Thursday, May 30, 2013

Kate's Butter spreading out in Arundel


http://www.keepmecurrent.com/the_village/business/kate-s-butter-spreading-out-in-arundel/article_896caf64-c957-11e2-aa0b-001a4bcf887a.html

ARUNDEL – Kate’s Homemade Butter began in 1981 as a small operation generating about 300 pounds of butter a day. It now has grown to one producing more than 15,000 pounds per day. With production overwhelming the company’s 1,500-square-foot facility in Old Orchard Beach – and with the town imposing manufacturing restrictions – a new location was called for. A 40-acre parcel on Route 111 in Arundel offered what was needed. The 18,000-square-foot facility under construction is on track to open in July.

The Maine dairy tradition of the Patry family, who own and operate Kate’s Homemade Butter, goes back four generations. The family began dairy farming in the Minot area in the early 1900s. Daniel Patry Sr., founder and president of Kate’s, carries on the butter-making tradition of his grandfather, Alphonse Hemond, who passed it on to his son, Roland. At age 13, Patry began learning the butter-making process from his Uncle Roland, including the importance of slow churning, which results in butter with the right taste and creamy texture.

read more...

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Arundel seeking center

ARUNDEL — As an effort to capitalize on what the town of approximately 4,000 residents has to offer, from natural resources to business growth, Arundel has recently partnered with the Chesapeake Group — a Marylandbased firm dedicated to the creative revitalization of towns across the United States.
Arundel, unlike Kennebunk and Kennebunkport, does not have a designated town center, a term that Town Manager Todd Shea said makes Arundel residents bristle.

“I’m working on building a sense of community,” said Shea, “and part of that is associating the community with a town center.”


Arundel is also in the process of drafting a letter to the U.S. Postal Service to petition for a new zip code, which Arundel shares with Kennebunkport.

“The Selectmen have approved it,” said Shea. “We want to see if it would even be possible.”

“Number one, it’ll be easier to locate businesses in Arundel. Number two, there’s a difference in real estate in Arundel than there is in Kennebunkport. We don’t want prospective residents to leave, thinking this area is too expensive, without exploring all options,” said Shea.


The development of a town center is just one of a myriad of reasons Arundel petitioned outside help for community revitalization.


read more...

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Events Around Town...

On Sunday, May 26, 2013 at 11:00 AM a Memorial Service will be held at the Veteran's Memorial in front of the Arundel Fire Station, 468 Limerick Road.

Arundel Veterans Memorial


Spaghetti Supper
Saturday, June 01, 2013 ... 04:30 PM - 06:00 PM @ M.L. Day School


 

Teen driver makes history


ARUNDEL — In 2011 at age 12, Tommy Stilphen had already built up an impressive and lengthy track record of racing with wins in go karts and as a mini modified driver.

By that time, Stilphen had 73 feature wins under his belt. Two years later, the now 14-year-old continues to rack up the wins, this time in a pro late model car. Stilphen's latest victory occurred at Oxford Plains Speedway May 17, when he became the youngest Oxford Championship Series race winner ever in the 64 year history of racing at the Maine speedway.

"That's the hardest I've ever driven in my life," the exuberant teenager said shortly after his win.
This was Stilphen's first year racing the pro late model car where the #70 driver owned the 40-lap event and was also named Rookie of the Year in his category, with a total of 133 points. The second-place winner scored 122 points.

When asked how it feels to be the youngest champion ever at Oxford Plains Speedway, Stilphen said, "It's awesome. It felt good to be racing against drivers I used to watch when I was in go karts."

Arundel looks to regulate camper trailers


 
ARUNDEL — With the summer season approaching and camping season about to begin, members of the Board of Selectmen said at a May 13 meeting that it had come to their attention that the town of Arundel does not have an ordinance in place regarding camper trailers.

Camper trailers are considered mobile units, not permanent structures, and do not fall under the same ordinance regulations as permanent dwellings, officials said.

Town Manager Todd Shea said he had received a complaint regarding the disposal of waste from a current camper trailer owner onto the surface of a property. The disposal of waste poses an obvious health hazard to neighbors, Shea said.

In an attempt to address the complaint, Shea said he discovered that there were no town codes to enforce when it comes to a camper. Without a related ordinance in place, the town is unable to manage how long an individual or individuals can inhabit a camper, where the camper is placed on the property and how waste from the camper is disposed, he said.

Kate’s Butter on slippery slope in OOB

OLD ORCHARD BEACH – If the town of Old Orchard Beach decides to revoke the business license for Kate’s Homemade Butter, owner Dan Patry said this week it would put the 32-year-old creamery at risk – just as the Patry family is constructing a new facility in Arundel it hopes to open in July.

On Tuesday, after the Sun Chronicle’s deadline, the Old Orchard Beach Town Council was set to discuss a recommendation by the town’s Administrative Board of Review to revoke the business license for Kate’s Butter and to schedule a formal revocation hearing.


“The concerns of the neighborhood are of grave concern (to the town) and it is imperative that the Town Council work with the citizens to figure out this problem,” Town Council Chairwoman Sharri MacDonald said this week.


While Kate’s Butter is a success story by any measure, its success is also what’s causing conflict with the creamery’s neighbors, who say the business has outgrown its location in a crowded, residential neighborhood off Saco Avenue with narrow streets.


read more...

Friday, May 17, 2013

Author works with MLD students

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20130516-NEWS-305160358

ARUNDEL — Maine author Lynn Plourde recently spent two days teaching students at Mildred L. Day School skills to improve their writing. Younger students at MLD acted out some of Plourde's picture books in a school-wide assembly, while students in older grades attended writing workshops with Plourde.

Arundel officials find securing new town zip code not easy


ARUNDEL, Maine — What some thought would be an easy process to secure a new zip code for the town is not going to be so simple after all, members of the Board of Selectmen said at a May 13 meeting.

The move toward the new zip code was proposed in an effort to give the town its own sense of identity, apart from Kennebunkport, which shares the current zip code. Economic Development Committee member Jen Burrows had proposed the switch a few months back and secured the selectmen’s approval last month. In a previous presentation to the board, Burrows indicated that the process was quite simple and a matter of petitioning the Maine Legislature.


Selectmen said Monday night that upon further examination, it is a much different process than originally thought.


read more...

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Local districts mull laptop decision | LePage pushes for PCs over Apple

May 16, 2013 2:00 AM
http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20130516-NEWS-305160340?cid=sitesearch


KENNEBUNK — After a decade-long relationship with Apple that has helped students "sparkle," local school administrators are exploring whether a move to Hewlett-Packard would be in the best interest of students or as "shocking" as they anticipate it could be.

Gov. Paul LePage decided at the end of April to switch the state's preferred supplier of middle school laptops from Apple to Hewlett-Packard, after 10 years of supplying Apple laptops to seventh- and eighth-graders. Instead, the governor's administration has opted to go with the personal computer platform.
Local districts are being given the final choice, but are now weighing the decision as they will have to pay any cost difference.

"I really feel that now those laptops are utilized at an incredibly high level, not just the frequency but the types of things they are used for," RSU 21 Superintendent Andrew Dolloff said of the Apple technology that students and staff have used for the past decade. "So, now, to think that we would switch over to HP is quite shocking for a lot of people."

Administrators said staff create and store files on the Apple technology, including everything from curriculums to lesson plans, and students use the technology daily in their classrooms. A change to HP could potentially mean teachers losing files, students not having the same opportunities, and a significant learning curve for staff and students.

"HP would be a radical change to something new," said RSU 21 IT Director Jamie Jenson.

Numbers just don't add up


Fewer than 10 percent.

That's how many people took the time to come out Tuesday to vote in either Kennebunk, Kennebunkport or Arundel on the more than $37 million RSU 21 budget.


More than 70 percent.

That's the share of the municipal tax bills in at least two of those towns that goes to the school district.

RSU 21 budget approved by voters


KENNEBUNK — Voters in RSU 21 have approved the school district's $37 million budget.
In a district where the school budget encompasses 73 percent of one of its town's tax rates, 10 percent or fewer of registered voters turned out in Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel.

In Kennebunk, 724 of the more than 9,000 registered voters in town turned out. In Kennebunkport, 269 residents voted of the town's 2,636 registered voters. And in Arundel, 169 residents voted Tuesday, of the towns 3,000 registered voters.

Superintendent Andrew Dolloff said the newly approved budget has moved forward without controversy, which could have impacted the voter turnout.

"When there is greater controversy, you tend to see a higher turnout," he said. "Certainly, we have seen some larger turnouts in the past in this district but those have been when there are controversial subjects that have created a lot of emotion."

Dolloff said voter turnout is typical of area towns similar in size to RSU 21. In Scarborough, 10 percent of registered voters turned out Tuesday, and in Cape Elizabeth, turnout was at 13 percent.
"It's pretty typical in this climate that when there aren't those passionate subjects, you have less of a turnout," Dolloff said.

Matt Fadiman, a member of the RSU 21 Board of Directors who spoke as a voter and Kennebunk resident, said "this is an issue of apathy not lack of awareness or access."

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Building committee's continue work


KENNEBUNK — The RSU 21 Board of Directors heard an update from representatives of the Kennebunk High School and Mildred L. Day School Building Committees on Monday, May 6, with information that could change the renovation projects.

Renovations at Kennebunk High School, Kennebunkport Consolidated School and Mildred L. Day School are still in the planning stages, currently estimated at more than $60 million combined.

Tim Hussey, board representative to the KHS Building Committee, said the group continues to "wrestle with a few variables" when it comes to the renovation project. In addition, he said a community member has expressed interest in supporting a swimming pool as part of the renovation.

Three new assessments leave school districts pleased but taking a broader view

Area school districts are moving forward from a newly released batch of assessments, looking at how to best examine those results and use them to meet student needs and grow their achievement.
"It's almost like a mosaic," said Bill Richards, superintendent of the Wells-Ogunquit Community School District. "You've got to look at data in a much broader view than just one particular source."
Earlier this week, Newsweek released a list of the top 2,000 high schools in the nation. Included on that list are Kennebunk High School, which ranked number 1,163, and Wells High School, ranking at number 1,654. Nine high schools from Maine made the list, which focused on the schools' most effective in turning out college-ready graduates.

Last week a new ranking system was also unveiled by the Maine Department of Education, under which three-quarters of the state's schools received a grade of C or lower. Only 10 high schools in the state, including Kennebunk High School, received an A grade.

The Middle School of the Kennebunks and Mildred L. Day School also received A grades, while Sea Road School and Kennebunkport Consolidated School received Bs. Kennebunk Elementary School was not graded because the statewide testing begins in third grade and the school houses only one tested grade.

In the WOCSD, Wells High School and Wells Junior High School received B grades, while the Wells Elementary School received a C grade. And nearby, Thornton Academy received a C grade while Thornton Academy Middle School received a B.

Educators criticized the plan, which was graded on a bell curve, meaning the majority of elementary and high schools received Cs.

An introductory column


To begin my first column, I want to congratulate Superintendent Andrew Dolloff and all of his principals and teaching staff and all of the students' hard work throughout RSU 21 for the great job they have done by earning three As and two Bs under Gov. Paul LePage and Department of Education's first A-F report card. I also want to extend a special thanks to Dr. Kevin Crowley for the excellent job he has done since taking over as principal at M.L. Day School. Throughout House District 140, no school received a failing grade and most schools received average or above-average scores. Congratulations to all schools throughout the district. Keep up the great work.

State grading of schools won’t lead to improvement

Most York County school administrators were displeased with their school district’s “grades,” released late last week by the governor and education commissioner.

The A-F scale was based mostly on test scores, and the average for schools statewide was a C, while 31 percent of the state’s high schools received a D or an F, according to the Associated Press.

Elementary schools were graded on the results of math and reading assessment tests, and improvement in those scores year to year among all students and among the lowest 25 percent. High schools were graded using math and reading assessment tests and growth in those scores as well as graduation rates, according to the Associated Press.

Locally, Regional School Unit 21 fared the best, with As for Kennebunk High School, Middle School of the Kennebunks and the Mildred L. Day School in Arundel, and B grades for Kennebunkport Consolidated School and the Sea Road School in Kennebunk.

Administrators in many districts said the grades are not helpful as they do not offer any guidance to school leaders, nor do they consider anything besides test scores.

read more...

RSU 21 budget up for vote


RSU 21's $37.2 million budget will head to voters Tuesday, May 14.
Polls will be open in the district towns of Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel
from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Voters supported the budget during the district's annual meeting on April 30.
The $37.2 million budget represents a 3.5 percent increase over last year. A total of $1.2 million is proposed to be taken from the district's fund balance to lessen the impact of increases in health insurance costs, an anticipated drop of $766,865 in state general purpose aid, and an increase of $448,134 in retirement costs previously covered by the state.

Arundel's Anne Hane is honored by SMCC

ARUNDEL — At an annual luncheon given in their honor last week, Southern Maine Medical Center officially thanked its volunteers for contributing more than 33,000 hours in 2012. During the ceremony Arundel resident Anne Hane, who volunteers in the pharmacy, was recognized with the prestigious Lauren Shulman Volunteer of the Year award. This nomination-based honor is bestowed on the volunteer who best exemplifies "the volunteer spirit" with enthusiasm and support for the organization, as well as dependability and contributions of time and energy.


Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Democrats to unveil Maine school-grading alternative



AUGUSTA
– A week after heavily criticizing the state's new A-to-F school grading system, Maine Democrats said they will propose a different way to evaluate Maine's 600 public schools.

The plan will be introduced at a news conference at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at the State House. The co-chairs of the Legislature's Education Committee – Sen. Rebecca Millett, D-Cape Elizabeth, and Rep. Bruce MacDonald, D-Boothbay – are leading the initiative.

They are proposing a concept bill with "at least a dozen" criteria for evaluating schools, said Ericka Dodge, spokeswoman for the Senate Democrats. She said the legislators will solicit input at the local level to come up with the evaluation system.

Critics say the state's A-to-F grading system, a hallmark of Gov. Paul LePage's education reform effort, is too simplistic because it's based largely on standardized test scores in math and English.
It also accounts for students' growth and progress, and the performance and growth of the bottom 25 percent of students. For high schools, graduation rates are a factor.

More than a dozen other states use similar grading systems. It is the latest education initiative of LePage, who has been sharply critical of public schools.

read more...

Thursday, May 2, 2013

LePage grading plan falls short


Just yesterday, Gov. Paul LePage released his Maine School Performance Grading System, making Maine the 14th state in the country to assign letter grades to school districts under a program designed to identify and assist struggling schools while providing transparency to parents.

Local schools, along with many others in southern Maine, performed well under the new ranking system. Kennebunk High School received an A grade and was ranked as the eighth best high school in the state. In RSU 21, the Middle School of the Kennebunks and Mildred L. Day received As as well. Consolidated was 4/10 of a point from an A, receiving a B, along with Sea Road School. In Wells, Wells High School and Wells Junior High received Bs, and Wells Elementary School received a C.

But while we applaud our local schools for scoring well under LePage's new rubric, we can't help but feel that judging a school — or a district, or a student — based solely on test scores in two subject areas (reading and math) isn't a true measure of how well a school serves its students or how they're performing.

RSU 21 budget passes first step


KENNEBUNK — More than 50 voters from Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel adopted the proposed $37.2 million RSU 21 budget during the annual District Budget Meeting on Tuesday night.
The budget will now head to referendum vote May 14 in all three towns, when residents in each of the towns will be asked to cast a ballot to approve the budget as adopted Tuesday.

During the hour-long meeting, the voters present at Kennebunk Elementary School raised their cards in support of the 19 warrant articles, either unanimously or nearly so. While voters had an opportunity to amend the articles Tuesday, only two warrant articles were discussed and there was only one proposed amendment, which failed.

Chairman Kevin Knight said the evening went smoothly, which could be attributed to the budget not including new programming and calling for reductions where possible. Knight said he hopes residents turn out May 14 to vote on the proposal.

KHS gets "A" grade under LePage system


AUGUSTA — Three-quarters of the state's schools received a grade of C or lower under a new ranking system unveiled by the Maine Department of Education on Wednesday.
Only 10 high schools, most of them in southern Maine, received an A grade, including Kennebunk High School.

While there has been widespread resistance to the idea, which some have called a punitive oversimplification of a school's quality, the LePage administration has billed the grades as a simple and accessible way to reward high-performing schools and help educators and communities rally around the rest. Maine is the 14th state in the nation, along with New York City, to implement a school grading system.

In RSU 21, Kennebunk High School, the Middle School of the Kennebunks, and Mildred L. Day School received an A grade, while Sea Road School and Kennebunkport Consolidated School received a B grade. Superintendent Andrew Dolloff said there is still a question regarding the data for Consolidated School, which was just 4/10 of a point away from receiving an A.

Kennebunk Elementary School was not graded because the statewide testing begins in Grade 3, and in order for a school to be graded, there must be two years of testing data available. Since KES houses only one tested grade, the school will not receive a state-assigned letter grade.

Matthews-Bull, Briggs, Johnson run for seats

Matthews-Bull, Briggs, Johnson run for seats


KENNEBUNKPORT — Incumbent Sheila Matthews-Bull and newcomer Patrick Briggs will be running for the two open seats on the Kennebunkport Board of Selectmen this June.

Schools get letter grades, call system flawed

Gov. LePage says students will benefit as 75% of Maine’s schools get a C or worse.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/maine-portland-schools-grades-report-card-A-F-Lepage-bowen.html

 

AUGUSTA — The LePage administration unveiled a sweeping statewide grading system for public schools Wednesday that immediately drew sharp criticism from educators, who said it stigmatizes schools in poorer communities.


STATEWIDE GRADES
Breakdown of all Maine schools, by grade*:

Elementary Schools (grades 3-8)
Grade, number of schools, percentage.
A - 50 schools, 12 percent
B - 55 schools, 13 percent
C - 233 schools, 56 percent
D - 48 schools, 11 percent
F - 32 schools, 8 percent

High schools
Grade, number of schools, percentage.
A - 10 schools, 8 percent
B - 20 schools, 16 percent
C - 55 schools, 45 percent
D - 28 schools, 23 percent
F - 9 schools, 7 percent

* 30 elementary schools and 7 high schools were exempted from the calculation because they were new or lacked sufficient data for scoring.
– Source: Maine Department of Education

The A-to-F system, a hallmark of the governor’s education reform efforts, drew support from those who say the grades are a way to let parents gauge how well their children’s schools are performing.

Statewide, the majority of high schools and elementary schools received C grades.

Among elementary schools, only 12 percent got A’s and 13 percent got B’s. Only 8 percent of high schools got A’s and 16 percent got B’s.


read more...

Paintball incident: a threat to Maine senator?

Vandalism is investigated at Dutremble's home, following his key gun-control vote.


BIDDEFORD
 — Biddeford police are investigating a criminal mischief case that could be an attempt to intimidate a Maine lawmaker for his vote on controversial gun control legislation. 

Select images available for purchase in the
Sen. David Dutremble on Tuesday cast a key vote in favor of a bill to limit gun magazines in Maine to no more than 10 rounds. The freshman Democrat's vote broke a 6-6 tie on the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee and sent the bill to the Legislature with an "ought to pass" recommendation.

read more...

Ride for the Troops raises more than $14K in southern Maine


YORK — The Patriot Rider's sixth annual Spring Ride for the Troops broke all previous records Sunday, with more than 600 motorcycles and 1,000 riders taking to the roads to raise money for veterans.

"It was phenomenal," said Steve Butler, president of Maine Chapter 1 of the Patriot Riders, a national organization of motorcycle enthusiasts.
More than $14,000 was raised, Butler said. "This is the biggest participation level and the biggest money raised."

Arundel residents tired of sharing Kennebunkport’s ZIP code: ‘We have a lack of identity’


ARUNDEL, Maine — Economic Development Committee member Jen Burrows discussed the need for the town of Arundel to have its own ZIP code at a Board of Selectmen meeting April 22. Arundel currently shares not only a post office but also a ZIP code with the neighboring town of Kennebunkport.

Sharing Kennebunkport’s ZIP code of 04046 causes confusion for UPS and FedEx deliveries, GPS programming, business locations and simply trying to locate a weather report for the town of Arundel from an electronic device, Burrows said. Because both towns share several similar road names and physically share roads such as the Log Cabin Road, using a Kennebunkport ZIP code to find a location in Arundel is nearly impossible.


read more...

State’s grading of schools called ‘insulting’

From Staff and Wire Reports
http://www.journaltribune.com/articles/2013/05/02/news/doc518276736df6f206162182.txt
 Published:
Thursday, May 2, 2013 12:18 PM EDT
Maine schools merited only a C grade while 31 percent of the state’s high schools received a D or an F, under a new state grading system unveiled Wednesday by Gov. Paul LePage and Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen.

Maine becomes the 14th state to give letter grades to schools as LePage continues his offensive to shake up the state’s public education system. The new system assigns A through F grades to more than 500 schools.

On the inaugural report card, 60 schools got A’s; 75 B’s; 289 C’s; 76 D’s; and 43 F’s.


read more...