By Tracy Orzel
KENNEBUNK – Regional School Unit 21 was awarded just less than $1.8
million by Maine’s School Revolving Renovation Funds program. Thirty
percent of the funds will be in the form of a grant, while 70 percent
will be in the form of a 10-year, interest-free loan. RSU 21 submitted
eight applications, six of which scored among the top eight projects in
the state.
The Maine Department of Education released the rankings of 61 proposed projects last week.
According to the Maine Department of Education website, the School
Revolving Renovation Funds program, funded through the Maine Municipal
Bond Bank, was created in 1998 “to ensure that Maine students have a
safe, healthy, and appropriate learning environment.”
Districts are awarded funds based on their priority, the number-one
priority being health, safety and compliance issues such as roof
structural upgrades, indoor air quality, compliance with the Americans
with Disabilities Act and hazardous material abatement or removal. Loans
are capped at $1 million per project per school within a five year
period.
read more...
This blog is dedicated to posting news and information on key issues and opportunities which may have an effect on our way of life in Arundel, Maine
USA. The goal is to provide insight into key issues and opportunities while providing the community a knowledgebase for self directed education while creating a public forum for constructive comments and open sharing of ideas.
Please send ideas for topics to arundelmaine@roadrunner.com.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Potential jurors in Zumba case face probing questions
Do you have a domination fetish?”
“Have you dealt with this by hiring a prostitute?”
“Was this a wise investment for you, sir?”
Sadly for dozens of presumably upstanding Maine residents called for the jury pool in the so-called “Zumba” prostitution trial, these are the kind of sexual questions they may be asked.
Worse: A judge’s effort to keep the questioning private has been overturned by the state’s highest court.
Even worse: As early as this morning, potential jurors could be back on the stand in open court fielding questions about their attitudes toward prostitution.
read more...
“Have you dealt with this by hiring a prostitute?”
“Was this a wise investment for you, sir?”
Sadly for dozens of presumably upstanding Maine residents called for the jury pool in the so-called “Zumba” prostitution trial, these are the kind of sexual questions they may be asked.
Worse: A judge’s effort to keep the questioning private has been overturned by the state’s highest court.
Even worse: As early as this morning, potential jurors could be back on the stand in open court fielding questions about their attitudes toward prostitution.
read more...
Monday, January 28, 2013
Friday, January 18, 2013
Town manager urges support of cost-sharing formula
By
"We need to do everything in our power to try to get people out to vote and to vote yes," Shea said. "There's no reason why anyone in Arundel or Kennebunk should vote no."
The proposed 90/10 cost-sharing formula results in a reduction of $55 for each $100,000 assessed property value in Arundel, a $10 reduction per $100,000 assessed property value in Kennebunk and an increase of $23 per $100,000 in Kennebunkport.
Shea said although Arundel has struggled to bring residents out to the polls, this vote is crucial for Arundel's future and to help keep the tax rate under control.
"Every single vote counts," Shea said.
read more...
ARUNDEL — Town Manager Todd Shea urged every
Arundel resident to vote in favor of the revisions to the RSU 21
cost-sharing formula at the Board of Selectmen meeting on Monday, Jan.
14.
Although the vote will not be held until
March 26, Shea said it is in the best interest of Arundel to support the
proposed 90/10 cost-sharing formula.
"We need to do everything in our power to try to get people out to vote and to vote yes," Shea said. "There's no reason why anyone in Arundel or Kennebunk should vote no."
The proposed 90/10 cost-sharing formula results in a reduction of $55 for each $100,000 assessed property value in Arundel, a $10 reduction per $100,000 assessed property value in Kennebunk and an increase of $23 per $100,000 in Kennebunkport.
Shea said although Arundel has struggled to bring residents out to the polls, this vote is crucial for Arundel's future and to help keep the tax rate under control.
"Every single vote counts," Shea said.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
The list grows by 1
http://www.pressherald.com/news/Two-sides-to-discuss-plea-deal-in-Kennebunk-prostitution-case.html
The District Attorney's Office identified one more Wednesday in response to a Freedom of Access request from the Portland Press Herald.
Dennis G. Sillon, 64, of 476 Shapleigh Corner Road in Shapleigh pleaded through his attorney and was fined $800 and $170 in fees and court costs.
read more...
The District Attorney's Office identified one more Wednesday in response to a Freedom of Access request from the Portland Press Herald.
Dennis G. Sillon, 64, of 476 Shapleigh Corner Road in Shapleigh pleaded through his attorney and was fined $800 and $170 in fees and court costs.
read more...
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Thornton Academy planning $2.5M rehab
http://www.keepmecurrent.com/sun_chronicle/news/thornton-academy-planning-m-rehab/article_c37b70a4-5a7c-11e2-a2c3-0019bb2963f4.html
SACO – A multi-million-dollar renovation project at Thornton Academy in Saco will lead to the creation of six new classrooms, a new location for the school’s library and an upgrade to many of its older buildings to accommodate new technologies.
Rene Menard, the headmaster, said the project, which would cost between $2 million and $2.5 million, is scheduled to begin sometime in late winter or early spring. The plan is to have all the renovations completed by September, when the new academic year gets under way.
Thornton serves as the public high school for students from Saco and Dayton. It also has a residential program designed to accommodate students from overseas.
“This renovation project is an opportunity to align our need for more efficient use of teaching spaces with our commitment to being a leader in the fields of (science, technology, engineering and math) and arts and new media,” Menard said. “Meeting our commitment to preparing students for a changing world means that we need to renovate our infrastructure.”
The upgrades at Thornton were approved last month by the board of trustees following a comprehensive academic space analysis. The project will be privately funded and, as with all other Thornton capital projects, there will be no impact on local taxpayers. Menard said. Thornton Academy also does not receive any state or local funding for construction projects.
read more...
SACO – A multi-million-dollar renovation project at Thornton Academy in Saco will lead to the creation of six new classrooms, a new location for the school’s library and an upgrade to many of its older buildings to accommodate new technologies.
Rene Menard, the headmaster, said the project, which would cost between $2 million and $2.5 million, is scheduled to begin sometime in late winter or early spring. The plan is to have all the renovations completed by September, when the new academic year gets under way.
Thornton serves as the public high school for students from Saco and Dayton. It also has a residential program designed to accommodate students from overseas.
“This renovation project is an opportunity to align our need for more efficient use of teaching spaces with our commitment to being a leader in the fields of (science, technology, engineering and math) and arts and new media,” Menard said. “Meeting our commitment to preparing students for a changing world means that we need to renovate our infrastructure.”
The upgrades at Thornton were approved last month by the board of trustees following a comprehensive academic space analysis. The project will be privately funded and, as with all other Thornton capital projects, there will be no impact on local taxpayers. Menard said. Thornton Academy also does not receive any state or local funding for construction projects.
read more...
Local schools face state aid cuts
KENNEBUNK — Local school departments are finding
ways to make up for a shortfall in expected state revenue, facing a
loss of thousands in state aid.
RSU 21's state aid is being cut by $281,000 while the Wells-Ogunquit Community School District is losing $112,949.
"It's unfortunate that Maine is in this
situation. There just isn't any revenue, and everyone has to feel the
pain a little bit," said RSU 21 Superintendent Andrew Dolloff. "We're
not happy about the continual reduction in state aid, but it's pretty
clear that Maine simply doesn't have the infrastructure and business
climate that will spur any growth any time soon."
Monday, January 7, 2013
Brunswick man sentenced to 7 years and a day for armed robbery of Arundel bank
Posted Jan. 07, 2013, at 12:16 p.m.
PORTLAND, Maine — A federal judge Friday sentenced a Brunswick man to one day in prison for robbing an Arundel bank last year followed by a mandatory seven years for using a gun.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen imposed the unusual sentence on Travis Leeman, 30, who pleaded guilty last year to the armed bank robbery.
Leeman, who was addicted to oxycodone, robbed the bank to pay off his drug dealer after the man threatened to kill Leeman’s wife, Assistant U.S. Attorney Darcie McElwee said Monday.
Acting on a joint recommendation from the prosecutor and defense attorney, the judge went outside the federal sentencing guidelines, which recommended Leeman spend between 30 and 37 months behind bars for the robbery, in sending Leeman to prison for just one day. She did impose the minimum seven-year sentence mandated by Congress on people convicted of using a gun during a bank robbery. As a result, Leeman was sentenced to seven years and a day in federal prison.
read more...
Students' vanishing a Maine mystery
KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine — The snow is a bit deeper
and the temperatures a bit colder, but in other ways Maine winters are
much like winters on Cape Cod.
Tourists are
fewer and farther between. Locals reclaim the snowy streets and their
favorite bar stools. Friendly conversation is easier and the nonstop
hubbub of the summer is over.
In the Kennebunkport village of Cape Porpoise,
the low talk at the start of a new year includes questions and
speculation about what happened to two out-of-staters — including one
from Cape Cod — who are believed dead after mysteriously disappearing
last month from the quaint coastal community.
Prescott
Wright, 23, of Barnstable and Zachary Wells, 21, of Burlington, Vt.,
were "boat school" students who attended The Landing School in nearby
Arundel, Maine. They were known in passing by many locals and better by
some others.
The men were last seen in the
early morning of Dec. 20 during a small pre-holiday gathering at a home
on Mills Road, a stone's throw from the center of Cape Porpoise. Life
jackets, jeans, a jacket, a sweatshirt and footwear were found Dec. 24
on nearby Savin Bush Island, a ledge of rocks that barely stays above
water at high tide just northwest of its larger, more prominent
neighbor, Goat Island. Police say at least one of the items found on the
island has been connected to one of the men. No other sign or clue
related to their disappearance has been uncovered despite an extensive
search on land and at sea.
"I couldn't say for
sure," lobster fisherman John Daggett said Thursday during a chilly
interview on the Cape Porpoise pier about what he thought happened to
the two young sailors. Decked out in red flannel, a worn baseball cap
and gloves, Daggett stretched the word sure into "shah" in the way some
Mainers do.
The fisherman, who was among many
who searched for the missing men in the surrounding waters, said nobody
could fault the Maine Marine Patrol for lack of trying.
"They
don't give up," he said as the agency's plane buzzed overhead with
pilot Steve Ingram scanning the water below for any sign of Wright or
Wells.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Portland Press Herald SPECIAL SECTION: Kennebunk Prostitution Case
The coastal Maine town of Kennebunk has been rocked by an alleged prostitution operation at the Pura Vida Zumba studio. Charges were brought against Alexis Wright of Wells and Mark Strong of Thomaston in a case that has gained national media attention. A list of 150 "johns," including some prominent names, has kept residents talking and the case in the headlines.
read more...
Magazine opus: Scandal in a Maine town exposed anew
Illicit sex in a quaint New England town? It's no surprise Vanity Fair was drawn to Kennebunk.
By Scott Dolan sdolan@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
The issue hit newsstands in New York and Los Angeles on Thursday, and will be available nationally and on iPads, Nooks and Kindles on Jan. 8.
The article starts with a list of items that police seized in February from the home, office and cars of Alexis Wright: "One bottle of Astroglide. Four bottles of baby oil. One Nikon 35-mm camera, one Sony camcorder ..."
read more...
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