Published in the Current
Defying state budget cuts and legislative criticism, delivery truck drivers dropped off precious cargo at middle schools across Maine in the past week. The word raced down school hallways and into administrative offices, quiet with students home for summer: Laptops!
Indeed, contrary to the wishes of some state legislators and fulfilling the dreams of middle school teachers and administrators, 160 Macintosh iBook laptop computers arrived at Cape Elizabeth Middle School Aug. 13, according to Gary Lanoie, the district technology coordinator.
“We’re very excited,” said Principal Nancy Hutton.
Judging from traffic on the state’s educational technology e-mail, Lanoie said, it appeared that most districts across the state received their laptops last week. The new arrivals are to equip each seventh-grade student with a personal laptop computer, to be taken from class to class throughout the day,
and even home from school at certain times and under certain circumstances.
About 20 laptops arrived in Cape at the end of June, so teachers could familiarize themselves with the equipment before having to teach students to use them.
Lanoie and a two-person staff have the grueling task of configuring 160 laptops to look and operate exactly alike. There is software to help with the project, but the real challenge is setting up an initial computer installation, which can then be “cloned” to the rest of the computers, Lanoie said.
Part of the problem is that the computers have multiple layers of security restrictions, and installations must take them into account, to ensure that students neither have too much access to software and settings, or too little.
Fortunately, Lanoie said, tech coordinators around the state are working together and collaborating via e-mail to solve the problems that arise. Lanoie himself found a good piece of software for cloning computers, and sent a note to his colleagues about how to make it work most effectively.
There is also a hefty manual of suggested policies and procedures for districts to use when handing out the laptops to students, and administering their use.
“There seems to have been a lot of thought in preparing the program,” Lanoie said.
He will also have some help on the ground: 19 seventh-graders have signed up to be what Lanoie is calling the “iTeam,” kids who will help each other and their teachers handle the small everyday glitches of computer use, and who can assist Lanoie in troubleshooting problems as the computers are used throughout the school.
Because of state budget woes, the laptop program was in limbo for much of the past year, and school officials were constantly qualifying planning around the laptops with phrases like “if the laptops arrive.”
The state endowment intended to pay for the program over the course of the next four years has been raided several times by Gov. Angus King to cover an increasing state budget shortfall, but the account still has money in it.
State Attorney General Steven Rowe had advised the governor earlier this summer that the state could break the contract it made with Apple to provide the laptops, additional equipment and training, but breaking the deal could cost as much as it would to go forward, according to Rowe’s interpretation of the contract.
Legislators had criticized the program because of its anticipated cost: $37.2 million over four years, which they said could be used for other things.
But the first phase of the project is in place. Next year will see another large shipment of laptops, to equip each eighth-grader with a machine as well.
Now that the laptops are here, the focus is on using them. Cape’s seventh-grade teachers are excited about the prospect and have said they are looking forward to seeing how they can use them, despite some trepidation about what the changes may mean when classes start using laptops in earnest.
Thursday, August 22, 2002
School renovation wish list hits $12 million
Published in the Current
After months of anticipating a $5 million to $6 million renovation plan for the high school and Pond Cove School, Cape Elizabeth school officials were surprised to learn last week that the price tag will be closer to $12 million.
At a building committee meeting Aug. 15, the board learned a comprehensive high school renovation could cost as much as $9.2 million, with a Pond Cove expansion slated to add nearly $2.7 million more.
After seeing the dollar figures, School Board Chair and building committee chair Marie Prager said, “I think everyone’s in shock.” The group had been operating under the assumption that the cost would be much lower.
The latest project designs, created by Bob Howe of Portland’s HKTA Architects, include a wide range of options that are likely to be pared significantly.
In an earlier meeting with Howe, Superintendent Tom Forcella and other school representatives had indicated a number of sections of the proposals that would not be part of a final project.
“It seems to me as if everything is included,” Forcella said when he saw the HKTA plans. Howe said the plans were a result of extensive discussions with school faculty and staff, and included ways to meet a “wish list” developed during those discussions.
“We’ve accommodated a lot of the wishes, (but) not all the wishes, ”Howe said. If the costs need to be reduced, he said, that is up to the schools. “As we explained early on, this isn’t going to be an easy process,” he said.
Prager said the building committee and the School Board need to “look at what we really need and what we can live without.”
Town Manager Mike McGovern, present at the meeting, said a new high school could cost as much as $40 million.
Howe agreed, saying, “these renovation costs are rather modest, considering the size of the building.”
Forcella said he would explore the possibility of having school maintenance staff perform some of the work in-house, which would lower labor costs and also reduce administrative expenses.
Reworking the interior
The high school renovation would have two major thrusts: redoing public spaces used by all students and by the community at large, and reconfiguring classroom and administrative space for improved academic and management use.
It would remake the locker rooms, now poorly ventilated and not handicapped-accessible, resurface the gym floor and add new gym bleachers, expand the cafeteria, reconfigure former kindergarten classrooms into high school class space, rearrange the school’s administrative and guidance offices and add at least 100 parking spaces.
Throughout the school, the proposal would upgrade the electrical and smoke detection systems, repaint or re-floor nearly every room and replace the school-wide intercom system by putting a telephone in each classroom.
McGovern said he anticipated there was as much as $1 million in project work that could be done in-house for a cost of closer to $200,000.
A new set of gym bleachers was included in the cost. The new seats would be fixed to the wall, with a motor to roll them out. Forcella said that might be overkill. “We rarely would need the seating that we have,” he said. He suggested Howe look into bleachers Forcella has seen at other schools that roll around the gym and can be arranged in a variety of positions to meet different audience needs.
Also slated for renovation is the school auditorium, which could get new seating, carpeting and lighting.
Another issue is what Howe called a “thrust stage,” a homemade addition to the front of the stage that slants down and toward the audience. It was not a part of the original design of the stage and blocks several large air return vents, limiting the ventilation of the entire auditorium, Howe said.
As much as $1.7 million of the total cost would be for work outside the building, creating new parking spaces, re-grading the hill at the main entrance to the building and providing handicapped access to the track and soccer field.
McGovern suggested scaling that work back significantly, reworking the entrance to the school and paving a couple of dirt areas already used for parking. “You could save a million bucks right there,” he said.
‘Looks like a bargain’
In comparison to the $9.2 million high school, the $2.7 million Pond Cove additions appeared cheap to the group. “The elementary school looks like a bargain,” Forcella said.
A new two-story wing housing classrooms, arts and multi-purpose space would be constructed between the town fire station and the playground.
The primary focus of the addition will be to provide space for the kindergarten classes, which have previously been housed in the high school.
The addition is more straightforward, Howe said, because all of the space and fixtures will be new, and modifications will only be made to the existing building so that the new space connects well. The cost of the new wing will be $2.4 million.
An additional $267,000 would pay for a new art room off the connection corridor between the two major sections of the building. It would also offer a new entryway from the paved courtyard between the Thomas Memorial Library and the school.
The building committee had asked Howe to break out the cost of the art room from the cost of the new wing because the two spaces are not contiguous and would serve substantially different functions.
Setting priorities
A group including Prager, Forcella, School Board finance chair Elaine Moloney and high school administrators is expected to meet in early September to set priorities for the project, in terms of what work to do first, what to phase in over time, and what not to do at all.
Moloney said she wanted to know what would happen if things were cut from what she called “this grand scheme,” and whether there was a chance any of the work might get done in the next 20 years, the projected life of the renovation.
Forcella said no. “If we don’t put it in this plan, it’s not going to happen,” he said.
“This is the time to decide what we can live with,” Prager said, anticipating significant cuts.
McGovern said the middle school and Pond Cove renovation 10 years ago cost $11.7 million. He warned that traffic and parking will be an ongoing issue for the school buildings.
“At some point you’re going to need another exit out of the high school area,” he said.
He also said that though the numbers might look less scary when residents see how much debt the town is paying off each year, the schools will still need to “sell it to the council and sell it to the town.”
Cape town councilors have said in the past that they are likely to send the proposal to a referendum, though state law does not require them to.
In response to a question from Moloney, Howe said “marketing” of the plan should begin in October, when final numbers have been set.
Though the numbers may look large, Prager asked committee members to keep a cool head. “I think we shouldn’t freak out now,” she said.
Howe gave them “everything they want” in the proposal, and the time has come to make changes and cuts to the project.
“There’s a lot more here than we really need,” Prager said. But still, cuts won’t come easily. “This is going to be hard,” she said.
After months of anticipating a $5 million to $6 million renovation plan for the high school and Pond Cove School, Cape Elizabeth school officials were surprised to learn last week that the price tag will be closer to $12 million.
At a building committee meeting Aug. 15, the board learned a comprehensive high school renovation could cost as much as $9.2 million, with a Pond Cove expansion slated to add nearly $2.7 million more.
After seeing the dollar figures, School Board Chair and building committee chair Marie Prager said, “I think everyone’s in shock.” The group had been operating under the assumption that the cost would be much lower.
The latest project designs, created by Bob Howe of Portland’s HKTA Architects, include a wide range of options that are likely to be pared significantly.
In an earlier meeting with Howe, Superintendent Tom Forcella and other school representatives had indicated a number of sections of the proposals that would not be part of a final project.
“It seems to me as if everything is included,” Forcella said when he saw the HKTA plans. Howe said the plans were a result of extensive discussions with school faculty and staff, and included ways to meet a “wish list” developed during those discussions.
“We’ve accommodated a lot of the wishes, (but) not all the wishes, ”Howe said. If the costs need to be reduced, he said, that is up to the schools. “As we explained early on, this isn’t going to be an easy process,” he said.
Prager said the building committee and the School Board need to “look at what we really need and what we can live without.”
Town Manager Mike McGovern, present at the meeting, said a new high school could cost as much as $40 million.
Howe agreed, saying, “these renovation costs are rather modest, considering the size of the building.”
Forcella said he would explore the possibility of having school maintenance staff perform some of the work in-house, which would lower labor costs and also reduce administrative expenses.
Reworking the interior
The high school renovation would have two major thrusts: redoing public spaces used by all students and by the community at large, and reconfiguring classroom and administrative space for improved academic and management use.
It would remake the locker rooms, now poorly ventilated and not handicapped-accessible, resurface the gym floor and add new gym bleachers, expand the cafeteria, reconfigure former kindergarten classrooms into high school class space, rearrange the school’s administrative and guidance offices and add at least 100 parking spaces.
Throughout the school, the proposal would upgrade the electrical and smoke detection systems, repaint or re-floor nearly every room and replace the school-wide intercom system by putting a telephone in each classroom.
McGovern said he anticipated there was as much as $1 million in project work that could be done in-house for a cost of closer to $200,000.
A new set of gym bleachers was included in the cost. The new seats would be fixed to the wall, with a motor to roll them out. Forcella said that might be overkill. “We rarely would need the seating that we have,” he said. He suggested Howe look into bleachers Forcella has seen at other schools that roll around the gym and can be arranged in a variety of positions to meet different audience needs.
Also slated for renovation is the school auditorium, which could get new seating, carpeting and lighting.
Another issue is what Howe called a “thrust stage,” a homemade addition to the front of the stage that slants down and toward the audience. It was not a part of the original design of the stage and blocks several large air return vents, limiting the ventilation of the entire auditorium, Howe said.
As much as $1.7 million of the total cost would be for work outside the building, creating new parking spaces, re-grading the hill at the main entrance to the building and providing handicapped access to the track and soccer field.
McGovern suggested scaling that work back significantly, reworking the entrance to the school and paving a couple of dirt areas already used for parking. “You could save a million bucks right there,” he said.
‘Looks like a bargain’
In comparison to the $9.2 million high school, the $2.7 million Pond Cove additions appeared cheap to the group. “The elementary school looks like a bargain,” Forcella said.
A new two-story wing housing classrooms, arts and multi-purpose space would be constructed between the town fire station and the playground.
The primary focus of the addition will be to provide space for the kindergarten classes, which have previously been housed in the high school.
The addition is more straightforward, Howe said, because all of the space and fixtures will be new, and modifications will only be made to the existing building so that the new space connects well. The cost of the new wing will be $2.4 million.
An additional $267,000 would pay for a new art room off the connection corridor between the two major sections of the building. It would also offer a new entryway from the paved courtyard between the Thomas Memorial Library and the school.
The building committee had asked Howe to break out the cost of the art room from the cost of the new wing because the two spaces are not contiguous and would serve substantially different functions.
Setting priorities
A group including Prager, Forcella, School Board finance chair Elaine Moloney and high school administrators is expected to meet in early September to set priorities for the project, in terms of what work to do first, what to phase in over time, and what not to do at all.
Moloney said she wanted to know what would happen if things were cut from what she called “this grand scheme,” and whether there was a chance any of the work might get done in the next 20 years, the projected life of the renovation.
Forcella said no. “If we don’t put it in this plan, it’s not going to happen,” he said.
“This is the time to decide what we can live with,” Prager said, anticipating significant cuts.
McGovern said the middle school and Pond Cove renovation 10 years ago cost $11.7 million. He warned that traffic and parking will be an ongoing issue for the school buildings.
“At some point you’re going to need another exit out of the high school area,” he said.
He also said that though the numbers might look less scary when residents see how much debt the town is paying off each year, the schools will still need to “sell it to the council and sell it to the town.”
Cape town councilors have said in the past that they are likely to send the proposal to a referendum, though state law does not require them to.
In response to a question from Moloney, Howe said “marketing” of the plan should begin in October, when final numbers have been set.
Though the numbers may look large, Prager asked committee members to keep a cool head. “I think we shouldn’t freak out now,” she said.
Howe gave them “everything they want” in the proposal, and the time has come to make changes and cuts to the project.
“There’s a lot more here than we really need,” Prager said. But still, cuts won’t come easily. “This is going to be hard,” she said.
Cape readies for school start Aug. 29
Published in the Current
Cape Elizabeth schools are getting set for school to begin Aug. 29, and returning students will see a few changes this year.
At Pond Cove School, new playgrounds may be in place in time for school to start, or soon thereafter, according to Principal Tom Eismeier. Erik Nielsen will start as a permanent fourth-grade teacher, and two other new teachers will be filling in for people on leave, Eismeier said.
Some furniture has changed hands, too. “There was a fair amount of room switching,” he said.
At the middle school, the big news is the laptops, according to Principal Nancy Hutton. “We’re very excited,” she said. Laptop computers have arrived for the seventh graders and are being readied for distribution in the first couple of weeks of school.
Also new this year will be the week that seventh-graders go to Camp Kieve as part of their outdoor education program. Rather than after Thanksgiving, as in the past, Hutton said the trip will happen in October.
At the high school, the science curriculum is the largest change, with freshmen starting a new science class sequence, starting with physics and moving to chemistry, and biology in subsequent years, followed by a science elective senior year, said Principal Jeff Shedd.
This places a large load on the science teachers during the transition, in which juniors and freshmen will be studying physics, though they will use very different approaches, including different textbooks, mathematical complexities and experiments, Shedd said.
All high school teachers will have time off each week with other members of their departments, to work on assessment planning. “It will be a real stimulus
to teachers working together, ” Shedd said.
District-wide, teachers will continue to work on curriculum and professional development on their own time, said Superintendent Tom Forcella. The district is also beginning a partnership with a district in Pennsylvania and one in Missouri, to “move our districts to another level,” Forcella said.
The alliance, which Forcella said will expand to as many as four other districts in the eastern part of the U.S., is modeled on a similar program in several western states. The first meeting of the three districts will be in October, and will begin to address the issues schools have in common, aside from state funding issues commonly discussed at intra-state gatherings of schools. The idea is to make the districts stronger on a larger scale than just Maine, Forcella said.
“Our kids compete nationally and, eventually, globally,” he said.
Budget cuts also weigh on Forcella and school officials. Cape’s state funding for schools was cut by $40,000 over the summer, and Forcella thinks it’s not over yet. “This is just the beginning,” he said, noting that state budget deficit figures are projected to increase to as much as $1 billion in the next three years.
Forcella said the district has been hard-pressed to find qualified science, foreign language and special education teachers during the summer hiring processes. He said the problem is there are fewer applicants for available
positions, and added that many foreign language teacher training programs prepare people to teach high school students. Much of the need, especially in Cape Elizabeth, he said, is for primary-level foreign language teachers.
Cape Elizabeth schools are getting set for school to begin Aug. 29, and returning students will see a few changes this year.
At Pond Cove School, new playgrounds may be in place in time for school to start, or soon thereafter, according to Principal Tom Eismeier. Erik Nielsen will start as a permanent fourth-grade teacher, and two other new teachers will be filling in for people on leave, Eismeier said.
Some furniture has changed hands, too. “There was a fair amount of room switching,” he said.
At the middle school, the big news is the laptops, according to Principal Nancy Hutton. “We’re very excited,” she said. Laptop computers have arrived for the seventh graders and are being readied for distribution in the first couple of weeks of school.
Also new this year will be the week that seventh-graders go to Camp Kieve as part of their outdoor education program. Rather than after Thanksgiving, as in the past, Hutton said the trip will happen in October.
At the high school, the science curriculum is the largest change, with freshmen starting a new science class sequence, starting with physics and moving to chemistry, and biology in subsequent years, followed by a science elective senior year, said Principal Jeff Shedd.
This places a large load on the science teachers during the transition, in which juniors and freshmen will be studying physics, though they will use very different approaches, including different textbooks, mathematical complexities and experiments, Shedd said.
All high school teachers will have time off each week with other members of their departments, to work on assessment planning. “It will be a real stimulus
to teachers working together, ” Shedd said.
District-wide, teachers will continue to work on curriculum and professional development on their own time, said Superintendent Tom Forcella. The district is also beginning a partnership with a district in Pennsylvania and one in Missouri, to “move our districts to another level,” Forcella said.
The alliance, which Forcella said will expand to as many as four other districts in the eastern part of the U.S., is modeled on a similar program in several western states. The first meeting of the three districts will be in October, and will begin to address the issues schools have in common, aside from state funding issues commonly discussed at intra-state gatherings of schools. The idea is to make the districts stronger on a larger scale than just Maine, Forcella said.
“Our kids compete nationally and, eventually, globally,” he said.
Budget cuts also weigh on Forcella and school officials. Cape’s state funding for schools was cut by $40,000 over the summer, and Forcella thinks it’s not over yet. “This is just the beginning,” he said, noting that state budget deficit figures are projected to increase to as much as $1 billion in the next three years.
Forcella said the district has been hard-pressed to find qualified science, foreign language and special education teachers during the summer hiring processes. He said the problem is there are fewer applicants for available
positions, and added that many foreign language teacher training programs prepare people to teach high school students. Much of the need, especially in Cape Elizabeth, he said, is for primary-level foreign language teachers.
Idle teens clash with cops on Cape
Published in the Current; co-written with Brendan Moran
Cape Elizabeth Police Officer Mark Dorval was driving on Shore Road late one night in early June when he spotted several large dark objects blocking the road. He swerved and nearly hit them.
When he got out of his car, he found 10 rocks that had been removed from a wall at a Delano Park entrance. The largest rock weighed 120 pounds. Police
believe the rocks were laid across the road by teenagers and could have killed someone if police hadn’t discovered them first.
The rocks were just one example of what police and Town Manager Mike McGovern say has been a problem in Cape this summer: teenagers partying and vandalizing. Cape teenagers say they’re not always to blame; kids from other communities sometimes do the vandalism. They also complain they have nothing to do in town, and police spend most of their time chasing after them.
Although police and McGovern attributed most of the vandalism to a small percentage of the kids in town, they said it has been worse this year than in past years. “Every time (teenagers) tend to congregate, there are problems,” said Police Chief Neil Williams.
“I think the big problem is most officers see a group of kids and immediately think the kids are smoking pot and drinking,” said Joe Thornton, 18. “If you want to go hang out at (Kettle Cove) and you’re honestly not smoking or
drinking, I don’t think there’s a reason to be chasing us out of there.”
McGovern said he’s seen teenage criminal mischief go in cycles. Police dealt with a spike in teenage crime a couple years ago. Things have quieted down
since then. But this summer they’ve seen a resurgence.
Williams said police are making twice as many arrests this year as they were at this time last year. Calls to police that used to stop by 1 or 2 a.m. are continuing until 3:30 or 4 a.m.
McGovern did not want to describe all the vandalism that has occurred, because he is afraid other teenagers will copy the vandalism that has already been committed.
But in the last several months, cars have been broken into; mailboxes have been damaged; the Little League shack at Lions Field was damaged; the Snack Shack at Crescent Beach was broken into; two trees at the high school were chopped down; and the word “Stags,” the Cheverus mascot, was written with grass killer at the high school track.
“It’s all connected to kids partying and drinking,” said Detective Paul Fenton. “Anything that’s in their path home will be destroyed.”
Nothing to do
Teenagers who spoke to the Current didn’t deny that some party and some even vandalize property. They said part of the problem is that after dark neither teenagers or police have much to do in Cape.
They said teenagers from other towns have caused some of the vandalism. They also said that some teenagers vandalize property on the way home from parties that have been broken up by police.
“There really is nothing for teenagers to do in this town,” said Alex Herbert, 17. “So a lot of teenagers go out in the woods and start a fire and have a good time. And I think that kind of adds to the problem.”
“It’s not even Cape kids who do it,” said Anthony Struzziero, 15. “A lot of South Portland kids come into town and mess with stuff.”
Teenagers complained that police spend all their time going after them. They said police often pull over cars if they see that it’s full of teenagers. When they go to Kettle Cove or Fort Williams to party, they said, police go out of their way to find them, sometimes using a night-vision scope.
“I’ve been in an experience where what we were doing was wrong, but I felt cops going out of their way to find out what we were doing was (itself) wrong,” said Herbert.
“I think we’re unfairly targeted, just because they really don’t have anything else to do. There’s not enough real crime in this town,” said Sam McCarthy, 18.
But police feel like they have plenty to do. Williams said they’re getting so many calls on nights and weekends that they could use more officers at those
times.
“It’s difficult for police to pick on kids,” said Fenton. He said police are too busy with calls and patrols to go after kids who aren’t causing trouble. He also said breaking up parties limits noise complaints and prevents criminal activity that happens when parties end on their own.
“I feel even if they are targeting kids, there’s a reason to because lately there’s been a lot of property damage,” said Lindsay Tinsman, 19, the daughter of Dispatcher Greg Tinsman.
Nowhere to go
In June, the Cape Town Council ran into another rock, “the rock,” as it’s known, after residents who live across from it wrote a letter threatening legal action if the town didn’t curb the partying and graffiti. The residents, Dennis and Ann Flavin, complained the graffiti was ugly and often laden with obscenities.
They also complained that the graffiti writing was often accompanied by loud partying.
Some teenagers and parents, however, argued painting the rock was a tradition. While the tradition has been considered a positive one by many since teenagers painted a flag after Sept. 11, McGovern said in past years painting the rock has often been linked to drinking.
The Town Council decided to resolve the debate by having police crack down on activity at the rock after dark.
Now the rock has become one more place where kids can’t be after dark, perpetuating a pattern that has been in Cape for years. Teenagers get together in a place where they’re not supposed to be, and police ask them to move.
“That’s happened forever,” said McGovern. “But, you know, the folks down at Kettle Cove deserve their peace too.”
“They want a place to congregate, and there is no good place,” said Chief Williams.
The new Community Center will open later this month. But the center will be devoted mostly to seniors. And even if some of the space at the center were devoted to teens, it wouldn’t necessarily help.
“We’d still do the same stuff,” said Struzziero. “There would be less of it, but the kids who want to party will go out and party.”
“The mischief that happens in Cape, an awful lot of it happens between 1:30 and 3 a.m.,” said McGovern. “I don’t think there’s anything the town could provide at that time.”
Cape Elizabeth Police Officer Mark Dorval was driving on Shore Road late one night in early June when he spotted several large dark objects blocking the road. He swerved and nearly hit them.
When he got out of his car, he found 10 rocks that had been removed from a wall at a Delano Park entrance. The largest rock weighed 120 pounds. Police
believe the rocks were laid across the road by teenagers and could have killed someone if police hadn’t discovered them first.
The rocks were just one example of what police and Town Manager Mike McGovern say has been a problem in Cape this summer: teenagers partying and vandalizing. Cape teenagers say they’re not always to blame; kids from other communities sometimes do the vandalism. They also complain they have nothing to do in town, and police spend most of their time chasing after them.
Although police and McGovern attributed most of the vandalism to a small percentage of the kids in town, they said it has been worse this year than in past years. “Every time (teenagers) tend to congregate, there are problems,” said Police Chief Neil Williams.
“I think the big problem is most officers see a group of kids and immediately think the kids are smoking pot and drinking,” said Joe Thornton, 18. “If you want to go hang out at (Kettle Cove) and you’re honestly not smoking or
drinking, I don’t think there’s a reason to be chasing us out of there.”
McGovern said he’s seen teenage criminal mischief go in cycles. Police dealt with a spike in teenage crime a couple years ago. Things have quieted down
since then. But this summer they’ve seen a resurgence.
Williams said police are making twice as many arrests this year as they were at this time last year. Calls to police that used to stop by 1 or 2 a.m. are continuing until 3:30 or 4 a.m.
McGovern did not want to describe all the vandalism that has occurred, because he is afraid other teenagers will copy the vandalism that has already been committed.
But in the last several months, cars have been broken into; mailboxes have been damaged; the Little League shack at Lions Field was damaged; the Snack Shack at Crescent Beach was broken into; two trees at the high school were chopped down; and the word “Stags,” the Cheverus mascot, was written with grass killer at the high school track.
“It’s all connected to kids partying and drinking,” said Detective Paul Fenton. “Anything that’s in their path home will be destroyed.”
Nothing to do
Teenagers who spoke to the Current didn’t deny that some party and some even vandalize property. They said part of the problem is that after dark neither teenagers or police have much to do in Cape.
They said teenagers from other towns have caused some of the vandalism. They also said that some teenagers vandalize property on the way home from parties that have been broken up by police.
“There really is nothing for teenagers to do in this town,” said Alex Herbert, 17. “So a lot of teenagers go out in the woods and start a fire and have a good time. And I think that kind of adds to the problem.”
“It’s not even Cape kids who do it,” said Anthony Struzziero, 15. “A lot of South Portland kids come into town and mess with stuff.”
Teenagers complained that police spend all their time going after them. They said police often pull over cars if they see that it’s full of teenagers. When they go to Kettle Cove or Fort Williams to party, they said, police go out of their way to find them, sometimes using a night-vision scope.
“I’ve been in an experience where what we were doing was wrong, but I felt cops going out of their way to find out what we were doing was (itself) wrong,” said Herbert.
“I think we’re unfairly targeted, just because they really don’t have anything else to do. There’s not enough real crime in this town,” said Sam McCarthy, 18.
But police feel like they have plenty to do. Williams said they’re getting so many calls on nights and weekends that they could use more officers at those
times.
“It’s difficult for police to pick on kids,” said Fenton. He said police are too busy with calls and patrols to go after kids who aren’t causing trouble. He also said breaking up parties limits noise complaints and prevents criminal activity that happens when parties end on their own.
“I feel even if they are targeting kids, there’s a reason to because lately there’s been a lot of property damage,” said Lindsay Tinsman, 19, the daughter of Dispatcher Greg Tinsman.
Nowhere to go
In June, the Cape Town Council ran into another rock, “the rock,” as it’s known, after residents who live across from it wrote a letter threatening legal action if the town didn’t curb the partying and graffiti. The residents, Dennis and Ann Flavin, complained the graffiti was ugly and often laden with obscenities.
They also complained that the graffiti writing was often accompanied by loud partying.
Some teenagers and parents, however, argued painting the rock was a tradition. While the tradition has been considered a positive one by many since teenagers painted a flag after Sept. 11, McGovern said in past years painting the rock has often been linked to drinking.
The Town Council decided to resolve the debate by having police crack down on activity at the rock after dark.
Now the rock has become one more place where kids can’t be after dark, perpetuating a pattern that has been in Cape for years. Teenagers get together in a place where they’re not supposed to be, and police ask them to move.
“That’s happened forever,” said McGovern. “But, you know, the folks down at Kettle Cove deserve their peace too.”
“They want a place to congregate, and there is no good place,” said Chief Williams.
The new Community Center will open later this month. But the center will be devoted mostly to seniors. And even if some of the space at the center were devoted to teens, it wouldn’t necessarily help.
“We’d still do the same stuff,” said Struzziero. “There would be less of it, but the kids who want to party will go out and party.”
“The mischief that happens in Cape, an awful lot of it happens between 1:30 and 3 a.m.,” said McGovern. “I don’t think there’s anything the town could provide at that time.”
Thursday, August 15, 2002
Rabies watch on in Cape
Published in the Current
As 11 Cape residents, children and adults, continue treatment for possible exposure to rabies during a fox attack on a little girl at a Cape day-care center, residents and authorities remain cautious about further incidents.
The girl, a 2-1/2 year old, missed one day before returning to the Funny Farm Daycare on Old Ocean House Road, according to Lisa Rockwell, an owner of the business. The other children and adults are back at the day-care center as well, she said.
Cape police say they are watchful for rabid animals in town, but caution residents not to panic.
Capt. Brent Sinclair said last week’s incident is unusual. He said residents who see a nocturnal animal during daylight hours should go inside and call
the police, but said that outdoor recreation and relaxation are still safe.
Sinclair added that police will kill any wild animal that they suspect of being rabid, preferring to be on the safe side rather than wait for the animal to be
involved in an encounter with humans or pets.
The police station also has available rabies information fliers from the state Division of Disease Control. Police have gotten inquiries from members of the public concerned about rabies and rabid animals in town.
At a Town Council meeting Monday, council Chairman Jack Roberts said people should not be afraid to go outside, but suggested they consider carrying a stick with which to defend themselves should they encounter a rabid animal.
Geoff Beckett, an assistant state epidemiologist with the Maine Bureau of Health, said even with a recent rabid animal attack, such an incident is unlikely to recur. “It is unusual for people to be attacked by wild animals,” he said.
Beckett also said there have been no cases of humans contracting rabies after contact with raccoons, foxes, skunks or other land animals in the past 20 years. That is because people know they have been bitten, he said, and seek treatment.
There are, he said, fewer than three cases a year in which humans have unknowingly been infected with rabies, “virtually all” through contact with bats.
Beckett said that discussion of the strains of rabies virus, notably the distinctions between “fox rabies” and “raccoon rabies,” should be left to epidemiologists, as the effects on humans of either variety of the rabies virus is “exactly the same.”
The fox attack was not the first encounter between humans and rabid animals in Cape this year, though it was certainly the scariest.
On July 10, a rabid gray fox approached humans and dogs on a deck outside a residence near Two Lights State Park.
One dog and a human forced the fox off the deck and it retreated into nearby woods, where it was located and destroyed.
On July 17, two police officers shot a rabid raccoon several times as it showed aggression toward the,.
Animal Control Officer Bob Leeman warned residents to keep a close eye on their pets when outdoors and to take care even when walking pets on a leash. The aggressive nature of the rabid animals so far this year is a concern, he said, and people need to pay attention.
As 11 Cape residents, children and adults, continue treatment for possible exposure to rabies during a fox attack on a little girl at a Cape day-care center, residents and authorities remain cautious about further incidents.
The girl, a 2-1/2 year old, missed one day before returning to the Funny Farm Daycare on Old Ocean House Road, according to Lisa Rockwell, an owner of the business. The other children and adults are back at the day-care center as well, she said.
Cape police say they are watchful for rabid animals in town, but caution residents not to panic.
Capt. Brent Sinclair said last week’s incident is unusual. He said residents who see a nocturnal animal during daylight hours should go inside and call
the police, but said that outdoor recreation and relaxation are still safe.
Sinclair added that police will kill any wild animal that they suspect of being rabid, preferring to be on the safe side rather than wait for the animal to be
involved in an encounter with humans or pets.
The police station also has available rabies information fliers from the state Division of Disease Control. Police have gotten inquiries from members of the public concerned about rabies and rabid animals in town.
At a Town Council meeting Monday, council Chairman Jack Roberts said people should not be afraid to go outside, but suggested they consider carrying a stick with which to defend themselves should they encounter a rabid animal.
Geoff Beckett, an assistant state epidemiologist with the Maine Bureau of Health, said even with a recent rabid animal attack, such an incident is unlikely to recur. “It is unusual for people to be attacked by wild animals,” he said.
Beckett also said there have been no cases of humans contracting rabies after contact with raccoons, foxes, skunks or other land animals in the past 20 years. That is because people know they have been bitten, he said, and seek treatment.
There are, he said, fewer than three cases a year in which humans have unknowingly been infected with rabies, “virtually all” through contact with bats.
Beckett said that discussion of the strains of rabies virus, notably the distinctions between “fox rabies” and “raccoon rabies,” should be left to epidemiologists, as the effects on humans of either variety of the rabies virus is “exactly the same.”
The fox attack was not the first encounter between humans and rabid animals in Cape this year, though it was certainly the scariest.
On July 10, a rabid gray fox approached humans and dogs on a deck outside a residence near Two Lights State Park.
One dog and a human forced the fox off the deck and it retreated into nearby woods, where it was located and destroyed.
On July 17, two police officers shot a rabid raccoon several times as it showed aggression toward the,.
Animal Control Officer Bob Leeman warned residents to keep a close eye on their pets when outdoors and to take care even when walking pets on a leash. The aggressive nature of the rabid animals so far this year is a concern, he said, and people need to pay attention.
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