Vassalboro school board had hoped to appoint new superintendent

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro School Board members hoped to approve a new superintendent for Vassalboro at their June 19 meeting, but no one has been chosen.

Eric Haley was full-time superintendent for all three AOS (Alternative Organizational Structure) schools (Vassalboro, Waterville and Winslow) until voters dissolved the AOS in March, effective June 30. Vassalboro is now looking for a part-time superintendent, to work the equivalent of one day a week.

Haley explained that the person who is the Vassalboro search committee’s first choice is trying unsuccessfully – so far – to put together a package of jobs adding up to full-time. If that person cannot take the Vassalboro job, Haley said the search committee recommends re-advertising the position. Meanwhile, Haley offered to continue as interim superintendent until the position is filled. School board members unanimously accepted his offer.

Vassalboro Community School is also lacking a half-time Spanish teacher. New Principal Megan Allen said there have been no applicants for the position. Allen recommended advertising for someone to teach any foreign language rather than abandoning all foreign-language offerings.

School board members agreed by consensus to continue until mid-July looking for someone to continue the Spanish program, and if that search is unsuccessful to advertise for someone to teach any non-English-language class.

Board members voted reluctantly to increase 2018-19 school lunch prices by 10 cents, from $2.65 to $2.75 for a full-price lunch. Retiring Principal Dianna Gram explained that the federal government has a price formula under which Vassalboro should be charging $2.90; if the school does not move toward that goal, 10 cents at a time, federal subsidies might be reduced. More cheerfully, board members approved the 2018-19 school budget previously approved by Vassalboro voters, the 2018-19 school calendar (with a fourth snow day, Haley said) and the school board meeting schedule; several updated curricula; and appointment of Devin Lachapelle as a new math/social studies teacher. They accepted the resignation of first-grade teacher Arielle Jurdak-Roy, who is moving. Gram praised Jurdak-Roy, the teachers who worked on amended curricula and AOS #92 curriculum director Mary Boyle.

Although the AOS is officially dissolved, many of the central office staff will continue to work for one or more of the three municipalities’ schools under an interlocal agreement approved by all three school boards. Haley also recommends school administrators from the three municipalities continue to meet to share ideas, pointing out that when AOS #92 was formed, Waterville and Winslow promptly copied Vassalboro’s successful reading program.

Haley will continue as Waterville superintendent. He assured Vassalboro officials, “I’ll still be around. Obviously I’m not going to leave my friends in the lurch.”

The next Vassalboro School Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, July 17, if there is a new Vassalboro superintendent by then. If not, the next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Aug. 21.

Letters to the Editor: Thanks supporters

To the editor:

John Glow (image credit: ballotpedia)

I want to begin by thanking those who supported me in the recent Democratic primary for Maine Senate District #15. My biggest margin of victory was in China and I send a special thank you to my friends and supporters who voted for good government.

I believe it is important for the people in Senate District #15 to know that I ran for this Senate seat, not because I was recruited by the party. In fact, the Democratic Party did everything it could to keep me off the ballot in November. I ran for this Senate seat because Maine is desperately in need of qualified, capable individuals who know how government is supposed to work and how to fix it. I ran for this Senate seat, not for the Democratic Party or for the special interests, but for you.

The political system is rigged in favor of the parties and it must be reformed. Party politics is a huge problem in government. Too often it is an impediment to solving our problems as politicians put party before people. I ran on the pledge of not being a rubber stamp and at least 1,350 of you agreed with me.

I spoke with many folks who are fed up with “our” government. This is unfortunate, but I don’t blame them, because it is no longer our government. Those who have the least in terms of material possessions are often the first to give up and surrender their right to vote. I tried to remind those who have very little that they do have the power and that their only opportunity to exercise their power is their vote. I ran for office because I refuse to give in and give up and this election has only strengthened my resolve. As I went door to door during the campaign, and as someone who spent nearly thirty years in State government, I ended many conversations with the following, “Don’t give up. That’s what the government wants you to do.”

John M. Glowa, Sr.
South China

Give Us Your Best Shot! Week of June 28, 2018

To submit a photo for The Town Line’s “Give Us Your Best Shot!” section, please visit our contact page or email us at townline@fairpoint.net!

HUMMINGBIRD MOTH: John Gardner snapped this Sphinx moth, a/k/a hummingbird moth, recently.

 

COMING AT YOU: Tina Richard, of Clinton, captured this spectacular photo of a bald eagle exiting its nest. Its mate and young can be seen in the nest.

 

SOAKING THE SUN: This turkey vulture was photographed by Pat Clark, of Palermo, stretching its wings while soaking in the sunshine.

Lizotte receives recognition

Contributed photo

Laurie Lizotte, Child Care Administrator for the Vassalboro Community School Child Care Program, was recently recognized at the staff luncheon at the school on Tuesday, June 19. The recognition is for her past 20 years of service for administering a licensed, nationally-accredited, Quality Level 4 child care program.

New community center opens in Vassalboro

Jim, left, and Rachel Kilbride. (Photos by Eric Austin)

by Eric W. Austin

Looking at Rachel Kilbride, you wouldn’t think she’s the type to hear voices, but that’s exactly what prompted her to buy the St. Bridget Catholic Church, in Vassalboro, and turn it into a local community center.

“I wasn’t planning to retire in Vassalboro,” Rachel told me. A Winslow native, she was living in Wells with her husband, Jim, when, in the summer of 2014, she responded to an inner urging to look into what was being done with the shuttered Catholic church.

“This building was closed in 2011,” she explained at the recent open house for the new community center, “and in 2014, I was driving by and this little voice said, ‘Buy me!’”

Jim Kilbride said it was a voice that wouldn’t go away. “Every time she went by it, she’d get another nudge,” he continued. “So, Rachel finally said, ‘The heck with this, I’ve gotta check it out.’”

That nudge eventually pushed them to contact Corpus Christi Parish, which owned the rectory, church and accompanying grounds, to find out about buying the property. The parish was amenable to selling, and in January 2015, the couple put their house in Wells up for sale and moved into the old church rectory. It was the beginning of a long, three-year journey to restore the two buildings and surrounding grounds.

“We slept in the rectory in sleeping bags for about six months,” she recalls with a laugh. The couple set about renovating the rectory and making it habitable before turning their attention to the main church building.

The interior of the renovated church. Photos by Eric Austin)

Was it worth it? The results are impressive. With high, cathedral ceilings, gleaming wood floors, and big, wavy-glass windows that let in plenty of light, the interior of the old church is undeniably beautiful. “A hundred and sixty gallons of paint later,” Rachel confides, with the air of someone who has just climbed a mountain and is now enjoying the view.

“I wanted to preserve the history,” she explains. Rachel and Jim have worked to retain many of the historic features of the building, such as the St. Bridget statue out front, the original doors, wood floors, and the old fashioned, wavy-glass windows.

The first church built on the site was destroyed by a fire in 1925, she said. The entire town of Vassalboro came together to rebuild it, a task they completed in only six months. It’s a feat that still astounds Rachel, who has spent the last three years just doing the restoration.

The response from the Vassalboro community has also been positive, with nearly 200 people showing up for the open house. Stewart, a resident of East Vassalboro, when asked how he felt about the Kilbrides’ initiative to restore the old church, replied, “I think it’s fantastic! Are you kidding me? Look at this! It was falling down before they took it over.”

The Kilbrides hope to rent the building for banquets, weddings, and other community and charity events. They have added a kitchen, installed new wiring, an entrance ramp, and a handicap-accessible bathroom to bring the building up to modern standards.

For more information, email them at StBridgetCenter@gmail.com, call 616-3148, or visit their blog at https://stbridgetwhispers.wordpress.com/.

FOR YOUR HEALTH: Three Cool Ideas For A Better Night’s Rest

(NAPSI)—The next time you find yourself kicking your leg out of the side of your blankets to cool off or turning your pillow over because it’s too hot—you won’t be alone. Some 50 million Americans are affected by intermittent sleep problems, potentially created by bedding choices, according to the National Sleep Foundation—but you don’t have to be.

Not many people realize it, but surrounding yourself with breathable fabrics while you sleep is essential for a restful night. Airflow matters because it lets heat naturally dissipate away from your body and helps keep your temperature regulated. Overheating can lead to a night of tossing and turning, leaving you groggy the next day because you didn’t recover properly the night before.

What To Do

So what’s the solution? It’s possible to get more out of each day by enhancing your sleep environment. There are options that can cater to your individual sleep position, body frame and temperature to help you maximize recovery at night.

Consider these facts and tips for a better night’s sleep:

  1. There are 24 vertebrae in your back, eight of which are supported by a pillow and the rest by your mattress. Therefore, while you’re sleeping, 30 percent of your comfort comes from your pillow and 70 percent comes from your mattress. This is why it’s important to have the right fit of sleep equipment that supports your body’s needs.
  2. Get personalized. It’s true that one size doesn’t fit all—especially when it comes to your bedding. You might want to check out Bedgear, which offers a personalized Performance Sleep System and a Pillow ID fitting process, used by professional sports teams such as the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks. The process is designed to fit people with individualized products for the best sleep every night.
  3. Spend the last hour before bed away from electronics. Taking some time to relax and unwind calms your body and helps your brain transition more easily into deep sleep. At the same time, you’re removing artificial sources of the blue light found in electronic devices that activates your brain to stay awake and can disrupt sleep.

Personalization, coupled with fabric technologies that are engineered to promote airflow and assist with temperature regulation, can ensure that your sleep environment is optimized for the best rest.

Learn More

For further information on how to upgrade your sleep, visit www.bedgear.com.

Roland’s trivia question for the week of June 21, 2018

This Red Sox pitcher became a verbal punching bag when he said, “What can I say? I just tip my hat and call the Yankees my daddy.”

Answer:

Pedro Martinez.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Carnage on our highways; do the night critters have a chance?

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

OK, let’s shift gears this week and talk about our roads. No, not the ruts, potholes and whoopsy dos, nor the bevy of political signs that sprout along the roadway. I’m talking about the carnage on our highways.

Over the last week, I have seen, laying dead, either on the shoulder or squished in the travel lanes, skunks, porcupines, an occasional opossum, and a plethora of gray squirrels.

Is there an abundance of wildlife out there, are they widening their range in search of food, or is the change in their habitat forcing them to seek shelter elsewhere?

It is an interesting thought.

Of the many animals I’ve seen as road kill, gray squirrels are by far in the majority.

It might be because they are scatter hoarders. They hoard foods in numerous caches for later recovery. Some caches are temporary, especially those made near the site of a sudden abundance of food which can be retrieved within hours or days for reburial in a more secure site. Others are more permanent and are not retrieved until months later. Each squirrel is estimated to make several thousand caches each season. This would include a large range of territory for them to cover in order to have all these caches.

Skunks and porcupines are nocturnal creatures that generally only make appearance following night fall.

Although skunks have excellent senses of smell and hearing, they have poor vision, being unable to see objects more than about 10 feet away, making them vulnerable to death by road traffic. They already have a short lifespan, up to seven years, but most will live only up to a year.

Porcupines, which are mostly nocturnal, will forage during the day. They are slow-moving mammals that once exposed to the dangers of crossing a strip of asphalt, become susceptible to road collisions with autos.

Both the skunks and porcupines are dark in color, making them difficult to see in the dark, especially with some of today’s new cars. Older cars, with the standard types of headlights, illuminate the sides of the road at a longer distance, while the newer LED projection-type headlamps light up the roads in a more direct, straight-forward path, leaving the shoulders and aprons to the road a little darker.

All in all, for these denizens of the woods, when they venture out at night, they are no match for a 3,000-pound hunk of steel barreling down at them at 55 mph.

CHALLENGE

Now, here is a challenge for readers.

In the 20-plus years that I have been writing this column, I have come across a lot of creatures of nature that I have not been able to identify. Through the help of my contacts at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and doing countless hours of research, I have been able to bring to you many descriptions of these critters. But, in that time, I have come across two that even experts have not been able to help me. One was in 2013, and the other was just last weekend.

So, I am presenting to you, amateur entomologists and wannabes, these two for your perusal. Does anyone out there in The Town Line nation, know what these are? (Send us an email at townline@fairpoint.net or via our Contact page.)

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

This Red Sox pitcher became a verbal punching bag when he said, “What can I say? I just tip my hat and call the Yankees my daddy.”

Answer can be found here.

Legal Notices, Week of June 21, 2018

STATE OF MAINE
PROBATE COURT
COURT ST.,
SKOWHEGAN, ME
SOMERSET, ss
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
18-A MRSA sec. 3-801

The following Personal Representatives have been appointed in the estates noted. The first publication date of this notice June 21, 2018.

If you are a creditor of an estate listed below, you must present your claim within four months of the first publication date of this Notice to Creditors by filing a written statement of your claim on a proper form with the Register of Probate of this Court or by delivering or mailing to the Personal Representative listed below at the address published by his name, a written statement of the claim indicating the basis therefore, the name and address of the claimant and the amount claimed or in such other manner as the law may provide. See 18-A MRSA 3-804.

2018-156 – Estate of EDMUND F. WEBB, late of West Forks Plantation, Me. Gerald F. Stackpole, PO Box 136, West Forks, Me 04985 appointed Personal Representative.

2018-159 – Estate of McKINLEY DOODY, late of Fairfield, Me deceased. Debra Doody, 272 Upper Main Street, Fairfield, Me 04937 appointed Personal Representative.

2018-162 – Estate of MICHAEL DAVID LANGE, late of Saint Albans, Me deceased. Leslie D. Obiri, 2520 Walters Way #24, Concord, CA 94520 appointed Personal Representative.

2018-163 – Estate of ALMA L. FRENCH, late of Solon, Me deceased. James Abbott Withers, 433 Reids Road Extension, Echo Bay ON P0S 1C0 appointed Personal Representative.

2018-164 – Estate of LEONA A. SMITH, late of Pittsfield, Me deceased. Grayln S. Smith, PO Box 128, Greenville, Me 04441 appointed Personal Representative.

2018-165 – Estate of BRADLEY M. KING, late of Madison, Me deceased. Kerryann Davis, 37 Lakewood Road, Madison, Me 04950 appointed Personal Representative.

2018-169 – Estate of VIOLA M. HUTCHINS, late of Fairfield, Me deceased. Renee Reynolds, 23 Hutchins Road, Fairfield, Me 04937 appointed Personal Representative.

2018-170 – Estate of LINWOOD S. DUNPHY, late of Pittsfield, Me deceased. Colleen D. Martin, 223 Hamilton Terrace, Pittsfield, Me 04967 and James D. Dunphy, 122 Lincoln Street, Pittsfield, Me 04967 appointed Co-Personal Representatives.

2018-171 – Estate of CLARENCE T. LIVINGSTONE, late of Moxie Gore Township, Me deceased. Clarence Ayotte, 456 Campground Road, North Anson, Me 04958 appointed Personal Representative.

2018-172 – Estate of MARYANN SHAW, late of Skowhegan, Me deceased. Robert Shaw, 23 Dominic Street, Skowhegan, Me 04976 appointed Personal Representative.

2018-173 – Estate of TROY G. CORMIER, late of Jackman, Me deceased. Tracy H. Cormier, 40 Donovan Road, No. Brookfield, MA 01535 and Todd R. Cormier, 111 Waite Corner Road, No. Brookfield, MA 01535 appointed Co-Personal Representatives.

2018-174 – Estate of IRENE F. TUTTLE, late of Canaan, Me deceased. Trudy Tuttle Hart, 74 Main Street, Canaan, Me 04976 appointed Personal Representative.

2018-175 – Estate of THEODORE W. WEBB III, late of Madison, Me deceased. Gannet N. White, 118 North Street, Waterville, Me 04901 appointed Personal Representative.

2018-047 – Estate of ROMONA MAE BROWN, late of Hartland, Me deceased. Todd Brown, 351 Nokomis Road, St. Albans, Me 04971 and Troy Chipman, 1107 Canaan Road, Hartland, Me 04943 appointed Co-Personal Representative.

2018-180 – Estate of ROLAND J. LEARY, late of Fairfield, Me deceased. Travis C. Leary, 241 Hill Road, Clinton, Me 04927 appointed Personal Representative.

To be published on June 21, 2018 & June 28, 2018.
Dated: June 19, 2018 /s/ Victoria Hatch,
Register of Probate
(6/28)

STATE OF MAINE
PROBATE COURT
SOMERSET, SS
NOTICE TO HEIRS
Estate of
THEODORE W. WEBER III
DOCKET NO. 2018-175

It appearing that the following heir of THEODORE W. WEBER III, as listed in an Application for Informal Probate of Will and Appointment of Personal Representative is of unknown address as listed below:

George Weber, address unknown

THEREFORE, notice is hereby given as heir of the above named estate, pursuant to Maine Rules of Probate Procedure Rule 4(d) (1) (a), and Rule 4 (e) a.

This notice shall be published once a week for two successive weeks in The Town Line, with the first publication date to be June 21, 2018.

Names and address of Personal Representative: Gannet N. White, 118 North Street, Waterville, Me 04901.

Dated: June 21, 2018
/s/ Victoria Hatch,
Register of Probate
(6/28)

I’M JUST CURIOUS: My mother’s like this….

by Debbie Walker

We will get to the “Mother” part of this story but first we’ll do the background.

Most of you know I am part of the Foster Grandparent Program and I volunteer in a first and second grade class. I think I have mentioned before how much I enjoy the kids and the teacher. Today I had an amazing experience.

I walked in the classroom to find a gift bag on my table. I opened up the card to find a note from the mother and a note from her child, one of our students.

The mother spoke of her child and that she knew her child enjoyed spending time with me. I believe the sentence that really got to me was she said he always has a smile on his face when he talks about me. She thanked me for all I do. His note was thanking me for being there in his class.

Tears were building up in the corners of my eyes as I finished reading. It got worse when I opened the gifts. There were two gifts in that bag. One was a beautiful little fairy sitting and holding a gem in her hand. The other gift was a fairy cottage that even lights up. They are beautiful. Then I really had to work at holding back the tears. I was hoping the kids would all go outside without seeing me break down in tears!

My main reason for telling this story is because, without their names for privacy, I would like to honor both mother and child with this writing.

Maybe I shared with you about how I read these kids a couple of the fairy stories I’ve written. My stories do not have illustrations yet. I told them to close their eyes and use their imagination to “see” the story. That’s a lot to ask of kids in this age bracket. They did wonderful! Their teacher looked in on us because the kids were all so quiet. After the story they asked to have time to draw the things they “saw.”

The pictures they drew were so cute! One of them, this boy, drew a picture of the house, a sun and the tree of “Apple Tree Notch,” home of the Bailey family fairies from my series. He gave his drawing to me and said, “Will you draw in the fairies and their friends.” So we finished it and he took the original home to show Mom.

The thing that truly inspired me to write this is the thoughtfulness and understanding of this Mom. It was months ago that we did the activity and yet Mom had not forgotten.

Mom understood that her son has a “connection” over something to me. “Connection” is a term they learned this year to connect them to different aspects of a story. To me this Mom is amazing and will help her son travel miles over the educational highways of his life. With Mothers like this there is hope for all of our futures.

I’m just curious the “trip” this boy will have with the obvious understanding of his Mom. I love questions and comments!! Contact me at dwdaffy@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading!! Don’t forget we are also on line.