Sabrina Murphy and Francie Tolan of the Bath Area Family YMCAby Kitty Wheeler
Coastal Journal contributor

BATH — The busy Bath Area Family YMCA , located at 303 Centre St., offers a sanctuary for infants to 100-year-old citizens on a daily basis. Through programs, classes, athletic teams, a child care center and teen room, the Y does not stop to draw a breath throughout the week. Furthermore, no one is turned away at the door if he or she cannot afford membership or fees for classes. About $123,600 is raised each year by the community to provide scholarships for those who need it.

Bath YMCA Executive Director Sabrina Murphy embraces the national YMCA focus on youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.

"Our Bath Y is cause-driven," said Murphy. "As a nonprofit organization, we support all citizens in the area to become part of our community. What we offer here appeals to any age, and we need your support."

Ramona and Kent Whitaker, Nobleboro, savoring their first Chocolate Fest.by Patricia Thigpen
Coastal Journal Contributor 

NEWCASTLE — Mother Nature didn’t keep more than 125 guests from one of Lincoln County’s most anticipated and elegant evenings of the year. 

The Lincoln Home in Newcastle hosted the 11th annual Chocolate Fest and Silent Auction benefitting the Healthy Kids child abuse and neglect prevention programs in Lincoln County. Healthy Kids’ mission is to provide a variety of programs and services to help “parents, caregivers and professionals in raising emotionally, physically and cognitively healthy children,” according to the mission statement.

White lights twinkled throughout the spacious and beautifully appointed venue on the banks of the Damariscotta River. A thin blanket of fresh snow added a romantic element to the annual benefit, which is scheduled to take place before Valentine’s Day. 

“St. Valentine is all about love,” said Healthy Kids director Leslie Livingston, “and bringing people together this time of year, at an event that focuses on the welfare of our children and their families, while celebrating our ‘love of chocolate,’ is perfect. People love the event, look forward to it, and support it.” she added. 

The amount raised this year was unavailable at press time, but last year’s benefit brought $23,000 to Healthy Kids.

Geoff Masland, left, and Tim Adams of Oxbow Brewing Co.NEWCASTLE — The first thing you’ve got to know about Oxbow Brewing is that you can get there from here. You may not think so, at first. You may even declare, after a certain amount of driving around and calling the brewery for more directions and so forth, that it can’t be done. But it can. 

“Everybody’s GPS puts them about a quarter mile away all over the place,” said Geoff Masland, who co-founded Oxbow with Tim Adams a scant six months ago. “We are at the epicenter of a navigational nightmare.” 

The second thing you should know about Oxbow Brewing is, they’re making some seriously good beers, stuff that’s been highly rated by people on RateBeer.com and BeerAdvocate.com and elsewhere: highly desirable, really impressive, very good beer.

And the third thing you need to know about Oxbow is, you need to get there. Because on Friday afternoons starting around 2 o’clock, Tim Adams and Geoff Masland will fill you a growler of some of the finest, freshest beer you will ever taste, and talk beer with you until the cows come home – or at least until closing time, which in this case means 6 p.m.