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Archive for May 2012

Maine author Annette Dorey will give an illustrated talk about her newest book, “Maine Mothers Who Murdered, 1875 to 1925: Doing Time in the State Prison,” on Monday, June 11 at 6:30 p.m. at Auburn Public Library. The book tells the stories of over 30 women who were convicted of murdering their children and sentenced to the Maine State Prison in Thomaston. These women ranged in age from 18 to 53; their victims ranged in age from newborns to age thirteen. Their sentences varied from one year to life in prison. 

 

Robert De Niro adds star power to Bates Commencement

As you might expect from one of the nation’s leading journalists, the advice that Gwen Ifill gave to the Bates College Class of 2012 was short and to the point: Look up.

“It’s so much simpler to look down” at our feet and our smartphone screens, Ifill said. “But our fears are down there, too,” she said. “If you look up and look away from the fears, you’ll see the destinations that you’re headed for, and the opportunities.”

Ifill was one of three prominent figures to receive an honorary degree and to offer remarks to the 463 Bates graduates on May 27, joining Princeton biologist Bonnie Bassler and actor Robert De Niro.

Thanks to the honorands’ edgy wit, energy and well-researched references to insider Bates lore, like the Blue Goose and Midnight Madness, Bates enjoyed an unusual college graduation: one that sent the graduates away with not just an earful of good advice, but stomach muscles sore from laughing.

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Enough is Enough: Hold officials accountable for TANF cost shift

By Robert E. Macdonald

Mayor of Lewiston

It should have been a “no brainer.” Unfortunately, the vote that was cast by Lewiston’s highly educated and personable County Commissioner, Elaine Makas, went against the will of Lewiston’s City Council and City Administrator Ed Barrett.

They had requested that LA 911 serve as the county’s regional communication center.

Commissioner Makas went against the will of Lewiston officials (and probably its residents) by voting to spend $350,000 in capital upgrades to continue to use the county dispatch center. In a recent Lewiston City Councilor meeting, Councilor Don D’Auteuil pointed out that the implementation of LA 911 would be less costly to Lewiston taxpayers than the other options.

Makas acknowleged this was true, but felt other options were more “fair” to the towns.

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L-A selected for first place-based Health Impact Assessment

The Androscoggin Land Trust’s Androscoggin Greenway planning initiative in Lewiston-Auburn, seeking to connect parks and trails along the Androscoggin River to each other and downtown neighborhoods and business districts, has been selected as the site for Maine’s first place-based Health Impact Assessment.

The Maine Health Impact Assessment Initiative (MeHI) has been awarded a grant to grow capacity in Maine for the performance of Health Impact Assessments (HIA). HIA has been called “a combination of procedures, methods, and tools by which a policy, program, or project may be judged as to its potential effects on the health of a population, and the distribution of those effects within the population” (1999 Gothenburg consensus statement).

MeHI will achieve its grant objective by using the performance of an HIA as a training opportunity. Planners interested in the health impacts of proposed plans, Healthy Maine Partnerships and other parties interested in applying a health lens to proposed projects throughout the state attended a kick-off session next May 30 at Auburn Hall.

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Registration for Chief Worumbo Race is now open

The Androscoggin Land Trust and its partners on the Moxie Festival Committee announce that registration for the 14th Annual Chief Worumbo Androscoggin River Race is now open.

The Worumbo Race, to be held July 15 as part of the annual Moxie Festival, is one of the largest single-day paddling events on the Androscoggin River, and it continues to grow annually.

Begun by Faye Brown, a local barber and longtime resident of Lisbon Falls, the race has grown to become a major draw for paddlers from Maine and New England to enjoy the wide-open corridor and the views of farm fields and forests along the route.

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Join the only 5K Race with Moxie

The Lisbon Recreation Department and the Moxie Festival Committee are pleased to announce that the application for the 2012 Moxie Day 5K Road Race (3.1 mile) on Saturday, July 14 is now available.

Last year’s Moxie 5K Race attracted 439 runners, the largest ever, from Arizona, California, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, most of the New England states and Morocco.

The 17th Annual Moxie Day 5K Road Race begins at 7:30 a.m., rain or shine.  It is an early and quick scenic run through the outskirts of Lisbon Falls. The route includes two steep upgrades, one at the start and the second at the two-mile mark. The Moxie 5K Race begins and ends near Lisbon High School. The $15 preregistration and $20 day of race fee includes a free Moxie 5K Race T-shirt.

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Memorial parade and ceremony set for May 26

The Lewiston and Auburn Veterans Council will hold their annual Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony on Saturday, May 26.

The parade will line up at Kennedy Park in Lewiston at 8:30 a.m. and will start at 9:30. The route will follow Chestnut Street, Lisbon Street, Main Street, cross Longley Bridge, circle the Auburn Plaza, and return over Longley Bridge to end at Veterans Memorial Park in Lewiston for the ceremony.

At the ceremony will be U.S. Congressmen Michael Michaud, a representative from U.S. Senator Susan Collins, the Mayors of Lewiston and Auburn, a representative from the Army National Guard, the Chairman of the L & A Veterans Council Raymond Boulet and others. The council is still anticipating that U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe will be present.

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Gilbert participates in panel on refugee resettlement in Washington, D.C.

By Laurent F. Gilbert Sr.

Former mayor of Lewiston

It was reported in the May 10 issue of Twin City TIMES that I would serve on a panel on refugee resettlement at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Convening of Migrant/Refugee Service (USCCB/MRS) Providers held at the Washington, D.C. Hilton from May 9 to May 11. The TCT editor asked me to report back.

Some 280 people, mostly service providers, from all over the country attended the convening, where the theme was “Reaffirming the Mission.” The MRS Vision Statement reads as follows: “Creating a world where immigrants, refugees, migrants and people on the move are treated with dignity, respect, welcome and belonging.”

Of the four plenary sessions, the first was a “Welcome and Keynote Address” by Ambassador Johnny Young and Anastasia Brown, USCCB/MRS. The second involved “A Conversation with our Federal Partners.” The third involved “Advocacy on the Hill 101,” and the last, in which I participated, was “Developing Welcoming Communities.”

During the last plenary, I participated with Elizabeth Harshaw, USCCB/MRS; Susan Downs-Karkos, Welcoming America; Rachel Steihardt, Welcoming America; and Robin M. Jones, Office of Refugee Resettlement, Dept. of Health and Human Services.

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Enough is Enough: Remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice

By Robert E. Macdonald

Mayor of Lewiston

As they said their goodbyes and prepared to embark on a journey from which they would never return—what was it like? Did a mother’s grief permeate the air? Did a father stand stoically, fighting back his emotions, as his child began a journey he had taken decades before?

Siblings, too young to realize what was happening, enviously watching the departure, conjuring up visions of a heroic return marked with medals, stories of combat and enemies’ bodies piling up. A spouse beginning the stressful countdown of a return that would never come. Children, too young to understand the happenings around them, catching a last fleeting image of their parent, an image that would dissipate with time.

What went through these patriots’ minds while bidding farewell to family and friends? Did they envision a homecoming complete with medals and accolades, or did they correctly forecast their fate?

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