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The Rockland train station on Union Street is undergoing a facelift. The exterior of the 89-year-old brick building is being restored with funds from the Maine Department of Transportation, which owns the building. Work began in mid-September and should be completed by December 19 said Gordon Page, vice president of passenger operations for Maine Eastern Railroad, which runs from the station. The project’s cost is $350,000.

“The funds were set aside eight or nine years ago specifically for this building,” Page said. “All the work is done with oversight by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.” The contractor, Penobscot Company of Camden, is replacing cracked bricks, repointing the building with matching mortar, replacing the entire slate roof, restoring all the windows and installing a new copper gutter and downspout system. “It’s rare to have this done,” Page added. “The $1.3 million restoration of the Bath train station was paid for with federal dollars.”

Thus far the building has been pressure washed. Maine Historic Preservation Commission experts have made their recommendations concerning appropriate replacement bricks and mortar for the next stage of the project. Page noted that the mortar used on the building’s exterior is unusual because it matches in both texture and color the rugged bricks, which in turn contrast with the building’s limestone foundation and trim.

Page added that a new restaurant would be opening in the train station to replace Union Station Grille, which closed in June. “We just signed the lease today,” he said. The new restaurant will be called Trackside Station and will be operated by the owners of The Landings restaurant and Mike Woods of ERA Cousens Realty and his wife, Kelly. “Once the restoration is completed, this building will be a real jewel,” Page said.

Maine’s Congressional Delegation on the Bailout Bill

Here are statements released by Maine’s Representatives and Senators after HR 1424, “Emergency Economic Stabilization Act,” passed the House, 263-171, last Friday, Oct. 3 (having passed the Senate, 74-25, Oct.1)

H.R. 1424: A bill to provide authority for the Federal Government to purchase and insure certain types of troubled assets for the purposes of providing stability to and preventing disruption in the economy and financial system and protecting taxpayers, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide incentives for energy production and conservation, to extend certain expiring provisions, to provide individual income tax relief, and for other purposes.

Senator Olympia Snowe: YES

“Today the House followed the Senate in passing legislation that will stabilize the current financial crisis and restore some sense of normalcy to our economic system to revive commercial activity and investor confidence. This package, that the President will now sign, is the first of three phases essential to assure our economic recovery and future resilience. We must now demand accountability for those responsible and develop fundamental regulatory reforms to ensure this calamity is never repeated.

“Moving forward, Congress must restore transparency in all of our financial markets. Congress must also demand accountability for the massive malfeasance that’s been perpetrated on the American people — and the congressional pursuit through hearings must occur in tandem with the legal investigation and prosecution of those responsible for this meltdown....

“The pursuit and prosecution of those liable must receive the highest possible level of attention....

“Further, we must take the weeks ahead to draft bipartisan and bicameral legislation to eliminate systemic risk in financial markets and protect our economy over the long term. No longer can the U.S. financial industry act with impunity and make the highly speculative investments that have today jeopardized the health, stability, and growth of our economy….

“This rescue package includes strong protections, including the ability for American taxpayers to benefit from the appreciation in the value of financial institutions we are to assist, because with the passage of this legislation comes the forceful responsibility to recover all of the costs of this program for taxpayers. To fulfill this mandate, taxpayers are given an ownership stake in participating companies which ensures they will be first to profit when these companies recover. If, after five years, taxpayers have not been made whole for the costs of this rescue, the President is required to act to recoup any shortfall from the companies that benefited from the Treasury’s actions.

“Furthermore, this package also clamps down on executive compensation with tough restrictions that will prevent corporate managers from profiting on the backs of taxpayers. It also provides necessary, timely, and crucial mortgage relief to families facing foreclosure, as well as extends critical energy tax incentives and a patch for the Alternative Minimum Tax to protect millions of middle-class American taxpayers.”

Senator Susan Collins: YES

“It is deeply disturbing that our nation’s economy is in such peril from turmoil in the financial markets that this legislation is necessary. But the reality is that this bipartisan bill is critical to help stabilize financial markets, restore the flow of credit upon which millions of jobs depend, and prevent catastrophic consequences for our entire economy.

“Without this legislation, most economists agree that the current economic crisis could lead to a deep recession that could cost millions of jobs, ravage the retirement savings of millions of Americans, and hurt small businesses that rely on credit. Americans are rightly worried and angry about the impact on their ability to buy a home, borrow to purchase a car, or have a financially secure retirement.

“As a former Maine financial services regulator, I believe that this legislation is only a necessary first step. Further action is needed to reform the outmoded, Depression-era regulatory system.

“The roots of the crisis lie in a culture of greed and risk-taking on Wall Street; a decade-long real-estate bubble, relaxed lending standards, insufficient regulation of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and individuals who borrowed more money than they could afford to repay. In some cases, outright fraud may be involved, which must be aggressively pursued.

“While Congress finally acted in July to create a new regulator for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, more needs to be done to better regulate the complex financial instruments used by Wall Street executives for their private gain, to oversee mortgage origination practices, and to protect taxpayers from poor decisions made by the financial mortgage giants, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and by other large financial institutions.”

Congressman Tom Allen: YES

“The House took necessary action today to address the decline of our financial markets and economy. The jobs report released this morning underscores that our economy is in one of the worst downward spirals in our nation’s history. In September alone, 159,000 jobs were lost. That is more than twice as many in July or August and the most significant reduction in the workforce in five years.

“Individuals and families in Maine and across America continue to watch their retirement savings and investments decline. Their ability to obtain loans to buy a house or a car or to send their kids to college may soon disappear or become too expensive. Small businesses can’t borrow funds to stock their inventories and meet payrolls, and their customers can’t get credit to purchase their products and services. The State of Maine is having difficulty raising $50 million to pay for necessary road repairs, some of which are already under way. Action to stabilize our faltering economy is essential.

“I share Mainers’ anger that this bill is necessary at all. Years of lax regulation and lack of oversight allowed this situation to develop. We must change the way that Wall Street has been operating so that Main Street can prosper once again. This bill is just the first step in rebuilding our economy. Congress must continue to evaluate and modernize financial regulations to ensure that a similar situation will not reoccur.

“The plan the House passed today was not perfect, but it was a vast improvement over the blank check President Bush offered. It ensures strong oversight of the financial markets, requires repayment to taxpayers if and when securities recover their value, eliminates golden parachutes for executives, and provides opportunities for struggling homeowners to avoid foreclosure and remain in their homes, protecting local property values and communities.

“Unfortunately, the Senate attached additional provisions to this bill that should have been considered on their own merits. I support and have recently voted for measures to provide alternative minimum tax relief to 25 million middle class families and expand incentives for renewable energy production. However, it was inappropriate for the Senate to add these provisions and other tax breaks targeted to niche industries to this bill. The Senate did not provide sufficient offsets for these measures, increasing the deficit even further. Our national debt has skyrocketed over the past eight years, contributing to the situation we are in today, and it is time to reverse that trend. I am disappointed that these provisions were attached to this bill.

“I believe that Congress acted today in the best manner possible to protect Mainers and all Americans from further financial deterioration. I am proud to have worked with members of Congress from both parties to build consensus and pass this critically important legislation.”

Congressman Michaud: NO

“Throughout my time in public service, whether in the Maine Legislature or the U.S. Congress, I have committed myself to truly representing the best interests of my constituents. In examining bills, I look beyond the talking points and the politically heated language that all too often poisons Washington. The legislation on the financial markets bailout was no different.

“The Administration’s initial three-page plan was short on the details and amounted to an unacceptable power grab. So too was their roll out. What is a travesty, and what panicked the market, was that ‘the plan’ was presented in a way that told Wall Street, the media, every American, and the world that this was the only way to go. It was sold as a do-or-die choice, which artificially created an unnecessary panic. It was a terrible process that created a near impossible environment for any serious consideration of other plans and ideas on how to address our markets’ credit woes.

“I agree that it was necessary for Congress to act swiftly to address the problems of the credit markets. But I also thought that it was crucial that we get it right. The two proposals that we ultimately voted on in Congress were not just unfortunate, they were deeply flawed.

“In the end, Congress did little to change the original White House plan. Instead, leaders in Congress backed a proposal that asked the American taxpayer, who did nothing to contribute to the current credit crunch, to shoulder the burden of the credit crisis by forking over hundreds of billions of dollars to bailout Wall Street firms who got us into this mess in the first place. Congress then actually compounded the failures of the Administration’s handling of this crisis by not allowing amendments on one of the most significant bills ever voted on in the history of the Congress.

“In fact, congressional leaders blocked proposals that I believed would have improved the bill. For example, Congress should see if the Treasury Department plan is working to help the credit markets before putting the full $700 billion on the line. One proposal that would accomplish this would have limited the Treasury Department’s spending authority to $250 billion. Treasury Secretary Paulson himself said that he could probably only spend about $50 billion each month. Limiting the authorized amount would reduce taxpayer exposure and allow Congress more time to seriously consider the most responsible way forward. I think that this proposal makes a lot of sense, especially when you consider what a Treasury Department spokesperson said when asked where they came up with the $700 billion amount: ‘It’s not based on any particular data point.’ Unbelievably, the spokesperson went on to say that they ‘just wanted to choose a really large number.’

“In addition to the spending amount, we should address the problem of foreclosures, which is at the heart of the current crisis. The provisions in the bill to help homeowners are extremely weak. When you read the fine print, you find language that encourages, rather than mandates, help for homeowners. Unfortunately proposals to force the Administration to use all their powers to help struggling homeowners were rejected. It was unfortunate that these proposals were brushed aside in favor of the Bush Administration’s original framework.

“I ultimately voted against the bill for a number of reasons. First and foremost, I believe the bill provides a meaningless check on the White House’s ability to spend the full $700 billion. Though the bill divided spending authority into parts, Congress has no real say in it. More specifically, unless Congress passes, by veto-proof majorities in both chambers, a resolution disapproving the Administration’s request to spend more, the White House is free to spend. When it’s $700 billion of the taxpayers’ money on the line there should be serious accountability provisions included.

“The provisions to pay taxpayers back are little more than fantasy. The legislation merely requires that a future president propose a bill five years from now to pay for the losses incurred by the taxpayers. If repaying the taxpayer was important, there should have been an ironclad repayment provision written into the text of this bill. I do not have faith that Congress, five years from now, will vote to pass a multi-billion-dollar tax increase on Wall Street.

“As you read the text of the final bill, it actually recognizes the severe impact this plan will have on future generations. The bill includes a provision that raises our current debt ceiling to an astonishing $11.3 trillion. The bill even allows for the bailing out of foreign investors, with no guarantee of reinvestment in the United States. Maine taxpayers deserve better.

“Unfortunately, when the House initially rejected the plan [228-205 on September 29], the Senate’s answer was to add new spending and tax breaks into the bill....While I strongly support the tax cuts to help the middle class, the Senate did not even attempt to offset the new provisions’ costs. The sweeteners added to the bill will cost the taxpayers just over $100 billion on top of the $700 billion they are going to pay for the bailout.

“At the end of the day, because the Senate bill did nothing to address the original concerns that I had with the House bill, I voted against it. This was not a vote that I took lightly. Over the past two weeks I sought out financial experts, economists, regulators, and banks — at both at the national and state level — to get their analysis. While they were in agreement that action must be taken, they were not convinced that the White House plan was what should be done. In my heart, I hope that it works. But I cannot place my principles on a shelf, hold my nose and vote for such a fundamentally flawed piece of legislation.”

Soft Power and Global Engagement

— by Melissa Waterman

Admiral Gregory G. (Grog) Johnson giving a briefing at NATO’s Exercise Allied Action in Persano, Italy, May 2004. (Photo by NATO Photographer MSgt. Miguel Espinoza, USAF)

Retired Admiral Gregory Johnson, who grew up in Westmanland, Maine, and now lives in Harpswell, took some time this past weekend to grant a phone interview about his views on the political and military challenges facing the United States. Johnson will give a talk on 21st Century Security Challenges, sponsored by the Camden Conference, this Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Camden Opera House. The talk is open to the public, no reservations required; a minimum donation of $5 per person is requested.

During Johnson’s 36 years in the military he rose to become Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense (Bill Cohen) in 1999, after having served as Commander of the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean, and then in 2001 assumed duties as Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe (CINCSOUTH). Adm. Johnson retired from the Navy in 2004 and started a strategic consulting business, Snow Ridge Associates, named after the farm on which he now lives.

The passage from Westmanland, a tiny farming settlement in Aroostock County, to CINCSOUTH was, according to Johnson, all due to chance. “In 1968 I was about to graduate from the University of Maine,” Johnson recalled. He had met his future wife and planned to attend law school at the University of Southern Maine in the fall. “We went down at Easter vacation to look for apartments in Portland and then I went back home,” he said. “The lady at the draft board in Caribou called me in. She told me — with great drama — that I would graduate on a Friday and on Monday she would send me to Fort Dix for eight weeks of training, and then I would be off to Vietnam.” The draft board woman then told Johnson that he could instead sign up for officer training and she gave him three months to decide. “I went back to school after vacation and I met this guy at my fraternity who had graduated two years earlier,” Johnson said. “He was a naval aviator and had been sent back to do recruiting.” Johnson asked what it took to be a naval aviator, was told that it required a test, promptly took the test and qualified for naval aviator school. “It was serendipity,” Johnson said quietly.

He was deployed from Cecil Field Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida, and sent to the Atlantic fleet in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean, Japan, the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. Johnson was serving on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Nimitz in the Indian Ocean when that vessel was used as the staging site for the ill-fated mission sent in 1980 by President Carter to rescue the hostages held in Iran.

Johnson’s career took him to the highest policy levels of the U.S. military, where he observed firsthand how the nation’s foreign policy and security objectives can harmonize or collide.

“We achieve our greatest impact through economic development,” Johnson has concluded.

When the Marshall Plan was rolled out by President Harry Truman, isolationist members of the House and Senate roundly condemned the plan as a horrible idea, he says. “Truman and Marshall went out and gave scores of speeches across the country. Remember, Truman’s approval rating was dismal at the time. But they sold [the Marshall Plan] to the country as good for us in the long-term.”

The United States must do a better job of marketing itself to the world, says Johnson. “Look at U.S. AID [Agency for International Development]. It once had 15,000 employees and was deployed in a significant way. Now it’s down to 3,000 people and they contract out everything.” Johnson says that much of what the U.S. government did during the Cold War years to engender pro-United States feelings in other countries has atrophied in the past two decades. “Setting up scholarships to universities [for foreign students] is the best way to spend our money. Anyone who comes to the U.S. gets to know us as individuals. They generally love this country.”

While the United States faces many threats at the moment, the greatest threat, he says, comes from itself. “What will determine our standing in the world in the future is getting our house in order. We must get the economy strong,” he said. “We have to reorganize certain institutions because things change in the world very rapidly. The United Nations has to be reorganized to remain relevant in the world. The IMF and the World Bank are irrelevant now although they worked during the Cold War. Is NATO going to be relevant [in the face of disagreement between its members and the United States concerning Russia]?”

Johnson contends that this time of reevaluation will set the course for the United States for the rest of the 21st century. “The United States has an incredible opportunity to leverage our stature and standing in a way that will shape our role in the world for the next 50 to 75 years. But I don’t see the political or diplomatic willingness to take on these huge issues,” he said. “Will we be able to do this or will we be like all the other great powers and slide off into the dust bin of history in a hundred or two hundred years?”

A Call to the Candidates

Earlier this year, Admiral Johnson and 50 other retired military officers, including General Anthony Zinni, USMC (ret.) and General John Abizaid, U.S. Army (ret.), joined in a statement calling on the presidential candidates to “elevate and strengthen our non-military tools of global engagement.” The statement is part of the “Impact ’08” campaign of the Center for U.S. Global Engagement.

That “call to the candidates” also reflects the results of a report titled “Smart Power,” released in 2007 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a nonprofit research organization in Washington, D.C. Co-authored by Richard Armitage, former deputy secretary of state, and Joseph Nye, professor of government at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, the report’s summary says, “The United States must become a smarter power by once again investing in the global good—providing things people and governments in all quarters of the world want but cannot attain in the absence of American leadership. By complementing U.S. military and economic might with greater investments in soft power, America can build the framework it needs to tackle tough global challenges.”

Johnson says that “problems now can’t be solved by military power. You create peace through building political, health, educational systems.”

In his posting as Commander in Chief Allied Forces, Southern Europe, Johnson observed the reconstruction efforts in Kosovo and Herzegovina. “It’s not a military task [rebuilding infrastructure systems],” Johnson said. “It used to be done by U.S. AID. We dismantled AID and now we’ve finally set up Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan [to do this work].”

Such reconstruction work was long delayed in Iraq because of security issues, much to the detriment of the United States’ standing among the people of that country. “We need to be very serious about how we will get the military disengaged there,” Johnson said. “We need to turn over the leadership to the civilian structures. The issue is how to get them there.”

MPBN Hosting Debates Between Maine’s Candidates for U.S. Congress

The Maine Public Broadcasting Network is partnering with the Muskie School for Public Service at the University of Southern Maine and the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine to hold debates between Maine candidates for federal office over the next three consecutive Thursday evenings in October.

• Michaud and Frary — The first debate will be between the two candidates for the House of Representatives from Maine’s Second Congressional District. Democratic incumbent Rep. Mike Michaud of East Millinocket will square off against Republican challenger John Frary of Farmington. It will be held at Page Commons on the campus of Colby College in Waterville on Thursday, October 16.

• Collins and Allen — The following Thursday, October 23, will feature a debate between incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Rep. Tom Allen, who after having represented Maine’s First Congressional District for six terms in the House of Representatives is now challenging Collins for her Senate seat. This debate will take place at Hannaford Lecture Hall in Portland on the campus of the University of Southern Maine.

• Pingree and Summers — The final debate will be between the candidates for Maine’s First Congressional District, Democrat Chellie Pingree of North Haven and Republican Charlie Summers of Scarborough. They will debate on October 30 at the Studzinski Recital Hall on the campus of Bowdoin College in Brunswick.

All debates will be broadcast live beginning at 8 p.m., simulcast on MPBN’s television and radio stations, and streamed on its Web site. Each debate will run for one hour and be moderated by MPBN’s Jennifer Rooks, with additional questions asked of the candidates by MPBN deputy news director Susan Sharon and State House bureau chief A.J. Higgins. MPBN will also air promotional announcements on its television and radio stations in advance of the debates asking citizens to submit their own questions for the candidates through MPBN’s Web site at MPBN.net.

Production costs for these three debates are being shared by MPBN, Colby College, Bowdoin College and the Emily Farley Fund of the League of Women Voters of the Portland Area. MPBN was founded by the University of Maine System and Colby, Bates and Bowdoin Colleges.

Snowe to Host Hearing on Future of Maine’s Groundfishing Industry

Senator Olympia Snowe, ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmospheres, Fisheries and Coast Guard, will host a field hearing in Portland on Tuesday, October 14, addressing the future of Maine’s groundfishery given impending changes to the fishery’s regulatory structure. The hearing, which begins at 1 p.m., will be held in the council chambers at Portland City Hall, 389 Congress Street.

The New England Fishery Management Council is currently developing new management measures for fishing year 2010 that would drastically change the manner in which the fishery operates, and the National Marine Fisheries Service is developing new, and, says Senator Snowe, “potentially devastating” interim regulations for fishing year 2009.

In light of these developments, the hearing will focus on three major topics: 1) the development of and need for the regulations; 2) the state of the science that informs the fisheries managers; and 3) the long-term viability of the industry in the state of Maine.

The public will have an opportunity to comment and ask questions.

A July at Little Field Home in Malawi

The Little Field Home in Malawi, Africa, houses 72 orphans and supports 50 families. The Friends of Little Field Home, created by Janet Littlefield of Union in 2005, is an organization devoted to providing financial and developmental support for the orphanage and medical clinic. Eighteen-year-old Annie Hart of Rockport (pictured above reading to some of the children) spent July at the orphanage, in Chigamba Village in the southeast corner of Malawi. The village has neither electricity nor running water, and many of the residents suffer from HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.

“Annie worked extensively with the community on HIV/AIDS and sex education, and she delivered malaria nets to village residents,” says Janet Littlefield, who led the trip and is executive director of Friends of Little Field Home. “She worked tirelessly to give hope to the vulnerable children in this poverty-stricken area.”

Says Hart, “The trip passed by in a blink, each day was a new joy for me. Playing with the children in the dirt brought me back to my own childhood and reminded me of how much we take for granted. I think of the kids often, but mostly I remember their smiles and laughs and it makes me miss them so much…. The relationships are what I cherish most, and that’s why leaving Malawi and the orphanage to come home to the United States where we have so much was one of the hardest things that I’ve ever had to do. We changed their lives, even if it was for a short while and, in turn, they changed ours for a lifetime. I hope that I can return to Africa someday when I’m older and wiser, because there is so much need, and now that I’ve gotten a glimpse of it, I want to help as much as I can.”

The Friends of Little Field Home will host a benefit auction on Sunday, October 26, from 4 to 6 p.m. at McMahon’s Grille on Commercial Street in Camden. Admission is free, though there is a suggested donation of $20 to benefit the Friends of Little Field Home. For more information about the organizaton, go to www.littlefieldhome.org.

Teachers in Space Seeking Pathfinder Astronauts

Teachers in Space is seeking two Pathfinder Astronauts who will become the first astronaut teachers to fly in space and return to the classroom.

“Unlike the Educator Astronaut program, which takes teachers out of schools to join the NASA astronaut corps, we want to put astronaut teachers into American classrooms,” says Teachers in Space project manager Edward Wright.

“TIS will allow teachers to keep their day jobs,” Wright said. Pathfinder Astronauts will train on weekends and during the summer, so they will be able to keep their their full-time teaching jobs. “There will be about three weeks of training in total, which will include both spaceflight training and professional development activities to improve their abilities as teachers,” according to Wright.

After flying in space, Pathfinder Astronauts will be invited to return each summer to help teach the training course for new astronaut teachers. Eventually, Teachers in Space would like to fly 200 teachers a year, four from each and every state in the Union.

Teachers in Space began as a NASA project to fly a single teacher aboard the Space Shuttle. The original TIS project ended when the Challenger accident claimed the life of teacher Christa McAuliffe.

NASA replaced Teachers in Space with the Educator Astronaut program, in which former teachers become full-time NASA employees. The original vision of putting an astronaut back into an American classroom was lost. That vision is now being revived by the new Teachers in Space program, a nonprofit project of the Space Frontier Foundation and the United States Rocket Academy.

Rather than relying on the Space Shuttle, the Teachers in Space program will use the new reusable suborbital spacecraft now being developed by American industry. These new spacecraft, which promise dramatic improvements in cost and safety, will enable large numbers of teachers to fly in space. “We want to put 1,000 astronaut teachers into American schools, within the next decade,” Wright says.

The Pathfinder Astronauts will blaze the path for all the teachers who follow. Pathfinder application forms and information about the application process are available at www.teachers-in-space.org/apply/apply.htm. Applications may be submitted between now and December 4. Finalists will be announced and training will begin in 2009. The spaceflights are expected to take place some time in 2010 or 2011.

Ground Broken for Veterans Cemetery in Southern Maine

On Tuesday ground was broken for the new Southern Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Springvale, about 35 miles southwest of Portland. Governor Baldacci, Major General John W. Libby and other state and local officials were on hand for the ceremony.

“When the cemetery is complete, the southern part of Maine will finally have a place to properly honor those veterans who have passed on,” Governor Baldacci said. “This is an important obligation we have to the men and women who have done so much for us.” The goal is to have the cemetery available to veterans and their spouses by October 2009.

The Southern Maine Veterans Cemetery will cover about 90 acres of land and will be built in three phases. The first includes a 12-acre development that will provide 3,196 full-casket burial sites and 1,298 in-ground cremation burial sites.

With the Southern Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Maine will have four veterans’ cemeteries; there are two in Augusta and one in Caribou.

Foreign Auto Festival Coming to Owls Head

Porsche will be the featured marque at the Owls Head Transportation Museum’s Foreign Auto Festival & Antique Aeroplane Show.

More than 150 antique automobiles from around the world will rally at the Owls Head Transportation Museum this Sunday, October 12, for the museum’s annual Foreign Auto Festival and Antique Aeroplane Show. In addition to owners of pre-1988 foreign automobiles, all owners of Porsches of any year are invited to exhibit their vehicles free of charge.

This annual event attracts foreign car enthusiasts from all over the state, and vehicles from luxury sedans to high-performance sports cars. The variety can be impressive: Austin-Healey, MG, Triumph, Porsche, Ferrari, Citroen, Mercedes, BMW, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Jaguar, Volkswagen and more. The meet draws a large number of Japanese models as well.

The museum welcomes all pre-1988 vehicles to exhibit at any of its events. Car clubs from throughout the state are encouraged to rally at this, the final event of the museum’s outdoor season.

Event sponsor Portland Volvo of Scarborough will have several 2009 Volvo models on display, including the new Volvo CX60, the manufacturer’s latest entry in the cross-over market. Among its many features is new laser technology that allows the car to stop by itself.

As part of the day’s activities the museum will demonstrate a few of its turn-of-the-century automobiles as well as give free rides in Ford Model Ts. Special children’s activities and museum tours are planned. Young children can practice their driving skills in the Kids Corral area, which features pedal cars and pedal planes.

The antique aeroplane show will begin at 9:30 a.m., weather permitting. Seeing action will be the 1917 Nieuport 28C.1, 1917 SPAD XIII and the 1916 Royal Aircraft Factory FE8 among others. An open flightline will allow visitors to get an up close look at the planes as well as talk to the pilots.

The museum will auction rides aboard its 1941 Stearman and 1933 Waco biplanes. Rides may be taken through the 2009 season and are transferable. The Stearman carries one passenger, the Waco carries two.

Gates open at 9:30 am. Open daily year round, the Owls Head Transportation Museum is located on Route 73, two miles south of Rockland. For more information call 594-4418 or visit the museum online at www.owlshead.org.

Brownies present check for new playground —

On Monday, Brownies from Troop 1289 presented Rockport Elementary School principal Jan Staples with a check for $351.30 as a contribution to the new playground. The money came from a yard sale the girls held this summer to raise money for the playground. Pictured from left to right are: Eliza Brown, Megan Gordon, Staples, Augusta Stockman, and Aubrey Engeriser (not pictured: Brownie Sydney White).

Model Train Enthusiasts Sought as Volunteers by Farnsworth

The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland is looking for skilled model train and miniature enthusiasts to assist with the museum’s annual Share the Wonder holiday train exhibit. Volunteers will work closely with curatorial and other museum staff to transform the downstairs Wyeth Center gallery into what has become a favorite local tradition among children and adults.

Volunteers are also needed to assist with trimming holiday trees in the Wyeth Center and the main museum lobby as well as decorating in general. Volunteer opportunities start November 19 through November 26, 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. To take part in preparing for this community event, call Niki Dabrio, volunteer and events coordinator at 596-6457, extension 143, for further details.

Island Fellows Begin Work in 12 Maine Communities

The Island Institute has announced the placement of eight new Island Fellows and four second-year Fellows in communities from Down East to Casco Bay to work on local projects. The 12 host communities are Peaks Island, Cliff Island, Islesford, Monhegan, Matinicus, North Haven, Long Island, Vinalhaven, Chebeague, Isle Au Haut, Deer-Isle-Stonington and Rockland. These college and master’s-degree graduates will provide expertise and new resources for projects focused on affordable housing, health care, education, economic development, alternative energy, municipal government, and resource management.

For almost 10 years, the Island Fellows program has met the needs of community-based organizations on Maine’s 15 year-round islands or in its working-waterfront communities for an “extra set of hands” and additional skills to help further local efforts. The results have been positive, and several of the 60-plus Island Fellows already placed have chosen to stay on after their fellowships have ended. A handful of them have married local residents, and their growing new families have been welcomed into the community.

The Island Institute, a membership-based nonprofit with offices in Rockland and Portland, is celebrating its 25th year of seeking a balanced future for the islands and waters of the Gulf of Maine. Philip Conkling, the Institute’s president and co-founder, believes that, since its inception in 1999, the Island Fellows program has become perhaps the organization’s most valued and visible program. “We continue to be astonished,” he said recently, “at the degree to which our host communities embrace their new Fellows, and at how eagerly these young people tackle difficult tasks.”

For more information on the Island Fellows program, or to learn more about the 2008-09 Fellows, visit www.islandinstitute.org/isl-and_fellows.php.

Union Fair Recognizes Hoopers

Left to right, Irene Hawes, fair trustee and museum curator, Clark Hooper, Martha Hooper

On Saturday, September 20, the Union Fair Committee recognized outstanding volunteers in service to the fair at a dinner held in the fair restaurant. Recognized were Clark and Martha Hooper of Union for their exceptional service to the Matthews Museum and Fair.

The Hoopers received a plaque presented before more than 50 other volunteers by fair trustee Irene Hawes. They served throughout the week in several capacities. Each spent many hours at the museum booth in the crafts exhibition hall and in the museum itself. At the booth, they sold items raising funds for the museum and directed visitors to the museum. In the museum they served as guides, sources of information for visitors and as registrars of those attending.

Martha serves as secretary to the museum board of directors throughout the year and Clark assists on the board and with various tasks around the museum as well.

Volunteers Needed for Cash for Clothes

Cash for Clothes needs volunteers. Individuals willing to give four hours of their time this month will become eligible to shop at the pre-opening sale. Volunteers are needed to work on various aspects of this quality, used-clothing sale that benefits The Coastal Workshop, a private, nonprofit corporation that assists adults with mental retardation. Call Nancy Wolfertz at 594-5429 to volunteer to help. The sale will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 25 through 27. Volunteers are needed soon to make this a successful event.

Freedom Riders Enlists Help of Bolduc Building Trades Students

Standing in front of one of the run-in sheds (left to right): Freedom Riders therapy horse First Frost held by program manager and instructor Barbara Ezell, construction crew (in white shirts) William McNeil, Paul Mason, Tyrone Charles, Israel Smith and (in dark shirt) Bolduc building trades instructor Barry Roe. Other members of the construction crew not pictured are Richard McKechnie and Orlando Perkins.

Freedom Riders therapeutic horseback riding programs recently received several weeks of community service work performed by the Bolduc Correctional Facility Building Trades students. Freedom Riders was in need of two run-in sheds for their outdoor corrals and solicited Bolduc’s Building Trades Program for help. Freedom Riders paid for all materials and the construction work was completed by students in the Building Trades Program under the supervision of program instructor Barry Roe. Run-in sheds are used by the horses to get out of the hot sun and inclement weather when outside.

Bolduc’s building trade course requires students to commit to training for six-months. The course is a basic class in building intended to instruct a student in the fundamentals of the building process, tools, material and safety procedures. Also covered in detail are plans and specifications, footings and foundations, floor framing, wall and ceiling framing, roof framing and roof materials and methods. At the end of the six-month course students will be expected to understand the basic building process and take a job as a rough carpenter or helper with a minimum of supervision. Students also receive a certificate of course completion.

“This was great opportunity for the students to learn how things were built years ago. I decided to alter the original plan given to me and use a sturdier construction method which was post and beam,” says Roe. “This is a method not used very often in the building trade today, because it is very labor intensive, therefore costly. This was a smaller project, a great opportunity to teach the students something not generally in our program.”

Freedom Riders is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide educational and therapeutic horseback riding programs to physically, mentally and emotionally challenged individuals. To learn more about Freedom Riders programs, call 273-2282 or visit www.freedomridersmaine.org.

A Fresh Face at Sisters Two Hair Design —

Sisters Two has announced the addition of Shari Withee to its group of hair stylists. Withee brings over
23 years of experience with her. Former clients and new ones may call 596-0424 for an appointment. Sisters Two is located at 82 Camden Street in Rockland.

Union Farm Staff Attend Kubota Meeting

Representatives from Union Farm Equipment of Union recently attended Kubota Tractor Corporation’s 2008 National Dealer Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. More than 1,000 Kubota dealers from across the country convened to get a first look at Kubota’s new products for 2009, including tractors, construction equipment, utility vehicles, and lawn and garden equipment. During the annual meeting Union Farm Equipment also attended field demonstrations and classroom sessions and gained hands-on driving experience for Kubota’s new soon-to-be-released products.

Three New Practitioners at Synergy Massage

Left to right, Amanda Rich, Jeanne Tisone and Kathy Kandziolka have joined the staff of Synergy Massage and Bodywork in Rockland.

Synergy Massage and Bodywork, in downtown Rockland, has welcomed three practioners to its staff — Jeanne Tisone, Kathy Kandziolka and Amanda Rich. Synergy opened in March of this year at 7 Limerock Street.

Tisone, originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, relocated to South Thomaston three years ago. Certified by the International Institute of Reflexology, she has practiced reflexology for 25 years. Before coming to Maine, Tisone was the owner of a health and wellness store in Milwaukee.

Kandziolka is a licensed massage therapist who graduated from Namaste Institute for Holistic Studies in Rockport and the Lotus Palm School of Thai Yoga Massage. She is versatile in both therapeutic and Thai yoga massage.

Rich has been working in the health field for the last nine years. She has been a licensed massage therapist for the last three years, having graduated from the Downeast School of Massage in Waldoboro in 2005. She has taught group fitness classes since 2000, including yoga and Pilates, which she teaches at the Samoset Resort, and is also a Reiki I practitioner.