Maine students to LePage: Our educations prepared us

http://www.pressherald.com/news/maine-college-students-our-educations-prepared-us-_2012-07-27.html

The governor said Maine students who go to college are "looked down upon" because of a poor education, but graduates say that's not true.

Ashley Graffam, a 2006 graduate of South Portland High School, headed to the University of New Hampshire for her college education, along with a number of other Maine students. At no point, she said, did she feel judged as inferior for being from Maine.

"I feel like I was prepared to go to college," Graffam said Thursday. "No matter what state they're from, some kids learn better than others."

The 23-year-old was among several recent and current students who reacted to comments by Gov. Paul LePage on perceptions of the quality of public education in Maine. At an appearance Wednesday with Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen, LePage rolled out an education reform plan and said Maine's reputation for a quality public education was suffering.

"I don't care where you go in this country -- if you come from Maine, you're looked down upon," the governor said.

LePage's plan includes several familiar initiatives -- such as expanding school choice through vouchers and creating more charter schools -- as well as some new ones -- including requiring local school districts to pay for remedial courses for their college students.

read more...

London welcomes world for Olympics opening ceremony

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/27/sport/olympics-day-wrap/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

London (CNN) -- One of the biggest secrets in London will finally be revealed Friday: what will happen at the opening ceremony for the Summer Olympic Games.

Friday night perhaps a billion people will finally get to see the extravaganza created by Danny Boyle, best known for the Oscar-winning film "Slumdog Millionare."

The day got off to a resounding start as bells around the country, including London's famous Big Ben, pealed for three minutes.

read more...

Bike ride benefits wounded veterans

http://post.mainelymediallc.com/news/2012-07-20/Front_Page/Bike_ride_benefits_wounded_veterans.html

By Amber Carter

Staff Writer 

 

Veterans go to war to defend the country, but when they come home it is not always an easy road. Thankfully there are people like Pam Payeur of 

Biddeford, who may not be a veteran, but she fights like a bulldog for them.

Payeur knows exactly what it is like for wounded veterans when they return home. That is why she started the Wounded Heroes Program of Maine and began the Wounded Heroes Ride five years ago with the help of local motorcycle groups and businesses.

This year’s ride took place Saturday, July 14 and began at Maine Veterans’ Home in Scarborough. It then traveled by police escort to Bentley’s Saloon in Arundel where 508 bikes, their riders and some passengers gathered.

This year’s ride had 200 more bikes than last year’s event. Veterans unable to ride were bused from Bentley’s to the veterans’ home and back so they could participate.

“Bentley’s always goes above and beyond,” Payeur said. “The best thing is, in five years we are seeing the same faces.”

read more...

Critical thinking needed

 http://post.mainelymediallc.com/news/2012-07-20/Letters/Critical_thinking_needed.html

To the Editor:

Great job Gail Driscoll for comparing/contrasting library costs. I don’t know if your information would have made a difference at the Arundel town meeting that voted against appropriating $5,100 for the Kennebunk Free Library. (Which, incidentally, was almost 50 percent less than last year.)

I only wish similar critical thinking like yours was applied at that same meeting when the town voted to appropriate in two different articles $6,500 to benefit the Eastern Trail (that bicycle path which follows the gas line through Arundel).

read more...

Maine education group responds to LePage comments

The group says the governor is using a Harvard report to "attack the state's teachers, principals, superintendents and school board members."

The Associated Press

http://www.kjonline.com/news/Maine-schools-respond-to-govs-ranking-comments.html

 

AUGUSTA — An advocacy group for Maine school boards and superintendents took issue today with Gov. Paul LePage's characterization of a Harvard University study that gave the state low marks for student test score improvement, saying the governor was only telling part of the story.

LePage said in a statement Wednesday that the study should be a wake-up call that more must be done to improve public schools. He called on state education officials, school administrators and teacher unions to implement new educational practices focused on student learning.

The governor was reacting to a report by Harvard's Program on Education Policy and Governance that examined international and U.S. state trends in student achievement growth for fourth- and eighth-grade test score gains in math, reading and science.

The report said Maine had the second-slowest rate of improvement between 1992 and 2011 among the 41 states included in the study, ahead of only Iowa.

Today, the Maine School Management Association said the governor was not telling the full story.

read more...

Family: Maine man with arsenal not violent

By David Hench dhench@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer 

http://www.pressherald.com/news/family-armed-man-not-violent_2012-07-25.html

A Biddeford man stopped over the weekend with a carload of guns and newspaper clippings about "The Dark Knight Rises" theater massacre in Colorado now faces federal charges that could land him in prison for more than 10 years.

His family and friends, meanwhile, say he is not violent – just a person with mental illness who stopped taking his medication, and that they were powerless to get him help.

The U.S. attorney for Maine on Tuesday charged Timothy Courtois, 49, with possessing firearms while using illegal drugs and lying on a federal form when he purchased a rifle Friday at Cabela's.

Federal investigators say in court papers that Courtois admitted smoking marijuana and synthetic marijuana, called Spice, both of which are illegal under federal law. If convicted, each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

A state trooper pulled over Courtois going 112 mph on the Maine Turnpike in York and found a rifle, a shotgun and four handguns in a brand-new Mustang along with a small jar of Spice and a pipe. Courtois told the trooper he was driving to Derry, N.H., to shoot a former employer and that the previous night he had attended a showing of the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises," with a loaded gun.

read more...

Charity bike ride raises awareness

By Amber Carter

Staff Writer

 http://leader.mainelymediallc.com/news/2012-07-20/In_the_News/Charity_bike_ride_raises_awareness.html

Veterans go to war to defend the country, but when they come home it is not always an easy road. Thankfully there are people like Pam Payeur of Biddeford, who may not be a veteran, but she fights like a bulldog for them.

Payeur knows exactly what it is like for wounded veterans when they return home. That is why she started the Wounded Heroes Program of Maine and began the Wounded Heroes Ride five years ago with the help of local motorcycle groups and businesses.

This year’s ride took place Saturday, July 14 and began at Maine Veterans’ Home in Scarborough. It then traveled by police escort to Bentley’s Saloon in Arundel where 508 bikes, their riders and some passengers gathered. This year’s ride had 200 more bikes than last year’s event. Veterans unable to ride were bused from Bentley’s to the veterans’ home and back so they could participate.

read more...

Kennebunk-Kennebunkport Chamber adds Arundel, changes its name

KENNEBUNK — The town of Arundel is now officially recognized as part of the Kennebunk-Kennebunkport Chamber of Commerce.

The Board of Directors of the organization voted unanimously on Tuesday, July 10 to change the Chamber's name to the Kennebunk-Kennebunkport-Arundel Chamber of Commerce. The change was made in order to recognize the town of Arundel as being vital to the economic success of Southern Maine. There are a lot of good things happening in Arundel and the Kennebunk-Kennebunkport-Arundel Chamber is ready to assist the town of Arundel any way it can, including by participating in economic development activities and planning, said Jim Fitzgerald, president and CEO of the Chamber.

read more...

All aboard Trolleys out in force on Founder’s Day

By Amber Carter

Staff Writer 

http://post.mainelymediallc.com/news/2012-07-13/Front_Page/All_aboard_Trolleys_out_in_force_on_Founders_Day.html

 

Saturday July 7, the Seashore Trolley Museum hosted its Founder’s Day event by bringing out cars that don’t normally get used on a regular basis. About 20 cars were shown off, giving those visiting the ability to see all of what the museum houses for antique trolleys. After the parade was over, those visiting could take rides on each of the cars or visit the museum and its grounds.

Seashore has trolley cars from almost all of the major cities in the U.S. and from around the world. The museum chronicles the progression of technology from the electric streetcar to the bus, light rail vehicles and rapid transit cars.

read more...

Withdrawal plan agreed upon One more meeting planned

By Samantha Stephens

yccs@seacoastonline.com

July 19, 2012 2:00 AM

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20120719-NEWS-207190345

 

ARUNDEL — A tentative final draft of a withdrawal proposal was agreed on by the Arundel Withdrawal Committee on July 12.

Although one more formal meeting will occur before the document is sent to the education commissioner for approval, both sides have fully agreed to the terms and new edits within the agreement.

Attorneys for both RSU 21 and Arundel will be looking at the document before it is officially sent out, but both sides said they are happy and comfortable with the outcome of the discussion and believed they did a thorough job of drafting a proposal.

read more...

12th Annual Thornton Hockey Golf Scramble

The following forms can be downloaded @ www.thorntonhockey.com

www.arundelmaine.org lOOking for photos...

The Town of Arundel will be completing a redesign of the website soon, and are looking for photographs to place on the headline banner of the new site. If you are interested in donating your photographs for use on the site, please email the photos to the Town Manager at arundeltm@roadrunner.com and he will contact you if they are chosen. The photos must belong to you and you may be required to sign a disclosure agreement stating that the Town has your permission to use the photos. 

Thank you to anyone who has photos to donate.

Wiley is breaking records at USM

By WIL KRAMLICH
Staff Writer 

http://www.journaltribune.com/articles/2012/07/17/sports/doc50056c6615eca435909692.txt

Published:

Tuesday, July 17, 2012 11:50 AM EDT

GORHAM — Hannah Wiley of Arundel is rewriting the University of Southern Maine track & field record book. And she's only a freshman. She just wrapped up a year in which she broke four indoor school records and six outdoor school records, and she collected more awards than the movie Titanic.

“It was quite a remarkable year for a first-year student,” said USM track coach George Towle. “We've certainly never had a freshman of this caliber. If you look at the NCAA across the country, she certainly was one of the top freshmen at the national level.”

Wiley competed in the Division III NCAA Championships, where she was a finalist in the 400m hurdles and finished 10th in the Long Jump with a school record jump of 5.71 meters. Her jump was the best of any freshman in the field. She qualified for the nationals by winning the 400m hurdles and coming in second in the Long Jump at the D-III New England Championships.

read more...

Head-on collision sends 6 to hospitals

By Jennifer Feals

jfeals@seacoastonline.com

July 16, 2012 4:10 PM

http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120716/NEWS/120719810/-1/NEWSMAP

LYMAN — Six people were transported to Maine hospitals Monday after a head-on collision on Hill Road in Lyman, just over the Arundel town line.

The accident is under investigation by the York County Sheriff’s Office and has shut down Hill Road for several hours, according to a release.

York County Sheriff’s Deputies say a 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer and Chevrolet Suburban, collided head-on at approximately noon on Monday.

read more...

Compare and contrast library costs

http://post.mainelymediallc.com/news/2012-07-13/Letters/Compare_and_contrast_library_costs.html

To the editor:

Let’s see now, Arundel has a population of 4,022 and they were asked to chip in $10,000 plus change for access to the Free Library in Kennebunk.

That costs out at about $2.50 per man, woman and child in Arundel. Kennebunk has a population of 10,798, folks, and they chip in just shy of $500,000 for access to Free Library in Kennebunk.

read more...

The buzz on the bees

Beekeepers are a growing breed in Maine, and with it comes a responsibility of treating diseases.

By Deirdre Fleming dfleming@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer 

http://www.pressherald.com/sports/the-buzz-on-the-bees_2012-06-17.html

A HONEY OF A TIME

To learn more about beekeeping in Maine, go to www.mainebeekeepers.org

"Sometimes I talk to them. They like to sit on my hand and I'll ask them why they're there," Watson said as she slowly turned the frames from the hive.

Watson is one of a growing number of amateur Maine beekeepers learning to keep their honeybees healthy. It's not only a tricky prospect, it's the essence of beekeeping.

"A lot of beekeepers want to be bee-havers, not beekeepers. But you have to manage the hive. Being a beekeeper is taking an inventory, reading the frames. A honeybee colony left alone will die in three years," said Geoff MacLean, a Scarborough beekeeper and instructor with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

More and more beekeepers in Maine are learning the art of nurturing healthy hives. According to the Maine Department of Agriculture, the number of registered beekeepers in Maine has grown from 246 in 2002 to 405 in 2007, to as many as 645 last year.

read more...

Landing School has global reach

About 20 percent of students travel great distances to attend

 

By Amber Carter

Staff Writer 

http://post.mainelymediallc.com/news/2012-07-13/Front_Page/Landing_School_has_global_reach.html

 

A local school with an international reach, the Landing School in Arundel gives its students the skills to excel in the marine industry.

“I think that the Landing School is in a sweet spot,” said Bob DeColfmacker, the school’s president. “If you’re interested in marine studies you are in a perfect place.”

John Burgess and Helen Tupper founded the Landing School in 1978 as a nonprofit, post-secondary school.

The mission continues to be proving quality skills in boat building using hands on education. The first year the school had nine students. Now 33 years later, it educates about 70 students a year from all over the world.

“About 60 percent of them are from New England, with the bulk of them from Maine. About 20 percent come from the northeast and the other 20 percent are from everywhere else,” said DelColfmacker. “There is no rhyme or reason. We joke that we have students from other countries, including California.”

About six of the enrolled students are international, including two from Bermuda. The Landing School is a twoyear program that can provide its students with a one year diploma or a two year associate degree. The programs offered are boat building, marine systems, composite boat building and yacht design. More than 20 students will be returning for a second year in the fall. 

read more...

Man Charged With Stealing Car From Lot

Jeff Wade Reporting

http://560wgan.com/pages/13670225.php?

ARUNDEL, Maine - Police have charged a man with stealing a car from a local dealer's lot.

The York County Sheriff's office says on Saturday they got a call from employees at Arundel Ford, who told them that while they were moving vehicles around the lot someone drove off with a 2008 Mitsubishi worth about $10,000. 

read more...

Economic Development Committee Members Wanted

www.arundelmaine.org

 

http://arundelmaine.org/index.asp?SEC={B9538BB5-CE68-444B-A82B-4463A1158DBE}&Type=B_BASIC

The Arundel Economic Development committee is a newly formed committee charged by the Board of Selectmen to:

• Promote policies, strategies, and funding mechanisms that foster stable and sustainable economic growth;
• Expand the non-residential tax base;
• Provide for the product, service, and leisure needs of the townspeople;
• Promote job and entrepreneurial opportunities, in a manner that enhances the image, competitiveness, and quality of life of the community.

  ---

A full copy of the BYLAWS is available by clicking on the underlined word bylaw above.  Please consider this as a personal request to explore an opportunity to serve the Town on a new and exciting board.

---

Interested in joining?  Click on the underlined VOLUNTEER APPLICATION for a copy of the application.  Simply fill it out, and send it to the Town Manager at arundeltm@roadrunner.com .  All applications will be considered and all applicants will be contacted by the Town Manager for follow up.  Thanks for looking!

Arundel Withdrawal Committee July 2nd P Meeting Podcast

http://www.rsu21.net/Podcasts/RSU21Podcasts/Podcasts/Entries/2012/7/2_Withdrawal_Commitee.html
 

Date	Agenda	Minutes	Audio/Other
July 2, 2012			Audio

Roadwork Planned In Arundel

 

Jeff Wade Reporting

http://560wgan.com/Roadwork-Planned-In-Arundel/13713747

ARUNDEL, Maine - From the WGAN Trafficwatch...the DOT says they'll be replacing a culvert along Log Cabin road in Arundel starting Monday.

The DOT says the work will mean the road will be reduced to one lane of alternating traffic, and traffic lights will help drivers navigate through the construction area.  The project impacts Log Cabin Road between the intersectionsof Lombard Road and Goose Rocks Road and includes the Hutchings Bridge that cross the Goff Mill Brook.

DOT officials say the road will need to be closed entirely for two days in September for more repairs.

Two seriously injured in Arundel accident

By Randy Billings rbillings@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer 

http://www.pressherald.com/news/Two-seriously-injured-in-Arundel-accident.html

 

ARUNDEL – Two people were seriously injured and another was charged with a felony after an accident around 9:30 a.m. today on Limerick Road.

Police said Florien Turcotte, 63, an employee of Ray’s Small Engine Repair in Biddeford, was picking up a riding mower for repair near the Mildred Day School when the accident occurred.

Turcotte was loading the mower onto a trailer with help from Annette LaCourse, 67, who owns the mower, when they were hit from behind by a 1998 Chevrolet pickup truck.

read more...

LePage cuts funding for all school health coordinators

By Tom Bell tbell@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

http://www.pressherald.com/news/focus-on-health-cut-from-schools_2012-07-06.html

The LePage administration has eliminated funding for all school health coordinators in the state, a move that will save $2.1 million annually but will leave Portland and 30 other school districts without the staff members. Most have already left their jobs.

Chanda Turner, health coordinator for Portland schools, is losing her job along with 30 others around the state because the state Department of Health and Human Services cut funding for the positions. Posters in the foreground were part of teaching about healthy eating.

John Ewing/Staff Photographer

DISTRICTS AFFECTED

State funding for school health coordinators has been eliminated for the following school districts:

Portland
Westbrook
Wells/Oqunquit
Kittery
SAD 75 (Topsham, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Harpswell)
SAD 57 (Alfred area)
SAD 3 (Jackson area)
RSU 1 (Bath area)
RSU 2 (Hallowell area)
RSU 5 (Freeport, Durham, Pownal)
RSU 9 (Farmington area)
RSU 10 (Rumford area)
RSU 11 (Gardiner area)
RSU 13 (Rockland area)
RSU 14 (Windham, Raymond)
RSU 16 (Poland area)
RSU 17 (Oxford area)
RSU 18 (Oakland area)
RSU 21 (Arundel, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport)
RSU 22 (Hampden area)
RSU 25 (Bucksport area)
RSU 34 (Old Town area)
RSU 53 (Pittsfield area)
RSU 54 (Skowhegan)
RSU/SAD 61 (Lakes Region)
RSU 79 (Presque Isle area)
AOS 95 (Fork Kent area)
AOS 77 (Calais area)
AOS 91 (Mount Desert Island)
AOS 93 (Damariscotta)
Union 60 (Greenville area)

The decision was made in mid-June and took effect July 1, too late for most local districts to make up for the shortfall because voters and municipal boards have already approved school budgets for the 2012-2013 school year.

read more...

Julia Bluhm, 14, Leads Successful Petition For Seventeen Magazine To Portray Girls Truthfully

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/05/julia-bluhm-seventeen-mag_n_1650938.html

Facing pressure from teen girls demanding truthful images of young women, Seventeen magazine has vowed to "celebrate every kind of beauty" and feature only photographs of real girls and models who are healthy.

Editor-in-chief Ann Shoket made the announcement in her editor's letter in the August issue, and her note marks a major triumph for the thousands of teen girls who took part in a petition for the magazine to show images of real girls. Fourteen-year-old Julia Bluhm from Maine started the protest on Change.org 

read more...

Seventeen magazine vows not to alter images, to 'celebrate every kind of beauty'

By Greg Botelho, CNN

updated 7:19 AM EDT, Fri July 6, 2012

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/05/us/seventeen-photoshopping/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

(CNN) -- When teenage girls check out Seventeen magazine, they'll be getting the complete picture -- no ifs, ands or Photoshopped butts about it.

That's the pledge the magazine's staff made in its latest edition, after a push led by a Maine 14-year-old to combat the practice of tweaking pictures and picking models whose appearance give teens an unrealistic perspective on what is beautiful.

"We vow to ... never change girls' body or face shapes. (Never have, never will)," the magazine states as part of its "Body Peace Treaty" from its August edition, a copy of which CNN obtained Thursday.

The treaty and accompanying note by editor-in-chief Ann Shoket promise that Seventeen will "celebrate every kind of beauty" and feature "real girls and models who are healthy," while vouching that the magazine always has done just that.

 

But the more than 84,000 people who signed a Change.org petition, started by teenager Julia Bluhm, 

read more...

Arundel man pleads not guilty in baby son's death

The case has set off a discussion about the role of Maine government where potential child abuse is suspected.

By Ann S. Kim akim@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer 

http://www.pressherald.com/news/arundel-man-pleads-not-guilty-in-babys-death_2012-07-04.html

ALFRED — The Arundel man who is accused of killing his 2½-month-old son in May has pleaded not guilty in the case.

Collins-Faunce, 23, entered not guilty pleas to charges of depraved indifference murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault and assault today in York County Superior Court. The aggravated assault and assault charges stem from earlier alleged incidents.

The defense has 90 days to file motions. Bail was set at $250,000 cash or surety.

read more...

Arundel sloop Polly slips away from the enemy

July 05, 2012 2:00 AM

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20120705-LIFE-207050328

 

Kennebunkport was attacked by enemy vessels near the very end of the Revolutionary War. The story of the Arundel Militia adroitly overcoming the British in the 1782 Battle of Cape Porpoise has often been told with pride. But Kennebunkport was deeply embroiled in the war from the very beginning. 

Another Cape Porpoise incident that occurred just a few weeks after the first military engagement of the war has received far less attention from local historians.

The Arundel-owned coasting sloop Polly sailed from Ephraim Perkins' wharf at what is today Dock Square on May 13, 1775. Her cargo was delivered to Plymouth, Mass. where she was loaded up again for the return trip. She set sail for Arundel on May 15, but a cutter of His Majesty's Naval Forces would alter her course that day.

read more...

Withdrawal talks focusing on funds

By Samantha Stephens

yccs@seacoastonline.com

July 05, 2012 2:00 AM

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20120705-NEWS-207050343

 

ARUNDEL — Financial discussions continue to be the leading source of conflict with the drafting of a finalized withdrawal petition for Arundel from RSU 21.

At the meeting held Monday, July 2, discussions about a "clean break" from the RSU, should Arundel vote to withdraw, was unanimously agreed to as the best option by both RSU 21 and Arundel representatives.

read more...

2012 Maine Moose Lottery Searchable Database

2012 Maine Moose Lottery

The 3,725 moose hunting permits drawn by the Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife during Saturday's lottery in Rangeley. Listings include last name, first name, hometown, state, wildlife management district (WMD), hunting season and permit type.

Below are season dates with areas open to hunting in parentheses.

SEP: Sept. 24-29 (1-6, 11, 19)
OCT: Oct. 8-13 (1-14, 17-19, 27 and 28)
NWK: Nov. 5-10 (1-8, 10, 11)
NOV: Oct. 27 (Maine Residents Only); Oct. 29-Nov. 24 (15, 16, 22, 23, 25, 26) 



Click link for searchable database:
http://www.pressherald.com/special/2012_maine_moose_lottery_winners_hunting.html

Congrats to the graduates!

http://www.pressherald.com/special/2012_High_School_Graduations.html

High school Top Tens, graduating classes, and awards:

Berwick Academy Biddeford High School Bonny Eagle High School Brunswick High School Cape Elizabeth High School Casco Bay High School Catherine McAuley High School Cheverus High School Deering High School Dirigo High School Falmouth High School Freeport High School Fryeburg Academy

Gorham High School Gould Academy Gray-New Gloucester High School Greely High School Hebron Academy Kennebunk High School Lake Region High School Marshwood High School Massabesic High School Mt. Ararat High School Noble High School North Yarmouth Academy Old Orchard Beach High School Portland High School Richmond High School

Royal Academy Sanford High School Scarborough High School South Portland High School Telstar Regional High School Thornton Academy Traip Academy Waynflete School Wells High School Westbrook High School Windham High School Wiscasset High School Yarmouth High School York High School

Graduation information provided by the schools | The list above includes all schools that have submitted http://www.pressherald.com/special/2012_High_School_Graduations.html

Happy Fourth of July to All Whom Serve, Have Served and Will Serve "Our Great Country"

Library vote dominates discussion

"This article explains a little better about what happened at the town meeting.  I was there.  It was nothing like what the papers are printing and the people posting the editorials are saying.  It is quite sad how they are making Arundel out to be the villains and the people at the meeting were not a  “mini mob”."

An Arundel Resident and Business Owner

By Samantha Stephens

yccs@seacoastonline.com

June 28, 2012 2:00 AM

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20120628-NEWS-206280342

ARUNDEL — The town's decision to vote down a $5,100 donation for the Kennebunk Free Library was the focus of concerns at the June 25 Board of Selectmen meeting.

Voters turned down the donation at the annual Town Meeting earlier this month.

Resident Darren Keller opened the discussion during Tuesday's meeting saying he believed the voting down of the library's donation was "rather embarrassing" and he encouraged the Board of Selectmen to reconsider and enter a long-term agreement to help fund the library.

Keller said it was disgusting that a "mini-mob" was able to vote against the item while voters approved a $25,000 fee for consultants to advise the Economic Development Committee.

Describing the sentiment as "business at any cost," Keller noted that, upon driving into town, some of the businesses include a "tattoo parlor, a smut store and tarot readers."

"You made your bed, now lay in it. If this is what you allow, you'll get more of the same," Keller said.

Resident Sam Hull referred to Arundel's town slogan, "where people matter," when expressing his disappointment about the refusal to fund the library.

"I'm shocked and dismayed that it's no longer free but there was a $25,000 investment to make an attractive image for businesses. It's not consistent," Hull said and later asked how free access could be regained.

Town Clerk Simone Boissonneault explained that whether the item was approved or rejected, the Kennebunk Free Library would charge Arundel residents to use services.

Boissonneault said the presentation by library director Jill LeMay before the vote explaining that a fee would be charged whether Arundel residents supported the $5,100 donation or not left many residents shocked and "I saw some faces drop."

read more...

Have a Happy Fourth of July! Enjoy and be SAFE!