Educational partnership

ORONO – Owen P. Maurais, who recently retired as superintendent of Old Town schools, will provide leadership and coordination for the Penobscot River Educational Partnership: A Professional Development Network, consisting of eight area school districts, a regional vocational-technical center and the University of Maine.

Maurais has been active in the consortium since its beginnings in 1996 when a group of area superintendents formed a partnership to share and develop resources to address common needs and issues. About the same time, the UMaine College of Education and Human Development was redesigning its teacher preparation program, including professional development for educators, in partnership with some of the same area schools. The two groups officially merged in 1999.

Successful collaboration is based on mutual needs, compatible missions and the belief that best work is done together, said Maurais, who believes the partnership can become a statewide model.

Members of the partnership are Brewer; Bucksport; Union 90, consisting of Alton, Bradley, Greenbush and Milford; Indian Island; Union 91, Orrington and Orland; Old Town; SAD 22, Hampden, Newburgh and Winterport; Union 87, Orono and Veazie; United Technologies Center in Bangor; and the University of Maine.

“Owen’s leadership experience and proven commitment to collaboration will be tremendous assets to the partnership,” said Robert Cobb, chairman of the partnership’s executive committee and dean of the University of Maine College of Education and Human Development.

Maurais will work on partnership development and communication, and be a resource connection between the university and public schools. He will provide support for two governing boards comprising partnership members. He also will keep the partnership focused on the goals of its strategic plan and the resources needed to meet immediate and long-range challenges presented by state and federal regulations.

“Student assessment is a key concern of everyone in education,” said Maurais. School districts face deadlines for compliance with the Maine Learning Results and the federal No Child Left Behind educational reform act. “We want the schools to benefit from shared experiences and move together in meeting expectations for getting good local assessments in place.”

Maurais earned bachelor’s and graduate degrees in special education and educational administration at UMaine and a master’s degree in business from Husson College. He started his career as a special education teacher in Van Buren and came to Old Town schools in 1974, where he initiated services for exceptional children and served as director of special education from 1979 to 1985. He became an administrator in 1985, and served in the top post until retiring.

The executive director’s position is funded by the partnership and is housed in Shibles Hall at UMaine. More information is available at www.preppdn.org.

For Kids’ Sake

BANGOR – Chefs at seven Bangor-area restaurants are showing that the good guys really do wear white hats.

The chefs are whisking up wonders for Bangor’s first hors d’oeuvres taste-off to benefit For Kids’ Sake, a nonprofit resource for divorcing and separating families. They are donating their most creative and tempting appetizers to help raise money for the organization’s programs.

The taste-off is part of the organization’s first fund-raiser, Go Gala For Kids’ Sake, from 7 p.m. to midnight Oct. 4, at Norumbega Hall in Bangor.

Restaurants that will offer up their best hors d’oeuvres to be judged by gala guests are: Chocolate Grille, Guinness & Porcelli’s, Momma B’s Kitchen, New Moon Cafe, Oriental Jade, The Lion and Thistle’s. Culinary arts students from Bangor Job Corps Center and Eastern Maine Community College also are whetting their appetites for the competition.

Gov. John Baldacci and his wife, Karen, will be special guests at the gala, and the governor will give brief remarks at 8 p.m. on the importance of parent education for divorcing families.

Each year some 8,000 divorces are filed in Maine courts. Often, children are caught between angry parents fighting legal battles. For Kids’ Sake helps get children out of the middle of the conflict by teaching their parents skills to help them co-parent after divorce.

Gala guests will listen to the music of Acappellago; dance to The Skyliners, a 15-piece band playing music of the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s; and have the chance to bid on donated items in silent and live auctions. Dick Cattelle is offering his experience as a charity auctioneer, and WLBZ anchor Ric Tyler will be master of ceremonies.

Continental Connections has donated two round-trip tickets anywhere in the continental United States. For Kids’ Sake is offering this gift as a door prize.

Tickets are $25 and are available by calling 942-0859 or contacting For Kids’ Sake board members: Beth Baldacci, Steve Blackwell, Ron Brown, Karen Grindle, the Rev. Elaine Hewes, Kerry Jordan, John Lorenz, Cheryl Olson, Diana Prescott and Don Winslow.

Downeast Russian School

BANGOR – Downeast Russian School Inc. held an informational meeting Wednesday at Bangor Public Library.

Natalia Abramova, who has a doctorate, spoke about recent advances in foreign language learning, and about programs and classes offered by Downeast Russian School. These include explorations of Russian language, Russian and Ukrainian cuisine, folklore, games and others.

Registration forms are available. The registration deadline is Oct. 6, and classes start Oct. 15. The school is a nonprofit organization registered with the state of Maine. For information, e-mail natabra@yahoo.com, or leave a message at 262-9727.

Bike safety

Thirty years ago, 60 percent of schoolchildren biked or walked to school. In one generation this percentage has been reduced to only 6 percent of Maine schoolchildren bicycling or walking to school.

The Bicycle Coalition of Maine and the Maine Department of Transportation want to help keep the roads safe for children who are bicycling and walking to and from school this fall. “Maine Safe Ways to Schools” fliers offer tips for kids to help them walk and bike safely, and for adults to help keep the roads safe for children.

For information, contact the BCM at 623-4511 or BCM@BikeMaine.org, or visit the Web site at www.BikeMaine.org.

Penobscot Christian School

BANGOR – Penobscot Christian School boys and girls teams placed first in the middle school cross-country meet held Sept. 18. Other participating schools were Indian Island, Hichborn and Central.

Individual results for PCS runners are: girls division: Casey McGill, second; Rebecca McGill, third; Gretchen Veevaert, fifth; Erin Bousfield, sixth; Grace McGill, eighth; Emma Johnson, 12th; and Leah Dorman, 13th; boys division: Seth Dorman, second; Jess Elliot, sixth; Austin Trundy, seventh; Harry Slininger, eighth; Windham Veevaert, ninth; Chris Slininger, 13th.

Both PCS teams placed second while competing against Central, SeDoMoCha and Reeds Brook on Sept. 11. Penobscot Christian School cross-country is coached by Jane Veevaert, Millie McGill and Marie Johnson.

After-school art program

BANGOR – Windover Art Center is expanding its program for children ages 7-14 to 9 Central St., Suites 209 and 305.

Hours are 3-6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Many of the teachers who have taught at the center’s Newburgh location during the summer months will teach at the Central Street location, including Tree Heckler, fabric art; Jeanette Larkin, stained glass, drawing and painting; Laura Fer, silk screen, sculpture and video; and Abby Shink, pottery. To learn more about the program, call 234-4503 or 990-2823.

Colleges

New England School of Communications

BANGOR – Thirty-two people at the New England School of Communications, an affiliate of Husson College, are adjunct instructors this year. They offer their services and experience on a part-time basis to the school while maintaining full-time jobs in fields related to their teaching expertise.

This fall, six new adjunct instructors began duties at NESCom, which now has an enrollment of 230 students.

Two of the teachers are executives with Sephone Internet Solutions of Bangor, a firm that provides Web applications, Web hosting, consulting, training and marketing for businesses on the East Coast. Joe Distefano assists with the curriculum and Scott Traylor teaches digital imaging and Web design.

Other new adjunct faculty are Katherine Grant of Birch Harbor, who teaches algebra and also teaches math at Husson College; Mary Lyon of Bangor, who teaches marketing and is director of community relations and development at the Charles A. Dean Memorial Hospital in Greenville; Steve Vachon of Bangor, who teaches electronic field production and lighting and is a production assistant at WLBZ-TV in Bangor; and Tracy Houston of Glenburn who teaches English composition and is an English teacher at Husson.

Norwich University

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Blake Civiello of Bangor and Brian Groshon of Hampden were named Norwich University Scholars at the university’s convocation ceremony Sept. 9.

U.S. Military Academy

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Cadet Conrad Brown was named to the dean’s list at the U.S. Military Academy. A 2002 graduate of John Bapst Memorial High School, he is the son of Christopher and Gail Brown of Dedham.

University of Maine

ORONO – University of Maine faculty and students are moving into renovated laboratories, offices and seminar classrooms in Aubert Hall. The public will have a chance to tour the new facilities during an open house at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1.

UMaine President Peter S. Hoff and Arthur Ellis, director of the chemistry division of the National Science Foundation, will provide remarks at the event that begins in the Aubert Hall lobby, which faces the tree-lined mall. Refreshments will be provided. The renovated space is fully accessible to people with disabilities.

The university’s department of chemistry is the principal occupant of Aubert Hall. The School of Marine Sciences also has two labs and administrative offices in the newly renovated third floor. The renovations include new chemistry labs equipped with state-of-the-art ventilation hoods and bench-top work spaces.

Computational chemistry research and instructional space are in the center of the building, with facilities that handle chemicals located at both ends. These “wet” chemistry labs are served by separate ventilation systems.

Much of the department’s research and instructional instrumentation, such as the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers, liquid chromatography mass spectrometer, gas chromatography mass spectrometer, and the Fourier transforming ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer, will be housed in the renovated laboratories.

Faculty and students conduct research in areas including chemical and biological sensors, biological and medicinal chemistry, wood and paper chemistry, environmental chemistry and surface chemistry.

Renovations are the first phase of an estimated $21 million project. The Maine Legislature and the UM System have funded $9 million and $3 million respectively.

Named in honor of Alfred Bellamy Aubert, professor of chemistry from 1874 to 1909, Aubert Hall was built in 1914 to house the departments of chemistry and chemical engineering.

ORONO – The three Saturn vehicles that arrived on the University of Maine campus on Sept. 20 never will see the open road. General Motors Corp. donated them to the College of Engineering for use in the Advanced Manufacturing Center for research and educational purposes.

The vehicles include a complete car, a cut-away car and a car to be used for parts. The cut-away car is strategically sectioned to expose the frame and mechanical parts.

“The cars will bring an automotive focus to students,” said Chet Rock, associate dean of the college. “The donation requires us not to drive the cars or sell any of the parts. Otherwise they can be used in any manner for experiments. GM has a fantastic internship program and our students will also have a good chance of participating.”

Glen Brenna, manager of general assembly at the Saturn manufacturing plant in Wilmington, Del., presented the cars in a ceremony on the mall on the UMaine campus during Family and Friends Weekend.

President Peter S. Hoff and Larryl Matthews, dean of engineering, accepted the gift on behalf of the university. Bob Quirk of Quirk Auto Park, General Motors dealer in Bangor, also was present.

The idea for the donation came from John T. Forester, a graduate student in the department of mechanical engineering at UMaine. Forester received his bachelor’s degree from UMaine and interned for two summers at the Wilmington Saturn plant before he graduated. He suggested the donation to Rock.

Automotive design has been a focus for UMaine students through the annual Tour de Sol, a solar vehicle competition in the Northeast. Paul van Steenberghe of the department of mathematics and statistics coordinates the UMaine team, which has entered a custom-built battery-powered car and a solar-assisted pickup truck. The team repeatedly has finished in first place in its category.

The Advanced Manufacturing Center designs and builds prototypes of new products and manufacturing equipment for private companies and research laboratories.