There were bright spots to be found in the year 2023, of course there were. 

It’s just that in the Lewiston-Auburn area in particular, one finds he has to search a little harder to find those high points because the lows were just so profound. 

The mass shooting in Lewiston on Oct. 25 was so tragic, so sad and so shocking that it cast a dark shadow over all else — a shadow that will loom over us for years to come. 

For many, not just in the Twin Cities but far beyond it, the horror of that terrible night is how the year will be remembered forevermore. 

Add to that the fact that an alarming number of homicides occurred across the area and the fact that it was essentially a year without a summer — the frequency and amount of rain that fell between June and August shattered a whole lot of records, not to mention the devastating flooding just two weeks ago — it will be hard, for some, to remember 2023 as anything but a grim time, best forgotten. 

But over the course of the year, some good things did happen. Local journalism got a boost with the sale of area newspapers to a nonprofit bent on preserving that very thing. 

Some local businesses came to the area, including the popular restaurant Olive Garden, which opened in Auburn in the spring. 

The Lewiston High School soccer team won it all in November, providing an uplift for a beleaguered city still mourning the losses from the shootings just weeks earlier. 

Construction on the new Edward Little High School in Auburn stayed on track enough that staff and students were able to move into the new digs in late summer. 

Events like the Great Falls Balloon Festival, Auburn’s Lobster Festival, and the cities’ holiday celebrations went off without a hitch — some balloons even got off the ground this year at the Balloon Festival in August. 

It wasn’t all bad, but for one reason or another, 2023 is a year we will never forget. Here are the top 10 local stories from the past 12 months. 

Lewiston’s mass shooting: community still reels, questions remain 

It was a nightmare of the sort few expected ever to experience in Lewiston. 

On the night of Oct. 25, a Bowdoin man walked into Just-In-Time bowling alley on Mollison Way and opened fire on the crowd gathered there. 

While the community was still reacting to that horror, there came a report of a second shooting scene, this one at Schemengees Bar & Grille on Lincoln Street miles away.

The numbers being reported in those early minutes seemed almost too immense to be believed. Locals gathering on social media were talking about the possibility of a dozen people or more being killed in the rampage. Some suggested the numbers might have been as high as 20. 

Meanwhile, as police from four agencies raced to the shooting scenes, locals tried to make sense of what was unfolding around them. As the shooter or shooters were still at large, there came more reports of additional shootings at various locations, the Walmart Distribution Center and restaurants in Lewiston, Lisbon and Sabattus among them. 

Those reports ultimately proved erroneous but at Just-In-Time and Schemengees, the horrible damage was done. A total of 18 people had been killed during 40-year-old Army reservist Robert Card’s inexplicable rampage and many more were seriously wounded. 

What was revealed in the minutes and hours following those initial reports was madness. 

About an hour after the first shots were fired, a grainy photo emerged of Card walking through the door at Just-In-Time, aiming his AR-style rifle at those who were gathered there for a night of bowling. Now Lewiston’s boogeyman had a face as well as a name. 

With Card still at large, local families hunkered down, locking their doors, frantically reaching out to friends and family, fetching their own weapons for protection if they had any. 

When Maine State Police announced they had found Card’s Subaru abandoned near a boat launch in Lisbon, sighs of relief were breathed — most thought the ordeal was coming to an end and that Card would soon be in custody. 

And yet it wasn’t to be. For two full days, the search for Card continued and the result was that Lewiston and parts of the immediate surrounding area would be virtually closed for nearly 48 hours. 

With a mass killer still on the loose, businesses closed, among them grocery stores, banks, restaurants and even mom and pop corner stores. Schools remained shut down for days. Normal life in the Twin Cities ground to a halt as the search for Card went on and on. 

The FBI remained in Lewiston for a week, gathering at the Lewiston Armory. Helicopters routinely flew overhead as investigators from a variety of state and federal agencies joined the search. 

At one point, rumors surfaced that Card may have staged a boat on the Androscoggin River and made his getaway by water. The longer the hunt went on, the wilder the speculation became. 

Later, Maine State Police would face criticism for their handling of the search. It was said that while heading the manhunt, department heads waited a full 12 hours to begin tracking Card after finding his abandoned car, causing Lewiston to remain locked down longer than it should have. Other law enforcement officials said state police had kept them out of the loop and didn’t share information, which may have prolonged the search. 

Ultimately, two nights after the shootings, Card’s body was found inside a storage trailer at Maine Recycling Corporation in Lisbon, a business for which Card once worked. The business is just a mile from the area where Card’s Subaru had been found, leading to more criticism about the handling of the search — the grounds of the recycling business had been searched a day after the shooting, it was later learned, yet failed to find Card’s body. 

In an immediate sense, the discovery of Card’s remains marked the end of the long two-day ordeal. 

And yet it was far from over. So many questions remained. 

In the aftermath of the grisly affair, it was learned that many warning signs had appeared about Card in the days, weeks and months leading up to the shooting. 

Everyone who knew Card had been concerned about his behavior, described at times at psychotic. His ex-wife and teenage son had sounded warnings. So did his siblings, parents and friends, along with fellow members of an Army Reserve unit in Saco. 

These folks knew Card was having psychotic episodes and hearing voices. They knew he had been making threats and that those threats were getting more specific. They knew he had several guns and that he knew how to use them. 

Local police were alerted in May and again in September about Card’s increasingly erratic behavior, according to information that surfaced in the aftermath. In between those contacts, Card spent two weeks at a New York psychiatric facility at the urging of commanding officers. 

The Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office had received two reports about Card’s mental health issues earlier in the year but didn’t make contact with Card and left the matter in the hands of his family before he carried out the deadliest mass shooting in state history. Yet an independent third-party review of the Sheriff’s Office later ruled that the department had “responded reasonably under the circumstances at the time.” 

And yet more investigations into the horrors of that night continue. In November, Gov. Janet Mills and the state’s attorney general created the Independent Commission to Investigate the Facts of the Tragedy in Lewiston with the purpose of investigating all aspects of the shootings, including how authorities handled earlier signs of Card’s problems and how authorities handled the search and investigation. In late December, it was announced that the U.S. Army Inspector General will conduct an independent investigation into the mass shooting after intense pressure from survivors of the shooting, as well as friends and family of the deceased. 

There are hopes that an intense scrutiny of the nightmare that unfolded in Lewiston six days before Halloween may lead to better mental health and police systems in Maine, that new laws will be passed or laws already on the books may be better used in the future, that problems with miscommunications between police departments may be ironed out in time to prevent similar tragedies in the future. 

In the aftermath of the killing spree, stories of heroism and sacrifice rose out of the carnage. There emerged accounts of men who sacrificed themselves in order to save others, of people who tried to confront the killer during the rampage only to die in the effort. Even in the midst of all that horror, the men and women who suffered through Robert Card’s misplaced wrath showed immense courage and unimaginable strength. Some of those stories are only now surfacing as the victims of that terrible night continue to recover from the trauma of it. Some of those stories may never be told.

If there was any good to come out of the savagery of that terrible night, it was the torrent of support that came — not just from nearby Maine communities, but from all over the nation and world — for the survivors of the killings and also for the community at large. Various groups reacted quickly to the tragedy, organizing fundraisers and other efforts to help the survivors and their families. These efforts went on for months following the shootings as the people of the Twin Cities and beyond rallied around their wounded and heartbroken neighbors.

President Joe Biden visited the city in early November. Professional sports teams wore “Lewiston Strong” patches as a show of support. Sales of T-shirts with the very same logo raised nearly $200,000 for families of the victims. The entire country seemed to stand in solidarity with the dazed and grief-stricken folks of Lewiston-Auburn. 

In the end, Lewiston DID remain strong and it was through that strength that those days of terror were endured. 

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,” said Mayor Carl Sheline in the aftermath, “Lewiston people are known for our strength and grit and we will need both in the days to come.” 

Jay mill closes; new property owner steps up 

In March, Pixelle Specialty Solutions stopped producing paper at its Androscoggin mill and shut down permanently soon after. 

For the people of Jay and the surrounding region, it was a tough loss. The mill had employed 230 people and was the town’s largest private employer. It was feared that for the first time in 130 years, the town would have to get by without a mill. 

Some encouraging news came along soon after. In September, Kansas-based company JGT2 Redevelopment announced that it would buy the paper mill and cogeneration plant from Pixelle. 

After that, things happened fast. In mid-December, JGT2 shared the news that it had purchased the defunct Androscoggin paper mill buildings and 1,000 acres on Riley Road. 

The plan, company owners said, is to demolish the south end of the mill and redevelop the north side. 

The old pulp and paper mill equipment will be sold and repurposed where possible, according to the purchase application. Unnecessary infrastructure will be demolished to prepare for new construction. The property will be divided and redeveloped into several new industrial uses. 

JGT2 officials expect this will take about 12 to 18 months, but company officials are already in discussion with a number of potential tenants. 

There was no immediate word on how many people might be employed once the facilities are up and running again. 

Local elections change the landscape

Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline won a second term, but the vote in November was so close, it forced a runoff vote in December. 

Meanwhile, in Auburn, Mayor Jason Levesque lost his bid for a fourth term after he was unseated by former Maine State Police Deputy Chief Jeff Harmon.

The race between the two Auburn candidates had been viewed as a choice between an incumbent who has overseen a development boom and zoning overhaul, and a newcomer who believed the city put development before the concerns of current residents. 

In the end, Harmon bested Levesque by a commanding tally of 3,768 to 2,335. 

“I think it was an election where there was a pretty clear choice about the direction we want to go in the way that we govern,” Harmon said after he was declared winner. 

In Lewiston, Sheline officially gained his second term as mayor by 122 votes in the Dec. 12 runoff election. It was the city’s first mayoral runoff since 2017. The runoff was necessary because on Election Night in November, neither Sheline nor opponent Jon Connor received 50% of the vote — Sheline received 3,624 votes, or 45%, compared to 3,041 votes for Connor. 

Following his win, Sheline said in some ways, his next term will be a very different job than it was when he took office two years ago, in part because of a large election turnover in city councilors who had fought frequently with Sheline. 

“Most urgently, I now lead a city working to heal and recover from the deadliest mass shooting in our state’s history,” he said. “Assisting however and wherever I can will continue to be a top priority for me, as I know it is for so many of my fellow Lewiston citizens.” 

Wild weather all year long 

The year ended with a devastating rainstorm that brought 5 inches of precipitation across Androscoggin County, 6 inches to Franklin County and nearly eight inches to parts of Oxford County. 

But it wasn’t the rain alone that caused widespread damage and problems of all kinds that vexed the population for days following the storm. 

The winds during the Dec. 18 storm shrieked at up to 80 mph at times and the result was a lot of downed trees and power lines, which caused power outages for nearly half a million homes and businesses across Maine. 

During the peak of the storm, shingles were ripped off roofs, trees toppled onto houses, cars and businesses, and downed power lines were reported all over. At least four people were reported dead as a direct result of the storm. 

Even when the storm wound down and moved away, the destruction was really only getting started. With streams and rivers flooding, roads were washed out in several parts of the state and electricity remained out for thousands as power crews from Maine and other states struggled to catch up. 

In Mexico, two people died when the truck they were riding in was swept away into the Swift River. By then, two others had already been killed by falling tree limbs in other parts of the state. 

Days after the deadly rainstorm, virtually every city and town in the affected areas were still struggling to clean up, open roads and get heat and supplies to those still in the dark. Once again, the state was forced to apply for federal relief funds needed to rebuild roads and bridges damaged in the latest onslaught of nasty weather. 

It was a monster storm, all right, reminiscent, in various ways, of the crippling ice storm of 1998. And yet for some, it came as no surprise: the year 2023 was a troublesome one as far as weather goes. 

During the summer, most Maine records were shattered by the frequency of rainstorms. In June alone, there were 22 days of measurable precipitation with an overcast sky — twice the climatological average. 

During the period between June and August, records for consecutive days of measurable precipitation were broken in several areas of the state. All summer long it just seemed to rain and rain. Events were canceled all over the place. Gardens lay in ruins. Businesses that rely on summertime trade suffered because there seemed to be no summer at all. 

The year was a downright bummer for weather, and Mother Nature seemed to save the worst for last. By the first official day of winter, Dec. 21, tens of thousands or people were still without power after the punishing wind and rainstorm three days prior and a whole lot of Christmas plans were up in the air at best, completely canceled at worst. 

The homeless problem: Same as it ever was 

In the early part of 2023, there seemed to be some hope that the problem of homelessness in Lewiston-Auburn was going to be addressed as the year advanced. 

In March, MaineHousing announced a $3.7 million grant for a 25-bed shelter at the former Sun Journal building at 104 Park St. in Lewiston. 

It was to be a step forward and the beginning of better things to come. 

But the plan fell apart soon after. In June, the Lewiston City Council, citing concerns about lack of funding and potential impact on area business, voted to deny a license for the Park Street project. 

That decision came after project planners had already missed the deadline to receive the MaineHousing grant. 

What had seemed so promising before was a plan now dead in the water. And the whole issue seemed emblematic of the homelessness crisis in general: many appeared interested in helping the unhoused population, but the political will to do so was in short supply. 

The issue of homelessness in the area has been getting worse, not better. In Lewiston and Auburn, the number of unhoused individuals or families continued to rise. And as the numbers crept up, heated discussion followed while very few solutions came out of the fray. 

While everybody seemed to agree that something had to be done, the issue remained a divisive one. Caught in the middle were police, tasked with moving along homeless folks who were found to be interfering with local business. Whenever that happened — or when homeless encampments were torn down — police faced criticisms for being too hasty or for lacking compassion. 

And yet it was police who interacted the most with the homeless on a day-to-day basis. They did so under the guidance of a new Attorney General’s Office mandate requiring that police give the homeless as many chances possible before taking criminal action for things like drinking in public, using drugs in the open or sleeping in the doorways of local businesses after having been warned to stay away. 

Police beat officers were also out there every day and every night offering assistance to the homeless with the help of trained social workers in the Project Support You program and through a three-month-old initiative called Neighborhood First. 

There’s no real indication of how many people were helped by the programs. Police have said that not all homeless people want the kind of services police were offering them. 

By the end of the year, dozens of homeless men and women could be seen on any given day gathered at the edge of Kennedy Park in Lewiston. They are not allowed to sleep there, but during the day there are makeshift camps so the matter of homelessness stays right there in public view. 

But by the time 2023 wound to a close, no magical solutions to the issue had materialized as the cold of winter bore down.

And yet, smaller efforts to help those without homes continued as they have continued for years. In November, it was announced that New Beginnings in Lewiston will open an overnight warming shelter in December for adults between the ages of 18 and 24, after being awarded funding from MaineHousing. Other organizations and area churches are likewise expected to open space for the homeless, particularly during extreme cold weather. 

The problem of homelessness persists in Lewiston and Auburn, but it’s an issue that is not unique to the area. In 2023, even the smallest of cities across the nation struggled with the problem — a problem that will remain as the final minutes of 2023 tick away.

Dueling city councils: Lake Auburn watershed issue to be debated into new year 

All around Auburn throughout the year, signs could be seen virtually everywhere imploring city leaders and local residents to “Save the Lake.” 

Lake Auburn, that is. The signs were posted by people on one side of what for two years had proved to be a most divisive issue: whether or not to amend watershed rules and change zoning ordinances in the lake’s watershed that could allow for more development there and threaten the quality of the lake.

On the other side, some city leaders insisted that the bulk of the proposed changes in the watershed are meant to protect water quality. But, they said, because the changes took place during a time of crisis when additional housing was needed more than ever, many have conflated the two issues.

In particular at the center of the debate between water quality and more housing are 60 acres off Gracelawn Road owned by developer John Gendron, who has proposed a housing project there.

There was plenty of political action on the matter in 2023, most of it coming near the end of the year, and yet by the time the year wound to a close, the issue remains unresolved. 

Yet, for a period of about a week, it seemed like big changes were coming.

In early December, the Auburn City Council approved several ordinance changes in the Lake Auburn watershed, including the rezoning of Gendron’s 60 acres to a general business zone, updated septic design standards and increased the minimum lot size for developments in the watershed. 

Those changes would allow development to get underway. Time for proponents to celebrate? 

Not so fast. As it happens, that vote came not long after Election Day, at a time when a whole new City Council was about to move into the Council Chamber. Once the new councilors arrived, things happened fast. 

In its first meeting after being sworn in in mid-December, the new council took action to delay the ordinances approved by the previous council earlier in the month. It was a stunning move in which the new council voted to direct City Manager Phil Crowell to draft amendments that would delay the applicability date of an updated septic design standard and the rezoning of Gendron’s 60 acres. 

It was the first major action by the council in its first term under Mayor Jeff Harmon, who had only recently unseated three-term Mayor Jason Levesque. Levesque had been among the strongest supporters of ordinance changes. There were some who speculated that it was his stance on the issue that cost Levesque his bid for a fourth term in the mayor’s chair. 

With a new City Council that appears less enthused about the proposed ordinance changes in the Lake Auburn watershed, it’s a guarantee that the debate will continue into 2024 and perhaps beyond. 

Local media shakeup

It was a move that some say may have saved local journalism. 

The sale of most of Maine’s daily newspapers, including the Sun Journal, to a national nonprofit became finalized in late summer. 

The sale of the newspapers was announced in August with former owner Reade Brower, of Masthead Maine, figuratively handing over the keys to Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro, CEO of the National Trust for Local News, which scooped up the Sun Journal, Portland Press Herald and a whole lot of other Maine daily and weekly papers. 

For many, including employees at the papers, the sale was seen as a positive step forward in the preservation of local news. 

“It is really a blessing for us to be a part of the National Trust for Local News,” said Lisa DeSisto, who served as chief executive officer of Masthead Maine and is now CEO and publisher of the Maine Trust for Local News. “We’ve been reading about some of the really unpleasant outcomes for newspaper organizations across the country and I can’t imagine one that is more opposite than what we’ve seen out there.” 

In addition to the Sun Journal, Masthead Maine included the Morning Sentinel in Waterville, Kennebec Journal in Augusta, Portland Press Herald, The Times Record in Brunswick and 17 weekly papers in southern and western Maine, including the Forecaster group. 

With the sale, the papers are now part of the Maine Trust for Local News, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Local News. 

The acquisition was made with a mix of financing and support from the National Trust’s general operating fund amid local fundraising efforts. The nonprofit’s website lists more than a dozen general funders of the organization, including the Knight Foundation, Gates Family Foundation and Google News Initiative. 

The sale of the Maine papers came at a time when other news publications were getting gobbled up by private equity firms, which then cut out local news coverage entirely. For those who work in Maine journalism, the sale of the papers to a news trust saved a lot of people — including readers of local news — from the same fate. 

“Becoming part of an organization whose sole purpose is to preserve local journalism is absolutely amazing,” said Jody Jalbert, publisher of the Sun Journal and Western Maine Weeklies. “Transitioning to a nonprofit will set us up for long-term sustainability and gives us the opportunity to invest in our people and our publications. This is by far the best possible outcome for the communities served by the Sun Journal and our six western Maine weekly newspapers. The National Trust for Local News will be a catalyst for Maine journalism, and we are excited to be part of it.” 

Sebago Lake dispute grinds on

It’s been two years since Auburn businessman Donald Buteau and his real estate holding company were cited for 15 violations of Maine’s shoreland zoning ordinance and for unpermitted work on Sebago Lake in Raymond. 

Moves were made in court during 2023 but those who hope to see Buteau held accountable, and his property restored to its former state, will have to wait longer. The case against Buteau has been tied up in appeals and two separate cases in Cumberland County ever since. 

At the center of the dispute is shoreland in front of the homes at 18 Fernwood Road and 28 Whitetail Lane. In October 2021, the shoreland was transformed over two weeks from its natural landscape of towering trees, native vegetation and rocky shore to an open landscape of at least 400 linear feet of riprap — rock — lining the shore.

The town and Maine DEP investigated and discovered no permits had been filed for the work, resulting in notices for numerous violations of the state’s shoreland zoning ordinance and unpermitted work. 

In June, Raymond leaders asked Cumberland County Superior Court to order the restoration of the two properties, both of which are owned by Management Properties, the company that controls Buteau’s real estate holdings.

But efforts to take punitive actions against Buteau have proven difficult and the town of Raymond has already spent up to $400,000 in lawyers fees trying to do so. 

Buteau himself has denied there were any violations on his properties, but legal paperwork filed on his behalf has stated if there were any, they “resulted from errors and/or oversights by the contractor hired by Management Controls to do the work,” which is Big Lake Marine Construction in Casco. 

Buteau’s attorneys have also said the town of Raymond has singled their client out because he is wealthy. 

Meanwhile, as the case drags on in the court system, it’s business as usual for Buteau. In September, Raymond town officials revealed that despite having unresolved shoreland zoning violations, Buteau applied for and was granted a permit for $1.5 million in renovations to the property on Whitetail Lane. 

The impasse prompted state Sen. Tim Nangle to put forth two bills to help resolve this and future cases, including giving municipalities, such as Raymond, the authority to deny building and other permits if there are any unresolved shoreland zone violations. 

Nangle, a Democrat from Cumberland, put two solutions before the Maine Legislature after local residents and Raymond officials appealed to local lawmakers for help. One proposal would have established a revolving loan fund to enable municipalities to borrow funds to pay attorney fees until a zoning case is adjudicated. 

That proposal was not approved by the Legislative Council and an appeal of that decision was also unsuccessful. Nangle said in November that he remained undaunted and was working on an alternative legislative plan — but he was not yet prepared to discuss those details. 

Buteau is listed as the managing director of Management Controls and president and chief executive officer of Futureguard Building Products, an awning and door canopy products company headquartered in Auburn. He is also listed as CEO of Dough Masters, a wholesale pizza dough manufacturer also in Auburn. 

A record breaking year for homicides? 

On a Sunday afternoon at the end of July, two men were shot and killed during an altercation on Knox Street in Lewiston. 

Mohamed Sheikh, 30, of Auburn and Keyt Hussein, 23, of Lewiston died after a dispute that led to the shooting. Sheikh died on a Knox Street sidewalk and Hussein died at Central Maine Medical Center. 

A third man, Mohamed Liban, 24, of Lewiston, had been sitting in a car and shot Sheikh several times through an open window, police said. The Maine Attorney General’s Office later determined Liban shot Sheikh in Hussein’s defense and declared that he would not be prosecuted. 

Also in July, a 61-year-old Norway man was charged with murder after police said he stabbed his estranged wife and ran over her with a truck, leaving her body in the driveway. Andrew St. George, 61, faces a murder charge in the death of Barbara St. George, 60. 

Police said St. George and his wife had been feuding over ownership of the home at 353 Greenwood Road in Norway. The couple had been separated for two years and reportedly had a history of relationship issues. 

In November, not long after the horrific mass shooting that claimed the life of 18 in Lewiston, police in that city had another killing on their hands. Police said that on Nov. 4, 36-year-old Jerry C. Thibodeau shot another man in the head and then drove his victim, 40-year-old Anthony Ayotte, to the emergency room of a nearby hospital. 

Ayotte later died. Lewiston police arrested Thibodeau on a charge of murder, but only after a long standoff at a home on Sabattus Street. 

Also in November, a Denmark woman was charged with two counts of murder, accused of stabbing to death her boyfriend and grandmother. 

Investigators said Tzara Jones, 53, stabbed to death Michael Willett, 69, with whom she had a relationship, and Aremean Mayo, 93, her grandmother. Their bodies were found at Jones’ home at 7 Fuller Lane in Denmark on Nov. 25. 

Again in November, Lorenze A. Labonte, 25, Saco, was accused of killing Ahmed Sharif, 27, of Lewiston in a shooting in Biddeford on Nov. 27. Details about the shooting are in short supply after the court sealed the affidavit at the request of Maine State Police. 

Labonte has been charged with murder. Two days after the shooting that claimed the life of Sharif, Labonte’s 18-year-old sister was charged with attempted murder after she allegedly shot a woman in the same apartment where the earlier shooting occurred. 

Even beyond the Oct. 25 shooting spree that claimed the lives of 18 in Lewiston, it was a year marred by violent homicides, not just in the tri-county region but across the state. Nine people were the victims of homicides in Maine during November alone, including one man who died during a fight in the Somerset County town of St. Albans, and a 62-year-old man who was stabbed to death in Fairfield. 

The official tally will not be available until state police release the annual homicide list at the end of the year, but the number of killings is expected to break some previous records for homicides. 

Tucker Carlson retreats to Bryant Pond

Fired by FOX News in April, controversial talk show host Tucker Carlson told the Sun Journal in April that he planned to spend more time at his home in Bryant Pond.

That was perfectly OK with the folks who live in that area. And why not? Carlson had been spending his summers there a long while and to the others who live in the region, he’s just an ordinary guy.

Carlson, said Woodstock Town Manager Tonya Lewis, “is just regular, old folk. He doesn’t act like he’s different than anyone else.”

The always controversial Tucker was dismissed by FOX on April 24 in the wake of a billion-dollar defamation trial — Dominion had sued Fox over claims made by hosts including Carlson that the voting systems were rigged during the 2020 presidential election, which Donald Trump lost to President Biden.

But the man didn’t stay down for long. Shortly after he was dismissed, Tucker announced that he would go independent with his own show on Twitter, now called X.

While all that drama was unfolding in the media, nobody in Maine was really surprised by Carlson’s increased presence in the village of Bryant Pond; a place Tucker had described as his “favorite place in the world.”

In a 2019 letter to Woodstock, Carlson wrote that he’s “spent virtually every summer of my life on Lake Christopher” in Bryant Pond, plans to retire there someday and even has a plot in Lakeside Cemetery in the village beside an 1852 Universalist Church.

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