Page 2 - Patsy Crockett News Today

The unanimous decision at Tuesday's commissioners meeting is not the end of the process, as a committee is expected to be named to make a recommendation where the statue will go.

As the COVID-19 pandemic approaches its third year in Maine, local governments have taken different tacks in how they conduct public meetings and carry on municipal business.

Patsy Crocket, chairwoman of the Kennebec County commissioners, said with the widespread growth of COVID-19 cases she opted to hold Tuesday's meeting virtually as new cases at the Kennebec County jail prolong the outbreak there.

Beverly Bustin-Hatheway has resigned and the Kennebec County commissioners are appointing Diane Wilson, deputy register since 2011, as acting register to fill the remaining year of the term.

Sheriff Ken Mason says staff members and inmates at the jail in Augusta will begin returning to more normal operations at the end of this week, following a COVID-19 outbreak at the jail announced at the end of November, which is now affecting 32 people.

Scott Ferguson started work as the new county administrator this week, attending his first meeting Tuesday of the county commissioners who puzzled over what to do with a large weathervane at the facilities office.

Scott Ferguson, a finance director for the Maine state government, is to begin his new job Nov. 1, following the retirement later this month of Robert Devlin, Kennebec County's first county administrator for almost two decades.

Under the American Rescue Plan Act, Kennebec County will get $23.7 million to help recover from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s time,” Devlin said. “I’m going to be 71 in September.” Earlier this month, Kennebec County commissioners hired Don Gerrish of Eaton Peabody Consulting Group to conduct the search for the next county administrator. Gerrish is currently also conducting city manager searches for both Gardiner and Augusta. Related Devlin said he had initially planned to retire about four years ago, but committed to commissioners to stay four more years. Patsy Crockett, chairwoman of the Kennebec C...

Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal AUGUSTA — With the controversial statue of Melville Fuller set to go back to its donor, the committee appointed to help find a new location for the effigy of the former Supreme Court justice wants to ensure its educational significance is not lost. But the work of the advisory committee has ended because of an agreement reached Tuesday between Robert Fuller Jr. and the Kennebec County Commissioners to return the statue to Fuller for $1, and to allow the statue to r...