Gab with the Gazette

Coping with empty shelves (July 31, 2009)

Gazette Editor — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:28:00 GMT

By Gillian Graham

Staff Writer

Walking through the York County Food Rescue warehouse, Director Jodi Bissonnette pointed to four pallets of candy and shook her head.

“It makes it very, very hard,” she said. “People can’t live on this.”

The boxes of candy – mostly miniature chocolate bars – sit in space previously occupied by staples such as pasta, cereal and other dry goods. Food donated to the warehouse by area grocery stores has dwindled in recent months as store managers keep stock tight to reduce waste, she said.

Now, as local food pantries struggle to feed more and more hungry families, Bissonnette has less to give.

York County Food Rescue has supplied 43 area food pantries and meal programs with food at no cost since January 2008. The program operates from a donated 9,000-square-foot warehouse on Jagger Mill Road in Sanford. It relies heavily on dozens of volunteers who sort and prepare food for distribution. Bissonnette said the program soon will reach a total of 1.5 million pounds of food distributed.

“If we were to close, a lot of the pantries wouldn’t have anything at all,” she said.

The food rescue program relies primarily on donations from area businesses and residents, as well as grants Bissonnette secures through state and federal government programs. Food provided to pantries includes frozen meats, vegetables and dinners, fresh produce, canned products. Eggs are provided through a grant funded by federal stimulus money.

The program’s goal is to provide balanced meals for families – not just candy, cookies and sugary juice drinks that currently fill the warehouse, Bissonnette said.

Each pantry receives an average of 16,000 to 19,000 pounds of food monthly from the food rescue program. Bissonnette said need for food has gone up at least 30 percent in every pantry she works with. While the number of patrons using pantries and other food service programs has been on the rise for more than a year, she said the need has been especially noticeable in the past six months.

Bissonnette said many people picking up food from pantries are doing so for the first time. Middle class families who are “down and out” now pick up canned vegetables and other staples instead of donating extra food from their pantry shelves, she said.

“Every week I have people tell me they never thought they would come here,” Bissonnette said. ‘The folks that need it now are the ones who are proud.”

At the Saco Food Pantry, Bob Nichols has been left wondering how he will provide food for all the people who come in looking for help. Shelves are bare, freezers are half full and storage rooms are no longer crowded with pallets of food. Nichols, who manages pantry operations, said the pantry fed 42 new people from 18 families in June alone. In 2008, the pantry served an average of 44 new people every month, he said.

“We were in good shape. We had money, the donations were keeping up with the people who needed food,” Nichols said.

Now, he said, the pantry is struggling like other programs in the area. Nichols has reduced the number of items families can take to make sure everyone gets something. The goal of the pantry is to provide three meals per day for four days for each person in a family, he said.

“With the cuts, it might be only three days depending on the family,” he said.

When the pantry received less than half the food it ordered last month from Good Shepherd Food Bank in Auburn, Nichols changed signs hanging throughout the pantry to let families know what they could take. Previously, a family of up to three people could take three cans of vegetables plus a box of potato flakes. The box of potato flakes is now included in the three items available, but families can help themselves to larger quantities of candy and cookies.

Nichols said food reductions affect families negatively, but the pantry is doing everything it can to restock its shelves and freezers.

“They’re going to have to figure out how they’re going to get food,” he said. “We will help out as much as we can.”

Bissonnette and Nichols said July and August are particularly difficult months for food programs as people travel and think less about donating. Food drives common with school groups traditionally take place around holiday months, so organizers must learn to manage supplies to make them last throughout the year, Bissonnette said.

Nichols said giving doesn’t have to be time consuming or expensive.

“If it’s on sale, we need it,” Nichols said. “If it’s buy one, get one free, we’ll take the free one.”

Though Bissonnette expects the remainder of the year to be tough – especially once the heating season starts – she said she hopes local farmers will give generously when they harvest crops. Also important, she said, is for area residents to take a hard look at what they can afford to give and make the commitment to help their neighbors.

“When you have a food drive, it’s those who need who give,” she said. “Generosity starts at home.”

Bissonnette said raising awareness is key to helping pantries weather the current economic climate. She said she often feels York County Food Rescue is the “world’s biggest secret,” but people give generously once they learn about the program.

“We really need to go back to neighbor helping neighbor. If you see a neighbor struggling, see what you can do to help,” Bissonnette said. “If you give of yourself the most you can give, you’ve done a great thing.”

For more information about York County Food Rescue, go to www.yorkcountyfoodrescue.org or call 324-1273.

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.

Boy critically hurt on Route 202 bridge (July 31, 2009)

Gazette Editor — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:26:00 GMT

By Gillian Graham

Staff Writer

A 12-year-old boy was critically injured after being hit by a pickup truck on the Salmon Falls Bridge in Hollis Tuesday afternoon.

The accident occurred at a popular swimming spot over the Saco River on Route 202 at the Buxton-Hollis town line. Jake Vincent of Portland was struck by a pickup truck around 3 p.m., said York County Sheriff Maurice Ouellette. Vincent was preparing to jump from the bridge and his father was standing nearby, he said.

Vincent stood against a 3-foot cement railing on the bridge while waiting for an eastbound tractor tailor truck to pass, then stepped into the road and was hit by the westbound pickup truck. The driver, 26-year-old Gregory Harriman, was not injured and was not cited by police, Ouellette said. Vincent was transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland and remained in critical condition Wednesday.

Ouellette said Route 202 was closed for nearly three hours while officers reconstructed the scene and collected evidence. Traffic on the heavily traveled road was diverted to Route 4A.

Despite posted signs prohibiting jumping, Ouellette said the bridge is a popular destination for swimmers on hot days. Many consider jumping from the bridge a “rite of summer,” he said.

“It’s an everyday occurrence that’s gone on for years and years,” Ouellette said. “It’s a real serious safety issue.”

Ouellette said officers are frequently called to the narrow bridge, which has no shoulders and is heavily traveled by large trucks, including tankers from the nearby Poland Spring bottling plant.

Buxton Police Chief Michael Grovo said his officers patrol the area of the bridge frequently. On a hot day, it is not uncommon for officers to go to the bridge three or four times to tell jumpers to leave, he said. On weekends, officers spend much of the day shooing swimmers from the area, he said.

“As soon as we drive them off and leave, they come back,” Grovo said.

Grovo said his department tries to warn swimmers about the danger of jumping off the bridge, but many jump into the river as soon as they see officers approaching. Grovo said most swimmers don’t seem to realize how dangerous the area can be. He said officers do not issue summons for jumping.

Ouellette said his department also does not issue summons for jumping, though they have in the past. Cases were not prosecuted by the district attorney’s office because prosecutors did not feel the activity rose to the level of criminal trespass, he said.

In 2006, Ouellette met with Buxton and Hollis selectmen, Buxton police and an engineer from the Maine Department of Transportation to discuss the use of the bridge by jumpers. He said he wanted a fence erected to prevent jumping, but DOT officials said the fence would make inspecting the bridge with a bucket truck too difficult.

“I said ‘what’s more important, safety or a bucket truck?’” Ouellette said. “The bucket truck won.”

Ouellette said there have been no other serious accidents on the bridge involving jumping, but would like to put an end to the summer tradition.

“I’m kind of hoping the DOT is watching and listening,” he said. “It’s their issue, their road, their bridge. The proof is in the pudding.”

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.

Officials concerned by Blake Road accidents (July 31, 2009)

Gazette Editor — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:25:00 GMT

By David Harry

Staff Writer

A rural side road in Standish is now under the glare of police attention because of recent accidents officials say were caused by intoxicated drivers.

Capt. Jeff Davis of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said the department will “be increasing its presence and taking strict enforcement action in the area” of Blake Road following an accident late on the night of July 23 that led to operating under the influence charges against Standish resident Travis Rony, 24.

Davis said it is the second accident on Blake Road caused by someone too inebriated to be driving.

At about 11 p.m., Davis said, a 2004 Chevrolet Avalanche driven by Rony struck a utility pole. The pole snapped and landed on the truck, and an off-duty Maine Game Warden helped detain Rony, whom Davis said was uninjured and walking away from the scene.

Davis said Blake Road, a residential road running from Ossipee Trail (Route 25) to Shaw’s Mill Road and near the Gorham town line, was closed because of the downed pole.

Gail Rice, a spokesman for Central Maine Power said about 50 customers in the area lost power from 11:30 p.m. to about 4:45 a.m. on July 24 as crews replaced the utility pole.

The accident occurred less than two weeks after a July 10 accident on Blake Road deputies said appears to have been caused by speed and alcohol.

At about 5 p.m., deputies said Danielle Walker, 23, of Windham, was driving her 2004 Mitsubishi Gallant when she missed a curve and struck a tree. Davis said the collision occurred about 12 to 15 feet from Rony’s accident.

Walker was treated for injuries and released at the scene, and charged with operating under the influence. Her passenger, 26-year-old Jeremy Barton of Westerly, R.I., sustained “serious head trauma,” deputies said. Davis said he was intoxicated as well.

“The scary thing is this is residential area,” Davis said.

Complaints from residents about reckless driving on the road occur largely during late night and early morning hours, with many coming from Thursday through Saturday, he added.

Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 241

East retains its streak at Lobster Bowl (July 31, 2009)

Gazette Editor — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:24:00 GMT

By Dave Dyer

Staff Writer

The pass from Edward Little High School quarterback Cody Goddard seemed to stay in the air forever, the football spiraling in slow motion against a blue sky.

It fell to the mass of blue and red jerseys, all hoping for one-year bragging rights to say which team is better: East or West.

It was a day for the East team, as Edward Little receiver Sean Daigle grabbed the ball and secured the team’s 17-16 victory Saturday afternoon in the 20th Annual Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic at Waterhouse Field in Biddeford.

The win brings the overall series record to five wins and 15 losses, for the East, although the East has won four of the last six contests.

The West started the scoring quickly in the first quarter. On the first play from scrimmage on their own 29-yard line, Bonny Eagle High School quarterback Nate Doehler ran the ball on an option play and sprinted 71 yards for a touchdown. Doehler kicked the extra point to give the West an early 7-0 lead.

Doehler’s run would be the only touchdown in the first half of the game. Both the East and West offenses focused on running the football, with the East using a power running attack and the West using a spread option offense, similar to the offense Doehler used at Bonny Eagle.

The West was able to score three more points near the end of the first half. Following a 13-play, 71-yard drive, Doehler kicked a 30-yard field goal to give the West a 10-0 lead at halftime.

On their second drive of the second half, the East scored their first points in the game. Goddard hit Skowhegan High School running back Billy Clark with a pass in the flats, and Clark scrambled 26-yards for a touchdown. Winslow High School kicker Scott Siviski kicked the extra point to make the score 10-7.

On the following possession, the West was unable to move the ball down the field, punting after an eight-play drive. On fourth down, Doehler, who lined up at punter, attempted to fake the punt and pass the ball down the field. However, John Bapst High School defensive back Chase Huckestein intercepted Doehler’s pass, giving the East the ball on their own 46-yard line. The East took advantage of the turnover, moving down to the West’s 11-yard line, capping off an eight-play drive with Siviski hitting a 26-yard field goal to tie the game 10-10.

Two possessions later, the West offense marched down the field on a 12-play 64-yard drive. The East defense tried their best to shut down the West, stopping them on two straight plays inside their own five-yard line. However, Doehler ran an option play to the left and dove into the front pylon of the end zone to score a touchdown, making the score 16-10 in favor of the West. Doehler missed the extra point, a mistake that would prove costly for the West on the next possession.

At the beginning of their drive, it appeared the East squad was on the verge of losing the game, as a botched snap and a false start penalty forced the offense into a 3rd and 24 situation on their own 28-yard line. Goddard found Lewiston running back Wesley Myers open and hit him with a pass. Myers sprinted down the field before being brought down on the West’s 31-yard line for a first down.

The West defense hurt themselves with two personal foul penalties in four plays, helping move the East further down the field, giving the offense a first and goal situation at the five-yard line.

After two unsuccessful running plays that moved the East offense back to the 10-yard line, Goddard hit Myers with a five-yard pass to set up fourth and goal at the five-yard line. Goddard bootlegged to his right and heaved a desperation jump-ball pass into the end zone.

With defenders all around him, Daigle used his 6-foot, 5-inch height to out-jump everyone else and snatch the ball out of the air for the touchdown and tie the game at 16-16. Fans on the East side of Waterhouse Field jumped out of their seats at once in ovation, while East players on the sideline ran onto the field in celebration.

“It was supposed to be a rollout [play],” Goddard said. “Wesley [Myers] was supposed to run a slant, my number two was running an out. Daigle was sitting in the middle. I just threw it up and Daigle came down with it, like always.”

A pin drop could be heard on the following play, as Siviski lined up for the extra point. As he nailed the kick giving the East a 17-16 lead, East fans went into a frenzy, with only 36 seconds left in the game.

The West offense could not move the ball on the following possession, as Doehler heaved a hail Mary pass in the closing seconds, which fell incomplete well shy of the end zone.

Huckestein was named Most Valuable Player for the East team for his interception off Doehler earlier in the game.

Doehler, who was the 2008 Fitzpatrick Trophy winner and will play at the University of Maine at Orono this fall, was awarded Most Valuable Player for the West team, as he was responsible for all of the team’s scoring for the day.

“It just became a fist fight,” Doehler said. “It went back and forth. In the end, the crucial kick missed. They did well though.”

Doehler said all was not lost, as he made new friends throughout the week of camp leading up to the game.

“It was nice, I got to play with kids I played against, going up against. I made a lot of new friends.”

Goddard said the win was comparable to winning a state championship.

“I didn’t win a state championship, I only made it to the [Class A] Eastern Maine Championship,” Goddard said. “This was my state championship this year.”

Staff writer Dave Dyer can be reached at 282-4337 ext. 219

Recovery Act funds benefit many facets of state (July 31, 2009)

Gazette Editor — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:23:00 GMT

By Sen. Bill Diamond

When the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed in February of this year, the stimulus funding became that glimmer of hope in the darkness of difficult financial times.

For quite a while, we did not see much in the way of Recovery Act money coming into Maine, as departments of our state and individual programs were just beginning to apply for grants, make sense of the federal guidelines on how these grants could be used and then waiting for the approval process. We are now just beginning to see the result of this funding from the federal government.

As of the beginning of this month, more than $242 million of Recovery Act funding has been interspersed throughout Maine. Though Medicare has received the majority of this funding, to shore up the shortfall that we saw in March, many other areas are seeing Recovery Act funding as well.

As of July 3, the Department of Labor has spent more than $24 million in Recovery Act money to aid Maine’s unemployed. Also, MDOL is reviewing several grant opportunities that would support projects to train Maine workers for green jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy fields.

The Department of Education has distributed $24 million in Recovery Act funds to Maine schools, as a way to replenish the lost state funding that the declining economy forced the state to cut. Maine school districts will receive additional federal funding for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years, to make up for the gap created by the further decline of state revenues that we saw in March. The funds for education through the Recovery Act can be used for a variety of educational purposes that include literacy programs, vocational education and renovation and weatherization of schools.

Recovery Act funds totaling $20.4 million have been spent through the Maine Department of Transportation on road, highway and bridge repair. MDOT has assigned 100 percent of the federal funding it will receive to 75 projects. There are currently 34 projects under way, with two completed, 21 have been awarded funding and 18 are still waiting for approval from the federal government.

The State of Maine was approved for an estimated 20 percent of the funding that was requested from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s portion of the Recovery Act. With each state receiving an average of 5 percent of their requested funding amounts, Maine received the highest funding of any state in the country. The Department of Marine Resources will use these funds to demolish the Great Works Dam on the Penobscot River, as well as $1.6 million to replace ill-functioning culverts as part of Project SHARE. Project SHARE is aimed at habitat restoration for Atlantic salmon.

Grants have been applied for to aid in residential weatherization funding and to stimulate workforce development in Maine for the energy efficiency and renewable energy economy, through the Public Utilities Commission. The PUC and the Governor’s Office of Energy Independence and Security have also been looking at additional opportunities to continue Maine’s goal of being energy efficient and independent.

Also in the weatherization category, the Maine State Housing Authority is awaiting approval for a low-income weatherization funding grant that they have applied for. This grant would bring nearly $42 million to Maine to help low-income individuals and families with weatherization projects in their homes.

These are just a few examples of where Recovery Act funding has gone or is going in Maine. There are several other grant opportunities that individual departments are looking into or have already applied for. For more information and to follow Recovery Act updates as they become available, visit maine.gov/recovery.

Sen. Bill Diamond (D-Windham) serves the communities of Casco, Frye Island, Raymond, Standish, Windham and Hollis in District 12.

Police notes (July 31, 2009)

Gazette Editor — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:21:00 GMT

NO PERMISSON

A caller reported their underage child got a piercing at a local business. The parent was unhappy and wished to report the business.

CAUSING TROUBLE

A caller reported traffic cones in the roadway blocking passage.

FRIENDSHIP OVER

A caller reported they loaned a car to a friend and the friend refused to return the vehicle.

MOON-EYED

A caller reported suspicious activity. Police said there were people in the area taking photos of the moon.

LOST OR LOOKING?

A caller reported a large dog in the area that appeared to be lost.

LOTS OF MAGAZINES

A caller reported they sent more than $800 to what they thought was Publisher’s Clearing House. The caller discovered the check did not go where it was intended.

TOO MANY ‘TWILIGHT’ BOOKS?

A caller reported a bat sleeping, hanging on the stairs. The caller wished to have the bat removed so they could descend the stairs.

A note to readers (July 31, 2009)

Gazette Editor — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:20:00 GMT

The Gazette and its sister paper, the Register, will merge Aug. 6 and become a new shopper, the Register-Gazette Marketplace.

The new publication from Mainely Media, LLC, will be mailed weekly to Sanford and Springvale. In addition, copies may be found at stores every Thursday within the shopper’s coverage area, which also includes Gorham, Buxton, Waterboro, Hollis, Standish and Limington.

Community News (July 31, 2009)

Gazette Editor — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:18:00 GMT

New story of ugly duckling

at Schoolhouse Arts Center

The Schoolhouse Arts Center at Sebago Lake will present “Honk! Junior,” with music by George Stiles and book and lyrics by Anthony Drewe, from Aug. 7 and 8.

“Honk! Junior” is a contemporary retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic story, “The Ugly Duckling,” with Ugly, whose odd, gawky looks instantly incite prejudice from his family and neighbors.

Separated from the farm and pursued by a hungry cat, Ugly must find his way home. Along his journey he not only discovers his true beauty and destiny, but also finds love and acceptance in all its forms.

The cast of “Honk! Junior” includes 23 youth from the ages of 8 to 14 from nine southern Maine communities. They have been working with Director Ben Potvin since June to rehearse and perform this entertaining musical.

The cast includes Elizabeth Doyle and Meaghan McGovern from Buxton; Kealan Neal-Farr from Cornish, GraceAnn Burns, Taylor Day, Haley Keeffe, Narissa Libby, Janessa Meserve, Amber St. John and Rachael Stewart from Gorham; Riley Gaetjens and Aleah and Lunara Graham from Limerick; Nate Plummer from Limington; Julia Gallaher from North Waterboro; Stacie Sturgis from Shapleigh, Angelica Phipps and Lauryn Silva from Standish; Ian Roderick from South Portland; and Davin Farinella, Amanda Freudenberger, and Kyah and Marissa Morrissette from Windham.

Performances of Honk! Junior are at the Schoolhouse Arts Center, 16 Richville Road in Standish (Route 114, just north of the intersection of Routes 114 and 35), on Aug. 7 at 7 p.m. and Aug. 8 at 4 p.m. and 7p.m. Tickets are $8 for students and seniors and $10 for adults. Call 642-3743 for reservations.

Raw foods, vegan diet

focus of farm seminar

Rippling Waters Farm will host Lisa Marie Lindenschmidt, a living and raw foods chef and teacher and founder of Rite Food and Co. on Sunday, Aug. 16, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the farm on 55 River Road, Steep Falls.

She will give an overview of a raw vegan diet and introduce the concept of intentional eating for the first hour. After answering any questions, she will demonstrate creative ways to use raw food by preparing a variety of green smoothies with greens straight from the fields of Rippling Waters Organic Farm.

Participants will then share their creations as well as the concoctions brought from home in the community potluck from 6 to 7 p.m.

Anyone who is interested in learning the benefits of raw foods, parents who are trying to get their children to eat leafy greens, or people seeking new creative ways to fit in enough fruits and vegetables into their diet are welcome to come to this public event. There is a $5 fee to attend.

Contact Phil Jellen at Rippling Waters Farm by Aug. 15 at 642-5161, or volunteer.ripplingwaters@gmail.com if you plan to attend the event.

Church plans quilt show

The Standish Congregational Church, 25 Oak Hill Road, will hold its Mid Summer Breeze Quilt Show Aug. 22, at the church. It is sponsored by Lakeside Miniature Quilters. Large quilts, miniature quilts and aprons will be available, along with two raffles and a lunch. For more information, call 637-2675.

Songs of Scotland at grange

Songs that chronicle wars and loves, won and lost, in Scotland’s rich history, will be sung in the brogue of Bobby Burns by Glasgow native Peter Cairney on guitar, and Vermonter Deborah Packard on harmonium and pennywhistle in a performance 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 15, at the Saco River Grange Hall in Buxton. Admission is $12, and $10 for students and seniors. For reservations, call 929-6472.

Buxton plans country weekend (July 24, 2009)

Gazette Editor — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:20:00 GMT

By Gillian Graham

Staff Writer

A “Country Jamboree” will overtake Buxton this weekend with live music, games and fireworks.

Buxton Community Day has been expanded to take place over two days so more people can fit activities into their busy summer schedules, said May Schumacher, chairman of the Buxton Community Days Committee. The family festival at Weymouth Park will include a number of new activities for all ages.

The festival begins Friday with an afternoon of live music followed by two movies on a 22-foot inflatable movie screen. Buxton band Will Play for Moxie is slated to perform from noon to 3 p.m., followed by a live broadcast by WPOR from 3 to 5 p.m. Meteorologist Charlie Lopresti of WGME 13 will give a live weather report from the field and Free Rain, another Buxton band, will perform from 5 to 7 p.m.

Free caricatures will be drawn from 3 to 6 p.m. Friday on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Schumacher said once dusk falls, two movies will be shown on the screen in the middle of the park. “An American Tail: Fievel Goes West,” an animated family movie, will be shown around 8 p.m. followed by “City Slickers,” which stars Billy Crystal. The movies were chosen to fit the festival’s “Country Jamboree” theme.

For the first time, the 5K road race Saturday morning will be professionally timed. Also scheduled for Saturday morning is the annual parade, which Schumacher said promises to be the best yet.

“We’ll have a fabulous parade,” Schumacher said. “I think this is going to be the biggest parade the town has seen in a long time.”

The parade will include four Kora Shriners groups, two pipe and drum corps, a stilt worker, bagpipers, local athletes, antique tractors and a variety of floats. Also on hand will be the Big Red monster fire truck from Shaw Brothers. The 43-foot long, 12-foot wide “impressive” vehicle will then park at Weymouth Park for people to look at it up close, she said.

A 9 a.m. pancake breakfast and 5 p.m. bean supper will be held on the field Saturday.

In addition to children’s amusement rides and other vendors at the park, organizers have arranged a number of new contests. An all ages frog-jumping contest is scheduled for noon; participants should bring their own frog. A pig scramble for children 5 to 12 will be held at 3 p.m. Entry is $5 per person; winners can keep the pig or take home $25.

A horseshoe tournament on the field’s four new pits will start at 1 p.m. Entry is $10 per two-person team. Also at 1 p.m., a ladies frying pan toss will challenge women to throw a cast iron pan as far as possible to win a $50 gift card. Entry is free.

A kids’ corner on the tennis courts will feature a variety of craft projects, including sand art, face painting and temporary tattoos. Entry is $2 per child. Also on the field will be a mechanical bull, rock climbing wall and special photo opportunities.

Live music on Saturday includes performances by Coyote Drifters from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Easy Money from 3 to 6 p.m. The Don Campbell Band is scheduled to perform at 6 p.m. The weekend will be capped by a fireworks display set to go off at 9:30 p.m.

“We have something for the little ones, for teens and adults to enjoy,” Schumacher said.

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.

Bluegrass and Byrds: Festival draws singers of note (July 24, 2009)

Gazette Editor — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:18:00 GMT

By David Harry

Staff Writer

In Hiram, down by the river is where the bluegrass grows.

The banks of the Ossipee River will be the site of the 11th annual Ossipee Valley Bluegrass Festival through Sunday.

The festival at the Ossipee Valley Fairgrounds originated from what organizer Bill Johnson called “a harebrained idea. We rented the grounds and got some bands just to see what happened. It kind of exploded from there.”

Since then, it has swelled to a four-day party of dances, contests for songwriters, banjo and guitar pickers and a lineup of more than a dozen bands.

The festival has grown from 1,500 fans in its first year to 4,000 last year, and Johnson said he hopes attendance will increase as families see the festival’s value.

“We have a very liberal view of what bluegrass is,” Johnson said. This year’s festival includes the Boston Boys, who bring a punk influence to the stage and include bassist Sam Grisman, the son of mandolin player David Grisman, who frequently collaborated with the late Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead.

Another bassist of note, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Chris Hillman, also will play the festival. Hillman said music fans can expect to hear some of The Byrds songs that led to his induction into the hall with the band in 1991, but he will be playing guitar and mandolin when he performs them with his old friend, Herb Pedersen.

“I’ve known Herb for 45 years, longer than anyone I’ve ever worked with,” Hillman said.

Hillman and Pedersen were founders of The Desert Rose Band, which topped the country charts in the late 1980s and early 1990s. So was guitarist John Jorgenson, who is an old friend of Bill Johnson.

“I would imagine we will snag Jorgenson too,” Hillman said of the prospects for a mini Desert Rose Band reunion at the festival.

The band was peaking just as The Byrds achieved hall of fame status. Hillman said the success was entirely unanticipated and the band split up amicably.

“It was just a joy and we all parted company as good friends,” he said.

Hillman said he and Pedersen the duo will draw from a set list of about 65 to 70 songs.

“The start and end may be the same, but individual songs are subject to change. I’m like Peyton Manning out there,” Hillman said.

Born in southern California near San Diego, Hillman said he came to love country and folk music through records his sister brought home.

“My father was listening to Count Basie. He said ‘are you sure this is our son?’” Hillman said.

His first guitar came from a store in Tijuana, Mexico, and cost $10. By age 19, Hillman was learning how to play bass as he joined Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Gene Clark and Michael Clarke in The Byrds.

“I had no idea how to play bass,” Hillman said. “Crosby was supposed to play bass and he didn’t want to. I just bluffed my way in there.”

Hillman had become an accomplished guitarist and mandolin player by then, and said he regretted setting the mandolin aside as The Byrds soared up the pop charts.

In the four years he played with the Byrds, Hillman said he did not play mandolin, but picked up the stringed instrument again as began to collaborate with Gram Parsons in The Flying Burrito Brothers.

“I have recaptured my love of the mandolin in the last six years,” Hillman said, admitting he can play about 80 percent of a song by bluegrass legend Bill Monroe note for note. “Then you take what you can and embellish it.” The festival boasts a lineup a hall of fame member and the Grammy award-winning Jorgenson, but Johnson said it is the workshops for songwriting and plying instruments, as well as the contests that set the festival apart.

After the stage has emptied, the music continues into the night at jam sessions throughout the camping areas.

“My goal is to get it to run itself so it can survive,” Johnson said.

Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 241.

Ossipee Valley Bluegrass Festival

Date: Through Sunday.

Location: Ossipee Valley Fairgrounds, South Hiram Road, Hiram.

Time: Performances are generally noon to 9 p.m. each day. See festival Web site for more details.

Tickets: Tickets are $85 for Thursday through Sunday, $75 for Friday through Sunday, $10 for Thursday only, $25 for Friday or Sunday only and $35 for Saturday. Camping at sites without electricity or water is included with ticket price. Sites with electricity and water hookups are $10 extra.

For more information: www.ossipeevalley.com.

Patients reach out to raise awareness of Lyme disease (July 24, 2009)

Gazette Editor — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:16:00 GMT

By Emma Bouthillette

Staff Writer

Lyme disease has increased by 66 percent since 2006, a trend reflected throughout New England, according to a state epidemiologist.

Reasons for the increase may include more infections, awareness from doctors testing for the disease or a change in case definition made by the Center for Disease Control to include more diagnoses.

Caught early, most cases of Lyme disease can be can be effectively treated with antibiotics for 10 days to one a month. Undiagnosed, the disease may cause problems that last for years.

Jessica Platanitis’ Lyme disease diagnosis came late.

Platanitis said she felt sick on and off through high school, but she wasn’t diagnosed until she became more sick at age 23. At her worst, the 28-year-old Old Orchard Beach resident experienced extreme fatigue, muscle pain, nerve pain, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, short-term memory loss, and weight loss due to nausea, stiff joints affecting her ability to even walk and seizure-like episodes.

Platanitis said she sought further expertise from Dr. Sam Donta of Boston after she was diagnosed with her primary care physician.

“There are very [few] people in Maine that know anything to help,” Platanitis said. She said some doctors she visited in Maine told her “it was all in her head.”

“It made me very frustrated to have everybody telling you it’s in your head. Then you second guess yourself,” Platanitis said.

Donta was the closest doctor she found who offered intensive treatments for Lyme disease.

Under his care she received extensive antibiotic treatment, including doses of doxycycline and a 30-day course of intravenous antibiotics the summer she was diagnosed. Platanitis said she has been off all antibiotics for nearly a year, but still has days she is sick or days she cannot get out of bed.

“I walk around, I look normal, and people think I’m fine,” Platanitis said. “But most days I’m in some kind of pain. I’ve just gotten used to living with it. You can carry on your life if you fight through it.”

Only 59 percent of the 878 people in Maine diagnosed last year with Lyme disease exhibited the telltale rash that often appears after a deer tick bite, according to Dr. Andrew Pelletier, epidemiologist at the Maine Center for Disease Control.

Pelletier said late-onset symptoms of the disease include joint and muscle pain similar to arthritis, neurological problems or heart problems. Of those diagnosed in 2008, 31 percent experienced arthritic-like symptoms, 14 percent had neurological symptoms and 1 percent had heart complications, Pelletier said.

As her struggle with the disease continues, Platanitis said she has found herself explaining to a lot of people what Lyme disease is and what her symptoms are like. She said she has also realized there is not a support network for Lyme disease patients in Maine.

“With such an increase in Lyme disease, I wanted to get the word out there and let people know,” Platanitis said.

She organized the Lyme Disease Awareness Walk in Wells, which marks its third year this September. Since starting the walk, she has met a number of people interested in heightening awareness, including Lynn Quattrochio, of Wells, who Platanitis said has had Lyme disease for 15 years.

Platanitis said she has also networked with people who are working on different resources. Constance Dickey, of Hampden, has organized “MaineLymeDisease” group email list that can be accessed by signing up for the group page through www.yahoo.com. Sharon Hawks, an administrative assistant for the Auburn Public Library, sits on the board of trustees for the Lyme Disease Digital Library, a resource with information on Lyme and other tick-borne diseases that can be accessed by visiting www.lymediseasedigitallibrary.com. Platanitis said Amie Ayer Levasseur, of Poland, is developing a support network called “Lyme Buddies,” which is still in the works.

Platanitis said money raised from the walk in previous years was donated to the Lyme Disease Association. However this year, in an effort to keep the money in Maine, funds will benefit the Lyme Disease Digital Library and the startup of Lyme Buddies.

“I still feel there needs to be a lot more awareness in Maine,” Platanitis said. She sees the need for more reliable tests and funding to research a cure for patients experiencing long-term symptoms.

Lyme Disease Awareness Walk

Date: Saturday, Sept. 12.

Time: Check-in begins at 9 a.m., and the walk starts at 10 a.m.

Location: Wells Beach, Wells.

Registration: $10; children are free.

For more information: www.lymediseaseawareness.com.

Maine Medical Center conducts Lyme research

Maine Medical Center Research Institute is conducting research on ticks and animals infected by Lyme disease.

Institute field biologist Chuck Lubelczyk says more than 60 percent of ticks collected in a drag sample at the Wells Reserve in Kennebunk carried the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. During the month of June, 12 to 20 percent of ticks collected from birds during bird banding at the Wells Reserve carry Lyme disease.

Lubelczyk said incidence of the disease in ticks collected from birds in the Wells Reserve area tends to increase later in the summer season. That trend mirrors diagnoses in humans: The Maine Center for Disease Control reports most cases of Lyme disease are acquired during summer months.

In York County, the number of diagnosed cases rose from 133 in 2006 to 291 cases last year, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control.

To prevent Lyme disease, avoiding potential deer tick habitats, wear long pants and long-sleeved shirt when going into those areas and conducta thorough check for ticks after being outside.

Potential deer tick habitats in Maine include deciduous forests, overgrown fields, shrubs, leaf litter, brushy and grassy areas and areas between lawns and woods.

Lobster Bowl pits East, West Saturday (July 24, 2009)

Gazette Editor — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:14:00 GMT

By Dave Dyer

Staff Writer

A summer tradition will pit East against West Saturday for the 20th annual Lobster Bowl Classic at Waterhouse Field in Biddeford.

The game will feature 88 of the top high school senior football players in the state, as well as 60 cheerleaders coming from schools in Maine Classes A, B and C. The two teams are divided between the Western and Eastern conferences.

Besides being a football all-star game, the Lobster Bowl is also a charity event. The game is sponsored by the Kora Shriners, with 100 percent of the net proceeds of the game going toward the 22 Shrine Hospitals for children housed in the United States and Canada.

Three familiar names will be playing on the West roster: Nate Doehler, Travis Dunn and Josh Spearin of Bonny Eagle High School.

Ashley DeStefano will be the lone cheerleader representative for the Scots at the Lobster Bowl.

The selection process for players is made by a committee from the Maine Athletics Association. Players are nominated by their high school coach, with a criteria that includes being a high school graduate and entering college in the fall.

Players reported to Hebron Academy last Sunday for a weeklong camp with teammates to prepare for the game. Doehler, Dunn and Spearin represent the largest contingent of player representatives from one school for the entire West roster. The Scots won their fourth Maine Class A State Championship last November by beating the Skowhegan Indians 26-6, enjoying an undefeated season.

Since then members of the team have enjoyed plenty of postseason awards, including Doehler winning the Fitzpatrick Trophy, awarded to the state’s top player, as well as Spearin taking home the Gerry Raymond Award, given to the top offensive lineman in the Southwestern Maine Activities Association.

Both Doehler and Spearin will continue their football careers this fall at the University of Maine at Orono.

The first Lobster Bowl game was played at Dr. Paul Hill Stadium in Saco on July 28, 1990, when the West beat the East by a score of 24-12. In 1991 the game was moved to Alumni Field at the University of Maine at Orono, but has now been a fixture each year in Biddeford for the past 17 years.

Historically, the West has beaten the East 15 times in 19 games. The West team won last year’s contest 24-6, highlighted by a 72-yard touchdown pass from Massabesic quarterback Jeff Elliot to Bonny Eagle wide receiver Ricky Hoyt.

Tickets for the game are $10 for reserved seats and $8 for general admission. The gates at Waterhouse Field will open for fans at 1 p.m., with kickoff scheduled for 4 p.m.

Teen racer thinks snow in the summer (July 24, 2009)

Gazette Editor — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:12:00 GMT

By David Harry

Staff Writer

The height of summer may not seem like the time to talk about dog sled racing, but for Sadie Theriault, training season is just around the corner.

Next month Theriault, 16, will hook up her six dogs to a four-wheeled cart for runs through the hills around Jackman, where she lives with her parents Norman and Karen Theriault.

Theriault, 16, will speak about racing and display the equipment she uses during a presentation next Wednesday in Springvale.

It has been eight years since her first race, Theriault said. But she has been around racing dogs since she was 3, when her family lived in Alaska and her mother volunteered during the 1,150-mile Iditarod race held each year in March.

When the family returned to Maine, Sadie Theriault volunteered during a race in Jackman. Her reward was an offer to race a sled pulled by one dog.

“It was mostly for excitement. It was something I had never tried before,” she said.

She won the 100-yard sprint, and soon began building her own wooden sled with her father.

Four years later in 2005, Theriault won her first gold medal in a four-dog sled race in the junior class, competing against racers from America, Canada and Scandinavia at a world championship meet held in Dawson City, in Canada’s Yukon Territory.

Now Theriault, who will be a junior at Forest Hills High School in the fall, competes against racers who might be 20 or 30 years her senior.

“Winning is a lot of hard training – it depends on what you put into it,” she said.

Theriault has competed in Michigan, Ontario, Quebec and northern New England during her racing schedule, which spans weekends from January through March. She races a sled pulled by a team of four dogs and skijors with a team of two dogs.

Skijoring is a race in which one or two dogs pull a racer on cross-country skis. Theriault won a gold medal for skijoring with a one-dog team at a world championship meet in Daaquam, Quebec, in January. During the same competition, she also won a gold medal for sled racing with a four-dog team.

“Almost anybody can drive a sled. In skijoring, you are on skis with no brakes and there is no stopping,” Theriault said.

Theriault said she races with a team of four that is ready to go with the first snowflakes each year.

While almost anyone can ride a sled, Theriault said not every one of her Alusky and German shorthaired pointer dogs can lead the team pulling a sled.

From the time a dog is less than a year old, Theriault works with it to see if it enjoys racing. Some want to run, she said, but cannot be trusted to lead the team.

If a dog is born to lead, Theriault works to build its confidence.

“But you don’t think their brains are attached sometimes. They just don’t click,” she said of finding a lead dog for the team.

When racing closer to home, Theriault said she especially enjoys the Mushers Bowl races in Bridgton that are part of the town’s annual winter carnival.

“I like what the people do for us, and the course is very technical,” she said of the track, which is more than five miles and winds through orchards at Five Fields Farm.

Theriault also is on the board of the Down East Sled Dog Club. While she knows how to train winning dogs, animal science is not a career she said she’ll pursue.

“I was thinking about becoming a veterinarian until I took biology,” Theriault said. Now she expects to become an accountant. But she said she expects to continue training and racing her dogs.

“It is just being with them, seeing the progress they make. Sometimes they completely surprise you,” Theriault said.

Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 241

Learn more about sled-dog racing

Date: Wednesday, July 29

Time: 7 p.m

Tickets: $15 for adults and $8 for students. Children aged 5 and under are admitted free. Tickets are available at the Sanford/Springvale Chamber of Commerce on Main Street or at the Nasson Community Center. For more information, call 324-5657 or 324-4280.

Location: Nasson Community Center, Springvale

Friends give support with ‘Lori’s Walk’ (July 24, 2009)

Gazette Editor — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:08:00 GMT

By David Harry

Staff Writer

These days, Lori Nohr treats life as a day at the beach.

Less than a year after she was too exhausted to go out during her honeymoon, and less than a month after the last chemotherapy treatment to combat cancer attacking her immune system, Nohr, 28, is enjoying the sunshine and riding her bicycle around Sanford.

“I took much more from cancer than it took from me,” Nohr, who was recently diagnosed as free from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, said.

The lessons she took and her positive response to confronting a disease called “life challenging” as opposed to “life threatening” are the reasons her friends and colleagues will walk for her in Saco on Saturday, Aug. 8.

“Lori’s Walk” was organized by Lisa Foley, who worked with Nohr at Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford. Foley said the goal is to raise $2,000 during a four-mile walk through Saco. The money raised will pay for printing costs of flyers advertising the walk and the cost for using Gov. John Fairfield School as a start and end point for the walk.

The remainder of the money raised will help Lori and her husband, Gabe Nohr, pay expenses from her illness and unemployment.

Nohr’s close friend Lori Loughran, a Springvale resident who has known Nohr for a decade, goes to the beach with her, but tears well up as she describes watching her friend confront cancer.

“Life is precious. You never know what is coming,” Loughran said.

Foley said she was “touched by [Nohr’s] strength,” but still wanted to more to help her colleague.

“We all just felt awful and empty. We could not stand the feeling of not knowing what to do,” Foley said about the reaction to Nohr’s diagnosis last December.

Nohr said she was just married and on her honeymoon in Mexico when she started feeling ill.

“I began to feel exhausted, and I could not take a nap and feel better,” Nohr said.

She had always been in good health, is a vegetarian and got plenty of exercise, she said.

When the couple returned, Nohr went returned to work helping patients recovering from surgery.

“I love the caring and interactive part with my patients,” Nohr said.

The exhaustion continued and a swollen node developed under one armpit. During work breaks, Nohr said she would sometimes take naps in her car.

Nohr was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma after a biopsy.

More than 8,000 people are diagnosed with the cancer each year in the U.S., according to the National Cancer Institute Web site. The disease is controllable and curable, but Nohr said she will have blood screenings and CT scans for the next five years before doctors feel she is fully cancer free.

“Initially, I felt very alone,” she said of her diagnosis. “You feel so out of control over what is going on inside you.”

On Christmas Eve, Nohr made her first visit to oncologist Dr. Patricia Deisler of the Cancer Care Center of York County in Sanford.

Nohr was told the cancer was an aggressive form, and she underwent the first of 12 chemotherapy treatments just after New Year’s Day.

“She never promised she could cure me. The day I was diagnosed, I knew I was going to be a cancer survivor,” Nohr said.

Getting out of bed was a challenge for the first five or six days after each treatment. Nohr said she was exhausted and her hair fell out. Her husband, the owner of a Kennebunk-based landscaping business, cooked, cleaned and accompanied her to all her medical appointments.

“You learn to live with these new rules,” she said. With her immune system weakened, Nohr could not work. Going out to shop or eat was not always possible. And she dreaded each round of treatments.

“I would be in tears. Chemotherapy tastes so metallic and horrible,” Nohr said.

Nohr said the hospital was unable to hold her job open, but she plans to reapply and hopes one day to become an oncology nurse.

Loughran and Nohr, who were bridesmaids in each other’s weddings, said Nohr’s illness brought a circle of friends even closer. But helping Nohr could still be awkward.

“People sometimes shied away, I wanted to say ‘let’s joke about my new do,’” Nohr said.

As Nohr was about midway through her chemotherapy, Foley began organizing the walk. She wanted a route somewhere between where Nohr’s Springvale home and where she and her colleagues worked.

Foley said Saco Police Officer Charlie LaBonte helped her find a route with sidewalks and a minimum of intersections. Foley’s friend Amanda Vanasse, who organized “Nicole’s Run” in memory of Nicole Oliver, a domestic abuse victim, provided key tips on organizing the walk.

Lori’s Walk

Date: Saturday, Aug. 8.

Time: Registration begins at 8 a.m., and the walk begins at 10 a.m.

Location: The walk begins at Governor John Fairfield School at 75 Beach St. in Saco and proceeds to a turnaround point at Garside’s Ice Cream on Ferry Road.

Donations: $15, or $20 on the day of the walk. Donations may also be mailed to Lisa A. Foley, 22 Jackson St., Portland, ME 04103. Checks should be made out to Lori Nohr and noted as donations.

For more information: If you’d like to pre-register, donate, volunteer or sponsor the walk, email sldlmfly@myfairpoint.net or call 797-0857.

A look back (July 24, 2009)

Gazette Editor — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:06:00 GMT

By Meg Gardner

Buxton-Hollis Historical Society

Salmon Falls today is a peaceful village that straddles the mellow Saco River and includes two towns, Buxton and Hollis. Its history is reflected in its lovely old homes. Largely a “bedroom” community, its inhabitants travel by automobile to work, to school and to shop. The only commercial establishment is an ice cream stand and the only community activities center is the Salmon Falls Library. It wasn’t always this way.

When Gibeon Elden Bradbury was born there in 1833, Salmon Falls was still historical, having been settled about a hundred years previously. It straddled the Saco River as it does today, and it shared itself with the towns of Buxton and Hollis. The resemblance ends here.

In the 19th century, Salmon Falls was a self-sufficient community with two schools, several stores, saw mills, a grist mill, a header mill, a church, and boarding houses. The Saco River raced through a rocky gorge and water falls provided power to turn mill wheels. The village had exciting and sometimes harrowing moments when logs jammed the river during drives.

Several of the larger homes had ballrooms and were centers of social events that included dancing and music and picnics along the riverbank. Everyone knew everyone else and often were related: your best friend at school was most likely also your cousin. Large open fields alternated with stands of forest.

This secure and lively environment may have contributed to the Renaissance man Bradbury became. We know him primarily as an artist, and it is as an artist that he wanted to be recognized. But he was also a talented craftsman, a poet, and an entrepreneur. He was a gifted violinist and accompanist. He built violins, furniture and picture frames. In addition to his decorative painting skills, he designed rugs and quilt blocks. This was not a case of “jack-of-all-trades, master of none.” Bradbury excelled in all of these endeavors.

Bradbury’s extensive diaries also capture his active, curious and imaginative intellect. His large group of correspondents and friends were prominent in the art and literary world in New England and beyond.

When Bradbury was about 12 or 13, his family moved to Saco. His father, Nathaniel, a tailor, worked for Daniel Merrill Owen, a friend who had a successful tailoring business. Unfortunately, the elder Bradbury died in 1848, and Bradbury had to take on the responsibility of caring for his mother until she remarried. Those must have been difficult years financially for the two of them, but in 1851 Mr. Owen arranged for Bradbury to work as a carriage painter.

In 1860 Bradbury went to Portland to start his own ornamental painting business decorating carriages and carts, wagons and sleighs. In that same year he married Jane Bixby Akers of Hollis, whom he called “Jeannie.” Jeannie and he had one son, Gibeon Jr., whom he always called “Lad.”

Business in Portland was slow, so after a few years the family moved back to Salmon Falls to reduce their expenses. Bradbury continued to rely on ornamental painting for income. He worked in Saco-Biddeford during the week and returned to Salmon Falls on weekends.

Bradbury’s true vocation, however, was as an artist, and during these years he continuously sketched from nature and painted landscapes. He was determined to gain recognition as an artist. He showed his work in any venue he could find, including art expositions and country fairs. Gradually a customer base was established. Bradbury expanded his subject matter to floral and fruit still lifes and portraits. True to his entrepreneurial spirit, he developed a sideline of painting pictures of houses and taking commissions for pictures for wedding gifts. In the 1870s and 1880s he taught painting classes, a popular pastime at the end of the 19th century.

Jeannie died in 1896 when “Lad” was 18 years old. Bradbury lived to be 71 years old, dying in 1904. “Lad” became a husband, father, and teacher. Gibeon Bradbury’s paintings remain with us, evoking a vanished time and place and reminding us to savor the beauty and complexity of a flower.

Bradbury painting featured on note cards

The Buxton-Hollis Historical Society will introduce note cards illustrated with Gibeon Bradbury’s painting “Trillium, Lilies, and Violets” at the Dorcas Fair, Saturday, July 25. BHHS table also will feature author Jim Libby signing his book “Buxton.” The Dorcas Fair is held on the grounds of Tory Hill Church at the corner of Route 202 and Route 112 in Buxton. It is held is concurrently with Buxton Community Days.