Who we are

The Penobscot Bay Pilot connects a wide range of communities into a larger and lively online regional network, emphasizing immediate and free access to community news, opinions, public discourse and perspectives, as well as business and citizen participation. The Penobscot Bay Pilot provides answers, information and resources, establishing a hub around which citizens actively engage.

 

 

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Lynda Clancy, a founding director of Penobscot Bay Pilot, has been reporting in Maine since 1984, when she first started covering Bucksport, its mill and union strikes.

The beauty and complexity of New England and the Maritimes — their culture and controversies — have inspired her as a writer, editor and photographer. She has yet to tire of chronicling the lives of hard-working and unique individuals, all of whom shape the times here.

She holds a bachelor’s degree, 1982, from Sarah Lawrence College. Lynda serves on the Maine Right To Know Advisory Committee, a past president of the Maine Press Association, and is on the board of the nonprofit Legacy Rockport, which works to target community investment in assets that enhance the quality of life in Rockport.

She can be reached at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com.

 

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Janis Bunting, a Penobscot Bay Pilot founding director, has more than 30 years of sales experience promoting unique businesses, products and services through an array of original online products designed for Penbaypilot.com as well as print for our bi-annual midcoast WAVE Magazine. Well versed in the opportunities and benefits of online advertising, she puts a lot of effort to stay on the cutting edge of this constantly changing field.

In 1993, Janis left Boston for a one-year residency program at the Maine Photographic Workshop, now known as Maine Media Workshops + College in Rockport. She had plans to return to Boston after completing the program, but, while headed south on Route 1 in her rented U-Haul filled with all her belongings, the thought of Camden and its beauty began to haunt her. She decided to turn around and make Camden her home.

Nearly 29 years later, Janis and her husband, Steve, completed a passive solar home in Hope and have rised their two daughters, Quinn and Kierra there. 

She is enjoying the benefits of this wonderful coastal town and boating on its beautiful nearby lakes. Janis also continues to stretch her artistic vision with dried flower wall installations when time allows.

She can be reached at 207 706-6656 or janisbunting@penbaypilot.com.

Contributors


 

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Kay Stephens, a Maine freelance writer, has been with Penobscot Bay Pilot since it launched. With a B.A. in magazine journalism from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University and an M.A. in writing and publishing from Emerson College, she has covered local arts & entertainment since 1999.

She has written for TheScene, Dispatch Magazine, Bangor Metro and Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors. She is also the Managing Editor for two Maine magazines: Maine Brew Guide and Activities Guide of Maine.

She is the author of The Ghost Trap, a Maine lobstering novel, which has recently been optioned to become a film, and co-author of Cyberslammed, an award-winning nonfiction cyberbullying guide.

 

 

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Sarah Thompson is a writer for the Penobscot Bay Pilot. She grew up in Augusta and attended the University of Maine school of journalism.

For 10 years, she worked as an operating room technician for labor and delivery in Portland and Fort Collins, Colorado.

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Sarah Shepherd is the police and court reporter for Knox County. She moved to Camden in 2005 after living in Washington, D.C., for 21 years. Sarah’s professional experiences were in fundraising, community relations, special events and volunteer management at several national nonprofits. Her positions included creative writing projects so being a community reporter and writer is an exciting opportunity to share the experiences and stories of some interesting and special people.

After experiencing the fallout from 9/11, especially when she lived near the Pentagon, Sarah was ready to return to living in a small community. She fell in love with coastal Maine after visiting friends during her summer vacations.

Sarah is active in the local community including serving as a deacon at the First Congregational Church, member and former board member of the Camden Rotary Club and various special event committees, such as Winterfest.

The fall months will find her cheering away for the Penn State Nittany Lions (her Pennsylvania football roots) and now the Patriots. 

Sarah lives in Rockport with her two spoiled basset hounds and three cats. Her dream is to write a children’s book through the eyes of her basset hounds.

 

 

 


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George Harvey is a native Floridian but, like many before him, has fallen in love with Maine — cold weather and all. Well, maybe not so much the cold part, he says. 

As the Sports Director, he primarily works the sports beat for the Penobscot Bay Pilot, but also extensively covers the Midcoast’s educational scene and the election cycles.

At times, he can be found writing about commerce, the arts and the Midcoast’s movers and shakers. 

Since diving into journalism as a middle school student, George has been published by news organizations across the United States. 

Outside his time as a journalist, George has worked in athletics administration for middle school, high school and college teams and has served as a consultant for sports organizations. He also serves as a social media coordinator for a handful of organizations. 

George earned a bachelor’s degree from Florida Atlantic University, and has been recognized by the Maine Press Association for his work as a journalist. 

He can be followed on Twitter: @CoachGHarvey

 

 


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Jenna Lookner grew up in Camden underfoot at The Waterfront Restaurant which was co-owned by her father until 2012. She began writing for the local newspaper as a contributor while she was in high school. Despite attending college in Boston, and living in Chicago and Portland, Maine for a time, Jenna never lost her passion for the Midcoast. She returned to Camden in 2008 and has continued her career in writing, communications, and public relations. She has a profound interest in the unique communities that comprise the Midcoast region, and is especially interested in farming, agriculture, and their historic — and future — relationship to the greater Midcoast economy. Jenna enjoys telling the stories that underlay the fabric of the region, and meeting the myriad characters who conspire to make Midcoast Maine so unique. 

Jenna received a Maine Press Association award for environmental reporting in 2012, and contributed photos and/or copy to national publications including Air & Space Magazine, Aviation Digest, and Hemmings Motor News. She is a member of the board of directors at Maine Coast Animal Rescue, and serves on the Camden Select Board. Her interests include aviation and automotive history, working with animals, and exploring the vibrant state of Maine — both on foot and by road in her 1971 MGB. She lives in Camden with her husband, Ethan.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

louis2_0.jpgLouis Bettcher grew up in Rockport and attended Emerson College in Boston where he earned a B.A. in creative writing.

After working as an art and entertainment reporter in Miami, Florida, he returned to Midcoast Maine to cover news in his hometown, and his articles have received awards from the Maine Publishing Association.

In his spare time Louis enjoys sailing, painting and skiing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Roe Chiacchio is an RN, a certified personal trainer specializing in cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation and a certified dementia practitioner. In 1999, she started her business, ONWARD, Cardiovascular Health, Wellness and Dementia Management, located in Camden, Maine.

Her education is based in behavior science, psychology, neuroscience and gerontology. Her interest is working to enhance physical performance and mental health of individuals through her training sessions and articles. Her hobbies are photography and international travel.

 

 

 

 

 

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As a true Maine “native,” Barbara F. Dyer is still around and happy to still be writing columns for PenBay Pilot.com. Camden has been home her entire life (almost 95 years).

"As I felt when very young, that there was no place better to live. I graduated from Camden High School in 1942 and went to work at Camden Shipbuilding & Marine Railways Co., as World War II had started and they were building vessels for the war effort. My dreams were not to work in an office, but become a teacher. As we grew up in the Great Depression and there were no scholarships for girls, I was offered a job in an office and accepted because they were building vessels for the war effort.

"During the years, owners changed, the name of the company changed, bosses changed, but I remained. For 44 years, most of that time as office manager and accountant.

"My second life or career was to save Camden's history. To accomplish this, I wrote 14 books, hundreds of articles for the newspaper, internet and a couple of magazines. Then at age 70 I taught Adult Education on Local History, Antiques and Public Speaking. Many talks I gave at local organizations, the Camden Public Library and schools on Local History. Also served the town on the Select Board and several town committees.

“As it is never too late to get more education, I attended the University of Maine for two years. The students must have thought I was their professor or grandmother, but it was enjoyable. In my spare time, I worked as a member of the Camden Women's Club, volunteered at the Camden-Rockport Historical Society and The Camden Area History Center (now the Walsh History Center at the Camden Public Library).”

 


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Bill Packard says: “suppose I’ve been here since the beginning.

“I was born in Camden, back when it had a hospital, and except for a stint in the Navy have lived in the area all my life. I think life is funny. Even the bad times. Once in a while I get serious, but rarely on here.

“At the beginning, I used to say that people needed to lighten up. Over time, I’ve learned that how other people feel is their business and none of mine. Also, other people’s opinion of me is none of my business.

“I hope that I bring a chuckle, or a tear, or a happy memory from time to time, and if I do, I’ll never know, but that’s why I write.”

 

 


retrodress_0.jpgKristen Lindquist grew up in the Camden area and has been writing a natural history column for local media since 2004. She received her MFA in poetry from the University of Oregon.

Her poetry and other writings have appeared in such venues as Down East, Maine Times, Bangor Metro, and Bangor Daily News, as well as various literary journals and anthologies.

Her poetry collections include Transportation, a finalist for a Maine Literary Award, and Tourists in the Known World. In addition to teaching haiku workshops and the occasional natural history class, she leads bird outings around the state for the Acadia Birding Festival and other organizations. An avid birder since childhood, she wrote the Knox County chapter for the recently published Birdwatching in Maine: A Site Guide.

Believing that the area's natural beauty and wildlife are one of its best resources, she worked many years for Coastal Mountains Land Trust and has also served on the boards of Merryspring Nature Center and Friends of Maine Coastal Islands NWR.

 

 

 

 


 

Eva%20at%20Dorman%27s%20cropped.jpgEva Murray has been a full-time and year-round resident of Matinicus Island since 1987 when she took the teaching job at the island’s one-room K-8 school.

Marrying in 1989, she and her husband raised their two children on the island. She is still a certified teacher as well as an EMT, wilderness responder and certified search volunteer, ham radio operator, private pilot, licensed truck driver, notary public, trained transfer station operator and a few other things, none of which are actually required for useful employment on Matinicus. Eva writes columns for a number of Maine publications, is the author of three books, and boisterously disputes the cherished myth that island life is a simpler existence—carefree and distant from “the real world.”