Courier Connection

Saco police invite public for closer look - Feb. 2, 2012

2012-02-02T20:19:33Z

By Michael Kelley
Staff Writer

Later this month, Saco Police will offer members of the public an inside look at how the department operates when it hosts a citizen police academy that begins Feb. 22.
The academy, which runs eight weeks, will take place at the Saco Police Station on Wednesday nights from 6 to 9 p.m.
“Citizen police academies are pretty common with police departments. It’s a good way to interact with the community,” said Deputy Chief Ray Demers, who oversees the academy. “We held one back in 2005 and we had a great deal of success with it. It gives us an opportunity, as an agency, to interact with people on a positive note. Normally when people deal with police it is a negative situation, such as an enforcement issue, a traffic incident or some sort of other negative experience.”
Demers said the citizen police academy helps to change that and dispel preconceived notions about police and the role they play protecting the community.
“It gets people to see that police officers are people and members of the community too,” he said.
“They come away with a better understanding of what a local police department does,” said Saco Police Chief Brad Paul. “It is not like the TV show “Cops” like some people think.”
The academy, Demers said, allows officers a chance to give people a closer look at how a police department works, something that is not typically afforded to the general public.
“We get to show people what we do — stuff they may not know that we do,” said Demers. “It’s a good look at us from the inside out.”
The academy touches on many topics that police officers cover during their academy training.
“The biggest benefit for (participants) is understanding what we do and understanding how we do it,” Demers said. “It’s a lot about educating and understanding.”
Demers said the academy will include segments on firearms, mechanics of arrest and control, harbor patrol, drug recognition, an overview of patrol operations and how a crime scene is processed. The group will also get a tour of the police station.
Demers said during the first academy offered by the department in 2005, the crime scene processing unit proved to be a favorite among participants. Because of that, he said, the department will spend extra time with crime scene processing.
The department, he added, will borrow a golf cart and special goggles from the York County Sheriff’s Office for a simulation on impaired driving. New this year, he said, will be a segment on distracted driving due to texting or cell phone use. Officer Rachel Horning is working with school officials from Thornton Academy and School Resource Officer Jeff Cook to introduce a similar segment on distracted driving at the high school.
At the end of the eight-week academy, participants will see what they have learned put into action though a four-hour ride along with a Saco police officer.
Many of the department’s 34 officers will be on hand throughout the program to instruct academy participants in the areas of their expertise.
Paul said the citizen police academy helps create a stronger connection between his department and the public.
“It’s a great way for citizens to get familiar with our officers,” he said. “Citizen engagement has always been a goal of the city of Saco. This furthers that goal. One of the biggest challenges we face here is getting our officers to communicate better with the public. This takes that one step further.”
The first academy held by the department attracted a range of community members of all ages and helped his officers feel better connected to those they serve, Paul said.
“They came away telling me it was fun. That it was enjoyable. They felt more connected to the public. That’s the stuff that training doesn’t buy, money doesn’t buy,” Paul said. “Sometimes with traffic details, or accident or enforcement, we get too busy and we tend to forget that the people in the citizen police academy are the people you work for.”
Applications for the academy are available at the Saco Police Department at 20 Storer St. or online at www.sacomaine.org/departments/police. All applications, whether paper or electronic, are due by Feb. 9. Anyone with questions can call Demers at 282-8214 or email him at rdemers@sacomaine.org.

Staff Writer Michael Kelley can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 237.

BHS project on time, under budget - Feb. 2, 2012

2012-02-02T20:19:07Z

By David Arenstam
Contributing Writer

How long it should take to finish the renovations at Biddeford High School? Two years and $34 million.
Construction began in June 2010 and now more than one year later, “we are almost 80 percent complete … and coming in slightly under budget,” said Principal Brit Wolfe.
He didn’t have the final figures, but Wolfe said the poor economy might have actually helped keep renovation costs down.
“Contractors were really looking for work,” he said.
Students and staff are now in the second half of the current school year and, according to Wolfe, the school has never looked better.
The school was built in 1961 and last renovated in 1971. Forty years later, construction is taking place on Maplewood Avenue again, this time from the ground up.
According to city’s website, in November 2009, the citizens of Biddeford approved a $34 million bond for the construction and, without any support from the state or federal government, the project was set to begin during the summer of 2010.
There is a significant cost for the project.
The bond that was approved requires taxpayers to repay the $34 million over the next 25 years. At that time, the school will be 75 years old.
Wolfe said at this time, all of the bond funds are earmarked for renovation and construction. None of these funds are dedicated for maintenance and upkeep.
Wolfe explained that the cost for maintenance would come out of the current and future operational budgets for the school.
Teachers and students have had to shift classrooms, athletic space and performance centers as Ledgewood Construction Co. rebuilds the facility.
“The last of the moves will take place in April,” said Wolfe, and at which point the final construction phases will begin.
Once the final move takes place, contractors will start to disassemble and move the portable classrooms that now located on the school site and begin the final construction.
Tiger Gym and the cafeteria spaces are two of the remaining sections to be renovated.
“Everything is supposed to be finished by August,” Wolfe said.
As he walked through the school and talked about the construction, he said there are two areas of the school that have already become focal points for teachers and students. The new library space is being used as a media center and classroom space as well as a traditional library.
“All of the classrooms now have ENO Boards,” he said.
The new chalkboards allow the teacher to create a digital learning environment and post notes directly to their class websites.
“The classrooms have all had audio enhancement as well,” Wolfe said.
Students are able to access audio lectures and written notes from a class via the Internet.
“It helps when a student is absent or just wants to refer back to the information,” he said.
In addition, “every freshman takes a course in digital literacy and it is taught here,” Wolfe said, pointing to a new computer-equipped classroom space.
The library also has a new section that can be used for community meetings and events. Wolfe and his staff currently use it for leadership team meetings and other school functions.
In addition to the new library space, a 350-seat auditorium has been built in the space next to the Tiger Gym.
Wolfe said depending on the audience size, future performances may be held at the high school, Biddeford City Theater, which has 550 seats, or the Performing Arts Center at the Biddeford Middle School, which can accommodate up to 950 people.
Wolfe said that in February, students from the high school would perform in a theatrical production of “Xanadu.” It would be the first such event for the new space.
Renovations are not limited to just classroom space and technology. The main entrance of the school has been completely changed, which Wolfe said is much more secure.
“Like some schools, we used to have students that just came onto the campus,” he said.
Teachers and staff had to recognize that they didn’t belong and then take appropriate action, he said.
Now, cameras monitor the main entrance to the school and visitors must come through a locked foyer before they are admitted.
The project also included upgrades to the school’s computers and internal network. Wolfe said that students in an English classroom may have part of their class in a traditional room and then use a writing lab filled with digital equipment.
In addition, journalism students now work on the school newspaper using new state-of-the art computers, printers and graphic design software in a dedicated space.
A glass wall separates the classroom from the writing space.
“The new space is just great,” said English teacher Dawn Pendergrass. While she was leading her class through an exercise other students quietly worked on the school newspaper in the adjacent room.
She smiled at both groups of students through the glass wall that separated them.
As part of the project, designers and planners also focused on the outside of the school. A victory bell marks the entry into the school and there is ample space for students and staff to go outside in the new central courtyard.
Wolfe said he knows what the teachers, students, and staff now have is special and to be treasured and maintained. His face and expression light up when he talks about the changes.
“I wouldn’t do anything different or change anything,” he said. “We were thoughtful and inclusive in everything we did.”

Fashion proves to be more than meets the eye for area teens - Feb. 2, 2012

2012-02-02T20:18:41Z

By Gillian Graham
Staff Writer

A group of local high school students will soon take their studies from the classroom to the runway.
Students from the Biddeford Regional Center of Technology retail marketing class have spent nearly two months planning their “A Night to Remember” fashion show. A portion of proceeds from the Feb. 9 event will go to Southern Maine Dress for Success, a nonprofit organization that supports women who are entering the work force.
Lyndsay Reese, a 17-year-old Thornton Academy senior, said she and her classmates began planning the show in early December. Since then, they have arranged for everything from staging and lighting to gift bags and door prizes. They also recruited models, picked out clothes and drummed up publicity for the event by appearing on Biddeford Public Access Television.
Reese said planning the event was a lot of work for the class’s eight students, who will also model various designs.
“It’s more work that you’d expect,” she said. “Every little detail, you have to think about how it will work.”
Reese said the show will include two lines of prom dresses and two lines of casual clothes for people of all ages. Fashion designer Ashley Lauren Kerr will host the show, which features clothes from Simply You in Saco.
“It’s a little bit of everything,” Reese said.
Tayla Savage, a 17-year-old senior at Old Orchard Beach High School, said the class chose to donate part of the proceeds to Southern Maine Dress for Success because students support the organization’s mission of providing professional attire to disadvantaged women.
“It’s a chance to win some great prizes and show support for students and women,” she said.
Leah Hanusek, 17, of Saco, said she and her classmates had to learn not only the ins and outs of putting on a fashion show, but how to compromise while doing so.
“I was a little nervous about getting everything together,” she said. “But now I’m excited because everything has turned out well. We have a lot of door prizes and gift bags.”
Christina Bogatses, 17, of Saco, said how to compromise and work as a team are among the most important lessons students will take away from the experience.
“That’s one of the biggest things the show has done – show us how to work together as a team,” she said.
Tickets for the event include a gift certificate to Simply You and a gift bag. Door prizes, donated by local businesses, include prom dresses, movie tickets and other items.
Linda Verville, who teaches the retail marketing class, said planning a fashion show is part of the hands-on approach that attracts students to the program. In addition to planning the fashion show, students work with Lori Irving at Simply You and take on responsibilities from selecting new stock to creating window displays and waiting on customers.
“They get to see the glamorous end and they get to see the not-so-fun things business owners deal with,” Verville said. “They’d much rather be working in the real world than sitting in the classroom reading about it.”
Irving said she is continually impressed with the students she has worked with during the past few years.
“They teach me as much as I teach them,” she said.
Verville said she, too, is impressed with her students and their commitment to use the fashion show as a way to help others.
“I’m a firm believer in giving back to the community,” she said. “This show is a display of how important it is to give back.”
“A Night to Remember” fashion show is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Feb. 9 at People’s Choice Credit Union on Industrial Park Road in Saco. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Tickets area available at Biddeford Regional Center of Technology on Maplewood Avenue and Simply You. For more information, call 282-1501.

Neighbors - Feb. 2, 2012

2012-02-02T20:18:10Z

Leader of Mary’s Walk has roots in Saco community

By David Arenstam
Contributing Writer

For 68-year-old Dick Parker, Mary’s Walk and the Kerrymen Pub 5K Road Race have taken on a new meaning this year.
“Mr. Parker,” as he is known by so many around Saco, was a teacher and coach at Thornton Academy for 36 years, and in September 2011, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. This year, Parker will be the honorary spokesperson for Mary’s Walk and lead the event, an event he knows all too well.
Next month, approximately 2,500 people from the Saco-Biddeford area and beyond will line the streets next to Thornton Academy and take part in the annual Mary’s Walk and Kerrymen Pub 5K Road Race.
The walk, scheduled for March 12, is a community-wide affair to raise money that will be used to help fight the battle against cancer and raise awareness about a disease that affects individuals and families.
In 1997, 44-year-old Mary Kerry Libby, a mother of four, resident of Saco, and graduate of Thornton Academy, died as a result of cancer. Two years later, on St. Patrick’s Day, the first walk and run was held in her name to raise money and awareness about the disease that took her life.
“In many ways it honors her spirit and her courage,” said Gene Libby, her husband and event founder.
The route for the day is on the streets and roads that Mary herself walked on as she battled her sickness and, to date, the walk and run have raised over $1.4 million for the Maine Cancer Foundation.
Libby explained it was important to him and the other organizers that all of the funds are used by research groups and scientists within the state.
“I didn’t really know a lot about the treatments or my options,” Parker said when he thought about his diagnosis. “Of course, I started to research.”
Parker, like many cancer patients, learned that treatments were often as varied as the disease itself.
“I could have gone to California for the one type of surgery or pretty much anywhere,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that whatever I did, I left myself with options for the future.”
Parker calmly described his choices and the way he decided to have cryosurgery, a form of treatment where extreme cold is used to destroy diseased or cancerous tissue.
“I knew that this treatment was effective for my type of cancer,” he said. “And if need be, it didn’t eliminate other treatments down the road.”
Sounding like the teacher he was for so long, he said some treatments force a patient down one procedural path.
“I wanted to make sure I had options,” he said. “Besides, they could do the surgery here,” he said, referring to Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford.
Parker said the decision was important to him and his family. He has been married for 48 years to his high school sweetheart, Janine, and together they raised two children, Doug and Kristan, both of whom still live in the area.
After retiring from teaching in 2000, Parker kept active and has often been a volunteer for Mary’s Walk and other organizations.
During previous events he worked with former students and some “who have no idea who I am,” he said, smiling.
“It’s still fun to talk to the kids,” he said.
In prior years he has helped direct walkers and runners during the event, helped pass out T-shirts and registration packages, and even helped with satellite parking. This year, it will be different.
Parker will speak to both participants and volunteers before the event and try to explain what Mary’s Walk means to him and why it is important.
“I grew up near the Kerrys,” he said. “I mostly knew her brothers, David and Paul, but we all knew Mary. She was the baby in that family.”
He even had Gene Libby, Mary’s husband, in school as a chemistry student. He laughed when he recalled the way Libby often gave him a hard time from the back of the classroom.
“I can see him sitting there,” he said, pointing to a small desk at one end of his former classroom.
He chuckled to himself and pulled at his short grey beard as he thought about his time at the school and what he would say before the event.
“This year I will have worked at, or been part of, Thornton Academy for 52 years,” he said. “That’s a long time.”
It may be, but “Mr. Parker” said he still has a few lessons to teach.
Donations to Mary’s Walk or the Maine Cancer Foundation can be made through their websites at www.maryswalk.org and http://www.mainecancer.org.

Biddeford Winter festival starts Feb. 10 - Feb. 2, 2012

2012-02-02T20:17:24Z

By Michael Kelley
Staff Writer

Since being elected mayor in November, Alan Casavant has been looking for ways to increase cultural pride in Biddeford.
“For a long time there was a stigma about being Franco-American. That we were all dumb Frenchmen or mill workers,” Casavant said. “My goal is to make people understand that being Franco is cool, or being Greek, or whatever, because it is part of who we are. I want Biddeford to come together and get to know each other and be proud of its history and where it is going in the future.”
One of the best ways to do that, he has found, is to hold festivals as a way to bring people together. To that end, for the first time in Casavant’s memory, the city of Biddeford will hold a winter festival Feb. 10 to Feb. 12 in and around downtown Biddeford.
“This is about community building,” he said. “It’s about being silly and having some fun and learning about ethnicity, about heritage, about being proud to live in the twin cities (of Biddeford and Saco).”
The winter festival, La Fete d’ Hiver (the festival of winter) is modeled after another festival held in the city every spring.
“For the past three or four years, we have had a spring festival called La Fete d’ Printemps (festival of spring) in March. It’s a cultural celebration with theater, music and arts. The first few years there was a lot of tinkering, but last year’s was very successful.”
Casavant said he began thinking about holding a similar event during winter to get people out having fun in colder months. The only problem, he said, was guaranteeing the weather would cooperate.
“As a kid I remember all the schools had winter festivals, but they were all prisoners of nature. You couldn’t predict the weather,” he said
After mulling it over, he recalled a dog sled race he went to several years back in Fort Kent, in which snow was brought in and laid down for the track.
“My thinking was, we could do that too if we could just store the snow somewhere for the different venues and different activities,” he said.
That problem was quickly addressed when several business owners offered to keep the snow in their parking lots, rather than hauling it away after snow storms. Other members of the community, he added, were quick to volunteer the services of their front-end loaders, dump trucks and plows to transport the snow to the festival sites.
John Maxson, who is working with Casavant to organize the event, said the worry now is, what shape the snow will be after the rainstorm that came through the area on Jan. 27.
Maxson said there are “some contingency plans” in place if that snow proves unfit and if there is no snow on the ground.
“Who knows, this is Maine, we could have a nor’easter or two right before (the weekend),” he said.
Whatever the weather, Casavant said there will be plenty offered to keep people busy.
“Even without snow, I think we have enough to get people out and to get people to enjoy it,” he said.
Many businesses and organizations in both Biddeford and Saco have donated resources and time to make the festival happen.
“The people of Saco have been working with us on this,” Casavant said. “The idea is this will be a twin-city presentation in the future years. My drive as mayor is to make the two cities come together culturally and economically.”
Maxson said community support has made all the difference.
“One of the things I am excited about is the community support,” he said. “People were quick to help make it come together in such a short period of time. That makes it very encouraging.”
The event will kick off on the evening of Feb. 10 with a reception and photo exhibit of historical photos at Engine art gallery on Main Street. A concert, by Boreal Tordu, which Casavant described as “foot-tapping Franco-Quebeque music” will take place at 7 p.m. at City Theater at 205 Main St.
The snow-based events will take place 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 11. Downtown Development Commission will create a sliding hill along Adams Street next to city hall. New Life Fellowship Church will offer games and pony rides in City Square and vendors will sell food and drinks throughout the festival locations. There will also be a snowman-building contest around downtown Biddeford and Saco, sponsored by the Heart of Biddeford. A snowshoe exhibition will be available in the mill parking lot behind York St. The Rochambeau Club will hold snowshoe races at Biddeford High School, 20 Maplewood Ave., either Saturday or Sunday.
Mechanics Park on Water St., will play host to a snow volleyball game, sponsored by Biddeford Parks and Recreation, beginning at 10 a.m. West Brook Skating Rink at 234 Pool Road, will offer free ice-skating throughout the day and MacArthur Library, 270 Main St., will have an ice cube hunt, games and other activities during the festival on Saturday.
Area restaurants, such as Bebe’s Burritos at 140 Main St., in Biddeford and Run of the Mill on Saco Island and Mia’s at Pepperell Square in Saco will offer meal specials throughout the weekend. Run of The Mill will host an ice bar, reggae music and dancing beginning at 3 p.m. on the outside deck. Canary, a Boston-based band that features Biddeford resident Amy Mantis, will perform at Oak and Ax, 140 Main St., at 4 p.m.
On Sunday, a Canadian crepe breakfast presented by La Kermese will be held at the J. Richard Martin Community Center, 189 Alfred St., between 8 and 10:30 a.m. The WonderBar Restaurant will hold a baking contest from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. The festival activities come to an end at 6 p.m., when City Theater screens “Kung Fu Panda” as part of a free family movie night.
On Feb. 8, the 50-plus Club will hold events at the Ross Center in celebration of the winter festival, including Super-Duper Bingo at 12:30 p.m. and a pie contest at 3:30 p.m. The group will hold a Winter Carnival Dance from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Captain’s Gallery in Old Orchard Beach.
Casavant said events like La Fete d’Hiver help him meet one of his mayoral goals of promoting culture as a way to stimulate the city and local economies.
“A healthy, vibrant community culturally attracts economic development,” he said.
Maxson said his goal for the event is simple.
“I hope it brings the community together to enjoy what we have here in Biddeford and do something totally different in the middle of winter. To have a community, you need to get out and meet your neighbors,” he said.

Staff Writer Michael Kelley can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 237.

Author schools students on writing, being a writer - Feb. 2, 2012

2012-02-02T20:16:56Z

By David Arenstam
Special Contributor

Best-selling author Andre Dubus III met with students, faculty and the public during two lectures at Thornton Academy last Thursday.
Dubus met with approximately 150 students and teachers during the afternoon and then, at 7 p.m., an audience of approximately 175. He read from his latest work, “Townie” and answered questions about his craft.
Dubus spoke at the Saco school as part of the Lloyd Hunt lecture series, and the focus of his talk was the art and nature of creative non-fiction.
Many students in the audience had read his novel “House of Sand and Fog” as part of their English curriculum and from the questions they asked, the students were interested in both the writing process and his inspiration for the book.
In a sometimes-rambling 90-minute talk, peppered with quotes from authors that ranged from Samuel Beckett and Ernest Hemingway to Bill Moyers, Dubus emphasized the role of imagination in his work.
During the afternoon lecture he was asked by one of the students if he used an outline during the writing process.
“No. To me, I’d rather walk on the tightrope above the flames with no net,” he said.
In one of the more descriptive exchanges between the author and the audience, he talked about the process of visualization.
“Imagine you see a pile of cash on a dresser,” he said. “Where did it come from? How will it be spent?”
Dubus told students that the answers to all of a writer’s questions, and more, are part of his creative process.
“I’m not smart enough to do that in an outline,” he said with a smile.
He told students to follow the advice of filmmaker Mike Nichols. He explained that with words and imagery, a writer should answer a basic question for the reader.
“What is it like to be there, what is it really like?” he asked. “That’s what you should explain.”
Dubus made it clear in both his afternoon and evening lectures that his childhood was not always easy or idyllic; in fact, much of it has been chronicled in “Townie.”
Dubus experienced abuse, violence, alcoholism and crime during most of his youth. All of that has come out in his latest book.
“The hard part was telling my family about my book,” he said.
Dubus is the son of the writer Andre Dubus; his parents separated and divorced when he was a young boy.
His father was a struggling writer and teacher and, after the divorce, what little money the family had was divided in half.
During much of his childhood, Dubus and his brothers and sisters moved from home to home and apartment to apartment as their single mother tried to find work and raise the family.
They ultimately settled in tough blue-collar neighborhoods of Haverhill, Mass. and, from there, Dubus graduated from high school in 1976.
Dubus started writing seriously in his early 20s, but it wasn’t until his sixth novel, some 20 years later, that he achieved public acclaim.
“Oprah waved her magic little wand,” he said when describing the success of “House of Sand and Fog.”
Today, Dubus writes full time and is an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, where he teaches creative writing.
“My kids have too many piercings, tattoos and they swear too much,” he said. “But I love them.”
“He had an impact on my kids,” said Amy Glidden, an English teacher at Thornton.
In fact, during most of his lecture, both the audience and the speaker seemed to be directly connected to one another.
“I didn’t see any texting or tweeting or twixting,” Dubus said with a smile when he talked about the students.
He seemed especially pleased when one young boy asked him about his least favorite part of writing.
After a short pause and a smile, he explained that it was when he recognized portions of his plot just won’t work “Sometimes your imagination takes you down this road and you realize it can’t happen because of something you wrote 200 pages ago,” he said.
After the final question of the afternoon, Dubus took time to sign books for some of the students and find out about their work and interests.
“He really made me think about writing,” said Hayleigh Morrow, an 11th grader in the audience. “It was great.”

View from the Nest - Feb. 2, 2012

2012-02-02T20:16:28Z

Familiar face back in the political race?

It looks like former Biddeford Mayor Joanne Twomey is considering a run for office and said she will decide for sure before the Super Bowl this weekend.
It’s the House District 135 seat that has piqued Twomey’s interest. She held the seat for eight years between 1998 and 2006, but was term limited out. The portion of Biddeford that includes is represented by Democrat Paulette Beaudoin.
Twomey supported Beaudoin for the seat when term limits prevented her from running, but said it’s time for change. Beaudoin has done a good job representing seniors, Twomey said, but there needs to be someone in Augusta who is fierce and can fight for education funding in Biddeford. Twomey said she will stand up to Gov. Paul LePage about sharing funding with charter schools and will certainly tell him how she feels about his threat to close schools in May.
“It’s absurd and someone needs to tell him he’s absurd,” she said.
Twomey also said she would work to support a racino in York County. Now hold on, don’t jump to any conclusions. Twomey said she hasn’t talked to anyone about a racino yet and there haven’t been any closed-door meetings.
“You couldn’t stay away,” I said to her after I saw the Facebook post about her possible run.
“It’s in my blood,” she said of politics.
Twomey said she has a part time job and a dog to consider before she decides whether to run, but said she’s in a position to help a lot of people if she is elected to House District 135.
“I’ve had calls from a couple friends in Augusta. Right now I’m just thinking out loud,” she said.

I watch Biddeford School Committee meetings on channel 3 every other Tuesday night, just as I watch city council meetings in between.
At the beginning of each school committee meeting there is a portion called “good news,” where principals of each school report just that. It first struck me as a little touchy-feely. Can’t they just get down to business?
I changed my mind, however, when it was time to hear about good news from Biddeford Primary School, where my step-daughter is in second grade. I learned that she and her classmates were learning about empathy, which was a relief to me considering how little ones treat one another sometimes. I also learned that for an entire day her principal was dressed as the Statue of Liberty.
She doesn’t live with me and Brian full time, so it was neat to find out those bits of information since school is usually the last thing she wants to talk about when we see her.
School Committee member Bil Moriarty wondered in his blog why principals should be required to attend every meeting and said he plans to bring it up at the next meeting Feb. 14.
Moriarty said they do enough during the day and should be excused from attending the meetings. I agree and hopefully they can still report good news and it could be read off by a school committee member.
On a side note, Moriarty recently started his blog to keep people abreast of school committee issues. I like that public officials have started to do that. City Councilor Brad Cote has started a blog too. I access both through Facebook but they can be found at www.bilmoriarty.info and www.bradcote.com.

– Molly Lovell-Keely

Obituary - Feb. 2, 2012

2012-02-02T20:15:44Z

Lee Weston Smith

Lee Weston Smith, 62, of Saco, died Jan. 22 peacefully surrounded by family at the home of his sister and brother-in-law, Barbara and Norman Delage, in Old Orchard Beach, three weeks after receiving a diagnosis of liver cancer.
Lee lived life to the fullest and just weeks before his sudden diagnosis and passing, was outside chopping cords of wood. In his final days of life, his sister, Barbara, and sister-in-law, Kathy Smith, were honored to provide for his care and accompany him as far as they were able on this most sacred journey.
Lee was born in Syracuse, N.Y., and attended public schools in Connecticut until his family moved in 1966 to Saco, where he attended and graduated from Thornton Academy.
A Vietnam-era veteran, following his military service Lee attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, College of Natural Sciences, Stockbridge School of Agriculture and graduated with a degree in animal husbandry.
A trained blacksmith, Lee worked professionally with race horses and other livestock. He was owner of several horses and The Carriage Trade, a horse drawn vehicle business that served tourists in Kennebunkport and Portsmouth. He later owned and operated Saco Bottle Redemption on North Street until his retirement.
He had a deep love and abiding respect for animals and the land. He enjoyed and appreciated living in Maine and also loved the state of Vermont, where he would visit a much-loved cousin, Bryant Haswell, in Morrisville.
He looked forward each late summer and early autumn to attending the various state agricultural fairs with his siblings and for many years spent every Wednesday evening with his two brothers restoring old autos or, most recently, building a race car. His great love and complete devotion to his mother, brothers, sisters and their children had a profound affect on and changed the trajectory of each of their lives.
Shortly before his death, Lee asked that the family express on his behalf his deep gratitude for the compassionate and expert medical care he received from the team of doctors, nurses and others at Togus Veteran’s Hospital in Augusta during the first few weeks of January following his unexpected cancer diagnosis. Both Lee and his family will be forever grateful to Togus for the deeply empathetic care he received.
Lee was predeceased by a brother, Scott Owen Smith, and his father, Raymond Smith of Syracuse, N.Y.
He is survived by his mother, Barbara Penley Stetson of Saco; five siblings, Peter Smith and his wife, Diane, of Biddeford, Susan Sturgill of Hamilton, Ohio, Alan Smith and his wife, Kathy, of Saco, Barbara Delage and her husband, Norman, of Old Orchard Beach, and Nancy Cowles Bull of Waynesboro, Pa.; three nieces and 10 nephews.
A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4 at First Parish Congregational Church, corner of Beach and Main streets in Saco. Lee’s nephew, Minister Benjamin Sturgill of Madbury, N.H., will be officiating at the memorial service with the help of senior minister Dr. Rev. Doug Neilsen and Rev. Abby Haskell. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorials may be made to The Animal Welfare Society, PO Box 43, West Kennebunk, ME 04094 (www.animalwelfaresociety.org). Online condolence messages can be left at www.DCPate.com. For questions regarding arrangements, call 934-0859.

Obituaries - Jan. 26, 2012

2012-01-26T20:02:53Z

Ann Temm

Ann Temm, 71, of Arundel, passed away Jan. 13, 2012, at her residence.
She was born in Biddeford May 23, 1940, the daughter of John P. and Anne Horsefield Cowgill.
Ann grew up in Arundel and attended Durrell School. The one room schoolhouse housed eight grades under the teaching of Mildred L. Day. She graduated from Kennebunk High School with fourth honors out of a class of 62 students. She was voted most athletic and co-captain of the girls’ basketball team.
She went to the University of Southern California, returning to Arundel in 1961. She married Clifton Temm in 1966.
Ann started driving school buses in 1975 and later became the head bus driver and director of transportation.
Because of her many years at this position, the Arundel Town Report of 2002-2003 was dedicated to her.
She was an avid Boston sports fan.
She was predeceased by her husband, Clifton E. Temm in 1994.
She is survived by a son, Dr. Clifton “Kip” Temm and his wife, Suzanne, of Kennebunk; a daughter, Kelley Blow and her husband, Eric, of Saco; two brothers, J. Paul Cowgill of Kennebunk and Albert Cowgill of Arundel; three grandchildren, Amelia and Steven Temm and Amy Geilen.
Arrangements by Dennett, Craig & Pate, Saco.

Calixte “Edward” Martel

Calixte “Edward” Martel, 84, of Saco, passed away Jan. 13, 2012, at Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford.
He was born in Biddeford Jan. 2, 1928, the son of Calixte and Margaret Moran Martel.
He was educated in Saco schools and left there at a young age to serve in the Merchant Marines during World War II.
After the war, he returned home, married and worked for the Saco Lowell Shops.
His later employment included Portland Copper, Lund Manufacturing and then Saco Defense.
Edward retired in the 1990s and was an avid movie buff.
He was predeceased by his wife, Priscilla Keithley Martel, in 1996.
He is survived by two sons, Michael Martel and Robert Martel and his wife, Carlene, all of Saco; a daughter, Patricia Wheelden and her husband, Christopher, of Old Orchard Beach; two grandchildren, Brian Martel and his wife, Danielle, of Biddeford and Eric of Saco.
Arrangements by Dennett, Craig & Pate, Saco.

Dollar store to open on Biddeford’s Main Street - Jan. 26, 2012

2012-01-26T20:02:23Z

By David Harry
Staff Writer

Value-priced offerings on Main Street will also be a sign of faith in Biddeford as a local businessman prepares to open his second downtown store.
Dan DuCharme, owner of DAD’s Cigar Parlor and Tobacco Shoppe on Alfred Street, said he has obtained the financing and signed a lease to open the Downtown Dollar Store at 148 Main St.
DuCharme, 49, who has owned the tobacco shop for about four years, said he expects his new venture to be open in early March.
The store will be located in a 2,500-square-foot space on the first floor of the building owned by Peter Floros of Saco River Realty LLC.
DuCharme said it takes about three weeks to set up the store and then a week to train new employees before the doors open. He expects to hire about five employees for the store that will be open seven days a week.
“It is still kind of surreal, but I am excited,” DuCharme said about the protracted effort to expand his business ventures.
DuCharme said the Main Street location will provide foot traffic and residents of nearby apartments, including in renovated mills, will always be on the lookout for bargains.
Inventory will include household goods, small gifts, greeting cards, toys and novelties and tourist items including sunglasses, all priced at a dollar, DuCharme said.
The store is independently owned, but DuCharme said he is working with Las Vegas-based Dollar Store Services to provide interior décor, signs and store merchandise.
DuCharme said he chose the company because it offered the best value to him in a market where there are plenty of companies ready to supply store startups value priced inventory.
“I saw a need after Reny’s left,” DuCharme said.
The value-priced chain left its Main Street location in Biddeford for a Saco location on Scamman Street in 2008.
DuCharme said he hopes city officials will move forward to build a downtown parking garage and said the store location would benefit from improved parking. He said assistance from Biddeford City Planner Daniel Stevenson and officials at the Biddeford – Saco Area Economic Development Corp. were critical in getting his new venture ready.
“This is almost like paying back the city while also providing for my family,” said DuCharme.
He said the success of DAD’s is a primary reason city and development corporation officials had faith in his plans.
DuCharme also thanked Floros for his patience, noting the building owner could have found other tenants because of delays in the project.
“This will attract a wide variety of people. No matter the income level, people shop at dollar stores,” DuCharme said.

Staff Writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.

Dollar store to open on Biddeford’s Main Street - Jan. 26, 2012

2012-01-26T20:02:22Z

Program for Biddeford children finds new home - Jan. 26, 2012

2012-01-26T20:01:58Z

By David Harry
Staff Writer

By about 3 p.m. last Thursday things began to get hectic and noisy at Joyful Harvest Neighborhood Center in Biddeford.
The foosball table got so much action it was rocked off its floor pads. Volunteer art instructor Frankie Dailey was inundated with requests to help decorate the picture windows and create a smaller gathering area for older children at the social center.
Meanwhile, Joyful Harvest Executive Director Shay Stewart-Bouley fretted about how to get more children to the center’s new 128 Main St. location.
Last week, Joyful Harvest moved to its new location from the former site on Water Street, tripling its space for computers, books, a quiet room for homework and a full kitchen for serving daily snacks and lunches in the summer program. The programs for children ages 7 to 17 are free, Stewart-Bouley said.
“I’m a big fan of open spaces, they are more inviting,” Stewart-Bouley said, surveying the scene in the Main Street building owned by developer Doug Sanford.
In the front windows, fifth-graders Cheyenne Creegan, Annie Karin and Mikel Souliea hung artwork with help from Dailey. They were decorating for passers-by to see and also creating a separate social area for youths from 11 to 17.
“I have been coming here since preschool,” Creegan said. “I wanted to hang out with my friends and they told me to come here.”
Stewart-Bouley said Joyful Harvest usually serves more than 20 children from 2:30 to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, but she needed volunteer help from adults who could walk with children to and from the former Water Street location.
With a center staff of two, Stewart-Bouley said she and program coordinator Jason Malcolm could not break away from Joyful Harvest to walk with children.
Stewart-Bouley said she is confident the walk is a safe one, although the intersection of Main and Alfred streets had to be considered with extra care because of its shape and traffic volume.
Each Tuesday, Dailey arrives with the Art Van, part of a Bath-based program that provides art education to youth in southern Maine.
On Thursdays, Dailey comes back on his own, drawn to spur creativity and encouragement.
“I like seeing what kids come out with,” Dailey said. “The creative process is really neat.”
It is a process Dailey wants children to embrace through their own work. As Creegan asked him to draw block letters for window signs, he told her he would show her how to do it and then she and Karin would make the signs themselves.
Souliea said the spirit of helping is what he enjoys most about afternoons at Joyful Harvest.
“I like helping the younger kids with homework, helping them with their words,” he said.
According to www.joyfulharvestcenter.org, the neighborhood faith-based center opened in 2001 and provides after school and summer programs and a space for Girl Scouts to meet. The program roots extend to 1995 with the establishment of a Baptist church that eventually moved to Bacon Street. Ultimately, the neighborhood center outlasted the church and also provided a food pantry. In 2003, the Stone Soup Food Pantry became its own entity.
A Chicago native with a master’s degree and experience operating nonprofits, Stewart-Bouley said directing Joyful Harvest for the last three years has offered a unique reward.
“I can merge my faith with what I do for a living,” she said.
The annual budget of about $60,000 is funded largely through church and individual donations, Stewart-Bouley said. United Way provides about 25 percent of funding, but leaner times have led to the elimination of Friday sessions at the center.
Neighborhood support for Joyful Harvest is already evident as the owners of Little Joey’s Pizza at 140 Main St. have pledged to donate $2 from each large, extra large and jumbo pizza sold on Wednesdays and Thursdays through Feb. 9
Sanford said he was delighted to lease the space to Joyful Harvest.
“They are great,” Sanford said. “Their mission is commendable and Shay is great for what she does for the kids.”
Malcolm said he hopes the new location will draw more children from throughout Biddeford, and Stewart-Bouley hopes to expand programs to possibly include offerings for adults and English as a second language courses.
Stewart-Bouley and Malcolm have additional jobs beyond Joyful Harvest and administrative work at the center can be very time-consuming for Stewart-Bouley. But she said there is still plenty of time to enjoy the ultimate rewards of the center.
“Just to see the smiles on looks on their faces, I get to see proof of what I do,” she said.
To learn more about Joyful Harvest Neighborhood Center, visit www.joyfulharvestcenter.org.
Donations for the center can be sent to Joyful Harvest Neighborhood Center, P.O. Box 447, Biddeford, ME 04005. Contributions can also be made through Paypal on the center’s website.

Looking back at ‘The Way We Were’ - Jan. 26, 2012

2012-01-26T20:01:29Z

By Gillian Graham
Staff Writer

George “Pete” Lamontagne may not know the name of each person in old Biddeford photos, but he recognizes most of their faces.
He hopes his neighbors will have the same experience when they step into an art gallery next month for a trip down memory lane.
Tammy Ackerman, executive director and co-founder of Engine, said the “The Way We Were” photo exhibition will open Feb. 10, but she first needs more Biddeford residents to dig through their albums for photos of city life in decades past. Photos provided to her by Feb. 7 will be returned following the exhibition.
The photo exhibition is part of the La Fete d’ Hiver, the Biddeford winter carnival planned for Feb. 10 to 12. Downtown events will include snowshoe racing, snow volleyball, food, Franco music and snow sculptures.
Ackerman, who developed the idea for the exhibition with partner and Engine co-founder Josh Bodwell, said it is designed to draw people into the gallery to connect with the city’s past.
“The idea is to sort of take a trip back in time,” Ackerman said of the exhibit, which will feature photos from before the 1970s. “It’s really important for people who are here now to understand where the city has been.”
The first exhibit will be followed by two more: “The Way We Are Now” and “The Way We Will Be.”
Ackerman called on Lamontagne to help gather photos and put together “The Way We Were.” Lamontagne, a former city councilor and mill veteran, is also a photographer who enjoys looking through old photos of the city.
“I respect Pete’s knowledge of the community and he has an interest in photography as a medium,” she said.
Last week, they stood in the Engine gallery at 265 Main St. and flipped through an album of photos from mill union events in the 1950s and 1960s. Many of the photos were taken in the former union hall, which Ackerman bought and restored after she moved to Biddeford in 2005.
“The period dress is absolutely wonderful,” Lamontagne said as he flipped through photos of bowling outings and banquets. “These photos are so valuable to us.”
Ackerman said she hopes the exhibition will help people connect the past and future.
“The intent of this isn’t just to walk down memory lane,” Ackerman said.
“It’s more about recognition … ‘Oh, there’s my mother, there’s my aunt,’” Lamontange added.
Ackerman said part of the intent of the exhibition is to use the Engine space to engage the community and show it’s not intimidating to walk into an art gallery.
Lamontagne said he hopes to engage more community members who are artists and musicians but don’t necessarily consider themselves that. Biddeford is full of talented people who deserve recognition for what they do, he said.
Lamontagne recalled his own mother, who played piano, often with a cigarette in hand.
“She was a wonderful, wonderful musician,” he said.
Ackerman and Lamontagne said they are enjoying the increasing arts activity in Biddeford, which includes the monthly ArtWalk, theater and music performances and cultural festivals.
“It’s gaining momentum. (People) are understanding that arts can actually have an impact on the development of a community,” she said. “It’s not just about hanging art on walls.”
“I’m amazed that it’s taking hold,” Lamontagne added.
Both Ackerman and Lamontagne said they hope Biddeford residents – or those with connections to the city – take time to view the exhibition and reflect on the city’s past.
“I’d love to see a lot of smiles and hear a lot of stories being told as people reconnect with people,” Ackerman said.
An opening reception for “The Way We Were” will be held 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 10. Gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. The exhibition will be on display through the end of March.
Photos can be dropped off at Engine by Feb. 7. For more information, call Ackerman at 229-3560 or Lamontagne at 283-1855.

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 220.

Mayor says opponent is breaking party protocol - Jan. 26, 2012

2012-01-26T20:01:03Z

By David Harry
Staff Writer

The 2012 race for the Maine House District 137 seat has become a Democratic Party fight between two experienced legislators.
Maine Sen. Nancy Sullivan, now serving Senate District 4, has filed to run for the House seat now held by Rep. Alan Casavant, who also is mayor of Biddeford.
Sullivan is prohibited by state term limits laws from seeking a fifth two-year term in the Senate seat that comprises the eastern portion of Biddeford and all of Arundel, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport.
Casavant, elected mayor of Biddeford in November, said he will file his nomination papers with state officials next month as he seeks a fourth two-year term in the House district comprised of wards 1, 2 and 3 in Biddeford and all of Kennebunkport.
“I am definitely running,” Casavant said.
Sullivan said she decided to enter the race because it appeared Casavant was indecisive about his future in the Legislature and she wanted the district to have an experienced candidate on the ballot.
Before replacing Democrat Lloyd LaFountain as District 4 senator in 2004, Sullivan served three two-year terms in Maine House District 17, comprised of much the same areas as House District 137.
House and Senate districts are renumbered each decade as part of redistricting based on federal census data.
“I’m concerned,” Sullivan said. “I did not do this easily.”
Sullivan said she decided to enter the race after Casavant asked for more time to make a decision about running for any Legislative seat, but he said he indicated all along he was interested in seeking a fourth term for the House seat he initially won in 2006.
“I never usually file until mid-February,” he said. “It will be a tough battle, she is breaking with party protocol.”
Sullivan said filing for the race was a partial break from protocol about running against incumbents who can seek re-election, but noted she did not seek a fourth term for her House seat in order to run for the Senate seat LaFountain held. In 2004, Sullivan defeated former Biddeford Mayor Donna Dion in the Democratic primary.
Casavant said he had been clear he was not interested in seeking the Senate seat Sullivan must give up because duties in the Senate would conflict with municipal duties as mayor and chairman of the Biddeford School Committee.
However, Casavant said serving in the House has presented only one scheduling conflict so far as Gov. Paul LePage made his State of the State address Tuesday at the same time as a school committee meeting.
Both candidates worried a contested primary could boost the fortunes of a Republican candidate in the November general election and said new efforts to place a racino in Biddeford would be the most likely topic that could cause disagreement between them.
Sullivan supported a bill in the Legislature to allow Scarborough Downs to relocate to Biddeford while Casavant voted against it. The bill was eventually voted down in the Legislature under the threat of a LePage veto last June.
A statewide referendum seeking approval for racinos in Biddeford and Washington County was defeated in November.
In the interim between Sullivan’s tenure in House District 17 and Casavant’s election in House District 137, Kennebunkport Republican Seavey H. Stedman served one two-year term in the district. Casavant defeated him in 2006.
Biddeford firefighter David E. Dutremble and former Biddeford Legislator Stephen Beaudette have filed to run as Democrats for the Senate District 4 seat.
Maine Governmental Ethics and Election Practices records do not show any Republican candidates have filed to run in House District 137 or Senate District 4.

Staff Writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.

In the News - Jan. 26, 2012

2012-01-26T20:00:27Z

Power company
suspends subcontractor

The subcontracting company that employed the Oakland man killed last week in Saco has been indefinitely suspended from working on upgrades of Central Maine Power Co. utility lines.
Power company Spokesman John Carroll said Hawkeye LLC, based in Hauppage, N.Y., will be banned from further work on the Maine Power Reliability Program pending the investigation of the death of John R. Plante.
Plante, 44, died Jan. 16 at Maine Medical Center in Portland after falling while descending from a utility pole off Boom Road, according to Saco Police Deputy Chief Jeffrey Holland.
Holland said the accident occurred just before 4 p.m. at a spot off the road, which prevented emergency crews from immediately reaching him.
Holland said the accident is also under investigation by the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration.
Plante was reported to have been wearing safety equipment when he fell. Carroll said the company has 30 days to file an incident report with the Maine Public Utilities Commission.
Carroll said all work on the upgrade project in southern Maine was suspended and safety procedures for climbing and descending poles were reviewed.

Homeless woman granted permanent guardian

York County Judge of Probate Donna Bailey declared the Maine Department of Health and Human Services a permanent guardian for a local woman known for her presence on the streets of Biddeford and Saco.
The Jan. 19 hearing on the case of Laurette C. Doyon, 79, who was listed as homeless in court documents, allows the state to manage the affairs and provide shelter for Doyon while reviewing her case annually and presenting findings to the probate court in Alfred.
The department was declared a temporary guardian for Doyon in November in response to worries from local officials that Doyon’s mental and physical health declined so sharply she might not have survived the winter.
An ensuing evaluation by psychologist Kerry Drach determined Doyon was showing signs of mental illness and dementia and “was not able to demonstrate the ability to reason through practical problems around her own safety,” according to court records.

Suspect sought in downtown robbery

Saco police are looking for a male suspect alleged to have robbed the Community Pharmacy at Main and Pleasant streets around 10:45 a.m. on Jan. 19.
Deputy Police Chief Jeffrey Holland said police were called to the downtown pharmacy at 10:49 a.m.
The suspect is believed to be in his 20s or 30s. He allegedly approached the pharmacy counter and handed a clerk a note demanding prescription medication. The suspect allegedly threatened to use a weapon, Holland said.
The suspect was given an undetermined amount of drugs before leaving the store through a rear exit, Holland said. No injuries were reported in the incident.
Employees and customers provided descriptions of the suspect, who is believed to be about 5 feet 8 inches tall and weigh between 180 and 200 pounds. He was wearing a navy blue hooded jacket with an emblem on its left side, blue denim jeans and tattered white and red sneakers, Holland said.
Anyone with information about the robbery or suspect is encouraged to call Saco police at 284-4535.

– Compiled by Staff Writer David Harry

Letters to the editor - Jan. 26, 2012

2012-01-26T20:00:02Z

Thank you again for library upgrade

To the editor:

I know this is late in coming, but I just want to extend to all Old Orchard Beach residents who voted for the Libby Library expansion bond a great big thank you.
I know “thanks” have been given in newspaper interviews immediately after the November election. Signs are up in the library and our wonderful staff has been thanking all our patrons many times over for their support.
But I just wanted to let all know that the behind the scenes work is moving along, working out the details to reach our goal. We are sifting through the mundane nuts and bolts details that will eventually be a wonderful, much needed addition to the library for the citizens of Old Orchard Beach.

Alice T. Langdon
Treasurer, board of trustees
Libby Memorial Library
Old Orchard Beach

Scholarships awarded from ‘Run For Cash’

To the editor:

Christopher Jones of Biddeford, Erica Reaser of Dayton and Michelle Johnson of Old Orchard Beach have all received a $1,000 scholarship from the “Run For Cash” Memorial Scholarship Program.
Christopher is attending the University of Maine, Orono and he is studying business marketing. Erica is attending East Kentucky University majoring in occupational health. Michelle is at the University of New England pursuing a nursing career. We are honored to be able to award these fine students these scholarships. All proceeds from the Cpt. Christopher S. Cash Memorial Family Race Day, known as the “Run For Cash,” provide the funds for this scholarship program. Congratulations to all of you. This year’s race day takes place June 23.

Nancy Lee Kelley
Old Orchard Beach, Maine
www.runforcash.org

Republicans will caucus throughout county

To the editor:

Presidential primary season is rapidly approaching. To date there has been a lot of attention paid to the caucuses and primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and Super Tuesday.
Maine residents may be wondering “when is our primary?” Maine isn’t having a presidential primary this election cycle. In Maine the parties have decided to return to the old style of caucuses to select our choices for presidential candidates. The Maine Republican Party has decided to hold its caucuses Feb. 4 to Feb. 11. Old Orchard Beach Republicans will caucus 9:30 a.m. Feb. 4 at the Loranger Middle School cafeteria. Saco Republicans will caucus 9 a.m. Feb. 4 at Saco City Hall auditorium. Biddeford Republicans will caucus 2 p.m. Feb. 11 at the J.R. Martin Community Center in Biddeford. Most other York County Republicans will caucus 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 11 at Sanford High School. Old Orchard Beach and Saco Republicans are welcome and encouraged to attend the county caucus in Sanford, but must attend their local town caucuses for their vote to be counted.
The town caucuses will select representatives to the state convention with its town’s preference for candidate. At the state convention delegates to the national convention will be elected.
In order to caucus with the Republican Party residents must be registered as a Republican. Voters enrolled in other parties must change their enrollment 15 days prior to the caucus. Republicans who moved from a different district, new voters and voters who are not enrolled may register and enroll up until the caucus begins. The registrar will be available one hour prior to the start of the caucus at the caucus location. Residents who will turn 18 prior to November 6, 2012, are eligible to caucus.
If you want a voice in the choice of candidates for president, you have to caucus. If you want to caucus you have to register with a party. Anyone who wants more information on the Republican caucus may contact me at 934-6078 or billg@yorkgop.org.

Bill Gombar, vice chairman
York County Republican Committee

Head shop among new Main Street businesses - Jan. 19, 2012

2012-01-19T15:04:02Z

By David Harry
Staff Writer

They came from North Conway, N.H., Portland and just around the corner with Main and Alfred Street in mind as destinations.
Since last fall, six businesses have opened in downtown Biddeford with owners who said the eclectic mix they found provides the promise of potential profits.
“I joke around and say we need to make a Biddeford SoHo here,” said Bella Caruolo, who opened Utopian Tattoo and Body Piercing on Main Street in October.
Caruolo has been joined downtown by Perk Coffee Bar, which re-opened in North Dam Mill earlier this month; Second Hand Sandy’s, an Alfred Street thrift store; M’s Malt Shoppe on Alfred Street; and J and J Antiques and Tebb’s Head Shop on Main Street near Elm Street.
Caruolo relocated her shop from the Old Port in Portland, saying she was drawn by the ethnic restaurants and small stores on Main Street as it stretches downhill to the Saco River. Add a funky clothing boutique to the mix and Caruolo said the environment would be ideal for her customers who may travel from southern New England for three-hour or longer sessions.
In North Dam Mill, Tim Silva and his business partner Stephanie Moore commute from North Conway, N.H., to serve coffee, tea, baked goods and sandwiches Silva makes early each morning.
“I get up at midnight,” Silva said.
Silva said he bought the coffee shop after seeing it advertised on Craigslist and intends to shift his baking operations to North Dam Mill.
It was a sitcom as opposed to Craiglist that provided inspiration for Michele Ayotte, co-owner of M’s Malt Shoppe.
Opened early last fall, M’s is a family place that serves quick meals and snacks, Ayotte said, with an interior that takes her back to her childhood and “Brady Bunch” episodes she watched.
“It’s a little fun and a little different,” she said about the shop she owns with her mother, Dot Letourneau.
John Harkins said there is a simple reason he and his wife, Joan Harkins, opened their antique shop on Main Street.
“My wife happens to own the building – she put a lot of pressure on me to move in,” he joked.
Collectors of antiques for decades, the Harkinses operated in a shop in Saco before shifting to Biddeford in early October. Their store is filled with antique, old and unique items such as vintage Polaroid cameras, furniture, art and collectibles.
About two doors down, Tebb’s Head Shop, managed by Michael Spinney, opened just before Christmas.
“I want to prove we can do it right,” Spinney said about selling water pipes, ceramic and metal pipes, tobacco grinders and jewelry.
The store has drawn attention from Biddeford police and agents from the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, according to a Jan. 13 press release from Biddeford Deputy Police Chief JoAnne Fisk.
Fisk said agents learned four youths, one under the age of 18, were hospitalized Jan. 10 after they smoked free herbal incense samples called Legal Phunk. The samples came from Tebb’s Head Shop, Fisk said. Subsequent investigation by police and MDEA agents determined store surveillance cameras were inoperable and samples of Legal Phunk will be analyzed for potential illegal ingredients.
No one has been charged in the incident. Spinney said he has stopped selling Legal Phunk and fixed the cameras. A sign saying why the incense is no longer available was added to signs that warn all customers must be at least 18 and prohibit any mention of illegal use of pipes.
“They misused our product,” Spinney said, adding it was clearly marked as not for human consumption.
Biddeford City Planner Daniel Stevenson and Heart of Biddeford Executive Director Delilah Poupore said the new businesses are the beginning of what they anticipate to be a strong year as business owners find low lease rates and Heart of Biddeford and the city team up to draw three businesses through a package of incentives.
The incentives include local business owners chipping in with legal, promotional and architectural services to get businesses off the ground.
While welcoming the new businesses to the area, chairman of the Downtown Development Commission Chairman Brian Keely (husband of Courier Editor Molly Lovell-Keely) said a lack of downtown parking hampers future development.
A supporter of a downtown parking garage since he joined the commission in 1997, Keely said the lack of on-street parking hurts many local businesses, including the WonderBar, the Washington Street restaurant owned by his father, Vincent Keely.
The city has commissioned a $98,000 study by Portland-based Winton Scott Architects to determine parking needs, including whether a garage might be built behind the Pepperell Campus or on Washington Street.
Stevenson said the study will also show how current parking can be better used, but he disagreed with Keely’s assessment of downtown parking.
“Research shows parking is adequate,” Stevenson said.
Ayotte, who also works at Tan, Tone and Do, a Foss Street salon owned by her mother, said Alfred Street paring is made easier because of the lot adjacent to the Biddeford Police Station. But Keely said available spaces near the WonderBar can be quickly taken when Biddeford District Court is especially active on Tuesdays and Thursdays, or when area residents ignore time limits on spaces on weekends.
With a customer base that could spend money at local restaurants or stores before or after visiting Utopian Tattoo, Caruolo said she really enjoys showing off Biddeford and events like the monthly ArtWalk.
Yet those customers will often spend three or four hours getting new tattoos or getting existing ones touched up, all while there are two-hour parking limits outside the shop.
Caruolo said she sets an alarm to remind her and her customers to move their vehicles.
Several blocks away, Joan and John Harkins said the effects of minimal parking can make it difficult for customers who want to browse or to pull up out front to load what they have bought.
“Everything is full circle for parking,” Keely said.

Staff Writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.

Great Person Award winner Chris Tillotson is ‘doer’ - Jan. 19, 2012

2012-01-19T15:03:23Z

By David Harry
Staff Writer

Chris Tillotson may have the ability to lead firefighters and local youth, but he is distinctly uncomfortable in the spotlight.
Tillotson, 44, a Saco resident and Portland Fire Department lieutenant, was voted this year’s Courier Great Person.
“I was kind of surprised by the nomination and receiving so many votes,” Tillotson said. “I’m not looking for anything out of the ordinary, just my own satisfaction – I give it my best.”
Nominated by his colleagues in the Portland Fire Department, Lt. Chad Johnston and Firefighter Keith Willett, Tillotson is a man who devotes himself to his job and community, Johnston said.
“I just see it as a normal way of life,” said Tillotson, who has been married to his wife, Lynn, for 16 years. The couple has two daughters, Grace, 10, and Faith, 7.
His “normal way of life” includes volunteering and coaching for his daughters’ sports and artistic activities, volunteering to assist tornado victims last summer in Springfield, Mass., and organizing Portland firefighters to raise money for the American Lung Association by climbing the stairs inside the 52-story Prudential Tower in Boston.
The climb is made in full gear, including the air pack, Willett said.
Johnston said Portland firefighters have raised more than $10,000 with the climbs and set the standard for using full gear.
Tillotson is also known by friends and family for his dedication to physical activity and workouts in the gym. He said sharing the active lifestyle is at the core of volunteering as a coach for his daughters, but fun is always as important as winning.
“The coaching is just joyful,” he said. “Every time I go out it is fun.”
Whether it is soccer, cheering, softball or dance, Tillotson said he loves being there for his daughters and their friends.
“I just love seeing the children having fun. Parents push too much sometimes. Let them be children. My main goal is we will have a lot of fun and the girls will learn a little discipline and respect,” he said.
Promoted to lieutenant this week at the fire department, Tillotson will become part of a handpicked team that will oversee heavy-duty rescues, Johnston said.
“He is a doer. If someone is pinned underneath a freight train, he is the guy I want there,” Johnston said.
In a profession where he does not routinely meet people under the best of circumstances, Tillotson knows how to put people at ease and give them confidence during a crisis, Johnston said.
Tilltoson said he goes to Massachusetts once a month to participate in Urban Search and Rescue training overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Training led to his work helping storm victims in Springfield last summer. His ability to share his knowledge with Portland firefighters has helped the department, Johnston said.
“He has the ability to articulate, never dumbs anything down,” Johnston said. “People walk way feeling ‘I got that.’”
Willett said Tillotson is equally at ease with children.
“He is always genuine. It is all about sitting and laughing and enjoying them as they grow up,” he said.
A native of upstate New York, Johnston said he grew up on a dairy farm and learned the value of hard work and leadership at an early age. He served in the Army during the Gulf War era, including a year on the Demilitarized Zone that divides North and South Korea.
He became a firefighter while living near Orlando, Fla., he said. That is also where he met his wife, Lynn.
“For 16 years, I have been telling her she was married to a Great Person,” he joked.
Becoming this year’s Great Person is bittersweet for Tillotson and his family, he said, because of the death of his father-in-law, Saco resident Paul W. Tousignant.
Tousignant died Jan. 10 and Tillotson said he was a far more deserving Great Person to be recognized.
“I would dedicate this to him,” Tillotson said. “I learned a lot from him and we were blessed to have him in our lives.”
What Tillotson views as ordinary is what Johnston and Willett and local Great Person Award voters find to be great.
“I have known him 11 years. He is just a really great guy who works hard for his family and the community,” Willett said.
“I just try to stay as involved as possible with God, family and friends,” Tillotson said.

Stage is second home to Saco teen - Jan. 19, 2012

2012-01-19T15:02:52Z

By Gillian Graham
Staff Writer

If Alison Folsom has learned one thing in her 17 years, it’s that “a stage, is a stage, is a stage.”
That attitude has allowed the Saco teen to shine brightly in the spotlight of both pageants and theatrical performances.
“I’ve called stage home for a long time,” she said.
Crowned Miss Maine’s Outstanding Teen last summer, Folsom returned Sunday from a trip to the Miss America pageant in Las Vegas. There, she supported Miss Maine Julia Furtado, toured Wayne Newton’s ranch and performed a dance number on the Miss America stage.
“The stage looks so big on TV, but it’s really not that huge,” Folsom said.
Folsom, whose interest in pageants began several years ago, said it was interesting to see how the Miss America pageant works behind the scenes. During breaks for commercials, hair and make-up artists would rush on stage to fix up contestants.
“That was really unique and a cool way to seeing it,” Folsom said.
During the week leading up to the pageant, Miss America contestants are kept under tight security, Folsom said. She was allowed a quick daily visit with Furtado, a 19-year-old University of New England student from Dayton.
“It was really nice to have those half-hour blocks to get to support our misses,” she said.
Folsom said she also enjoyed spending a stress-free week with other Outstanding Teens, who she first met last summer during the national pageant in Florida. In addition to the dance number, the teens visited a children’s hospital and talked about their platforms and experiences.
Though Folsom now has several pageants under her belt, it wasn’t long ago that she had never even seen a pageant on television. Pageants caught her interest in 2006 when friend Karissa Staples was crowned Miss Maine. Folsom’s older sister, Shannon, has also been crowned Miss Maine’s Outstanding Teen.
Folsom said her first pageant experience was with Miss Teen USA, the pageant system that also crowns Miss USA. She said that pageant organization is more modeling based than the Miss America system, which focuses on providing college scholarships. She said the switch to the Miss America organization was a good fit for her focus on academics and singing.
“I really like it because it’s not all about beauty,” she said. “I really like to perform on stage, which is a big component.”
Folsom’s early pageant experiences led to a modeling contract. She is now signed with New England Models Group, a Manchester, N.H.,-based agency that focuses on both modeling and acting. Her first runway experience was modeling pieces by Australian and Canadian designers during Boston Fashion Week in September.
“That was exhilarating,” she said. “It was a really long runway. I felt like I was in Paris because it was such a professional setting.”
Now that she is home from Las Vegas, Folsom is switching her focus back to finishing her senior year at Thornton Academy and performing in the school’s production of “Phantom of the Opera.” Singing and performing in community theater since age 6, she said she is looking forward to the challenge of the production.
In the fall Folsom will head to the University of Maine in Orono as an animal and veterinary science major. She was awarded a $32,000 Maine Merit Scholarship, the highest scholarship given by the university. She said she plans to become a veterinarian, a continuation of her pageant platform to help homeless animals by promoting adoption, volunteer opportunities and donations to animal shelters.
Folsom said she hasn’t ruled out the possibility of future pageants, but doesn’t want to compete for the Miss Maine title against her sister.
“I think it would be a nice opportunity someday,” she said.

Retiring superintendent loves ‘good challenge’ - Jan. 19, 2012

2012-01-19T15:02:24Z

By David Harry
Staff Writer

Last week, Biddeford School Superintendent Sarah-Jane Poli announced she will retire at the end of June.
Now in her eighth year as superintendent, Poli will have taught and administered in city schools for 48 years when she retires. A Biddeford native, Poli, 70, also attended local public schools.
Mayor Alan Casavant, who recalled having Poli as his teacher in junior high school, said efforts to replace Poli will begin shortly, perhaps with a candidate search conducted by the nonprofit Maine School Management Association.

Q: How did your career evolve to becoming superintendent?
A: It has all been in Biddeford. I was nine years as a teacher, became curriculum director for 28 years, was assistant superintendent for three years and this is my eighth year as superintendent.

Q: Why retire now?
A: I actually made up my mind at least two years ago, but the high school project came up and I love a good challenge. So I said “I have to go through that process.” It will be a few more months for the building to be completed, so it is a good time to leave. There are lots of changes occurring in Augusta that affect educators, so it is a good to time to (leave). Plus, I have family that would love to have me home for a while. I live with a sister and a brother. They would like to go out and do things.
Q: Did you aspire to or imagine you would be superintendent?
A: No, never. I always knew I would be a teacher. When I went on for my master’s curriculum work really interested me. My sister was involved in Connecticut with curriculum work and she would come home and tell me all about it. I really got excited about that and decided to pursue the curriculum position. They convinced me I needed to apply as assistant superintendent and then another superintendent convinced me I should apply for the superintendency. I never really had any intention of applying for it. I received letters from former students saying “now’s the time you should apply for it.” So I thought I would throw my name into the ring and see what happens, and I got it.

Q: This is a progression that takes you away from the classroom to some degree.
A: It does, and it was difficult because I enjoyed working with students. I had a great time in my math classroom. But like every other job you get into, you get overly involved. Working with staff was another interesting component. It was really hard to give up working with staff when I moved into the superintendency, but then I had a whole new staff and leadership team. It is always a learning experience.

Q: How have curriculum needs changed over the years?
A: I really think youngsters need a hands-on curriculum. I am a big supporter of vocational schools, the arts, industrial arts and life skills, even though they don’t call that home (economics) any more. I think the youngsters of Biddeford need to have those experiences and have to know how to do those things because in many cases they are assisting their parents in the home because you usually have two parents working. They want something better for their youngsters. When I was a math teacher, I used hands-on manipulatives in my classroom.

Q: Is it difficult to balance curriculum for job skills with subjects to create a wider base of knowledge?
A: It is very difficult. There are things we would love to be offering, but can’t afford to offer. That is where collaborative education can come in. Before the RSU consolidation, the local school districts were discussing how to collaborate and consolidation consumed a lot of people’s time. We are just going back to discussing collaboration because every school district knows it cannot offer everything. By working together, maybe we can offer students a variety of programs. A good example is Old Orchard Beach is discussing putting in a culinary arts program. We would eventually like to do that in Biddeford, but our facilities need to be renovated. So we would be willing to send students to Old Orchard Beach who would be interested in taking that kind of program.

Q: What are the strengths of Biddeford schools in any collaboration?
A: I think we offer some academic programs other school districts offer, but our approach is a little different. We have a strong special education component and the vocational school and have increased our Advanced Placement courses. We already collaborate on our school calendar because of our center of technology. We have four or five school districts that come to Biddeford.

Q: What has remained similar and what has changed about keeping students engaged?
A: We are competing with technology. Teachers have had to learn how to use technology in the classroom because that is what the youngsters understand. I think another big change is getting students up and around so they are not sitting in their seats for 40 minutes at a time.

Q: Do you think attention spans are shorter?
A: I think so because of TV. Commercials come at you so often. Despite all of the technology out there, I am still amazed when I go to McArthur Library and see how many people are using it. Maybe they are using the computers, but people are still reading books as well. I know I want a hard copy, I want to hold something in my hand.

Q: How does technology affect creating a school budget?
A: We do have to set a certain amount for the state EPS (Essential Programs and Services) for technology, so you have to take that into consideration. Basically, we only have about 10 or 12 percent, so much is fixed with utilities or salaries and benefits. We really don’t have a whole lot. In some instances, we have been able to use federal funds to purchase technology. We were able to do that with some ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly called the Stimulus Act) funds and we have had some from the local budget. But you have to be very careful, looking at the pros and cons each time. There is so much out there, everyone wants the latest thing. We are seeing some positive things with our iPads, but we are being cautious there. Can an iPad do everything a computer does? We can buy more iPads than we can buy computers, but can we do the things we want to do with them? Can we use it as an academic piece?

Q: Is it more difficult to keep up with technological advances now?
A: I think we have to do a lot more staff development training. A few years ago, I took training on the iPod, and I am thinking OK, how am I going to use this in education? But you can, there’s a number of things you can do. Now I am learning how to use the iPad.

Q: How does the new technology affect department policy making?
A: We are looking at more policies and are hoping for some guidance from the Department of Education regarding cyber bullying and the courts because we are beginning to see more and more cases. Anytime you pick up a newspaper, you read about a cyber-bullying case. Maybe not here in Biddeford, but somewhere else, so we are well aware that can occur at any time.

Q: What are some of the best memories of your career?
A: I think I am proud of the fact I had an opportunity to construct Biddeford Middle School and now the renovation of Biddeford High School. Also, what goes with that is hiring good people to work in the district. We have worked very hard to make sure we have the right people.

Q: What have been some of the difficult moments?
A: I started so many programs through the years. Then over the last two years to see those programs being eliminated is really, really difficult. But even more so, to see some of the staff members go that I worked with and hired, that was really difficult to tell them their positions are being eliminated. It was probably the most difficult thing I have ever had to do.

Q: How difficult is was it to do labor negotiations after being a teacher?
A: I’ve negotiated many contracts and been on both sides of the table. I am now living with some decisions I made as an educator and how those interpretations have changed over the years. We are going to be negotiating six contracts again. I said I’d never be around for it, but I am. I think it will be a big thing for a new superintendent if they are not resolved. I hope they will be resolved. It is a big thing, understanding the community, the politics of the community and understanding just how much money we have and trying to get that across to the various unions. We did something different the last time with three of the unions, we did problem solving negotiations and I loved it. It was really nice, we left as a team. In traditional negotiations, you end up not so positive at the end.

Q: Does it take a personal toll?
A: I found in the last round of negotiations, the unions were saying “well Sarah-Jane, you are here, you understand this, but we have to make it clearer for the next superintendent.” And I’m saying, “yes you do.” We have some very good collective bargain agreements with some good language in them.

Q: Is there anything about this job you think the public does not fully understand?
A: The whole thing. I don’t think the public realizes that school is a business and you have to run it like a business. You are not making a profit, but you have to make sure you are in your budget. It is a great learning experience. I look at position of superintendent as equal to the position of CEO of any company. You have to be on top of everything and make sure you have all the key people in place. I don’t think people realize the financial impact.

Q: As you progressed from teacher to superintendent, what parts of your personality developed?
A: I was a hard teacher is what my students tell me. I wanted the best from them and I did get the best from them. I think I have mellowed through the ages. As superintendent, you have to think of all aspects, you just can’t jump to conclusions. There are many sides to many stories and you have to listen to all of them and then make decisions based on what you have found out from people. That was a learning experience for me. When I moved to management, from teacher to curriculum director, I was challenged. I had to make a decision, was I a teacher or am I management? I had to be management, and some of my best friends when I was teaching thought “she has really gone on the other side.” I had to, it was my job to look at the whole thing. Mayor Casavant is going to see that. He is now CEO of the city. He has got to balance education with the city side, now he is going to learn the whole thing. I’m actually going to see him grow into another position.

Q: What will you miss most?
A: The people, definitely. I love going into the schools and seeing the youngsters because they are funny and they are cute. They always have something to say with a big smile on their face and I will miss that.

Q: What remains constant in students to you?
A: School is a safe haven for our students, they are able to get the love they need, the attention they need and they have all kinds of programs for them. I think we have picked up more of the social aspect from when I was a youngster to now. But I think that is everywhere because parents are working. Most homes have both parents working or are single parents and they are just not able to do all those things so the school has to pick up.

Q: What kind of pressure does more standardized testing put on curriculum development?
A: A lot of pressure. I guess I’ve never understood why we are not measuring the same group of kids to see the growth in the kids from one year to another. We started out testing grades four, eight and 11, but we never test those kids again. Fourth-graders one year are completely different from fourth-graders another year. I used to take that into consideration, but I also look at other means of assessment because I wanted to see the growth in our students. Hopefully with the Common Core (new curriculum programs), we will see more growth model comparisons than grade level to grade level comparisons. I think we test too much. It consumes an awfully long part of a teacher’s day when they could be doing other activities. Testing is just one means of judging. Some students do well on one type of assessment and very poorly on another type of assessment.

Staff Writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.