Help (Still) Wanted: A Plumber For A Rural Town In Maine

Something's missing in the small town of Jackman, Maine. They've have an electrician and some carpenters among their 800-odd residents, but no plumber even after establishing a scholarship for local students to become certified. Ruediger Wittmann/iStockphoto hide caption

Something's missing in the small town of Jackman, Maine. They've have an electrician and some carpenters among their 800-odd residents, but no plumber even after establishing a scholarship for local students to become certified.

In August, a couple in Jackman, Maine, created a scholarship for a high school student willing to train as a plumber and come back to work in the rural town. Months later, the search continues.

"From the school standpoint, we haven't had anyone terribly interested," says Denise Plante, the principal of Jackman's Forest Hills Consolidated School District.

As 2014 draws to a close, NPR's Weekends on All Things Considered is checking back on some of the most compelling stories of the year. Here's what we wrote about Jackman in August:

In the isolated town of Jackman, Maine, which has a population of around 800, the local plumber recently retired. Now, the closest plumber is in the nearest town 50 miles away.

To fill the void, one family has partnered with the local school district to create a scholarship. The 2015 Inza and Harry Hughey Memorial Scholarship will award $2,000 to a local graduate willing to become a certified plumber and come back to work in the town. ...

The preference is to have a student or past graduate of Forest Hill High School receive the scholarship.

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There have been inquiries from people around the country and even overseas, but because the town is so isolated, the scholarship's goal is really to get a student familiar with the area to train and come back.

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Help (Still) Wanted: A Plumber For A Rural Town In Maine