cool to see people from
(06:44):
Lincoln County being honored on a national level.
I think like ever since moving here, I have developed much more
of an appreciation for what our community offers and we have
some really cool people in it. 100%.
Including Lisa Gilbride. So very.
True, Newcastle nods a shared public works department, with
(07:05):
Damariscotta presenting the samepublic works proposal.
On October 1st, the Newcastle Select Board expressed support
for continuing develop to develop plans for a shared
Public Works Department with Damariscotta during a meeting on
Monday, September 22nd. During a presentation on the
project, Damariscotta Town Manager Andy Dorr and Newcastle
(07:27):
Town Manager Kevin Sutherland presented general plans for the
shared department, which included estimates for staffing
and resource needs. Sutherland said the idea for a
combined public works departmentwas fueled by the belief that in
house services would cost less than contracted winter
maintenance, while providing an opportunity for more year round
service. If approved by residents in the
(07:50):
twin villages, the department would hopefully begin operations
in July 2028. The department's work would
primarily be seasonal maintenance, including snow
plowing in the winter and unclogging culverts and filling
potholes in the summer. And residents of the two towns
probably feel like they have heard about this kind of thing
before because the two towns didattempt an agreement from 2011
(08:15):
to 2015, but it was ultimately dissolved for a number of
different reasons, including concerns about whether the cost
savings or as much as anticipated.
But everyone in attendance at the meeting, including Town
Manager Andy Dorr, seem to believe that the circumstances
are different this time. And they're really going to work
(08:37):
to try to set this up in a way that it will be beneficial and
permanent for both towns. So more to see.
Hopefully this will be a big asset for them A. 100%.
And use out of Bristol A Bristolduo uses their individual skills
to make custom cakes. Melanie S Royce and Florence
(08:58):
Martinez use their individual skills to create custom cakes
and cupcakes in their licensed home bakery.
During a chance in conversation between neighbors, the two
discovered they both have similar passions for cakes, Mr.
Royce baking cakes and Martinez decorating them.
They opened 2 Sugar Mamas in June of this year and cater to
lots of different dietary restrictions.
(09:19):
Sir Royce was diagnosed with celiac disease six years ago,
wanted to alter her baking to not only fit her own dietary
restrictions, but also fit a variety of others such as dairy
free. So they have lots of different
options that you can choose from.
In addition to custom cakes, SirRoyce and Martinez sell their
baked goods locally at Bayan Tree Food Truck and Oxbow
Brewing Company. For more information, go to 2
(09:42):
Sugar mamas.com. Very nice, it loves the name
too. I know.
Apparently it was inspired by the fact that they're both
mothers. Yeah, which is really sweet.
And it was really awesome to seea place with gluten free options
because I am gluten free so. Did you try anything?
I did not try anything. No, you got to report that.
(10:02):
I will. I'll take a get some.
Our own Charlotte Boynton went to Westport Island where voters
adopted deputy code enforcement position. 43 Westport Island
residents convened at the town office Wednesday, September 17th
to consider a three article warrant that proposed creating
an Office of Deputy Code Enforcement Officer overseen by
(10:26):
the Select Board. After a lengthy debate, the
article is approved with little opposition, allowing the Select
Board to appoint up to two deputy Code Enforcement officers
for one year terms as the board deems necessary.
Select Board Chair Donna Curry explain the town's upcoming
revaluation is expected to generate more permanent requests
for the CEO, increasing the needfor more personnel.
(10:49):
The Marine Municipal Associationwas contacted and recommended
the town to write a warrant article as soon as possible to
legally establish the position, according to Curry.
Veterans honored at 19th Annual Quilts of Appreciation ceremony.
And this is by our very own Paula Roberts.
Veterans from 5 branches of the military were recognized and
(11:11):
honored at the 19th Annual Quilts of Appreciation Ceremony
on Saturday, September 20th at the Charles E Sherman American
Legion Post 36 in Boothbay. The event was organized by
quilter Pat Johnston of Nobleboro and featured a
volunteer jazz band ensemble. Retired U.S.
Army General William Lisinski was the keynote speaker for the
(11:31):
event. He thanked Johnston, the
Quilters and Long Arm Quilters for their effort and time spent
making the quilts. He said quote, thank you for all
you do to create these incredible works of art.
It's very sweet. It is very sweet, very cool way.
To honor their service. Absolutely, and they get to keep
that forever, which is so cool, and pass it down.
(11:53):
Very true. Our character of the county this
week was Brianna Lawrence, entitled Brianna Lawrence Crafts
a Career as a Contractor. Sherrod Olin spoke with Brianna
Lawrence, a contractor in Jefferson who doesn't like to
wait to get things done. She's been on the top of her
game since she was barely a teenager.
(12:14):
A licensed electrician, she has been working in the trade for 24
of her 38 years, all of them spent working with Waltz
Electric Incorporated, a companyfounded by her father, Arthur
Waltz. Over the summer, Waltz and
Lawrence traded places, with Lawrence taking on the role of
president for the company and Waltz taking on the role of vice
president. To learn more about how Lawrence
(12:35):
get things done, pick up a copy of this week's edition of the
Lincoln County News or go to lcnme.com.
Sounds like a great duo, yeah. It's very true in but in some
final. News, you guys.
Got to attend a fiber. Fair.
I did get to attend a fiber fair.
I had no idea what to expect going into it, but it was an
(13:02):
inaugural fiber fair and it was at the Pemaquid Mill in Bristol.
And the mill used to be used notonly for like grinding grain and
things like that, but also processing fabrics.
And so they were bringing the history of the mill back to
life. And there were different vendors
there and demonstrations going on that showed the process of
(13:25):
wool in all stages of development, from being sheared
to being dyed and woven and spunand things like that.
And it was really fun to go see it.
I kind of felt like I was at a Renfair.
It was really great. The event was put together by
Julia Lane, and it was a combination between the Pemaquid
(13:48):
Mill and the Bristol Historical Society, which is right next
door to that. So if you ever go, you can see
Bristol history along with like actually walking through the
mill, which was really cool. There are lots of cool
demonstrations. And yeah, it was a really good
time. And my favorite quote from her
because she said that this was all volunteer run, she said
(14:11):
people jumped on board and I basically stood back and let the
wheels turn as they say. As they say, yes.
So it was, it was really cool tosee wool like going from what
they call raw to like all the way to a product that you can
buy. That's super cool.
Yeah. Very exciting.
It's one of the great things about this job is just learning
(14:32):
about things that you would otherwise never think.
Yeah. Absolutely, and it was a great
day for it too, she said. The turn out was really good and
moving forward, not really sure if they're going to make this a
yearly thing, but that is definitely on the table.
They definitely had been planning on bringing back more
of the Mills history. So she said it depends on how
(14:52):
the crowd responds and everything like that and seeing
what they can do differently fornext year.
But yes, more plans are are on the table, yes.
Yes, things are in the works, Yes.
So now owie, we're going to be kicking off your volunteering
series. Do you want to give a little bit
of an intro to that? Yes, for sure.
(15:14):
Well, so I had tossed out this idea of basically just
highlighting different volunteering efforts across the
county because I, I've said thisin this week's editorial, but
coming from California and Texas, I feel like I have never
seen like, volunteerism be so like crucial and interwoven into
(15:39):
a community the way that it is here.
And it's impressed me in a lot of ways just how I feel like
basically every sector of life in Lincoln County, like it's
fueled in some way by people giving their time, like for, you
know, no monetary like value or anything.
So yeah, I kind of just decided Coastal Rivers would be a great
(16:05):
first organization to spotlight by talking with the staff there,
talking with some volunteers to understand everything that goes
into working there and all the benefits that come from it.
So yeah, I got to go on the trails, I got to go out on the
water, I got to like really get immersed in it all.
(16:25):
That's so cool. Well, I'm very excited to hear
about it. So let's jump into.
That Let's do it. All right, So we have Belle
(16:51):
Maroni. That's how you pronounce your
last name, right? OK, perfectly good.
From Coastal Rivers, their volunteer coordinator as of when
did you? April, mid-april, yes.
So you're still fresh on it, very new.
I mean, yeah. Well, so I've heard about like
your history leading up to coming to coastal rivers.
(17:14):
But could you recap it a bit forour listeners?
Absolutely. Yeah, so, so I went to school in
New York City for environmental studies and politics.
And then after four years in thecity, I was ready to never live
in the city again. So I moved out West to
California, joined a conservation corps out there and
started working on the trails kind of in Big Sur and Northern
(17:37):
California, Southern California,and just, yeah, fell in love
with conservation work, trail building, did another core in
Colorado. And then I have a bunch of
family in Maine. So came to Maine, worked on
Hurricane Island for center and leadership as an educator for a
season doing a lot of marine ecology, and then missed the
conservation world. So I jumped back in with Maine
(18:00):
Conservation Corps as like a field supervisor.
And then I found Coastal Rivers,which kind of yeah, was my,
like, perfect job, I like to say, because I get to be
outside. I get to hang out and talk to
people. So it's, yeah, it's been a, a
fun journey to get here and I feel like I'm in like my ideal
space right now. Totally.
(18:21):
I find it so cool that you, likehave gotten to work in so many
different places because I imagine like, I don't know,
there's just like there's so many like cool unique things
about like all the different states you've worked in.
Yeah, absolutely. It's.
Been it's been really, really cool.
Yeah. Like, I'd never really been out
West before. And it's, it's just so big out
(18:42):
there, which is kind of crazy. But yeah, I'm very, I'm happy
that I ended up in Maine, though.
Yeah. It seems like you have a fun
journey getting to Maine too. So every person's path is
different. That ends up here.
So true, So true. Well, so, yeah.
Do you want to talk a bit more about just like what, what does
your job entail? What it's been like, like
(19:04):
getting into the groove, Especially because like the from
what I remember, the volunteer coordinator position is like a
new thing. Yeah, it is.
So yeah, I joined as stewardshipand volunteer coordinator in
April. So I was joining the stewardship
team, but then also trying to, yeah, figure out like a better
management system for volunteering and trying to kind
(19:26):
of, yeah, streamline it a littlebit.
Because at Coastal Rivers we have just like so many volunteer
programs, like between stewardship and facilities and
then our education and communityscience program, it's just like
there's so many opportunities for people, but it's also like a
ton of people coming in and like, how do we best organize?
How do we best like manage incoming volunteers?
(19:48):
So that's been like a really bigpart of my job is like figuring
out like what is the best intakesystem?
But luckily it's like it's allowed me to talk to a lot of
new volunteers. So like I get to be the first
point of contact for them, whichis fun.
So either through like e-mail orcalling, I basically just get to
talk to them, be like, what are you most excited about?
Like what, what do you want to do with coastal rivers, Which
(20:10):
has been really fun. And then I've gotten to work a
lot with the stewardship volunteers, obviously doing our
like trail tamers events, trail trimmers events or bittersweet
brigade. So spending a lot of time
outside with people. Which is great, Yes.
No, yeah. I like, can't say enough about
(20:30):
like how much I loved being at the Trail Tamers event.
That's so good, I'm glad. It was genuinely just like so
awesome and enriching. And I, yeah, I'm, I'm very
intrigued by like all the other events since, you know, I only
got like a little taste of like the kind of stuff you do.
So. Yeah.
The Trail Tamers events are always just like so much fun.
(20:52):
It's typically like the volunteer event for stewardship,
at least where we get the biggest groups, which is always
fun. But then it's also like, yeah,
people are like really excited about them.
They're like once a month. So it's something for them to,
like, look forward to like at the either beginning or end of
the month. And yeah, all the volunteers are
awesome. You got to meet some of, you
know, our superstars and yeah, it's just like hanging out on
(21:15):
the trail together, but like, doing the work, you know, like
you cut down some trees too. So it's just like, it's really
satisfying, but also like it's such a great like social
community event as well. 100% no.
Yeah, I, I talked to so many people about it afterwards.
I'm like, I was totally exhausted afterwards.
I went home and took a nap, but it was like I felt very just
(21:39):
like my my cup was filled from just like getting to interact
and. Absolutely.
I don't know, Yeah, it's a, it'sa good type of exercise because
it's like, you know, it's, I think it's like a it's a
sustainable exercise too, in a way, because it's like you're
going at your own pace. You know, there's like there's
no harsh deadline that we reallyhave to follow for a lot of
(22:01):
these events, which is kind of nice.
So it's like, you know, we're going to try to get this done.
If we don't get it done, like there's other days for it, I
think, which is nice. Like the trail is going to wait
for us. Totally.
No, I appreciated that. Like it.
I didn't feel as if I was like, yeah, we must get this far on
the trail in the next two hours.We're not trying to run like a a
(22:24):
hard and tight ship where it's like you must stay in line.
It's like, yeah, we're all thereto have fun.
Like everyone's just like contributing their time and
energy and yeah, we just appreciate them being there
100%. Could you tell me a bit more
about like how the Tremors events and like the Bittersweet
(22:45):
Brigade? Is it, you know, very much the
same thing or is there like a lot of different components
going on from? Yeah, it's like similar and
different, I would say. So for the trail trimmers, it's
like a pretty core group of people that show up every week.
These are both weekly events, soyou know, not as many people as
(23:05):
the Trail Tamers event, but the people we do get tend to show up
week after week. So for trail trimmers, it's
spearheaded by one of our volunteers, Joy Vaughn, and she
walks a ton of our trails all the time.
So she kind of, you know, has anidea of like, oh, this trail
needs to be trimmed or this one.And obviously we help out as
well-being like I think we need to go to this one, but that ones
(23:27):
also great. We like walk around with
loppers. Make sure like the ferns aren't
encroaching, especially during tick season.
That's a huge thing. We don't want people to walk off
the trails with like 100 ticks. So we try our best to help out
in that regard and then. Bittersweet Brigade.
We have another amazing volunteer, Bob Barklow who helps
us out with that one. He's kind of our invasive guy.
(23:49):
We do we have hire him for some like contracting work.
So we go out with him. This summer we were mainly
focused on Round Top invasives. So it was a lot of you know,
jumping in hedgerows. We often times get caught in
rose bushes are very bushes. So you sometimes come out with,
(24:10):
you know, some scratches on yourarms, but it's definitely like
one of the more like, I feel like we often describe it as
like it's kind of meditative because.
Totally. If it's not meditative, it it
can be a little frustrating, butlike once you step back and be
like, oh, like all of this tree used to be covered by like an
invasive vine and now it's like free to grow.
(24:31):
It's like you have to like take a moment to be like, notice the
absence instead of like, like a different kind of impact.
I guess so. No, that makes sense.
Yeah, I could. I could imagine it being a
frustrating process, but yeah, knowing that you are doing
something that is like enhancingnature, yeah, so directly.
(24:52):
Yeah, and it's it's cool to likelearn about the invasives too,
because like if you come to bittersweet gate, we like kind
of show you like, oh, this is this is bittersweet, this is
Barberry, this is multi floor rose.
And then unfortunately after that you're going to see them
everywhere. So along the roads on your own
property, which you know, it's blessing and a curse.
So. Yeah, that's true to me, You
(25:14):
know, it all looks, it all looksgood.
You know all the nature. We could change that.
So get out there. Yeah.
Dang, that makes sense. It it was very crazy to me when
I was like, working on my story and looking at the volunteer
interest form and like, countingup all the things that are on
there. I'm like 22 different things.
(25:35):
Yeah, it's a lot over. Yeah, it's a lot.
So we definitely, yeah, on our intake form, we have it like
broken up like the pretty specific like our programs.
So like community science alone probably has like I want a 10 or
12 different programs that we have.
And yeah, that's all Sarah Gladu, our community science
(25:55):
director has really just like grown that program over the
years. She's been at Coastal Rivers for
quite a long time and is, yeah, I started, you know, can't mummy
chug or like education camp and has really like started all
these amazing community science programs that I think people
like every spinger like so excited to do like our, our
horseshoe crab monitoring program.
(26:17):
I know she had to run like 2 separate trainings because if
she was, it was like everyone wanted to learn about horseshoe
crabs and that's awesome, which is really exciting.
But yeah, we kind of, I like to say that like we have something
for everyone, whether it's like you want to be out on the trails
or you want to be like, you know, doing water monitoring
stuff or, you know, if you want to like help out at the front
(26:39):
desk or with our events. There's there's definitely
something for everyone. And I think the community is
definitely super welcoming and any one of the programs you do
so 100%. So what is it, I know you said
you, you're like the point of contact.
You're like kind of the first person, like talking with people
and they like fill out the form.But like what?
(27:01):
What are those conversations kind of like?
And do you very often like have to feel like concerns or just
like points of worry about? Yeah.
Any given area. So I'd say the conversations
typically I I like usually they filled out the form so I have
like a vague idea of of what they're interested in.
(27:22):
And I essentially just asked them like to tell me like, yeah,
what are you most excited about here?
Like what's what has caught yourinterest?
So they tell me a bit about the programs that they're looking at
or a lot of people have just moved to Maine and they're
really, I'm looking for community in different ways to
get involved. So we talk about that a little
bit and then I think sometimes people's worry is like, I've
(27:45):
never done trail work. Like can I go out to this like
event? And it's like, absolutely.
We don't have like any barriers of entry, I would say.
So every event is open to everyone.
So that's definitely something we we try and highlight like we
will teach you everything you have.
To know and like. None of the things we do require
like any sort of like qualification really.
(28:07):
So like, everyone can do it totally, which is, I think
another awesome part of it. Yeah, no, I mean, I was on I all
of it seemed intimidating to me as someone who just like has
I've never like before this donereally any kind of volunteering,
Yeah, kind of stuff. So in general, like a new thing
(28:27):
to me, but also, yeah, like cutting down trees and like
going out on the water. Like definitely.
I can understand why people might think it's like, you got
to have like a certain set of skills to do it, but yeah, yeah.
Yeah, anyone can do it. And yeah, I think definitely
like the volunteers that we already have definitely like are
(28:49):
really good about welcoming new people in and like showing them
how to how to use tools, how to collect samples, totally.
So it's really cool that we havethese other representatives that
are just like such good members of the Coastal Rivers community
and do like such a good job at representing who we are as an
organization. 100% Oh yeah. Like I yeah, just like going out
(29:14):
on the trail and like being withlike Betsy Evans and Joy Vaughn
and everyone like they were all just so sweet and like,
interested in like getting to know like me as a person, which
is nice. And they're the best.
They. Yeah, they really are.
Like Betsy is awesome. She's so cool.
Yeah. No.
That's like, yeah, I just love like, yeah, getting to know
(29:37):
people. I think like that's like a big
part of like the work that we'redoing is like getting to know
people in the community as well.It's like, yeah, we cannot do
the work that we do without like, developing relationships
along the way. It's a super important part to
it, so. Totally.
Yeah. I feel like that must be like
such a gigantic part of your job.
(29:57):
It's just like getting to interact with like so many
different. Kinds of people, yeah.
And that's how you conserve land.
It's like you make relationships, you talk to
people about the mission and youkind of share what you're
passionate about and try to get them to be passionate about it
too. And most people are like,
totally. I think a lot of people in this
(30:17):
community love the area and lovethe land and the waters that
they live on. So it's luckily in a place like
this. It's definitely an easier sell,
I think. Totally.
Which is nice, yeah. No, I mean, I remember, like at
the volunteer celebration when Iwas talking to some people,
like, they were saying how especially in a place like
(30:39):
Maine, like people are so like, environmentally conscious and
like, a place like Coastal Riveris a great place to put like,
those beliefs and, like, thoughts about the environment,
like into action. Yeah, totally.
Which is very true, yeah. It's a way to, yeah, take your
passion and make it into something tangible. 100% Well,
(31:00):
yeah, I mean as you're like kindof closing, I mean closing out
the busy season, I assume like especially your first like go
around at coastal rivers, like how have you been feeling?
Pretty good. I mean, yeah, I feel super
grateful for yeah, for one, likegetting this job.
(31:22):
I think it's definitely a dream opportunity.
All my Co workers are just the best.
It's a really, really awesome office community.
And then super grateful for all the volunteers that have
welcomed me and the board members, committee members.
It's been a really great summer season.
It was definitely kind of like hit the ground running as soon
as I got in, organize all these volunteer events just like jump
(31:47):
in head first. But luckily the landing was was
softened by the many people who are willing to help me out along
the way. So I'm excited for fall.
Maybe it'll be a little slower, but we're jumping into
monitoring season now. So I'll be getting to walk
around of a lot, a lot of our properties more, which I'm
excited about. Yeah, I feel like it's a good
way for you to just like get super acclimated and like,
(32:10):
familiar with everything. Yeah, no, totally.
There's like I'll like look downour list, be like, oh, what is
this, you know, small 2 acre place and then I get to go out
there, check it out and of course it's another like
beautiful, beautiful place. So 100% I'm super stoked.
And like, volunteers help with that too.
Right. Yeah, No, we have, I want to say
70 volunteers who help with our monitoring process.
(32:33):
So I mean, yeah, it's a huge, huge part of yeah, keeping
staying an accredited Land Trustis we have to monitor every
single property every year, right?
So yeah, we have so many properties and it's amazing that
volunteers are willing to go bushwhack through the woods to
help us check that all and ensure that, like, everything's
(32:54):
looking good everywhere. So totally.
Which is awesome. But yeah, I'm excited to go out
with some of them, so hopefully they'll let me.
I'm sure they. Will.
Yeah, I'm sure they will. So.
What else like is, what else areyou kind of transitioning into
like with the changing of the seasons, Yeah.
I think there's definitely been some, you know, just some tasks
(33:16):
that I've, I've had on my list for a while that I'm excited to
check off, whether that's like some maintenance tasks or like
bigger trails project, like some, you know, small reroutes
here and there. So I'm excited to start checking
some of those things off my list.
And then yeah, being maybe beingin the office a little more in
the winter could be fun. You know I love that.
(33:38):
Getting to hang out a bit more, yeah.
But yeah, really just looking forward to more time spent with
Co workers, volunteers and yeah,kind of finding where I fit in
this organization. Totally.
It's going to be awesome. Yeah, I do have to say, Stephen
Huffnagel, like, spoke very highly of you at the volunteer
(34:00):
celebration. And it was, it was very sweet.
Yeah, like we're very lucky. To have her so yeah, Steven's
the best. He's great.
We're very excited that he's back after his extended vacation
this summer. So it'll be really nice going
into fall with with him back into the office.
Just this week I I came in earlyand I as he came in he was like
singing a little song and I was like, oh, it's so nice that
(34:22):
Steven is back. So that's been great.
That's. Awesome.
Yeah, I love it. Do you have any like big, I
guess, personal goals at coastalrivers, like things that you
want to kind of like champion? Yeah.
I think my big thing is I definitely want to get more
young people volunteering. I think that's like hopefully
(34:42):
what I'm going to do over the next year, either through like
partnerships with schools. I know, like I'm hoping that we
can partner with like Lincoln Academy, we already partner a
lot with the other schools through our education programs,
which is amazing. So trying to kind of get some
more volunteer power through that as well because yeah, I
(35:02):
think, yeah, education programs are amazing.
They're like getting all these kids at the schools out into
like the woods on the trails. Sarah Gladu and our education
manager Angela Devoe is they're really great.
And then I think volunteering just adds like another aspect of
like appreciating the outdoors. So 100%.
That's what I'm hoping for over the next year or so.
(35:24):
It's really expanding that. That's awesome.
No, I think like, it's definitely really valuable to
have kids like see what's going into like what's like, yeah,
just everything it requires to make these beautiful, like
places accessible to them. Absolutely.
I know before I started working on trails, I was like, well, I
(35:44):
wonder how like they got these like bridges in here, like how
they moved all this stuff. And it's like, the answer is
like people just like picked it up and moved it.
But it's like, you know, you don't always know that.
So like, yeah, getting kids out there and like seeing just like
the work that you can put in andthen your impact like it's, it's
such like a, like a, a tangible thing that you can see.
(36:05):
So I think it'd be really cool to, yeah, get more kids out and
like, it's definitely a future career path for some of them.
So get them started earlier steps.
Yeah, absolutely. No, I do have to say, to be
like, completely Frank, I don't think I ever thought before,
like, about the work that went into making a trail.
(36:26):
I think in my head I was just like, oh, just like so many
people have walked there. Yeah.
No, yeah, totally. And like, I mean, that
definitely helps. Like people walking trails
definitely works. But yeah, I definitely like
didn't really either of like, oh, you have to like actually
like through the forest. Yeah, smooth out the ground and
and everything else that goes into it.
(36:47):
Yeah. So yeah, it's kind of, it is fun
to have that like realization moment of like, oh, people did
this. You don't just cruise through
enough times and you have a trail.
Yeah. Especially after like all the
monitoring bushwhacking of like,Yep, there's definitely not a
trail here. Right.
It's so much nicer to to walk ona trail.
(37:08):
Yeah, very true, very true. I feel like Katie Beaver also
mentioned you're trying to do some like more volunteer
opportunities that are like accessible.
It's people who maybe like work during like the hours that some.
Events are on. Yeah, definitely trying to
increase that. So I, I hosted one trail tamers
(37:30):
after hours event this summer. So that was definitely aimed at
like trying to get the people inthe regular 9 to 5 jobs that
like couldn't normally come because most of our volunteer
events are, you know, during theday, during Monday to Friday
working hours. So I definitely want to try to
increase that moving forward, maybe have some some fall events
of more after hours. Yeah, the one we had was really
(37:53):
fun. We were out doing bog bridging
at Bass Rock. We had a little picnic
afterwards by the water. It was super fun.
Our intern helped us out with it.
But yeah, I think there's definitely like some barriers to
volunteering and a lot of that is just like the times that
volunteering events typically happen.
So as much as I can, and I thinkSarah does a good job of it at
(38:15):
like letting people kind of schedule their own times for
volunteering. We we want to try to like expand
our opportunities for, for people who do work and those
like normal nine to five hours. Yeah, no, I thought that was
awesome because I definitely like, you know, I, I don't
exactly work at 9:00 to 5:00 schedule, but I can totally
(38:37):
understand like at someone working full time, it can be
hard to like fit it into your schedule.
So anything that helps to like squeeze it in there like.
After work hours, yeah, yeah. And I think that's how we get
like a more diverse volunteer base too, is like creating more
opportunities for people, so. Yeah, it's exciting.
(38:57):
It's. Very exciting I'm.
Very. I'm looking forward to seeing
just like what what's in store for you and like continuing to
work on some of this stuff. So and hopefully you'll come to
some more trail tamers events. Bring your friends.
I really want to because yeah, it just like was genuinely such
a good time that I'm hoping to come out again.
(39:20):
I so do you like do you have more trail tamers events coming
up or is it done for this? Season, no, we'll have one in
October and probably November and those will be ours.
Maybe December, depending on, you know, how the weather is
looking. But I think next month in
October we're gonna do a trail tamers events on our Riverlink
(39:41):
trail. So that'll be exciting.
It's it's a trail that people don't often get out to.
There's not too many visitors, so it'll be fun.
I feel like it's trail that not many people or not everyone has
seen. So yeah.
So yeah, we'll probably be be posting that soon, so definitely
be on the lookout. That would be another fun one.
I, I will actually do my best toattend because I would love to
(40:02):
make it out. Yeah, I and like, it's a great
way to like go to new trails because I am definitely very
guilty of I live near the Plummer Point trail.
Yeah, it's an amazing. Trail.
It's an amazing trail, but I basically, like, only go to that
trail. Yeah, I need to be more
explorative with my hiking. Yeah, I mean, it's easy to like
(40:23):
get attached to trails and it's like, oh, like this is my trail
and you kind of like feel a sense of like a little ownership
and like like a home base there.So it's definitely
understandable. But yeah, I would I would
recommend you can go down to Tracy Shorts right by plumber
point. It's also amazing.
OK, I'm gonna. Need more trail wrecks from
(40:44):
overtime? But yeah, yeah, the volunteer
events are a great way to see like trails that maybe you
haven't visited or haven't heardof before.
Makes sense. Well, yeah, I mean, I feel like
that's that's all the big questions I had for you.
But is there anything else on onyour mind that you'd like to
(41:05):
share with the listener? Let's see, I guess come
volunteer with us, like we always want more people to come
out. We're always looking to expand
our community totally. I think Coast Rivers is a really
special place filled with a lot of really special people, so
(41:26):
everyone's welcome. We want like the community to
feel like we are. We are a part of them.
So we'd love for you to come out.
It's super fun, you'll get a hang out with me and probably
some other staff members. Yes, I promise we're cool and
fun. All are the coolest and the
funnest. Exactly.
(41:47):
I thank you SO. Much Allie, I appreciate.
That of course, of course. Well, thank you so much for
joining me. I really appreciate it and I
appreciate all the time you gaveme as I was working on my story.
Yeah, we, we were very excited. And yeah, we all read your story
this week and we were like, wow,Ali's great.
(42:08):
Like she's such a good writer. And yeah, our board president
was like, what a great young reporter.
So yeah, we are super stoked to be a part of the story.
And yeah, just grateful for the opportunity to to highlight
ourselves. I appreciate that.
Awesome. Well, thank you again.
And Sally. Yeah, thank you to our
(42:28):
listeners, and we look forward to seeing you in our next
episode of Beyond the Broadsheetnext week.
Thank you for listening to Beyond the Broadsheet, a podcast
by the Lincoln County News. This podcast is produced by
Lucas McNally and Maya Ziebert. Tyler Davis of Tyality
Productions provides production support.
(42:48):
Our theme music is by Stu Mahan and LCN associate editor slash
bassist Sherwood Olin. The Lincoln County News hits
news stands across the county every Wednesday afternoon and
you can also access our work online at lcnme.com.
If you have a question, comment or suggestion, please e-mail us
at info@lcnme.com. As always, we're grateful for
(43:13):
the support of our readers and listeners in Lincoln County and
beyond. It's been great catching up
today and we'll talk with you again soon.
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