Published in the Current
Cape Elizabeth police are warning residents to keep an eye on their pet cats, in the wake of three recent encounters between cats and rabid animals. Two of the incidents involved raccoons and the third was with a skunk, according to Animal Control Officer Bob Leeman.
The most recent encounter, on the night of Sept. 4, was on Ocean House Road between Mitchell Road and Spurwink Avenue. The cat in that encounter was put down because its rabies shots were not up-to-date, and because there were children and other pets in the home.
“I know I’ve got cats out there that aren’t up to date on shots,” Leeman said. “That’s scary. ”
He said cat owners who discover unexplained injuries on their animals should have them taken to the veterinarian for an examination. He said cats might not even show signs of a fight or animal bite, but could bring rabies into the house unnoticed. If humans are exposed to the virus and do not receive rapid treatment, the disease is fatal.
If an animal is suspected of having encountered a rabid animal, Leeman said, the vet will administer a rabies booster shot and the animal will be quarantined for 45 days to be sure it is rabies-free. Leeman said most quarantined animals are kept in their homes under closer supervision than normal.
Rabid animals wander around town, Leeman said, meaning there is no way to specify that one area of town is riskier than others. “It’s everywhere out here,” he said.
Another encounter was between a black cat and a raccoon in the Brentwood area. Both the raccoon and the cat ran off before being captured, Leeman said, so he is not sure what happened to the animals. He did contact residents in the area whom he knew had black cats, but failed to find the animal.
“It worries me because there are so many cats in town,” Leeman said.
Thursday, September 5, 2002
New Cape deputy fire chief
Published in the Current
Mark Stults, a 10-year veteran of the Cape Fire Department and current captain of Engine 2, has been selected to fill a deputy fire chief position made vacant by the death of Jimmy Murray in June.
Murray’s official radio call sign, “Car Two,” will transfer to Deputy Fire Chief Peter Gleason, and Stults will pick up Gleason’s old call sign as “Car Three.” Fire Chief Philip McGouldrick is “Car One.”
Stults spent 11 years as a firefighter in Falmouth, where he also served as an engine company captain. He works full time for the Town of Scarborough as a firefighter-paramedic on duty with the ambulance at Dunstan Station, and will be able to keep his job there.
“I’m excited,” Stults said. “I’m very pleased to feel the energy that everyone has.”
He took office Sept. 1, so not a lot has happened yet, but he is working with McGouldrick and Gleason to keep things running smoothly at the fire department.
The biggest issue facing the department, he said, is pressure to keep enough on-call firefighters available, and reduce or eliminate the need for full-time paid firefighters.
Full-timers are more expensive than on-call crews, Stults said.
“We’ve got a great group of people on board now,” he said. He expects to continue to focus on keeping a strong pool of volunteers, including paying attention to young people in town who are interested in the fire service.
Mark Stults, a 10-year veteran of the Cape Fire Department and current captain of Engine 2, has been selected to fill a deputy fire chief position made vacant by the death of Jimmy Murray in June.
Murray’s official radio call sign, “Car Two,” will transfer to Deputy Fire Chief Peter Gleason, and Stults will pick up Gleason’s old call sign as “Car Three.” Fire Chief Philip McGouldrick is “Car One.”
Stults spent 11 years as a firefighter in Falmouth, where he also served as an engine company captain. He works full time for the Town of Scarborough as a firefighter-paramedic on duty with the ambulance at Dunstan Station, and will be able to keep his job there.
“I’m excited,” Stults said. “I’m very pleased to feel the energy that everyone has.”
He took office Sept. 1, so not a lot has happened yet, but he is working with McGouldrick and Gleason to keep things running smoothly at the fire department.
The biggest issue facing the department, he said, is pressure to keep enough on-call firefighters available, and reduce or eliminate the need for full-time paid firefighters.
Full-timers are more expensive than on-call crews, Stults said.
“We’ve got a great group of people on board now,” he said. He expects to continue to focus on keeping a strong pool of volunteers, including paying attention to young people in town who are interested in the fire service.
Most sex offenders still not registered
Published in the Current
Of the 3,300 sex offenders required to register with the state’s sex offender registry, only a couple hundred showed up by the Sept. 1 deadline, according to the state police. Officials are taking a wait-and-see approach pending a decision on further action.
“We were hoping for a far greater response to voluntary compliance,” said Maine State Police spokesman, Steve McCausland.
He understands why there is a problem. “The sex offender list is the last place most people want their names to appear,” he said. Some of the offenses took place as long ago as 10 years, he said, so people may “take their chances” and effectively make the police go looking for them.
Starting June 30, 1992, people convicted of gross sexual assault of minors were required by state law to register with state and local police.
In 1999 the legislature expanded the law to include a number of other offenses, ranging from unlawful sexual contact to non-parental kidnapping.
From that date forward, all people convicted of those offenses also had to register.
In September 2001, the state Legislature made the 1999 law retroactive to the original 1992 date. All offenders convicted of any of the crimes added in 1999, and who were convicted between 1992 and 1999, were required to register by Sept. 1.
The plan of action now is uncertain.
“We will now regroup and decide what our next steps are going to be,” McCausland said.
The State Bureau of Identification, which oversees the sex offender registry, has other tasks as well, he said, so officials will have to look at what else is required of that division before deciding how to handle the sex offender issue.
In the meantime, state police will wait for sex offenders to have background checks run on them, or have other contacts with law enforcement.
When sex offenders who should have registered do encounter police, McCausland said, they may be subject to “enforcement action” based on their failure to register.
Criminal background checks, he said, are common in many fields as pre-employment checks, including most jobs dealing with children, including school employees, daycare providers and scout leaders.
Of the 3,300 sex offenders required to register with the state’s sex offender registry, only a couple hundred showed up by the Sept. 1 deadline, according to the state police. Officials are taking a wait-and-see approach pending a decision on further action.
“We were hoping for a far greater response to voluntary compliance,” said Maine State Police spokesman, Steve McCausland.
He understands why there is a problem. “The sex offender list is the last place most people want their names to appear,” he said. Some of the offenses took place as long ago as 10 years, he said, so people may “take their chances” and effectively make the police go looking for them.
Starting June 30, 1992, people convicted of gross sexual assault of minors were required by state law to register with state and local police.
In 1999 the legislature expanded the law to include a number of other offenses, ranging from unlawful sexual contact to non-parental kidnapping.
From that date forward, all people convicted of those offenses also had to register.
In September 2001, the state Legislature made the 1999 law retroactive to the original 1992 date. All offenders convicted of any of the crimes added in 1999, and who were convicted between 1992 and 1999, were required to register by Sept. 1.
The plan of action now is uncertain.
“We will now regroup and decide what our next steps are going to be,” McCausland said.
The State Bureau of Identification, which oversees the sex offender registry, has other tasks as well, he said, so officials will have to look at what else is required of that division before deciding how to handle the sex offender issue.
In the meantime, state police will wait for sex offenders to have background checks run on them, or have other contacts with law enforcement.
When sex offenders who should have registered do encounter police, McCausland said, they may be subject to “enforcement action” based on their failure to register.
Criminal background checks, he said, are common in many fields as pre-employment checks, including most jobs dealing with children, including school employees, daycare providers and scout leaders.
Thursday, August 29, 2002
Cape schools juggle budget changes
Published in the Current
An unexpected increase in federal funding has the Cape Elizabeth School Board breathing a bit easier in the current climate of concern over state budget cuts, but the specter of additional state cuts still looms.
For now, $39,800 in state cuts will be offset by an estimated $40,000 in federal grants for students who have additional needs but don’t qualify for special education.
“We’ve heard rumors there may be more,” said Business Manager Pauline Aportria.
The board has an additional $232,000 in surplus, beyond their expected end-of-year surplus of $285,000, as a result of $60,000 in state agency payments for special needs students and savings due to an end-of-fiscal-year spending freeze.
The board, meeting as its finance subcommittee, decided to use $200,000 of that additional surplus to begin a capital improvement fund. They expect to use some of that money to either offset the cost of the high school and Pond Cove renovation projects, or to perform some needed roof repairs, if the
renovation project fails to win voter approval.
The money could be reallocated to other purposes if, for example, additional state funding cuts meant the schools needed the money sooner. The Town Council would need to approve such a reallocation, Aportria said.
After a discussion of whether to keep additional money in an undesignated reserve to bring the district’s reserve funding up to 2 percent – the “generally accepted accounting principle” – the board gave up under budget pressure from the council in the spring.
Board member George Entwistle said keeping the reserve at 2 percent would provide the district a strong negotiating tool when returning to the council during this year’s budget process.
But board members agreed that putting the money in a building fund would be the wisest move, particularly because they could move it if needed.
Superintendent Tom Forcella said the $200,000 for building expenses could make a big dent in the initial years of any bond that would be passed for the project.
“Ultimately, it’s going to reduce the tax rate,” said board member Kevin Sweeney.
School Board chair and building subcommittee chair Marie Prager said the high school building project, in particular, had been projected to cost more than they had imagined.
The $9.2 million proposal from HKTA Architects is far more than an initial survey, conducted by SMRT Architects, which projected high school renovation costs at $2.5 million, Prager said.
The big jump, she said, would pay for “redoing the high school the way everyone thinks it should be done,” including staff requests and $2 million in site work. Prager said she expects to get 20 to 25 years of use out of the upcoming renovation, but the cost is too high right now.
“We will bring it down,” she said. She warned, however, that the cost would not be cut to $2.5 million.
In its regular August business meeting, which followed the finance subcommittee meeting, the Cape Elizabeth School Board hear the following reports:
–Middle School Principal Nancy Hutton said there will be 34 new students at the middle school this year, including 11 new eighth-graders. She said there were 17 seventh-graders participating in the laptop iTeam program, in which they will help their peers and teachers better use the laptop computers. Hutton also spoke about the middle school outdoor education trips to Camp Kieve and Chewonki, and fund-raising activity to pay for the trips.
– Superintendent Tom Forcella told about new district employees hired over the summer.
– Pond Cove School Principal Tom Eismeier said he is accepting questions to be answered during his upcoming trip to learn about education in Japan.
– High School Principal Jeff Shedd said the state has mandated all high schools have in place at the end of this school year a local assessment program ready for implementation in the fall.
An unexpected increase in federal funding has the Cape Elizabeth School Board breathing a bit easier in the current climate of concern over state budget cuts, but the specter of additional state cuts still looms.
For now, $39,800 in state cuts will be offset by an estimated $40,000 in federal grants for students who have additional needs but don’t qualify for special education.
“We’ve heard rumors there may be more,” said Business Manager Pauline Aportria.
The board has an additional $232,000 in surplus, beyond their expected end-of-year surplus of $285,000, as a result of $60,000 in state agency payments for special needs students and savings due to an end-of-fiscal-year spending freeze.
The board, meeting as its finance subcommittee, decided to use $200,000 of that additional surplus to begin a capital improvement fund. They expect to use some of that money to either offset the cost of the high school and Pond Cove renovation projects, or to perform some needed roof repairs, if the
renovation project fails to win voter approval.
The money could be reallocated to other purposes if, for example, additional state funding cuts meant the schools needed the money sooner. The Town Council would need to approve such a reallocation, Aportria said.
After a discussion of whether to keep additional money in an undesignated reserve to bring the district’s reserve funding up to 2 percent – the “generally accepted accounting principle” – the board gave up under budget pressure from the council in the spring.
Board member George Entwistle said keeping the reserve at 2 percent would provide the district a strong negotiating tool when returning to the council during this year’s budget process.
But board members agreed that putting the money in a building fund would be the wisest move, particularly because they could move it if needed.
Superintendent Tom Forcella said the $200,000 for building expenses could make a big dent in the initial years of any bond that would be passed for the project.
“Ultimately, it’s going to reduce the tax rate,” said board member Kevin Sweeney.
School Board chair and building subcommittee chair Marie Prager said the high school building project, in particular, had been projected to cost more than they had imagined.
The $9.2 million proposal from HKTA Architects is far more than an initial survey, conducted by SMRT Architects, which projected high school renovation costs at $2.5 million, Prager said.
The big jump, she said, would pay for “redoing the high school the way everyone thinks it should be done,” including staff requests and $2 million in site work. Prager said she expects to get 20 to 25 years of use out of the upcoming renovation, but the cost is too high right now.
“We will bring it down,” she said. She warned, however, that the cost would not be cut to $2.5 million.
In its regular August business meeting, which followed the finance subcommittee meeting, the Cape Elizabeth School Board hear the following reports:
–Middle School Principal Nancy Hutton said there will be 34 new students at the middle school this year, including 11 new eighth-graders. She said there were 17 seventh-graders participating in the laptop iTeam program, in which they will help their peers and teachers better use the laptop computers. Hutton also spoke about the middle school outdoor education trips to Camp Kieve and Chewonki, and fund-raising activity to pay for the trips.
– Superintendent Tom Forcella told about new district employees hired over the summer.
– Pond Cove School Principal Tom Eismeier said he is accepting questions to be answered during his upcoming trip to learn about education in Japan.
– High School Principal Jeff Shedd said the state has mandated all high schools have in place at the end of this school year a local assessment program ready for implementation in the fall.
Cape playgrounds get rave reviews
Published in the Current
Dozens of kids already have tried out the new playgrounds at Pond Cove and the middle school, and the reviews, from kids of all ages, is unanimously positive.
“There’s a tire swing there, there’s a trampoline there, and there’s a street sweeper,” said Will Downes, age 4, pointing out some of the new playground’s features.
“I think the playground looks beautiful,” said the well-spoken 4-year-old, who will start kindergarten this year. He went on to detail the virtues of the new slides (there are three) and several ladders, a climbing pole and a fireman’s pole.
“My favorite is the tire swing,” Downes said.
Mac Sweeney, 8, is eager for crews to put the finishing touches on the playground next to Pond Cove.
“I can’t wait until the other playgrounds open,” he said. But he is happy with what he’s seen so far. “I think it’s great,” he said.
Playground reconstruction was organized by CapePlay, with local support from Cape architect Pat Carroll and construction by Skip Murray and L.P. Murray and Sons construction.
Lisa Silverman-Gent, co-chair of CapePlay, said everything “went right on schedule.” She expects there will be a blacktop painting party in September to set up foursquare courts and other games on the blacktop areas near each playground.
The equipment was chosen by students, teachers, administrators and members of the public, Silverman-Gent said. She thanked members of the community for donations and support.
“The two school playgrounds could never have happened without the community,” she said.
The final phase of CapePlay’s efforts will be a new playground at Fort Williams, tentatively planned for the oak grove near the Day One offices. But that remains subject to approval by the Fort Williams Advisory Committee, Silverman-Gent said.
There is no timetable for that project, though CapePlay will need to raise roughly $90,000 to complete it, she said.
Silverman-Gent said that in addition to the Murray crews, who were “very generous” with their time, her co-chair Laura Briggs and volunteer Tina Harnden also played important roles in getting the project done.
Dozens of kids already have tried out the new playgrounds at Pond Cove and the middle school, and the reviews, from kids of all ages, is unanimously positive.
“There’s a tire swing there, there’s a trampoline there, and there’s a street sweeper,” said Will Downes, age 4, pointing out some of the new playground’s features.
“I think the playground looks beautiful,” said the well-spoken 4-year-old, who will start kindergarten this year. He went on to detail the virtues of the new slides (there are three) and several ladders, a climbing pole and a fireman’s pole.
“My favorite is the tire swing,” Downes said.
Mac Sweeney, 8, is eager for crews to put the finishing touches on the playground next to Pond Cove.
“I can’t wait until the other playgrounds open,” he said. But he is happy with what he’s seen so far. “I think it’s great,” he said.
Playground reconstruction was organized by CapePlay, with local support from Cape architect Pat Carroll and construction by Skip Murray and L.P. Murray and Sons construction.
Lisa Silverman-Gent, co-chair of CapePlay, said everything “went right on schedule.” She expects there will be a blacktop painting party in September to set up foursquare courts and other games on the blacktop areas near each playground.
The equipment was chosen by students, teachers, administrators and members of the public, Silverman-Gent said. She thanked members of the community for donations and support.
“The two school playgrounds could never have happened without the community,” she said.
The final phase of CapePlay’s efforts will be a new playground at Fort Williams, tentatively planned for the oak grove near the Day One offices. But that remains subject to approval by the Fort Williams Advisory Committee, Silverman-Gent said.
There is no timetable for that project, though CapePlay will need to raise roughly $90,000 to complete it, she said.
Silverman-Gent said that in addition to the Murray crews, who were “very generous” with their time, her co-chair Laura Briggs and volunteer Tina Harnden also played important roles in getting the project done.
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