China committee discusses competing broadband proposals

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

China Broadband Committee (CBC) members discussed competing proposals to improve China’s broadband service for more than two hours Feb. 18, in preparation for virtual interviews with vendors starting at 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, and a recommendation at a virtual CBC meeting scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24.

The recommendation will go to China selectmen for review at their meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 1.

The three vendors under consideration are Axiom Technologies, of Machias, Maine; Sertex Broadband Solutions, of Plainfield, Connecticut; and Spectrum Community Solutions, of Augusta, Maine.

The only substantive action at the Feb. 18 CBC meeting was a unanimous vote to reject a bid that was submitted after the Jan. 31 deadline for replies to the request for proposals.

Consultants Mark Van Loan and John Dougherty, of Mission Broadband, had received replies to questions they asked of the three competing companies. Two had come in the afternoon of the meeting, and Van Loan said he uploaded them to Sharepoint for committee review.

However, the automatic notice from Sharepont to committee members was evidently not enabled, so they had not seen the responses. They agreed they needed more time and more information to prepare a complete comparison of the plans.

Axiom and Sertex both propose a new town-wide system that would become town-owned. Spectrum, which already provides many China residents with broadband, telephone and/or television, would expand its existing network and continue to own it.

Spectrum has not indicated how long it would take to extend service. Sertex proposes complete installation in two years. Axiom proposes up to a year’s work after engineering plans are complete, a task committee member Jamie Pitney estimated would take a minimum of six months.

One item discussed at length was the cost to consumers, as well as it could be projected from available information. A subtopic was whether, if Spectrum were chosen, payment would come entirely from Spectrum customers, from local taxes or from a combination of the two.

Another major concern was how each company’s proposed technology would adapt to future technological changes, which consultants and committee members consider inevitable, and what if any additional costs would be generated.

If a proposal is to be presented at the June 8 town business meeting, committee members discussed whether they will have time to negotiate with the selected company and to explain their choice to voters. They considered postponing a ballot question to November.

China selectmen work on warrant; move town meeting date

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

China selectmen continued work on 2021-22 finances and the warrant for the 2021 town business meeting at their Feb. 16 meeting, including moving the town meeting date.

Instead of Tuesday, May 18, the meeting will be Tuesday, June 8, at the same time as voters approve or reject the 2021-22 school budget. Selectmen currently plan a written-ballot vote; they and Town Manager Becky Hapgood are therefore combining expenditure requests and policies to make the warrant as short as they can.

Regional School Unit (RSU) #18 Superintendent Carl Gartley made a preliminary presentation on school finances. He began with charts showing that China’s school is one of the least expensive of 11 in the area, but students score among the top in standardized tests.

China’s school is “one of the cheapest around and getting some of the best results in the area,” he summarized.

Gartley said grants helped cover extra pandemic-related costs. He expects more special funding in the coming year.

The grants could not be used for normal operations, he said, but they did update the bus fleet. The RSU used local funds to accomplish other goals, like catching up with maintenance and promoting energy efficiency.

At this point, Gartley is predicting about a 2.5 percent increase in the 2021-22 school budget, compared to the current year.

Turning to other parts of the budget, Hapgood said she had information from FirstPark Executive Director James Dinkle that the Oakland-based business park intends to charge China about $25,000 for continued membership, payable in December 2021 and May 2022 – and to return about the same amount in revenue in June 2022.

Selectman Wayne Hapgood thought the park should be doing better, considering Maine’s active real estate market. Hapgood said Dinkle expects to sell all remaining lots, given time.

Selectmen decided they need more information before deciding whether to recommend China continue its FirstPark membership.

Board members authorized Hapgood to apply for a 12-week summer intern through the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Southern Maine. Since the intern’s job would be to promote economic development and business investment in China, the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) fund could pay for him or her.

After a brief discussion of Palermo’s use of China’s transfer station and the amount Palermo pays China, board Chairman Ronald Breton said he and Hapgood will talk with Palermo officials.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 1.

The food service program, also called the nutrition program or the school lunch program, in Regional School Unit (RSU) #18 (to which Belgrade, China, Oakland, Rome, and Sidney belong) is in debt, like many other food service programs in Maine schools. RSU Superintendent Carl Gartley gave China selectmen a clear explanation of the problem.

The program is not part of the regular school budget and is supposed to be self-supporting, Gartley said. Federal subsidies are based on assumed efficient programs, and small schools with individual kitchens like those in RSU #18 are not as efficient as the federal program assumes.

For example, Gartley said, RSU #18 has five separate programs, each with two or three employees, for a total of a dozen or more people. The federal formula assumes six or seven people can feed all the RSU students, and pays accordingly.

Gartley emphasized that unpaid meal accounts do not contribute significantly to the deficit.

RSU #18, again like other Maine school units, has been paying down the program debt as much as possible, given other needs.

China committee takes first look at 2021-22 budget

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

China Budget Committee members held their first meeting on the proposed 2021-22 town budget Wednesday evening, Feb. 10. Town Manager Becky Hapgood presented the selectmen’s recommendations, expecting no immediate decisions.

Four topics drew brief discussion.

  • Committee member Elizabeth Curtis queried the request for funds for a building in the China School Forest behind China Primary School. Hapgood replied that proponent Anita Smith foresees using it for year-round programs for children and adults and for storing forest-related equipment and supplies. Smith had given no estimate of the number of people who might use the building.
  • Hapgood summarized the proposal to eliminate the local police force and instead contract for Kennebec County Sheriff’s deputies to cover China 10 hours a week, in addition to the regular patrols. She explained that the part-time officers from other departments who make up China’s local police often lack time to work as many hours as expected.
  • Committee Chairman Robert Batteese asked whether Palermo’s contributions for use of the China transfer station cover costs. Hapgood said selectmen planned to review the contract with Palermo at their Feb. 16 meeting and to talk with Palermo officials.
  • Hapgood said if China repaves the planned five miles of town road in 2021, repaving will be behind schedule. In 2020, she said, six miles of repaving were initially scheduled and four miles were done.

Budget committee members were still waiting for final recommendations from the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee on TIF contributions to the 2021-22 budget, and for bills from Kennebec County and FirstPark, in Oakland. The TIF Committee was scheduled to meet Wednesday evening, Feb. 17.

Committee members decided their next meeting should be to review the selectmen’s warrant for what was then expected to be the May 18 town business meeting, and discussed alternate dates depending on when selectmen put the warrant in final form.

However, selectmen at their Feb. 16 meeting rescheduled the town business meeting from May 18 to Tuesday, June 8, extending deadlines for pre-meeting preparations.

VA to contact vets for vaccine shots

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Veterans Administration facility at Togus. (Internet photo)

The VA Maine care teams will begin to schedule Covid-19 vaccinations for eligible veterans. Through VEText, text messages will inform eligible veterans their facility is offering the vaccine and will come from the short number, 53079.

The VEText program allows veterans to confirm or cancel scheduled appointments and sends reminders for visits via text message.

With VEText, simply text “start” to 53079 to opt-in to receiving VEText messaging. Every enrolled veteran with a cell phone number listed in their health record is automatically enrolled to receive text messages.

The care teams will notify eligible veterans to make a vaccine appointment directly by text message. They will also continue to contact veterans by phone.

Veterans can update phone numbers online at va.gov/profile.

To learn more about VEText, go to va.gov/HEALTH/VEText­–FAQs.asp.

Rep. Bradstreet announces local projects in Maine DOT work plan

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Rep. Dick Bradstreet

State Representative Bradstreet (R-Vassalboro) has announced that the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) Work Plan for Calendar Years 2021, 2022 and 2023 is available. The estimated value of work in the plan totals more than 2,180 individual work items with a total value of $2.71 billion.

The MDOT Work Plan for House District 80 includes five projects for Vassalboro, Somerville and Windsor totaling $1.63 million.
The Work Plan involves paving, reconstructing existing roads as well as rehabilitation.

“MDOT Work Plan projects will benefit our local communities in many ways,” said Rep. Bradstreet. “I am pleased to see several MDOT projects scheduled for the next three years in our area. They will make our roads safer and benefit local economy.”

The full work plan, searchable by municipality, is available at the Maine Department of Transportation’s website: https://www.maine.gov/mdot/projects/workplan/search/.

Support Keep ME Warm fundraiser

/0 Comments/in , /by

image from: keepmewarm.org

Each year, thousands of Mainers are faced with choosing between heating their homes and purchasing basic needs like food and medicine. As a result, the Keep ME Warm fund was established in 2005 and is a statewide partnership of Maine’s United Ways and Community Action Agencies. Keep ME Warm provides emergency heating assistance and is the only statewide fuel assistance fundraising effort in Maine.

To help support the fund, seven Maine State Farm agents recently partnered and donated money to Keep ME Warm. “I can’t imagine not having a warm home in the winter,” says Augusta State Farm Agent Dennis Keller. “I’m very proud we are able to bring warmth and a sense of security to our neighbors in need.”

The State Farm agents’ donation totaled $4,400. Half of that funding came from the individual agents themselves and the other half was matched by State Farm.

“State Farm encourages all associates to be good neighbors by giving back to the communities where we live and work,” says Dennis. “I encourage anyone who can to also support the Keep ME Warm fund. Let’s create a state where no Mainers ever have to choose between heating their homes or feeding their families again.”

For more information on the Keep ME Warm fund, please visit keepmewarm.org.

China emergency committee meets to continue update

/0 Comments/in , /by

China’s Emergency Preparedness Committee met virtually the afternoon of Feb. 18 to continue updating China’s Emergency Action Plan, a project started earlier in the month.

Town Clerk Angela Nelson said committee members decided who will be responsible for updating different sections of the plan. They scheduled their next zoom meeting for 1 p.m. Thursday, March 11.

VASSALBORO: Proposed marijuana ordinance presented in final form

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

Vassalboro selectmen, assisted by Town Attorney Kristin Collins, of Augusta-based Preti, Flaherty, Beliveau & Pachios, put the proposed new marijuana ordinance in final form at their Feb. 18 meeting.

The ordinance will be submitted to Vassalboro voters for approval or rejection at the June 7-8 annual town meeting. If voters accept it, the effective date will be Feb. 18, 2021.

The ordinance has two main purposes. It prohibits all future marijuana businesses in Vassalboro, with the exception of licensed caregivers and their cultivation facilities of up to 1,000 square feet. And it regulates businesses existing or having received permits as of Feb. 18, including requiring that the owners apply for a town license.

The bulk of the ordinance deals with requirements for obtaining the local license. There will be license fees; selectmen postponed setting them. At an earlier meeting, Collins told them other Maine towns charge from $500 to $5,000.

Also joining the virtual selectmen’s meeting, by telephone, was engineer Al Hodsdon of A. E. Hodsdon, in Waterville, who has proposed a redesign for the transfer station. Hodsdon said pandemic-induced price increases and materials shortages might delay new equipment.

But, he said, he should be ready to seek bids for the redesign, which includes a second driveway and relocated equipment to make operations safer, in a few weeks. He estimates bids are likely to be in the $300,000 range, and asked board members if they were comfortable with that figure.

Selectmen promptly began proposing a phased-in plan that would spread the work and the cost over several years. Hodsdon countered that if they wanted to borrow the full amount, “You’ll never get money cheaper than it is right now.”

Neither selectmen nor Transfer Station Manager George Hamar had had time to review Hodsdon’s plan thoroughly, so action was postponed. Board members unanimously asked Hodsdon, with Hamar’s advice, to consider priorities and phasing, and asked Town Manager Mary Sabins to schedule follow-up discussion.

After two workshop meetings to consider the 2021-22 municipal budget, selectmen think they have it close to ready for budget committee review. They asked Sabins to prepare a fifth draft before their next meeting.

At this stage, without complete final figures, selectmen think their recommendations will not increase local property taxes significantly. To reach that point, they recommend eliminating items they know will disappoint others, like postponing repaving the fire station and town office dooryards.

The school budget, which is a major part of annual expenditures from taxation, is not yet finished. Sabins said school and town audits for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2020, have been delayed by the pandemic. Until the audits are complete, neither she nor school officials know exactly how much was in unassigned fund balances (surplus) when the current fiscal year started.

Codes Officer Paul Mitnik joined the virtual meeting to ask what selectmen want to do about abandoned buildings in town. He received a complaint about an empty mobile home that is attracting rats and feral cats, he said, and Vassalboro has other empty, deteriorating buildings.

After consideration of alternatives, selectmen asked Mitnik to get in touch with the owners of the complained-of property and see if they are willing to repair or remove the mobile home. If the owners cannot or will not cooperate, Mitnik is to report back to the selectmen.

Selectmen agreed unanimously to a proposed contract with Calderwood Engineering, of Richmond, to supervise work on the Gray Road culvert replacement.

The next regular Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, March 4. The starting time is half an hour earlier than usual to allow for a meeting with the budget committee beginning at 7 p.m. The meeting might be in person if budget committee members are agreeable and if Sabins can arrange to use the gymnasium at Vassalboro Community School.

Temple Academy Outreach Team doing great things within our community

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

From left to right, Grace Paradis, Katelyn Rose, Kaylan Haber, Billy Dumond, and Shivon Larsen, serving at the Winslow Community Cupboard. (contributed photo)

by Mark Huard

The Temple Academy Outreach Team is a community serviced-oriented group of 7th through 12th grade students led by junior high and high school science teacher Rachel Baker. Kevin Wood, Superintendent of the pre-K-12, non-denominational Christian school shared his vision with Ms. Baker for a service-based team at the start of the 2020/2021 school year. Within a short period of time the team was formed, organized, and committed. They enthusiastically hit the ground running throughout the community.

From left to right, Isaac Smith, Elena Hassele, Dylan Shortil, Zack Wiles, Chloe Riportella, Gavin MacDonald, Dave Louis, Thomas Fortin, Marko Ajvaz, Hunter Doyle, Evan Lafountain, and Mary Jo Wadsworth serve at the Winslow Community Cupboard. (contributed photo)

They have worked on several different community projects in the area. In the Fall the team performed yard clean up chores for several local residents in different neighborhoods. They participated in the “Crusin’ Country” 93.5’s “Put a Sock in It” Sock Drive in December, collecting 238 pairs of new socks, which the students decided to donate to the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter. The team has developed an ongoing relationship with the Winslow Community Cupboard, whose food pantry is open every other Thursday. The entire student body from seventh through 12th grade gets involved in this program. Ms. Baker takes multiple grade levels once a month, in shifts, to the Cupboard to volunteer.

Adalia Harrington, a 12th grade student at Temple Academy and Outreach Team president shares her feelings about being a member of this team, “After the devastating year our world has faced, I am privileged to be part of a group that restores the hope in our community and spreads the message that we are in this together!”

Ms. Baker states, “The heart of our mission is to promote a culture that regularly engages the student body in meeting needs in our community through acts of service. We want our students to experience the value of serving others. When you humble yourself to do something kind for someone else, it does something inside of you. It can deeply touch both the person serving and the one being served. With Temple Academy being a small school, I was immediately impressed with the level of interest at our very first meeting. The students are a committed and hard-working group and I am truly fortunate to have the privilege of working alongside of them. It is amazing for me to see these students shine during our events; they work so hard! And the best part of it is, I can tell the students are really enjoying themselves because of how happy they are while volunteering. This is truly an enlightening experience for every student that participates.”

She continues: “We were fortunate to make a connection early on with Bruce Bottigliere at the Winslow Community Cupboard. We have been able to plug our student volunteers into the various programs they have there. Together in March, we are working on scheduling a USDA Farmers to Families Food Box distribution site at our school. This will allow us to give every student in our entire school the opportunity to participate and experience the feeling of serving. I am thankful for our students, our parents, and our entire faculty who are so incredibly supportive in the efforts in making our vision a reality. We are Temple!”

(Plans are currently in the works for an opportunity this month at the First Choice Pregnancy Center.) This Spring the team is working on solidifying partnerships with the Alfond Youth & Community Center and with the city of Waterville to create some annual community projects. If you have any ideas on how their team may be able to get involved in your community or in your event, you are encouraged to contact MS. Baker at her contact information stated above.

FOR YOUR HEALTH: Tiny Teeth Are A BIG Deal

/0 Comments/in /by

The tooth fairy makes in-person and virtual visits to help improve the oral health of kids throughout Washington.

(NAPSI)—With more than half of the state’s third graders having experienced tooth decay, the Tooth Fairy is canvassing the state—virtually—to help improve the dental health habits of her young friends, in hopes of a cavity-free Washington.

“Children who experience tooth decay are more likely to miss school, have lower academic success, experience nutritional and speech development issues… and over time, become more susceptible to systemic inflammation, which may limit growth and development. It can also result in an increased risk for lifelong dental problems,” explains Abbie Goudarzi, DDS, a licensed dentist and Delta Dental consultant. “It’s really unacceptable that more than half of our state’s third graders have tooth decay, a number that’s even higher in many rural and BIPOC communities.”

To help address the issue, the Tooth Fairy is making virtual appearances in classrooms and community-based youth organizations statewide as part of her interactive pediatric dental health education program, The Tooth Fairy Experience, designed to make dental health education fun for students in kindergarten through second grade.

The free 30-minute interactive presentations led by the Tooth Fairy are customized for each learning environment—including a storybook reading, fun teeth facts, proper brushing techniques, tooth science experiment, dental health hand puppets and a sugar demonstration. It’s all aimed to improve dental health behaviors of kids as they enter their cavity-prone years, and to spur regular dental exams—which were down 17 percent statewide last year for 5-10-year-olds, claims data from the state’s largest dental benefits provider reveal.

According to Delta Dental’s National Children’s Oral Health Survey, 30 percent of U.S. parents reported that their children (between the ages of 6 and 12) missed school in the previous year due to an oral health problem (as opposed to a regularly scheduled dental appointment).

Children’s dental care may not seem like a top priority considering kids lose their first set of teeth, but baby teeth are very important. Cavities early in a child’s life can have long-term effects which linger far past the loss of baby teeth—it’s why the program’s website (www.TheToothFairyExperience.com) also offers helpful resources and tips for parents, including early signs of cavities:

  • Pain around the tooth and gums when eating or brushing
  • A new or increased sensitivity to hot or cold food and drinks
  • Aversion to hard or crunchy foods
  • Consistent bad breath
  • Visible white spots on the teeth
  • Holes or discoloration (cavities in their early stages will often appear as white spots, then become a light brown color as they progress. More serious cavities may turn a dark brown or even black)

Delta Dental reminds parents and caregivers that good dental health habits are important throughout a child’s life and are particularly impactful during the formative years—and to educate themselves and their children on the importance of dental health, noting that “the Tooth Fairy will thank you!”

The Tooth Fairy Experience was developed by Delta Dental of Washington in partnership with Arcora Foundation and School Nurse Organization of Washington.

For free downloadable materials and information on scheduling a virtual Tooth Fairy Experience presentation, visit www.TheToothFairyExperience.com.