Stephen Csengery earns Eagle Scout status

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Stephen Csengery

Stephen Csengery

On February 22, Stephen J Csengery, 17, from Troop #410, in Vassalboro, passed his Eagle Scout Board of Review. On May 7 Stephen received his Eagle badge at his Eagle Court of Honor. The COH took place at the Vassalboro United Methodist Church in Vassalboro. VUMC is the Charter Organization for Troop #410.

Rep. Dick Bradstreet, of Maine House District #80, attended and presented Stephen with a congratulatory letter from the Maine State Senate and House Of Representative.

Stephen is the son of Joseph and Cheryl Csengery, in Vassalboro. He is a junior at Erskine Academy, in South China. Stephen started scouts in 2006 as a Tiger Scout in Vassalboro Pack #410. He was an active scout attending all the meetings, field trips and camping trips. They made trips to Maine Criminal Academy, in Vassalboro, Fort Western, in Augusta, and Camp Hinds, in Raymond. His favorite trips were to Massachusetts to Battleship Cove as a Bear and to two trips to Coos Canyon, in Byron, as a Webelos 1 and 2.

On April 7, 2011, he achieved the highest rank in Cub Scouts, Arrow of Light and crossed over to Boy Scouts.

He belonged to the Flaming Outhouse Patrol and enjoyed every part of Boy Scouts. He attended Boy Scout camp, merit badge colleges and many other trips. His favorite was two trips to the U.S Army Academy, at West Point, in New York. They also hiked to the 1963 B-52 crash site on Elephant Mountain, in Maine.

Even though he was busy with scouts he also attended Maine Isshunryu Karate Academy where he achieved his black belt at the age of 15. He still is training with MIKA under Renshi Glen Fitzmaurice, in Randolph, and he also works there as a instructor.

His eagle project, to benefit the Kennebec Land Trust, was clearing and cleaning up the Seaward Mills Conservation Trail, on Seaward Mills Road, in Vassalboro. He also build two benches which he put on the trail and also made signs identifying trees. Plus there was an area that was washed out from the drainage from the fields, where he rip-rapped the ditch to prevent more erosion.

Stephens goals for the future is go to college for electrical technology to become an electrician.

He wants to continue with Scouts as an assistant Scoutmaster or a Scoutmaster. He also wants to continue training in karate and becoming an instructor.

Stephen and his parents thank the following people who supported Stephen and mentored him throughout his scouting adventure: Rick Lees who mentored him throughout his Eagle Project. Rick went above and beyond and it was much appreciated; Kevin Reed who was his scoutmaster though out his Boy Scout years; Rick Denico was there for Stephen thorughout his Cub Scout years as his Cub master.

Also to the following people who donated to his eagle project: Dana Suga for a huge donation of rip-rap rocks, Ross Trainor for the use of the sawmill and to John Tracy for being the official photographer.

Also to all those that help with the project from clearing, placing the benches and rip-rapping the ditch.

Inland Hospital collects healthy food and essential items for local communities

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Inland Hospital, in Waterville, is gearing up to fight hunger in local communities! Partnering with United Way of Mid-Maine, Inland will collect non-perishable food items and essential products for local food pantries until May 30.

The hospital is asking for healthy choice food donations; low-sodium, low-fat, whole wheat or whole grain items such as pasta and cereal, canned vegetables, and fruit canned in fruit juice are suggested.

Personal and household essential items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, toilet paper, diapers, paper towels, trash bags and household cleaning products are also welcome.

Donations can be dropped off at Inland Hospital’s cafeteria, located at 200 Kennedy Memorial Drive in Waterville, during regular business hours through May 30. All items collected will be delivered to local food banks. For more information call 861-6047 or email inlandcr@emhs.org.

Laliberte joins Central Maine Photography staff

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Jessica Laliberte
Photo courtesy of Elm City Photo

Jessica L. Laliberte, of Waterville, has joined the Central Maine Photography staff as a reporter/writer. Jessica has a long media background having worked in radio, TV and print press. She was the first Central Maine Bu­reau Chief for WABI-TV 5 News. She is the president at The Liberte Consulting Group, LLC, a local media relations and lobby business. Jessica holds her undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Maine and her masters of business administration from Thomas College, in Waterville.

 

WPI announces spring 2017 dean’s list

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The following local residents named to the university’s dean’s list, in Worcester, Massachusetts, for academic excellence for the spring 2017 semester.

McKenzie Brunelle, of Sidney, is a member of the class of 2018 majoring in biomedical engineering.

Brady Snowden, of Sidney, is a member of the class of 2018 majoring in computer science.

China food drive successful

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The China post offices conducted a food drive for the food pantry recently. China Food Pantry director Anne Austin thanks the residents of China for their generosity. Pictured, Caley Pillow, a volunteer at the food pantry, shows some of the many contributions.

Photo courtesy of Eric Austin

Local law enforcement honors those fallen in the line of duty

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A color guard consisting of various law enforcement agencies carry the colors during the ceremonies in observance of National Police Week, in Augusta, on May 18. Photo by Mark Huard, owner Central Maine Photography

by Jessica Laliberte
Central Maine Photography staff

Law enforcement officers, family and friends gathered in Augusta on May 18 to honor the more than 80 police officers, wardens and troopers who have died in the line of duty in the state of Maine. The event, part of National Police Week, has been held annually for 26 years. It is sponsored by the Maine Chiefs of Police Association.

“We are a country built upon the foundation of law and rules. As a civilized society, it is imperative that all of us recognize these laws and understand the small and fragile line that separates us from chaos and lawlessness,” said Falmouth Police Chief Edward Tolan, who is also the president of the Maine Police Chiefs Association. Tolan and Attorney General Janet Mills addressed a crowd of more than 100 people including many state legislators and other state dignitaries.

Maine State Police Colonel Robert Williams, of China, left, and Maine Game Warden Service Colonel Joel T. Wilkinson, salute the fallen. The game warden service has suffered the most in-the-line-of-duty fatalities than any other Maine law enforcement agency. Photo by Mark Huard, owner Central Maine Photography

Both praised police officers for “accepting danger everyday.” Tolan continued by saying what cannot be tolerated is “lack of respect some people show police.” The ceremony featured many police honor guards, the Maine State Police Pipes and Drum Corps and dozens of police officers from all over the state. A roll call of the names of the 84 law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice was read by retired chief Darrell Malone, Sr. No new names were added to the memorial this year. The most recent death was Game Warden pilot Daryl Gordon, who died in a plane crash in 2011. Gordon was the 15th game warden added to the wall, which is more than any other agency. The names of 10 troopers from the Maine State Police also appear on the wall. Nationally, 45 police officers have been killed in the line of duty so far in 2017;145 police officers were killed in 2016. Their names were etched into the National Police Memorial in Washington, D.C., earlier in the week.

Belgrade couple to ride for addiction awareness

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On September 6, Belgrade residents Karen , left, and Stephen Hardy will set out on a 700-mile bike ride around the state of Maine to raise awareness about addiction. Contributed photo

On September 6, 2017, Belgrade residents Karen and Stephen Hardy will set out on a 700-mile bike ride around the state of Maine to raise awareness about addiction. Both Karen and Stephen have been personally affected by the devastating effects of addiction and with this ride will raise funds for two Maine organizations. The Maine Alliance for Addiction Recovery, in Augusta, will receive funds raised to support the education and training in the use of the lifesaving drug, Narcan, also called Naloxone. They will also donate money raised to the Oxford House. The need for safe and supportive housing for those in recovery is critical. Representatives of both of these organizations have been identified.

In the state of Maine, one person dies daily from a drug overdose, as reported by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). In 2015, it was determined that 144 people every day died of drug overdoses in the country. Those numbers are likely to be higher for 2016.

Karen and Stephen are raising money through the Facebook page, Cycle for Addiction Awareness, and GofundMe pages have been set up for each of these recipients with more information. People are invited to like the page, share their stories of recovery and what they want people to know about addiction, and also to ride and support the awareness-raising in that way as well.

The ride will begin in Belgrade and will go North as far as Caribou and Presque Isle, Houlton, and will also pass by Mt. Katahdin. Karen and Stephen will welcome financial support but plan to fund their ride, lodging and food on their own. Other fundraising efforts will be ongoing until September with events held at the Wellness Center they run, Mind, Body, Soul Wellness, LLC located in Belgrade.

For those interested in donating to their endeavor, you can go to GofundMe pages: www.gofundme.com/ride-for-addiction-awareness, for the Oxford House, or www.gofundme.com/ride-for-addiction-awareness-maar for Maine Alliance for Addiction.

University of New Hampshire’s dean’s list for the fall 2016 semester

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The following students have been named to the dean’s list at the University of New Hampshire, in Durham, New Hampshire, for the fall 2016 semester.

Bayleigh Logan, of Augusta, honors; Michaela Hinckley-Gordon, of Benton, highest honors; Kyle McLain, of Fairfield, high honors; Carly LaRochelle, of Fairfield, high honors; Jessica Hosea, of Oakland, highest honors; Hannah Duperry, of Oakland, highest honors; Taylor Ferguson, of Sidney, high honors; Kelly McCormac, of South China, highest honors; Adam Bovie, of Vassalboro, high honors; Kellie Bolduc, of Waterville, high honors; Luke Violette, of Waterville, highest honors; Sarah Wildes, of Winslow, highest honors.

Kennebec Historical Society receives grant to preserve history

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The Kennebec Historical Society emphasizes the collection of Kennebec County family and organizational documents and photographs. Twenty years ago, the society’s catalog was entirely on paper. At this point, however, it has been moved to a computer database available for interested researchers at their headquarters at 107 Winthrop Street in Augusta.

To stay current and useful to our clients, the Kennebec Historical Society believes that the next step is to move its database to the internet and offer not just indexes but also scanned images of complete documents, transcriptions of handwritten and printed documents, and images of photographs and other objects.

Although it will take some time and financial resources to get to that point, the KHS collections committee believes that now is the time to take steps in preparation. This means that as well as indexing documents using key words denoting subjects, locations, organizations, events, type of items, and names, so called this meta data, we need to start “digitizing” our items; that is, scanning photographs, using optical character recognition to convert printed items to text documents, and transcribing hand written documents. If we start doing this now, we won’t have to go back and do it later when we are ready to move to the internet. But this adds considerable time to the act of cataloging items. We have found that we are building up a backlog of uncatalogued materials as we purchase items and receive them as donations.

In February 2017, they applied to the Maine State Archives for a grant from the Historical Collections Grant Program, funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, to hire interns to help in the cataloging for the internet effort and therefore reduce or eliminate backlog. In March, they received notification that the request for $3,628.26 had been approved, in full. The request will cover hiring interns for the spring and fall and purchasing of supplies and computer hardware to support the “digitization” effort. Combining this with donations they receive to support summer interns should move them well on their way to elimination the immediate backlog.

Current researchers at the society will immediately see the results of this effort as records of newly cataloged items will contain full text transcriptions that can be read and/or printed at the society. Photographs will also be available for printing as will scans of documents.

Austin Ireland graduates from Thomas College with degree in law enforcement

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by Mark Huard

Austin Ireland

Austin Ireland was trying to decide where to attend college when he was a senior at Winslow High School. That year he ended up getting the opportunity to go on some ride-alongs with local police departments and quickly realized that law enforcement was his passion. With the help of his family, Ireland decided to attend Thomas College the following year for its criminal justice program and it was one of the best decisions he’s ever made. “Since the very beginning, Thomas College was a great fit for me and helped me every step of the way to achieve my personal and professional goals. The faculty and friends I made at Thomas made my four years there not just enjoyable and exciting but some of the best years that I know I’ll cherish forever. I’m beyond excited to start a new chapter in my life and begin my career in law enforcement. I am truly thankful I had the opportunity to go to Thomas College.”

Being a law enforcement officer is something that he’s wanted to do and Thomas College has helped him achieve that goal.

Photo by Missy Brown, Central Maine Photography staff