The Quoddy Tides

09/15/2025

Before daybreak on Wednesday morning, September 3, flames reaching high above the tree line lit the area surrounding 27 East River Road in Pembroke. The home of Katherine and Jeremy Jurdak caught fire while they and their family slept. Screams and explosions woke neighbors who rushed, many on foot, to help.

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Before daybreak on Wednesday morning, September 3, flames reaching high above the tree line lit the area surrounding 27 East River Road in Pembroke. The home of Katherine and Jeremy Jurdak caught fire while they and their family slept.

09/15/2025

St. Stephen Mayor Allan MacEachern says that increasing incivility and harassment directed at elected councillors, municipal staff and volunteers make many people think twice about offering for public office. "It's one of the reasons that I'm considering not running again," he said in an interview, with New Brunswick's quadrennial municipal elections about eight months away, on May 11.

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St. Stephen Mayor Allan MacEachern says that increasing incivility and harassment directed at elected councillors, municipal staff and volunteers make many people think twice about offering for public office.

09/15/2025

A social media furor has sparked the anger of some Eastport residents who hope that a beach access point historically open to the public remains available despite its closure for construction.

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A social media furor has sparked the anger of some Eastport residents who hope that a beach access point historically open to the public remains available despite its closure for construction.

09/15/2025

A Princeton man who may have defrauded the VA out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in disability benefits and then faked his death on the St. Croix River to evade law enforcement has been arrested in Missouri. Gregory Heimann Jr., 51, was arrested on August 21 in La Plata after being charged with making false statements to the government. He had been a fugitive for more than a year after the issuance of an arrest warrant from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Inspector General, on April 29, 2024.

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A Princeton man who may have defrauded the VA out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in disability benefits and then faked his death on the St. Croix River to evade law enforcement has been arrested in Missouri.

09/15/2025

Washington County residents will have to make some tough decisions at the November 4 election polls when faced with whether to vote for a $11 million general obligation bond to bail out the county's government. The bond issue and the proposed county budget for 2026 would result in about a 40% hike in county taxes for municipalities. At a public hearing held on August 21, the Washington County commissioners outlined the reasons for what has quickly become a crisis and the need for the bond.

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Washington County residents will have to make some tough decisions at the November 4 election polls when faced with whether to vote for a $11 million general obligation bond to bail out the county's government.

09/12/2025

Out today!

08/25/2025

Pirates will once again roam the streets when the Eastport Pirate Festival debuts its 20th edition on the first weekend in September, bringing with it music, children's games, a formal ball and general shenanigans.

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Pirates will once again roam the streets when the Eastport Pirate Festival debuts its 20th edition on the first weekend in September, bringing with it music, children's games, a formal ball and general shenanigans.

08/25/2025

Salmon and seafood take center stage on Eastport dinner plates as a special culinary festival celebrates the bounty of the ocean off the Downeast coast on Labor Day weekend. This year, the 37th year the city hosts the Eastport Salmon and Seafood Festival, features an expanded repertoire of regional foods. In addition to the crab rolls and grilled salmon traditionally offered, festival organizers also plan to plate up freshly shucked Maine oysters, Maine wild blueberry cake and Maine smoked salmon.

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Salmon and seafood take center stage on Eastport dinner plates as a special culinary festival celebrates the bounty of the ocean off the Downeast coast on Labor Day weekend.

08/25/2025

Calais Mayor Marcia Rogers says that she and her friends will continue to cross the St. Croix River to St. Stephen – to eat at Kentucky Fried Chicken, Tim Horton's, Burger King or Pizza Delight, if for no other reason. She visits her horse living on a farm at Oak Hill and takes her grandchildren swimming at the Garcelon Civic Center.

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Calais Mayor Marcia Rogers says that she and her friends will continue to cross the St. Croix River to St. Stephen – to eat at Kentucky Fried Chicken, Tim Horton's, Burger King or Pizza Delight, if for no other reason.

08/25/2025

The Village of Grand Manan announced on August 12 that it was activating Level 1 of its Emergency Measures Plan in response to the dry conditions and fire risk. Level 1 is a precautionary measure that involves "enhanced monitoring of conditions and increased readiness."

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The Village of Grand Manan announced on August 12 that it was activating Level 1 of its Emergency Measures Plan in response to the dry conditions and fire risk. Level 1 is a precautionary measure that involves "enhanced monitoring of conditions and increased readiness."

08/25/2025

Electricity is flowing through the lines from 30 giant wind turbines surrounding Columbia, and soon the promised money from project operation will flow as well to local governments in Washington County.

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Electricity is flowing through the lines from 30 giant wind turbines surrounding Columbia, and soon the promised money from project operation will flow as well to local governments in Washington County.

08/25/2025

While Lubec residents earlier this month narrowly adopted a local aquaculture ordinance in response to two salmon farm lease renewal requests, whether the ordinance will be legally binding and whether the town has the capacity to administer it are questions that have not yet been determined. Voters approved the ordinance 94 to 81 at the August 6 annual town meeting that drew a large crowd. The close vote may be partly reflective of changing demographics in the Quoddy area, which for decades has been fairly accepting of fish farming.

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While Lubec residents earlier this month narrowly adopted a local aquaculture ordinance in response to two salmon farm lease renewal requests, whether the ordinance will be legally binding and whether the town has the capacity to administer it are questions that have not yet been determined.