Published in the Current
Two Cape Elizabeth seniors have been suspended from their athletic teams in the wake of New Year’s Eve parties at the Sugarloaf ski area. The night’s events were called “a nightmare” by the local police chief, who criticized Cape Elizabeth parents for their lack of responsibility and concern for their kids.
Colin Malone, 18, a senior and one of two top scorers on the boys basketball team, and a 17-year-old senior on the boys ice hockey team, have been
kicked off their respective squads for violations of school policy and team rules.
A third Cape teen, a 17-year-old male, was the driver of a car involved in an accident near Sugarloaf in the early hours of Jan. 1, in which alcohol was a factor, according to Carrabassett Valley Police Chief Ron Moody. Four Cape teens were passengers in the car. The driver may face unspecified juvenile charges, Moody said.
Jim Ray, Malone’s coach, said Malone was “dismissed from the team” for “training rules violations.” High school Principal Jeff Shedd declined to comment, citing federal laws on student privacy.
Steve Ouellette, the hockey coach, refused to comment on his player’s situation and referred questions to Athletic Administrator Keith Weatherbie. Weatherbie did not return phone calls from the Current.
Malone’s parents declined to comment. The hockey player confirmed that he was off the team for the season, but declined further comment.
Big night for partying
The parties that caused all the trouble took place New Year’s Eve near the Sugarloaf/USA ski area.
Sugarloaf hosts a large New Year’s party each year, including a fireworks display. A Cape teenager who was at Sugarloaf that evening told the Current many of the kids started there, but when the weather turned bad – it was cold with freezing rain – they went back to hotel rooms and condos kids had rented.
“We had a number of Cape Elizabeth students up here,” Moody said.
Between 75 and 100 kids, all between the ages of 14 and 18, he said, “were up here partying and drinking.”
Around 9 p.m., Moody’s department received several noise complaints from occupants of hotel rooms and condos near the parties, which were in a hotel near Sugarloaf’s base and a condominium complex adjoining the ski area.
One Cape teen told the Current the hotel manager wanted to kick some kids out of a room they had rented, but ended up not doing it. When police
responded, they found a big party in progress. “We found a lot of people in the area with liquor and no adult supervision,” Moody said.
Police recovered between 150 and 200 cans and bottles of beer and liquor. Most of the containers were full, Moody said.
As officers rounded up and identified partiers, “parents were attempted to be called,” Moody said. Many parents refused to come up and pick up their children, he said, citing distance and weather. There was freezing rain that night in the Greater Portland area.
“We became the babysitting service for Cape Elizabeth, basically,” Moody said.
Officers focused on breaking up the party, but were able to identify 30 kids, all from Cape Elizabeth. Many of them had nowhere to stay. “They were staying in cars, in stairwells. It was somewhat of a nightmare,” Moody said.
The Cape teen said that many kids did not have their own places to stay, but were expecting to “crash” with friends in their lodgings.
Parents uninformed, irresponsible
When Moody spoke to parents, most of them thought their children did have a place to stay, despite Moody’s insistence that this was untrue.
“I didn’t get a very good response,” he said.
He also was not impressed by the way the party seemed to have been organized. His investigation indicated that 18-year-olds had reserved condos and hotel rooms, and invited as many people as they could up to the mountain. “Everybody was coming up here to party,” Moody said.
He did not find evidence that parents checked out their kids’ plans for the holiday.
“I didn’t think it was very responsible of the parents to let their kids come here without adult supervision,” Moody said.
And despite the bad weather, Moody, himself a parent, expected more concern from Cape parents. “I would hope that their parents would all come up to pick them up,” he said, but his first preference would have been that the parties never happened.
“My hope is that they would have controlled their children,” Moody said. “I don’t think the parents did a very good job” of finding out where their kids were actually staying, or ensuring that there would be supervision.
“They need to research where their children are going.”
Moody said his community, which has only 325 year-round residents, does not usually have this sort of problem. When large groups visit, which is common, “they come with adults or chaperones,” Moody said.
In this case, because parents were not present, the parties were out of control. So was at least one car. A car one Cape teen was driving, with four passengers inside, “went out of the road, hit a snowbank and tore off the front tire,” Moody said.
“We don’t want to end up with a Tukey’s Bridge situation,” Moody said, referring to a Jan. 13, 2002, accident in which three teenagers died as a result of a drunk teen driver.
“I just think (Cape parents) need to be a little bit more parental.”
Publicity a problem
The school department was unhappy about the press the incident received, particularly the naming of Malone. Superintendent Tom Forcella said the publication of Malone’s name in both the Current and the Portland Press Herald was “unprofessional.”
Both newspapers reported statements from coach Ray, who told reporters and his team that Malone, the team’s second-leading scorer, was off the team because he violated the school’s alcohol policy at Sugarlof over New Year’s.
Ray himself may be regretting speaking publicly. “We were really not looking for the publicity,” he told the Current. “(Malone) has been terribly hurt by this. It’s hurt the fans, the team.”
The Cape School Board met in an hour-long executive session Tuesday with Malone’s parents. The Malones declined to comment after the executive session ended.
A Cape parent who was in the room but was asked to leave when the executive session began expressed frustration that the board had the power to exclude the public from its discussions. He was concerned that the athletes had been kicked off their teams, and had expected “a community meeting” with a lot of adults present to discuss the issue. He was the only member of the public to attend the meeting.
Thursday, January 16, 2003
Cape could delay school project
Published in the Current; co-written with Kate Irish Collins
The Cape Town Council is questioning whether a $9.2 million renovation of the high school and Pond Cove School should be delayed until the economy improves.
With the economy tight, and deficits mounting at the state level, schools are expecting a reduction in aid to education.
“This could not come at a worse time financially when we are expecting further reductions in state aid,” Council Finance Chairman Mary Ann Lynch told the Current in an interview.
But Lynch, who is also the council liaison to the school building committee, said there is no question in her mind that the kindergarten should be moved to Pond Cove School.
“We do need to do that at some point,” Lynch said.
“In the end the School Board may be faced with the question of what is more important – the buildings or programs,” Lynch said. “While there is no question of need, the council has to ask: Would it be more responsible to wait awhile?”
The Town Council and School Board are scheduled to hold a joint workshop on Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 7:30 p.m., in the new Community Center to discuss the renovation project.
Of the $9.2 million, the School Board proposes to spend $1.1 million for a one-story, five-classroom expansion at Pond Cove and $7.7 million renovating the aging high school. The idea is to move the kindergarten out of the high school and into Pond Cove and renovate the high school, including new science labs, an expanded cafeteria, a new gym floor, new roofing and upgrades to the mechanical and electrical systems.
Next Tuesday’s meeting is the first formal report to the council on the scope and goals of the school building projects.
“The focus of the meeting is going to be on the whys,” said Marie Prager, who is both chairman of the School Board and chairman of the building committee.
The goal of the meeting, Prager said, is to “get the town councilors on board” and to show them that “these projects need to be done.”
Lynch said there is still some time between when the council has to decide whether to fund one or both school projects or whether to send the issue out to referendum.
“We do have some time to try to make the most responsible decision for the town and for the kids,” she said. “It will be interesting to see how the other councilors react and a lot of what may happen will depend on what the School Board asks of us.”
At a School Board meeting held Jan. 14, Prager said she would not address specifics of a timetable with the council next week. “We don’t want to push
them,” she said. However, she added, “in the fall of 2004, we need the kindergartners out of the high school, one way or another. If a building isn’t complete by then, it could mean portable classrooms.”
“We need their support before we take it to the community,” Prager said of the council.
Council Chairman Jack Roberts said in an interview that there is a lot of concern on the part of councilors about just how badly the town is going to be hit with reductions in state aid.
“It would be difficult to take on new debt, but it would be premature to say the project is dead in the water. I think it’s more an issue of timing,” Roberts said.
“The meeting with the School Board is obviously an opportunity for them to present the project to the council. An actual decision is still ahead of us, but
it will be based on the overall need and the consequences if we don’t take action,” Roberts added.
Town Manager Mike McGovern said, “I think there are two questions from the council’s point of view.” One is whether the projects need to be done and the other, he said, is when.
At the council’s regular monthly meeting on Monday, McGovern presented a financial benchmark study of where the town stands in overall spending against 50 other towns that responded to a survey conducted by the Maine Municipal Association.
The study showed that Cape is number one in educational spending and in spending on parks and recreation.
“One of the council’s goals was to benchmark our costs with other communities around the state. The study was an attempt to evaluate areas for possible spending reductions,” McGovern said after the meeting. The study also showed that Cape has among the highest property tax burden on individuals in the state partly because the town has virtually no commercial base.
The Cape Town Council is questioning whether a $9.2 million renovation of the high school and Pond Cove School should be delayed until the economy improves.
With the economy tight, and deficits mounting at the state level, schools are expecting a reduction in aid to education.
“This could not come at a worse time financially when we are expecting further reductions in state aid,” Council Finance Chairman Mary Ann Lynch told the Current in an interview.
But Lynch, who is also the council liaison to the school building committee, said there is no question in her mind that the kindergarten should be moved to Pond Cove School.
“We do need to do that at some point,” Lynch said.
“In the end the School Board may be faced with the question of what is more important – the buildings or programs,” Lynch said. “While there is no question of need, the council has to ask: Would it be more responsible to wait awhile?”
The Town Council and School Board are scheduled to hold a joint workshop on Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 7:30 p.m., in the new Community Center to discuss the renovation project.
Of the $9.2 million, the School Board proposes to spend $1.1 million for a one-story, five-classroom expansion at Pond Cove and $7.7 million renovating the aging high school. The idea is to move the kindergarten out of the high school and into Pond Cove and renovate the high school, including new science labs, an expanded cafeteria, a new gym floor, new roofing and upgrades to the mechanical and electrical systems.
Next Tuesday’s meeting is the first formal report to the council on the scope and goals of the school building projects.
“The focus of the meeting is going to be on the whys,” said Marie Prager, who is both chairman of the School Board and chairman of the building committee.
The goal of the meeting, Prager said, is to “get the town councilors on board” and to show them that “these projects need to be done.”
Lynch said there is still some time between when the council has to decide whether to fund one or both school projects or whether to send the issue out to referendum.
“We do have some time to try to make the most responsible decision for the town and for the kids,” she said. “It will be interesting to see how the other councilors react and a lot of what may happen will depend on what the School Board asks of us.”
At a School Board meeting held Jan. 14, Prager said she would not address specifics of a timetable with the council next week. “We don’t want to push
them,” she said. However, she added, “in the fall of 2004, we need the kindergartners out of the high school, one way or another. If a building isn’t complete by then, it could mean portable classrooms.”
“We need their support before we take it to the community,” Prager said of the council.
Council Chairman Jack Roberts said in an interview that there is a lot of concern on the part of councilors about just how badly the town is going to be hit with reductions in state aid.
“It would be difficult to take on new debt, but it would be premature to say the project is dead in the water. I think it’s more an issue of timing,” Roberts said.
“The meeting with the School Board is obviously an opportunity for them to present the project to the council. An actual decision is still ahead of us, but
it will be based on the overall need and the consequences if we don’t take action,” Roberts added.
Town Manager Mike McGovern said, “I think there are two questions from the council’s point of view.” One is whether the projects need to be done and the other, he said, is when.
At the council’s regular monthly meeting on Monday, McGovern presented a financial benchmark study of where the town stands in overall spending against 50 other towns that responded to a survey conducted by the Maine Municipal Association.
The study showed that Cape is number one in educational spending and in spending on parks and recreation.
“One of the council’s goals was to benchmark our costs with other communities around the state. The study was an attempt to evaluate areas for possible spending reductions,” McGovern said after the meeting. The study also showed that Cape has among the highest property tax burden on individuals in the state partly because the town has virtually no commercial base.
Thursday, January 9, 2003
Diversity university - Idea: Alliance for Cultural Theater
Published in the Portland Phoenix
Maine’s thriving theater community lacks one element: ethnic diversity. In addition to Native Americans, Maine has a growing community of non-whites, including Somalis, Sudanese, Cambodians and other Africans and Asians, as well as a fair few Hispanics.
Maine’s thriving theater community lacks one element: ethnic diversity. In addition to Native Americans, Maine has a growing community of non-whites, including Somalis, Sudanese, Cambodians and other Africans and Asians, as well as a fair few Hispanics.
The problem: There is no forum to learn more. I go to Center for Cultural Exchange events and feel like a spectator: Amazingly talented artists and community members show up, do their thing and then — we all go home. Unless you’re a student in the city’s schools, there is no opportunity to really understand the context in which our immigrant neighbors view performance, and the role it plays in their lives.
And while performing arts are different things to different cultures, I still think there is a way to provide context and storytelling around the traditional performing arts of a culture.
An ongoing, working theater company could explore the experience of being a member of a minority group in Maine and in the US, and handle challenging topics of life, work, and politics, much in the way Mbongeni Ngema’s South African story Sarafina! did (and does).
Name: Alliance for Cultural Theater. (Not only concise, it makes a good acronym.)
Funding: ACT would have to be a registered nonprofit organization to take maximum advantage of funding options. A quick Internet search using the terms “Maine theater arts funding” turns up a large number of potential funding sources.
Taking only donors targeting both arts and ethnic diversity, and with recent donations to ethnic and theater projects in Maine, results in a short list of likely candidates: Maine Arts Commission, Libra Foundation, Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, LL Bean’s charitable foundation (limited to projects in Portland, Freeport, Brunswick, and Lewiston), and FleetBoston Financial Foundation. Other possible donors could be the Maine Community Foundation and the Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust.
Location: There are two professional-grade stages ripe for this exact type of project: the St. Lawrence Arts and Community Center on Munjoy Hill and the Portland Performing Arts Center on Forest Avenue, owned and managed by the Portland Stage Company.
“It would be totally possible, not even in a hypothetical sense,” says Deirdre Nice of the St. Lawrence. “It would be nice if something like that did happen. Certainly the St. Lawrence would be very welcoming to this sort of group.”
PSC Artistic Director Anita Stewart is welcoming, but concerned about the authenticity of the project. “I’d be very leery of getting involved . . . if I felt we were colonizing,” Stewart says. She suggests assembling a group of artists of different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds, and seeing what sprung from that gathering.
Building connections between people and between communities, she said, would be very valuable. “There are not relationships” right now, Stewart says. Maine’s professional theater community has a lot to learn as well. “I should know who the Somali artists in our community are, and I don’t,” she says.
Leadership: Finding a project organizer was the big challenge identified by most people interviewed about the idea of ACT. Several names came up as possible leads, but none of the people could be contacted by deadline time. Portland High School’s theater program was mentioned specifically as a possible location to begin looking for potential leaders.
“I think whoever it is wouldn’t necessarily need to have a lot of experience in diversity issues to begin with, because there are a lot of resources they could tap into,” says Stacy Begin, managing director of the Children’s Theatre of Maine, which has launched a well-received Diversity Series exploring issues of race and ethnicity in Maine.
Value: This part was the easiest to come by. Not only is multiculturalism something of a buzzword these days, but everyone I spoke to shared some measure of desire to learn more about the immigrant experience in Maine.
Attendance: Most attendees at the CTM Diversity Series are white, Begin says, but others are, she said, “coming to see if we got it right.” The series also puts on matinees for local schools. Students from Reiche came and watched The Diary of Anne Frank not long ago, with results that surprised and pleased Begin: “The kids who are immigrants could really, really relate.” It is that sort of cross-cultural dynamic that ACT could build on.
Overall possibility: “It can be done. You just have to be — as we found out — willing to go the extra mile,” Begin says. Promotional materials and casting-call notices must be translated into different languages and posted in gathering spots for different ethnic communities.
Credibility is also an issue. “It’s going to take a while, because you’re going to have to win the trust of the immigrant community,” Begin says. The Center for Cultural Exchange has a lot of connections and resources that could be very useful in that effort, she says.
If such a theater company did grow from within the immigrant communities in Maine, Begin says, she would be especially fascinated to see what they made of their group. “What an education for all of us.”
Grants bring digital cameras into Cape classrooms
Published in the Current
Second-graders in Cape Elizabeth are getting photographed far more often now. Teacher Sarah Lewis got a grant from the Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation to buy a Nikon digital camera, and it’s getting a lot of use.
So far, the project is a “work in progress,” Lewis said, with various teachers trying out ways they can use the camera in their classes.
Lewis has used a camera before, documenting a project she did while on sabbatical last year taking graduate classes.
She needs a refresher on how to put text together with photos for a words-and-pictures slide show, but so far has put together several slide shows displaying students in various stages of classroom activities.
The second-grade teachers will have a training session with district Technology Coordinator Gary Lanoie in the next week, to learn more about what the camera can do, as well as ways to work with the images once they are downloaded to teachers’ computers.
Once Lewis re-learns how to put text with photos, she wants to pass that knowledge on to her students. “I ideally would like to be able to show the kids how to do that, so we could make slide shows together,” Lewis said.
Other second-grade teachers are using the camera as well. Teacher Rindi Martin has pictures of her students doing a “Readers’ Theater,” in which kids
learn to read expressively. She can show the students what others were doing, and offer feedback on where to hold the script, posture, gestures and other aspects of their performance. “I thought that it brought another whole level to what they were doing,” Martin said.
Later in the year, Martin will also photograph a process of making paper that her students do each year. In future years, using the photos, she will be better able to prepare students for the project.
“They could view it before we actually sit down and did the paper-making,” Martin said. “I think visually kids are much more apt to remember things,” she said.
Using the camera also can help keep kids motivated, Lewis said. She has her students do a book project each year and will use the camera to take author photos for their “about the author” pages, as well as using photos to illustrate parts of some books.
That may get some students more interested in the project than they might otherwise have been, which she said would be a big payoff for a small investment.
The next step, Lewis and Martin agreed, is an overhead projector. Now, students can only view the photos on a computer screen, making it hard to do group projects or show a large group a set of photos.
The camera is also making itself useful for teachers’ professional development. Teachers at Pond Cove School are reviewing each other’s teaching methods using a Japanese-style lesson study method, in which a group of teachers construct a lesson and then watch it being taught by one of the group.
When Lewis recently demonstrated a lesson, in front of eight adults and a class of second-graders, Martin was there taking pictures.
Immediately after the lesson was concluded, Lewis was able to see how it worked and watch her own gestures, which she said was valuable feedback to get immediately.
“The more we use it, the more it’ll happen,” Martin said.
Other uses are appearing all the time. Lewis put a photo in her most recent weekly newsletter home to parents and plans to do more of that, allowing parents to get a glimpse of life in the classroom.
Lewis is grateful for the support of the education foundation and expects more teachers will take advantage of the resources as they become familiar with the benefits other teachers are finding from grant money. The foundation, formed last year, raises private funds to support innovative projects in Cape schools.
“I think it’s a wonderful thing that they’re doing,” Lewis said.
She said she would next think about applying for a grant to take a field trip. Excursion money was cut from the tight school budget last year and is unlikely to be reinstated in this year’s budget process, expected to be at least as difficult.
Field trips, she said, are “a real void taken out of our curriculum and practices of the past,” and could be available again through CEEF money.
Fourth-grade teacher Ogden Williams did just that, recently taking a number of students to Norlands Living History Center in Livermore using foundation money, which paid not only for the trip but also other resources to support the lessons learned at Norlands.
Second-graders in Cape Elizabeth are getting photographed far more often now. Teacher Sarah Lewis got a grant from the Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation to buy a Nikon digital camera, and it’s getting a lot of use.
So far, the project is a “work in progress,” Lewis said, with various teachers trying out ways they can use the camera in their classes.
Lewis has used a camera before, documenting a project she did while on sabbatical last year taking graduate classes.
She needs a refresher on how to put text together with photos for a words-and-pictures slide show, but so far has put together several slide shows displaying students in various stages of classroom activities.
The second-grade teachers will have a training session with district Technology Coordinator Gary Lanoie in the next week, to learn more about what the camera can do, as well as ways to work with the images once they are downloaded to teachers’ computers.
Once Lewis re-learns how to put text with photos, she wants to pass that knowledge on to her students. “I ideally would like to be able to show the kids how to do that, so we could make slide shows together,” Lewis said.
Other second-grade teachers are using the camera as well. Teacher Rindi Martin has pictures of her students doing a “Readers’ Theater,” in which kids
learn to read expressively. She can show the students what others were doing, and offer feedback on where to hold the script, posture, gestures and other aspects of their performance. “I thought that it brought another whole level to what they were doing,” Martin said.
Later in the year, Martin will also photograph a process of making paper that her students do each year. In future years, using the photos, she will be better able to prepare students for the project.
“They could view it before we actually sit down and did the paper-making,” Martin said. “I think visually kids are much more apt to remember things,” she said.
Using the camera also can help keep kids motivated, Lewis said. She has her students do a book project each year and will use the camera to take author photos for their “about the author” pages, as well as using photos to illustrate parts of some books.
That may get some students more interested in the project than they might otherwise have been, which she said would be a big payoff for a small investment.
The next step, Lewis and Martin agreed, is an overhead projector. Now, students can only view the photos on a computer screen, making it hard to do group projects or show a large group a set of photos.
The camera is also making itself useful for teachers’ professional development. Teachers at Pond Cove School are reviewing each other’s teaching methods using a Japanese-style lesson study method, in which a group of teachers construct a lesson and then watch it being taught by one of the group.
When Lewis recently demonstrated a lesson, in front of eight adults and a class of second-graders, Martin was there taking pictures.
Immediately after the lesson was concluded, Lewis was able to see how it worked and watch her own gestures, which she said was valuable feedback to get immediately.
“The more we use it, the more it’ll happen,” Martin said.
Other uses are appearing all the time. Lewis put a photo in her most recent weekly newsletter home to parents and plans to do more of that, allowing parents to get a glimpse of life in the classroom.
Lewis is grateful for the support of the education foundation and expects more teachers will take advantage of the resources as they become familiar with the benefits other teachers are finding from grant money. The foundation, formed last year, raises private funds to support innovative projects in Cape schools.
“I think it’s a wonderful thing that they’re doing,” Lewis said.
She said she would next think about applying for a grant to take a field trip. Excursion money was cut from the tight school budget last year and is unlikely to be reinstated in this year’s budget process, expected to be at least as difficult.
Field trips, she said, are “a real void taken out of our curriculum and practices of the past,” and could be available again through CEEF money.
Fourth-grade teacher Ogden Williams did just that, recently taking a number of students to Norlands Living History Center in Livermore using foundation money, which paid not only for the trip but also other resources to support the lessons learned at Norlands.
Cape studies high school traffic jam
Published in the Current
Cape officials and residents are again addressing the issue of traffic at the high school entrance, but this time are assembling a team of people to study the problem and recommend a solution.
In some ways, it’s the same old story. Each morning for years, from 7:25 to 7:40 a.m., and each afternoon, from 1:55 to 2:10 p.m., traffic backs up around the intersection leading to Cape Elizabeth High School.
“It’s an old problem,” said Beth Currier, vice president of the High School Parents Association. The group is drafting a letter to Police Chief Neil Williams asking for his department’s help with the problem.
But Williams, Town Manager Mike McGovern and school Superintendent Tom Forcella are already on the case.
A “steering committee” is being formed, Williams said, “to look at the problem and come up with any suggestions.” A final recommendation, he said, could be anything from doing nothing to a big change. “Everything’s on the table,” Williams said.
Among the possibilities is the oft-floated idea of having a police officer at the intersection during those two short peak-traffic times.
It has come up before, and Williams has said he doesn’t have the staff to handle that on top of regular duties. Currier recognizes that, but wants to open the dialogue all the same.
“It would help the kids slow down,” she said.
Sometimes there is an officer parked in the Community Services parking lot when school lets out. “When that guy is sitting there, boy do those kids slow down. They stop at the stop sign,” Currier said.
Some parents, she said, have suggested having a parent stand at the intersection, to provide some level of adult supervision. A traffic light also has been mentioned, but was dismissed without much discussion by the parents group, Currier said.
The intersection itself contributes to the problem. Turning to head north on Route 77 is “a tough left anyway,” even when there’s not much traffic, Currier said.
High school principal Jeff Shedd said more direction or a traffic light might help. A big part of the problem for him is “there’s only one way in and one way out,” he said.
More students do have cars than in the past, Shedd said, which increases traffic volume from year to year. It also puts pressure on the school’s parking, but 100 additional spaces in the proposed high school renovation project should alleviate that problem, Shedd said.
Forcella said the traffic problem worsens as the school year progresses and more students get their driver’s licenses.
Parents’ wishes also play into it. “The high school buses in the morning are quite early,” Currier said. Many parents prefer to drop their kids off at school, rather than having them get out the door earlier to make the bus.
Forcella said the group would be made up of two members of the Town Council, two School Board members, a parent, a community member, Williams and Forcella himself.
They will discuss what the problem is in terms of safety at the intersection, traffic tie-ups and the process of entering and leaving the school. “There are a lot of different pieces to this,” Forcella said. And the group will recommend a solution to the Town Council.
From Williams’s perspective, one part of the problem is the confluence of schedules. “Nobody wants to come early,” Williams said. Students who drive want to get to school as close to starting time as possible, while parents
drop off their kids just in the nick of time too.
“Everybody wants to get there at 7:30,” Williams said.
Cape officials and residents are again addressing the issue of traffic at the high school entrance, but this time are assembling a team of people to study the problem and recommend a solution.
In some ways, it’s the same old story. Each morning for years, from 7:25 to 7:40 a.m., and each afternoon, from 1:55 to 2:10 p.m., traffic backs up around the intersection leading to Cape Elizabeth High School.
“It’s an old problem,” said Beth Currier, vice president of the High School Parents Association. The group is drafting a letter to Police Chief Neil Williams asking for his department’s help with the problem.
But Williams, Town Manager Mike McGovern and school Superintendent Tom Forcella are already on the case.
A “steering committee” is being formed, Williams said, “to look at the problem and come up with any suggestions.” A final recommendation, he said, could be anything from doing nothing to a big change. “Everything’s on the table,” Williams said.
Among the possibilities is the oft-floated idea of having a police officer at the intersection during those two short peak-traffic times.
It has come up before, and Williams has said he doesn’t have the staff to handle that on top of regular duties. Currier recognizes that, but wants to open the dialogue all the same.
“It would help the kids slow down,” she said.
Sometimes there is an officer parked in the Community Services parking lot when school lets out. “When that guy is sitting there, boy do those kids slow down. They stop at the stop sign,” Currier said.
Some parents, she said, have suggested having a parent stand at the intersection, to provide some level of adult supervision. A traffic light also has been mentioned, but was dismissed without much discussion by the parents group, Currier said.
The intersection itself contributes to the problem. Turning to head north on Route 77 is “a tough left anyway,” even when there’s not much traffic, Currier said.
High school principal Jeff Shedd said more direction or a traffic light might help. A big part of the problem for him is “there’s only one way in and one way out,” he said.
More students do have cars than in the past, Shedd said, which increases traffic volume from year to year. It also puts pressure on the school’s parking, but 100 additional spaces in the proposed high school renovation project should alleviate that problem, Shedd said.
Forcella said the traffic problem worsens as the school year progresses and more students get their driver’s licenses.
Parents’ wishes also play into it. “The high school buses in the morning are quite early,” Currier said. Many parents prefer to drop their kids off at school, rather than having them get out the door earlier to make the bus.
Forcella said the group would be made up of two members of the Town Council, two School Board members, a parent, a community member, Williams and Forcella himself.
They will discuss what the problem is in terms of safety at the intersection, traffic tie-ups and the process of entering and leaving the school. “There are a lot of different pieces to this,” Forcella said. And the group will recommend a solution to the Town Council.
From Williams’s perspective, one part of the problem is the confluence of schedules. “Nobody wants to come early,” Williams said. Students who drive want to get to school as close to starting time as possible, while parents
drop off their kids just in the nick of time too.
“Everybody wants to get there at 7:30,” Williams said.
Chase over for animal control officer
Published in the Current
Cape Elizabeth Animal Control Officer Bob Leeman, a resident of Windham, will hang up his leash Jan. 10.
It will be his second retirement. The first was in 1988, after 27 years with the Portland Fire Department. Leeman was born in Portland and grew up in South Portland, the son of a town firefighter. He left high school to join the Marine Corps but was discharged shortly after entering boot camp, for medical reasons. “I fought it all the way,” Leeman said.
He headed for another public-service job: firefighting in the state’s largest city.
When he retired from Portland, Leeman worked briefly as a newspaper distributer before getting laid off. He entered a government unemployment program and learned a lot of new skills – everything from computers to business management.
“I was taking all kinds of classes,” Leeman said. In 1994, he was about to finish the program when the Cape job came up. He landed the job and then took his exams. What he most remembered, though, was the luncheon at the Black Point Inn, recognizing him as the student of the year.
“It was quite an honor,” Leeman said. He keeps the certificate framed on his wall at home.
In August 1994, he started at Cape Elizabeth. The job is both animal control and “utility officer,” which means custodial work, errands, making coffee and a variety of other duties.
“Anything needed doing, I did it,” Leeman said.
He did such a good job cleaning the old police station – now torn down and replaced with the new one – that he earned an award, the pin which he still wears proudly above his name tag.
He went to state classes on being an animal control officer, and specialized classes on rabies.
“It’s paid off out there,” Leeman said. “We’ve still got it in full force.”
Other towns, he said, don’t have a rabies problem as bad as Cape’s. In this town, “everybody’s backyard is woods,” Leeman said. There are a lot of wild animals, and they live near where humans live.
In the past couple of years, the raccoon and skunk populations have dropped, but the winter of 2001-2002 was a mild one, leading to large litters statewide. Cape’s populations doubled.
Unwanted domestic animals add to his troubles. “Everybody seems to think the Cape’s a good place to dump their cats or kittens,” Leeman said.
This year, he found two moms and six kittens dumped by the Rod and Gun Club, living on the back deck of a nearby house. He was able to capture them all alive and found homes for the kittens, but not the cats. “Cats are hard to place. Kittens are easy,” Leeman said.
With all his time handling a wide range of animals, Leeman is lucky. “I’ve never been bit,” he said. There’s no magic to it, he said, or perhaps there is. “They all like me, that’s all.”
His days have started early, with a 3 a.m. alarm. He had to be at work at 4:30 a.m., or rather, he chose to be.
“They let me pick my hours,” Leeman said. He cleans the fire station, which is easier done when nobody is around, and then heads over to the police station, where he puts on coffee for the oncoming shift and cleans the interior of the patrol cars during shift change.
It’s time for his shift to change now. He and his wife live with one of their sons in Windham, but are heading to Florida to see two of their other sons for a while.
They’ll take their fifth-wheel trailer and set it up on family land down there. There’s good fishing nearby, and work, too. His oldest son does swimming pool work and now keeps the business records by hand on paper. Leeman will computerize the record-keeping system and also integrate maps, so workers can easily find their way between pool locations.
He will miss his work in Cape, though. “I’ve enjoyed it,” Leeman said. “I’m one that loves animals.”
Leeman’s replacement, 19-year-old Kristopher Kennedy of Cape, a Cheverus graduate now studying business at USM, will take over Leeman’s duties Jan. 13, Police Chief Neil Williams said. Kennedy is a member of the fire department and also drives an ambulance.
Williams said the department is looking forward to having Kennedy come aboard, and wished Leeman well. “He deserves a retirement,” Williams said. “It’s always nice to see somebody enjoy their retirement.”
Leeman has advice for Kennedy: “If you treat people with respect you’ll get the results that you’re looking for.” Leeman said he has gotten a lot of satisfaction out of the job, from thank-you notes to waves on the street as he drives by.
“I’m going to miss it,” Leeman said.
Cape Elizabeth Animal Control Officer Bob Leeman, a resident of Windham, will hang up his leash Jan. 10.
It will be his second retirement. The first was in 1988, after 27 years with the Portland Fire Department. Leeman was born in Portland and grew up in South Portland, the son of a town firefighter. He left high school to join the Marine Corps but was discharged shortly after entering boot camp, for medical reasons. “I fought it all the way,” Leeman said.
He headed for another public-service job: firefighting in the state’s largest city.
When he retired from Portland, Leeman worked briefly as a newspaper distributer before getting laid off. He entered a government unemployment program and learned a lot of new skills – everything from computers to business management.
“I was taking all kinds of classes,” Leeman said. In 1994, he was about to finish the program when the Cape job came up. He landed the job and then took his exams. What he most remembered, though, was the luncheon at the Black Point Inn, recognizing him as the student of the year.
“It was quite an honor,” Leeman said. He keeps the certificate framed on his wall at home.
In August 1994, he started at Cape Elizabeth. The job is both animal control and “utility officer,” which means custodial work, errands, making coffee and a variety of other duties.
“Anything needed doing, I did it,” Leeman said.
He did such a good job cleaning the old police station – now torn down and replaced with the new one – that he earned an award, the pin which he still wears proudly above his name tag.
He went to state classes on being an animal control officer, and specialized classes on rabies.
“It’s paid off out there,” Leeman said. “We’ve still got it in full force.”
Other towns, he said, don’t have a rabies problem as bad as Cape’s. In this town, “everybody’s backyard is woods,” Leeman said. There are a lot of wild animals, and they live near where humans live.
In the past couple of years, the raccoon and skunk populations have dropped, but the winter of 2001-2002 was a mild one, leading to large litters statewide. Cape’s populations doubled.
Unwanted domestic animals add to his troubles. “Everybody seems to think the Cape’s a good place to dump their cats or kittens,” Leeman said.
This year, he found two moms and six kittens dumped by the Rod and Gun Club, living on the back deck of a nearby house. He was able to capture them all alive and found homes for the kittens, but not the cats. “Cats are hard to place. Kittens are easy,” Leeman said.
With all his time handling a wide range of animals, Leeman is lucky. “I’ve never been bit,” he said. There’s no magic to it, he said, or perhaps there is. “They all like me, that’s all.”
His days have started early, with a 3 a.m. alarm. He had to be at work at 4:30 a.m., or rather, he chose to be.
“They let me pick my hours,” Leeman said. He cleans the fire station, which is easier done when nobody is around, and then heads over to the police station, where he puts on coffee for the oncoming shift and cleans the interior of the patrol cars during shift change.
It’s time for his shift to change now. He and his wife live with one of their sons in Windham, but are heading to Florida to see two of their other sons for a while.
They’ll take their fifth-wheel trailer and set it up on family land down there. There’s good fishing nearby, and work, too. His oldest son does swimming pool work and now keeps the business records by hand on paper. Leeman will computerize the record-keeping system and also integrate maps, so workers can easily find their way between pool locations.
He will miss his work in Cape, though. “I’ve enjoyed it,” Leeman said. “I’m one that loves animals.”
Leeman’s replacement, 19-year-old Kristopher Kennedy of Cape, a Cheverus graduate now studying business at USM, will take over Leeman’s duties Jan. 13, Police Chief Neil Williams said. Kennedy is a member of the fire department and also drives an ambulance.
Williams said the department is looking forward to having Kennedy come aboard, and wished Leeman well. “He deserves a retirement,” Williams said. “It’s always nice to see somebody enjoy their retirement.”
Leeman has advice for Kennedy: “If you treat people with respect you’ll get the results that you’re looking for.” Leeman said he has gotten a lot of satisfaction out of the job, from thank-you notes to waves on the street as he drives by.
“I’m going to miss it,” Leeman said.
Wednesday, January 8, 2003
Audit shows problems with public access
Published in the Current and the American Journal
As the result of a statewide freedom of information audit spearheaded by the state’s press association, two bills designed to ensure that public records and documents are actually available to members of the public have been introduced in the Legislature.
Staff members of the Current and American Journal newspapers participated in the Nov. 19 survey, along with over 100 other volunteers from newspapers, universities and citizens’ groups.
The outcome is that the Maine Press Association and the Maine Daily Newspaper Publishers Association have filed a request for legislators, media representatives and local and state government representatives to study compliance with the state’s Freedom of Access Act and report back to the Legislature at the end of the year. It also calls for a review of the law itself and recommendations on ways to improve it.
The second bill would require police departments to adopt written policies on compliance with the state’s right-to-know laws. The Maine Criminal Justice Academy would have to establish minimum standards for public
information policies. The bill would require police officials to train personnel about right-to-know laws and assess fines for those officials who failed to comply with them.
In the Nov. 19 statewide survey, the volunteer auditors visited 156 municipal offices, 75 police stations and 79 school administrative offices to request specific documents that are public under state statute.
Also, requests by mail for copies of the minutes of the most recent town council meetings were made for each of the 489 villages, towns and cities in the state. A one-dollar bill was included in the request, to defray copying and mailing costs.
According to a statement by the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition, which coordinated the effort, “the response of public officials was mixed.” Many auditors were asked to produce identification, identify their employers or provide reasons for their requests. Maine law does not require people to identify themselves, their employers or explain why they want to view public documents.
Auditors asked to view police logs, the superintendent’s contract and expense reports for the town’s highest elected official.
Police results
Police departments in Cape Elizabeth, Gorham, Scarborough, South Portland, Westbrook and Windham were all audited.
South Portland did not allow the auditor to view the log, and said in her comments, “(they) said they don’t give it out, that some of the info is not public knowledge. I asked for a blacked-out version, couldn’t get it.” She was also asked for a reason for her request.
The auditor of Scarborough’s police department was unable to view the log because a computer malfunction meant the system was inaccessible. He was asked for identification, the name of his employer and a reason for his request.
Cape Elizabeth allowed an auditor to view the report, after asking for identification and a reason, and asking her to fill out paperwork. The person who made the request said on her comment form, “waited about 45 minutes for chief to redact the log. He said he removed names so people would not be discouraged from calling police.”
Westbrook allowed an auditor to view the log, but asked for the auditor’s employer and a reason for her request.
Windham allowed viewing of the log, but asked for identification, the name of the auditor’s employer and a reason for her request.
Gorham allowed viewing of the log, which did not include summonses or arrests, and asked for a reason but did not require one.
Of 75 police departments visited statewide, 33 percent denied access to police logs outright. Of the 67 percent that complied, 45 percent required auditors to identify themselves, 39 percent required auditors to name their employers and 48 percent required justification for access. In a small number of cases, members of the public were denied access to police records because they were not members of the media.
The question also arose of what a police log is.
Gorham’s records were a list of complaints and calls handled by officers, but did not include information on whether arrests or summonses were made, or the names of people arrested or summonsed.
The auditor in Cape Elizabeth was given access to the department’s call record, a document not normally made available in the department’s public log.
School and town results
School offices in Cape Elizabeth, Gorham, Scarborough, South Portland, Westbrook and Windham were asked for copies of the superintendent’s contract.
Cape Elizabeth allowed an auditor to view the document, but the person handling the request asked for a reason and had to ask a coworker to make sure the document was public. When told that it was, the person “gave it to me with no trouble,” the auditor reported.
Gorham allowed access without any questions. Scarborough, South Portland and Windham did allow access, but asked for identification, a reason, an employer’s name or all three.
Westbrook did not allow an auditor to view the document, asked for identification and suggested the auditor return to see if it would be available later.
Town offices in Cape Elizabeth, Gorham, Scarborough, South Portland, Standish, Westbrook and Windham were also asked for access to expense reports for the towns’ highest elected official.
Scarborough, Gorham and Standish would have allowed access but no such information exists. Standish offers councilors $10 per meeting, to cover travel and expenses, but as of Oct. 31, 2002, no members of the present council had even filed to request that stipend.
Westbrook asked for an ID and a reason, and did not have any applicable documents ready to hand. “Michelle (mayor’s secretary) said she’d pull something together,” the auditor wrote. Michelle “didn’t have anything easily accessible, and promised to call tomorrow.”
Windham denied access because the form was “waiting to be approved,” the auditor was told. The auditor was also asked for ID, an employer and a reason for wanting to see the document.
Cape Elizabeth allowed access, with a “very cooperative” person helping the auditor.
South Portland also allowed access, after an office worker asked a co-worker for the proper procedure.
All of the towns, Cape Elizabeth, Gorham, Scarborough, South Portland, Standish, Westbrook and Windham, sent the most recent council meeting minutes, as requested by mail. Some also returned the $1 and several post minutes on their town web sites.
Statewide results
The Maine School Management Association learned of the audit before Nov. 19 and sent an e-mail to superintendents advising them to comply with auditors’ requests.
But of 79 school departments visited, only 67 percent permitted access to the superintendent’s contract.
Of those, 50 percent asked auditors for ID, 13 percent asked for the auditor’s employer’s name and 37 percent asked auditors for a reason they wanted to view the document. In about 10 percent of offices, workers had to ask a supervisor if the contract was a public document, and in a few cases the document was locked away and not accessible to office staff.
Of 156 visited municipal offices, only 18 percent of them had the expense report on file. Nearly half of the towns, 47 percent, do not reimburse elected officials for expenses.
As for the mailed requests for minutes to 489 towns, 77.7 percent sent the documents as requested; 16.8 percent “ignored the request,” the MFOIC report said. Some towns sent the documents but they arrived after a deadline requested in the letter.
As the result of a statewide freedom of information audit spearheaded by the state’s press association, two bills designed to ensure that public records and documents are actually available to members of the public have been introduced in the Legislature.
Staff members of the Current and American Journal newspapers participated in the Nov. 19 survey, along with over 100 other volunteers from newspapers, universities and citizens’ groups.
The outcome is that the Maine Press Association and the Maine Daily Newspaper Publishers Association have filed a request for legislators, media representatives and local and state government representatives to study compliance with the state’s Freedom of Access Act and report back to the Legislature at the end of the year. It also calls for a review of the law itself and recommendations on ways to improve it.
The second bill would require police departments to adopt written policies on compliance with the state’s right-to-know laws. The Maine Criminal Justice Academy would have to establish minimum standards for public
information policies. The bill would require police officials to train personnel about right-to-know laws and assess fines for those officials who failed to comply with them.
In the Nov. 19 statewide survey, the volunteer auditors visited 156 municipal offices, 75 police stations and 79 school administrative offices to request specific documents that are public under state statute.
Also, requests by mail for copies of the minutes of the most recent town council meetings were made for each of the 489 villages, towns and cities in the state. A one-dollar bill was included in the request, to defray copying and mailing costs.
According to a statement by the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition, which coordinated the effort, “the response of public officials was mixed.” Many auditors were asked to produce identification, identify their employers or provide reasons for their requests. Maine law does not require people to identify themselves, their employers or explain why they want to view public documents.
Auditors asked to view police logs, the superintendent’s contract and expense reports for the town’s highest elected official.
Police results
Police departments in Cape Elizabeth, Gorham, Scarborough, South Portland, Westbrook and Windham were all audited.
South Portland did not allow the auditor to view the log, and said in her comments, “(they) said they don’t give it out, that some of the info is not public knowledge. I asked for a blacked-out version, couldn’t get it.” She was also asked for a reason for her request.
The auditor of Scarborough’s police department was unable to view the log because a computer malfunction meant the system was inaccessible. He was asked for identification, the name of his employer and a reason for his request.
Cape Elizabeth allowed an auditor to view the report, after asking for identification and a reason, and asking her to fill out paperwork. The person who made the request said on her comment form, “waited about 45 minutes for chief to redact the log. He said he removed names so people would not be discouraged from calling police.”
Westbrook allowed an auditor to view the log, but asked for the auditor’s employer and a reason for her request.
Windham allowed viewing of the log, but asked for identification, the name of the auditor’s employer and a reason for her request.
Gorham allowed viewing of the log, which did not include summonses or arrests, and asked for a reason but did not require one.
Of 75 police departments visited statewide, 33 percent denied access to police logs outright. Of the 67 percent that complied, 45 percent required auditors to identify themselves, 39 percent required auditors to name their employers and 48 percent required justification for access. In a small number of cases, members of the public were denied access to police records because they were not members of the media.
The question also arose of what a police log is.
Gorham’s records were a list of complaints and calls handled by officers, but did not include information on whether arrests or summonses were made, or the names of people arrested or summonsed.
The auditor in Cape Elizabeth was given access to the department’s call record, a document not normally made available in the department’s public log.
School and town results
School offices in Cape Elizabeth, Gorham, Scarborough, South Portland, Westbrook and Windham were asked for copies of the superintendent’s contract.
Cape Elizabeth allowed an auditor to view the document, but the person handling the request asked for a reason and had to ask a coworker to make sure the document was public. When told that it was, the person “gave it to me with no trouble,” the auditor reported.
Gorham allowed access without any questions. Scarborough, South Portland and Windham did allow access, but asked for identification, a reason, an employer’s name or all three.
Westbrook did not allow an auditor to view the document, asked for identification and suggested the auditor return to see if it would be available later.
Town offices in Cape Elizabeth, Gorham, Scarborough, South Portland, Standish, Westbrook and Windham were also asked for access to expense reports for the towns’ highest elected official.
Scarborough, Gorham and Standish would have allowed access but no such information exists. Standish offers councilors $10 per meeting, to cover travel and expenses, but as of Oct. 31, 2002, no members of the present council had even filed to request that stipend.
Westbrook asked for an ID and a reason, and did not have any applicable documents ready to hand. “Michelle (mayor’s secretary) said she’d pull something together,” the auditor wrote. Michelle “didn’t have anything easily accessible, and promised to call tomorrow.”
Windham denied access because the form was “waiting to be approved,” the auditor was told. The auditor was also asked for ID, an employer and a reason for wanting to see the document.
Cape Elizabeth allowed access, with a “very cooperative” person helping the auditor.
South Portland also allowed access, after an office worker asked a co-worker for the proper procedure.
All of the towns, Cape Elizabeth, Gorham, Scarborough, South Portland, Standish, Westbrook and Windham, sent the most recent council meeting minutes, as requested by mail. Some also returned the $1 and several post minutes on their town web sites.
Statewide results
The Maine School Management Association learned of the audit before Nov. 19 and sent an e-mail to superintendents advising them to comply with auditors’ requests.
But of 79 school departments visited, only 67 percent permitted access to the superintendent’s contract.
Of those, 50 percent asked auditors for ID, 13 percent asked for the auditor’s employer’s name and 37 percent asked auditors for a reason they wanted to view the document. In about 10 percent of offices, workers had to ask a supervisor if the contract was a public document, and in a few cases the document was locked away and not accessible to office staff.
Of 156 visited municipal offices, only 18 percent of them had the expense report on file. Nearly half of the towns, 47 percent, do not reimburse elected officials for expenses.
As for the mailed requests for minutes to 489 towns, 77.7 percent sent the documents as requested; 16.8 percent “ignored the request,” the MFOIC report said. Some towns sent the documents but they arrived after a deadline requested in the letter.
Thursday, January 2, 2003
No help for Cape in state’s school budget plan
Published in the Current
Despite the efforts of state Education Commissioner Duke Albanese to ease the budget crunch on local school districts, Cape Elizabeth Superintendent Tom Forcella expects this year’s financial planning to be “as tight if not tighter” than last year.
In a Dec. 18 report to the state Board of Education, Albanese proposed a 2.7 percent increase in state education spending for 2003-2004, and also proposed some changes to the school funding formula for possible discussion by the Legislature.
Among them are recommendations for averaging property values and pupil counts and expanding the “circuit-breaker” program to provide relief to property taxpayers. All of them, Albanese told the board, are “to temper the effects of changes in school funding” on districts around the state.
Districts will still feel a crunch. Department of Education spokesman Yellow Light Breen said the proposed 2.7 percent increase is “not the ideal level of funding,” and he expects it to result in “some corresponding pressure on property tax.”
This budget is “a balance, to some extent, a compromise,” he said. “It’s not going to do everything that you would have wanted.”
Even then, the small increase may not get past a Legislature armed with sharpened pencils. Breen said, “we do have tremendous support for education in Maine,” but even so, “it’s going to be a stretch for the Legislature to find the 2.7 percent.”
No more dough
If they do, it still won’t be enough. “I don’t think any of the recommendations are going to help,” Forcella said.
And the increased money in the state pool will not give any more to Cape’s budget.
“Without bringing additional funds in, I don’t think there will be much help for towns like Cape Elizabeth,” Forcella said.
Albanese presented two budget models to the state board, each with the same bottom line but different splits between what the state pays and the cities and towns pick up.
The difference is in how the state decides what it will fund. The traditional method provides a flat percentage of a district’s past expenditure, according to Breen. There is no evaluation, Breen said, of what the money was spent on, or if it was too much or too little money for the district’s needs.
The Legislature required Albanese to explore the second model, called “essential programs and services,” to see how that would improve the educational system in the state. Some schools, it was thought, would benefit from support for basic services they now have trouble providing.
It will also provide a forum for evaluating what schools spend, in terms of salaries and services provided. Schools with very high teacher-to-student ratios, for example, would come under scrutiny in such a review.
Breen said the state currently is meeting “43 percent or so” of the grand total of education costs, but without any idea what that money is being used for, or if it could be put to better use.
Cape, though, won’t see any additional money under an essential programs review. “We already provide those services,” Forcella said.
Breen said the new funding proposal will help all districts “eventually. ”
Upping the stakes
“Essential programs will do a lot to revamp the formula,” Breen said. But districts, like Cape’s, with flat or decreasing student populations, will still get less funding each year. “A lot of those elements are still driven on a per-pupil basis,” he said.
Cape also has increasing property values, and the role of those numbers in the formula are unlikely to change.
“We will still be applying some measure of local ability to pay – local wealth,” Breen said. The way the state calculates “ability to pay” is mostly – about 85 percent – based on townwide property valuation, while the remaining 15 percent is based on household income.
Statewide, many towns will feel a pinch. The state’s overall property assessment is up 9.8 percent this year, leading to what Breen called a “significant redistribution of school subsidy. ”
Albanese’s proposals, Breen said, are attempts to “temper” those changes by averaging over three years. He also said Southern Maine is not alone in facing school funding pressure.
“Whatever the trends are in Southern Maine tend to work their way up the interstate over time,” Breen said.
The school funding formula, he said, is not the place to fix property-tax problems. “The funding formula is basically designed – and I think has to be designed – to measure the wealth of an entire community,” Breen said.
Relieving pressure on individual property taxpayers, he said, should come from elsewhere – a circuit-breaker program, for example.
With the schools, “it’s the community that is being subsidized,” Breen said, meaning that the community as a whole should be assessed.
Pressure on Cape schools is only increasing. The district is looking at continuing demand for special education services and higher standards for high school graduation coming down the pike.
“The expectations have become greater and the money has become less,” Forcella said.
Another example of spending pressure on local districts without corresponding funds from the state, he said, is the laptop program.
“It’s a great idea without any funding,” Forcella said.
Breen defended the program, saying the total package the state gave the schools, including equipment and support services, “is pretty rich.” The state is also providing free training for teachers. “The local impact has tended to be a very small fraction of what the free stuff is,” Breen said.
Because of the cost, though, Breen said, the laptop program was not mandatory. Schools could opt in or out.
He urged local superintendents and tech coordinators to contact the Department of Education tech staff as they develop cost estimates. State staff may be able to help share information between districts to keep costs low.
Despite the efforts of state Education Commissioner Duke Albanese to ease the budget crunch on local school districts, Cape Elizabeth Superintendent Tom Forcella expects this year’s financial planning to be “as tight if not tighter” than last year.
In a Dec. 18 report to the state Board of Education, Albanese proposed a 2.7 percent increase in state education spending for 2003-2004, and also proposed some changes to the school funding formula for possible discussion by the Legislature.
Among them are recommendations for averaging property values and pupil counts and expanding the “circuit-breaker” program to provide relief to property taxpayers. All of them, Albanese told the board, are “to temper the effects of changes in school funding” on districts around the state.
Districts will still feel a crunch. Department of Education spokesman Yellow Light Breen said the proposed 2.7 percent increase is “not the ideal level of funding,” and he expects it to result in “some corresponding pressure on property tax.”
This budget is “a balance, to some extent, a compromise,” he said. “It’s not going to do everything that you would have wanted.”
Even then, the small increase may not get past a Legislature armed with sharpened pencils. Breen said, “we do have tremendous support for education in Maine,” but even so, “it’s going to be a stretch for the Legislature to find the 2.7 percent.”
No more dough
If they do, it still won’t be enough. “I don’t think any of the recommendations are going to help,” Forcella said.
And the increased money in the state pool will not give any more to Cape’s budget.
“Without bringing additional funds in, I don’t think there will be much help for towns like Cape Elizabeth,” Forcella said.
Albanese presented two budget models to the state board, each with the same bottom line but different splits between what the state pays and the cities and towns pick up.
The difference is in how the state decides what it will fund. The traditional method provides a flat percentage of a district’s past expenditure, according to Breen. There is no evaluation, Breen said, of what the money was spent on, or if it was too much or too little money for the district’s needs.
The Legislature required Albanese to explore the second model, called “essential programs and services,” to see how that would improve the educational system in the state. Some schools, it was thought, would benefit from support for basic services they now have trouble providing.
It will also provide a forum for evaluating what schools spend, in terms of salaries and services provided. Schools with very high teacher-to-student ratios, for example, would come under scrutiny in such a review.
Breen said the state currently is meeting “43 percent or so” of the grand total of education costs, but without any idea what that money is being used for, or if it could be put to better use.
Cape, though, won’t see any additional money under an essential programs review. “We already provide those services,” Forcella said.
Breen said the new funding proposal will help all districts “eventually. ”
Upping the stakes
“Essential programs will do a lot to revamp the formula,” Breen said. But districts, like Cape’s, with flat or decreasing student populations, will still get less funding each year. “A lot of those elements are still driven on a per-pupil basis,” he said.
Cape also has increasing property values, and the role of those numbers in the formula are unlikely to change.
“We will still be applying some measure of local ability to pay – local wealth,” Breen said. The way the state calculates “ability to pay” is mostly – about 85 percent – based on townwide property valuation, while the remaining 15 percent is based on household income.
Statewide, many towns will feel a pinch. The state’s overall property assessment is up 9.8 percent this year, leading to what Breen called a “significant redistribution of school subsidy. ”
Albanese’s proposals, Breen said, are attempts to “temper” those changes by averaging over three years. He also said Southern Maine is not alone in facing school funding pressure.
“Whatever the trends are in Southern Maine tend to work their way up the interstate over time,” Breen said.
The school funding formula, he said, is not the place to fix property-tax problems. “The funding formula is basically designed – and I think has to be designed – to measure the wealth of an entire community,” Breen said.
Relieving pressure on individual property taxpayers, he said, should come from elsewhere – a circuit-breaker program, for example.
With the schools, “it’s the community that is being subsidized,” Breen said, meaning that the community as a whole should be assessed.
Pressure on Cape schools is only increasing. The district is looking at continuing demand for special education services and higher standards for high school graduation coming down the pike.
“The expectations have become greater and the money has become less,” Forcella said.
Another example of spending pressure on local districts without corresponding funds from the state, he said, is the laptop program.
“It’s a great idea without any funding,” Forcella said.
Breen defended the program, saying the total package the state gave the schools, including equipment and support services, “is pretty rich.” The state is also providing free training for teachers. “The local impact has tended to be a very small fraction of what the free stuff is,” Breen said.
Because of the cost, though, Breen said, the laptop program was not mandatory. Schools could opt in or out.
He urged local superintendents and tech coordinators to contact the Department of Education tech staff as they develop cost estimates. State staff may be able to help share information between districts to keep costs low.
Property manager missed tax payments
Published in the Current
Joseph H. Gallant III of South Portland, who failed to pay collected rents to owners of Higgins Beach property he managed, has not paid state or federal income taxes since 1997, according to bankruptcy court documents.
The Maine Revenue Service and the Internal Revenue Service are disputing a plan Gallant filed in October to pay off his debts by selling some property he owns.
Those debts total less than $650,000, but more than $590,000, according to Gallant’s attorney, James Molleur of Saco.
The IRS and MRS are not sure what they are owed, because Gallant’s taxes haven’t been filed for 1998, 1999, 2000 or 2001, court documents say.
Molleur said Gallant owes “less than the tax authorities think they are owed” in back taxes.
Several other creditors, all owners of Higgins Beach property managed by Gallant, also have filed objections to the payment plan. The property owners are concerned because they do not know how much Gallant owes in taxes. The courts typically order back taxes to be paid off before business debts.
The tax agencies’ objections, Molleur said, are more serious because “they get to the heart of whether we can do what we say we will do.”
Gallant’s plan hinges on raising money from the sale of a lot he owns at 4 Morning Street Extension, right on Higgins Beach. The land was assessed in 2001 as being worth $265,300, with a building value of $43,900.
At an auction held Dec. 13, an offer of $587,000 was made for the property by Richard Raubeson of Cape Elizabeth, Molleur said. The sale is not final until approved by the bankruptcy judge.
If it is approved, the amount still won’t be enough to pay every creditor the entire amount owed, Molleur said. “We’ll be a little short, I think,” he said. He said Gallant is “exploring other ways” to raise the additional money.
“Our goal is still to pay everybody 100 percent,” Molleur said.
Joseph H. Gallant III of South Portland, who failed to pay collected rents to owners of Higgins Beach property he managed, has not paid state or federal income taxes since 1997, according to bankruptcy court documents.
The Maine Revenue Service and the Internal Revenue Service are disputing a plan Gallant filed in October to pay off his debts by selling some property he owns.
Those debts total less than $650,000, but more than $590,000, according to Gallant’s attorney, James Molleur of Saco.
The IRS and MRS are not sure what they are owed, because Gallant’s taxes haven’t been filed for 1998, 1999, 2000 or 2001, court documents say.
Molleur said Gallant owes “less than the tax authorities think they are owed” in back taxes.
Several other creditors, all owners of Higgins Beach property managed by Gallant, also have filed objections to the payment plan. The property owners are concerned because they do not know how much Gallant owes in taxes. The courts typically order back taxes to be paid off before business debts.
The tax agencies’ objections, Molleur said, are more serious because “they get to the heart of whether we can do what we say we will do.”
Gallant’s plan hinges on raising money from the sale of a lot he owns at 4 Morning Street Extension, right on Higgins Beach. The land was assessed in 2001 as being worth $265,300, with a building value of $43,900.
At an auction held Dec. 13, an offer of $587,000 was made for the property by Richard Raubeson of Cape Elizabeth, Molleur said. The sale is not final until approved by the bankruptcy judge.
If it is approved, the amount still won’t be enough to pay every creditor the entire amount owed, Molleur said. “We’ll be a little short, I think,” he said. He said Gallant is “exploring other ways” to raise the additional money.
“Our goal is still to pay everybody 100 percent,” Molleur said.
Budgets tight in new year
Published in the Current; co-written with Kate Irish Collins
When looking forward to the new year, town officials in Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough are all hoping to address some lingering issues and look at new iniatives, but there is also concern on all levels about how the state budget shortfall and proposed tax reforms will affect local municipal budget planning.
Scarborough
Scarborough Town Manager Ron Owens said the council’s Finance Committee is looking at a 3 to 4 percent increase in the tax rate.
“I think this will be a somewhat difficult budget year. There will be some ramifications that we won’t like, but I don’t think it will be as drastic as it could be in the next couple of years,” Owens said.
He added that much of the impact on the municipal budget will be from forces over which the town has no control.
Owens is also expecting the council to approve a comprehensive traffic study. “I think we’ll be looking at traffic more globally around town, not just specific hot spots like Dunstan Corner. We’ll look at how we should prepare for the future and maybe even look at constructing some new roads,” he said.
Scarborough is also gearing up for a revision of the comprehensive plan and Owens is expecting the process of creating a clear town-wide vision for the future to be wrapped up soon.
“We will then have to look at what would need to be done to realize the town’s vision and what compromises we are willing to make. Growth and development are not going to stop,” Owens said.
The town may also begin to look at encouraging the construction of more diverse types of housing – housing that would not only be available to people of different incomes, but different lifestyles as well.
“Let’s face it, all we have been building in Scarborough for the past few years are two-story colonials in subdivisions,” Owens said.
To help encourage commercial development of the Haigis Parkway, Owens said he hoped there would be some “serious marketing.”
“We need to go out and beat the drums - not just the town but SEDCO (Scarborough Economic Development Corporation) and the landowners out there,” he said. Owens added the town might want to look at encouraging specific types of businesses, perhaps in the bio-medical field, which already has a strong presence in town due to the Maine Medical Center campus on Route 1.
Owens also said that although it’s not as important as the budget or the comprehensive plan, he would like to see the town name its portion of Route 1. “I strongly feel the road should have a name other than Route 1,” Owens said.
Patrick O’Reilly, chairman of the Scarborough Town Council, said the proposed Great American Neighborhood project for 150 acres in Dunstan would continue to take up the council’s time in the new year. He also mentioned a comprehensive traffic study, reviewing the subdivision ordinances and the sign ordinances and addressing on-call pay for public safety workers as being goals of the council in 2003.
O’Reilly also would like the town to clearly define its goals and set up criteria for measuring success as a way to keep track of things that have been addressed or that still need to be addressed.
“It will give us not only a historical outlook but will push our future planning,” O’Reilly said.
David Beneman, chairman of the Board of Education, said the number one educational matter facing the school district is full implementation of the state-mandated Learning Results. That will be followed by the need in 2004 for a comprehensive self-assessment system that would be used to evaluate the graduating classes of 2007 and 2008.
Beneman said the schools also will be facing a budget crunch, because the state Legislature may stop paying school districts to educate foster children, some of whom have extensive special education needs. “I’m concerned that more and more is expected and required at the local level with no funding provided,” he said.
The Scarborough schools also will focus on increasing the use of technology within the classroom and around the district.
“We need to share information more effectively and communicate better, especially with parents and students,” Beneman added.
He said that as far as school facilities are concerned, the school board is hoping to hire a contractor for the high school expansion project.
In addition, a study may look at the space crunch at the middle school and Wentworth Intermediate School.
“We are proposing a year-long study of both buildings with professional help and hope to have recommendations made on the use and viability of each school,” Beneman added.
The school department also will be negotiating three out of four union contracts in 2003, including teachers, administrators and bus drivers. “The cost of health care is continuing to get higher and higher and that is one of the single biggest fixed items in the school budget. The budget planning this coming year is going to take finesse especially because we are not sure what Augusta will do,” Beneman said.
He added that because of the state-mandated Learning Results, all subjects from physical education to the fine arts are now core subjects. “That means we don’t have much that we can let go,” Beneman said. In 2003 the school department is also expecting to enroll another 100 students, requiring additional teachers.
Cape Elizabeth
Cape Town Manager Mike McGovern said in an interview that the most significant challenge facing the town in 2003 will be adopting a municipal and school budget. “We are looking at a revaluation, declining school enrollment, less revenue sharing and a council that doesn’t want to see a tax increase,” he said.
“It’s going to be a tough year. The public mood seems to be that we have been spending a lot of money and it’s time to slow down and take stock,” McGovern added. McGovern said the town has accomplished a lot in the last decade, including the construction of a new police station and a new fire station. When asked whether charging an entrance fee to Fort Williams Park would be on the table, McGovern said that everything that could increase the town’s revenue would be discussed.
He said the town will also be asked to approve some fairly significant subdivision proposals and added that the council would be reviewing the town’s sewer policy. “Right now we pretty much say no to everyone who wants to hook up, but the council and the Planning Board are looking at making the policy a little more flexible,” McGovern said.
“I think the other major challenge that all towns will be facing is what will happen with tax reform. Also the state pushing municipalities to consolidate and regionalize will be interesting,” he said. McGovern added that he doesn’t see Cumberland County government, at least, having a big role in regionalizing. “I think inter-local agreements work much better. County government is not the only answer for regionalization. County lines are not always the optimum for delivery of services,” he said.
“I really think this will be a year of reflection,” McGovern said, while acknowledging that some work will be required on both the high school and the Pond Cove School. The School Board hopes to move the kindergarten out of the high school and over to the elementary school, while bringing the high school up to date – projects that could cost as much as $9 million.
Cape Superintendent Tom Forcella is looking forward to several new developments for the schools in the coming year. The biggest among them is the school building project, which could go to referendum in May.
In March, Forcella and other Cape school officials will meet again with members of a growing consortium of schools from as far away as Clayton, Mo., and the Palisades School District, north of Philadelphia. Forcella expects the group to expand and begin really trading benchmark educational ideas and practices.
The Cape School Board also will be under a microscope of sorts when the New England School Development Council begins its study of eight “outstanding school boards” in New England. Cape Elizabeth was recently chosen as one of the boards to be studied to learn how they attract and retain “top citizens” to school board service.
Forcella said Cape was identified in a survey as a district that does well getting people involved in the board’s activities.
In the fall, the district also will conduct a broad review of its future direction plan, including all of the staff, community leaders and students to shed light on how the district is moving toward its overall goals.
When looking forward to the new year, town officials in Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough are all hoping to address some lingering issues and look at new iniatives, but there is also concern on all levels about how the state budget shortfall and proposed tax reforms will affect local municipal budget planning.
Scarborough
Scarborough Town Manager Ron Owens said the council’s Finance Committee is looking at a 3 to 4 percent increase in the tax rate.
“I think this will be a somewhat difficult budget year. There will be some ramifications that we won’t like, but I don’t think it will be as drastic as it could be in the next couple of years,” Owens said.
He added that much of the impact on the municipal budget will be from forces over which the town has no control.
Owens is also expecting the council to approve a comprehensive traffic study. “I think we’ll be looking at traffic more globally around town, not just specific hot spots like Dunstan Corner. We’ll look at how we should prepare for the future and maybe even look at constructing some new roads,” he said.
Scarborough is also gearing up for a revision of the comprehensive plan and Owens is expecting the process of creating a clear town-wide vision for the future to be wrapped up soon.
“We will then have to look at what would need to be done to realize the town’s vision and what compromises we are willing to make. Growth and development are not going to stop,” Owens said.
The town may also begin to look at encouraging the construction of more diverse types of housing – housing that would not only be available to people of different incomes, but different lifestyles as well.
“Let’s face it, all we have been building in Scarborough for the past few years are two-story colonials in subdivisions,” Owens said.
To help encourage commercial development of the Haigis Parkway, Owens said he hoped there would be some “serious marketing.”
“We need to go out and beat the drums - not just the town but SEDCO (Scarborough Economic Development Corporation) and the landowners out there,” he said. Owens added the town might want to look at encouraging specific types of businesses, perhaps in the bio-medical field, which already has a strong presence in town due to the Maine Medical Center campus on Route 1.
Owens also said that although it’s not as important as the budget or the comprehensive plan, he would like to see the town name its portion of Route 1. “I strongly feel the road should have a name other than Route 1,” Owens said.
Patrick O’Reilly, chairman of the Scarborough Town Council, said the proposed Great American Neighborhood project for 150 acres in Dunstan would continue to take up the council’s time in the new year. He also mentioned a comprehensive traffic study, reviewing the subdivision ordinances and the sign ordinances and addressing on-call pay for public safety workers as being goals of the council in 2003.
O’Reilly also would like the town to clearly define its goals and set up criteria for measuring success as a way to keep track of things that have been addressed or that still need to be addressed.
“It will give us not only a historical outlook but will push our future planning,” O’Reilly said.
David Beneman, chairman of the Board of Education, said the number one educational matter facing the school district is full implementation of the state-mandated Learning Results. That will be followed by the need in 2004 for a comprehensive self-assessment system that would be used to evaluate the graduating classes of 2007 and 2008.
Beneman said the schools also will be facing a budget crunch, because the state Legislature may stop paying school districts to educate foster children, some of whom have extensive special education needs. “I’m concerned that more and more is expected and required at the local level with no funding provided,” he said.
The Scarborough schools also will focus on increasing the use of technology within the classroom and around the district.
“We need to share information more effectively and communicate better, especially with parents and students,” Beneman added.
He said that as far as school facilities are concerned, the school board is hoping to hire a contractor for the high school expansion project.
In addition, a study may look at the space crunch at the middle school and Wentworth Intermediate School.
“We are proposing a year-long study of both buildings with professional help and hope to have recommendations made on the use and viability of each school,” Beneman added.
The school department also will be negotiating three out of four union contracts in 2003, including teachers, administrators and bus drivers. “The cost of health care is continuing to get higher and higher and that is one of the single biggest fixed items in the school budget. The budget planning this coming year is going to take finesse especially because we are not sure what Augusta will do,” Beneman said.
He added that because of the state-mandated Learning Results, all subjects from physical education to the fine arts are now core subjects. “That means we don’t have much that we can let go,” Beneman said. In 2003 the school department is also expecting to enroll another 100 students, requiring additional teachers.
Cape Elizabeth
Cape Town Manager Mike McGovern said in an interview that the most significant challenge facing the town in 2003 will be adopting a municipal and school budget. “We are looking at a revaluation, declining school enrollment, less revenue sharing and a council that doesn’t want to see a tax increase,” he said.
“It’s going to be a tough year. The public mood seems to be that we have been spending a lot of money and it’s time to slow down and take stock,” McGovern added. McGovern said the town has accomplished a lot in the last decade, including the construction of a new police station and a new fire station. When asked whether charging an entrance fee to Fort Williams Park would be on the table, McGovern said that everything that could increase the town’s revenue would be discussed.
He said the town will also be asked to approve some fairly significant subdivision proposals and added that the council would be reviewing the town’s sewer policy. “Right now we pretty much say no to everyone who wants to hook up, but the council and the Planning Board are looking at making the policy a little more flexible,” McGovern said.
“I think the other major challenge that all towns will be facing is what will happen with tax reform. Also the state pushing municipalities to consolidate and regionalize will be interesting,” he said. McGovern added that he doesn’t see Cumberland County government, at least, having a big role in regionalizing. “I think inter-local agreements work much better. County government is not the only answer for regionalization. County lines are not always the optimum for delivery of services,” he said.
“I really think this will be a year of reflection,” McGovern said, while acknowledging that some work will be required on both the high school and the Pond Cove School. The School Board hopes to move the kindergarten out of the high school and over to the elementary school, while bringing the high school up to date – projects that could cost as much as $9 million.
Cape Superintendent Tom Forcella is looking forward to several new developments for the schools in the coming year. The biggest among them is the school building project, which could go to referendum in May.
In March, Forcella and other Cape school officials will meet again with members of a growing consortium of schools from as far away as Clayton, Mo., and the Palisades School District, north of Philadelphia. Forcella expects the group to expand and begin really trading benchmark educational ideas and practices.
The Cape School Board also will be under a microscope of sorts when the New England School Development Council begins its study of eight “outstanding school boards” in New England. Cape Elizabeth was recently chosen as one of the boards to be studied to learn how they attract and retain “top citizens” to school board service.
Forcella said Cape was identified in a survey as a district that does well getting people involved in the board’s activities.
In the fall, the district also will conduct a broad review of its future direction plan, including all of the staff, community leaders and students to shed light on how the district is moving toward its overall goals.
Wish upon a stage . . . Theater-types speak up
Published in the Portland Phoenix
Maine’s theater directors and producers, full of hope and plans for the new year, are interested not only in the success of their own shows and venues, but also the arts in Maine more generally. New Year’s wishes don’t always come true, but they are worth noting.
Maine’s theater directors and producers, full of hope and plans for the new year, are interested not only in the success of their own shows and venues, but also the arts in Maine more generally. New Year’s wishes don’t always come true, but they are worth noting.
But first, a note of a response to audience wishes: Portland Stage Company will open its first January show in several years, and has chosen to put on a second family production, Triple Espresso, to complement what is typically its only family show, A Christmas Carol.
Most of the year’s wishes, however, are not yet fulfilled.
David Greenham, producing director at the Theater at Monmouth, issued a specific challenge to the Portland Phoenix: “That those who are writing and reporting on the arts take more time to get to understand what’s behind some of the arts projects they see, specifically theater.”
By providing a venue for education of audiences and the public at large about what it takes to put together a live show, Greenham said, newspapers like this one can expand the impact of theater and open arts discussions to more people. He specifically suggests that reviewers, including me, talk to directors and producers to learn more about why a show was chosen and how it was constructed for its run in Maine. Expect to see efforts to grant his wish in this space, as the year progresses.
Other wishes are not so easily granted. David Mauriello, playwright and board member at the Players’ Ring in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, has a simple one: “I wish more theater companies would work with playwrights on new plays.” His own company is doing just that, but he is right: Most theaters in Maine don’t showcase the work of the state’s strong set of writers, poets, and playwrights.
Portland Opera Repertory Theatre, through its public-relations expert Gillian Britt, has wishes both selfish and selfless. They want to be able to put on more productions throughout the year, including a full show during the fall or winter, and another during the summer festival, moving the company toward “a par with most leading summer opera festivals in the country,” Britt said.
That additional exposure would no doubt help them reach the goals they aim for in the community. PORT is looking for increasing funding for its educational and outreach programs, teaching children about opera and performing from an early age.
PORT is also looking to enrich other arts organizations in the region and throughout the state, hoping for increased collaborations with “groups such as the Portland Symphony Orchestra, Maine Humanities Council, Portland Public Library, the USM School of Music, and others,” Britt said.
Improved collaboration and cross-pollination could help non-musical groups as well: Two skilled companies working together on a production could bring audiences even richer performances and more layered experiences.
The Theater at Monmouth’s Greenham also has a wish for the people of Maine, that more of them “will discover the great theater that’s available to residents of Maine.” A wide range of theaters and companies are putting on “interesting, compelling, and entertaining works” that are better than the made-for-TV dramas broadcast in early-evening time slots. Most theater in Maine, Greenham said, “is in intimate and easy-to-get-to spaces” all over the state, not far from the comfy living-room couch.
And, he said, “the experience of seeing a live performance with a group of people around you is rich in its own way.” He has this hope for the locals: “My wish is that everyone in Maine goes to see a live theater performance during 2003. You won’t regret it.”
I will close with three wishes of my own. First, that theater companies across the state realize there are other holiday plays than A Christmas Carol. I urge them to explore the wonderful range of holidays in other cultures and traditions, as well as branching out even within the plays written by white men to, for example, It’s a Wonderful Life.
Second, that theater, at least in Maine if not elsewhere, shed its traditionally segregated mantle. I want to see more people of color on Maine stages, and more shows about the experiences of “other,” explorations of race, immigration, and cultural difference and confluence. Many ethic groups have been here for 20 years or more, and yet they find little room for their own performances, which would no doubt enthrall white audiences as much as any Tom Stoppard or Eugene O’Neill script.
ýhich blends easily into my third wish for the people of Androscoggin County to see that extending a welcome to people of all cultures remains part of what makes life in Maine “the way life should be.” Let’s see Lewiston/Auburn Arts put on a show based on the experiences of Somalis, whether in their own country, refugee camps, or after arriving in the US. Theater, culture, and politics do intersect, and, in Lewiston, as well as throughout Maine, it is time for the arts to be heard.
Thursday, December 26, 2002
Maine Med outlines plan for Scarborough expansion
Published in the Current
Maine Medical Center wants to expand its presence in Scarborough and is hoping to have at least one new building open in mid-2006. It may also acquire land adjacent to its existing campus to expand further in the future.
Speaking to members of the Scarborough Chamber of Commerce, Maine Med CEO Vincent Conti said the hospital’s site on Route 1 “is going to be a growth area for us.”
There are now three buildings on the eight-acre lot, including a 100,000-square-foot medical office and laboratory, a 55,000-square-foot medical research building and an 80,000-square-foot medical office building.
Conti, who lives in Cape Elizabeth, said the location is a good one in terms of access and parking, both of which are issues for the hospital’s main campus on Bramhall Hill in Portland.
Because of that, and because of available space on the site – enough to add\ three more buildings and a parking garage – Maine Med wants to move its outpatient surgery services to Scarborough, Conti said.
That is expected to be the first phase of the project because of increased demand for day surgery and because existing facilities, at Brighton FirstCare on Brighton Avenue in Portland and at the main hospital itself are already feeling a space crunch, Conti said
“Surgery is very much going in the direction of outpatient,” Conti said. And as for the space at Brighton, “we have outgrown it.”
The new building will house 10 operating rooms for day surgery procedures, which are typically less invasive and smaller-scale than inpatient surgery. It will also hold some additional services that might be needed if the smaller procedures develop complications, Conti said.
“Most outpatient surgery doesn’t turn into inpatient care,” Conti said, adding that Maine Med already has a functioning outpatient surgery facility at Brighton, which is also some distance from the hospital.
With the new Scarborough building will come an increased need for parking, Conti said. That’s where the garage comes in. It will be built as far back from Route 1 as is possible on the lot, which drew praise from chamber member Fred Kilfoil, owner of the Millbrook Motel on Route 1.
“I’ve never seen an attractive parking garage,” he said.
State Rep. Harold Clough, who had reviewed an initial plan for the site, asked about whether underground parking was still being considered.
Conti said it wasn’t because of the expense and the fact that an above-ground garage would provide enough parking on the site.
Before it can build the operating rooms proposed, Maine Med needs to prove to the state that it needs the space, Conti said, which can take as long as a year. That process has not yet begun. The project would also require site plan approval from the town.
Maine Med is also reviewing what it could do with the space at Brighton that would be emptied when the existing operating rooms move, Conti said. New England Rehab Hospital already occupies a lot of the space at Brighton and might expand, he said.
Also, Conti is looking at moving other services from the Bramhall Hill facility over to Brighton. “At this point we’re looking at a number of different options,” he said.
Conti said Maine Med might also look into purchasing a lot just south of the existing property, for possible additional expansion in Scarborough.
Maine Medical Center wants to expand its presence in Scarborough and is hoping to have at least one new building open in mid-2006. It may also acquire land adjacent to its existing campus to expand further in the future.
Speaking to members of the Scarborough Chamber of Commerce, Maine Med CEO Vincent Conti said the hospital’s site on Route 1 “is going to be a growth area for us.”
There are now three buildings on the eight-acre lot, including a 100,000-square-foot medical office and laboratory, a 55,000-square-foot medical research building and an 80,000-square-foot medical office building.
Conti, who lives in Cape Elizabeth, said the location is a good one in terms of access and parking, both of which are issues for the hospital’s main campus on Bramhall Hill in Portland.
Because of that, and because of available space on the site – enough to add\ three more buildings and a parking garage – Maine Med wants to move its outpatient surgery services to Scarborough, Conti said.
That is expected to be the first phase of the project because of increased demand for day surgery and because existing facilities, at Brighton FirstCare on Brighton Avenue in Portland and at the main hospital itself are already feeling a space crunch, Conti said
“Surgery is very much going in the direction of outpatient,” Conti said. And as for the space at Brighton, “we have outgrown it.”
The new building will house 10 operating rooms for day surgery procedures, which are typically less invasive and smaller-scale than inpatient surgery. It will also hold some additional services that might be needed if the smaller procedures develop complications, Conti said.
“Most outpatient surgery doesn’t turn into inpatient care,” Conti said, adding that Maine Med already has a functioning outpatient surgery facility at Brighton, which is also some distance from the hospital.
With the new Scarborough building will come an increased need for parking, Conti said. That’s where the garage comes in. It will be built as far back from Route 1 as is possible on the lot, which drew praise from chamber member Fred Kilfoil, owner of the Millbrook Motel on Route 1.
“I’ve never seen an attractive parking garage,” he said.
State Rep. Harold Clough, who had reviewed an initial plan for the site, asked about whether underground parking was still being considered.
Conti said it wasn’t because of the expense and the fact that an above-ground garage would provide enough parking on the site.
Before it can build the operating rooms proposed, Maine Med needs to prove to the state that it needs the space, Conti said, which can take as long as a year. That process has not yet begun. The project would also require site plan approval from the town.
Maine Med is also reviewing what it could do with the space at Brighton that would be emptied when the existing operating rooms move, Conti said. New England Rehab Hospital already occupies a lot of the space at Brighton and might expand, he said.
Also, Conti is looking at moving other services from the Bramhall Hill facility over to Brighton. “At this point we’re looking at a number of different options,” he said.
Conti said Maine Med might also look into purchasing a lot just south of the existing property, for possible additional expansion in Scarborough.
Commentary: Gift of love for a newborn
Published in the Current
It’s my first Christmas as an uncle. My sister gave birth to little Aidan in mid-October, and even at the tender young age of two-and-a-half months, he is in for a holiday treat.
Some of the boxes under the tree are likely to be larger than he is, and many of them, like a book he will receive from me, won’t be used by him on his own for years. (I expect to read it aloud to him soon after the holiday hurry passes.)
It’s not like he really needs anything material. That young, he has no requirements aside from a warm set of arms to hold him, milk from his mother or a bottle, and a regular – even frequent – change of diapers.
But we in the family are likely to keep looking for the Perfect Book or the Perfect Toy. Perhaps even the Perfect Crib or the Perfect Baby Carrier, replacing models previously thought top-of-the-line, will appear under the tree come Dec. 25. We will spend our hard-earned money on things Aidan may use, like money for college or a new outfit. We’ll miss the mark with other gifts and find that he never uses them. And of course there will be the toys, mobiles and trinkets all families want kids to play with.
But why do we insist, this early in his life, on showering him with material goods? In part, it’s selfish: I notice my own glee as I wander through stores, wondering what I might find that I want Aidan to have. All of us, the grown-ups in his life, hope that he will never want for anything, and plan to do our part.
But we, like all members of expanding families, risk missing the point on the things he really will need as a growing boy: attention, love, support and encouragement.
Rather than buy him a book or a toy, I could clap along with him as he coos and gurgles. Spending time, with him and other loved ones, is more important than spending money.
And yet the gifts we give are symbols of our love for each other, efforts to make the lives of our friends and family somehow easier, better or more fun. I have found myself in more than one store, debating inside my head whether this is something that I really want to buy.
I try to remember to resist the urges and not let spending money on my nephew substitute for spending time with him. He’s a glorious young boy who, I fear, will grow up far too fast for any of us to really handle. There will always be more books, more toys and more things-that-look-weird-and-make-noise to buy, but there will not always be more time to be with Aidan.
And I hope we all keep in mind what Aidan’s holiday packages truly should contain: not replacements for affection or simple bribes to satisfy spoiled children, but minor tokens of the expansive love we feel for our family’s newest member.
It’s my first Christmas as an uncle. My sister gave birth to little Aidan in mid-October, and even at the tender young age of two-and-a-half months, he is in for a holiday treat.
Some of the boxes under the tree are likely to be larger than he is, and many of them, like a book he will receive from me, won’t be used by him on his own for years. (I expect to read it aloud to him soon after the holiday hurry passes.)
It’s not like he really needs anything material. That young, he has no requirements aside from a warm set of arms to hold him, milk from his mother or a bottle, and a regular – even frequent – change of diapers.
But we in the family are likely to keep looking for the Perfect Book or the Perfect Toy. Perhaps even the Perfect Crib or the Perfect Baby Carrier, replacing models previously thought top-of-the-line, will appear under the tree come Dec. 25. We will spend our hard-earned money on things Aidan may use, like money for college or a new outfit. We’ll miss the mark with other gifts and find that he never uses them. And of course there will be the toys, mobiles and trinkets all families want kids to play with.
But why do we insist, this early in his life, on showering him with material goods? In part, it’s selfish: I notice my own glee as I wander through stores, wondering what I might find that I want Aidan to have. All of us, the grown-ups in his life, hope that he will never want for anything, and plan to do our part.
But we, like all members of expanding families, risk missing the point on the things he really will need as a growing boy: attention, love, support and encouragement.
Rather than buy him a book or a toy, I could clap along with him as he coos and gurgles. Spending time, with him and other loved ones, is more important than spending money.
And yet the gifts we give are symbols of our love for each other, efforts to make the lives of our friends and family somehow easier, better or more fun. I have found myself in more than one store, debating inside my head whether this is something that I really want to buy.
I try to remember to resist the urges and not let spending money on my nephew substitute for spending time with him. He’s a glorious young boy who, I fear, will grow up far too fast for any of us to really handle. There will always be more books, more toys and more things-that-look-weird-and-make-noise to buy, but there will not always be more time to be with Aidan.
And I hope we all keep in mind what Aidan’s holiday packages truly should contain: not replacements for affection or simple bribes to satisfy spoiled children, but minor tokens of the expansive love we feel for our family’s newest member.
Tree men come home
Published in the Current
After 15 days in North Carolina, four workers from Bartlett Tree Service in Scarborough returned home Dec. 23, just in time for Christmas.
“It’s good to be home,” said Troy Delano just after getting his suitcase off the baggage carousel at the Portland Jetport. It was the longest he had ever been away from home.
His wife is due to give birth Dec. 31, and she was waiting eagerly for his return, hoping she wouldn’t go into labor early. “I was having some faith,” she said.
The men pulled 10-hour days from the beginning to the end, with no real time off. “We worked right straight through,” Delano said.
It was only fitting that the men head south after a Dec. 4-5 ice storm knocked out power for over 2 million North Carolina residents and damaged buildings and cars, resulting in a federal disaster-area declaration for the region.
Some of the North Carolina workers had come to Maine in 1998, to help clean up things after that year’s ice storm, and Delano said he ran into a North Carolina man who had worked with him then. “It was good to go down.”
This year’s task was both harder and easier than the one four years ago. Warmer temperatures meant the ice had melted, but “they have very large trees,” Delano said, because of the longer growing season.
The men were working to clear roads and power lines of trees and downed branches, but couldn’t take care of everything. “There’s still a ton of damage,” Delano said. “There’s still limbs on houses.”
By the middle of the first week they were there, all of the power was back on, Delano said, and workers remained to help with the rest of the cleanup.
They were originally slated to come home Dec. 20, but chose to stay longer to get more done. The people they met were very supportive.
Delano and Bill Reed went into a store to pick up some food and other items, and the man behind the counter gave it all to them free, and thanked them for their hard work.
“People were very generous,” Delano said.
Tim Lindsey of Bartlett Tree Service said he was glad to send workers down to help out, though Pat Lindsey, who also works at the business, said the men would have to work a half-day on Dec. 24 to meet the needs of customers who have been patiently waiting for tree work here in Maine.
North Carolina tree companies paid for their flights, and made sure that they made it back on time and in style. “They flew back first class,” said Tim Lindsey.
After 15 days in North Carolina, four workers from Bartlett Tree Service in Scarborough returned home Dec. 23, just in time for Christmas.
“It’s good to be home,” said Troy Delano just after getting his suitcase off the baggage carousel at the Portland Jetport. It was the longest he had ever been away from home.
His wife is due to give birth Dec. 31, and she was waiting eagerly for his return, hoping she wouldn’t go into labor early. “I was having some faith,” she said.
The men pulled 10-hour days from the beginning to the end, with no real time off. “We worked right straight through,” Delano said.
It was only fitting that the men head south after a Dec. 4-5 ice storm knocked out power for over 2 million North Carolina residents and damaged buildings and cars, resulting in a federal disaster-area declaration for the region.
Some of the North Carolina workers had come to Maine in 1998, to help clean up things after that year’s ice storm, and Delano said he ran into a North Carolina man who had worked with him then. “It was good to go down.”
This year’s task was both harder and easier than the one four years ago. Warmer temperatures meant the ice had melted, but “they have very large trees,” Delano said, because of the longer growing season.
The men were working to clear roads and power lines of trees and downed branches, but couldn’t take care of everything. “There’s still a ton of damage,” Delano said. “There’s still limbs on houses.”
By the middle of the first week they were there, all of the power was back on, Delano said, and workers remained to help with the rest of the cleanup.
They were originally slated to come home Dec. 20, but chose to stay longer to get more done. The people they met were very supportive.
Delano and Bill Reed went into a store to pick up some food and other items, and the man behind the counter gave it all to them free, and thanked them for their hard work.
“People were very generous,” Delano said.
Tim Lindsey of Bartlett Tree Service said he was glad to send workers down to help out, though Pat Lindsey, who also works at the business, said the men would have to work a half-day on Dec. 24 to meet the needs of customers who have been patiently waiting for tree work here in Maine.
North Carolina tree companies paid for their flights, and made sure that they made it back on time and in style. “They flew back first class,” said Tim Lindsey.
Teens worry about proposed increase in driving age
Published in the Current
Secretary of State Dan Gwadosky is looking to increase restrictions on teenage drivers to improve road safety in Maine, but driving schools and driving students aren’t happy with what he has proposed.
Gwadosky would like to discuss with the public and legislators the possibility of increasing the driving age from 16 to 17; banning teens from driving between midnight and 5 a.m.; extending the length of time new drivers must hold learner’s permits before they can get their licenses; extending the ban on carrying passengers for an additional three months; and mandatory license suspensions for teenage drivers who get traffic tickets.
Gwadosky, armed with statistics indicating one teenage driving fatality every 10 days in the state, and 60 injured teens during the same amount of time, met with the Maine Legislative Youth Advisory Council early this month to discuss ways to make teenagers safer when driving.
He told the Current speed, inattention and driver distraction were all common factors in crashes involving teen drivers.
Gwadosky said he is “trying to find the best way to address those issues through legislation,” and the proposals are preliminary.
“I think it’s unlikely we’ll advance all of them to the Legislature,” he said.
Teens concerned
Several students in a Best-Way Driving School class, most of whom were 15 or 16, didn’t like Gwadosky’s ideas, especially raising the license age to 17.
Jacqueline Schmidt, in the minutes before she started her learner’s permit test, said she likes being able to get her license earlier rather than later, but she realizes safety is an issue.
“There are a lot of immature people that I know,” Schmidt said. Some of them, she said, should pay more attention to what they’re doing when they’re behind the wheel.
The real crunch, she said, comes when teens are 18 and have graduated from high school. Then, to get back and forth to work or college, they need a license.
“Once you graduate, you really need to be able to drive,” Schmidt said.
Before that, there are buses to and from school, and parents can often give teens rides to work and other activities, she said.
She suggested having driver education as a course in high school, which students must pass before getting their licenses.
Schmidt said she is concerned that students in driver education classes now might be forced to wait to get their licenses. She said the wait makes sense for safety, but admitted she wants her license as soon as possible.
As for the proposed curfew, she thinks one from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. makes sense for students who have jobs or other activities that require them to stay out late. She also thinks it odd that a kid can get in a car and drive at age 16 but can’t drink until age 21.
“You can take someone’s life with a car,” Schmidt said.
Another student, John McDonald, also opposed raising the age limit on getting a driver’s license.
“I think that’s stupid,” said McDonald. “I don’t think that one year is going to make a difference.”
Andrea LaBonty said her parents spend a lot of time driving her around, and that will get easier when she has her license. She also hopes to get a job once she can drive to it.
Getting her license earlier, she said, would reduce the load on her parents.
LaBonty also said that nobody obeys the three-month passenger ban as it is, so extending it wouldn’t have any effect.
Dana Bennett said that if he was told he had to wait until age 17 to get his license, “I’d be pretty mad.” He also thought younger people, not yet in driver’s education, would also be “annoyed” by a new rule.
Kate Lonsdale, 17, said her brother brags about speeding. She said waiting until teens are more mature would be a good idea. Lonsdale said she may wait until she’s 18 before going for her road test.
“Driving is a big responsibility, ” she said. Some people can handle it, and others can’t, she added.
Lawmakers interested
That’s why Gwadosky wants to help teens get more experience before they get their licenses.
Six legislators have already contacted Gwadosky to express interest in sponsoring a bill that would toughen driving laws, including restricting passengers, who are an issue because some of the teens killed and injured on the roads were not driving themselves.
Teens are interested in getting their licenses, he said, but the state has to balance that with safety. Gwadosky said it is a good idea to drive through all the seasons before going for a road test. His son, now 19, did that, and his 16-year-old daughter is doing so now, he said.
The Legislative Youth Advisory Council is more willing to make changes to the permit process, Gwadosky said, than to up the licensing age.
“There’s a tremendous interest,” Gwadosky said. “A driver’s license represents freedom and independence.”
Part of that is because of the state itself. “We have no public transportation,” Gwadosky said. Additional young drivers are important for families in rural areas, but young drivers still have a lot to learn, he said.
“Getting their license isn’t the end. It should really be the beginning,” Gwadosky said.
He has tried to create an environment in the state where family members are involved in driver education, but realizes that is hard to do. “There are some things we can’t legislate,” he said.
Gwadosky and driver educators do agree that some of the requirements are not enough, but they differ on how to deal with them.
Gwadosky encourages parents to rethink their own driving habits and be good models for their teens. They should work on specific areas of driving skills and give feedback to their children, he said. “The quality of the drive time is significant,” Gwadosky said.
Driver educator Ron Vance, who owns Best-Way Driving Schools with offices and classrooms throughout Southern Maine, worries more teens will drive without a license if the law changes.
Rather than change the driving age, he suggested an increase in the number of hours teens must drive with their parents. Other states require 50 hours with parents, rather than the 35 hours Maine requires, Vance said.
“We can help reduce (teen driving deaths) with the parents’ help , ” Vance said.
Secretary of State Dan Gwadosky is looking to increase restrictions on teenage drivers to improve road safety in Maine, but driving schools and driving students aren’t happy with what he has proposed.
Gwadosky would like to discuss with the public and legislators the possibility of increasing the driving age from 16 to 17; banning teens from driving between midnight and 5 a.m.; extending the length of time new drivers must hold learner’s permits before they can get their licenses; extending the ban on carrying passengers for an additional three months; and mandatory license suspensions for teenage drivers who get traffic tickets.
Gwadosky, armed with statistics indicating one teenage driving fatality every 10 days in the state, and 60 injured teens during the same amount of time, met with the Maine Legislative Youth Advisory Council early this month to discuss ways to make teenagers safer when driving.
He told the Current speed, inattention and driver distraction were all common factors in crashes involving teen drivers.
Gwadosky said he is “trying to find the best way to address those issues through legislation,” and the proposals are preliminary.
“I think it’s unlikely we’ll advance all of them to the Legislature,” he said.
Teens concerned
Several students in a Best-Way Driving School class, most of whom were 15 or 16, didn’t like Gwadosky’s ideas, especially raising the license age to 17.
Jacqueline Schmidt, in the minutes before she started her learner’s permit test, said she likes being able to get her license earlier rather than later, but she realizes safety is an issue.
“There are a lot of immature people that I know,” Schmidt said. Some of them, she said, should pay more attention to what they’re doing when they’re behind the wheel.
The real crunch, she said, comes when teens are 18 and have graduated from high school. Then, to get back and forth to work or college, they need a license.
“Once you graduate, you really need to be able to drive,” Schmidt said.
Before that, there are buses to and from school, and parents can often give teens rides to work and other activities, she said.
She suggested having driver education as a course in high school, which students must pass before getting their licenses.
Schmidt said she is concerned that students in driver education classes now might be forced to wait to get their licenses. She said the wait makes sense for safety, but admitted she wants her license as soon as possible.
As for the proposed curfew, she thinks one from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. makes sense for students who have jobs or other activities that require them to stay out late. She also thinks it odd that a kid can get in a car and drive at age 16 but can’t drink until age 21.
“You can take someone’s life with a car,” Schmidt said.
Another student, John McDonald, also opposed raising the age limit on getting a driver’s license.
“I think that’s stupid,” said McDonald. “I don’t think that one year is going to make a difference.”
Andrea LaBonty said her parents spend a lot of time driving her around, and that will get easier when she has her license. She also hopes to get a job once she can drive to it.
Getting her license earlier, she said, would reduce the load on her parents.
LaBonty also said that nobody obeys the three-month passenger ban as it is, so extending it wouldn’t have any effect.
Dana Bennett said that if he was told he had to wait until age 17 to get his license, “I’d be pretty mad.” He also thought younger people, not yet in driver’s education, would also be “annoyed” by a new rule.
Kate Lonsdale, 17, said her brother brags about speeding. She said waiting until teens are more mature would be a good idea. Lonsdale said she may wait until she’s 18 before going for her road test.
“Driving is a big responsibility, ” she said. Some people can handle it, and others can’t, she added.
Lawmakers interested
That’s why Gwadosky wants to help teens get more experience before they get their licenses.
Six legislators have already contacted Gwadosky to express interest in sponsoring a bill that would toughen driving laws, including restricting passengers, who are an issue because some of the teens killed and injured on the roads were not driving themselves.
Teens are interested in getting their licenses, he said, but the state has to balance that with safety. Gwadosky said it is a good idea to drive through all the seasons before going for a road test. His son, now 19, did that, and his 16-year-old daughter is doing so now, he said.
The Legislative Youth Advisory Council is more willing to make changes to the permit process, Gwadosky said, than to up the licensing age.
“There’s a tremendous interest,” Gwadosky said. “A driver’s license represents freedom and independence.”
Part of that is because of the state itself. “We have no public transportation,” Gwadosky said. Additional young drivers are important for families in rural areas, but young drivers still have a lot to learn, he said.
“Getting their license isn’t the end. It should really be the beginning,” Gwadosky said.
He has tried to create an environment in the state where family members are involved in driver education, but realizes that is hard to do. “There are some things we can’t legislate,” he said.
Gwadosky and driver educators do agree that some of the requirements are not enough, but they differ on how to deal with them.
Gwadosky encourages parents to rethink their own driving habits and be good models for their teens. They should work on specific areas of driving skills and give feedback to their children, he said. “The quality of the drive time is significant,” Gwadosky said.
Driver educator Ron Vance, who owns Best-Way Driving Schools with offices and classrooms throughout Southern Maine, worries more teens will drive without a license if the law changes.
Rather than change the driving age, he suggested an increase in the number of hours teens must drive with their parents. Other states require 50 hours with parents, rather than the 35 hours Maine requires, Vance said.
“We can help reduce (teen driving deaths) with the parents’ help , ” Vance said.
Away from home for Christmas
Published in the Current
For Christmas 1943, Harry Foote got no rest, “no presents, no party, no big meal.” He and the rest of the First Marine Division spent Christmas Day that
year, and about three weeks afterward, attacking Japanese positions on the Pacific island of New Britain.
U.S. strategists thought the Japanese would not expect an invasion on “that sacred day, ” said Foote, who later became the editor of the American Journal newspaper. “But it was war, and the First Marine Division landed.”
They started at the airfield on the western end of the island, at Cape Gloucester. “As we landed, they bombed us and strafed us on Christmas Day,” Foote said.
“We were in rain and mud from that day on.” Instead of luxuriant holiday meals, they ate “Spam and canned hash.”
Twenty years later, Matt Martinelli was in the Navy, stationed in Sicily for Christmas 1963. Sailors at the base invited the kids from a nearby orphanage over for a holiday meal of spaghetti. The kids got gifts of sweaters, stockings and candy.
The sailors also gave the orphanage a new oven and refrigerator.
“It was amazing how possessive they were of the little things we gave them,” said Martinelli, who now lives in Scarborough.
Martinelli served on three aircraft carriers, and despite involvement in the Korean and Vietnam wars, got lucky, always having “clean sheets and showers.”
The year before the Italian orphans’ feast, he had been stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and had just come through the Cuban Missile Crisis, during which the admiral in charge of the base told the men that they could count on being overrun if Castro decided to attack.
At Christmas, Bob Hope was elsewhere, so “Perry Como came to entertain us,” Martinelli said. The film version of “West Side Story” had also come out, and Martinelli remembered the USO brought down a copy of it to show as well.
And despite the recent threat of war, the base was quiet and peaceful on Christmas.
“It’s always an emotional experience being away on a holiday,” said John Rich of Cape Elizabeth, who served in the Marines during World War II and later became a war correspondent through Korea and Vietnam, and even reported on the Gulf War in 1991.
“We always got our turkey,” Rich remembered of his days in the service.
Even at the front, where soldiers “were busy enough,” the military always managed to get them hot food for the holiday meal.
New Year’s Eve 1943, he was in San Diego helping load ships preparing for the landing in Kwajelein.
The more senior officers were in town partying. “It was their last New Year’s in the U.S.,” Rich said. “For a lot of them it was.”
Behind a wall near the loading area, a few men had a bottle or two of alcohol, Rich remembered. “We got more and more screwed up,” he laughed, as he recalled everyone sneaking behind the wall to take a few nips of New Year’s cheer.
In Korea, Chinese troops decorated the lines between the forces. “The Chinese came down and hung some things on the barbed wire,” Rich said.
Christmas in Afghanistan
This year, Army Capt. Geoff Crafts of Cape Elizabeth will spend Christmas in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He returned to the main U.S. base in the country after three and a half months in the hinterland on intelligence-gathering missions, said his father, Stephen Crafts.
After all of that, it was on their way out that Capt. Crafts thought he might die. The helicopter that was taking him back to the base lost power in one engine. “They thought they were going down,” his father said. They did not, and managed to have a “hard landing,” but a safe one, in Kandahar.
Now, “they’re getting ready to celebrate Christmas,” his father said. The Crafts family has sent Geoff “a lot of stuff,” including 358 pounds of food in weekly packages over the past few months.
Last week, the troops got a visit from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, and the Army ’s highest-ranking non-commissioned officer, Command Sgt. Maj. of the Army Jack Tilley. Drew Carey and Roger Clemens also visited the camp.
His family has sent Crafts a miniature tree, battery-powered lights and “all that tacky stuff,” his father said. “They hang it all over their tents.”
And though they are far from home, Crafts and his comrades are doing well. “Spirits are high,” his father said. The men are almost constantly together in training or in wartime, so “they’re almost like family. ”
At the Crafts home, the family is gathering. The other two kids are visiting, one from college and one from right nearby where she lives.
“This is the second out of the last three Christmases he’s been gone,” Stephen Crafts said.
But they got a special treat: a call from Geoff a couple of days ago. Even though it was over a satellite phone with a long delay and an unspoken set of rules about what questions family can ask, Stephen said his son is doing well. “He’s always kept his sense of humor. ”
For Christmas 1943, Harry Foote got no rest, “no presents, no party, no big meal.” He and the rest of the First Marine Division spent Christmas Day that
year, and about three weeks afterward, attacking Japanese positions on the Pacific island of New Britain.
U.S. strategists thought the Japanese would not expect an invasion on “that sacred day, ” said Foote, who later became the editor of the American Journal newspaper. “But it was war, and the First Marine Division landed.”
They started at the airfield on the western end of the island, at Cape Gloucester. “As we landed, they bombed us and strafed us on Christmas Day,” Foote said.
“We were in rain and mud from that day on.” Instead of luxuriant holiday meals, they ate “Spam and canned hash.”
Twenty years later, Matt Martinelli was in the Navy, stationed in Sicily for Christmas 1963. Sailors at the base invited the kids from a nearby orphanage over for a holiday meal of spaghetti. The kids got gifts of sweaters, stockings and candy.
The sailors also gave the orphanage a new oven and refrigerator.
“It was amazing how possessive they were of the little things we gave them,” said Martinelli, who now lives in Scarborough.
Martinelli served on three aircraft carriers, and despite involvement in the Korean and Vietnam wars, got lucky, always having “clean sheets and showers.”
The year before the Italian orphans’ feast, he had been stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and had just come through the Cuban Missile Crisis, during which the admiral in charge of the base told the men that they could count on being overrun if Castro decided to attack.
At Christmas, Bob Hope was elsewhere, so “Perry Como came to entertain us,” Martinelli said. The film version of “West Side Story” had also come out, and Martinelli remembered the USO brought down a copy of it to show as well.
And despite the recent threat of war, the base was quiet and peaceful on Christmas.
“It’s always an emotional experience being away on a holiday,” said John Rich of Cape Elizabeth, who served in the Marines during World War II and later became a war correspondent through Korea and Vietnam, and even reported on the Gulf War in 1991.
“We always got our turkey,” Rich remembered of his days in the service.
Even at the front, where soldiers “were busy enough,” the military always managed to get them hot food for the holiday meal.
New Year’s Eve 1943, he was in San Diego helping load ships preparing for the landing in Kwajelein.
The more senior officers were in town partying. “It was their last New Year’s in the U.S.,” Rich said. “For a lot of them it was.”
Behind a wall near the loading area, a few men had a bottle or two of alcohol, Rich remembered. “We got more and more screwed up,” he laughed, as he recalled everyone sneaking behind the wall to take a few nips of New Year’s cheer.
In Korea, Chinese troops decorated the lines between the forces. “The Chinese came down and hung some things on the barbed wire,” Rich said.
Christmas in Afghanistan
This year, Army Capt. Geoff Crafts of Cape Elizabeth will spend Christmas in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He returned to the main U.S. base in the country after three and a half months in the hinterland on intelligence-gathering missions, said his father, Stephen Crafts.
After all of that, it was on their way out that Capt. Crafts thought he might die. The helicopter that was taking him back to the base lost power in one engine. “They thought they were going down,” his father said. They did not, and managed to have a “hard landing,” but a safe one, in Kandahar.
Now, “they’re getting ready to celebrate Christmas,” his father said. The Crafts family has sent Geoff “a lot of stuff,” including 358 pounds of food in weekly packages over the past few months.
Last week, the troops got a visit from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, and the Army ’s highest-ranking non-commissioned officer, Command Sgt. Maj. of the Army Jack Tilley. Drew Carey and Roger Clemens also visited the camp.
His family has sent Crafts a miniature tree, battery-powered lights and “all that tacky stuff,” his father said. “They hang it all over their tents.”
And though they are far from home, Crafts and his comrades are doing well. “Spirits are high,” his father said. The men are almost constantly together in training or in wartime, so “they’re almost like family. ”
At the Crafts home, the family is gathering. The other two kids are visiting, one from college and one from right nearby where she lives.
“This is the second out of the last three Christmases he’s been gone,” Stephen Crafts said.
But they got a special treat: a call from Geoff a couple of days ago. Even though it was over a satellite phone with a long delay and an unspoken set of rules about what questions family can ask, Stephen said his son is doing well. “He’s always kept his sense of humor. ”
Cape model for school leadership
Published in the Current
Cape Elizabeth is one of eight communities chosen in New England – and the only one in Maine – as a model for attracting strong leaders to its board of education.
The town now will be part of a study done by the New England School Development Council on how towns can attract excellent school board members.
“When you have an outstanding school board and superintendent working as a team,” students do very well at learning and on independent testing, said researcher Richard Goodman.
The study is being funded by a $40,000 grant from the Wallace Reader’s Digest Foundation.
After seven years of studying leadership in public school systems around the region, Goodman and his colleagues decided that one question had never
been asked: “What does it take for a community to attract and retain” school board members “who care about children and know or learn quickly the role of the school board,” Goodman said.
“Cape Elizabeth is one of those in Maine that’s been considered to be a top school system for a number of years,” he said.
Superintendent Tom Forcella said the study will provide a look at “how we are able to encourage people in the community to get involved with the School Board.”
Goodman said he and his colleagues will interview school board members and superintendents, as well as other community members, in each of the
eight towns chosen for the study. Among the other towns are Wayland, Mass., Farmington, Conn., and Hollis-Brookline cooperative school district
in New Hampshire.
Goodman said a school district in Vermont has not yet been chosen, and neither have two urban school districts in New England, but he expects those
decisions to be made within the next couple of weeks.
He said strong school boards tend to let superintendents run the schools, and make sure the superintendent is a good one and has the necessary support to do the job.
“It takes a community,” Goodman said, to get strong schools.
Cape Elizabeth is one of eight communities chosen in New England – and the only one in Maine – as a model for attracting strong leaders to its board of education.
The town now will be part of a study done by the New England School Development Council on how towns can attract excellent school board members.
“When you have an outstanding school board and superintendent working as a team,” students do very well at learning and on independent testing, said researcher Richard Goodman.
The study is being funded by a $40,000 grant from the Wallace Reader’s Digest Foundation.
After seven years of studying leadership in public school systems around the region, Goodman and his colleagues decided that one question had never
been asked: “What does it take for a community to attract and retain” school board members “who care about children and know or learn quickly the role of the school board,” Goodman said.
“Cape Elizabeth is one of those in Maine that’s been considered to be a top school system for a number of years,” he said.
Superintendent Tom Forcella said the study will provide a look at “how we are able to encourage people in the community to get involved with the School Board.”
Goodman said he and his colleagues will interview school board members and superintendents, as well as other community members, in each of the
eight towns chosen for the study. Among the other towns are Wayland, Mass., Farmington, Conn., and Hollis-Brookline cooperative school district
in New Hampshire.
Goodman said a school district in Vermont has not yet been chosen, and neither have two urban school districts in New England, but he expects those
decisions to be made within the next couple of weeks.
He said strong school boards tend to let superintendents run the schools, and make sure the superintendent is a good one and has the necessary support to do the job.
“It takes a community,” Goodman said, to get strong schools.
Thursday, December 19, 2002
New science curriculum puts physics first
Published in the Current
This year, freshmen at Cape Elizabeth High School have started their science learning with physics rather than earth and physical science – a new trend in education that says the way science has traditionally been taught is backward.
The science faculty have had to work hard to restructure the physics curriculum to depend less on math and more on the concepts of physics itself, but so far the project seems to be a success. The idea is that physics offers a big picture look at how the universe works and is therefore the most logical starting point in science education.
Department head and physics teacher, Michael Efron, said some tweaking has been required. The year started with four sections of honors and five sections of college prep classes. Three of the college prep sections had stronger students and two sections were of what Efron called students with a “weaker background,” not only in science but also in math and English.
“We struggled with how best to handle that,” Efron said. In the end, two sub-levels of college prep were set up, and some students, with the permission of their parents and other teachers, were rearranged to make the classes of more equal abilities.
“Then we could teach everybody at a better pace,” Efron said.
It has presaged a change in the science curriculum across the grades.
“We really want to offer three levels in all the base courses,” Efron said. That way, the department will be able to meet more students’ needs.
Other changes have been as significant and with good educational payoff.
Physics teacher Michael O’Brien said teaching physics to ninth-graders rather than seniors doesn’t mean teaching any different subject matter, though it does mean using less math. “It’s not the physics that people think of, with all the formulas and equations,” O’Brien said.
Instead, students learn the concepts relating to the way the world works. “Physics explains the natural world,” O’Brien said.
In the honors classes, students do use more math than in the college prep level, but while most of the students have finished the Algebra I course, none have had calculus or other advanced mathematics.
Next year, there may be a requirement for students in the honors level to have completed Algebra I, Efron said, but that remains under discussion.
But this year’s honors freshmen are doing just fine.
“They’re stepping up to the plate,” said teacher Courtney Ferrell, who was hired this year specifically with the transition in mind. She can teach both physics and chemistry.
The book the students use doesn’t involve much math. On a recent test supplied with the class’s textbook, Ferrell said, the average score was a 92, indicating, she said, that they can handle the work just fine.
Physics teacher Kerry Kertes teaches freshman honors classes, too. “The math we give them is the same math I give my seniors,” he said. “The bar’s pretty high, but I’d rather have kids reach up.”
During class time, Kertes meets with students who are taking the Algebra I class this year, to make sure they are keeping up.
The class includes as many as three or four demonstrations each week, plus two lab classes. There is also group work in small and large groups.
“The world of physics is a natural, everyday thing,” Kertes said. But not everything is as easy to explain to a freshman as to a senior. Examples using cars were common for senior physics students. That has to change for freshmen, who haven’t yet gotten their licenses.
Also changing is the level of independence students have. Where seniors taking physics would be able to read the text on their own as homework, Efron now reads the text along with some of his classes, discussing the questions that come up along the way.
Looking to next year, Kertes, who also teaches chemistry, sees that physics will lay a strong foundation for chemistry, which will be followed by biology junior year.
Doug Worthley, who teaches chemistry, said there will be new concepts next year, but the same process.
Having the ideas on a larger scale is better to do first. With the students’ experience in physics, he will be able to show that the same thing that happens between two balls hitting each other happens to two atoms hitting each other.
“The biology teachers just finished chemistry,” Worthley said, setting up the cellular basis for this year’s biology. When the freshmen get to biology in two years, that won’t be necessary.
“The sciences aren’t really separate,” Worthley said.
The opportunities don’t stop there. The new order of science classes allows for new electives in science for seniors. Not only will the marine biology and anatomy and genetics classes be available, but others are under development as well.
Efron said he may have found one class idea, looking at the philosophical implications of physics in terms of where humans fit in the scheme of things.
“If the world really works this way, where does that leave us,” Efron asked. Most of the freshmen, he said, seem uninterested, while his seniors are fascinated by it.
The students, too, are enjoying it, though they are not in a position to see the overall picture just yet. Freshmen Casey Pearson and Caroline Etnier said they are enjoying the class. Both had been wary of not knowing enough math, but it hasn’t been a problem so far, they said.
This year, freshmen at Cape Elizabeth High School have started their science learning with physics rather than earth and physical science – a new trend in education that says the way science has traditionally been taught is backward.
The science faculty have had to work hard to restructure the physics curriculum to depend less on math and more on the concepts of physics itself, but so far the project seems to be a success. The idea is that physics offers a big picture look at how the universe works and is therefore the most logical starting point in science education.
Department head and physics teacher, Michael Efron, said some tweaking has been required. The year started with four sections of honors and five sections of college prep classes. Three of the college prep sections had stronger students and two sections were of what Efron called students with a “weaker background,” not only in science but also in math and English.
“We struggled with how best to handle that,” Efron said. In the end, two sub-levels of college prep were set up, and some students, with the permission of their parents and other teachers, were rearranged to make the classes of more equal abilities.
“Then we could teach everybody at a better pace,” Efron said.
It has presaged a change in the science curriculum across the grades.
“We really want to offer three levels in all the base courses,” Efron said. That way, the department will be able to meet more students’ needs.
Other changes have been as significant and with good educational payoff.
Physics teacher Michael O’Brien said teaching physics to ninth-graders rather than seniors doesn’t mean teaching any different subject matter, though it does mean using less math. “It’s not the physics that people think of, with all the formulas and equations,” O’Brien said.
Instead, students learn the concepts relating to the way the world works. “Physics explains the natural world,” O’Brien said.
In the honors classes, students do use more math than in the college prep level, but while most of the students have finished the Algebra I course, none have had calculus or other advanced mathematics.
Next year, there may be a requirement for students in the honors level to have completed Algebra I, Efron said, but that remains under discussion.
But this year’s honors freshmen are doing just fine.
“They’re stepping up to the plate,” said teacher Courtney Ferrell, who was hired this year specifically with the transition in mind. She can teach both physics and chemistry.
The book the students use doesn’t involve much math. On a recent test supplied with the class’s textbook, Ferrell said, the average score was a 92, indicating, she said, that they can handle the work just fine.
Physics teacher Kerry Kertes teaches freshman honors classes, too. “The math we give them is the same math I give my seniors,” he said. “The bar’s pretty high, but I’d rather have kids reach up.”
During class time, Kertes meets with students who are taking the Algebra I class this year, to make sure they are keeping up.
The class includes as many as three or four demonstrations each week, plus two lab classes. There is also group work in small and large groups.
“The world of physics is a natural, everyday thing,” Kertes said. But not everything is as easy to explain to a freshman as to a senior. Examples using cars were common for senior physics students. That has to change for freshmen, who haven’t yet gotten their licenses.
Also changing is the level of independence students have. Where seniors taking physics would be able to read the text on their own as homework, Efron now reads the text along with some of his classes, discussing the questions that come up along the way.
Looking to next year, Kertes, who also teaches chemistry, sees that physics will lay a strong foundation for chemistry, which will be followed by biology junior year.
Doug Worthley, who teaches chemistry, said there will be new concepts next year, but the same process.
Having the ideas on a larger scale is better to do first. With the students’ experience in physics, he will be able to show that the same thing that happens between two balls hitting each other happens to two atoms hitting each other.
“The biology teachers just finished chemistry,” Worthley said, setting up the cellular basis for this year’s biology. When the freshmen get to biology in two years, that won’t be necessary.
“The sciences aren’t really separate,” Worthley said.
The opportunities don’t stop there. The new order of science classes allows for new electives in science for seniors. Not only will the marine biology and anatomy and genetics classes be available, but others are under development as well.
Efron said he may have found one class idea, looking at the philosophical implications of physics in terms of where humans fit in the scheme of things.
“If the world really works this way, where does that leave us,” Efron asked. Most of the freshmen, he said, seem uninterested, while his seniors are fascinated by it.
The students, too, are enjoying it, though they are not in a position to see the overall picture just yet. Freshmen Casey Pearson and Caroline Etnier said they are enjoying the class. Both had been wary of not knowing enough math, but it hasn’t been a problem so far, they said.
Teen host of underage party tells her side
Published in the Current
Cape High School Principal Jeff Shedd has taken his campaign against teen drinking, drugging and partying to a new level, now having scofflaws tell
their stories publicly or face more conventional punishment.
A Nov. 29 party in town prompted Shedd to begin enforcing a long-ignored school rule preventing students from hosting or attending parties where alcohol and drugs are being consumed.
Allie Stevens, a junior at CEHS and a member of the chool’s state champion swim team, told the Current she unwittingly became the host of a party the day after Thanksgiving, while her father was away from home. She said she was given the opportunity to lessen her punishment by talking to the press.
Though he could not comment on specifics, Shedd said no other students were disciplined.
He did say the incidents at Stevens’s home contributed to his decision to tighten restrictions on teen partiers.
According to swim coach Kerry Kertes, Stevens is missing three swim meets for a combination of infractions, including the party and another unrelated violation of team rules. The last meet was Thursday against Cheverus.
Stevens ended up as the host of the party, but says she neither instigated it or consumed alcohol or drugs once it began.
She said she doesn’t understand why the party is the school’s business. “It happened outside of school,” she said.
Student-athletes are required to sign a contract in which they pledge not to drink or do drugs during sports seasons, regardless of the hour or location.
Depending on the type and number of violations, as well as how the school finds out about them, breaches of the contract are punishable by suspensions from games or meets, or from teams entirely.
Stevens said the contract doesn’t apply to her, in this case, because she was not drinking or doing drugs.
Shedd said he is now enforcing a “long-standing” rule relating to “substance abuse by (students) off school grounds and outside of school hours,” which he warned parents about in a Dec. 12 letter.
Students who find themselves hosting parties should call parents or police to end the party or face disciplinary action at school, Shedd advised in the letter. Students attending parties with drugs or alcohol present should leave or face investigation for possible violations of school rules.
At the party
The party in question began the evening of Nov. 29, as a group of friends got together at Stevens’ Shore Road home intending to go see a movie, Stevens said.
The teens never made it to the movie, because other teens – including some kids from other towns – had heard that the adults in the home were away, and arrived uninvited, with alcohol and drugs.
“People just started showing up at my house,” Stevens said. About 60 people were at the party. Some were high school students, others recent graduates and still others were people from other towns. They were drinking and smoking, though nothing in the house was damaged, Stevens said.
Around 10:30 p.m., the police showed up, responding to an anonymous tip. They called Allie’s father, Dan Stevens, who owns the home, and got permission to go inside, police said.
Officers broke the party up without issuing any summonses or arresting anyone. Police Chief Neil Williams said, “it was so out of control and overwhelming” that they wanted to end it quickly.
Allie’s mother, Karen Stevens, lives nearby and went over to see what was going on. She saw a lot of kids and a lot of alcohol – as many as three cases of beer, she said.
All of the kids denied to police and to Karen that they had been drinking.
A mother’s reaction
“It was a real eye-opener for me,” Karen said.
When she got home, she called parents of kids she had seen at the party and told them what she had seen. Some of the parents told her they knew their kids were there, and their kids had said they weren’t drinking.
After the weekend, she called the school and told Assistant Principal Mark Tinkham what had happened.
“I know that my daughter was concerned that kids wouldn’t be her friends anymore because of me talking with Mark Tinkham about it,” Karen said. But that didn’t stop her. "I feel like I had to say something. I feel that as parents we are responsible for our own children.”
She said she has heard that kids feel like they have to drink to have fun. “I just don’t understand that mentality, ” Karen said. And further, “I don’t agree with it – it’s illegal.”
She agreed with kids’ concerns that there is not a lot to do, socially, in Cape Elizabeth.
“There’s a nice community center now, and if they made it more attractive to kids” it could help the social situation in Cape, Karen said.
“I just think basically the kids just want to hang out with their friends,” Karen said.
Kids who don’t drink will spend time with drinking friends, just for the social interaction, she said.
“I don’t think these kids understand” the consequences of drinking, she said. One way to help them understand would be “if more parents would speak up.”
She felt obligated to do something as a parent, but also because it isn’t just athletes who sign a contract to avoid alcohol and drugs. “I signed that contract also.”
She is grateful the school administration is making an effort to address the problem.
“I’m just glad that the school is taking the stand that they have, and I hope more parents will come forward,” Karen said.
Many parents, she said, don’t want their kids to have to miss sporting events, but that’s not the worst that could happen.
“I thought, ‘This is crazy. ’ I don’t want to end up going to some kid’s funeral,” Karen said.
Allie’s father, Dan Stevens, told the Current he did not have time to talk about the incident until after the holidays.
Not just one incident
Police Chief Williams said partying hasn’t increased or decreased since he was a young man growing up in town, but he welcomed the help from the schools to cut down on a problem that won’t go away. He said the renewed enforcement has already prevented one party, originally planned for Dec. 13.
The mother of a 14-year-old student was out of town for nearly a week, and the student was supposed to be staying with a family member elsewhere in town. The student’s peers found out about the empty house and decided to have a party, despite the student’s own desire not to, Williams said.
“Here’s another example of parents leaving 14- or 15-year-old kids home alone,” Williams said. “You’re asking for disaster. ”
The new enforcement at the school, Williams said, was the deterring factor for the teen, who Williams said is an athlete and worried about being kicked off a team.
Allie Stevens doesn’t face that, because her party happened before Shedd announced the rule enforcement.
Allie said she had gone to similar parties at other people’s homes when parents weren’t present and would go in the future.
“You’re not supposed to do it, but kids do it anyway,” Allie said. “Our parents did it when they were growing up,” she said.
“Kids know how to handle it responsibly,” Allie said, adding after a moment’s thought that the phrase “drinking responsibly” may not make much sense for teenagers.
Today’s teens are careful to have designated drivers, she said. And breaking up the party is difficult. As the teen supposedly in charge of the house, “there’s nothing you can do,” Allie said, when people just keep coming in. She said Shedd had told her that she should call the police if such an incident happens again.
But, she said, that’s unreasonable. “I’d be the laughingstock of the school if I called the cops on my own party,” Allie said.
Williams said some teens have called the police on parties at their own houses, when things get too big or out of hand, though such instances are “very rare.”
Teens need to gather, Allie said, and if it’s not going to happen in someone’s home, it will be elsewhere.
Cape needs “a place to hang out where everyone can go,” she said.
Otherwise, they’ll end up in somebody’s home, when the parents aren’t there.
“Unfortunately, nowadays you have to cover all your bases if you’re not going to take your son or daughter on your trip,” Williams said.
Parents can also give police a letter allowing officers to enter their homes and property if there is a party occurring, Williams said. Without that, it can be hard for police to get access to a house to stop a party.
Parents, whether home or not, can be held civilly liable for damages if teens get injured or killed following a party on their property, Williams said.
“It’s a parental issue,” Williams said. “Know where your kids are, and check on them.” Call houses where your kids say they will be, and trust parental instincts. “If it feels wrong, it probably is wrong,” he said. He also encouraged parents to impose “real punishments” on kids who violate laws and family rules.
Cape High School Principal Jeff Shedd has taken his campaign against teen drinking, drugging and partying to a new level, now having scofflaws tell
their stories publicly or face more conventional punishment.
A Nov. 29 party in town prompted Shedd to begin enforcing a long-ignored school rule preventing students from hosting or attending parties where alcohol and drugs are being consumed.
Allie Stevens, a junior at CEHS and a member of the chool’s state champion swim team, told the Current she unwittingly became the host of a party the day after Thanksgiving, while her father was away from home. She said she was given the opportunity to lessen her punishment by talking to the press.
Though he could not comment on specifics, Shedd said no other students were disciplined.
He did say the incidents at Stevens’s home contributed to his decision to tighten restrictions on teen partiers.
According to swim coach Kerry Kertes, Stevens is missing three swim meets for a combination of infractions, including the party and another unrelated violation of team rules. The last meet was Thursday against Cheverus.
Stevens ended up as the host of the party, but says she neither instigated it or consumed alcohol or drugs once it began.
She said she doesn’t understand why the party is the school’s business. “It happened outside of school,” she said.
Student-athletes are required to sign a contract in which they pledge not to drink or do drugs during sports seasons, regardless of the hour or location.
Depending on the type and number of violations, as well as how the school finds out about them, breaches of the contract are punishable by suspensions from games or meets, or from teams entirely.
Stevens said the contract doesn’t apply to her, in this case, because she was not drinking or doing drugs.
Shedd said he is now enforcing a “long-standing” rule relating to “substance abuse by (students) off school grounds and outside of school hours,” which he warned parents about in a Dec. 12 letter.
Students who find themselves hosting parties should call parents or police to end the party or face disciplinary action at school, Shedd advised in the letter. Students attending parties with drugs or alcohol present should leave or face investigation for possible violations of school rules.
At the party
The party in question began the evening of Nov. 29, as a group of friends got together at Stevens’ Shore Road home intending to go see a movie, Stevens said.
The teens never made it to the movie, because other teens – including some kids from other towns – had heard that the adults in the home were away, and arrived uninvited, with alcohol and drugs.
“People just started showing up at my house,” Stevens said. About 60 people were at the party. Some were high school students, others recent graduates and still others were people from other towns. They were drinking and smoking, though nothing in the house was damaged, Stevens said.
Around 10:30 p.m., the police showed up, responding to an anonymous tip. They called Allie’s father, Dan Stevens, who owns the home, and got permission to go inside, police said.
Officers broke the party up without issuing any summonses or arresting anyone. Police Chief Neil Williams said, “it was so out of control and overwhelming” that they wanted to end it quickly.
Allie’s mother, Karen Stevens, lives nearby and went over to see what was going on. She saw a lot of kids and a lot of alcohol – as many as three cases of beer, she said.
All of the kids denied to police and to Karen that they had been drinking.
A mother’s reaction
“It was a real eye-opener for me,” Karen said.
When she got home, she called parents of kids she had seen at the party and told them what she had seen. Some of the parents told her they knew their kids were there, and their kids had said they weren’t drinking.
After the weekend, she called the school and told Assistant Principal Mark Tinkham what had happened.
“I know that my daughter was concerned that kids wouldn’t be her friends anymore because of me talking with Mark Tinkham about it,” Karen said. But that didn’t stop her. "I feel like I had to say something. I feel that as parents we are responsible for our own children.”
She said she has heard that kids feel like they have to drink to have fun. “I just don’t understand that mentality, ” Karen said. And further, “I don’t agree with it – it’s illegal.”
She agreed with kids’ concerns that there is not a lot to do, socially, in Cape Elizabeth.
“There’s a nice community center now, and if they made it more attractive to kids” it could help the social situation in Cape, Karen said.
“I just think basically the kids just want to hang out with their friends,” Karen said.
Kids who don’t drink will spend time with drinking friends, just for the social interaction, she said.
“I don’t think these kids understand” the consequences of drinking, she said. One way to help them understand would be “if more parents would speak up.”
She felt obligated to do something as a parent, but also because it isn’t just athletes who sign a contract to avoid alcohol and drugs. “I signed that contract also.”
She is grateful the school administration is making an effort to address the problem.
“I’m just glad that the school is taking the stand that they have, and I hope more parents will come forward,” Karen said.
Many parents, she said, don’t want their kids to have to miss sporting events, but that’s not the worst that could happen.
“I thought, ‘This is crazy. ’ I don’t want to end up going to some kid’s funeral,” Karen said.
Allie’s father, Dan Stevens, told the Current he did not have time to talk about the incident until after the holidays.
Not just one incident
Police Chief Williams said partying hasn’t increased or decreased since he was a young man growing up in town, but he welcomed the help from the schools to cut down on a problem that won’t go away. He said the renewed enforcement has already prevented one party, originally planned for Dec. 13.
The mother of a 14-year-old student was out of town for nearly a week, and the student was supposed to be staying with a family member elsewhere in town. The student’s peers found out about the empty house and decided to have a party, despite the student’s own desire not to, Williams said.
“Here’s another example of parents leaving 14- or 15-year-old kids home alone,” Williams said. “You’re asking for disaster. ”
The new enforcement at the school, Williams said, was the deterring factor for the teen, who Williams said is an athlete and worried about being kicked off a team.
Allie Stevens doesn’t face that, because her party happened before Shedd announced the rule enforcement.
Allie said she had gone to similar parties at other people’s homes when parents weren’t present and would go in the future.
“You’re not supposed to do it, but kids do it anyway,” Allie said. “Our parents did it when they were growing up,” she said.
“Kids know how to handle it responsibly,” Allie said, adding after a moment’s thought that the phrase “drinking responsibly” may not make much sense for teenagers.
Today’s teens are careful to have designated drivers, she said. And breaking up the party is difficult. As the teen supposedly in charge of the house, “there’s nothing you can do,” Allie said, when people just keep coming in. She said Shedd had told her that she should call the police if such an incident happens again.
But, she said, that’s unreasonable. “I’d be the laughingstock of the school if I called the cops on my own party,” Allie said.
Williams said some teens have called the police on parties at their own houses, when things get too big or out of hand, though such instances are “very rare.”
Teens need to gather, Allie said, and if it’s not going to happen in someone’s home, it will be elsewhere.
Cape needs “a place to hang out where everyone can go,” she said.
Otherwise, they’ll end up in somebody’s home, when the parents aren’t there.
“Unfortunately, nowadays you have to cover all your bases if you’re not going to take your son or daughter on your trip,” Williams said.
Parents can also give police a letter allowing officers to enter their homes and property if there is a party occurring, Williams said. Without that, it can be hard for police to get access to a house to stop a party.
Parents, whether home or not, can be held civilly liable for damages if teens get injured or killed following a party on their property, Williams said.
“It’s a parental issue,” Williams said. “Know where your kids are, and check on them.” Call houses where your kids say they will be, and trust parental instincts. “If it feels wrong, it probably is wrong,” he said. He also encouraged parents to impose “real punishments” on kids who violate laws and family rules.
Preschoolers play at Children’s Museum
Published in the Current
Anne Belden of Cape Elizabeth is pioneering a new set of programs at the Children’s Museum of Maine in Portland and wants parents of preschoolers throughout the area to come play and learn.
She started working there in the summer and the new activities are taking off. They rotate between “KinderCooks,” “KinderTravel, ” “Silly Science” and “Famous Birthdays,” each with its own theme and activity, as well as chances to learn and play.
“I try to do a wide variety of things,” Belden said, including multicultural events and ones related to holidays or seasons when appropriate.
For example, a recent event involved exploring German traditions for Christmas, with gifts given in shoes.
Another had Florence Olebe of Portland’s Ezo African Restaurant come in to show the kids how to make traditional African foods. The kids were able to help roll out dough and fill pastries with a mixture of vegetables and spices, and got to sample the goods after Olebe cooked them.
The kids who attended enjoyed it, smiling and laughing throughout the program. They were eager to participate, and the parents enjoyed it too, learning about African food as well.
“It’s really wonderful,” said one mother, who was there with her daughter and a friend. They come just about every week, the woman said, and really like the variety of the programs.
Two other women brought their children, and though it was their first time, said they really enjoyed it too.
“It’s a different kind of program each week,” Belden said.
For Neil Armstrong’s birthday Aug. 5, the kids learned about walking on the moon, and for Mickey Mouse’s birthday Nov. 18 they got to make art relating to Mickey Mouse and then learned about the d i fferences between rats and mice.
The Children’s Museum of Maine also has members-only programs for toddlers on Monday, and toddlers and preschoolers on Thursdays, as well as other activities less regularly, Belden said.
Anne Belden of Cape Elizabeth is pioneering a new set of programs at the Children’s Museum of Maine in Portland and wants parents of preschoolers throughout the area to come play and learn.
She started working there in the summer and the new activities are taking off. They rotate between “KinderCooks,” “KinderTravel, ” “Silly Science” and “Famous Birthdays,” each with its own theme and activity, as well as chances to learn and play.
“I try to do a wide variety of things,” Belden said, including multicultural events and ones related to holidays or seasons when appropriate.
For example, a recent event involved exploring German traditions for Christmas, with gifts given in shoes.
Another had Florence Olebe of Portland’s Ezo African Restaurant come in to show the kids how to make traditional African foods. The kids were able to help roll out dough and fill pastries with a mixture of vegetables and spices, and got to sample the goods after Olebe cooked them.
The kids who attended enjoyed it, smiling and laughing throughout the program. They were eager to participate, and the parents enjoyed it too, learning about African food as well.
“It’s really wonderful,” said one mother, who was there with her daughter and a friend. They come just about every week, the woman said, and really like the variety of the programs.
Two other women brought their children, and though it was their first time, said they really enjoyed it too.
“It’s a different kind of program each week,” Belden said.
For Neil Armstrong’s birthday Aug. 5, the kids learned about walking on the moon, and for Mickey Mouse’s birthday Nov. 18 they got to make art relating to Mickey Mouse and then learned about the d i fferences between rats and mice.
The Children’s Museum of Maine also has members-only programs for toddlers on Monday, and toddlers and preschoolers on Thursdays, as well as other activities less regularly, Belden said.
Thursday, December 12, 2002
It’s the script, stupid: Some flat performances can’t ruin A Christmas Carol
Published in the Portland Phoenix
I have a confession. Even after years in the news business that should teach me to know better, I’ve come to expect Christmas Day off. Though, as Ebenezer Scrooge asks Bob Cratchit to do, I will usually have to come in “all the earlier the next day to make up for it.” Deadlines and publications never relent, even for the most special and wondrous of holidays.
I have a confession. Even after years in the news business that should teach me to know better, I’ve come to expect Christmas Day off. Though, as Ebenezer Scrooge asks Bob Cratchit to do, I will usually have to come in “all the earlier the next day to make up for it.” Deadlines and publications never relent, even for the most special and wondrous of holidays.
Yet my boss is no Scrooge: She has a business to run and the readers must have their newspapers, but she finds time to remind us, her employees, that she has learned the lesson Dickens teaches — every year since its first publication, six days before Christmas, 1843 — through A Christmas Carol.
Time to relax, to be with families and friends, and to have fun, make merry, and laugh: These are the goals for which everyone, rich or poor, young or old, banker or beggar, is really working. But they are easily forgotten amid the daily grind. Portland Stage Company — along with a number of other local theater companies — annually takes a couple of hours to remind us, with A Christmas Carol, of all the love and joy in the world, and the true bliss that sharing can bring to our mortal existences.
The power of this play comes primarily from the writing itself, the mastery of Dickens’s painting of a world and a man remade by memory, reflection, and fear. In this production, however, Anita Stewart’s directing fails to serve the writing, instead becoming a competing force on stage.
It means this play’s role as a holiday-spirit reminder falls flat, failing to paint with power either the agonizing picture of desperation before Scrooge’s enlightenment or the true nature of his transformation. It does, however, retain its strength as a classic of Christmas storytelling and a heartwarming reminder of the importance of joy.
The show begins with a performance by the audience of “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” in which my section’s leader, a young-teenage girl with braids and braces, was in earnest for us to perform well. It was as if by the power of her will alone, she could turn our motley crew of spectators into the “three French hens” we were singing about.
As the play itself begins — with a powerful Scrooge (Tom Ford) in his countinghouse, glowering at his nephew Fred’s (James Hoban) holiday cheer, and berating Bob Cratchit (Mark Honan), who departs late of a Christmas Eve with a much-begrudged Christmas bonus in hand — I felt myself cowering alongside Cratchit, picturing, instead of Scrooge, past supervisors concerned not about how I would spend my holiday or whether I would even celebrate. Instead, they, like Scrooge, worried about looming project deadlines, upcoming events needing preparation and, most of all, themselves.
I count myself lucky that this year, I do not have such a boss. But I am not sure the world has come far from the 1840s England of Charles Dickens, with its waifs and poor grown-ups huddled round braziers, being scattered by the vicious charge of a cruel and irritated wealthy man wielding a cane and a sense of his own self-righteousness.
Dickens (who appears in the production as a narrator played by Edward Reichert) himself suffered poverty and despair, toiling in a debtors’ prison workshop for several months as a boy, while his father paid off creditors. In this story and others, he rails against people like the bosses many still have today. Rather than concerning themselves with the humanity of their employees, Dickens’s wealthy — Scrooge among them — are the utilitarian exploiters feared in today’s world as much as they were 150 years ago.
Portland Stage Company’s weaknesses are in the subtleties, where Dickens excelled. While the fear on Scrooge’s face is very real when he speaks to the Ghost of Christmas Past (Natalie Rose Liberace, who plays all the Christmas ghosts), the sense of doom and dread Dickens writes into that darkly shrouded spectre is missing. So, too, are the senses of urgency on the faces of Ignorance and Want, the urchins who emerge from the robes of the Ghost of Christmas Present.
Scrooge’s delivery, perhaps made desperate after seven years of annual shows at PSC (though this is Ford’s first year in the role), is more preachy than revelatory, more exhortation than exultation. Even his “Bah! Humbug!” is without real feeling. Scrooge pleads with the audience to come with him in the spiritual journey, though we need rather to be forced along, as he is by the spirits.
The lighting and ingenious set design, as well as the sound, overlaying multiple effects and voices, are in combination more enthralling than the performance itself. The story does, however, strongly keep its main point, a reminder that lines at the local shopping centers are neither as bad — nor as necessary — as they might be perceived to be.
The children, too, are strong and energetic reminders that youth and hope spring eternal. Maybe — just maybe — your boss will see this show and remember Dickens’s lesson: We who work for our living are worthy of, deserve, and are entitled to our leisure time and our family lives, holiday or not.
A Christmas Carol
Written by Charles Dickens, adapted by Portland Stage Company. Directed by Anita Stewart. With Elizabeth Chambers, James Hoban, Mark Honan, Tom Ford, Natalie Rose Liberace, Daniel Noel, Kelli Putnam, and Edward Reichert. At Portland Stage Company through Dec. 24. Call (207) 774-0465.
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