As 2024 draws to a close, it is time to look back on the year and see how the year has passed and developed. This year was full of highlights, from a presidential election to a solar eclipse.

January — January was a month of storms, as the Bethel area found itself recovering from heavy rain in December. Extensive damage was done to the town and surrounding areas, leaving recovery happening well into January.

During this month, the Eddy middle school found itself relocated to the Congregational church, while the Selectboard dealt with the flood. An article by Rose Lincoln covered the damage. ““I don’t know where to start,” said Department of Public Works Director Scott Sumner about the multiple roads and multiple washouts. Kimball Hill required over 1,000 yards of refill material and North Road required 350 yards of fill.

He said they hired several other contractors to help repair the storm damage. “We spent almost $40,000 in material to fill in the holes.”” Meanwhile, out in Rumford Jade Gianforte and Matt Thurston had to rescue a couple motorists who had found themselves victim to high waters, and had to be rescued from the river.

February — Going into February, Agnes Grey School was shut down. An abrupt closure was decided due to concerns about the safety of the building, leaving students dealing with a sudden transfer to other elementary schools.

Meanwhile at Telstar, the community faced a conundrum with regard to the book “Me, and Earl, and the Dying Girl”. Debate regarding whether or not the book was appropriate for middle school students took place.

This was met with concern from multiple school board members, including Stephanie Harbeck, who said, “This could possibly open up us being here everyday until everyone of these book in the stacks is looked through and subjectively judged as to whether it is appropriate or not.”

Final judgement ruled that banning the book would be a violation of the first amendment, as well as- as librarian Kelley Fraser said – setting a “dangerous precedent.”

The debate is covered in more detail in the following articles:

March — March saw several resignations and changes in job positions in the Bethel Area. April 3rd was the last day in the Chamber of Commerce for finance director Amy Henley, who moved on from her job there to work for the Maine Rural Water Association.

During this month, Executive Director Jessie Perkins and Membership Director John Walker also both resigned from their jobs, leaving openings in the chamber of commerce. A miscommunication from the chamber led citizens to believe that they were suffering financially, though that was clarified in an email.

“Unfortunately, there has been some misinformation being circulated concerning the Chamber’s finances. A report was misread and the information was believed to indicate that the Chamber was in serious financial distress. It was an honest mistake, but it has unfortunately caused some concern among our members. We are very sorry for any doubts or concern this may have caused anyone. Please know that the chamber has ample funds available to continue operations and we will be here supporting our members as always.”

April — April was the month of the much anticipated solar eclipse. School Superintendent Mark Kenney announced, “The decision has been made to do an early release on that Monday, starting at 1:05 p. m. so we can get through the scheduled lunch cycles which will allow us to get students and staff home before the event is to take place.  A big part of the concern is that we do not want students on the buses during the event making it more difficult for the drivers.  The peak of the event will be just before and just after 3:30 p.m. in our area.” Students were able to watch the eclipse through viewing glasses provided by the Maine Mineral and Gem museum.

On the theme of darkness, a feature piece was done on Bethel artist Mattie Rose Templeton on her art, showcasing the importance of the dark and wildlife.

May — May’s news was spent celebrating the achievements of local middle and high schoolers. Whether it was a Telstar graduate pursuing a CDL license, or students from the Eddy middle school honoring veterans, this month was for the students. At this time some Telstar teams joined the east/West divisions, rather than playing in the Mountain Valley conference for more fair matchups.

June — Swinging into summer, Pride month came to Bethel with a celebration at the Gem theater.

In a collaboration between BAAM and local Telstar students, the Gem hosted a full pride celebration with performances from a drag queen and vendors, expanding on what had been done with the event in the previous year. During this time, Gem theater owner Wade Kavenaugh also began to make plans to buy the Conference Center in Bethel for conversion into a community hub- a plan that is still being worked on all the way into December.

July — Bethel saw the opening of new businesses during the month of July. Tara Savage opened her own dental clinic, branching off from Bethel Family Dentistry. In the article describing her business, written by Rose Lincoln, it was reported that, “For the past six years Savage has worked for Bethel Family Dentistry (BFD), currently Bethel’s only dentistry office. She will stay on part time until a replacement is found, working at her new office on Wednesdays (when BFD is closed), Thursdays and Fridays.”

The Root Cellar was purchased by Jennifer Cross, and celebrated with a float in the Summerfest parade. The paper also commemorated Swain’s farm, an island farm in the Androscoggin that, as the article said, may very well be the last of its kind in Western Maine.

August — With summer drawing to a close, so begins Maine’s unofficial fourth season- Construction. Funds amounting to $182,360 were taken from the reserve account to make repairs to Bethel’s sand/salt shed, which had been damaged from gradual wear and tear over time caused by the sand and salt that it housed.

On a more historical side, an article by Rose Lincoln detailed the historical development of the Wheeler Brothers mica mine in Gilead, Maine. While it has fallen out of use as the mining industry decreased, the mine was at one time a prominent employer for the town of Bethel. Residents were encouraged to look back at this historical place, and learn a bit about a once popular industry of the local area.

September — Continuing construction season into September, the slightly controversial condo project in Bethel was greenlit for moving forwards, to be built in the field beside the old Bethel barn. Work on this project is expected to take place moving forwards into the next year.

The town was also treated to the unusual sight of students filling Sunday River before ski season when a fire alarm malfunction required school to be held elsewhere and Sunday River offered its facility.

October — The approach of fall saw a focus on the natural world for locals looking to spend some more time outdoors. Valentine Farm held a successful outdoor event with talks, workshops, and food made from wild ingredients. The event was well attended by locals, and went hand in hand with a talk at the Gem theater about the process of growing apples.

With apple season at its height, Sparrowhawk Orchard detailed their plans for moving forwards in the year ahead, developing an “all around agricultural experience” for both locals and visitors looking for a chance to have some fresh picked apples and homemade cider.

However, not all of the connections with nature were entirely positive, as the Bethel town hall discovered mold in the basement. This mold ended up forcing the Bethel Town Hall to relocate to the Fire Department, which has remained in effect throughout December.

November — Election season may have dominated the national news, but in Bethel the local news were focused more on contributions made by the younger members of the community. Black Diamond Nutrition celebrated opening under a new owner – Maya Taylor, who is only 21 years old.

In town, on the younger side, Telstar students worked to aid seniors in the community in their day of service- a biannual service day held in conjunction with the Age-Friendly Community Initiative (AFCI)

On another note, the community rallied together after an election-day tragedy. Jade Gianforte and Matt Thurston, who had rescued a couple from the river at the start of the year, had their home burned down in an active shooting. The community, however, came together to support them and help them with donations during this time.

December — During the festive season, Bethel begins to gear up toward Christmas with a window decorating contest hosted by the Chamber of Commerce.

The discussion of speech at Telstar took on a new angle as debates arose about what to do with cell phones at school. The school board held an open discussion about their new cell phone policy, which was met with displeasure by school board member Scott Cole, who did not agree with the new policy and called it “a concession to technology.” Nevertheless, with some revisions, the new policy was passed at a school board meeting.