Just a reminder. There is no lunch meeting this week.
We are looking forward to fellowship, entertainment, and a wonderful dinner prepared by Chef Limoggio and the students of Westbrook Regional Vocational Center. Reservations have closed, but we may have room for just a few more.
When: Tuesday March 17
Where: Westbrook Regional Vocational Center Culinary Arts Dining Room
Time: 6:00 PM social, 6:30 dinner followed by entertainment by The Crooners
Cost: $20
Entree choice:
Coq au Vin - A French classic. Chicken braised in red wine, finished with pearl onions, mushrooms and bacon; served with rice pilaf and seasonal vegetables.
Vegetarian - Three cheese spinach and porcini mushroom lasagna served en casserole
Meal includes appetizer, salad, entree and dessert. If you are interested, contact Christine Johnson cejinmaine@aol.com or 797-3747.
Peter Milholland, Citizen Stewards Coordinator for Friends of Casco Bay, joined us on March 3. Peter has long experience volunteering with environmental groups and joined the staff of Friends of Casco Bay in 1995.
Friends of Casco Bay was started 25 years ago by folks who lived in the area around Casco Bay. They were spurred on by a 1989 report which described the poor health of the Bay due to things like oil discharge and sewage. At the time, there was no group to place focus on the ongoing health of the Bay or to advocate for the changes needed. The first employee was Joe Payne, the Bay Keeper, who retired earlier this year. While the Bay Keeper holds the official title, trained citizen volunteers are critical to the organization’s mission.
In 1993, Friends of Casco Bay was certified to train volunteers based on EPA standards so that data can be used by Federal and State Agencies in making decision and setting policies. They train citizen scientists to perform water testing: pH, clarity, temperature, among other factors. Over the years, they have been able to refine the sampling process to become more efficient and effective in the data gathering. These volunteers are also trained so they can be effective advocates for the Bay, for example, in the area of nitrogen pollution mitigation and prevention.
Programs they sponsor include storm drain stenciling and support of STEM education. Storm drain stenciling has proven to be a great project for groups. Stencils are used to paint a message next to storm drains warning that the drains empty into Casco Bay. It is hoped that these warnings will discourage dumping of chemicals into storm drains. In support of STEM education, they work with teachers to educate them about the Bay for use in school science curricula.
One recent project is associated with the dredging of Portland Harbor. Prior to dredging, they worked with fisherman to develop a program to capture juvenile lobsters and relocate them. They expected to find no more than 5000 in the Harbor. In fact, they found over 35,000! All of these juvenile lobsters were moved just hours before dredging began.
Snow removal has become a big issue this year, given the high snow fall levels across the region. Snow is like a sponge. It absorbs pollutants from the air as it falls, then picks up dirt from roads, salt, exhaust, pet waste, litter, etc, on the ground. When it melts, it will carry those pollutants into streams and waterways. Direct plowing into the ocean has not been allowed for at least 20 years, but placement and design of snow dumps is still crucial to avoid pollution during melting.
Maine law allows snow dumps within 20 feet of waterways. Friends of Casco Bay is advocating with municipalities to site snow dumps at least 100 feet from coastal waterways. They are also advocating for the use of brine as a road pre-treatment to reduce the salt entering the environment. Other actions they advocate to mitigate effects of snow melt: place snow dumps in fields with good percolation that will effectively clean the meltwater as it seeps into the ground; surround snow dumps with salt-tolerant vegetation to reduce run off; remove sand and litter from the snow dump areas after the snow melts.
To read more about this organization or to join them, visit their website: http://www.cascobay.org/
Gift of Life, a Rotary sponsored organization and an international project of the Westbrook-Gorham Rotary Club, brought two children from the Republica Dominica to Maine on February 9 for heart operations. We had the pleasure of meeting them on February 24.
Guests at our meeting were the two children, Cristal Espinosa and Yeremy Berroa, and their mothers, Ingri Beltre and Valentina Mateo. Accompanying them was Sarah Taylor and her niece Abby. Sarah is a member of the Gift of Life, and serves as a friend and interpreter, as the children and their mothers only speak Spanish. Sarah was instrumental in coordinating with members of the Rotary Club of Portland which worked with our club in obtaining warm clothing and boots as well as assisting in doctor and lab appointments.
Cristal and Yeremy had their hearts operated on by Dr. Reid Quinn at Maine Medical Center. Without these operations, Cristal and Yeremy would not have been expected to live beyond the age of 18.
Cristal’s operation was completed Friday February 13. When we met her on the 24th, she was so happy and energetic that it was hard to believe that she had undergone major surgery the week before! Yeremy had a successful operation Friday February 28. His mother shed tears of joy and immediately called her family in Republica Dominica and shared the wonderful results.
Thanks got out to Dr. Quinn and his wonderful team; Interpreters, who helped the mothers through all of this; Ronald MacDonald House, which opened its doors to these families; Rotarians, here in Maine, in Massachusetts, and in Republica Dominica. All came together to give these children a chance for a long life.
Gorham Interim Police Chief Chris Sanborn and Patrol Officer Ted Hatch were our special guests and speakers at our February 24th meeting. Chief Sanborn provided an overview of the Gorham Police Department and his career. Officer Hatch spoke about the many programs that the department supports in the community, including: VIPS, TRIAD, SNAP, and Yellow Dot.
Chief Sanborn has been with the Gorham Police Department for over 25 years, the last 10 as Lieutenant. In that time, he has been acting chief on four occasions and has been Interim Chief since November 2014.
The Gorham Police Department celebrated 50 years as a full time police force last year. To serve their community of about 16,000 residents, they currently have 23 sworn officers, 2 staff members, and 1 part time animal control officer. They receive dispatches through Cumberland County dispatch center and handled over 13,000 calls last year. Two of their officers are partnered with the school department as School Resource Officers. Ten of the 23 are patrol officers.
The following programs were mentioned and brochures describing them in more detail were made available:
The VIPS (Volunteers in Police Service) are a group of ordinary citizens who are dedicated to community service and public awareness. They work through the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and are highly trained to assist the department in support services, patrol, and detective divisions. Any citizen can volunteer and receives the same training as police reserve officers. Activities they can be involved with include directing traffic at fire, accident or crime scenes; house checks on seasonal properties; neighborhood patrols.
Gorham-Westbrook TRIAD’s mission it to reduce criminal victimization of older citizens, enhance the delivery of law enforcement services and improve the quality of life for seniors in the community. Gorham and Westbrook partner in this program, providing a forum to discuss concerns of seniors. They also educate by sponsoring programs on crime prevention, fraud, home security, elder abuse and community safety. Seniors can work with program business partners like home services groups and legal services.
SNAP (Senior Neighborhood Awareness Program) is for seniors and disabled residents who need extra reassurance that someone cares. Participants self-identify and provide personal and emergency contact information. Volunteers from VIPS call every morning between 8 and 10AM to make sure the person is okay. If they don’t answer, someone goes to the home to check on the person.
The Yellow Dot Program is designed to alert first responders to vital personal information in the event of an automobile accident when a person cannot communicate for themselves. This is a cooperative program between law enforcement and emergency medical services. While targeted towards seniors, anyone can participate. Participants complete a personal information form and wallet card that lists emergency contact info, allergies, necessary medicines and dosages, and names of doctors. They have their picture taken, and place the completed packet in their glove compartment. Finally they affix a yellow dot sticker in the rear window of their car. This sticker alerts first responders to look for the information packet that will help during that first “golden hour” of emergency care.
February 23rd marked an important date, the 110th anniversary of Rotary International. On that day in 1905, Rotary founder Paul Harris formed one of the world’s first service organizations, the Rotary Club of Chicago, as a place where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. Since then, Rotary has continued its commitment to service by providing clean water, improving maternal health, awarding scholarships, fighting diseases, and improving lives around the world.
This year, also marked the 30th anniversary of the PolioPlus program. Since the fight to end polio began, 2 billion children have been immunized, 10 million children have been saved from lifelong paralysis and 125 countries have been declared polio-free.
In honor of this anniversary, all proceeds from our lunch meeting on Tuesday February 24th will be donated to the PolioPlus program. The Board will confirm the amount at our next meeting. Thanks to all who attended.
