Waterville scout leader presented with highest honor

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Garth Smith, left, and advancement chairman Luanne Chesley. (contributed photo)

by Chuck Mahaleris

Garth Smith, of Waterville, a leader in Scouting programs in Winslow, on Saturday received the highest award a local Scouting district can bestow on a volunteer – the District Award of Merit.

During the annual Scout Leaders’ Recognition Dinner held on Saturday, March 11, at Winslow V.F.W. MacCrillis-Rousseau Post #8835, District Advancement Chairman Luanne Chesley, of Vassalboro, presented the District Award of Merit to Smith.

“Garth has served in large ways and some small ways in the Kennebec Valley region,” Chesley said. “In smaller ways, Garth has helped out at various events sometimes in the background or making sure things run smoothly logistically. Some examples include delivering firewood for the Klondike Derby, running stations at the camporee, or simply moving things from Point A to Point B at Camp Bomazeen. On the larger scale, Garth has volunteered at the District Pinewood Derby. The derby has a lot of kids and a lot of chaos, but Garth has helped many years to ensure the event goes off without a hitch.”

Smith works at the Maine Center for Disease Control and is a graduate of Waterville High School before taking classes at Husson College and Merrimack College.

Smith, who is currently registered as the Committee Chairman for both Troop #433 Boys and Troop #433 Girls, in Winslow, has also served as Popcorn Kernel, Scoutmaster, and was recognized for helping start a new Cub Scout pack. He has been active in Scouting since 2011 with his son.

Outside of Scouting, Garth Smith is an active member of the Waterville Lodge of Elks #905, serving as an advisor to the Antlers Youth Program; assisting with the youth Hoop Shoot and the Trunk or Treats program the Elks hosts.

“I was very surprised,” Smith said. “Scouting is a valuable program for young people to learn leadership skills. It is an organization that promotes and provides opportunities for family bonding. I am proud to be a part of it.”

“Garth is all about the kids,” Chesley said. He was nominated for this award by Millard Davis, of Winslow Troop #433, and was unanimously approved by the District Award of Merit Selection committee. The committee approved the awarding of two such awards but the second will be presented at a later date as they were unable to be present at the dinner.

Long Covid can kill you

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The CDC has just provided guidance for certifying deaths from “long COVID”—the first official confirmation that the long-haul phase following the acute phase of COVID-19 can kill you.

The February 2023 addendum to the Vital Statistics report initially published in April 2020 now authorizes post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), the technical term for long COVID, to be listed as a cause of death on death certificates.

The first case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was reported in January 2020, and the first death was in February 2020.

“It’s good that the CDC officially recognizes the seriousness of the chronic phase of COVID-19,” says board certified internist Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, who is a leading expert in treating patients with chronic fatigue and chronic pain conditions. His landmark research on effective treatment for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) was published in the Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (8:2,2001). “The CDC has observed close similarities between long COVID and CFS and, in fact, Dr. Fauci has characterized long COVID as being post-viral Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.”

“As with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, people with long COVID present a wide range of seemingly unrelated symptoms including exhaustion, dizziness, breathlessness, headaches, sleep problems, sluggish thinking, and many other problems. Sadly, as with CFS, patients are too often dismissed by their physicians and underserved by a medical system that hasn’t yet found adequate solutions to the growing problem,” says Dr. Teitelbaum. “This suggests a systemic public health emergency.”

A study published in the journal PLOS One in November 2022 revealed that 95 percent of patients with long COVID faced stigma from their lingering illness and the inability to return to work and resume normal living.

The Government Accountability Office estimates that long COVID has potentially affected up to 23 million Americans, pushing an estimated 1 million out of work. Their chronic suffering and the stigma that often accompanies it may feel like a fate worse than death.

“Stigma in medicine is nothing new,” says Dr. Teitelbaum. “We must remove the stigma and shame that so many with chronic illnesses are subjected to. Just because doctors don’t know all the answers and tests often fail to home in on a satisfactory diagnosis, it doesn’t mean that the disease isn’t real, or that it’s a psychological aberration. That attitude represents the wholesale failure of our medical system.”

EVENTS: Maine Film Center announces 2023 Oscar Party

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Dress to impress or come as you are to the Maine Film Center’s 2023 Oscar Party, on Sunday, March 12, 2023. Attendees can walk the red carpet and enjoy catered refreshments at a gala reception prior to a live broadcast of the 95th Academy Awards, celebrating the best films of 2022.

“We’ve shown seven out of 10 Best Picture nominees this year, and while we have our own predictions about winners, we’re curious what our community thinks!” said Julia Dunlavey, assistant executive director of the Maine Film Center. “Will it be Everything Everywhere All At Once (with a recent sold-out encore screening at MFC) or The Banshees of Inisherin (the highest-grossing film at MFC this year)? We’ll be watching with bated breath all night.”

Prior to the Oscars, cinema patrons are encouraged to fill out ballots with their predicted winners. The person with the most correct predictions will win one dozen free movie passes to the Maine Film Center, as well as free popcorn.

The gala reception will begin at 7:30 p.m., while the Oscar ceremonies broadcast will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets for the reception are $15 for the general public and free for members of Waterville Creates; admission to the broadcast is free. For tickets and more information, please visit MaineFilmCenter.org.

SRLT hires program manager

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Cheryl Daigle

Sebasticook Regional Land Trust (SRLT) has announced the hiring of Cheryl Daigle as program manager. The membership-supported conservation association works to conserve and restore the lands and waters of the Sebasticook River Watershed in Central Maine, and has been all-volunteer for more than six years.

Daigle will take the lead on operations and coordinate the activities of the board and volunteers beginning in early March. She brings extensive experience in communications and outreach at diverse community-based conservation organizations across New England. Her career focus has been on conservation, restoration, cultural vitality and economic health of the communities in which she has worked. She most recently served as the editor of Northern Woodlands magazine. Managing SRLT marks a return to Maine for Daigle. Her previous conservation work in the Pine Tree state has been in the roles of executive director at the Maine Lakes Society, outreach coordinator at the Penobscot River Restoration Trust and publications specialist at Maine Sea Grant.

“Our dedicated core of volunteers has struggled to do more than maintain our preserves, monitor easement holdings and present outreach events,” said SRLT board president Tom Aversa. “Cheryl’s skills in community engagement, fundraising, grant writing and land stewardship will help us meet the challenges of the future.”

Sebasticook Regional Land Trust focuses on land conservation, habitat restoration and environmental education, working with landowners to help them voluntarily protect their land for future generations. In its first ten years, the SRLT and its landowner partners have ensured the permanent protection of nearly 4,000 acres of wild and working lands. Learn more at sebasticookrlt.org.

Palermo resident to celebrate professional pet sitters week March 5 – 11

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Sandy Patrick and Bacci.

Business owner Sandy Patrick will use the annual observance to celebrate industry growth and encourage local pet owners to learn more about the advantages of using a professional pet-sitting company.

Country Roads Pet & Farm Care LLC encourages local pet parents to join her in celebrating the 29th annual Professional Pet Sitters Week, March 5-11, 2023. Professional Pet Sitters Week (PPSW) was introduced by Pet Sitters International (PSI) in 1995.

Pet Sitters International is the world’s largest educational association for professional pet sitters and represents more than 4,000 member businesses in the United States, Canada and more than 20 other countries.

Sandy has been a member of PSI since 2001 beginning with her previous pet sitting business before moving to Maine in 2015. She now offers services to pet parents in Palermo and surrounding towns. She is a Certified Professional Pet Sitter, a Pet Tech CPR/First Aid Instructor and a Certified Fear Free Professional.
PSI created Professional Pet Sitters Week to educate pet owners about the advantages of using professional pet sitters.

“With pet ownership at an all-time high and the need for pet-care services continuing to grow, it’s important for pet parents to understand that they don’t have to rely on friends, neighbors, or family members to care for their pets,” said PSI President Beth Stultz-Hairston. “Whether pet parents are traveling or working long hours at the office or from home, we encourage them to look for qualified, professional pet-care providers who have the business credentials and training to offer top-notch services.

“These business owners and their staff sitters truly deserve recognition for the optimal pet care they provide and the ways they’ve adjusted their services to meet the needs of today’s pet parents,” added Stultz-Hairston.

“Country Roads Pet & Farm Care is happy to join PSI and thousands of fellow pet-care professionals around the globe in celebrating this week that recognizes professional pet-sitting businesses like mine,” said Sandy Patrick, owner of Country Roads Pet & Farm Care LLC.

“It’s also an opportunity to remind pet owners that professional pet sitters like me are available and that professional pet-care businesses can provide peace of mind that other options cannot. With over 25 years of experience, I value continuing education that allows me to offer reliable service to the pets entrusted to my care. Earning and continuing the designation of CPPS-Certified Professional Pet Sitter demonstrates that I am an animal steward committed to delivering excellent service, “ added Patrick.

This year, Country Roads Pet & Farm Care LLC is commemorating Professional Pet Sitters Week by making a donation to the Waldo County Pet Food Pantry.

To learn more about Country Roads Pet & Farm Care LLC visit www.countryroadspetcare.com. To learn more about PPSW or the pet-sitting industry, visit the PSI website, www.petsit.com.

Waterville Creates announces youth art month exhibition

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A landscape painting by Uliana Fournier, Winslow High School, grade 10. (contributed photo)

Ticonic Gallery, a division of Waterville Creates, is delighted to partner with Greene Block + Studios to celebrate Youth Art Month (YAM) with a spectacular, multi-site exhibition of artwork by local students in grades K–12. The 9th annual YAM exhibition will be on view at both locations March 3 – 31, with an opening reception on March 3 from 4­­ – 7 p.m., in conjunction with downtown Waterville’s First Friday event. Sponsored by the Colby College Museum of Art, Kennebec Savings Bank, Morning Sentinel and Kennebec Journal, and PRO Moving Service, this year’s YAM exhibition will include the work of youth artists from 25 participating area schools.

Established in 1961, YAM is a national initiative designed to emphasize the value of art education for all children and to encourage support for quality school art programs. Featuring works in a variety of media, including painting, digital art, pottery, and photography, YAM is an opportunity for students to showcase their work in a gallery setting and share their achievements with their families and their community. This year’s YAM theme is “Your Art, Your Story.”

In conjunction with YAM, Waterville Creates is conducting a special awareness campaign and fundraising drive for its Youth Arts Access Fund (YAAF). Established in March 2022 with the belief that all youth, regardless of income, ability, or background, should have access to outstanding arts programming and arts education opportunities, YAAF provides free admission for youth ages 18 and under to the full range of programming offered by Waterville Creates and its divisions, including art classes and camps, community theatre productions, live music, and film programming. Initially established as a pilot program with a $15,000 grant from the Raymond J. and Mary C. Reisert Foundation, YAAF has received additional support from a variety of foundations, businesses, and individuals. Since March 2022, the Youth Arts Access Fund has been accessed nearly 1,000 times, allowing youth to attend events and programs across all divisions of Waterville Creates, including Ticonic Gallery + Studios, Maine Film Center, and Waterville Opera House.

Located at 93 Main Street in the Paul J. Schupf Art Center, Ticonic Gallery is free and open to the public Wednesdays – Mondays, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Greene Block + Studios, located at 18 Main Street, is free and open to the public Tuesdays – Fridays, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Saturdays, noon – 5 p.m. For more information on YAM, please visit the Ticonic Gallery exhibitions page; for information about the Youth Arts Access Fund, including a link to donate, visit the Waterville Creates’ website.

YAM 2023 participating schools: Albert S. Hall School, Canaan Elementary School, Clinton Elementary School, George J. Mitchell School, Sylvio J. Gilbert Elementary School, Lincoln Elementary School, Madison Elementary School, Madison Junior High School, Maine Arts Academy, Maranacook Community Middle School, Messalonskee High School, Messalonskee Middle School, Mount Merici Academy, Mt. Vernon Elementary School, Palermo Consolidated School, Readfield Elementary School, Warsaw Middle School, Waterville Alternative High School, Waterville Senior High School, Waterville Junior High School, Wayne Elementary School, Whitefield Elementary School, Winslow High School, Winslow Junior High School.

Vassalboro Historical Society gets new Bookeye scanner

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The Bookeye scanner recently acquired by the Vassalboro Public Library. (photo courtesy of Janice Clowes)

by Mary Grow

The Vassalboro Historical Society (VHS) has a new tool, and VHS president Jan Clowes is excited about using it and about sharing it.

It’s called a Bookeye scanner, and it takes pictures of documents and transfers them to a computer, from which they can be read, downloaded, printed and otherwise used without risk to the irreplaceable, often-fragile originals.

Clowes and other Historical Society volunteers were scheduled for an on-line training session on the machine March 2. They intend to record the session to use to train others interested, Clowes said.

Meanwhile, she has started scanning, following the instruction manual.

The scanner has three parts. A flattish machine sits on a desk in the VHS office, with a book cradle on its top. The cradle is adjustable to accommodate books and papers of different sizes and to hold them at different angles.

At head height above the cradle is the light that does the scanning. Between the two, a vertical screen shows what is being scanned. The resulting image transfers to the attached computer.

Clowes demonstrated with a hand-written page in a recipe book. She placed the open book in the cradle and pressed a button; a red line shone down to tell her to adjust the book’s position slightly; she did so, pressed the button again and a picture of the page transferred to the computer.

There is also a foot-pedal control, in case the operator needs both hands to keep the document being scanned in position.

Clowes intends to offer use of the scanner to other area organizations, and perhaps to individuals. She and VHS member Dawn Cates happily listed the possibilities – valuable old documents from VHS and other historical societies; Grange, church and other organizations’ records; interesting items from library collections; handwritten store-keepers’ records; school records, including from the former Oak Grove School – “there’s just so much,” Clowes exulted.

“This is a game-changer for getting our information online and safe,” she said.

The Historical Society applied to the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation for funds for a scanner. Clowes said she got a letter from the foundation at the beginning of February, opened it half-expecting a rejection – and found a check for $10,000.

The scanner cost $9,888. The rest of the money, Clowes said, will start a fund to buy a more powerful computer to go with the scanner.

The computer she’s been using is adequate for training. For continued use, Clowes said, the scanner manual recommends “a large, high resolution display and high-speed computer with at least 16 gigabytes of RAM.”

She estimated the computer will cost about $1,200. She and Cates discussed the possibility that if someone donated the entire price, the Historical Society might honor the donor by putting his or her name on the computer.

Clowes’ first project is scanning the multi-volume diary kept by North Vassalboro mill-owner John D. Lang (1799 – 1879). It is part of a collection of Lang-related documents the late Dick Kelly, a VHS member, donated more than 20 years ago.

“We have this wonderful thing that nobody was able to see, and now they’ll be able to,” Clowes said.

CORRECTION: The article headline previously mentioned the Vassalboro library. It should reference the Vassalboro Historical Society. The article headline has been updated.

Maine Catholic youth raise nearly $14,000 in “Souper” Bowl of Caring

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In addition to Super Bowl Sunday parties and gatherings, young Catholics from around Maine had more reason to celebrate on Sunday, February 12: a wildly successful “Souper” Bowl of Caring.

The event saw young people collecting money at several Maine parishes with 100 percent of the donations set for delivery to local charities that help tackle hunger in the community.

The young people collected nearly $14,000 and hundreds of food items at weekend Masses. The parishes, totals, and beneficiaries were:

St. Michael Parish, which consists of Augusta, Gardiner, Hallowell, Whitefield, and Winthrop, youth collected over $2,600 for the Catholic Charities Maine food and nutrition program.

Corpus Christi Parish, Waterville and Winslow, youth collected $1,733 to help sponsor a child in El Salvador and for the Lighthouse Soup Kitchen, in Waterville.

China 2023 Ice Fishing Derby winners

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AND THE WINNERS ARE…

Lunker of the Day – Large Mouth Bass – Randall Glidden – 5.48 lb

Brook Trout:

1st and 2nd place – David Hamilton – 1.06 lb and .70 lb
There was no 3rd place in this category

Brown Trout:

1st place: Jaden Callahan – 3.40 lb
2nd place: Emmet Ambrose – 3.34 lb
3rd place: Dan Horning – 2.80 lb

Large Mouth Bass:

1st place: Randall Glidden – 5.48 lb
2nd place: Kolby Glidden – 4.86 lb
3rd place: Christine Casmer – 4.84 lb

Small Mouth Bass:

1st place: Terry Couture – 3.02 lb
2nd place: Mile Michaud – 2.76 lb
3rd place: Tom Monroe – 2.32 lb

Pickerel:

1st place: Isabelle Pelotte – 4.2 lb
2nd place: Damien Lee Theriault – 3.88 lb
3rd place: Brad Wing – 3.70 lb

Kids Perch by Count:

1st place: Max Collins – 24
2nd place: Nicole – 22
3rd place: Blake Owens – 17 (first in at fire house)
4th place: Griffin Smith – 17
5th place: Alexis Wentworth – 14

Purdue Global partnering with Northern Light Inland Hospital

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Tricia Costingan

A new partnership between the Purdue Global School of Nursing and Northern Light Inland Hospital will create a more efficient and innovative learning model that meets the needs of Purdue Global students, Inland Hospital staff and the community. The partnership includes a state-of-the-art simulation center to be located on the Inland campus, at 222 Kennedy Memorial Drive, in Waterville, next door to the hospital.

The simulation center will utilize a family of high-fidelity, Gaumard brand manikins that include an infant, child, birthing mother and adult. The space will consist of large high-fidelity simulation suites staged to mock hospital rooms with audio/video capabilities, a master control room, several conference rooms to hold debriefings, a dedicated skills lab, break area, nurses’ station, central supply area, medication preparation space, offices and storage space. The new sim lab will be up and running by early spring.

“We are excited to partner with Inland Hospital, creating a state-of-the-art simulation facility that enables our nursing students and health care colleagues to engage in immersive learning with a keen training focus on patient safety, high reliability and quality of care, all while fostering interprofessional collaboration serving the rural community,” said Melissa Burdi, Purdue Global vice president and dean of the School of Nursing. Additionally, the organizations are working together to create mutually beneficial interprofessional simulation experiences where multiple health care professionals can practice patient and family care together.

Inland Hospital president Tricia Costigan said, “This medical simulation lab partnership gives our healthcare staff another important way to continue to hone and grow their clinical skills. State-of-the-art, hands-on training, with easy access right on our hospital campus, is invaluable. We are grateful for Purdue’s collaboration to help us deliver the best care possible to our community.”

This arrangement builds on an existing partnership between Purdue Global and Inland Hospital, in which Purdue Global students have completed their clinical rotations at the hospital.

For more information about Purdue Global, visit www.purdueglobal.edu.