Published in the Current
Buddhists from all over Maine and the Northeast come to Scarborough to practice their faith. The state’s chapter of the True Buddha School has its Maine headquarters on U.S. Route 1, just south of Anjon’s Restaurant.
A small ranch house has been converted into a gathering place for a group of mostly Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhists now living in the region. They follow the teachings of a Buddhist cleric based in Seattle, who teaches in the Tantric or Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism, the same style as that followed by the Dalai Lama.
They came to Scarborough looking for a place for the society in the Greater Portland area, and found an affordable building in a good location here in town.
Yee-lin Lee, one of the people who runs the Scarborough temple, said people tend to come to offer gifts to the Buddha on the first and 15th days of the lunar months. She said most of the people are Chinese and Vietnamese, but members of other nationalities also come to the temple.
Lee said there is a particularly large turnout for Chinese New Year, which this year will be celebrated on Feb. 12, 2002, on Western calendars. It will be the Chinese year of 4699, the Year of the Horse.
Lee said she had started to notice an increase in the number of people who don’t speak Chinese at some of these events, and at their suggestion began a program to introduce Buddhism to English speakers.
Rev. Lianhong, a Buddhist monk from Oakland, Calif., came to town to deliver a series of teachings on the basics of Buddhism. About 50 people turned out for the first session, Jan. 16, despite a freezing rainstorm. Turnout was so good, in fact, that most people had to park at a larger parking lot near the Dunstan School Restaurant and get shuttled to the temple.
Lianhong began the first teaching with a disclaimer: “I am not here to convert you to Buddhism,” he said, though he said he wouldn’t turn away anyone who wanted to learn more.
In the first session, Lianhong gave a brief history of the life of the Buddha, and talked about the basic principles of the Buddha’s teachings, which are common to all three Buddhist traditions, Mahayana (most common in China and Japan), Theravada (Thailand, Cambodia and Burma) and Vajrayana (Tibet and Himalayan regions of several countries).
The class also explored other aspects of Buddhist teachings and meditation, with Lianhong offering suggestions for improving mindfulness and focus while meditating, and encouraging people to find meditation in all daily activities.
Thursday, January 31, 2002
Thursday, January 24, 2002
Cape schools begin budget process
Published in the Current
At a workshop meeting Jan. 22, the Cape Elizabeth School Board kicked off its budget process with a discussion of new staffing needs, building plans and possible student activity fees. The board remained conscious of budget constraints and prepared itself to answer the concerns of the Town Council, which must approve the school budget.
Three new staff positions were put on hold due to budget constraints, and all of the new programs originally planned for this year’s budget also were taken off the table by Superintendent Tom Forcella.
Remaining were additional staff positions required to handle increased enrollment and higher special education needs, small increases in high school and middle school athletics positions, and an 8-hour, weekly position to help support the state’s Laptop Initiative.
Enrollment changes mean a second grade teaching position will be added, while a middle school teaching position will be eliminated, and three teaching spots will be added at the high school.
Special education staff will be reshuffled through the district, as four educational technicians will move from the middle school to the high school along with the students they assist. Several kindergartners also will require additional help as they move from a half-day kindergarten to a full school day in first grade.
Despite those increases – nearly four full-time positions – special education director Claire LaBrie said the price was a bargain. “We are educating students in our school system that 20 years ago we would not have been educating,” she said. Instead, the school district would be paying for expensive day programs.
Occupational therapy and speech and language staff also will be increased slightly, in response to recently identified needs.
The high school will see an increase of about 50 students, half in the ninth grade and half in 12th grade, said High School Principal Jeff Shedd. That will require an additional three teachers there.
Board chair George Entwistle questioned whether that should mean three teaching positions should be eliminated at the middle school.
Middle School Principal Nancy Hutton, along with Shedd and Forcella, explained that there are more requirements on high school students, and more options open to them, meaning more teachers are frequently required to meet the needs of high school students than of a similar number of middle school students.
High school students are required to take a certain number of “elective” classes, for example, and that means teachers must branch out beyond the traditional curriculum.
Shedd pointed out the teaching staff increase “assumes no significant increase in class size.”
The board also discussed the plans for renovating the high school and adding to Pond Cove Elementary School. Building Committee chair Marie Prager presented several options to the board, including projected timelines and the costs for portable classrooms to be used temporarily until the building projects are complete.
The building itself is expected to cost between $5 million and $6 million. An exact figure should be available at the end of the school year, Prager said, when the architect completes a review of the precise work required.
The board wants to move forward as quickly as possible with the project, which should mean work on both buildings would begin in the summer of 2004, continue through the school year with some projects, and be completed in time for the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year.
The options Prager presented would cost between $90,000 and $165,000 for portable classrooms in the interim, beginning next school year. The variation comes from the number of portables, the number of years they are used, and whether or not kindergartners use them. Kindergarten classrooms are required to have running water and toilet facilities.
In other business, the board:
-Discussed school activity “user fees,” and decided to delegate a committee to come up with recommendations based on a study conducted by board member Jim Rowe in 2001. Possible options are a flat per-student fee, separate fees for sports and non-sports activities, and a smaller per-activity fee. In each case, there would be a fee cap of $100 per student and $150 per family.
-Entered executive session to discuss contract negotiations with custodians and bus drivers.
The next school board meeting will be Feb. 12, at 7:30 p.m., in the Council Chambers. The budget will be presented to the board Feb. 26, at 7 p.m., in the high school library.
At a workshop meeting Jan. 22, the Cape Elizabeth School Board kicked off its budget process with a discussion of new staffing needs, building plans and possible student activity fees. The board remained conscious of budget constraints and prepared itself to answer the concerns of the Town Council, which must approve the school budget.
Three new staff positions were put on hold due to budget constraints, and all of the new programs originally planned for this year’s budget also were taken off the table by Superintendent Tom Forcella.
Remaining were additional staff positions required to handle increased enrollment and higher special education needs, small increases in high school and middle school athletics positions, and an 8-hour, weekly position to help support the state’s Laptop Initiative.
Enrollment changes mean a second grade teaching position will be added, while a middle school teaching position will be eliminated, and three teaching spots will be added at the high school.
Special education staff will be reshuffled through the district, as four educational technicians will move from the middle school to the high school along with the students they assist. Several kindergartners also will require additional help as they move from a half-day kindergarten to a full school day in first grade.
Despite those increases – nearly four full-time positions – special education director Claire LaBrie said the price was a bargain. “We are educating students in our school system that 20 years ago we would not have been educating,” she said. Instead, the school district would be paying for expensive day programs.
Occupational therapy and speech and language staff also will be increased slightly, in response to recently identified needs.
The high school will see an increase of about 50 students, half in the ninth grade and half in 12th grade, said High School Principal Jeff Shedd. That will require an additional three teachers there.
Board chair George Entwistle questioned whether that should mean three teaching positions should be eliminated at the middle school.
Middle School Principal Nancy Hutton, along with Shedd and Forcella, explained that there are more requirements on high school students, and more options open to them, meaning more teachers are frequently required to meet the needs of high school students than of a similar number of middle school students.
High school students are required to take a certain number of “elective” classes, for example, and that means teachers must branch out beyond the traditional curriculum.
Shedd pointed out the teaching staff increase “assumes no significant increase in class size.”
The board also discussed the plans for renovating the high school and adding to Pond Cove Elementary School. Building Committee chair Marie Prager presented several options to the board, including projected timelines and the costs for portable classrooms to be used temporarily until the building projects are complete.
The building itself is expected to cost between $5 million and $6 million. An exact figure should be available at the end of the school year, Prager said, when the architect completes a review of the precise work required.
The board wants to move forward as quickly as possible with the project, which should mean work on both buildings would begin in the summer of 2004, continue through the school year with some projects, and be completed in time for the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year.
The options Prager presented would cost between $90,000 and $165,000 for portable classrooms in the interim, beginning next school year. The variation comes from the number of portables, the number of years they are used, and whether or not kindergartners use them. Kindergarten classrooms are required to have running water and toilet facilities.
In other business, the board:
-Discussed school activity “user fees,” and decided to delegate a committee to come up with recommendations based on a study conducted by board member Jim Rowe in 2001. Possible options are a flat per-student fee, separate fees for sports and non-sports activities, and a smaller per-activity fee. In each case, there would be a fee cap of $100 per student and $150 per family.
-Entered executive session to discuss contract negotiations with custodians and bus drivers.
The next school board meeting will be Feb. 12, at 7:30 p.m., in the Council Chambers. The budget will be presented to the board Feb. 26, at 7 p.m., in the high school library.
Cape starts foundation to support innovation in schools
Published in the Current
Cape Elizabeth has set a $1 million fund-raising goal for a new education foundation which would give grants to local teachers and schools for innovative teaching projects.
In the planning stages for a year, the tax exempt Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation could begin fund-raising as early as this fall.
The foundation would use the interest from the money it raises to make the grants. The program is based on the success of the Rye (N.H.) Education Foundation.
Rye is a similar town to Cape, in its proximity to the coast and general affluence. And with a smaller population, Rye was able to raise $1 million in a single year to kick off its foundation, giving Cape organizers confidence in their success.
Superintendent Tom Forcella, who is an adviser to the foundation, said the plan is to lay the groundwork now, as the economy recovers, and have meetings in various neighborhoods to prepare for the capital campaign kickoff in the fall.
“The purpose of the foundation is to support education,” said CEEF president Andy Geoghegan.
He was careful to note, however, “the primary obligation to support schools is obviously through the town and the state.”
But the district already is getting $7 million less in state money than it did in 1987, and with the burden of making up the difference falling on local property taxpayers, money is hard to come by.
“We don’t have the kind of commercial development in town,” Geoghegan said, to bring a lot of money in without raising property taxes.
The operational budget, Forcella said, is the responsibility of the taxpayers. But new projects and additions to school programs are hard to fund.
Geoghegan said the foundation is intended to support “a project relating to educational innovation and excellence.”
Falmouth and Cumberland, Forcella said, have similar programs where they raise several thousand dollars each year and give it all away. The Cape plan, like the Rye foundation, is to raise a much larger sum up front and have interest to give away each year without major fundraising drives.
The Rye Education Foundation has been around since 1995, and has granted over $30,000 to the town’s schools for various projects.
With the interest from $1 million, “you’re talking significant impact on what can be done,” said Mark Forsyth, president of the Rye Education Foundation.
Forsyth said the REF has two grant application deadlines each year, and decides grants based, in part, on maximizing the number of students who will be affected by the project.
Some of the projects in Rye have included $784 for the purchase of a digital camera for use at the junior high school newspaper; $1,000 for materials to build a reusable planetarium at the elementary school; $2,500 for a program in which elementary school students “create an individualized U.S. history book unique to their own experiences and historical research”; and $200 for elementary school students to make handmade paper for story books.
And at least one idea has developed in Cape already: A teacher at the middle school wanted to do a unit on Near Eastern culture and religion following Sept. 11, but there were no funds to pay for books or other materials.
With the regular budget method, teachers have to plan 12 to 24 months in advance. But the foundation plans to offer a simple application form for a teacher or administrator to fill out, and give an answer—and the money—in 30 days.
“Sometimes the traditional budget process is confining,” Geoghegan said.
Innovation and experimenting with new methods are hard for school boards to fund, especially when money is already tight, he said. “We hope to do some of those extras. It’s limited only by the imagination of the teachers and students.”
And what about some people’s fears that the school board will stop funding some programs and suggest the foundation pay for them instead?
“We should be so lucky,” Geoghegan said. If there’s enough foundation money to really make a dent in the school budget, it would be a positive thing, not a problem.
“We are independent but we need to be closely coordinated with the school board,” Geoghegan said.
This was echoed in Rye, where Forsyth said, “we’re not tied into the town or the schools, although we support the schools.”
The fund-raising may begin this fall, Geoghegan said, but any formal announcement would wait until a strategic plan and project timeline are complete, which he expects by April.
The foundation already has met with a couple of fund-raising consultants about how to get to $1 million, and Geoghegan said he anticipated hiring a professional to run the fund-raising effort.
He expects the money could be raised in three to six months. Rye’s experience may lend some credence to his projection: The REF originally set its goal at $500,000, but upon reaching that goal, an anonymous donor pledged to match additional funds raised, up to $250,000. The REF did it, bringing their total to $1 million.
“I think it will really benefit the school district,” Forcella said.
The foundation wants to get the community involved. Forcella talked about tapping the schools’ alumni, asking them for money. And Geoghegan said it is an opportunity for people to help the schools beyond just paying their property taxes. “Those who want to (help) and can will have a convenient vehicle for doing so.”
Cape Elizabeth has set a $1 million fund-raising goal for a new education foundation which would give grants to local teachers and schools for innovative teaching projects.
In the planning stages for a year, the tax exempt Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation could begin fund-raising as early as this fall.
The foundation would use the interest from the money it raises to make the grants. The program is based on the success of the Rye (N.H.) Education Foundation.
Rye is a similar town to Cape, in its proximity to the coast and general affluence. And with a smaller population, Rye was able to raise $1 million in a single year to kick off its foundation, giving Cape organizers confidence in their success.
Superintendent Tom Forcella, who is an adviser to the foundation, said the plan is to lay the groundwork now, as the economy recovers, and have meetings in various neighborhoods to prepare for the capital campaign kickoff in the fall.
“The purpose of the foundation is to support education,” said CEEF president Andy Geoghegan.
He was careful to note, however, “the primary obligation to support schools is obviously through the town and the state.”
But the district already is getting $7 million less in state money than it did in 1987, and with the burden of making up the difference falling on local property taxpayers, money is hard to come by.
“We don’t have the kind of commercial development in town,” Geoghegan said, to bring a lot of money in without raising property taxes.
The operational budget, Forcella said, is the responsibility of the taxpayers. But new projects and additions to school programs are hard to fund.
Geoghegan said the foundation is intended to support “a project relating to educational innovation and excellence.”
Falmouth and Cumberland, Forcella said, have similar programs where they raise several thousand dollars each year and give it all away. The Cape plan, like the Rye foundation, is to raise a much larger sum up front and have interest to give away each year without major fundraising drives.
The Rye Education Foundation has been around since 1995, and has granted over $30,000 to the town’s schools for various projects.
With the interest from $1 million, “you’re talking significant impact on what can be done,” said Mark Forsyth, president of the Rye Education Foundation.
Forsyth said the REF has two grant application deadlines each year, and decides grants based, in part, on maximizing the number of students who will be affected by the project.
Some of the projects in Rye have included $784 for the purchase of a digital camera for use at the junior high school newspaper; $1,000 for materials to build a reusable planetarium at the elementary school; $2,500 for a program in which elementary school students “create an individualized U.S. history book unique to their own experiences and historical research”; and $200 for elementary school students to make handmade paper for story books.
And at least one idea has developed in Cape already: A teacher at the middle school wanted to do a unit on Near Eastern culture and religion following Sept. 11, but there were no funds to pay for books or other materials.
With the regular budget method, teachers have to plan 12 to 24 months in advance. But the foundation plans to offer a simple application form for a teacher or administrator to fill out, and give an answer—and the money—in 30 days.
“Sometimes the traditional budget process is confining,” Geoghegan said.
Innovation and experimenting with new methods are hard for school boards to fund, especially when money is already tight, he said. “We hope to do some of those extras. It’s limited only by the imagination of the teachers and students.”
And what about some people’s fears that the school board will stop funding some programs and suggest the foundation pay for them instead?
“We should be so lucky,” Geoghegan said. If there’s enough foundation money to really make a dent in the school budget, it would be a positive thing, not a problem.
“We are independent but we need to be closely coordinated with the school board,” Geoghegan said.
This was echoed in Rye, where Forsyth said, “we’re not tied into the town or the schools, although we support the schools.”
The fund-raising may begin this fall, Geoghegan said, but any formal announcement would wait until a strategic plan and project timeline are complete, which he expects by April.
The foundation already has met with a couple of fund-raising consultants about how to get to $1 million, and Geoghegan said he anticipated hiring a professional to run the fund-raising effort.
He expects the money could be raised in three to six months. Rye’s experience may lend some credence to his projection: The REF originally set its goal at $500,000, but upon reaching that goal, an anonymous donor pledged to match additional funds raised, up to $250,000. The REF did it, bringing their total to $1 million.
“I think it will really benefit the school district,” Forcella said.
The foundation wants to get the community involved. Forcella talked about tapping the schools’ alumni, asking them for money. And Geoghegan said it is an opportunity for people to help the schools beyond just paying their property taxes. “Those who want to (help) and can will have a convenient vehicle for doing so.”
Thursday, January 17, 2002
Coaches and clothes: Dressing for success
Published in the Current
Go to any high school game, you'll see the coaches striding the sidelines, exhorting their team to try harder, "want it" more, and play as a team. Coaches are hoisted high when major victories are won, and suffer the wrath of disappointed fans if failure comes home to roost.
And each game offers a new opportunity for coaches to present themselves to the community in person, beyond the sports-page scoreboard of results. Many parents don't get a chance to talk to the coaches at the games, leaving their clothes to do the talking.
Some of them have truly achieved sartorial splendor. Others, equally qualified as coaches, are less formal, but they have their reasons.
Tammy Loring, the Cape Elizabeth girls basketball coach, follows basketball tradition. She dresses up for each match, and requires her players to do so in school the day of a game.
"I played for Scarborough and we had to wear dresses or skirts," she said. "We're in the spotlight, we're representing the community."
She said it helps build team unity and a sense of pride. "We start as a team," Loring said. "It's a class act."
She said working as a team and being a role model for the team - and having the players be role models in the community - are her major efforts this year.
"I'm really focusing on teams, on (having) no individuals," she said. "We win together, we lose together."
She did say there is an element of competition, too. "Of course we're all out there to win."
And win they can. "We've come a long, long way from last year," Loring said.
From a 1-17 record last year, the Lady Capers are already at 3-7, and she is optimistic. "They've just got to believe in themselves."
Scarborough boys basketball coach Chris Hasson said self-respect is part of dressing up, though he has seen players dress up and misbehave and others, in casual clothes, behave very well. His players have to wear ties in school, and bring a sport coat to wear as the team enters the gym before the game.
"You're representing your school," he said.
Hasson said he normally wears a shirt and tie on the sidelines, but wore a golf shirt during the Christmas tournament, in which Scarborough did very well. He has worn the shirt for three of the past four games, and they have won all three.
"I wore a shirt and tie and coat at Cape and we got pounded," he said.
So it's back to the golf shirt. "I'm not very superstitious, but I'm not changing it," Hasson said. He did say he washes the shirt between games.
Hasson even has a dress code during practice: school colors are required, and shooting jerseys or school T-shirts are preferred. T-shirts worn under their practice jerseys must be white or gray.
Scarborough girls soccer coach Mark Coulston takes another approach. Without a locker room for changing into game clothes, he said, dressing formally is less of an option.
"What they'll do is wear their game shirts to school that day," Coulston said.
The night before a big game, the team will often have a group dinner at someone's house. As part of that, they will sometimes decorate shirts and wear those on game day, instead of the jerseys.
He said most other soccer coaches wear jogging suits at games, but others do dress up more, and require players to dress up too.
"Each coach is different, and each team is different," Coulston said.
Go to any high school game, you'll see the coaches striding the sidelines, exhorting their team to try harder, "want it" more, and play as a team. Coaches are hoisted high when major victories are won, and suffer the wrath of disappointed fans if failure comes home to roost.
And each game offers a new opportunity for coaches to present themselves to the community in person, beyond the sports-page scoreboard of results. Many parents don't get a chance to talk to the coaches at the games, leaving their clothes to do the talking.
Some of them have truly achieved sartorial splendor. Others, equally qualified as coaches, are less formal, but they have their reasons.
Tammy Loring, the Cape Elizabeth girls basketball coach, follows basketball tradition. She dresses up for each match, and requires her players to do so in school the day of a game.
"I played for Scarborough and we had to wear dresses or skirts," she said. "We're in the spotlight, we're representing the community."
She said it helps build team unity and a sense of pride. "We start as a team," Loring said. "It's a class act."
She said working as a team and being a role model for the team - and having the players be role models in the community - are her major efforts this year.
"I'm really focusing on teams, on (having) no individuals," she said. "We win together, we lose together."
She did say there is an element of competition, too. "Of course we're all out there to win."
And win they can. "We've come a long, long way from last year," Loring said.
From a 1-17 record last year, the Lady Capers are already at 3-7, and she is optimistic. "They've just got to believe in themselves."
Scarborough boys basketball coach Chris Hasson said self-respect is part of dressing up, though he has seen players dress up and misbehave and others, in casual clothes, behave very well. His players have to wear ties in school, and bring a sport coat to wear as the team enters the gym before the game.
"You're representing your school," he said.
Hasson said he normally wears a shirt and tie on the sidelines, but wore a golf shirt during the Christmas tournament, in which Scarborough did very well. He has worn the shirt for three of the past four games, and they have won all three.
"I wore a shirt and tie and coat at Cape and we got pounded," he said.
So it's back to the golf shirt. "I'm not very superstitious, but I'm not changing it," Hasson said. He did say he washes the shirt between games.
Hasson even has a dress code during practice: school colors are required, and shooting jerseys or school T-shirts are preferred. T-shirts worn under their practice jerseys must be white or gray.
Scarborough girls soccer coach Mark Coulston takes another approach. Without a locker room for changing into game clothes, he said, dressing formally is less of an option.
"What they'll do is wear their game shirts to school that day," Coulston said.
The night before a big game, the team will often have a group dinner at someone's house. As part of that, they will sometimes decorate shirts and wear those on game day, instead of the jerseys.
He said most other soccer coaches wear jogging suits at games, but others do dress up more, and require players to dress up too.
"Each coach is different, and each team is different," Coulston said.
Heroin moving into Cape
Published in the Current
Cape Elizabeth police are beginning to notice an increase in drug-related crime in town.
Several burglaries in the Scott Dyer Road area on one night in particular, Jan. 6, are believed to be related to each other and to a small group of users of heroin and other drugs in Cape Elizabeth.
“The drug (heroin) is becoming more prevalent,” said Cape Police Chief Neil Williams, adding that it is cheaper than cocaine and is easier to get than OxyContin.
On Jan. 6, “a crew of two to four people,” according to Detective Paul Fenton, entered unlocked cars and sheds on Scott Dyer and Brentwood roads, and stole “mostly small items.” Some of the property recovered from the thieves includes a set of golf clubs, a car stereo, a firearm and a bicycle.
“They grabbed what they could get their hands on,” Fenton said.
He said he has identified some suspects and has information that indicates they were planning to sell the items for drug money, or trade them directly for drugs.
“I’m pretty sure who they are,” Fenton said. He said he knows of about a half-dozen people in town who use drugs such as heroin, but said he assumes there are more that he doesn’t know about. He added that his count doesn’t include their friends.
The people, whom Fenton and Williams declined to identify, are in their late teens but are not in school, they said.
Fenton recommended that people lock their cars and their homes, and asked residents to call police if they see people walking around on the streets very late at night. And check out any nighttime noises when you hear them, rather than waiting until morning.
“If they hear anything, give us a call,” Fenton said.
He said they did get a tip Jan. 6, and almost caught the thieves, but arrived a little bit too late. He said some people don’t call the police for fear of “bugging” them, but Fenton stressed they want people to call.
“It’s our job,” he said. “It’s not bugging us.”
Officer Paul Gaspar, who is the department liaison to the schools and other community groups, said he is seeing more drug use in the community, but not much in the schools. He said he also knows of one recent Cape High School graduate who is on methadone, a drug used to treat heroin addiction.
But teenage users of hard drugs are certainly possible in Cape Elizabeth, he said, just as it is in other towns.
“Do I think it’s outside the realm of possibility? No,” Gaspar said.
He said parents should talk to their kids and trust their gut feelings if something doesn’t feel right. Parents should look for signs of drug use in their teenagers, he said, including smoking and drinking, a change in demeanor, depression, being easily angered, changing the peer group, having friends they don’t want to bring home, paleness of skin and loss or gain of weight.
He said Day One is a community-based resource for parents and teens dealing with drug and other issues, and suggested the Fort Williams office as a good place to ask for help.
Cape Elizabeth police are beginning to notice an increase in drug-related crime in town.
Several burglaries in the Scott Dyer Road area on one night in particular, Jan. 6, are believed to be related to each other and to a small group of users of heroin and other drugs in Cape Elizabeth.
“The drug (heroin) is becoming more prevalent,” said Cape Police Chief Neil Williams, adding that it is cheaper than cocaine and is easier to get than OxyContin.
On Jan. 6, “a crew of two to four people,” according to Detective Paul Fenton, entered unlocked cars and sheds on Scott Dyer and Brentwood roads, and stole “mostly small items.” Some of the property recovered from the thieves includes a set of golf clubs, a car stereo, a firearm and a bicycle.
“They grabbed what they could get their hands on,” Fenton said.
He said he has identified some suspects and has information that indicates they were planning to sell the items for drug money, or trade them directly for drugs.
“I’m pretty sure who they are,” Fenton said. He said he knows of about a half-dozen people in town who use drugs such as heroin, but said he assumes there are more that he doesn’t know about. He added that his count doesn’t include their friends.
The people, whom Fenton and Williams declined to identify, are in their late teens but are not in school, they said.
Fenton recommended that people lock their cars and their homes, and asked residents to call police if they see people walking around on the streets very late at night. And check out any nighttime noises when you hear them, rather than waiting until morning.
“If they hear anything, give us a call,” Fenton said.
He said they did get a tip Jan. 6, and almost caught the thieves, but arrived a little bit too late. He said some people don’t call the police for fear of “bugging” them, but Fenton stressed they want people to call.
“It’s our job,” he said. “It’s not bugging us.”
Officer Paul Gaspar, who is the department liaison to the schools and other community groups, said he is seeing more drug use in the community, but not much in the schools. He said he also knows of one recent Cape High School graduate who is on methadone, a drug used to treat heroin addiction.
But teenage users of hard drugs are certainly possible in Cape Elizabeth, he said, just as it is in other towns.
“Do I think it’s outside the realm of possibility? No,” Gaspar said.
He said parents should talk to their kids and trust their gut feelings if something doesn’t feel right. Parents should look for signs of drug use in their teenagers, he said, including smoking and drinking, a change in demeanor, depression, being easily angered, changing the peer group, having friends they don’t want to bring home, paleness of skin and loss or gain of weight.
He said Day One is a community-based resource for parents and teens dealing with drug and other issues, and suggested the Fort Williams office as a good place to ask for help.
Thursday, January 10, 2002
Cape School Board handles business
Published in the Current
The Cape Elizabeth School Board set a speed record at its regular Tuesday meeting: 40 minutes, gavel to gavel. The previous record, 46 minutes, was set at December’s meeting. But longer meetings are in store soon, as budget discussions begin.
During the short meeting, the school board learned that part of the Portland Arts and Technology High School’s budget was “killed by one of our neighboring school districts,” according to board member, Kevin Sweeney, who also serves on the board of PATHS.
The budget was revised, and the planned biotechnology program was saved, Sweeney said. The board voted to approve the revised budget, and to pay the amount PATHS requested from Cape, which will not exceed the amount the board previously approved.
The board also learned that longtime Pond Cove guidance counselor, Sara Berman, will be resigning at the end of this school year.
In other business, the board:
– Heard from the high school student representatives that the senior class is in danger of losing its privileges due to misbehavior and parking violations. “Some students accumulate a lot of points, while others aren’t accumulating any,” said representative David Greenwood. Midterms, Greenwood reported, begin soon, ending the first semester. Also, a good number of Cape students volunteered over the holidays, including participating in a gift drive for area teenagers. And, the day after Christmas, some students painted the names of active duty military personnel from Cape on the rock on Route 77.
– Heard from the middle school student representatives that there will be a regional student leadership conference Jan. 10 and a career fair at the school Jan. 24. The student council and advisory groups also are very involved in community service. The council adopted a family over the holidays, purchasing food and gifts which were greatly appreciated by the family. And teacher, Andy Strout’s, advisory group is having a book drive for a school serving underprivileged students in Boston. Also, 150 students auditioned to play a part in the school play, “Peter Pan,” which will be performed the first weekend in April.
– Heard a report from Superintendent Tom Forcella that the Future Direction Planning process is well underway, and that several goals for this academic year already have been met, while others are in progress or on the schedule to be completed on time.
– Heard from high school Principal Jeff Shedd that the mock trial team did very well in the state finals, narrowly missing beating Hampden Academy, the school that beat Cape last year for the state title. Shedd, a former attorney, was very impressed with the quality of the students' work and performance. Also, Spanish teacher, Angela Schipani, is having excellent success with a new teaching method, involving roleplaying and story-telling. Mark Pendarvis has begun experimenting with that method as well.
– Heard from middle school Principal Nancy Hutton that the fifth grade teaching team has planned an integrated unit on recycling, which will involve a visit to the school by the town Recycling Committee. Hutton also explained the nature of the educational teams with an anecdote about the eagerness of the seventh grade team to get its hands on the new laptops from the state. All of the teachers, with the help of district technology coordinator, Gary Lanoie, volunteered to be a part of a demonstration program in which the school would get its laptops shortly and then host a series of visits by teachers from around the state to see how laptops can be used effectively in classrooms. Hutton said the school has not yet been approved to be a demonstration site.
– Approved several winter sports coaches for the middle school.
– Announced the municipal election, which will be held Tuesday, May 7, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Two seats on the School Board will be open, those held by George Entwistle and Jim Rowe. Nomination papers are due to the Town Clerk’s office by 5 p.m., March 25.
The school board’s next regular meeting will be at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 12, in the Town Council Chambers.
The Cape Elizabeth School Board set a speed record at its regular Tuesday meeting: 40 minutes, gavel to gavel. The previous record, 46 minutes, was set at December’s meeting. But longer meetings are in store soon, as budget discussions begin.
During the short meeting, the school board learned that part of the Portland Arts and Technology High School’s budget was “killed by one of our neighboring school districts,” according to board member, Kevin Sweeney, who also serves on the board of PATHS.
The budget was revised, and the planned biotechnology program was saved, Sweeney said. The board voted to approve the revised budget, and to pay the amount PATHS requested from Cape, which will not exceed the amount the board previously approved.
The board also learned that longtime Pond Cove guidance counselor, Sara Berman, will be resigning at the end of this school year.
In other business, the board:
– Heard from the high school student representatives that the senior class is in danger of losing its privileges due to misbehavior and parking violations. “Some students accumulate a lot of points, while others aren’t accumulating any,” said representative David Greenwood. Midterms, Greenwood reported, begin soon, ending the first semester. Also, a good number of Cape students volunteered over the holidays, including participating in a gift drive for area teenagers. And, the day after Christmas, some students painted the names of active duty military personnel from Cape on the rock on Route 77.
– Heard from the middle school student representatives that there will be a regional student leadership conference Jan. 10 and a career fair at the school Jan. 24. The student council and advisory groups also are very involved in community service. The council adopted a family over the holidays, purchasing food and gifts which were greatly appreciated by the family. And teacher, Andy Strout’s, advisory group is having a book drive for a school serving underprivileged students in Boston. Also, 150 students auditioned to play a part in the school play, “Peter Pan,” which will be performed the first weekend in April.
– Heard a report from Superintendent Tom Forcella that the Future Direction Planning process is well underway, and that several goals for this academic year already have been met, while others are in progress or on the schedule to be completed on time.
– Heard from high school Principal Jeff Shedd that the mock trial team did very well in the state finals, narrowly missing beating Hampden Academy, the school that beat Cape last year for the state title. Shedd, a former attorney, was very impressed with the quality of the students' work and performance. Also, Spanish teacher, Angela Schipani, is having excellent success with a new teaching method, involving roleplaying and story-telling. Mark Pendarvis has begun experimenting with that method as well.
– Heard from middle school Principal Nancy Hutton that the fifth grade teaching team has planned an integrated unit on recycling, which will involve a visit to the school by the town Recycling Committee. Hutton also explained the nature of the educational teams with an anecdote about the eagerness of the seventh grade team to get its hands on the new laptops from the state. All of the teachers, with the help of district technology coordinator, Gary Lanoie, volunteered to be a part of a demonstration program in which the school would get its laptops shortly and then host a series of visits by teachers from around the state to see how laptops can be used effectively in classrooms. Hutton said the school has not yet been approved to be a demonstration site.
– Approved several winter sports coaches for the middle school.
– Announced the municipal election, which will be held Tuesday, May 7, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Two seats on the School Board will be open, those held by George Entwistle and Jim Rowe. Nomination papers are due to the Town Clerk’s office by 5 p.m., March 25.
The school board’s next regular meeting will be at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 12, in the Town Council Chambers.
Cape mock trial team loses close competition
Published in the Current
The Cape Elizabeth mock trial team barely missed beating Hampden Academy at the statewide high school mock trial competition in Portland Saturday. After a pair of closely argued trials, the judges couldn’t decide who had won.
They discussed the possibility of a tie, but decided that couldn’t happen. There was no precedent for a tie in the mock trial finals, or anywhere else in the competition.
So the three judges—Leigh Saufley, Maine’s new Chief Justice, Colleen Khoury, the dean of the University of Maine Law School, and Elizabeth Scheffee, president
of the Maine Bar Association— voted again. Cape was not the winner.
It was Cape’s second appearance at the finals in three years, and the competition is set up to be as real to life as possible.
“We present in a real courtroom in front of practicing judges,” said Dan Gayer, a senior on the team.
They use real rules of evidence and actual trial procedure, too, though some of the most complex legal guidelines are left out, to make things a little simpler and keep the trials moving.
The competition season begins in September, when packets of case information go out to participating schools around the state. They all work on the same case, which is fictitious, but includes evidence from witnesses, police reports, and expert testimony. Students prepare for a couple of months, and trials begin in November.
Each team has to present both sides of the case, taking turns with the roles of defense and prosecution, including playing all the witnesses who will testify.
The competition is based not only on whether a team proves its side, but how well they present it. Is it well-argued, with minimal straying from the point? Are witnesses convincing and are cross-examinations revealing? Do experts really know what they are talking about? How do witnesses and attorneys alike handle tough questions or answers?
The students get help from Cape mock trial adviser and theater teacher Dick Mullen, as well as local lawyers, often parents of students on the team. They are taught the academics of trial law, as well as how to exploit the emotional nature of a case.
“It’s very academic,” Mullen said. The practices are rigorous, with tips from the real lawyers on appropriate handling of objections.
Mullen encourages the students to use body language and sound like they mean what they say.
Team member Stephanie Reed was not especially interested in the law until Mullen approached her to be on the team. Now she says she considers law one career possibility, though she hasn’t decided what she’ll do just yet.
The students miss school to attend competitions, and sacrifice long hours to prepare for the cases.
But, Gayer said, it helps them understand why the U.S. legal system is set up the way it is, with its flaws and all.
“You learn a lot about how the legal process works,” Reed said.
The Cape Elizabeth mock trial team barely missed beating Hampden Academy at the statewide high school mock trial competition in Portland Saturday. After a pair of closely argued trials, the judges couldn’t decide who had won.
They discussed the possibility of a tie, but decided that couldn’t happen. There was no precedent for a tie in the mock trial finals, or anywhere else in the competition.
So the three judges—Leigh Saufley, Maine’s new Chief Justice, Colleen Khoury, the dean of the University of Maine Law School, and Elizabeth Scheffee, president
of the Maine Bar Association— voted again. Cape was not the winner.
It was Cape’s second appearance at the finals in three years, and the competition is set up to be as real to life as possible.
“We present in a real courtroom in front of practicing judges,” said Dan Gayer, a senior on the team.
They use real rules of evidence and actual trial procedure, too, though some of the most complex legal guidelines are left out, to make things a little simpler and keep the trials moving.
The competition season begins in September, when packets of case information go out to participating schools around the state. They all work on the same case, which is fictitious, but includes evidence from witnesses, police reports, and expert testimony. Students prepare for a couple of months, and trials begin in November.
Each team has to present both sides of the case, taking turns with the roles of defense and prosecution, including playing all the witnesses who will testify.
The competition is based not only on whether a team proves its side, but how well they present it. Is it well-argued, with minimal straying from the point? Are witnesses convincing and are cross-examinations revealing? Do experts really know what they are talking about? How do witnesses and attorneys alike handle tough questions or answers?
The students get help from Cape mock trial adviser and theater teacher Dick Mullen, as well as local lawyers, often parents of students on the team. They are taught the academics of trial law, as well as how to exploit the emotional nature of a case.
“It’s very academic,” Mullen said. The practices are rigorous, with tips from the real lawyers on appropriate handling of objections.
Mullen encourages the students to use body language and sound like they mean what they say.
Team member Stephanie Reed was not especially interested in the law until Mullen approached her to be on the team. Now she says she considers law one career possibility, though she hasn’t decided what she’ll do just yet.
The students miss school to attend competitions, and sacrifice long hours to prepare for the cases.
But, Gayer said, it helps them understand why the U.S. legal system is set up the way it is, with its flaws and all.
“You learn a lot about how the legal process works,” Reed said.
Cape adults ponder school ethics
Published in the Current
The Cape community strove to identify itself in words Monday night as 30 parents, teachers and administrators gathered to discuss standards for ethical and responsible behavior in the schools and in the community.
Superintendent Tom Forcella began the meeting, held at the cafetorium shared by the middle and Pond Cove Elementary schools, by explaining that the process is mandated by the state’s learning results act, requiring local districts to develop codes of conduct, including behavior standards and procedures for handling those who break the rules.
But it’s wider than just a required document, Forcella said. “There should be something (in the code) that we all believe in as communities,” he said. It fits in well, too, with the district’s future direction planning process.
The turnout wasn’t all that Forcella had hoped. “It would have been nice if we packed this cafetorium,” he said. But the group was big enough to take the first step in the process, which will include continued discussions with staff, students, administrators and the public.
School Board Chairman George Entwistle began facilitating a group discussion, reprising a role familiar from his day job. He split the audience up into five small groups, each with about six people, sitting at separate lunch tables in the room.
They had to come up with, and share with the group, five to eight values, in single words, that would be engraved above the doors to each school.
People at the tables talked about courage, curiosity, tolerance, acceptance, kindness, trustworthiness, consistency, industry, intra-dependence, service, risk-taking, sincerity, love, hope, commitment and equity, among many other things.
As the lists were compiled, they were read aloud to the whole audience. The overall list filled two large sheets of paper in the front of the room.
Then Entwistle challenged each table to come up with its own list of five to eight words that were “values essential to being an ethical person,” and the discussion broadened and deepened, exploring words, values and meaning.
“Is perseverance really a value?” one person asked, suggesting commitment might be a better word for what she wanted to see in her community.
“A lot of these words overlap,” was a common theme. People had to choose words that fit together to form a coherent picture, and didn’t duplicate each other.
The audience then came back together to discuss the words they agreed on as a group. Respect and responsibility were unanimous, and compassion, honesty, courage and fairness were frequently mentioned.
But the real discussions were about the decision between justice and fairness, and honesty and integrity.
“We’re a nation of laws,” said School Board member Jim Rowe.
Those laws aim at ethical behavior, so justice was the word he supported.
But others disagreed. “Sometimes equal is not fair,” said one mother.
Middle School Principal Nancy Hutton wanted to choose words that had power, like integrity, she said.
But some people were concerned that it was a word many elementary school children wouldn’t know. “It’s a great word to teach them,” said one.
High School Principal Jeff Shedd suggested humility be added to the list. “It’s a good word for Cape Elizabeth,” he said, adding “it’s presently a weakness.”
The final exercise of the evening was defining the actions associated with each of the values on the final list, which had seven words: respect, humility, responsibility, honesty, compassion, courage and fairness.
The discussions have only begun in Cape Elizabeth, and the wheels of thought are turning as all members of the community consider the values they support above all others, the ones which might, someday, be engraved in stone above the school doors.
The Cape community strove to identify itself in words Monday night as 30 parents, teachers and administrators gathered to discuss standards for ethical and responsible behavior in the schools and in the community.
Superintendent Tom Forcella began the meeting, held at the cafetorium shared by the middle and Pond Cove Elementary schools, by explaining that the process is mandated by the state’s learning results act, requiring local districts to develop codes of conduct, including behavior standards and procedures for handling those who break the rules.
But it’s wider than just a required document, Forcella said. “There should be something (in the code) that we all believe in as communities,” he said. It fits in well, too, with the district’s future direction planning process.
The turnout wasn’t all that Forcella had hoped. “It would have been nice if we packed this cafetorium,” he said. But the group was big enough to take the first step in the process, which will include continued discussions with staff, students, administrators and the public.
School Board Chairman George Entwistle began facilitating a group discussion, reprising a role familiar from his day job. He split the audience up into five small groups, each with about six people, sitting at separate lunch tables in the room.
They had to come up with, and share with the group, five to eight values, in single words, that would be engraved above the doors to each school.
People at the tables talked about courage, curiosity, tolerance, acceptance, kindness, trustworthiness, consistency, industry, intra-dependence, service, risk-taking, sincerity, love, hope, commitment and equity, among many other things.
As the lists were compiled, they were read aloud to the whole audience. The overall list filled two large sheets of paper in the front of the room.
Then Entwistle challenged each table to come up with its own list of five to eight words that were “values essential to being an ethical person,” and the discussion broadened and deepened, exploring words, values and meaning.
“Is perseverance really a value?” one person asked, suggesting commitment might be a better word for what she wanted to see in her community.
“A lot of these words overlap,” was a common theme. People had to choose words that fit together to form a coherent picture, and didn’t duplicate each other.
The audience then came back together to discuss the words they agreed on as a group. Respect and responsibility were unanimous, and compassion, honesty, courage and fairness were frequently mentioned.
But the real discussions were about the decision between justice and fairness, and honesty and integrity.
“We’re a nation of laws,” said School Board member Jim Rowe.
Those laws aim at ethical behavior, so justice was the word he supported.
But others disagreed. “Sometimes equal is not fair,” said one mother.
Middle School Principal Nancy Hutton wanted to choose words that had power, like integrity, she said.
But some people were concerned that it was a word many elementary school children wouldn’t know. “It’s a great word to teach them,” said one.
High School Principal Jeff Shedd suggested humility be added to the list. “It’s a good word for Cape Elizabeth,” he said, adding “it’s presently a weakness.”
The final exercise of the evening was defining the actions associated with each of the values on the final list, which had seven words: respect, humility, responsibility, honesty, compassion, courage and fairness.
The discussions have only begun in Cape Elizabeth, and the wheels of thought are turning as all members of the community consider the values they support above all others, the ones which might, someday, be engraved in stone above the school doors.
Study looks at Haigis wildlife
Published in the Current
The Scarborough Conservation Commission has hired Woodlot Alternatives of Topsham to organize already existing data on wildlife in the Haigis Parkway area for use by town officials and property owners as they plan development there.
Stephanie Cox, chair of the Conservation Commission, said the group does not have the power to require landowners to take certain actions, and doesn’t want that authority. What the commission does have is a desire to locate and distribute solid information about wildlife.
“Not to come up with recommendations,” Cox said, “but to give us some scientific information.” Woodlot Alternatives is collecting information from the Greater Portland Council of Governments, state authorities and other sources for its report, which Cox expects to receive in February.
“As a community, we have an open space resource here that with a little bit of forethought and planning … we may come up with solutions that are win-win for people and for wildlife,” Cox said.
She emphasized that nobody is trespassing on any property along the Haigis Parkway, and said the information the study collects will be made available to landowners as well as town officials to help them make decisions about where to leave open land and where to develop.
If the Conservation Commission has any agenda at all, Cox said, it is two-fold: to provide good information about the land and wildlife, and to “encourage landowners to plan for the needs of wildlife.”
Cox invites comments from the public, either by phone or note to Town Hall, or at Conservation Commission meetings, which are held the second Monday of each month at Town Hall at 7 p.m.
The Scarborough Conservation Commission has hired Woodlot Alternatives of Topsham to organize already existing data on wildlife in the Haigis Parkway area for use by town officials and property owners as they plan development there.
Stephanie Cox, chair of the Conservation Commission, said the group does not have the power to require landowners to take certain actions, and doesn’t want that authority. What the commission does have is a desire to locate and distribute solid information about wildlife.
“Not to come up with recommendations,” Cox said, “but to give us some scientific information.” Woodlot Alternatives is collecting information from the Greater Portland Council of Governments, state authorities and other sources for its report, which Cox expects to receive in February.
“As a community, we have an open space resource here that with a little bit of forethought and planning … we may come up with solutions that are win-win for people and for wildlife,” Cox said.
She emphasized that nobody is trespassing on any property along the Haigis Parkway, and said the information the study collects will be made available to landowners as well as town officials to help them make decisions about where to leave open land and where to develop.
If the Conservation Commission has any agenda at all, Cox said, it is two-fold: to provide good information about the land and wildlife, and to “encourage landowners to plan for the needs of wildlife.”
Cox invites comments from the public, either by phone or note to Town Hall, or at Conservation Commission meetings, which are held the second Monday of each month at Town Hall at 7 p.m.
It’s (early) decision time for Cape seniors
Published in the Current
While college applications still loom for some, 40 percent of the Cape senior class already is finding out whether they got into the colleges of their choice.
Of the 110 students in the Cape Elizabeth High senior class, 22 applied for early decision and another 22 applied for early action. Early decision is binding, meaning a student applies to only one school, and promises to attend that school if accepted. Early action is non-binding, and allows the student to apply to more than one college at once or to some early-action and others under regular admissions deadlines.
Knowing ahead of time is nice, but money complicates the issue. At most colleges and universities, financial aid packages are created at the same time as admissions decisions, meaning an early-decision applicant may end up with a less appealing aid package and have no choice but to accept it. Early-action and regular applicants can review several financial aid offers before making a final decision about which school to attend.
Individual decisions
One Cape senior who has decided not to apply early anywhere is David Kramer. He is looking at seven schools.
Kramer, who wants to major in civil engineering, has visited all of the schools he is considering, and is impressed with their programs. He had considered applying early decision at Tufts, but had second thoughts.
“What if some other school is just as good or better?” Kramer asked. Instead of deciding now, he will wait to see which schools admit him and go back for a second visit.
None of the schools on his list offer early action, but all do offer early decision applications.
“I probably would have done that (early action) if it was an option,” Kramer said.
He said early decision has its benefits, but not for him. “It’s good for people who know exactly where they want to go,” he said. “I really couldn’t decide.”
Meghan Donovan, CEHS class of 2001 and now a student at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., did not apply early decision, though after one particular college visit she initially wanted to. She was glad her mother, who works in the high school’s guidance office, suggested she wait.
She wrote in an e-mail to The Current, “Fall is a very stressful time, with one of the most stressful semesters of high school in full swing, SATs and a host of other distractions. It is therefore wise, I believe, to take the extra time to do regular decision.”
“My applications were better presented and composed because of the extra time waiting provided me,” Donovan wrote.
Amanda Gann, a senior who applied early action to Harvard and to Georgetown, said she was applying early to get her ball rolling before the real time crunch hit over the holidays.
“I wanted to get my act together early,” Gann said.
She is applying to six or seven schools, she said, but she wasn’t sure what was really her top-choice school.
“I’m not very good at making up my mind. Your mind changes from day to day,” she said. And early action has its payoff: if it’s successful, there’s a holiday present. “You find out in December.”
Allon Kahn got such a present, with an admission letter from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He applied there under the school’s early decision program, and got his letter on a Saturday in December “at 1:45 p.m.” he said, adding that he greeted the mail carrier and started celebrating outside on the street as he read the letter.
“It was so clearly my first choice,” Kahn said. He researched a lot of colleges before going on a large tour of campuses in April. After the tour, he said, he was down to two schools at the top, and Vassar was ahead.
He visited Vassar again in early November, visiting classes and staying overnight. The visit clinched his decision. He recommends early decision for students who know where they want to go. He did caution that some people don’t get in early and are deferred to be considered as a regular applicant.
Kahn said some consider that a rejection, but it is not. “I would recommend early decision,” he said.
Big choices
One thing is certain. Cape students apply to, are accepted to, and attend good schools by any standards. A look at last year’s class can give a preview of where Cape graduates of 2002 could go.
The Cape class of 2001 sent 101 of 112 students to post-secondary education. Of that group, 95 went to four-year colleges, and the rest attended one- or two-year programs.
There were 81 students who went to schools outside Maine, and 72 went to private schools.
Some Cape graduates from 2001 stayed nearby, attending Bates, Bowdoin or Colby colleges, USM, SMTC, the University of Maine (in Orono and Fort Kent) and Maine College of Art.
Others left Maine but stayed in New England, at schools like Boston College, Boston University, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth College, MIT, Northeastern University, Quinnipiac College and others.
Ranging further afield were students who went to Brigham Young University, Arizona State, Carleton College, Nashville (Tenn.) Auto Diesel College, Southwest Missouri University and University of Puget Sound.
Beyond the places Cape grads actually went last year are the schools where students were accepted.
Those schools include Brown and Princeton of the Ivy League, as well as “little Ivy League” members Vassar, Wesleyan and Wellesley.
Big schools like Florida State and the University of Connecticut have accepted Cape students, as have small colleges like Stonehill and Mary Washington colleges. Specialty schools like Massachusetts Maritime Academy and New England Conservatory have, too.
And many of the schools accept more than one Cape student, like Mount Holyoke, which accepted seven members of the class of 2001. Three of them attended.
Of the 19 Cape students accepted by the University of Maine, 5 attended, and two of the seven accepted at the University of New Hampshire ended up at that school.
While college applications still loom for some, 40 percent of the Cape senior class already is finding out whether they got into the colleges of their choice.
Of the 110 students in the Cape Elizabeth High senior class, 22 applied for early decision and another 22 applied for early action. Early decision is binding, meaning a student applies to only one school, and promises to attend that school if accepted. Early action is non-binding, and allows the student to apply to more than one college at once or to some early-action and others under regular admissions deadlines.
Knowing ahead of time is nice, but money complicates the issue. At most colleges and universities, financial aid packages are created at the same time as admissions decisions, meaning an early-decision applicant may end up with a less appealing aid package and have no choice but to accept it. Early-action and regular applicants can review several financial aid offers before making a final decision about which school to attend.
Individual decisions
One Cape senior who has decided not to apply early anywhere is David Kramer. He is looking at seven schools.
Kramer, who wants to major in civil engineering, has visited all of the schools he is considering, and is impressed with their programs. He had considered applying early decision at Tufts, but had second thoughts.
“What if some other school is just as good or better?” Kramer asked. Instead of deciding now, he will wait to see which schools admit him and go back for a second visit.
None of the schools on his list offer early action, but all do offer early decision applications.
“I probably would have done that (early action) if it was an option,” Kramer said.
He said early decision has its benefits, but not for him. “It’s good for people who know exactly where they want to go,” he said. “I really couldn’t decide.”
Meghan Donovan, CEHS class of 2001 and now a student at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., did not apply early decision, though after one particular college visit she initially wanted to. She was glad her mother, who works in the high school’s guidance office, suggested she wait.
She wrote in an e-mail to The Current, “Fall is a very stressful time, with one of the most stressful semesters of high school in full swing, SATs and a host of other distractions. It is therefore wise, I believe, to take the extra time to do regular decision.”
“My applications were better presented and composed because of the extra time waiting provided me,” Donovan wrote.
Amanda Gann, a senior who applied early action to Harvard and to Georgetown, said she was applying early to get her ball rolling before the real time crunch hit over the holidays.
“I wanted to get my act together early,” Gann said.
She is applying to six or seven schools, she said, but she wasn’t sure what was really her top-choice school.
“I’m not very good at making up my mind. Your mind changes from day to day,” she said. And early action has its payoff: if it’s successful, there’s a holiday present. “You find out in December.”
Allon Kahn got such a present, with an admission letter from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He applied there under the school’s early decision program, and got his letter on a Saturday in December “at 1:45 p.m.” he said, adding that he greeted the mail carrier and started celebrating outside on the street as he read the letter.
“It was so clearly my first choice,” Kahn said. He researched a lot of colleges before going on a large tour of campuses in April. After the tour, he said, he was down to two schools at the top, and Vassar was ahead.
He visited Vassar again in early November, visiting classes and staying overnight. The visit clinched his decision. He recommends early decision for students who know where they want to go. He did caution that some people don’t get in early and are deferred to be considered as a regular applicant.
Kahn said some consider that a rejection, but it is not. “I would recommend early decision,” he said.
Big choices
One thing is certain. Cape students apply to, are accepted to, and attend good schools by any standards. A look at last year’s class can give a preview of where Cape graduates of 2002 could go.
The Cape class of 2001 sent 101 of 112 students to post-secondary education. Of that group, 95 went to four-year colleges, and the rest attended one- or two-year programs.
There were 81 students who went to schools outside Maine, and 72 went to private schools.
Some Cape graduates from 2001 stayed nearby, attending Bates, Bowdoin or Colby colleges, USM, SMTC, the University of Maine (in Orono and Fort Kent) and Maine College of Art.
Others left Maine but stayed in New England, at schools like Boston College, Boston University, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth College, MIT, Northeastern University, Quinnipiac College and others.
Ranging further afield were students who went to Brigham Young University, Arizona State, Carleton College, Nashville (Tenn.) Auto Diesel College, Southwest Missouri University and University of Puget Sound.
Beyond the places Cape grads actually went last year are the schools where students were accepted.
Those schools include Brown and Princeton of the Ivy League, as well as “little Ivy League” members Vassar, Wesleyan and Wellesley.
Big schools like Florida State and the University of Connecticut have accepted Cape students, as have small colleges like Stonehill and Mary Washington colleges. Specialty schools like Massachusetts Maritime Academy and New England Conservatory have, too.
And many of the schools accept more than one Cape student, like Mount Holyoke, which accepted seven members of the class of 2001. Three of them attended.
Of the 19 Cape students accepted by the University of Maine, 5 attended, and two of the seven accepted at the University of New Hampshire ended up at that school.
Monday, January 7, 2002
Tecnomatix expands business model
Published in Interface Tech News
NASHUA, N.H. ‹ Moving ahead in its return to profitability, Tecnomatix Technologies recently became a reseller of Seattle-based GraphiCode's iGerber manufacturing file format conversion software.
While the deal is not a giant one, it should mark a positive step for the electronics manufacturing service company.
"It will have a medium-sized impact on our business dealings," said Tecnomatix product marketing manager John Dixon. "It allows us to broaden our customer base and provide better service."
According to company officials, the iGerber software has already been well-integrated with Tecnomatix's eMPower software suite, but customers will now be able to order the two together, rather than making two separate transactions.
It is a continuing part of Tecnomatix's transition from providing specific software solutions for the manufacturing process to offering what it calls "manufacturing process management," a set of software tools offering end-to-end manufacturing integration.
Analyst Bruce Jenkins, executive vice president of Daratech, said the reseller deal is a good move, and applauded the company's progress in the transition, which he termed "challenging."
Jenkins said offering manufacturers a way to streamline not only their design process, but also the manufacturing process is "one of the most pressing strategic priorities for manufacturers today," and a big move toward profit increases for Tecnomatix and its customers.
While Tecnomatix's third quarter figures did show a small net loss, Jenkins said he agrees with company projections of a five-percent profit margin in 2002. He added that the economy is impacting the company, but not by much.
"The general economic environment is a problem for them, as it is for everybody," Jenkins said.
He explained that while Wall Street and many investors are optimistic about a turnaround by the middle of 2002, some Tecnomatix customers are more guarded, which could cause some problems.
Not only is the company targeting the right market, but they're going about it in the right way, according to Jenkins. The company is offering "exactly what's needed," he said.
But, he added, the biggest challenge will continue to be the transition from specific tools to an overall package for the manufacturing process, and, so far, they have done well.
"They have already faced it, and they succeeded and are moving beyond it," Jenkins said.
NASHUA, N.H. ‹ Moving ahead in its return to profitability, Tecnomatix Technologies recently became a reseller of Seattle-based GraphiCode's iGerber manufacturing file format conversion software.
While the deal is not a giant one, it should mark a positive step for the electronics manufacturing service company.
"It will have a medium-sized impact on our business dealings," said Tecnomatix product marketing manager John Dixon. "It allows us to broaden our customer base and provide better service."
According to company officials, the iGerber software has already been well-integrated with Tecnomatix's eMPower software suite, but customers will now be able to order the two together, rather than making two separate transactions.
It is a continuing part of Tecnomatix's transition from providing specific software solutions for the manufacturing process to offering what it calls "manufacturing process management," a set of software tools offering end-to-end manufacturing integration.
Analyst Bruce Jenkins, executive vice president of Daratech, said the reseller deal is a good move, and applauded the company's progress in the transition, which he termed "challenging."
Jenkins said offering manufacturers a way to streamline not only their design process, but also the manufacturing process is "one of the most pressing strategic priorities for manufacturers today," and a big move toward profit increases for Tecnomatix and its customers.
While Tecnomatix's third quarter figures did show a small net loss, Jenkins said he agrees with company projections of a five-percent profit margin in 2002. He added that the economy is impacting the company, but not by much.
"The general economic environment is a problem for them, as it is for everybody," Jenkins said.
He explained that while Wall Street and many investors are optimistic about a turnaround by the middle of 2002, some Tecnomatix customers are more guarded, which could cause some problems.
Not only is the company targeting the right market, but they're going about it in the right way, according to Jenkins. The company is offering "exactly what's needed," he said.
But, he added, the biggest challenge will continue to be the transition from specific tools to an overall package for the manufacturing process, and, so far, they have done well.
"They have already faced it, and they succeeded and are moving beyond it," Jenkins said.
Thursday, January 3, 2002
Cape entrepreneur repels insects, attracts funding
Published in the Current
Cape Elizabeth research botanist, Jim White, is now selling a new plant pest repellent, Anti-Pest-O. It is biodegradable and made from natural products.
But the real surprise, White said: “It works!”
The product, White said, fills a gap in pest-control sprays. While many sprays help control a wide range of insects, most of those are toxic to the environment.
Other products are natural but only work on one or two types of insects.
What distinguishes Anti-Pest-O from those, White said, are three things. First, some natural products use pyrethium as a base.
That chemical is a derivative of chrysanthemum plants, but, “even though it’s natural, it’s still toxic.”
Second, “we’re not killing anything,” said Neil Cambridge, one of White’s business partners.
Anti-Pest-O’s base is neem oil, derived from the seeds of the neem tree, native to India. While it does contain a reproductive inhibitor, White said, it’s the bad taste and smell that really make it effective.
And, finally, White said, Anti-Pest-O is effective against a broad range of insects, including every gardener’s mortal enemy, the Japanese beetle.
He knows. He has tried it on his nine-acre property in Cape Elizabeth, which includes extensive areas of plantings. He nearly gave up the idea after spraying the formula on Japanese beetles eating his Concord grape garden, but when he went back the next day, all the beetles were gone.
“Most pests, as soon as you spray this, they just disappear,” White said. Japanese beetles, he said, are a little more stubborn and need to take a bite out of a plant before they decide to leave it alone.
Neem oil is commercially available from garden shops, but costs up to $160 per gallon, White said.
White has mixed the oil with other natural ingredients to formulate his compound, which he sells in 32-ounce bottles for $19.95. There is some evidence that either the oil or other ingredients remain on the plant after rainstorms, he said, and may be absorbed from the ground by plants’ roots.
And something about Anti-Pest-O keeps pests from returning to plants where it has been applied. White stressed, though, that beneficial insects, like bees and nematoids, are not put off by Anti-Pest-O.
“If you give Mother Nature a chance, she will protect herself and all her little children,” White said.
He recently received a Maine Technology Institute grant to help with the commercial development of his product. The grant covers fees for incorporation, patent filing, trademarking and federal registration.
White’s award was one of 15 granted, out of 41 applications. He is getting help in those areas from Rita Logan of the Patent and Technology Office at USM.
White had submitted another application as well, but MTI wanted more information, so he will reapply for the round of grants issued in February. That grant would allow him to further develop plans for large-volume commercialization of Anti-Pest-O.
He already has formed the company, Holy Terra, to manufacture and market Anti-Pest-O. His wife, Carol Raney, and Cambridge are officers of Holy Terra, along with White.
And Holy Terra has big goals. Not only do they want to reach $1 million in sales by the end of 2002, “we would like to see sales in all regions of the country,” Cambridge said. In five years, they want to have $20 million in annual sales.
The product has been tested around the U.S. and has early interest from farmers in France as well, White said. He has submitted Anti-Pest-O to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for exemption from regulation as a non-toxic pest control chemical, as well as to the Maine and California organic farmers associations for approval for use on organic farms.
It is also selling well at the Urban Garden Store on Forest Avenue in Portland, White said.
The success so far has been encouraging, White and Cambridge said. Many people in different areas of the country have found it effective against a broad range of pests.
What’s more, Cambridge said, “They feel good about using it around their pets and children.”
With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the USDA banning a wide variety of pest-control chemicals for excessive toxicity or contamination of the food chain, Anti-Pest-O may come at a good time for farmers and gardeners. It is biodegradable, and if it proves effective in further trials, it could be made available for use in commercial agriculture.
At present, with the manufacturing of Anti-Pest-O set up in White’s cellar, they are only making 32-ounce spray bottles, one-gallon refills, and 16-ounce concentrates. But they do plan to do larger-scale manufacturing at an undetermined location in Greater Portland.
He is also planning for the next formula of Anti-Pest-O, which will be pH-balanced and contain nutrients to help plants grow.
“We’re helping nature and the environment,” White said.
Cape Elizabeth research botanist, Jim White, is now selling a new plant pest repellent, Anti-Pest-O. It is biodegradable and made from natural products.
But the real surprise, White said: “It works!”
The product, White said, fills a gap in pest-control sprays. While many sprays help control a wide range of insects, most of those are toxic to the environment.
Other products are natural but only work on one or two types of insects.
What distinguishes Anti-Pest-O from those, White said, are three things. First, some natural products use pyrethium as a base.
That chemical is a derivative of chrysanthemum plants, but, “even though it’s natural, it’s still toxic.”
Second, “we’re not killing anything,” said Neil Cambridge, one of White’s business partners.
Anti-Pest-O’s base is neem oil, derived from the seeds of the neem tree, native to India. While it does contain a reproductive inhibitor, White said, it’s the bad taste and smell that really make it effective.
And, finally, White said, Anti-Pest-O is effective against a broad range of insects, including every gardener’s mortal enemy, the Japanese beetle.
He knows. He has tried it on his nine-acre property in Cape Elizabeth, which includes extensive areas of plantings. He nearly gave up the idea after spraying the formula on Japanese beetles eating his Concord grape garden, but when he went back the next day, all the beetles were gone.
“Most pests, as soon as you spray this, they just disappear,” White said. Japanese beetles, he said, are a little more stubborn and need to take a bite out of a plant before they decide to leave it alone.
Neem oil is commercially available from garden shops, but costs up to $160 per gallon, White said.
White has mixed the oil with other natural ingredients to formulate his compound, which he sells in 32-ounce bottles for $19.95. There is some evidence that either the oil or other ingredients remain on the plant after rainstorms, he said, and may be absorbed from the ground by plants’ roots.
And something about Anti-Pest-O keeps pests from returning to plants where it has been applied. White stressed, though, that beneficial insects, like bees and nematoids, are not put off by Anti-Pest-O.
“If you give Mother Nature a chance, she will protect herself and all her little children,” White said.
He recently received a Maine Technology Institute grant to help with the commercial development of his product. The grant covers fees for incorporation, patent filing, trademarking and federal registration.
White’s award was one of 15 granted, out of 41 applications. He is getting help in those areas from Rita Logan of the Patent and Technology Office at USM.
White had submitted another application as well, but MTI wanted more information, so he will reapply for the round of grants issued in February. That grant would allow him to further develop plans for large-volume commercialization of Anti-Pest-O.
He already has formed the company, Holy Terra, to manufacture and market Anti-Pest-O. His wife, Carol Raney, and Cambridge are officers of Holy Terra, along with White.
And Holy Terra has big goals. Not only do they want to reach $1 million in sales by the end of 2002, “we would like to see sales in all regions of the country,” Cambridge said. In five years, they want to have $20 million in annual sales.
The product has been tested around the U.S. and has early interest from farmers in France as well, White said. He has submitted Anti-Pest-O to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for exemption from regulation as a non-toxic pest control chemical, as well as to the Maine and California organic farmers associations for approval for use on organic farms.
It is also selling well at the Urban Garden Store on Forest Avenue in Portland, White said.
The success so far has been encouraging, White and Cambridge said. Many people in different areas of the country have found it effective against a broad range of pests.
What’s more, Cambridge said, “They feel good about using it around their pets and children.”
With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the USDA banning a wide variety of pest-control chemicals for excessive toxicity or contamination of the food chain, Anti-Pest-O may come at a good time for farmers and gardeners. It is biodegradable, and if it proves effective in further trials, it could be made available for use in commercial agriculture.
At present, with the manufacturing of Anti-Pest-O set up in White’s cellar, they are only making 32-ounce spray bottles, one-gallon refills, and 16-ounce concentrates. But they do plan to do larger-scale manufacturing at an undetermined location in Greater Portland.
He is also planning for the next formula of Anti-Pest-O, which will be pH-balanced and contain nutrients to help plants grow.
“We’re helping nature and the environment,” White said.
Gorman gets jail time for probation violation
Published in the Current
Jeffrey Gorman of County Road in Scarborough, linked by court documents to the murder of Amy St. Laurent, will serve 90 days in the Cumberland County Jail for probation violation.
In a deal with the district attorney’s office in which he admitted to violating the terms of his probation, Gorman will get credit for the time he has spent in jail since his arrest in Alabama Dec. 11.
Gorman was arrested on a probation violation for a car stereo theft in Westbrook on Sept. 11, 2000. His request for bail was denied during the week of Dec. 17.
The Maine Department of Corrections had filed several motions to revoke Gorman’s probation, some of which had been recalled. The outstanding motions were filed Dec. 11, Dec. 26, and Jan. 2.
The reasons given for the revocation were failure to notify his probation officer of a change of address, failure to notify his probation officer of police contact on five occasions in October and November 2000, failure to report to his probation officer on Nov. 19, leaving the state without the written permission of his probation officer, and engaging in new criminal conduct in Troy, Ala.
St. Laurent went missing Oct. 21 from Portland’s Old Port. Her body was found Dec. 8, less than a mile from Gorman’s home. A note in Gorman’s court records indicated that he was believed to have left Maine in mid-November and said he was a “prime suspect” in the St. Laurent case. Gorman was located in his hometown, Troy, Ala., and arrested Dec. 11 after a four-hour armed standoff with police.
Clifford Strike, Gorman’s attorney, maintains that his client is innocent in the murder of St. Laurent.
Gorman has yet to be charged in that crime. Strike told The Current, “I don’t expect him (Gorman) to be charged because he didn’t do it.”
As part of the deal between Gorman and the district attorney’s office, the state will drop the charge relating to the change of address.
The state has also put off any possible charges relating to the events in Alabama, though charges from that incident may be filed in the future.
The Dec. 11 motion to revoke probation was amended and approved, while the Dec. 26 and Jan. 2 motions were withdrawn by the state.
Jeffrey Gorman of County Road in Scarborough, linked by court documents to the murder of Amy St. Laurent, will serve 90 days in the Cumberland County Jail for probation violation.
In a deal with the district attorney’s office in which he admitted to violating the terms of his probation, Gorman will get credit for the time he has spent in jail since his arrest in Alabama Dec. 11.
Gorman was arrested on a probation violation for a car stereo theft in Westbrook on Sept. 11, 2000. His request for bail was denied during the week of Dec. 17.
The Maine Department of Corrections had filed several motions to revoke Gorman’s probation, some of which had been recalled. The outstanding motions were filed Dec. 11, Dec. 26, and Jan. 2.
The reasons given for the revocation were failure to notify his probation officer of a change of address, failure to notify his probation officer of police contact on five occasions in October and November 2000, failure to report to his probation officer on Nov. 19, leaving the state without the written permission of his probation officer, and engaging in new criminal conduct in Troy, Ala.
St. Laurent went missing Oct. 21 from Portland’s Old Port. Her body was found Dec. 8, less than a mile from Gorman’s home. A note in Gorman’s court records indicated that he was believed to have left Maine in mid-November and said he was a “prime suspect” in the St. Laurent case. Gorman was located in his hometown, Troy, Ala., and arrested Dec. 11 after a four-hour armed standoff with police.
Clifford Strike, Gorman’s attorney, maintains that his client is innocent in the murder of St. Laurent.
Gorman has yet to be charged in that crime. Strike told The Current, “I don’t expect him (Gorman) to be charged because he didn’t do it.”
As part of the deal between Gorman and the district attorney’s office, the state will drop the charge relating to the change of address.
The state has also put off any possible charges relating to the events in Alabama, though charges from that incident may be filed in the future.
The Dec. 11 motion to revoke probation was amended and approved, while the Dec. 26 and Jan. 2 motions were withdrawn by the state.
Monday, December 31, 2001
Tally Systems expands reseller program
Published in Interface Tech News
LEBANON, N.H. ‹ IT asset inventory specialist Tally Systems recently closed a resale and distribution deal with Vancouver, British Columbia-based TechTrack Solutions. With this agreement, TechTrack plans to resell Tally's asset-tracking software and Web-based platform services, and may include Tally products in its own offerings.
"A lot of the revenue potential for this is over the long haul," said Randy Britton, communications director for Tally.
Tally offers two packages: TS.Census, a company intranet-based program for ongoing tracking at larger companies, and WebCensus, a Web-based application targeted at short-term users or smaller companies. Both provide customers with specific reports on installed hardware and software, including CPU components and application serial numbers, to assist companies with inventory and IT asset tracking.
"They get results in a matter of days," Britton said of WebCensus clients, many of whom are planning the timing and scope of hardware and software upgrades. "Knowing what you have in place really helps you to make that decision," he added.
Patricia Adams, a senior research analyst studying IT asset management for the Gartner Group, agrees, and said there is a lot of growth in this area right now.
"What's driving this is the recession," she said. "Companies are now tightening back on their spending." That leaves software companies coming up short in their sales figures, so they are auditing their clients.
According to Adams, while the typical response to audits used to be purchasing more than enough additional licenses to be compliant and leaving it at that, companies are now saying, "Let's just quickly run an inventory."
"It's more a project focus than a long-term focus," Adams said. But she added that some companies are even seeing value in continuing asset tracking.
Companies that know where their assets are can retire them when they're no longer needed, recover unused software license fees, and renegotiate bulk deals to save money. Also, Adams said, they can plan upgrades more efficiently, knowing ahead of time what hardware will need to be replaced to support a new software package such as Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
"Asset management has always been around," Adams said, but "now it's really coming of age."
LEBANON, N.H. ‹ IT asset inventory specialist Tally Systems recently closed a resale and distribution deal with Vancouver, British Columbia-based TechTrack Solutions. With this agreement, TechTrack plans to resell Tally's asset-tracking software and Web-based platform services, and may include Tally products in its own offerings.
"A lot of the revenue potential for this is over the long haul," said Randy Britton, communications director for Tally.
Tally offers two packages: TS.Census, a company intranet-based program for ongoing tracking at larger companies, and WebCensus, a Web-based application targeted at short-term users or smaller companies. Both provide customers with specific reports on installed hardware and software, including CPU components and application serial numbers, to assist companies with inventory and IT asset tracking.
"They get results in a matter of days," Britton said of WebCensus clients, many of whom are planning the timing and scope of hardware and software upgrades. "Knowing what you have in place really helps you to make that decision," he added.
Patricia Adams, a senior research analyst studying IT asset management for the Gartner Group, agrees, and said there is a lot of growth in this area right now.
"What's driving this is the recession," she said. "Companies are now tightening back on their spending." That leaves software companies coming up short in their sales figures, so they are auditing their clients.
According to Adams, while the typical response to audits used to be purchasing more than enough additional licenses to be compliant and leaving it at that, companies are now saying, "Let's just quickly run an inventory."
"It's more a project focus than a long-term focus," Adams said. But she added that some companies are even seeing value in continuing asset tracking.
Companies that know where their assets are can retire them when they're no longer needed, recover unused software license fees, and renegotiate bulk deals to save money. Also, Adams said, they can plan upgrades more efficiently, knowing ahead of time what hardware will need to be replaced to support a new software package such as Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
"Asset management has always been around," Adams said, but "now it's really coming of age."
Thursday, December 27, 2001
Students aim for military academies
Published in the Current
At a time when there has been a spike in patriotism, across the country, four local young men are applying to take the long road into military service.
They are aiming for admission to the country’s elite service academies, and if they get in and make it through, they will come out as leaders – officers in the Navy, Army, Air Force, Marines or Merchant Marine.
Dan Shevenell and David Greenwood of Cape Elizabeth, and Matt Reichl and Ben Tourangeau of Scarborough, have been nominated by Maine’s congressional delegation to attend U.S. military and service academies next year.
Nomination is not the final step in applications to the academies, but neither is it the first. In addition to multiple pieces of paperwork beyond a standard college application, there is a physical exam, questioning by nomination boards and interviews at the academies. Each is a key step, and nomination by a U.S. senator or representative is the most common way for civilians to enter the academies.
It is an introduction to government bureaucracy and teaches an important lesson: Despite the piles of paper, “it doesn’t take all that long,” according to one applicant.
Two from Scarborough
Scarborough resident and Cheverus High student, Ben Tourangeau, is applying to the Merchant Marine Academy after being approached by the soccer coach there. The academy’s was but one of several recruitment letters Tourangeau has gotten from schools around the nation who want the star Cheverus player on their team.
He looked at the experience, including traveling while in school, and was impressed when he visited the campus. He also considered what would happen after graduation.
“The job acceptance when you graduate (from the Merchant Marine Academy) is really high,” Tourangeau said.
He also thought about his dream. “I want to be a Navy Seal,” he said. He said a lot of folks might be expecting him to play a lot of soccer and even get involved in a semi-professional league. But he said it’s time for a change. He’ll still play and enjoy soccer at the academy, he said, but it won’t be his primary focus.
“This is going to be a big challenge,” he said. And if he doesn’t get in? He’ll probably go to the Naval Academy Prep School and aim to go to Annapolis from there.
Matt Reichl’s father was in the Navy, and he’s following in those footsteps by applying to the Naval Academy and the Merchant Marine Academy. He also takes inspiration, he said, from Red Sox star Ted Williams, who said he felt his time in the military was among his most valuable experience.
The Scarborough High senior sent out his applications two months ago and is hoping to hear back from the schools before New Year’s. He is also applying to civilian schools, and hasn’t decided about whether he’ll get involved in ROTC or not.
“I run to the mail every day,” Reichl said.
He said Sept. 11 hasn’t changed his mind about the military, and he accepts the risk of war.
“It’s something the country has to do,” Reichl said.
Reichl said the country needs graduates from the military academies even more now. “What they really need now is leaders,” he said.
He said his parents also support his decision. “My parents are 100 percent behind me, whatever I choose to do,” he said.
The local students have been nominated to one or more of the following schools: the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, N.Y., the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy at New London, Conn., does not require applicants to be nominated.
Cape Elizabeth’s nominees
Cape’s Dan Shevenell has been planning to apply to service academies for four years. “My decision to apply to a service academy started freshman year,” he said.
Shevenell, who is nominated to the Naval, Merchant Marine and Air Force academies and will apply to the Coast Guard Academy as well, said terrorism made him more certain of his choice.
“Sept. 11 made me definitely want to go to a service academy,” he said.
He is not a hawk, he said, and is concerned about risking his life in battle, but sees a greater good he can serve. At the academies, he said, students “train for war and they thank God that they don’t have to use that training very often.”
He wants to become a leader, and the quality of education – not to mention getting paid to go to college – makes the academies more attractive Shevenell said.
He also sees an important element of the system of checks and balances at work in the nomination process. “The Congress gets to nominate all their officers and controls their funding,” he said.
Shevenell’s eggs are not in one basket, and he is applying through the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) to civilian colleges and universities. He is not choosy about which service he ends up in, but he does have a goal.
“I’d like to be a pilot,” he said.
So much so, in fact, that he has already started working on his private pilot’s license. He thinks flying with the Coast Guard would be particularly challenging, since they do a lot of their work in bad weather.
“You can’t argue with a storm,” Shevenell said.
David Greenwood of Cape enlisted in the Marine Corps back in August, and is applying to the Naval Academy and to West Point. He wants to be in the infantry. He said he has a lot of family in the military, including a brother in the Marines now.
He hasn’t questioned his enlistment, even in light of recent events. “When Sept. 11 came, I knew I’d made the right choice,” Greenwood said.
He was in the Naval Cadet Corps for four years up at Brunswick Naval Air Station and is also applying through ROTC to various civilian colleges.
At a time when there has been a spike in patriotism, across the country, four local young men are applying to take the long road into military service.
They are aiming for admission to the country’s elite service academies, and if they get in and make it through, they will come out as leaders – officers in the Navy, Army, Air Force, Marines or Merchant Marine.
Dan Shevenell and David Greenwood of Cape Elizabeth, and Matt Reichl and Ben Tourangeau of Scarborough, have been nominated by Maine’s congressional delegation to attend U.S. military and service academies next year.
Nomination is not the final step in applications to the academies, but neither is it the first. In addition to multiple pieces of paperwork beyond a standard college application, there is a physical exam, questioning by nomination boards and interviews at the academies. Each is a key step, and nomination by a U.S. senator or representative is the most common way for civilians to enter the academies.
It is an introduction to government bureaucracy and teaches an important lesson: Despite the piles of paper, “it doesn’t take all that long,” according to one applicant.
Two from Scarborough
Scarborough resident and Cheverus High student, Ben Tourangeau, is applying to the Merchant Marine Academy after being approached by the soccer coach there. The academy’s was but one of several recruitment letters Tourangeau has gotten from schools around the nation who want the star Cheverus player on their team.
He looked at the experience, including traveling while in school, and was impressed when he visited the campus. He also considered what would happen after graduation.
“The job acceptance when you graduate (from the Merchant Marine Academy) is really high,” Tourangeau said.
He also thought about his dream. “I want to be a Navy Seal,” he said. He said a lot of folks might be expecting him to play a lot of soccer and even get involved in a semi-professional league. But he said it’s time for a change. He’ll still play and enjoy soccer at the academy, he said, but it won’t be his primary focus.
“This is going to be a big challenge,” he said. And if he doesn’t get in? He’ll probably go to the Naval Academy Prep School and aim to go to Annapolis from there.
Matt Reichl’s father was in the Navy, and he’s following in those footsteps by applying to the Naval Academy and the Merchant Marine Academy. He also takes inspiration, he said, from Red Sox star Ted Williams, who said he felt his time in the military was among his most valuable experience.
The Scarborough High senior sent out his applications two months ago and is hoping to hear back from the schools before New Year’s. He is also applying to civilian schools, and hasn’t decided about whether he’ll get involved in ROTC or not.
“I run to the mail every day,” Reichl said.
He said Sept. 11 hasn’t changed his mind about the military, and he accepts the risk of war.
“It’s something the country has to do,” Reichl said.
Reichl said the country needs graduates from the military academies even more now. “What they really need now is leaders,” he said.
He said his parents also support his decision. “My parents are 100 percent behind me, whatever I choose to do,” he said.
The local students have been nominated to one or more of the following schools: the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, N.Y., the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy at New London, Conn., does not require applicants to be nominated.
Cape Elizabeth’s nominees
Cape’s Dan Shevenell has been planning to apply to service academies for four years. “My decision to apply to a service academy started freshman year,” he said.
Shevenell, who is nominated to the Naval, Merchant Marine and Air Force academies and will apply to the Coast Guard Academy as well, said terrorism made him more certain of his choice.
“Sept. 11 made me definitely want to go to a service academy,” he said.
He is not a hawk, he said, and is concerned about risking his life in battle, but sees a greater good he can serve. At the academies, he said, students “train for war and they thank God that they don’t have to use that training very often.”
He wants to become a leader, and the quality of education – not to mention getting paid to go to college – makes the academies more attractive Shevenell said.
He also sees an important element of the system of checks and balances at work in the nomination process. “The Congress gets to nominate all their officers and controls their funding,” he said.
Shevenell’s eggs are not in one basket, and he is applying through the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) to civilian colleges and universities. He is not choosy about which service he ends up in, but he does have a goal.
“I’d like to be a pilot,” he said.
So much so, in fact, that he has already started working on his private pilot’s license. He thinks flying with the Coast Guard would be particularly challenging, since they do a lot of their work in bad weather.
“You can’t argue with a storm,” Shevenell said.
David Greenwood of Cape enlisted in the Marine Corps back in August, and is applying to the Naval Academy and to West Point. He wants to be in the infantry. He said he has a lot of family in the military, including a brother in the Marines now.
He hasn’t questioned his enlistment, even in light of recent events. “When Sept. 11 came, I knew I’d made the right choice,” Greenwood said.
He was in the Naval Cadet Corps for four years up at Brunswick Naval Air Station and is also applying through ROTC to various civilian colleges.
Packy McFarland leaves behind a legend of caring
Published in the Current
Edward “Packy” McFarland died Dec. 19 after a long battle with heart trouble. It was a strong, all-embracing heart, for which he was admired by most people in Scarborough, and for which they honored him during his life and after his death. His heart was his greatest asset and, in the end, his final weakness.
“He was extremely good at motivating kids that were atypical athletes,” said current Scarborough High School athletic director Frank Spencer. “He made them feel good about themselves.”
And that is perhaps his lasting legacy in Scarborough. Former players and students remember him as a great man, with some corny catch-phrases like “A boy in sports is a boy not in trouble.”
But Dan Warren, one of Packy’s players who grew up to live and work and coach baseball in Scarborough, said he often finds himself repeating Packy’s pithy platitudes to his own players, 30 years later.
Warren, who played on Packy’s last conference championship baseball team in 1971, became even better friends with him as an adult than they had ever been at the high school.
“He was a tremendous people person,” Warren said. “He makes great eye contact with everybody, and this was a guy who was legally blind for the last 10 years of his life. He would put himself six or eight inches from your face and have a conversation.”
Warren remembers that Packy said coaching high school basketball was one of the hardest things he ever did, in a life that included service in World War II and work as a shipbuilder. In Maine, Packy would say, there’s not much to do in the winter, and people really care about their basketball teams.
So any minor outing to a store or a gas station could become a fully involved discussion between coach and angry fan questioning the decision to play a full-court press in last night’s game.
But Packy would take these discussions in stride, saying that everyone had a right to have access to their team’s coach.
Warren said that’s a principle that is missing from today’s sports world.
Looking out for others
Also missing today, according to some, is a sense of community spirit Packy embodied.
Mark Buttarazzi, now a dentist in Scarborough, played baseball for Packy in the early 1970s. “His players and students always came first,” Buttarazzi said. “Their accomplishments meant a lot to him.”
He had no trouble getting his players to give their all. “He was the type of guy you just wanted to play your heart out for,” Buttarazzi said. “He could get 110 percent out of everybody.”
Buttarazzi said Packy’s motto, “Quitters never win and winners never quit,” helped him get through college and graduate school. Packy’s devotion to the community was a model for Buttarazzi, who came back to Scarborough to give back to the community that had given him so much.
He started his own dental practice, and learned again that quitting was not a formula for success. Packy helped him get involved in coaching youth baseball, too.
“Packy was the type of guy who gave a lot to the community,” Buttarazzi said. “I always admired that.”
Warren said Packy helped him see the value in getting involved in the community and in giving to charitable causes. “He just pushed me, but he always did it gently,” Warren said.
A long and storied career
Packy taught and coached at Scarborough High School for 26 years, retiring in 1983, the same year the school’s baseball field was given his name.
But long before that, the caring man and athlete made his mark on Maine. As a student at Bowdoin College, he was captain of the basketball team for three straight years and made All-American as a senior.
He helped start Bowdoin’s intercollegiate baseball team, and was its first captain.
Despite hearing loss due to a head injury during a basketball game early in his career, he was a successful coach and history teacher. And, for every student who remembers working hard in Packy’s demanding classes, there are players who remember a man driven to help them succeed.
In their success he found his own, getting elected to the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame as a coach in 1993. He also has been honored as a Maine Sports Legend. But Warren said it’s not the awards and honors, it’s not the championship titles and the prestige of being a big name in Maine sports. “It’s how he used it,” Warren said.
He would teach in stories, but not tooting his own horn. Instead, Warren remembers, he would tell a story about how he failed because he didn’t do something the right way. And he would say what happened, and what he thought about that now. It was a way of teaching, Warren said, that really reached his audience.
It wasn’t just that way on the field, but in the classroom as well. He would start with a paragraph from a textbook and launch into stories about his service in the war, or other lessons he had learned. “He brought the outside world into the classroom,” Warren said.
A good family man
“A lot of my favorite memories are about going to the games,” said Martha Williams, Packy’s daughter and an English teacher at Scarborough High. The teams, she said, were a part of the family. Martha’s mother, Alice, would cook dinners for the teams before big games.
Her brother played on basketball and baseball teams for Packy, but even before that, the coach’s games were family affairs.
And beyond the coaching, Packy was a good father. “He would come home and read to us,” Williams said. “He was a very caring, compassionate father.”
Packy took his family from Freedom Academy, where he started out as a coach of boys and girls basketball, to Gorham High School for 10 years. And then he came to Scarborough, and the school was never the same.
“He just loved people and they gave it back,” Williams said.
Williams, who started teaching at the school before her father retired, said he was always a great person to have around as a parent, colleague and friend.
“He had a great sense of humor,” Williams said.
He kept that upbeat spirit even in the darkest days of the Red Sox, his beloved team. He never gave up on them, or any of his students or players. He always gave more than he got, but he got more than he could have imagined.
And now the question is, Warren said, “How do we take up the torch?”
Edward “Packy” McFarland died Dec. 19 after a long battle with heart trouble. It was a strong, all-embracing heart, for which he was admired by most people in Scarborough, and for which they honored him during his life and after his death. His heart was his greatest asset and, in the end, his final weakness.
“He was extremely good at motivating kids that were atypical athletes,” said current Scarborough High School athletic director Frank Spencer. “He made them feel good about themselves.”
And that is perhaps his lasting legacy in Scarborough. Former players and students remember him as a great man, with some corny catch-phrases like “A boy in sports is a boy not in trouble.”
But Dan Warren, one of Packy’s players who grew up to live and work and coach baseball in Scarborough, said he often finds himself repeating Packy’s pithy platitudes to his own players, 30 years later.
Warren, who played on Packy’s last conference championship baseball team in 1971, became even better friends with him as an adult than they had ever been at the high school.
“He was a tremendous people person,” Warren said. “He makes great eye contact with everybody, and this was a guy who was legally blind for the last 10 years of his life. He would put himself six or eight inches from your face and have a conversation.”
Warren remembers that Packy said coaching high school basketball was one of the hardest things he ever did, in a life that included service in World War II and work as a shipbuilder. In Maine, Packy would say, there’s not much to do in the winter, and people really care about their basketball teams.
So any minor outing to a store or a gas station could become a fully involved discussion between coach and angry fan questioning the decision to play a full-court press in last night’s game.
But Packy would take these discussions in stride, saying that everyone had a right to have access to their team’s coach.
Warren said that’s a principle that is missing from today’s sports world.
Looking out for others
Also missing today, according to some, is a sense of community spirit Packy embodied.
Mark Buttarazzi, now a dentist in Scarborough, played baseball for Packy in the early 1970s. “His players and students always came first,” Buttarazzi said. “Their accomplishments meant a lot to him.”
He had no trouble getting his players to give their all. “He was the type of guy you just wanted to play your heart out for,” Buttarazzi said. “He could get 110 percent out of everybody.”
Buttarazzi said Packy’s motto, “Quitters never win and winners never quit,” helped him get through college and graduate school. Packy’s devotion to the community was a model for Buttarazzi, who came back to Scarborough to give back to the community that had given him so much.
He started his own dental practice, and learned again that quitting was not a formula for success. Packy helped him get involved in coaching youth baseball, too.
“Packy was the type of guy who gave a lot to the community,” Buttarazzi said. “I always admired that.”
Warren said Packy helped him see the value in getting involved in the community and in giving to charitable causes. “He just pushed me, but he always did it gently,” Warren said.
A long and storied career
Packy taught and coached at Scarborough High School for 26 years, retiring in 1983, the same year the school’s baseball field was given his name.
But long before that, the caring man and athlete made his mark on Maine. As a student at Bowdoin College, he was captain of the basketball team for three straight years and made All-American as a senior.
He helped start Bowdoin’s intercollegiate baseball team, and was its first captain.
Despite hearing loss due to a head injury during a basketball game early in his career, he was a successful coach and history teacher. And, for every student who remembers working hard in Packy’s demanding classes, there are players who remember a man driven to help them succeed.
In their success he found his own, getting elected to the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame as a coach in 1993. He also has been honored as a Maine Sports Legend. But Warren said it’s not the awards and honors, it’s not the championship titles and the prestige of being a big name in Maine sports. “It’s how he used it,” Warren said.
He would teach in stories, but not tooting his own horn. Instead, Warren remembers, he would tell a story about how he failed because he didn’t do something the right way. And he would say what happened, and what he thought about that now. It was a way of teaching, Warren said, that really reached his audience.
It wasn’t just that way on the field, but in the classroom as well. He would start with a paragraph from a textbook and launch into stories about his service in the war, or other lessons he had learned. “He brought the outside world into the classroom,” Warren said.
A good family man
“A lot of my favorite memories are about going to the games,” said Martha Williams, Packy’s daughter and an English teacher at Scarborough High. The teams, she said, were a part of the family. Martha’s mother, Alice, would cook dinners for the teams before big games.
Her brother played on basketball and baseball teams for Packy, but even before that, the coach’s games were family affairs.
And beyond the coaching, Packy was a good father. “He would come home and read to us,” Williams said. “He was a very caring, compassionate father.”
Packy took his family from Freedom Academy, where he started out as a coach of boys and girls basketball, to Gorham High School for 10 years. And then he came to Scarborough, and the school was never the same.
“He just loved people and they gave it back,” Williams said.
Williams, who started teaching at the school before her father retired, said he was always a great person to have around as a parent, colleague and friend.
“He had a great sense of humor,” Williams said.
He kept that upbeat spirit even in the darkest days of the Red Sox, his beloved team. He never gave up on them, or any of his students or players. He always gave more than he got, but he got more than he could have imagined.
And now the question is, Warren said, “How do we take up the torch?”
Thursday, December 20, 2001
Gorman back in Maine, claims innocence in murder probe
Published in the Current; co-written with Brendan Moran
The Scarborough man wanted for questioning in the murder of Amy St. Laurent has been brought back to Maine after fleeing, but his attorney has told police his client didn’t kill the woman.
Jeffrey “Russ” Gorman’s lawyer said Tuesday outside of the Cumberland County Courthouse that his client was “innocent” in the murder of Amy St. Laurent.
“He didn’t do it,” Clifford Strike told a reporter from the Portland Press Herald. “He is not responsible for Miss St. Laurent’s death.”
Although Gorman, 21, of Scarborough, has been named as a suspect in the case by the press since court documents linked him to the crime, the Portland Police haven’t charged anyone with the crime. They have said repeatedly that he is not a suspect in the case.
Portland Police Chief Michael Chitwood said he expects to make an arrest in the “near future,” but declined to be specific.
“The person should know we’re coming,” said Chitwood.
Detectives continued to search the area off County Road where St. Laurent’s body was found for clues this week, but Chitwood did not say what, if anything, had been found.
“The investigation is being conducted methodically and professionally,” Chitwood said.
Gorman was arrested outside of Troy, Ala., last week, after a four-hour stand off, and extradited to Maine for probation violations in an unrelated theft.
“Maine authorities advised Troy police they needed to talk to Gorman in connection with a missing person case which allegedly occurred in October. The missing person’s body was later found in a small town near Portland, Maine,” read a press release from the Troy Police Department.
Chitwood refused to comment on the Alabama press release.
Gorman lived at 68 County Road in Scarborough for the past couple of years with his mother and other relatives.
The home is just a few hundred yards from where the body was found.
Gorman was born in Troy. He grew up and attended high school there, according to Sgt. Benny Scarbrough of the Troy Police Department.
Scarbrough knew of Gorman most of the time he was living in Troy. He knew when Gorman left Troy for Florida, only to return later.
“I don’t want to talk about anything while he was a juvenile,” said Scarbrough.
Gorman hadn’t been in Troy for more than a few weeks before police arrested him at an acquaintance’s home outside of Troy. Police got a tip that led them to the residence, after Gorman allegedly pulled a gun on someone outside a business in Troy.
Troy Police were able to evacuate everyone from the residence before the standoff.
But Gorman refused to be arrested for four hours.
Gorman was holding two guns. Scarbrough said he was cooperative and didn’t make any demands, other than asking for a phone. He didn’t threaten anyone, but did put the gun to his own head a couple of times.
Police negotiators refused to give Gorman a phone. Negotiations were broken off several times so that traffic could get through on the highway.
Gorman even held his guns out of sight as the traffic passed at the request of the police, according to Scarbrough.
Police negotiators eventually traded a cigarette for one of Gorman’s guns and ended the standoff peacefully.
The day after his arrest, Gorman waived extradition proceedings, speeding his return to Maine. He was flown back Dec. 14, escorted by officers from the Maine Department of Corrections.
The Scarborough man wanted for questioning in the murder of Amy St. Laurent has been brought back to Maine after fleeing, but his attorney has told police his client didn’t kill the woman.
Jeffrey “Russ” Gorman’s lawyer said Tuesday outside of the Cumberland County Courthouse that his client was “innocent” in the murder of Amy St. Laurent.
“He didn’t do it,” Clifford Strike told a reporter from the Portland Press Herald. “He is not responsible for Miss St. Laurent’s death.”
Although Gorman, 21, of Scarborough, has been named as a suspect in the case by the press since court documents linked him to the crime, the Portland Police haven’t charged anyone with the crime. They have said repeatedly that he is not a suspect in the case.
Portland Police Chief Michael Chitwood said he expects to make an arrest in the “near future,” but declined to be specific.
“The person should know we’re coming,” said Chitwood.
Detectives continued to search the area off County Road where St. Laurent’s body was found for clues this week, but Chitwood did not say what, if anything, had been found.
“The investigation is being conducted methodically and professionally,” Chitwood said.
Gorman was arrested outside of Troy, Ala., last week, after a four-hour stand off, and extradited to Maine for probation violations in an unrelated theft.
“Maine authorities advised Troy police they needed to talk to Gorman in connection with a missing person case which allegedly occurred in October. The missing person’s body was later found in a small town near Portland, Maine,” read a press release from the Troy Police Department.
Chitwood refused to comment on the Alabama press release.
Gorman lived at 68 County Road in Scarborough for the past couple of years with his mother and other relatives.
The home is just a few hundred yards from where the body was found.
Gorman was born in Troy. He grew up and attended high school there, according to Sgt. Benny Scarbrough of the Troy Police Department.
Scarbrough knew of Gorman most of the time he was living in Troy. He knew when Gorman left Troy for Florida, only to return later.
“I don’t want to talk about anything while he was a juvenile,” said Scarbrough.
Gorman hadn’t been in Troy for more than a few weeks before police arrested him at an acquaintance’s home outside of Troy. Police got a tip that led them to the residence, after Gorman allegedly pulled a gun on someone outside a business in Troy.
Troy Police were able to evacuate everyone from the residence before the standoff.
But Gorman refused to be arrested for four hours.
Gorman was holding two guns. Scarbrough said he was cooperative and didn’t make any demands, other than asking for a phone. He didn’t threaten anyone, but did put the gun to his own head a couple of times.
Police negotiators refused to give Gorman a phone. Negotiations were broken off several times so that traffic could get through on the highway.
Gorman even held his guns out of sight as the traffic passed at the request of the police, according to Scarbrough.
Police negotiators eventually traded a cigarette for one of Gorman’s guns and ended the standoff peacefully.
The day after his arrest, Gorman waived extradition proceedings, speeding his return to Maine. He was flown back Dec. 14, escorted by officers from the Maine Department of Corrections.
Monday, December 17, 2001
Lightbridge tightens reins
Published in Interface Tech News
BURLINGTON, Mass. ‹ Continuing its post-merger shuffling of personnel and resources, mobile business services company Lightbridge is closing one of its four offices and shifting tasks and employees to the remaining three. Most of the employees have left the Palo Alto, Calif. office, although a few will remain through May.
Its February 2001 acquisition of prepaid mobile services specialist Corsair Communications, based in Palo Alto and Irvine, meant Lightbridge had two offices in California ‹ in addition to its Burlington headquarters and its software development center outside Denver.
Nearly 100 employees were affected, though most were offered the option of relocating to Irvine, the company said. Many will do so, while others will leave Lightbridge.
Lynne Smith, Lightbridge's director of corporate communications, said this was a planned event based on the company's business needs, rather than a response to the economic downturn.
"This wasn't about taking hits," Smith said. "We are still quite profitable. This was a real business decision."
The overhead associated with keeping the additional office open was an inefficient burden on the company, Smith said, and bringing together staff who perform similar functions will help move Lightbridge toward its renewed focus on mobile business services.
"We are a conservatively managed company," Smith said, emphasizing that Wall Street's response to the consolidation was positive.
Analyst Iain Gillott of iGillott Research said the company was making a smart move, and was actually surprised at the timing of the rearrangement. "I thought they were going to do this sooner," Gillott said.
He differentiated Lightbridge from startups and equipment companies that have taken big hits recently. Instead, he said, Lightbridge gets much of its revenue from commissions and royalties when people activate mobile phones, and also through the company's involvement in credit checks and fraud prevention methods used by mobile carriers.
Gillott said that mobile phone usage and subscribership continues to climb, especially in the area of prepaid service, which is a major focus for Lightbridge.
Lightbridge does face some obstacles, Gillott said, primarily in the way the market is shifting toward mobile business in addition to mobile telephone services. "They have to shift their strategy to deal with that," he said, adding that Lightbridge has been pigeonholed by the industry and needs to break out of those preconceptions.
He said the company has a good chance to do that, with a good reputation and strong services.
"They do what they do very well," Gillott said.
BURLINGTON, Mass. ‹ Continuing its post-merger shuffling of personnel and resources, mobile business services company Lightbridge is closing one of its four offices and shifting tasks and employees to the remaining three. Most of the employees have left the Palo Alto, Calif. office, although a few will remain through May.
Its February 2001 acquisition of prepaid mobile services specialist Corsair Communications, based in Palo Alto and Irvine, meant Lightbridge had two offices in California ‹ in addition to its Burlington headquarters and its software development center outside Denver.
Nearly 100 employees were affected, though most were offered the option of relocating to Irvine, the company said. Many will do so, while others will leave Lightbridge.
Lynne Smith, Lightbridge's director of corporate communications, said this was a planned event based on the company's business needs, rather than a response to the economic downturn.
"This wasn't about taking hits," Smith said. "We are still quite profitable. This was a real business decision."
The overhead associated with keeping the additional office open was an inefficient burden on the company, Smith said, and bringing together staff who perform similar functions will help move Lightbridge toward its renewed focus on mobile business services.
"We are a conservatively managed company," Smith said, emphasizing that Wall Street's response to the consolidation was positive.
Analyst Iain Gillott of iGillott Research said the company was making a smart move, and was actually surprised at the timing of the rearrangement. "I thought they were going to do this sooner," Gillott said.
He differentiated Lightbridge from startups and equipment companies that have taken big hits recently. Instead, he said, Lightbridge gets much of its revenue from commissions and royalties when people activate mobile phones, and also through the company's involvement in credit checks and fraud prevention methods used by mobile carriers.
Gillott said that mobile phone usage and subscribership continues to climb, especially in the area of prepaid service, which is a major focus for Lightbridge.
Lightbridge does face some obstacles, Gillott said, primarily in the way the market is shifting toward mobile business in addition to mobile telephone services. "They have to shift their strategy to deal with that," he said, adding that Lightbridge has been pigeonholed by the industry and needs to break out of those preconceptions.
He said the company has a good chance to do that, with a good reputation and strong services.
"They do what they do very well," Gillott said.
Thursday, December 13, 2001
Cape affirms school superintendent
Published in the Current
The Cape Elizabeth School board re-appointed Superintendent Tom Forcella to his position for another year at the board’s regular meeting Tuesday. It was a formality required by state law, but the board took the opportunity to praise him.
“We are a really nice group and we really like Tom,” said board chair George Entwistle.
The board also congratulated middle school physical education staff and students on their achievement of the President’s Physical Education Award for the fourth consecutive year.
The board approved the revisions to the health insurance plan for teachers, which were renegotiated as required in the contract. Entwistle said the update is part of the district’s effort to attract and retain top-notch teachers.
The board also approved the changes to the educational records policies, as required by state and federal laws. Board members also approved the first reading of time out and therapeutic restraint policies, which are new to the district but are required by state law.
In other business, the board:
– Heard a report from Superintendent Tom Forcella that the Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation is continuing its strategic planning process and may kick off a capital campaign in fall 2002. Forcella also reported that there will be a districtwide staff survey in January to establish a baseline against which progress of the district’s Future Direction Plan can be measured.
– Heard a report from high school student representatives, including news that the mock trial team is doing very well and will face the Waynflete team this week in Portland. The debate and speech meet went well over the weekend, too. Sports are in full swing, and track and skiing will have their first competitions this weekend.
– Heard a report from the middle school student representatives, including information that there are programs throughout the school promoting kindness and respect between students. The middle school students also reported on their continuing videoconference communication with the Bronx Zoo. “We are the first school in the state to communicate in this way with an out-of-state organization,” said student Lily Hoffman.
– Heard a report from middle school principal Nancy Hutton that Gov. Angus King visited the school and participated in a video conference with the Bronx Zoo.
– Heard a report from high school principal Jeff Shedd on progress reports, which he described as “a work in progress.” For the first quarter, all students received progress reports from all of their teachers. For the rest of the year, students in danger of failing will have notices mailed home to parents, while other teachers may give progress reports to students, at their discretion. Shedd also said he has not received any formal notice from music director Norm Richardson of his departure.
The board invited residents to a public forum on ethical and responsible behavior, to be held Monday, Jan. 7, at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria shared by the middle and elementary schools.
The Cape Elizabeth School board re-appointed Superintendent Tom Forcella to his position for another year at the board’s regular meeting Tuesday. It was a formality required by state law, but the board took the opportunity to praise him.
“We are a really nice group and we really like Tom,” said board chair George Entwistle.
The board also congratulated middle school physical education staff and students on their achievement of the President’s Physical Education Award for the fourth consecutive year.
The board approved the revisions to the health insurance plan for teachers, which were renegotiated as required in the contract. Entwistle said the update is part of the district’s effort to attract and retain top-notch teachers.
The board also approved the changes to the educational records policies, as required by state and federal laws. Board members also approved the first reading of time out and therapeutic restraint policies, which are new to the district but are required by state law.
In other business, the board:
– Heard a report from Superintendent Tom Forcella that the Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation is continuing its strategic planning process and may kick off a capital campaign in fall 2002. Forcella also reported that there will be a districtwide staff survey in January to establish a baseline against which progress of the district’s Future Direction Plan can be measured.
– Heard a report from high school student representatives, including news that the mock trial team is doing very well and will face the Waynflete team this week in Portland. The debate and speech meet went well over the weekend, too. Sports are in full swing, and track and skiing will have their first competitions this weekend.
– Heard a report from the middle school student representatives, including information that there are programs throughout the school promoting kindness and respect between students. The middle school students also reported on their continuing videoconference communication with the Bronx Zoo. “We are the first school in the state to communicate in this way with an out-of-state organization,” said student Lily Hoffman.
– Heard a report from middle school principal Nancy Hutton that Gov. Angus King visited the school and participated in a video conference with the Bronx Zoo.
– Heard a report from high school principal Jeff Shedd on progress reports, which he described as “a work in progress.” For the first quarter, all students received progress reports from all of their teachers. For the rest of the year, students in danger of failing will have notices mailed home to parents, while other teachers may give progress reports to students, at their discretion. Shedd also said he has not received any formal notice from music director Norm Richardson of his departure.
The board invited residents to a public forum on ethical and responsible behavior, to be held Monday, Jan. 7, at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria shared by the middle and elementary schools.
Sgt. Lindsey turns in his badge on Christmas night
Published in the Current
On Christmas Day Richard Lindsey will get an extra gift: freedom. The 60-year-old sergeant on the Cape Elizabeth police force has served 30 years, literally half his life, with the department. His last two shifts will be Christmas Eve and Christmas night.
He has served four police chiefs under four town managers, in four different police stations around Cape Elizabeth.
“It goes by quick,” Lindsey said.
And he has seen a lot of change in town. “This was all farmland,” Lindsey said, gesturing to the area southeast of the town center. He remembers when Wainwright Circle was a big potato farm.
“It’s grown a lot,” he said of the town. And even buildings that existed when he came to Cape have seen growth and change.
“They’ve rebuilt all the schools,” he said.
Broad Cove was just being developed when he started in the department, when police offices were over in the fire station on Shore Road, right by the South Portland town line.
He had spent just a few months in the Portland Police Department that year, 1971, and came over to Cape. He said the challenges are different, and likes the breadth of duties he has in Cape.
While Cape’s criminal activity tends to be smaller and less frequent, he has been involved in two homicide investigations. “You’ve still got to be prepared,” he said.
And bigger departments have specialists for different kinds of police work. But Cape’s officers have to do everything and keep up their training across the range of police skills.
Lindsey, from East Machias, served in the Air Force on Guam, from 1960 to 1964, and he still talks about it with a smile. “It was great.”
Then he came back and worked on a timber crew and in a Georgia Pacific paper mill before going to the Portland Police Department.
Chief Neil Williams said he knew the time would come when Lindsey would leave. “We just didn’t know when,” he said. Williams said the department will fill the empty sergeant’s spot by promoting within, and will hire a reserve officer to fill that vacancy.
Williams said he wishes Lindsey well, and said he has more than earned his keep, especially working swing shift, for 30 years. “That’s a long time,” Williams said.
Working swing shift has been tough, Lindsey said, and it’s time to stop working two weeks of early shift, two weeks of days, then lates and then nights, each for two weeks.
“The older you get the tougher it is,” he said.
And, of course, the town’s bad guys don’t age at the same rate. “At my age you’re too old to be out chasing kids,” he said with a laugh.
But Lindsey said he will stick around the area, even if he does take a few weeks “down South” after he retires. He’ll keep his house in Portland, and his daughters and their families – including four grandchildren – live nearby.
He loves to hunt and fish and golf, so Maine’s a good place for him to be. He said he was sorry that he wouldn’t get to see the inside of the new police station, though he admitted he would probably go visit his colleagues, and would be back in Cape.
“It’s been a great community, and I have lots of friends here,” Lindsey said.
On Christmas Day Richard Lindsey will get an extra gift: freedom. The 60-year-old sergeant on the Cape Elizabeth police force has served 30 years, literally half his life, with the department. His last two shifts will be Christmas Eve and Christmas night.
He has served four police chiefs under four town managers, in four different police stations around Cape Elizabeth.
“It goes by quick,” Lindsey said.
And he has seen a lot of change in town. “This was all farmland,” Lindsey said, gesturing to the area southeast of the town center. He remembers when Wainwright Circle was a big potato farm.
“It’s grown a lot,” he said of the town. And even buildings that existed when he came to Cape have seen growth and change.
“They’ve rebuilt all the schools,” he said.
Broad Cove was just being developed when he started in the department, when police offices were over in the fire station on Shore Road, right by the South Portland town line.
He had spent just a few months in the Portland Police Department that year, 1971, and came over to Cape. He said the challenges are different, and likes the breadth of duties he has in Cape.
While Cape’s criminal activity tends to be smaller and less frequent, he has been involved in two homicide investigations. “You’ve still got to be prepared,” he said.
And bigger departments have specialists for different kinds of police work. But Cape’s officers have to do everything and keep up their training across the range of police skills.
Lindsey, from East Machias, served in the Air Force on Guam, from 1960 to 1964, and he still talks about it with a smile. “It was great.”
Then he came back and worked on a timber crew and in a Georgia Pacific paper mill before going to the Portland Police Department.
Chief Neil Williams said he knew the time would come when Lindsey would leave. “We just didn’t know when,” he said. Williams said the department will fill the empty sergeant’s spot by promoting within, and will hire a reserve officer to fill that vacancy.
Williams said he wishes Lindsey well, and said he has more than earned his keep, especially working swing shift, for 30 years. “That’s a long time,” Williams said.
Working swing shift has been tough, Lindsey said, and it’s time to stop working two weeks of early shift, two weeks of days, then lates and then nights, each for two weeks.
“The older you get the tougher it is,” he said.
And, of course, the town’s bad guys don’t age at the same rate. “At my age you’re too old to be out chasing kids,” he said with a laugh.
But Lindsey said he will stick around the area, even if he does take a few weeks “down South” after he retires. He’ll keep his house in Portland, and his daughters and their families – including four grandchildren – live nearby.
He loves to hunt and fish and golf, so Maine’s a good place for him to be. He said he was sorry that he wouldn’t get to see the inside of the new police station, though he admitted he would probably go visit his colleagues, and would be back in Cape.
“It’s been a great community, and I have lots of friends here,” Lindsey said.
Watch out for trains
Published in the Current
The Scarborough Police Department is warning people to look out for speeding trains in town, as the Amtrak service between Boston and Portland begins Saturday.
It means that some trains passing through Scarborough will not be going 30 mph, as freight trains do, but possibly up to 79 mph.
The only road-rail crossing in town will be on Winnocks Neck Road, but police Chief Robert Moulton said he is more concerned about people walking on the tracks elsewhere in town.
People often fish from the trestles or walk along the railroad bed, he said. Some parents encourage their children to walk along the tracks rather than use busy roads.
The increased train speed means people along the tracks will have less time to get out of the way of an oncoming train, but Moulton also warned of another danger: suction.
The train could be moving fast enough, Moulton said, that a 200-pound adult ten feet from the tracks could be sucked in and under the passing train.
Railroad staff working along the tracks in Scarborough Wednesday afternoon dismissed that concern, but said people walking along the tracks could be ordered to pay hefty fines for trespassing on federally patrolled property.
Moulton said one particular area he is especially worried about is along Highland Avenue, at Cook Concrete, where local teenagers have been known to party.
He urged all local residents to use caution when near the tracks, and keep an extra eye out for oncoming trains. “You’re talking about a very heavy piece of equipment,” he said.
The Scarborough Police Department is warning people to look out for speeding trains in town, as the Amtrak service between Boston and Portland begins Saturday.
It means that some trains passing through Scarborough will not be going 30 mph, as freight trains do, but possibly up to 79 mph.
The only road-rail crossing in town will be on Winnocks Neck Road, but police Chief Robert Moulton said he is more concerned about people walking on the tracks elsewhere in town.
People often fish from the trestles or walk along the railroad bed, he said. Some parents encourage their children to walk along the tracks rather than use busy roads.
The increased train speed means people along the tracks will have less time to get out of the way of an oncoming train, but Moulton also warned of another danger: suction.
The train could be moving fast enough, Moulton said, that a 200-pound adult ten feet from the tracks could be sucked in and under the passing train.
Railroad staff working along the tracks in Scarborough Wednesday afternoon dismissed that concern, but said people walking along the tracks could be ordered to pay hefty fines for trespassing on federally patrolled property.
Moulton said one particular area he is especially worried about is along Highland Avenue, at Cook Concrete, where local teenagers have been known to party.
He urged all local residents to use caution when near the tracks, and keep an extra eye out for oncoming trains. “You’re talking about a very heavy piece of equipment,” he said.
Scarborough’s connection to murder unfolds
Published in the Current; co-written with Kate Irish Collins and Brendan Moran
A Scarborough man who was linked to the murder of Amy St. Laurent by court documents left few footprints in town.
Portland Police Chief Michael Chitwood refused to name Jeffrey “Russ” Gorman as a suspect in the case Wednesday and said, “We’re not looking for him.”
But a handwritten note written at the bottom of a request to revoke Gorman’s probation on unrelated charges of burglary and theft, stated that he was a “prime suspect” in the case – a connection first reported by the Portland Press Herald on Monday and verified by documents obtained by the Current.
Police have one strong suspect and believe others may have helped conceal the body, according to Chitwood. He said he expects to make an arrest in the case “soon,” but declined to give a timetable.
Portland Police have not contacted Scarborough Police for information on Gorman, 21, or told them he was a suspect in the case, according to Scarborough Police Chief Robert Moulton. Moulton said police have stopped Gorman in the past, but only for traffic violations.
While court documents identify Gorman, whose last known address was 68 Country Road in Scarborough, as “dangerous, may be armed,” Chief Chitwood said Gorman is not believed to be in Scarborough or posing a danger to Scarborough residents.
Searchers discovered St. Laurent’s body Saturday afternoon just a few hundred yards from 68 County Road, which is Route. 22. Gorman’s home is less than a half mile from the intersection of County Road and Saco Street and less than a mile from the Westbrook line.
Police weren’t the only ones looking for St. Laurent in Scarborough.
Dennis St. Laurent, Amy St. Laurent’s father, was searching the Haigis Parkway four to five weeks ago, according to Michael Anton, the owner of Admiral Fire and Safety, which is on Haigis Parkway and where Dennis St. Laurent came asking permission to search the area.
A source close to the family confirmed that St. Laurent’s father and other family members had been looking for her in “various places at various times.”
“It’s really too bad,” said Anton. “It turns out, in the end, he wasn’t
that far off.”
St. Laurent, of South Berwick, disappeared in the early morning hours of Oct. 21, after a night of dancing in the Old Port. Her picture has appeared on the news and was posted around Portland after her disappearance.
A possible suspect
Gorman “is prime suspect in missing St. Laurent girl case. Is believed to be in Florida, having taken off (Nov. 16). Request this be placed in system as soon as possible, as Florida (police) are attempting to locate,” read a note at the bottom of a request to revoke Gorman’s probation, signed by David Redmond, Gorman’s probation officer.
Redmond refused comment Tuesday and referred calls to the Associate Commissioner of Corrections, who did not return calls from the Current.
Gorman’s probation resulted from the theft of a car stereo in September of 2000. Authorities issued three warrants on separate occasions for probation violations, recalling two of them.
Gorman had failed to notify his probation officer of a change of address. He also had failed to tell him he had been contacted by police on five separate occasions. The document does not indicate why police contacted Gorman.
In addition to those violations, Gorman failed to pay $500 restitution on the earlier charges and to report to his probation officer on Nov. 19.
The first warrant was issued Nov. 20 and recalled the next day, at the request of Portland police. The warrant was again issued Nov. 29, and recalled Monday, this time at the request of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office. The warrant was issued Tuesday, once again, on the same charge.
Clifford Strike, the lawyer who represented Gorman in the burglary and theft case, last heard from Gorman in August or September. He said he remembered Gorman as a young man without much of a criminal record.
Westbrook Police Chief Steven Roberts refused to comment on Gorman.
“I don’t have any intent of jeopardizing an investigation that’s ongoing at this point,” said Roberts.
A woman who answered the door Tuesday at 68 County Road, Gorman’s address according to court documents, said “no comment.”
Few footprints
The house is a few hundred yards down the road from the wooded lot where St. Laurent’s body was discovered.
Wanda Donovan, whose home is right next to the property where St. Laurent’s body was found, said the dirt road there can be busy.
“I see a lot of activity down that road,” she said. It’s mostly hunters, but she said she had heard that there is an old gravel pit back in there.
Donovan was unsettled by the discovery.
“I’m trying not to think about it too much,” she said.
Scarborough’s Chief Moulton said the area is not a so-called “dumping ground” for evidence criminals want to conceal. He recalls that there was a chicken coop in the area, where a runaway would hide years ago, but hasn’t heard anything suspicious about the property since.
Joan Deveau owns the house at 68 County Road, according to town records. Although neighbors said Gorman had been in the neighborhood for a couple years, none of the neighbors interviewed by the Current knew Gorman or his relation to the Deveaus.
Gorman, who was born in Troy, Ala., didn’t attend high school in Scarborough or Westbrook, according to school records.
Richard Hillock, who lives across the street from 68 County Road, said he had seen Gorman around, but never spoke to him. He said he hadn’t seen him in the last couple of weeks.
Although Hillock said he had spoken to the Deveaus on a few occasions, he didn’t know how Gorman had come to stay at the house across the road.
Gorman worked part time at 1st Stop convenience store down the road for a couple of weeks “a year or two ago,” according to Don Cook, the owner.
Cook couldn’t remember any details about Gorman. “I wouldn’t recognize him if he walked in here today,” said Cook. “You could be him.”
Cook couldn’t remember whether Gorman had quit, but he couldn’t remember firing him. “I think he just didn’t show up,” he said. Cook hasn’t seen him since then.
A fortunate find
The discovery of St. Laurent’s body came as a result of the efforts of the Maine Warden Service, according to Chitwood.
Wardens provided about 85 volunteers and several cadaver search dogs. They also used computerized search-planning software to design a search of the area in question.
“The warden service was unbelievable,” Chitwood said.
On Saturday afternoon, a volunteer came out of a line of trees and had to step down a bit. He put his foot into an area of soft dirt and took a step back to look more closely. He realized the area there was disturbed, according to Chitwood.
The searcher called others to the area. A Portland police detective got on his knees in the dirt. Digging carefully, the detective went down about 18 or 20 inches, at which point he felt a sweatshirt.
It was then that they knew they had something big, according to Chitwood. They set up lights and brought in a medical examiner, an archaeologist and other police officials to photograph and document the scene and recover evidence.
Three to four hours later, after dark and just before snow began to blanket the area, they were finished and removed St. Laurent’s body.
“Had we not found her body that day, we would probably have never found it,” Chitwood said.
A Scarborough man who was linked to the murder of Amy St. Laurent by court documents left few footprints in town.
Portland Police Chief Michael Chitwood refused to name Jeffrey “Russ” Gorman as a suspect in the case Wednesday and said, “We’re not looking for him.”
But a handwritten note written at the bottom of a request to revoke Gorman’s probation on unrelated charges of burglary and theft, stated that he was a “prime suspect” in the case – a connection first reported by the Portland Press Herald on Monday and verified by documents obtained by the Current.
Police have one strong suspect and believe others may have helped conceal the body, according to Chitwood. He said he expects to make an arrest in the case “soon,” but declined to give a timetable.
Portland Police have not contacted Scarborough Police for information on Gorman, 21, or told them he was a suspect in the case, according to Scarborough Police Chief Robert Moulton. Moulton said police have stopped Gorman in the past, but only for traffic violations.
While court documents identify Gorman, whose last known address was 68 Country Road in Scarborough, as “dangerous, may be armed,” Chief Chitwood said Gorman is not believed to be in Scarborough or posing a danger to Scarborough residents.
Searchers discovered St. Laurent’s body Saturday afternoon just a few hundred yards from 68 County Road, which is Route. 22. Gorman’s home is less than a half mile from the intersection of County Road and Saco Street and less than a mile from the Westbrook line.
Police weren’t the only ones looking for St. Laurent in Scarborough.
Dennis St. Laurent, Amy St. Laurent’s father, was searching the Haigis Parkway four to five weeks ago, according to Michael Anton, the owner of Admiral Fire and Safety, which is on Haigis Parkway and where Dennis St. Laurent came asking permission to search the area.
A source close to the family confirmed that St. Laurent’s father and other family members had been looking for her in “various places at various times.”
“It’s really too bad,” said Anton. “It turns out, in the end, he wasn’t
that far off.”
St. Laurent, of South Berwick, disappeared in the early morning hours of Oct. 21, after a night of dancing in the Old Port. Her picture has appeared on the news and was posted around Portland after her disappearance.
A possible suspect
Gorman “is prime suspect in missing St. Laurent girl case. Is believed to be in Florida, having taken off (Nov. 16). Request this be placed in system as soon as possible, as Florida (police) are attempting to locate,” read a note at the bottom of a request to revoke Gorman’s probation, signed by David Redmond, Gorman’s probation officer.
Redmond refused comment Tuesday and referred calls to the Associate Commissioner of Corrections, who did not return calls from the Current.
Gorman’s probation resulted from the theft of a car stereo in September of 2000. Authorities issued three warrants on separate occasions for probation violations, recalling two of them.
Gorman had failed to notify his probation officer of a change of address. He also had failed to tell him he had been contacted by police on five separate occasions. The document does not indicate why police contacted Gorman.
In addition to those violations, Gorman failed to pay $500 restitution on the earlier charges and to report to his probation officer on Nov. 19.
The first warrant was issued Nov. 20 and recalled the next day, at the request of Portland police. The warrant was again issued Nov. 29, and recalled Monday, this time at the request of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office. The warrant was issued Tuesday, once again, on the same charge.
Clifford Strike, the lawyer who represented Gorman in the burglary and theft case, last heard from Gorman in August or September. He said he remembered Gorman as a young man without much of a criminal record.
Westbrook Police Chief Steven Roberts refused to comment on Gorman.
“I don’t have any intent of jeopardizing an investigation that’s ongoing at this point,” said Roberts.
A woman who answered the door Tuesday at 68 County Road, Gorman’s address according to court documents, said “no comment.”
Few footprints
The house is a few hundred yards down the road from the wooded lot where St. Laurent’s body was discovered.
Wanda Donovan, whose home is right next to the property where St. Laurent’s body was found, said the dirt road there can be busy.
“I see a lot of activity down that road,” she said. It’s mostly hunters, but she said she had heard that there is an old gravel pit back in there.
Donovan was unsettled by the discovery.
“I’m trying not to think about it too much,” she said.
Scarborough’s Chief Moulton said the area is not a so-called “dumping ground” for evidence criminals want to conceal. He recalls that there was a chicken coop in the area, where a runaway would hide years ago, but hasn’t heard anything suspicious about the property since.
Joan Deveau owns the house at 68 County Road, according to town records. Although neighbors said Gorman had been in the neighborhood for a couple years, none of the neighbors interviewed by the Current knew Gorman or his relation to the Deveaus.
Gorman, who was born in Troy, Ala., didn’t attend high school in Scarborough or Westbrook, according to school records.
Richard Hillock, who lives across the street from 68 County Road, said he had seen Gorman around, but never spoke to him. He said he hadn’t seen him in the last couple of weeks.
Although Hillock said he had spoken to the Deveaus on a few occasions, he didn’t know how Gorman had come to stay at the house across the road.
Gorman worked part time at 1st Stop convenience store down the road for a couple of weeks “a year or two ago,” according to Don Cook, the owner.
Cook couldn’t remember any details about Gorman. “I wouldn’t recognize him if he walked in here today,” said Cook. “You could be him.”
Cook couldn’t remember whether Gorman had quit, but he couldn’t remember firing him. “I think he just didn’t show up,” he said. Cook hasn’t seen him since then.
A fortunate find
The discovery of St. Laurent’s body came as a result of the efforts of the Maine Warden Service, according to Chitwood.
Wardens provided about 85 volunteers and several cadaver search dogs. They also used computerized search-planning software to design a search of the area in question.
“The warden service was unbelievable,” Chitwood said.
On Saturday afternoon, a volunteer came out of a line of trees and had to step down a bit. He put his foot into an area of soft dirt and took a step back to look more closely. He realized the area there was disturbed, according to Chitwood.
The searcher called others to the area. A Portland police detective got on his knees in the dirt. Digging carefully, the detective went down about 18 or 20 inches, at which point he felt a sweatshirt.
It was then that they knew they had something big, according to Chitwood. They set up lights and brought in a medical examiner, an archaeologist and other police officials to photograph and document the scene and recover evidence.
Three to four hours later, after dark and just before snow began to blanket the area, they were finished and removed St. Laurent’s body.
“Had we not found her body that day, we would probably have never found it,” Chitwood said.
Wednesday, December 12, 2001
Bottomline delivers for UPS, gets resale help from Unisys
Published in Interface Tech News
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. ‹ Continuing its march to prominence in the electronic payment and invoicing sector, Bottomline Technologies will be providing the back end for Atlanta-based United Parcel Service's (UPS) electronic billing system. The company also expects a November reseller agreement with Unisys, of Blue Bell, Pa., to really get rolling in January.
"We have implemented an electronic invoice delivery system for (UPS)," said Bottomline CEO Dan McGurl.
Clients using UPS' Web site will be able to register to receive invoices on-line and make electronic payments, including viewing billing summaries and details of specific invoices.
McGurl described the deal as "a multi-million dollar one" that is part of a continuing relationship between the companies.
It is another step in Bottomline's efforts to support the increasing demand for electronic invoicing and payment. McGurl said the recent uncertainty about the safety and reliability of the U.S. postal system has pushed more companies into exploring alternatives to paper invoice and payment systems.
Another boost for Bottomline in the New Year will be the resale of Bottomline software by banking and financial services giant Unisys. The agreement was made in November, but the ramp-up period lasted through late December, paving the way for sales this month.
"This product that we've developed," McGurl said, "is something that (Unisys) didn't have." He expects the company to integrate Bottomline's electronic payment-to-invoice matching software into its own offerings, saving time for both payer and payee, and allowing better control of cash flow for both parties.
Avivah Litan, vice president and research director at the Gartner Group, said Bottomline is thriving even as the economy slides. "The truth is it's doing pretty well," Litan said.
She said electronic invoicing is growing, with about 20 percent of all business-to-business invoices already electronic.
The advantage for companies like UPS, who are Bottomline clients, Litan said, is the adaptability of the software packages.
"They allow the customers to live in the paper world and the electronic world at the same time," she said, making migration a comfortable process for the client.
And closing the deal with Unisys will provide a big boost for both companies. "Unisys has been trying to penetrate this market for a while," Litan said, adding that Bottomline's small sales force "needs all the partners and resellers they can get."
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. ‹ Continuing its march to prominence in the electronic payment and invoicing sector, Bottomline Technologies will be providing the back end for Atlanta-based United Parcel Service's (UPS) electronic billing system. The company also expects a November reseller agreement with Unisys, of Blue Bell, Pa., to really get rolling in January.
"We have implemented an electronic invoice delivery system for (UPS)," said Bottomline CEO Dan McGurl.
Clients using UPS' Web site will be able to register to receive invoices on-line and make electronic payments, including viewing billing summaries and details of specific invoices.
McGurl described the deal as "a multi-million dollar one" that is part of a continuing relationship between the companies.
It is another step in Bottomline's efforts to support the increasing demand for electronic invoicing and payment. McGurl said the recent uncertainty about the safety and reliability of the U.S. postal system has pushed more companies into exploring alternatives to paper invoice and payment systems.
Another boost for Bottomline in the New Year will be the resale of Bottomline software by banking and financial services giant Unisys. The agreement was made in November, but the ramp-up period lasted through late December, paving the way for sales this month.
"This product that we've developed," McGurl said, "is something that (Unisys) didn't have." He expects the company to integrate Bottomline's electronic payment-to-invoice matching software into its own offerings, saving time for both payer and payee, and allowing better control of cash flow for both parties.
Avivah Litan, vice president and research director at the Gartner Group, said Bottomline is thriving even as the economy slides. "The truth is it's doing pretty well," Litan said.
She said electronic invoicing is growing, with about 20 percent of all business-to-business invoices already electronic.
The advantage for companies like UPS, who are Bottomline clients, Litan said, is the adaptability of the software packages.
"They allow the customers to live in the paper world and the electronic world at the same time," she said, making migration a comfortable process for the client.
And closing the deal with Unisys will provide a big boost for both companies. "Unisys has been trying to penetrate this market for a while," Litan said, adding that Bottomline's small sales force "needs all the partners and resellers they can get."
Friday, December 7, 2001
Capitol Computers expands training facility
Published in Interface Tech News
AUGUSTA, Maine ‹ Responding to rapid growth in demand for its services and projected expansion in the future, Capitol Computers is expanding its training space from 30 to 50 workstations and hiring two additional instructors.
The company will continue to provide sales, maintenance, and technical support to businesses and educational institutions, but sees the most growth potential in the area of computer-based training, according to vice president and general manager Paul DeSchamp.
DeSchamp said the company's revenue increased 18 percent from 2000 to 2001, and projected it will increase a further 40 percent by 2002. Those figures are driven by a 200 percent increase in offerings of career-based, self-paced training classes from 2000 to 2001. DeSchamp expects the class offerings will double again in the next year.
Capitol's biggest client is the state of Maine, to which it offers employee training and serves the state's career counseling program, retraining workers laid off from other industries. Among the services Capitol offers are certification programs for computer technicians and network engineers.
The new space, with 20 additional desktop machines, all with high-speed Internet connections and access to networked printers and file servers, is scheduled to open Dec. 1. DeSchamp added that there is more room for expansion, should it be needed.
He admits that mill closings and other layoffs around Maine have boosted his business, but stressed that, while he is happy to help people learn new skills, "we don't want to see more closings."
Katherine Jones of the Boston-based Aberdeen Group's education and e-learning research section said that, while computer-based training is nothing new, computers are being used more and more for educational purposes.
In the current economic slowdown, Jones said, people need to retrain or improve their skill sets to get and keep jobs ‹ that means more business for training centers. Added to that can be state or even company programs offering financial incentives to laid-off workers learning new skills.
According to Jones, one area of significant promise is certification for industrial workers. There are programs which train people to handle hazardous material, operate heavy equipment, or perform other tasks, offering certifications at the end of the process.
"You need about five of them to run a backhoe," Jones said. And the certifications expire, bringing people back every year or two to keep current. "Most of the stuff is learnable online and testable online," she said. "That's a perfect thing for training companies."
AUGUSTA, Maine ‹ Responding to rapid growth in demand for its services and projected expansion in the future, Capitol Computers is expanding its training space from 30 to 50 workstations and hiring two additional instructors.
The company will continue to provide sales, maintenance, and technical support to businesses and educational institutions, but sees the most growth potential in the area of computer-based training, according to vice president and general manager Paul DeSchamp.
DeSchamp said the company's revenue increased 18 percent from 2000 to 2001, and projected it will increase a further 40 percent by 2002. Those figures are driven by a 200 percent increase in offerings of career-based, self-paced training classes from 2000 to 2001. DeSchamp expects the class offerings will double again in the next year.
Capitol's biggest client is the state of Maine, to which it offers employee training and serves the state's career counseling program, retraining workers laid off from other industries. Among the services Capitol offers are certification programs for computer technicians and network engineers.
The new space, with 20 additional desktop machines, all with high-speed Internet connections and access to networked printers and file servers, is scheduled to open Dec. 1. DeSchamp added that there is more room for expansion, should it be needed.
He admits that mill closings and other layoffs around Maine have boosted his business, but stressed that, while he is happy to help people learn new skills, "we don't want to see more closings."
Katherine Jones of the Boston-based Aberdeen Group's education and e-learning research section said that, while computer-based training is nothing new, computers are being used more and more for educational purposes.
In the current economic slowdown, Jones said, people need to retrain or improve their skill sets to get and keep jobs ‹ that means more business for training centers. Added to that can be state or even company programs offering financial incentives to laid-off workers learning new skills.
According to Jones, one area of significant promise is certification for industrial workers. There are programs which train people to handle hazardous material, operate heavy equipment, or perform other tasks, offering certifications at the end of the process.
"You need about five of them to run a backhoe," Jones said. And the certifications expire, bringing people back every year or two to keep current. "Most of the stuff is learnable online and testable online," she said. "That's a perfect thing for training companies."
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