Published in the Current; co-written with Brendan Moran
Cape Elizabeth Police Officer Mark Dorval was driving on Shore Road late one night in early June when he spotted several large dark objects blocking the road. He swerved and nearly hit them.
When he got out of his car, he found 10 rocks that had been removed from a wall at a Delano Park entrance. The largest rock weighed 120 pounds. Police
believe the rocks were laid across the road by teenagers and could have killed someone if police hadn’t discovered them first.
The rocks were just one example of what police and Town Manager Mike McGovern say has been a problem in Cape this summer: teenagers partying and vandalizing. Cape teenagers say they’re not always to blame; kids from other communities sometimes do the vandalism. They also complain they have nothing to do in town, and police spend most of their time chasing after them.
Although police and McGovern attributed most of the vandalism to a small percentage of the kids in town, they said it has been worse this year than in past years. “Every time (teenagers) tend to congregate, there are problems,” said Police Chief Neil Williams.
“I think the big problem is most officers see a group of kids and immediately think the kids are smoking pot and drinking,” said Joe Thornton, 18. “If you want to go hang out at (Kettle Cove) and you’re honestly not smoking or
drinking, I don’t think there’s a reason to be chasing us out of there.”
McGovern said he’s seen teenage criminal mischief go in cycles. Police dealt with a spike in teenage crime a couple years ago. Things have quieted down
since then. But this summer they’ve seen a resurgence.
Williams said police are making twice as many arrests this year as they were at this time last year. Calls to police that used to stop by 1 or 2 a.m. are continuing until 3:30 or 4 a.m.
McGovern did not want to describe all the vandalism that has occurred, because he is afraid other teenagers will copy the vandalism that has already been committed.
But in the last several months, cars have been broken into; mailboxes have been damaged; the Little League shack at Lions Field was damaged; the Snack Shack at Crescent Beach was broken into; two trees at the high school were chopped down; and the word “Stags,” the Cheverus mascot, was written with grass killer at the high school track.
“It’s all connected to kids partying and drinking,” said Detective Paul Fenton. “Anything that’s in their path home will be destroyed.”
Nothing to do
Teenagers who spoke to the Current didn’t deny that some party and some even vandalize property. They said part of the problem is that after dark neither teenagers or police have much to do in Cape.
They said teenagers from other towns have caused some of the vandalism. They also said that some teenagers vandalize property on the way home from parties that have been broken up by police.
“There really is nothing for teenagers to do in this town,” said Alex Herbert, 17. “So a lot of teenagers go out in the woods and start a fire and have a good time. And I think that kind of adds to the problem.”
“It’s not even Cape kids who do it,” said Anthony Struzziero, 15. “A lot of South Portland kids come into town and mess with stuff.”
Teenagers complained that police spend all their time going after them. They said police often pull over cars if they see that it’s full of teenagers. When they go to Kettle Cove or Fort Williams to party, they said, police go out of their way to find them, sometimes using a night-vision scope.
“I’ve been in an experience where what we were doing was wrong, but I felt cops going out of their way to find out what we were doing was (itself) wrong,” said Herbert.
“I think we’re unfairly targeted, just because they really don’t have anything else to do. There’s not enough real crime in this town,” said Sam McCarthy, 18.
But police feel like they have plenty to do. Williams said they’re getting so many calls on nights and weekends that they could use more officers at those
times.
“It’s difficult for police to pick on kids,” said Fenton. He said police are too busy with calls and patrols to go after kids who aren’t causing trouble. He also said breaking up parties limits noise complaints and prevents criminal activity that happens when parties end on their own.
“I feel even if they are targeting kids, there’s a reason to because lately there’s been a lot of property damage,” said Lindsay Tinsman, 19, the daughter of Dispatcher Greg Tinsman.
Nowhere to go
In June, the Cape Town Council ran into another rock, “the rock,” as it’s known, after residents who live across from it wrote a letter threatening legal action if the town didn’t curb the partying and graffiti. The residents, Dennis and Ann Flavin, complained the graffiti was ugly and often laden with obscenities.
They also complained that the graffiti writing was often accompanied by loud partying.
Some teenagers and parents, however, argued painting the rock was a tradition. While the tradition has been considered a positive one by many since teenagers painted a flag after Sept. 11, McGovern said in past years painting the rock has often been linked to drinking.
The Town Council decided to resolve the debate by having police crack down on activity at the rock after dark.
Now the rock has become one more place where kids can’t be after dark, perpetuating a pattern that has been in Cape for years. Teenagers get together in a place where they’re not supposed to be, and police ask them to move.
“That’s happened forever,” said McGovern. “But, you know, the folks down at Kettle Cove deserve their peace too.”
“They want a place to congregate, and there is no good place,” said Chief Williams.
The new Community Center will open later this month. But the center will be devoted mostly to seniors. And even if some of the space at the center were devoted to teens, it wouldn’t necessarily help.
“We’d still do the same stuff,” said Struzziero. “There would be less of it, but the kids who want to party will go out and party.”
“The mischief that happens in Cape, an awful lot of it happens between 1:30 and 3 a.m.,” said McGovern. “I don’t think there’s anything the town could provide at that time.”
Thursday, August 22, 2002
Thursday, August 15, 2002
Rabies watch on in Cape
Published in the Current
As 11 Cape residents, children and adults, continue treatment for possible exposure to rabies during a fox attack on a little girl at a Cape day-care center, residents and authorities remain cautious about further incidents.
The girl, a 2-1/2 year old, missed one day before returning to the Funny Farm Daycare on Old Ocean House Road, according to Lisa Rockwell, an owner of the business. The other children and adults are back at the day-care center as well, she said.
Cape police say they are watchful for rabid animals in town, but caution residents not to panic.
Capt. Brent Sinclair said last week’s incident is unusual. He said residents who see a nocturnal animal during daylight hours should go inside and call
the police, but said that outdoor recreation and relaxation are still safe.
Sinclair added that police will kill any wild animal that they suspect of being rabid, preferring to be on the safe side rather than wait for the animal to be
involved in an encounter with humans or pets.
The police station also has available rabies information fliers from the state Division of Disease Control. Police have gotten inquiries from members of the public concerned about rabies and rabid animals in town.
At a Town Council meeting Monday, council Chairman Jack Roberts said people should not be afraid to go outside, but suggested they consider carrying a stick with which to defend themselves should they encounter a rabid animal.
Geoff Beckett, an assistant state epidemiologist with the Maine Bureau of Health, said even with a recent rabid animal attack, such an incident is unlikely to recur. “It is unusual for people to be attacked by wild animals,” he said.
Beckett also said there have been no cases of humans contracting rabies after contact with raccoons, foxes, skunks or other land animals in the past 20 years. That is because people know they have been bitten, he said, and seek treatment.
There are, he said, fewer than three cases a year in which humans have unknowingly been infected with rabies, “virtually all” through contact with bats.
Beckett said that discussion of the strains of rabies virus, notably the distinctions between “fox rabies” and “raccoon rabies,” should be left to epidemiologists, as the effects on humans of either variety of the rabies virus is “exactly the same.”
The fox attack was not the first encounter between humans and rabid animals in Cape this year, though it was certainly the scariest.
On July 10, a rabid gray fox approached humans and dogs on a deck outside a residence near Two Lights State Park.
One dog and a human forced the fox off the deck and it retreated into nearby woods, where it was located and destroyed.
On July 17, two police officers shot a rabid raccoon several times as it showed aggression toward the,.
Animal Control Officer Bob Leeman warned residents to keep a close eye on their pets when outdoors and to take care even when walking pets on a leash. The aggressive nature of the rabid animals so far this year is a concern, he said, and people need to pay attention.
As 11 Cape residents, children and adults, continue treatment for possible exposure to rabies during a fox attack on a little girl at a Cape day-care center, residents and authorities remain cautious about further incidents.
The girl, a 2-1/2 year old, missed one day before returning to the Funny Farm Daycare on Old Ocean House Road, according to Lisa Rockwell, an owner of the business. The other children and adults are back at the day-care center as well, she said.
Cape police say they are watchful for rabid animals in town, but caution residents not to panic.
Capt. Brent Sinclair said last week’s incident is unusual. He said residents who see a nocturnal animal during daylight hours should go inside and call
the police, but said that outdoor recreation and relaxation are still safe.
Sinclair added that police will kill any wild animal that they suspect of being rabid, preferring to be on the safe side rather than wait for the animal to be
involved in an encounter with humans or pets.
The police station also has available rabies information fliers from the state Division of Disease Control. Police have gotten inquiries from members of the public concerned about rabies and rabid animals in town.
At a Town Council meeting Monday, council Chairman Jack Roberts said people should not be afraid to go outside, but suggested they consider carrying a stick with which to defend themselves should they encounter a rabid animal.
Geoff Beckett, an assistant state epidemiologist with the Maine Bureau of Health, said even with a recent rabid animal attack, such an incident is unlikely to recur. “It is unusual for people to be attacked by wild animals,” he said.
Beckett also said there have been no cases of humans contracting rabies after contact with raccoons, foxes, skunks or other land animals in the past 20 years. That is because people know they have been bitten, he said, and seek treatment.
There are, he said, fewer than three cases a year in which humans have unknowingly been infected with rabies, “virtually all” through contact with bats.
Beckett said that discussion of the strains of rabies virus, notably the distinctions between “fox rabies” and “raccoon rabies,” should be left to epidemiologists, as the effects on humans of either variety of the rabies virus is “exactly the same.”
The fox attack was not the first encounter between humans and rabid animals in Cape this year, though it was certainly the scariest.
On July 10, a rabid gray fox approached humans and dogs on a deck outside a residence near Two Lights State Park.
One dog and a human forced the fox off the deck and it retreated into nearby woods, where it was located and destroyed.
On July 17, two police officers shot a rabid raccoon several times as it showed aggression toward the,.
Animal Control Officer Bob Leeman warned residents to keep a close eye on their pets when outdoors and to take care even when walking pets on a leash. The aggressive nature of the rabid animals so far this year is a concern, he said, and people need to pay attention.
Woman leaves nursing home, dies
Published in the Current
State investigators have finished an inquiry into the death of a Cape Elizabeth woman who walked out of a secure area at the Viking Community nursing home and drowned in a culvert just down the street. A report is expected to be released in the next couple of weeks.
Shirley Sayre, 77, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s, had lived in Portland growing up, and worked in Portland and South Portland. She attended local Baptist churches and participated in various church activities, including teaching Sunday school for many years.
She was a resident of the Viking Community nursing home on Scott Dyer Road, and was living in a secure area of that facility, used to house and care for patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, when she somehow got out.
Her family has declined comment on the investigation.
At Sayre’s funeral, her son, Stuart, who also lives in Cape Elizabeth, said his mother was “a wonderful mother who was always there for me.” He remembered her as a patient mother, who was loving and insightful.
He said he confided in her about personal issues, and also enjoyed discussing a wide variety of topics with her. He expressed great gratitude to her for teaching him to read and to love reading and writing. At one time, he said, she was frustrated because she had read through entire sections of the libraries in Portland, South Portland and Cape Elizabeth.
Shirley Sayre’s sister, Charlotte Russell of South Portland, remembered taking trips with Shirley and their friends, and enjoying each other’s company while reading or in the company of family, friends and loved ones.
Stuart expressed sorrow at not knowing when to say goodbye to his mother, as she entered “her deep descent into the mind-robbing illness named Alzheimer’s. ”
Sayre was put to bed just before 11 p.m., Aug. 8, according to an appeal for help sent to local media outlets by the Cape Elizabeth Police Department the following morning.
A bed check a short time later revealed that she was not in her bed, and a subsequent check of the grounds failed to locate her.
Cape police were notified Sayre was missing at 12:57 a.m., according to dispatch records, and a search began. She was found dead just after 9 a.m., Aug. 9, in a culvert on Scott Dyer Road.
The search involved members of the Cape fire, rescue and police departments, as well as the WET team, Maine Warden Service and the Maine State Police.
Fire Chief Philip McGouldrick, who coordinates search and rescue efforts in the town, said searchers were out all night. They looked in the stream behind the Viking, and along roads and trails near the nursing home.
McGouldrick said searchers kept to existing paths because a police dog from South Portland was working to sniff out where Sayre was, and they didn’t want to contaminate the dog’s search area with lots of human scent.
“We weren’t getting into the woods because we didn’t want to confuse the dog,” McGouldrick said.
Firefighters also used thermal imaging cameras, usually used to help them find concealed areas that are still burning in building fires. In this case, McGouldrick said, they would show a warm person as distinct from surrounding vegetation or buildings, which would be cooler.
In the morning, searchers hadn’t found anything, and regrouped to do a visual search of the area.
Sayre’s body was found by a state warden, floating face-down in a pool of water in the culvert, McGouldrick said. The state medical examiner determined that the death was caused by drowning.
And though searchers had passed by the location several times during the night, he said it would have been hard to spot in the dark.
“They barely saw her in the daytime,” McGouldrick said.
Sayre’s daughter-in-law, Lynne Sayre, said the family “could not say enough” to thank the people who searched all night. “We are so moved,” she said, “by their compassion and passion for what they do.”
Doreen Hunt, the acting administrator at the Viking, refused to comment, saying there was an investigation going on about the incident. On Aug. 9, Hunt faxed a short statement to local media outlets that said Sayre apparently wandered off a secure unit and out of the building unnoticed by staff.”
Newell Augur, a spokesman for the Department of Human Services, said the agency’s investigation was routine in all cases of what he called “elopement,” in which a patient in a secure area of a nursing home leaves without the knowledge of the staff.
He said that regular inspection visits to the Viking Community earlier in the year had turned up what he called “the normal amount of deficiencies” for a nursing home of its size. And while there was a shortcoming in the number of day staff for each patient, Augur said the deficiency was “not alarming” and had not included problems with patient supervision by nighttime staff.
McGouldrick said the Viking’s secure areas are locked by keypad access. Doors won’t open without people punching in the correct code, he said. McGouldrick also said it may never be known exactly how Sayre got out of the building.
State investigators have finished an inquiry into the death of a Cape Elizabeth woman who walked out of a secure area at the Viking Community nursing home and drowned in a culvert just down the street. A report is expected to be released in the next couple of weeks.
Shirley Sayre, 77, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s, had lived in Portland growing up, and worked in Portland and South Portland. She attended local Baptist churches and participated in various church activities, including teaching Sunday school for many years.
She was a resident of the Viking Community nursing home on Scott Dyer Road, and was living in a secure area of that facility, used to house and care for patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, when she somehow got out.
Her family has declined comment on the investigation.
At Sayre’s funeral, her son, Stuart, who also lives in Cape Elizabeth, said his mother was “a wonderful mother who was always there for me.” He remembered her as a patient mother, who was loving and insightful.
He said he confided in her about personal issues, and also enjoyed discussing a wide variety of topics with her. He expressed great gratitude to her for teaching him to read and to love reading and writing. At one time, he said, she was frustrated because she had read through entire sections of the libraries in Portland, South Portland and Cape Elizabeth.
Shirley Sayre’s sister, Charlotte Russell of South Portland, remembered taking trips with Shirley and their friends, and enjoying each other’s company while reading or in the company of family, friends and loved ones.
Stuart expressed sorrow at not knowing when to say goodbye to his mother, as she entered “her deep descent into the mind-robbing illness named Alzheimer’s. ”
Sayre was put to bed just before 11 p.m., Aug. 8, according to an appeal for help sent to local media outlets by the Cape Elizabeth Police Department the following morning.
A bed check a short time later revealed that she was not in her bed, and a subsequent check of the grounds failed to locate her.
Cape police were notified Sayre was missing at 12:57 a.m., according to dispatch records, and a search began. She was found dead just after 9 a.m., Aug. 9, in a culvert on Scott Dyer Road.
The search involved members of the Cape fire, rescue and police departments, as well as the WET team, Maine Warden Service and the Maine State Police.
Fire Chief Philip McGouldrick, who coordinates search and rescue efforts in the town, said searchers were out all night. They looked in the stream behind the Viking, and along roads and trails near the nursing home.
McGouldrick said searchers kept to existing paths because a police dog from South Portland was working to sniff out where Sayre was, and they didn’t want to contaminate the dog’s search area with lots of human scent.
“We weren’t getting into the woods because we didn’t want to confuse the dog,” McGouldrick said.
Firefighters also used thermal imaging cameras, usually used to help them find concealed areas that are still burning in building fires. In this case, McGouldrick said, they would show a warm person as distinct from surrounding vegetation or buildings, which would be cooler.
In the morning, searchers hadn’t found anything, and regrouped to do a visual search of the area.
Sayre’s body was found by a state warden, floating face-down in a pool of water in the culvert, McGouldrick said. The state medical examiner determined that the death was caused by drowning.
And though searchers had passed by the location several times during the night, he said it would have been hard to spot in the dark.
“They barely saw her in the daytime,” McGouldrick said.
Sayre’s daughter-in-law, Lynne Sayre, said the family “could not say enough” to thank the people who searched all night. “We are so moved,” she said, “by their compassion and passion for what they do.”
Doreen Hunt, the acting administrator at the Viking, refused to comment, saying there was an investigation going on about the incident. On Aug. 9, Hunt faxed a short statement to local media outlets that said Sayre apparently wandered off a secure unit and out of the building unnoticed by staff.”
Newell Augur, a spokesman for the Department of Human Services, said the agency’s investigation was routine in all cases of what he called “elopement,” in which a patient in a secure area of a nursing home leaves without the knowledge of the staff.
He said that regular inspection visits to the Viking Community earlier in the year had turned up what he called “the normal amount of deficiencies” for a nursing home of its size. And while there was a shortcoming in the number of day staff for each patient, Augur said the deficiency was “not alarming” and had not included problems with patient supervision by nighttime staff.
McGouldrick said the Viking’s secure areas are locked by keypad access. Doors won’t open without people punching in the correct code, he said. McGouldrick also said it may never be known exactly how Sayre got out of the building.
Thursday, August 8, 2002
War protesters, residents look for Bush
Published in the Current
Supporters of President Georg e W. Bush and those critical of his policies lined Black Point Road Aug. 3, hoping to catch a glimpse of the president and show their feelings.
The largest group was between 60 and 80 protesters of all ages, organized by Peace Action Maine and the Maine chapter of Veterans for Peace. The main theme was “no new war in Iraq,” according to Greg Field, the executive director of Peace Action Maine.
“The administration is clearly moving towards war,” Field said. He urged the government to seek other alternatives to economic sanctions and bombing. “Support for the people of Iraq is not support for Saddam Hussein,” Field said.
The protest was originally scheduled to take place at the corner of routes 77 and 207, but was moved, at the request of Scarborough police, to the driveway of the Scarborough Sanitary District, opposite the entrance to Scarborough Beach State Park.
Field said he had no objection to being moved closer to the presidential event, and said the police had also told protesters to stay on one side of the road, rather than lining both sides.
Field said a number of Bush administration decisions needed more attention, including plans to invade Iraq. “Terrorism is impossible to fight by landing troops,” Field said, charging Bush with “using the tragedy of 9/11 as a pretext” for attacking Saddam Hussein.
He also said new laws intended to increase domestic security needed review. “The Bush administration isn’t making us more secure,” Field said.
He suggested the government enter negotiations with the Iraqi government to deal with the poverty in that country, and to begin economic development programs in Iraq.
Elizabeth, a protester from Cape Elizabeth who asked that her last name not be used, said she opposed military action in Iraq. “I don’t think it’s a good solution to the problem,” she said.
She encouraged the U.S. to send food and medicine to Iraq and back off military spending, as well as working with other world leaders to deal with global social issues.
Jack Bussell of Portland, a retired U.S. Army warrant officer and board member of the Maine chapter of Veterans for Peace, said he wanted to “abolish war as an instrument of foreign policy. ”
Arguing that war should serve a higher purpose, Bussell said, “Veterans have given their lives in battle in the hopes that their sacrifice will advance the cause of world peace.”
He said a huge segment of the U.S. economy serves the military-industrial complex, and suggested that factories convert their production for peaceful means.
“Suppose Bath Iron Works built Stealth hospital ships,” Bussell said, that could be used to “sneak into” foreign harbors and treat sick children.
He said the nation had a “unique opportunity” after Sept. 11 to “step back and look at the causes” of violence and terrorism. He then suggested that the entire nation take a “30-day retreat” to “sit back and look at ourselves,” to answer the question, “what is America all about?”
The protest attracted honks of support from passing cars and peace signs from people in SUVs.
It also found its share of counterprotesters. One man slowly cycled by saying repeatedly, “Anyone wearing petroleum products, please put down your sign.”
Another man ran up and down the line carrying an American flag and a “Steven Joyce for Congress” sign, chanting “We support the president.”
Elsewhere on Black Point Road, people gathered in smaller groups on their front lawns, setting out chairs to try to get a glimpse of the president as his motorcade went by.
And though Bush arrived by boat from Kennebunkport, there was a motorcade of large black SUVs that went down the road, as people waved from the roadside.
One family parked their RV in the front of their driveway, to be able to sit in air-conditioned comfort during the wait for the motorcade.
As the afternoon wore on, Scarborough police, acting at the direction of the Secret Service, closed off a large section of Black Point Road, from the intersection with Route 77. Several Prouts Neck residents, as well as a few guests with invitations to the presidential event, were stuck outside the security blockade for nearly 45 minutes.
Residents and local police officers had been told that morning that residents would be allowed down into Prouts Neck throughout the afternoon, but that changed with a Secret Service directive that traffic should stop whenever the president moved around the event area.
After a wait in which several people got frustrated but remained calm, residents were allowed to proceed down Black Point Road, while would-be beachgoers and others continued to be stopped.
At about 5 p.m., the motorcade made its way back out Black Point Road and headed south on Route 1, again without the president on board.
Released from duty for the afternoon, three Secret Service agents assigned to the president’s father in Kennebunkport grabbed a bite to eat at the McDonald’s in Oak Hill.
Their three black SUVs were parked out front, two with Texas license plates and a third with Maine plates.
“Just trying to catch a quick bite,” one of them said.
Supporters of President Georg e W. Bush and those critical of his policies lined Black Point Road Aug. 3, hoping to catch a glimpse of the president and show their feelings.
The largest group was between 60 and 80 protesters of all ages, organized by Peace Action Maine and the Maine chapter of Veterans for Peace. The main theme was “no new war in Iraq,” according to Greg Field, the executive director of Peace Action Maine.
“The administration is clearly moving towards war,” Field said. He urged the government to seek other alternatives to economic sanctions and bombing. “Support for the people of Iraq is not support for Saddam Hussein,” Field said.
The protest was originally scheduled to take place at the corner of routes 77 and 207, but was moved, at the request of Scarborough police, to the driveway of the Scarborough Sanitary District, opposite the entrance to Scarborough Beach State Park.
Field said he had no objection to being moved closer to the presidential event, and said the police had also told protesters to stay on one side of the road, rather than lining both sides.
Field said a number of Bush administration decisions needed more attention, including plans to invade Iraq. “Terrorism is impossible to fight by landing troops,” Field said, charging Bush with “using the tragedy of 9/11 as a pretext” for attacking Saddam Hussein.
He also said new laws intended to increase domestic security needed review. “The Bush administration isn’t making us more secure,” Field said.
He suggested the government enter negotiations with the Iraqi government to deal with the poverty in that country, and to begin economic development programs in Iraq.
Elizabeth, a protester from Cape Elizabeth who asked that her last name not be used, said she opposed military action in Iraq. “I don’t think it’s a good solution to the problem,” she said.
She encouraged the U.S. to send food and medicine to Iraq and back off military spending, as well as working with other world leaders to deal with global social issues.
Jack Bussell of Portland, a retired U.S. Army warrant officer and board member of the Maine chapter of Veterans for Peace, said he wanted to “abolish war as an instrument of foreign policy. ”
Arguing that war should serve a higher purpose, Bussell said, “Veterans have given their lives in battle in the hopes that their sacrifice will advance the cause of world peace.”
He said a huge segment of the U.S. economy serves the military-industrial complex, and suggested that factories convert their production for peaceful means.
“Suppose Bath Iron Works built Stealth hospital ships,” Bussell said, that could be used to “sneak into” foreign harbors and treat sick children.
He said the nation had a “unique opportunity” after Sept. 11 to “step back and look at the causes” of violence and terrorism. He then suggested that the entire nation take a “30-day retreat” to “sit back and look at ourselves,” to answer the question, “what is America all about?”
The protest attracted honks of support from passing cars and peace signs from people in SUVs.
It also found its share of counterprotesters. One man slowly cycled by saying repeatedly, “Anyone wearing petroleum products, please put down your sign.”
Another man ran up and down the line carrying an American flag and a “Steven Joyce for Congress” sign, chanting “We support the president.”
Elsewhere on Black Point Road, people gathered in smaller groups on their front lawns, setting out chairs to try to get a glimpse of the president as his motorcade went by.
And though Bush arrived by boat from Kennebunkport, there was a motorcade of large black SUVs that went down the road, as people waved from the roadside.
One family parked their RV in the front of their driveway, to be able to sit in air-conditioned comfort during the wait for the motorcade.
As the afternoon wore on, Scarborough police, acting at the direction of the Secret Service, closed off a large section of Black Point Road, from the intersection with Route 77. Several Prouts Neck residents, as well as a few guests with invitations to the presidential event, were stuck outside the security blockade for nearly 45 minutes.
Residents and local police officers had been told that morning that residents would be allowed down into Prouts Neck throughout the afternoon, but that changed with a Secret Service directive that traffic should stop whenever the president moved around the event area.
After a wait in which several people got frustrated but remained calm, residents were allowed to proceed down Black Point Road, while would-be beachgoers and others continued to be stopped.
At about 5 p.m., the motorcade made its way back out Black Point Road and headed south on Route 1, again without the president on board.
Released from duty for the afternoon, three Secret Service agents assigned to the president’s father in Kennebunkport grabbed a bite to eat at the McDonald’s in Oak Hill.
Their three black SUVs were parked out front, two with Texas license plates and a third with Maine plates.
“Just trying to catch a quick bite,” one of them said.
Rabid fox bites child
Published in the Current
A rabid fox bit a 2-1/2 year old girl Tuesday at a day-care center in Cape Elizabeth.
Just before 5 p.m. Tuesday, a fox ran from a brushy area 20 feet from Funny Farm Daycare on Old Ocean House Road. Ten children were playing in the driveway, supervised by two adults. The fox ran directly to the group and bit the girl on her arm, breaking the skin. The fox then ran back into the underbrush between the day-care and the yard next door.
Cape Elizabeth Rescue responded and transported the child to a Portland hospital.
According to the day-care owner, she was treated and released from the hospital and is now home with her family. Two day-care teachers, who may have been exposed to fox saliva, also are being treated.
Officers Vaughn Dyer and Mark Dorval were able to locate what they believed was the same fox. When found, the fox charged the officers, who shot it. The body is now in a state lab in Augusta.
The lab confirmed on Wednesday that the fox was rabid, which came as no surprise to Cape police Capt. Brent Sinclair. “That’s just not normal behavior” for a fox, he said.
Scott Rockwell, an owner of the day-care, said he has seen foxes in the past, but has never had any problems with them.
Ironically, he said, “I had just taken the kids on a walk” on the town greenbelt trail behind the day-care property. The kids had gone inside for a drink and then headed outside to play in the driveway, he said.
Rockwell said that parents had been understanding about the event, and though the bite victim was not at the day-care the following day, “everyone (else) brought their kids back here today. ”
Rockwell said the girl was fine and at home with her parents on Wednesday.
He said the day care routinely talks about animal safety with the children in its care, teaching them “the importance of staying together in the woods.” He added that people encountering foxes should be wary.
“If you see one, don’t go near him,” Rockwell said.
Sinclair said the teachers at Funny Farm had done everything right by taking the kids inside, getting medical treatment and notifying parents. “They did exactly what they should have done,” he said.
Dr. Jon Karol, an emergency medical physician and director of Maine Medical Center’s Brighton First Care facility, said the standard treatment for a human bitten by a rabid animal is two shots on the first visit, both given in the upper arm. One shot is rabies immune globulin, given just once in a dose
based on the patient’s weight. The other shot is a rabies vaccine.
The patient also has to return four times over the month following exposure for additional doses of the rabies vaccine, Karol said.
A rabid fox bit a 2-1/2 year old girl Tuesday at a day-care center in Cape Elizabeth.
Just before 5 p.m. Tuesday, a fox ran from a brushy area 20 feet from Funny Farm Daycare on Old Ocean House Road. Ten children were playing in the driveway, supervised by two adults. The fox ran directly to the group and bit the girl on her arm, breaking the skin. The fox then ran back into the underbrush between the day-care and the yard next door.
Cape Elizabeth Rescue responded and transported the child to a Portland hospital.
According to the day-care owner, she was treated and released from the hospital and is now home with her family. Two day-care teachers, who may have been exposed to fox saliva, also are being treated.
Officers Vaughn Dyer and Mark Dorval were able to locate what they believed was the same fox. When found, the fox charged the officers, who shot it. The body is now in a state lab in Augusta.
The lab confirmed on Wednesday that the fox was rabid, which came as no surprise to Cape police Capt. Brent Sinclair. “That’s just not normal behavior” for a fox, he said.
Scott Rockwell, an owner of the day-care, said he has seen foxes in the past, but has never had any problems with them.
Ironically, he said, “I had just taken the kids on a walk” on the town greenbelt trail behind the day-care property. The kids had gone inside for a drink and then headed outside to play in the driveway, he said.
Rockwell said that parents had been understanding about the event, and though the bite victim was not at the day-care the following day, “everyone (else) brought their kids back here today. ”
Rockwell said the girl was fine and at home with her parents on Wednesday.
He said the day care routinely talks about animal safety with the children in its care, teaching them “the importance of staying together in the woods.” He added that people encountering foxes should be wary.
“If you see one, don’t go near him,” Rockwell said.
Sinclair said the teachers at Funny Farm had done everything right by taking the kids inside, getting medical treatment and notifying parents. “They did exactly what they should have done,” he said.
Dr. Jon Karol, an emergency medical physician and director of Maine Medical Center’s Brighton First Care facility, said the standard treatment for a human bitten by a rabid animal is two shots on the first visit, both given in the upper arm. One shot is rabies immune globulin, given just once in a dose
based on the patient’s weight. The other shot is a rabies vaccine.
The patient also has to return four times over the month following exposure for additional doses of the rabies vaccine, Karol said.
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