Leighton’s of West Paris with

Brett Leighton

by Laurie Ann Knowles

It’s a good thing Brett Leighton was born on the third rock from the sun because he would have been really bored on an ice giant like Neptune. His lifelong fascination with Maine’s pegmatite minerals is so all encompassing that he sweats stone. Brett has mined in Stowe, Maine for amethyst, Georgetown for tourmaline and Topsham for beryl, bringing his kids along to help find gems. He mined with Gary Howard from the mid ‘90s til 2005.

Originally from Downeast Maine, Brett has owned jewelry and mineral shops in Millinocket, Farmingdale, Machias, Blue Hill, Boothbay Harbor and Wells. Three years ago he moved his business from Machias to the original location of Perham’s of West Paris. Which makes the perfect match for his deep love of Maine’s gems and minerals, many sourced from Oxford County mines. Brett knows all the miners, has deep connections with many jewelers and lives to design, create and exhibit spectacular quarried specimens. He spends his spare time cleaning rocks and minerals and his shop is chock-a-block full with huge displays of mind bogglingly rich and dazzling Maine minerals. He designs and carries gold, silver and platinum set jewelry, and has provided part of the inventory and specimens on display at the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum. Brett offers talks to mineral clubs on tourmalines and mining. He wholesales to most all of the mineral and gem shops in Maine and says there are very few outlets he doesn’t know about.

Now, he his thrilled to be operating out of Perham’s old building, one of Maine’s most historic rockhounding locations. For many, many years Jane and Frank Perham promoted their store as a gem and mineral haven for rock aficionados from near and far. Originally opened in 1919 by Frank’s parents, the Trap Corner location was the destination not only to purchase gems and minerals, but also to touch and discover the world revolving around one of Maine’s most precious natural resources. After decades of service to the community and to visitors from all over, it ended with Jane’s final sale and closing in 2009. The property sat quiet for a dozen or so years with little to no action until finally, along came Brett Leighton, his wife Michele and their truckloads of rocks and gems.

Of course, Brett’s connection to Oxford County rock stretches back to well before this latest store relocation. In 2005 he met Gary Freeman, owner of Mt Mica and the Plumbego Mines, leading to a collaboration that sold literally tons of prized specimens to jewelers, museums and at various public and private shows in far flung locations.

Clearly, Brett loves what he does, is passionate about his new location and all the connections he’s built over time. Oxford County is lucky to have him right here at the epicenter of a resurgence in mineral exploration. Stop by and see the overwhelmingly impressive and beautiful inventory he’s got on hand. And don’t hesitate to bring the kids, because outside the store there’s a treasure mining pile where everyone can be a kid for 10 minutes — and it’s free!

And by the way, Brett’s favorite type of music? Jazz!! Just kidding . . . it’s Rock.

FMI visit leightonsofwestparis.com, stop by Leighton’s of West Paris at 194 Bethel Road, West Paris or Call (207) 674-2166

Enshrined in the first amendment of America’s Bill of Rights is every citizen’s entitlement to freedom of speech. Free speech is a fundamental touchstone of our democracy, keeping the “haves” accountable and affording the “have nots” an opportunity to course correct when necessary. Quality information, easily accessed by the general public, is an essential prerequisite to the vitality of our communities and the effectiveness of our systems. In a world where media-fed narratives are intrinsically tied up in the desires of advertisers and lobbyists, publicly created and funded media outlets — particularly those in rural areas — play an increasingly crucial role. The Maine State legislature has long recognized the value of locally born, unadulterated content and mandates support for public access television.

Under Maine law, cable companies are required to set aside a percentage of their gross revenues for public, educational and governmental (PEG) access channels. This funding is used to cover the costs of operations. PEG channels must be available to all cable subscribers as part of their basic service package. To even the playing field a bit more, the state also requires cable companies to reserve a lower channel number for public access content. Western Hills Access Television (WHAT) is our region’s PEG station, providing coverage of many of our area’s town meetings, community and school events throughout the year. For Spectrum subscribers, WHAT TV is broadcast on channel 11 or 1302, with additional live coverage on the YouTube channel “Western Hills Access Television 2023” and a website offering video on demand spanning the greater part of the past three decades.

Counter to the edited sound bites of

by Meryl Kelly

political proceedings found on large cable networks, WHAT TV presents its content in raw form, free from all editing or elicitation of a particular viewer response. This makes it the most trustworthy source for watching town meetings and staying involved in the happenings of our local government for citizens who cannot attend events in person. A fact that the station’s Community Liaison, Brooks Morton, considers as critical to the mission of the small station. The opportunity to engage in the community with your own eyes and ears doesn’t ensure things will always go your way but it does bring a level of clarity to the nuisances of local governance while empowering citizens to get involved on a variety of levels.

After a change of roles in 2019, Josh and Brooks Morton, a father and son duo, took the helm of WHAT TV together; operating the switchboards, engaging the community and creating content with the help of long-time contributor Jewel Clark. Josh, as Station Manager and Technical Engineer, has embarked on the arduous task of modernizing station operations. He has spent much energy upgrading equipment and digitizing the expansive historic catalog of VHS tape footage, which captures countless celebrations and events of our community’s past. Digitalization will increase access to these nostalgic time-capsules by allowing footage to be viewed through the WHAT TV website in their “Archives” section. WHAT TV has also put forth considerable effort and resources to install cameras for the live broadcasting of Bethel Board of Selectmen meetings and other business in Town’s Meeting Hall, making coverage of these important community proceedings no longer dependent on volunteer availability.

Former Station Manager Wayne Howe has transitioned to the role of Programming Director, choosing what goes on air. Along with Wayne and the Mortons, there are two other Board Members — school rep James Haines and long time contributor Richard Melville — that support the station in operating a continuous loop of 24/7 programming. The station has been sustained through the years by the dedication of many workers, supporters and content creators and with the advances in technology its work is reaching an exciting new stage. Content creation is an ever-evolving task. WHAT TV is not only an avenue for unedited community history but an opportunity and resource available to students and community members alike. Individuals are encouraged to borrow equipment for their own audiovisual projects and the hunt for volunteers to record community events and create new programming is ongoing. Passionate volunteers, like Jewel Clark, have spent many years focused on ensuring coverage of community events, so a trip down memory lane is always just a couple of clicks away.

For the past 30 years Western Hills Access Television has occupied various small (always windowless) rooms tucked into the hallways of Telstar Middle and High School while working to maintain the crucial bridge between what was and what could be. Evolving with the times and offering opportunities for collaboration, community and engagement all along the way.

If you have ideas for shows or would like to support this small but mighty station you can reach out to the station manager at josh.whattv11@gmail.com or visit us at westernhillsaccesstelevision.org