Eight months after record flooding caused about $4 million in damage to the Spinning Mill redevelopment project on the island, the project is back on the track. The developer said this week he is expecting that part of the building will open later this year, with the rest on track to open in early 2025. He credited several public-private partnerships and a tax increment financing deal approved by town voters with assisting the project through a difficult period. 

The Skowhegan man who led police on a lengthy chase around downtown Skowhegan in November reached a plea agreement earlier this month. Raymond Ellis, 35, was sentenced to eight years in prison, which he will serve concurrently with a sentence he began in July for the robbery of the Madison Big Apple convenience store.

A crow in Skowhegan tested positive for the mosquito-borne West Nile virus in what public health officials say is an active mosquito-borne virus season that has begun earlier than usual in Maine. The virus spreads through the bite of an infected mosquito, according to the Maine CDC. More information about the virus and recommended precautions is available at the town Code Enforcement Office inside the Municipal Building on Water Street.

Check out this story from the Maine Department of Education about a whitewater kayaking clinic held by Skowhegan Outdoors, a program of Main Street Skowhegan. The state’s Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative allowed six high school students to participate in the course at no cost. Here is an excerpt:

“Wasting no time, the students took straight to the water, spending most of their trip in the river. A typical day of camp consisted of driving to the Kennebec River, putting on gear, getting into boats, and riding the currents as they developed their new skills. They would run ‘good rapids’ for practice only, then hike back upriver to repeat them.

On the first day, all students were in duckies, which are inflatable sit-on-top kayaks with good stability and maneuverability. On the second day, after repeating the skills learned the prior day in duckies, students graduated to whitewater kayaks, in which the kayaker sits inside the boat with a skirt (material that covers the inside of the boat).

At the end of the week, all six students could successfully kayak the lower-class III section of the Kennebec River, which is remarkable considering that three of them were brand new to the activity.”

Fall is a wonderful time to experience community in the outdoors. Somerset Woods Trustees has a variety of volunteer workday opportunities this fall. This Saturday, Aug. 31, consider joining us at Wesserunsett Stream Preserve between 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. for continued work on the yellow trail relocation project. Trail work tasks will include side-hill digging, sawing, lopping, blazing, and de-blazing. Trail work can be challenging, but it is wildly rewarding. 

We are also still looking for eight to 12 volunteers to support the guardrail replacement at Kennebec Banks Rest Area on U.S. Route 2 in Skowhegan. Date to be decided based on volunteer interest and availability.

If you have interest in helping with either of these efforts, please contact Rachel Cheatham.

• Take an inflatable kayak, known as a ducky, down the Kennebec River gorge in Skowhegan on Wednesday, Aug. 28, with Skowhegan Outdoors. Sign up online for the guided trip, which includes all necessary gear.

• Calling all beer lovers: The Skowhegan Craft Brew Festival is back Saturday, Aug. 31. Find more information about the event on its website.

• Mark International Overdose Awareness Day with ROAR’s sixth annual vigil and hope walk by candlelight on Saturday, Aug. 31. More information is on Facebook.

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