State News Update

Legislature Deals With Biennial Budget and Hospital Debt Repayment

LD 1555, “An Act To Strengthen Maine's Hospitals and To Provide for a New Spirits Contract,” passed both the Maine House and Senate unanimously under the hammer, moving the state closer to repaying the debt owed to hospitals. The measure will pay Maine’s hospitals, restructure the state’s liquor operations and sales, and advance bonds.

The biennial budget proposal for 2014/2015 was also considered by the House and Senate, with a 102-43 vote in favor of enactment in the House and a 25-10 vote in favor of enactment in the Senate. The budget proposal now awaits a decision by Governor LePage. The full budget document is available HERE.


Community Preservation Grants available; deadline July 1

Each year, Historic New England provides Community Preservation Grants of $1,000 each to a small to mid-sized heritage organization in each of the six New England states. These grants support projects that raise the visibility of historic preservation and present diverse stories of life in our region. Past projects have included the renovation of a historic theater in New Hampshire, preservation of hand-colored photographs in Rhode Island, and the purchase of archival shelving to preserve family papers in Vermont.

Historic New England seeks to support projects that complement our goal of telling diverse stories of New England life. Award recipients will be announced in August 2013.
The application is simple. Apply online before Monday, July 1.

Learn more about the Community Preservation Grants program, and see a list of previous recipients HERE.

Maine History Corner

At the turn of the century, two of Maine’s famous citizens were oxen – the world’s largest, in fact. Owned by A.S. Rand of Stetson, and named A. Granger and Mt. Katahdin, the two oxen weighed in at about 6600 pounds and were too big to do farm work. In order to keep their leg muscles strong enough to support their massive weight, Rand placed the oxen’s water at the end of a raised board so they were forced to exercise their leg muscles in order to reach it. Because they were too large for farm work, Rand exhibited them around the northeast United States and southeast Canada. They were even displayed at Madison Square Garden in 1906. After the death of Mt. Katahdin, the ox was mounted and used in events such as parades until it was destroyed in a 1934 fire. Lore says that A. Granger was buried under an apple tree in Stetson following his death. For more information on these remarkable animals visit HERE.