Renovations to Johnson Hall Performing Arts Center, considered the state’s oldest opera house, began this month. A crew from Barn Boards & More, a local wood salvaging business, was pulling up and saving the tongue-and-groove floor boards from the theater Thursday to reuse as flooring or make into tabletops. By December 2023, the three-story performing arts venue in Gardiner is expected to reopen to the public with a 400-seat theater, a large lobby and concession area, full-service box office, green rooms for performers, and an elevator. Local hotel owner Benjamin Johnson turned the former livery stable into a performance hall in 1884, and it became an opera house in 1888. All photos by Kennebec Journal photojournalist Joe Phelan.
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Posted inLocal & State, Uncategorized
It’s in the books: Skowhegan library director receives top state award
Angie Herrick named Maine Library Association’s Outstanding Librarian of the Year for helping to modify services and programs at Skowhegan Free Public Library during COVID-19 pandemic.
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Posted inCommunity News, Local & State, Schools and Education
School officials told harassment of minority students at Lawrence High School a recurring problem
A parent of a student at the school and a teacher there told MSAD 49 directors Thursday that there’s a hostile environment at the school where students regularly use racial slurs and LGBTQ+ teens are bullied and harassed.
Posted inCops & Courts, Local & State, News
Farmingdale stabbing suspect was revived by police, Narcan
Hector Rivera, 26, of Gardiner, fled after allegedly stabbing a Farmingdale man in the stomach and began to exhibit symptoms of a drug overdose while officers were apprehending him.
Posted inLocal & State
Search continues for man who went missing from Bangor psychiatric center
The mother of 37-year-old Graham Lacher expressed frustration with early efforts by police to find her son, who previously went missing from a group home in Norridgewock.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Augusta Chipotle workers walk out, claim unsafe conditions due to understaffing
Workers at the Augusta Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant walked off the job Tuesday, but returned to work Thursday with a full crew.
Posted inLocal & State
State board reinstates Waterville doctor’s medical license
Dr. Paul Gosselin was suspended from practice in November by the state Board of Osteopathic Licensure after it found evidence he was spreading misinformation about COVID-19.
Posted inLocal & State, Schools and Education
Maine legislative panel grills UMaine chancellor over ‘egregious’ presidential search
UMaine Chancellor Dannel Malloy and the board of trustees Chairperson Trish Riley spoke virtually to the Legislature’s Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs.
Posted inLocal & State, Schools and Education
UMaine trustees give chancellor a brief contract extension, delaying decision on his future
Chancellor Dannel P. Malloy’s contract has been extended through mid-July, allowing the board time to discuss the matter at its July 11 meeting.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State
MRC now in position to purchase Hampden recycling, waste-to-energy facility
The Municipal Review Committee announced Wednesday that no qualified bidders have come forward to buy the defunct Coastal Resources of Maine plant, which means the MRC is now poised to take ownership of it for $1.5 million.