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Enough is Enough: Veterans have a duty to help fellow veterans
By Robert E. Macdonald
Mayor of Lewiston
A patriot was murdered last week. I grieve for him. He wasn’t a household name, like many people in the entertainment business.
No, he was part of a brotherhood of warriors, a brotherhood that protects this country from foreign enemies. A brotherhood that insures American citizens continue to enjoy the rights set down by ourfounding fathers in the Constitution and paid for, since the founding of our Republic, with the willing blood of American patriots.
In death, former Navy SEAL Christopher Kyle has beenreferred to as a hero. He was not a hero. “Heroes” win football, baseball and hockey games. Let us not cheapen his reputation by referring to him as a hero. He was a patriot—a patriot that sacrificed time with his family and friends in order to protect his brothers, country and family. This sacrifice also extended to those faceless and cowardly Americans that nastily celebrate this patriot’s demise.
Kyle earned two Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars during his four tours of duty in Iraq. His effectiveness was such that the Iraqi insurgents placed an $80,000 bounty on him. Kyle believed that “taking out bad guys, terrorists and insurgents who meant to harm America and destabilize regions, is a compassionate thing to do. It was my duty to shoot, and I don’t regret it.”
Free Family Day to cap off Ice Fest
Physical comedian Michael Trautman will perform on Ice Fest L/A’s Family Day on Sunday, February 24.
L/A Arts will wrap up its inaugural three-day extravaganza, Ice Fest L/A, with a free day of family fun on Sunday, February 24. Taking place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the day’s events will include marveling at the festival’s beautiful ice sculptures, taking in ice sculpture demonstrations, delighting in delicious treats provided by area eateries, and enjoying the physical comedy theatre of Michael Trautman.
Trautman started out in life as a fairly normal person. After growing up in Springfield, Illinois, he attended William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, where he studied Political Science with the intention of becoming a lawyer. But in 1976 he took his first mime class, and in 1977 he was invited to become a founding member of Mimeos, a Kansas City-based school and performing company. Since then, he has been having fun performing at venues around the world.
“What Shall I Wear to Work Today?” at Museum L-A
In this photograph from “The Way We Worked,” Navy Lt. Cmdr. Dorothy Ryan checks a patient’s medical chart aboard the hospital ship USS Repose, off South Vietnam in April, 1966.
In conjunction with its new exhibit, “The Way We Worked,” Museum L-A will present a special children’s vacation program on Wednesday, February 20 from 10:30 a.m. to noon called “What Shall I Wear to Work Today?”
Open to children ages 7 to 11, the program will provide participants with an opportunity to tour the exhibit, investigate uniforms and work clothes from occupations in the Lewiston-Auburn region, and consider the question: “Why do people wear special clothes to work?” They will also design a uniform for a job they might envision for themselves in the future. The cost is $8 per child; pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, contact Joan Beal at 333-3881 or jbeal@museumla.org.
First “Ice Fest Lewiston-Auburn” is Feb. 22-24
For the first-ever Ice Fest Lewiston-Auburn, L/A Arts has partnered with DaVinci’s Eatery, Roopers and J Dostie Jewelers to present a three-day extravaganza of frosty beverages, larger-than-life ice sculptures, delicious hors d’oeuvres and live music, all of which will be capped off on Sunday with a free family day.
Ice Fest will boast three ice bars serving beer from Gritty’s and Baxter Brewing, Pinnacle Vodka Maritinis, and a new brand of “Sequin Wines” that Central Distributors will launch nationally at the event. Other attractions will include over a dozen ice sculptures, live ice sculpture demos, foods from 26 partnering eateries, fire dancers, live jazz and a bumpin’ DJ, all for just a $10 admission ticket.
Ice Fest will run from Friday, February 22 through Sunday, February 24. A special attraction on Friday and Saturday will be Flow on Fire, a group of artists who entertain audiences with high-energy fire dancing and live ice sculpture demonstrations. The evenings of Feb. 22 and 23 from 5 to 9 p.m. will be 21-and-over events; ID will be required at the door.
L-A joins“One Billion Rising” to stop violence against women
On February 14, several different groups in Lewiston-Auburn will join with activists around the world for “One Billion Rising,” the largest day of action in the history of V-Day, the global activist movement to end violence against women and girls.
A collaboration of local agencies will host events at noon at USM-LA College; at 3 p.m. in the Lewiston Public Library; at 5 p.m. at Bates College; and at 5:45 p.m. at Shaw’s in Auburn.
That collaboration includes the YWCA, Safe Voices, The Center for Wisdom’s Women, V-Day aUbUrn, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Services, United Somali Women of Maine and Girl Power Fitness. Community members are invited to actively participate or attend and observe as they collectively rise together to end violence against women and girls.
Anyone interested in participating in this exciting event can contact Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Services at 784-5272 for more details. To learn more about V-Day activities in Androscoggin County, visit onebillionrising.org and search for local events.
Enough is Enough: There are solutions that can curb gun violence
By Robert E. Macdonald
Mayor of Lewiston
Are guns good or evil? Were they created in Heaven or Hell?
Our military personnel carry guns to protect our nation from enemies outside our borders whose stated goals are to destroy our way of life. This makes firearms good.
Our law enforcement officers carry guns attempting to maintain peace and tranquility in our cities and neighborhoods. This also makes guns good.
Then we have the criminals that use guns to terrorize our cities through robbery, rape, drug trafficking and killing. They prefer the rewards obtained through the use of a firearm to the pittance earned by getting up in the morning and finding their way to a job in order to make an honest living.
Republicans support Governor’s plan for education, energy, fiscal reforms
House Republican leaders Rep. Ken Fredette (R-Newport) and Alexander Willette (R-Mapleton) applauded Governor LePage’s message in his State of the State address Tuesday night. The speech was delivered in the House Chamber before a joint session of the Legislature.
“I think the Governor struck the right tone of passionate advocacy for Maine children and families,” said Rep. Fredette. “Our policies must, above all else, ensure that Mainers have bigger paychecks, lower bills, and our children have a brighter future right here in the state that we love.”
In his speech, Governor LePage emphasized the need for education reform, for more affordable energy and to pass his plan to retire Maine’s hospital debt.
House Republicans fully support the Governor’s goal of bringing an end to the educational status quo and implementing reforms that give Maine parents more choice, better prepare students for the workplace, and deliver more accountability and transparency to Maine’s schools.
“God of Carnage” opens Friday at CLT
Alan and Annette Raleigh, left, (Mark Hazard and Cheryl Reynolds) and Veronica and Michael Novak (Michelle Vasquez-Jacobus and Roger Philippon) in “God of Carnage.” (Photo by Rachel Morin)
Community Little Theatre’s “God of Carnage,” directed by Richard Rosenberg and assistant director Celeste Philippon, opens tomorrow night at Great Falls Performing Arts Center, 30 Academy St., Auburn.
The play by Yasmina Reza with translation by Christopher Hampton opened on Broadway to rave reviews and won three Tony Awards, one being for best play. Veronica and Michael Novak, played by Michelle Vasquez-Jacoubus and Roger Philippon, have invited Annette and Alan Raleigh, portrayed by Cheryl Reynolds and Mark Hazard, to their home to decide what should be done about their two 11-year-old sons fighting. The Novaks and Raleighs are in for an evening they won’t forget.
Chamber honored businesses large and small at 125th Annual Meeting
Community Service Leadership Award, presented by Stephanie Gelinas (l.) from Sandcastle Clinical and Educational Services, to Julia Sleeper and Kim Sullivan of Tree Street Youth.
Chamber members and guests gathered at the Ramada Conference Center on Thursday, January 24 for the 125th Annual Meeting and Awards program —The Chamber’s largest event of the year.
The Annual Meeting featured The Chamber Awards program, emceed by Chamber Board Chair Mary LaFontaine of the Lewiston Career Center. Those being recognized include: The Chamber’s new members in 2012; past and present Chamber leaders; and the distinguished community members who will receive The Chamber’s highest awards.
New this year, The Young Professionals of the Lewiston Auburn area presented their annual awards at The Chamber annual meeting. The first will be presented to Travis Dow, who is most notably recognized as the head of sales for Uncle Andy’s Digest. In the past two years Travis has launched two new businesses “The Maine Home Show” and “MenusinLA.com.” Both of these ventures were enormous undertakings that were launched for the principal purpose of helping promote local small businesses.
DEP shuts off fuel surcharge to save Mainers millions
Improved fiscal management at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection will save Mainers millions of dollars this year when they fill up on fuel to heat their homes and power their cars.
For the first time in seven years, DEP has turned off the 20-cent-per-barrel surcharge on gasoline imported into the state and the 10-cent-per-barrel surcharge on all other petroleum products—including home heating oil.
That move will prevent an estimated $5.5 million in surcharges in 2013 and is supported by the Fund Insurance Review Board (FIRB), the independent board that oversees the State’s Groundwater Oil Clean-Up Fund, administered by DEP to pay for cleaning up discharges of oil from storage tanks.
The fund is supported by a 38-cent-per-barrel base fee on gasoline and a 19-cent base fee on all other petroleum products. When its balance drops below $5 million for more than a month, by state law the additional surcharges kick on.
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