An Old Orchard Beach man was sentenced to prison last week for making false statements in a loan application.

Michael F. Rock, 51, pleaded guilty Nov. 16, 2010. He was sentenced March 17 in U.S. District Court in Portland by Judge D. Brock Hornby to 15 months imprisonment and 5 years supervised release for the false statements.

Rock also was sentenced to 14 months in prison for violating terms of his supervised release on a prior federal conviction. Hornby ordered the two sentences to run partially concurrently, so that Rock was sentenced to a total of 25 months in prison.

According to court records, Rock in March 2008 applied to a Nevada bank for a loan to purchase a motorcycle. In his application, he claimed that he had been working for more than three years at the same employer and earned $52,000 per year.

Rock had been working for the employer for 10 months and made substantially less than he claimed, according to court records. Rock, who was on federal supervised release for a 2001 mail fraud conviction, also admitted to violating the terms of his supervised release by fraudulently obtaining $1,300 from a woman he was dating and $500 from another person.

The investigation was conducted by the United States Probation Office.

Saco police say taxi violated ordinance

Twin City Taxi violated a Saco ordinance by operating without a license within city limits, according to Saco police.

The police department on March 10 issued three summonses to Twin City Taxi of Biddeford for operating a taxicab business without a license. The citations were given following an investigation that began after police received information the company was operating within the city.

Twin City Taxi was picking up passengers in Saco and driving to different points in the city, police said. The city ordinance requires all taxi companies to go through an application process to obtain a business license.

Twin City Taxi is expected to appear in court May 11.

Grant will assist after-school program

Joyful Harvest Neighborhood Center last week received a $15,000 grant from United Way of York County.

The one-year grant will support the center’s after-school program, which focuses primarily on youth ages 5 to 17 from Biddeford’s Bacon Street neighborhood. The program provides a safe place to gather for healthy snacks, do homework and find creative outlets.

Joyful Harvest has provided after-school services for Biddeford residents for nearly a decade. The center also offers summer programs and partners with Girl Scouts and Art Van to offer afternoon and evening activities.

United Way this year gave grants to 78 community programs that serve children, youth, adults and families.

Schools lauded for advancing AP classes

The Biddeford School Department was named to the AP Achievement List for significant gains in advanced placement access and student performance.

The school department was one of fewer than 400 districts nationwide honored by the College Board for opening advanced placement classrooms to a significantly broader pool of students while maintaining or improving the percentage of students who score 3 or higher.

Biddeford from 2008 to 2010 increased the number of students who participated in advanced placement from 17 to 105. The percentage of students who earned a 3 or higher rose from 16 percent in 2008 to 35 percent in 2010. A score of 3 is typically needed to earn college credit for the course.

Superintendent of Schools Sarah-Jane Poli said it is an honor for the district to be placed on the list. She said she is pleased Biddeford is one of four schools in Maine to achieve the honor.

Biddeford High School Principal Britton Wolfe said significant progress in training more teachers, adding classes and involving more students directly attributed to the school’s involvement in the College Board Advance Placement Incentive Program Grant. The grant, offered through the Maine Department of Education, provided qualifying schools professional development and mentoring for teachers, funding for AP materials and resources, and fee waivers for students with financial need.

Graduate competes with public’s help

A 2009 University of New England graduate is competing in the 2011 National Geographic Channel Expedition Granted contest in an effort to win a trip to Hawaii to study monk seals.

Dashiell “Dash” Masland received her master’s degree in marine sciences from UNE and is the recipient of a National Geographic Young Explorers grant. Masland will compete against one other person in the expedition contest by making on-air appeals and providing weekly blog updates to solicit votes.

Voting ends April 7. The winner gets $10,000 toward the expedition of his or her choice. Masland proposes to go to Hawaii to study the Hawaiian monk seal, one of the most endangered marine mammals in the world.

She will study a small group of seals whose population is increasing despite the rapid decrease of the overall population. The decrease is thought to be caused by high rates of juvenile starvation.

People can vote once a day until April 7. To learn more about Masland’s project and to vote, go to www.natgeotv.com/expedition and click on the Expedition Granted tab on the right.

Thornton teacher honored in Augusta

Thornton Academy teacher David Arenstam this week took part in a State House Hall of Flags ceremony to honor educators nominated for Teacher of the Year.

Arenstam, who teaches both English and math at the Saco school, was Thornton Academy’s nominee for 2012 Teacher of the Year. Arenstam is known at the school for his commitment to integrating technology with the educational experience.

He has created hybrid classes that blend traditional classroom work with complementary online activities. Courses include discrete mathematics, math and the modern novel and writing in an iPad world. This spring, he will travel to China with students from his class on Chinese culture.

Arenstam also is involved with the speech team, middle and high school soccer teams, Outdoor Adventure Club and the cycling club. He and his wife, Teri, a Thornton Academy science teacher, currently are host parents to a Chinese student from the school’s home-stay program.