Thursday, August 1, 2002

Kids design race shirts

Published in the Current

Come race day, Beach to Beacon competitors and volunteers, as well as participants in the children’s race, will be wearing shirts designed by Cape students.

The T-shirt designs were developed in a contest open to all Cape Elizabeth students, many of whom participated through their art classes.

Ten-year-old Kylie Tanabe created the design for the children’s T-shirts as part of her fourth-grade class last year, with Pond Cove School teacher Ogden Williams.

“He got us going on drawing the lighthouse,” Tanabe said. She also takes art lessons from her grandmother, and prefers to do tole painting, copying and adapting photographs and paintings. She had painted a lighthouse as a gift for her parents, and drew a similar lighthouse, adding in a small house and other elements to resemble Portland Head Light.

Her father, Keith, said Kylie is “fearless” and always ready to try new things. She recently went on her first upside-down roller-coaster and grinned widely when asked what she thought of it. She will be running the kids’ one-kilometer race on Saturday.

Joanna Wexler will be a senior next year at CEHS, and designed the logo that will be printed on the runners’ and volunteers’ shirts. Her design was also an art class project from school.

In the class, with high school art teacher Richard Rothlisberger, students created thumbnail sketches and then fleshed out their ideas in various mediums.

“We went through many stages,” Wexler said. “It was really open to what you wanted to do.”

Wexler, a cross-country runner and lacrosse player at CEHS, will not run the race this year, as she tried to register after the field was full, but will volunteer.

Her design includes Portland Head Light, as well as a wave and a path with footsteps. “I definitely wanted to include the beacon,” Wexler said.

Monks calls for corporate responsibility

Published in the Current

Part-year Cape resident and former Republican U.S. Senate candidate, Bob Monks, spoke out against corporate accounting scandals July 29 at a Portland campaign event for Democratic Senate candidate, Chellie Pingree. He called the current financial, accounting and legislative climate “a watershed in America.”

Speaking alongside Bevis Longstreth, a former member of the Securities and Exchange Commission and also a part-year Maine resident, Monks called for Democratic control of both houses of Congress, saying it was the only way corporate financial reform would truly happen.

Monks was a Reagan appointee at the U.S. Department of Labor and has been a member of the boards of several public companies. A Republican, he challenged now Sen. Susan Collins in 1996, and now is supporting Pingree. “Who you vote for makes a difference,” Monks said.

He said the American economy has succeeded as a direct result of the trust investors had in publicly traded companies. “That has enabled our standard of living,” Monks said. But corporate and government irresponsibility has badly hurt the credibility of the system.

“We may have killed the golden goose,” Monks said.

He roundly criticized the U.S. Senate for regulating specifics of the accounting profession, saying legislators “can’t tell people how they should add.”

Corporate officers have had huge pay increases that do not relate to the value of the work they do at a company. Instead, Monks said, CEOs have formed a powerful group of people who serve on each other’s boards and increase their own salaries.

“When people change the rules, vote themselves the money and get 1,000 percent pay increases, that’s just wrong,” Monks said.

Also, he said, 75 percent of stock options go to the top five corporate officers in a company. Stock options are at the center of a national controversy about accounting practices, with companies claiming they are not expenses, while critics say stock options have value and therefore are expenses.

“It’s about Mr. Big getting bigger, ” Monks said.

Seniors warned of in-house thefts

Published in the Current

Seniors are being warned to be careful about workers and others they allow into their homes. In three recent incidents, two Cape Elizabeth seniors had jewelry and other valuables stolen, and another had 50 tablets of painkillers stolen. In all three cases, in-home workers are suspected, according to Cape police.

The pills are believed to have been stolen by a person who advertised a housecleaning service by putting fliers on cars and in doors in various neighborhoods in Cape, according to Community Relations Officer Paul Gaspar. The victim hired the woman.

“She cleaned her house and cleaned out some of her medication as well,” Gaspar said.

Gaspar recommended that seniors and their families use caution when selecting home health care workers. He said people should make sure they use a reputable agency licensed by the state. To verify that information, people can call the Southern Maine Agency on Aging or the state Attorney
General’s office.

Pam Allen of Elder Independence of Maine said her organization requires provider agencies to check backgrounds and certifications of prospective employees.

She noted that a criminal history check won’t catch someone who is waiting for the chance to steal for the first time.

“Lock your possessions away, ” Allen said.

And screenings may not always be as thorough as they should be, she said. In Cumberland County there are 200 cases waiting for staff or additional staff, which is half of all patients waiting across the state, Allen said.

Agencies can’t find the staff to care for all the people who need help, meaning they may drop their hiring standards or be less likely to check every applicant fully, Allen said.

“Agencies are desperate to find staffing,” said Betty Jewett of the Southern Maine Agency on Aging.

If there is trouble getting help through an agency, people sometimes hire private caregivers, and that can be a real problem, Jewett said. With no supervision at all, they can gain access to more things and take greater advantage of their charges.

Allen’s organization audits home health care agencies, but can only check 20 percent of the statewide organizations in any given year.

Gaspar recommends checking references personally, rather than taking the word of an agency that a background check has been done.

Get the names of previous clients and call them, he said.

Protecting valuables by putting them in a safe-deposit box is another good move, as is getting jewelry and other valuables appraised and photographed, Gaspar said.

Allen said the best way to protect yourself is to know the names of people in your home, and who they are employed by. Allen also said seniors should remember that their home is still their property.

“If you feel uncomfortable, don’t let them in your home,” Allen said.

Financial exploitation
Some caregivers are more difficult to keep out of homes. They are friendly neighbors or even relatives.

Michael Webber, a detective with the state Attorney General’s office, said 80 percent of financial fraud against the elderly is committed by relatives.

Webber and Gaspar said between 60 percent and 80 percent of those crimes are not even reported because people are nervous about seeming unable to take care of themselves.

Sometimes unscrupulous neighbors can befriend seniors and begin to exploit them, or private caretakers can get access to checkbooks, credit cards or cash and use them for personal gain.

Home health workers and even helpful family members and neighbors should never ask for cash or gifts, said Jewett of the Agency on Aging. If seniors want to give gifts, that is fine, but there should never be any pressure to do so, she said.

Gaspar said there are people who are very friendly and helpful, and may ask for reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred on behalf of seniors. For example, if a neighbor picks up groceries, it is reasonable for them to ask for the money to pay for it. But Gaspar warned against giving bank account or checkbook access to people seniors don’t know or don’t trust.

Detective Webber in the Attorney General’s office agrees. “Choose your caregiver well,” he said. And seniors should always get a neutral third party to look at any legal documents before signing them.

“Never sign paperwork unless it’s been reviewed,” Webber said.

He said don’t sign blank checks for anyone. He also suggested setting up direct deposit for any payments seniors expect to receive, such as pension or Social Security checks. That can limit the opportunity of people to steal checks or otherwise gain access to funds.

Webber said some seniors set up a limited power of attorney arrangement, which permits a caregiver to act on behalf of a senior citizen. Webber reminds seniors that those can be revoked at any time, and the power granted in one can be very specific, including restricting a person to using a checkbook for bill payments but no other purpose.

He encouraged seniors to keep a close eye on their finances. Often financial exploitation is only discovered late, when services are not being provided because of lack of funds, Webber said.

A variety of criminal charges can result, from simple theft charges to endangering the welfare of a dependent, misuse of entrusted property, or even serious felony charges, depending on the amount of money involved, Webber said.

Fraud even increases the risk of death, Webber said. Seniors who have been victims of theft or fraud face a higher risk of dying in the decade following the incident, than do seniors the same age who are not victims.

Scam protection
A further important part of senior self-protection is being careful not to be scammed, authorities say.

Late summer and early fall are prime time for home repair scams involving driveway, roof or chimney repairs, Gaspar said. Fall cleanup and tree pruning are also common fronts used by scammers.

Many of these scams begin with a knock on the door. A worker will say something like, “We were in the neighborhood and saw you need some work done.” Then he will explain that he can help out with some “spare materials from another job nearby,” or can do the job for less money because he is already on the job site.

These are warning signs for a scam.

Maine state law requires three days elapse between when a homeowner makes an agreement with a door-to-door tradesperson, and when that work can begin. Even if a property owner wants work to begin immediately, to start before three days goes by is against the law.

State law also requires a written contract detailing the specifics of the job and compensation.

“Don’t be pressured by a door-to-door person who says, ‘I need to do the work now,’” Gaspar said.

Some door-to-door workers will work in pairs. One person keeps the owner occupied at the front door, while the second goes in the back door and steals wallets, purses and other valuables.

There are phone, mail and e-mail scams, too. One of the latest announces that the recipient has won a major award in the Canadian lottery but has to pay a large sum, $500 or more, to cover bank transfer fees. The “transfer fee” charges are deducted, but no award is ever paid, as none has been won.

If seniors believe or discover they are the victims of a theft, fraud or exploitation, Gaspar spoke for all the agencies and said, “please consider prosecution.”

Cape opens its homes to runners

Published in the Current

The Beach to Beacon race is Saturday and Cape Elizabeth families are preparing their guest rooms for international runners.

Rather than putting up elite racers in hotels, the Beach to Beacon includes a hometown touch: a visit to a Cape home.

Ann Marie Miliard’s family will host their fourth runner this year.

“It’s a great experience,” she said. She has two older kids, who come home from college for the summer. “We just really enjoy hosting the athletes,” Miliard said.

The first year they hosted, which was the race’s second year, the Miliards had a Japanese runner and her coach. The second year they had a British runner who ended up running the marathon in the Sydney Olympics. Miliard said they watched, but “she didn’t do so well.”

Last year the family hosted a Japanese runner. A neighbor was host to another Japanese runner, so the two were able to train together.

This year the Miliard home will open to Kenyan elite runner Esther Kiplagat. Miliard said she tries not to plan too many activities for the visitors.

“This is an athlete and they’re in training,” Miliard said. But she is sure of one thing in the pre-race schedule. “They usually want to run,” she said.

She also finds out what the athletes like to eat the night before and the morning of the race, so she can prepare them to perform.

One year a group of neighbors, including the Miliards, had a large potluck dinner with families and athletes.

Miliard is not running the race, but does have a plan for the morning of August 3.

“I’m going to stand right at the end of my street and cheer everybody on,” she said.

Elizabeth Wexler’s family is getting set for their third hosting gig, but the visitor this time will be a friend from last year, Evans Rutto, a Kenyan runner.

“We decided it would be really interesting,” Wexler said of the family’s choice to play host. Last year Wexler took Rutto around town to farmstands and supermarkets to purchase ingredients for an African dish Rutto likes to make for himself the night before races.

In the morning, she took Rutto and her husband, who also was running the race, to the start and then went to Fort Williams to catch the finish.

She was surprised to watch Rutto win.

“It was just an incredible thrill for our family,” Wexler said.

Before he left, Rutto gave Richard Wexler some pointers for his training for this year’s race.

“It’s interesting for the whole family and I think it’s interesting for the whole town,” Wexler said.

Ann Clark’s family is just beginning to learn what’s involved. It will be the first year the Clarks have hosted an athlete. “We always find these people just absolutely fascinating,” she said.

The family’s guest will be elite runner Abdi Abdirahan, a Somali-born U.S. citizen who now lives and trains in Phoenix.

Clark plans to show her guest the race route and have her family, including her husband and their young son and daughter, spend some time with him.

“I’m sure it’ll be a great experience,” Clark said. “We’re excited. I’m glad we can do it.”

Clark will run the race this year, but doesn’t expect to keep up with her guest. “I’ll be behind him,” she laughed.

As the community comes together around the race, Miliard sums up the reason so many Cape homes open up to international runners: “We just wanted to be part of it.”

Thursday, July 25, 2002

Local farmers take goods to market

Published in the Current

Farmers and gardeners from Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough make twice-weekly drives into the center of Portland for farmer’s market sales. On Wednesday, they and farmers from as far as Buxton and Hollis set up in Monument Square, opposite the time-and-temperature building, and on Saturdays they are in Deering Oaks Park.

They come for different reasons, but the money is good and the customers are steady.

Larry Bruns of Hanson Field Flower Farm, on Hanson Road, said he had a hard month in May, but is back up ahead of where he was last year. The weather not only hurt his crops, but also kept his customers in a wintry mindset.

“People were not in the mood to buy flowers,” Bruns said.

He said people appreciate the local aspect of the businesses at the Farmer’s Market, and often visit the farms where the produce comes from.

“I come to the Farmer’s Market basically as a form of advertising,” Bruns said.

Don McLewin of Dunstan Lawn and Garden on Route 1 has been bringing his farm’s produce to the market for 16 years. When he started, the market was next to the federal building, and moved twice before ending up in the square.

The Deering Oaks market has larger sales volume, McLewin said, from people who pull up their cars and do their weekly produce shopping.

The Monument Square market caters more to office workers, who buy flowers or smaller amounts of vegetables and fruits.

There are regular buyers, though, especially folks from Peaks Island, McLewin said. “You get so you know ‘em all,” he said.

Lester Jordan of L &A Farm in Cape Elizabeth has been at the market for 15 years, and said weather plays a big role in sales. “Now that the weather’s decent, it makes a big difference at the market,” he said.

Weather does more than influence the numbers of people who will walk through an open-air market, though. “It wasn’t a good spring,” Jordan said.

The wet weather meant many crops grew only shallow roots, and were easily blown over by high winds recently. “Some years they go well and some years they don’t,” he said.

And despite the hard spring, things are looking up for the summer. “We may recover,” Jordan said.