The town of Damariscotta is planning to request bids for winter maintenance on the town’s roads and the downtown area. The board is scheduled to discuss the matter during the board’s meeting Wednesday, Jan. 20.

During the holidays at the beginning of the winter season, there was a posting on the wall at Wiscasset Middle High School offering free handmade mittens and hats to students. According to school nurse Joanne Krejsa, the mittens and hats went very quickly during the onset of winter.

Lincoln County Administrator John O’Connell announced his resignation to the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners at the board’s meeting Tuesday, Jan. 19. His resignation will be effective at the end of March or early April. The commissioners accepted his resignation and his recommendation to advertise in-house to fill the position.

Clayton Grover, of Newcastle, started his career at Bath Iron Works on Aug. 21, 1952. With the exception of a stint in the Army from 1953 to 1955 and a brief layoff in 1963, Grover has remained on the job at BIW and, at 83, has no plans to retire.

The Waldoboro Smoke Shop is relocating a short distance north on Route 1 to a vacant commercial building across from Moody’s Diner and formerly home to the Chinese restaurant Chen’s Village.

Meeting Jan. 7, the Coopers Mills Dam Committee voted unanimously to remove the Coopers Mills Dam. The Whitefield Board of Selectmen upheld their recommendation at their Jan. 12 meeting, also voting unanimously to remove the dam.

As fundraising for the CLC YMCA master facility plan continues, the Y’s decision to remove the Wayne W. Plummer Racquetball Court has been met with criticism from members of the community.

The beginning of the new year brought a change to one of downtown Damariscotta’s institutions, as Jeff Curtis officially took ownership of the Maine Coast Book Shop & Café Friday, Jan. 1.

Longtime gymnastics coach Janice Cormier-Hay had been a fixture at the CLC YMCA in Damariscotta for 16 years.