Local Students Shine in Odysseyof the Mind Competition

By Jim Kanak
Staff Columnist
YORK COUNTY —

Students from school districts serving Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Wells, Ogunquit, and York had great success at the Odyssey of the Mind State Tournament in Sanford on Saturday, Mar. 28. Together, the three districts qualified 10 teams to participate in the World Finals in Ames, Iowa in late May. In all, 29 teams from the school districts participated in the event.
“We had nine teams altogether that competed,” said Susan Onion, one of the Wells-Ogunquit coaches. “Five teams qualified for the Worlds, four placed first and one second.”
Students participate in five different divisions and in different problem areas in the Odyssey of the Mind competition. Divisions include primary (Kindergarten through grade two), division one (grades three through five), division two (grades six through eight), division three (high school) and division four (college).
The primary division teams do not compete but rather use the tournament to get oriented to the Odyssey of the Mind program. The other four divisions compete in categories of pre-assigned projects where they must create something and also must complete a spontaneous project given the day of the event. The former is worth 250 points, the latter worth 100. Despite having coaches, the students must come up with the completed projects themselves. Only first and second place finishers move on to the next phase.
For example, the team Onion coaches, a division two group of seven eighth graders, competed in a category called Shock Waves. “Using balsa wood, they created a structure that weighed less than 18 grams and was eight inches high,” Onion said. “The goal is to have it hold as much weight as possible. Theirs held 840 pounds. Then they had to create a skit about it.”
That team finished first. Other first place finishers in Wells-Ogunquit included division two teams coached by Matt McDonnell and Shannon Emerton (Earth Trek), Colleen Forde and Patti Brann (Teach Yer Creature), and Gail Moulton (Superstition). Mark Kafkas’ division one team finished second with its problem of the Lost Labor of Heracles.
“They created a skit eight minutes long to explain one of his labors and then created a new (labor) of their own,” Onion explained.
MSAD 71 (Kennebunk, Kennebunkport) District Coordinator Stacy Schatzabel said two teams had qualified. “We had 12 teams participate,” she said. “The Middle School of the Kennebunk’s took second place for its Superstition team (coached by Iris Sherman) and the high school took second for its Earth Trek team (coached by Carrie Tracy). We had more teams this year participate. We had five primary teams. They’re not judged but are here for the experience.”
York has the distinction of having three teams qualify, including the only division four team competing. That team included District Coordinator Michele Freitag, a Masters candidate at the University of Southern Maine, two of her sons, students at York County Community College, and two other college students. They competed under the name of the community college.
“In order for us to use YCCC’s name, my son had to start a club to organize the team,” Freitag said. “Division four teams automatically go to the Worlds because there aren’t many of them. Maybe there are 20 in total.”
The York Middle School Superstition team, coached by Julie Eneman and Dani Stevenson, garnered a first place finish. The Coastal Ridge Elementary School Shockwaves team, also coached by Eneman, grabbed a second place. In total eight teams from York participated at Sanford.
Qualifying is just one hurdle, however. Teams now have to find a way to cover the expenses of getting to Iowa and staying there for four or five days.
“The coaches are discussing that with the parents and families of the kids,” said Onion. Onion noted that last year, her team engaged groups like the Wells Rotary Club to help raise money.
Schatzabel identified the same issue in Kennebunk. “The Middle School team is going for sure,” she said. “I don’t know about the high school team.”
Regardless, York’s Freitag said the program was an invaluable one for the students. “The kids would tell you the best part is that adults can’t tell you what to do,” she said. ‘The (problem solving) totally belongs to them. Other benefits are that it gives the creative kids a chance to shine. It’s a great place for kids who think differently and outside the box. OM cherishes that.”

Team Rosters for Odyssey on the Mind World Finals

MSAD71 Qualifiers
Second Place Teams

Middle School of the Kennebunk’s - division 2 - Superstition: Matthew Sherman, Matthew Rimmer, Noah Ciminean, Tyler Dumas, Caleb Voisine-Addis, Katherine Richard, Victoria Cabral, Coach: Iris Sherman.
Kennebunk High School - division 3 - Earth Trek: Caitlin Dalrymple, Jessica Langlais, Dylan Corrao, Evan Clough, Ashley Haroldson, Coach: Carrie Tracy.

York Qualifiers
First Place Teams

York Middle School - division 1 - Superstition Team: Abigail Eneman, Emily Knoettner, Rachel Stevenson, Christine Ellis, Tressa Ellis, Marina McCarthy, Sadie Arsenault, Coaches: Julie Eneman and Dani Stevenson.
YCCC - division 4 - Heracles Team: Michele Freitag, Michael Freitag, Thomas Freitag, Allison Novak, Nicholas Trent.
Second Place Team
Coastal Ridge Elementary - division 1 - Shockwaves Team: Brooks Kennedy, Mairead Murphy, Emma DiMuzio, Benjamin Eneman, Elliott Gear, Jesse Bettencourt, Coach: Julie Eneman.

Wells-Ogunquit Qualifiers
First Place Teams

Division 2 - Earth Trek: Ben Wright, Hunter McDonnell, Zachary Pierce, Tyler Bartlett, Cody Cousins, Nick Cousins, Coaches: Matt McDonnell and Shannon Emerton.
Division 2 - Teach Yer Creature: Mike Stivaletta, Joey DeFelice, Connor Heyland, Robert Brann, Justin Villemaire, Zachary Villemaire, Dylan Cody, Coaches: Colleen Forde/Patti Brann.
Division 2 - Superstition: Abigail Moulton, Emily Borkowski, Lexy Haye, Hannah Bragdon, Maddie Taylor, Jenna Ingalls, Ashley Szcsapas, Coach: Gail Moulton.
Division 2 - Shock Waves: Maddie Andrews, Madison Moore, Sean Roche, Paul Michaud, Zoe Onion, Kaitlin Devlin, Ashley Hussey, Coach: Susan Onion.

Second Place Team

Division 1 - Lost Labor of Heracles: Charlie Bell, Kent Kellar, Sam Onion, Kate Macolini, Ian Hussey, Melodie Godin, Taryn Lambert, Coach: Mark Kafkas.

Kennebunk’s Marty Ryan to RetireAfter 40-year Career in Education

By Jim Kanak

Staff Columnist
KENNEBUNK —

Kennebunk High School’s Marty Ryan, a local sports icon, is retiring after eight years as the Athletic Director with the Rams. His career as an educator spanned 40 years, 21 of it as a coach, teacher, and athletic director at Wells High School. The last eight have allowed Ryan to fulfill a career dream: that of being a full time athletics only athletic director.

“I had a goal to work as an athletic director in just athletics,” Ryan said. “That’s the case at Kennebunk High. It has just worked out nicely. I’ve had a very good and supportive administration and a very good, hard working staff.”
Ryan started his career as a coach and business teacher at Narragansett High School in his native Massachusetts. He coached basketball, baseball, and football there – a time consuming endeavor.
“I remember the days in coaching where there was no such thing as a microwave,” Ryan said. “When I got home at 7:30 after practice, sometimes dinners were very well done or cold. I was smart enough not to complain.”
Indeed, Ryan credits his family for offering consistent and strong support as he pursued his career. He lives in Wells with his wife, Judy. Daughter Amy lives in Nashville, where she teaches English as a second language to Somali children. Son Tim is the assistant athletic director at Bowdoin, from whence he graduated.
“I deeply appreciate the support from my family, especially my wife Judy,” Ryan said. “They’ve been very good to me.”
The Ryan’s departed Massachusetts in 1980 after a tax cap law took effect, severely impacting school budgets there. “There was a coach and business teacher opening in Wells,” said Ryan. “The following year, the athletic director position opened up and I got the job.”
Ryan combined his teaching and athletic department functions until 1987, when the AD position morphed into the Director of Student Activities. That change broadened the position’s responsibilities beyond athletics into areas like facilities and scholarship programs. With those additional responsibilities, Ryan no longer had time for teaching.
Over the course of his tenure at the Maine schools, Ryan has had a number of notable achievements. “It’s hard to pick out just one or two,” he said. “I’m proud of the state champions we had in Wells in basketball and football. We installed bleachers at the football field and the synthetic track at Forbes Field. The crown jewel was the fitness center. The community supported those and that was important. “
Of course, there are also great memories in Kennebunk. “I’m quite proud of our successes here, in lacrosse and tennis,” said Ryan. “The move to the SMAA from the Western Maine Conference was a big one. Now the kids just take it for granted but at first there was an intimidation factor. They weren’t used to playing at Biddeford or at Fitzpatrick Stadium or in Sanford. We’ve come a long way. We also had significant facility improvements. Again, the community supported them.”
Ryan noted also that the Rams have won four straight sportsmanship awards, selected by the teams KHS competes against. “No one else has won more than two,” Ryan said.
Over the course of four decades, high school sports have changed, not surprisingly. Ryan made note of some of the important things he’s seen, though he didn’t make any value judgments about them.
“The amount of involvement by parents is much greater,” he said. “They have more of a handle on the child’s development than my parents did, so they’re more involved. That becomes the greatest change. Also, there’s the influence of outside programs. The AAU and others are now quite prevalent.”
Ryan has been active in broader areas of athletic administration and has gained acknowledgement for his work. He was named the National Athletic Director of the Year in 2005 by the National Council of Secondary School Athletic Directors, the only director from New England to win the award. He was inducted in 2007 to the Narragansett High School Hall of Fame as a coach and also to the Wells High Hall of Fame as an athletic administrator. He served as the President of the National Athletic Director’s group in 2001.
“I’ve been fortunate to be able to do things outside my own environment,” said Ryan. “That makes me a better athletic director.”
In retirement, Ryan said he plans to play golf and pursue his passion of fly-fishing. He doesn’t rule out part time work, possibly even some coaching.
He said he’s leaving a good situation for his successor. “This is a good school system, with a balance of academics, athletics, and citizenship,” said Ryan. “The coaches work very hard.”
Photo caption: Marty Ryan retires after lengthy career in education. (Weekly Sentinel photo)

Wells’ Tomaszewski Wins NationalJunior Adaptive Alpine Championship

By Jim Kanak
Staff Columnist
WELLS —
Alex Tomaszewski, 15, is the 2009 Junior Adaptive Alpine Champion in the United States.
Tomaszewski earned the title by sweeping five events at the International Paralympic Committee’s national meet last week in Winter Park, Colo.
“It felt nice,” Tomaszewski said. “I was relieved after every run and would look at my times and the place I was in.”
In his class, that was first in each of the downhill, Super G, slalom, grand slalom, and combined (super G and slalom) events, earning him five gold medals. In addition, Tomaszewski said he placed in the top 10 in every overall event, racing against the nation’s top adaptive skiers.
Tomaszewski also competed in a NORAM downhill race in Winter Park and won that race also, earning a sixth gold medal.
The son of John and Chris Tomaszewski of Wells, Alex was born in Russia without the lower part of his right leg and with only one and a half fingers on his left hand. The Tomaszewski’s adopted Alex when he was 15 months old and brought him to Wells. He skis for Maine Handicap Skiing under coaches Diane Barras and John Freeman.
This is a follow-up to last week’s front page article on Tomaszewski.

Wells’ Alex Tomaszewski Competesin National Ski Competition

By Jim Kanak
Staff Columnist

WELLS —

Wells resident Alex Tomaszewski, 15, faced a big challenge this week. He represented Maine at the International Paralympic Committee’s Alpine Skiing National Championships in Winter Park, Colo. But the current challenge pales in comparison to the significant challenges Alex already has overcome. Born in Russia, Alex was missing the lower part of his right leg and had only one-and-a-half fingers on his left hand. He was placed in an orphanage and lived there for the first months of his life.
Despite that beginning, he has become an alpine skier of some stature in the United States.
“Colorado is a big step for him,” said John Freeman, Alex’s coach for the past four years. “I think he’ll do fairly well. He’s one of the top juniors in the country right now. I have worked with other national level athletes before and he’s got what it takes.”
John and Chris Tomaszewski of Wells adopted Alex when he was 15 months old and brought him to the United States. The Tomaszewski’s live with Alex and his 11 brothers and sisters. Alex started skiing when he was eight.
“A man down the road got us started with Maine Handicapped Skiing,” Alex said. “I spent two years as a trainer and then joined the race team. I’ve been doing that for four or five years.”
The Maine team competes in a race circuit known as the Diana Golden series, named for a Paralympian skier from New England. It consists of races staged across New England and New York. Since Alex has won the series already, he now races in it but does not compete.
“The races in New England are pretty entry level,” said Diane Barras, the head coach of the Maine team. “Alex has developed well beyond that. He’s definitely ready for the national adaptive championships. He’ll be competing against the best athletes in the country, including the National Adaptive Team.”
In Colorado, Alex said he’ll compete in five categories of races, the slalom, grand slalom, super G, downhill, and combined (grand slalom and slalom).
“As I train, I think I’ll be better at the super G,” he said. “It’s a lower step from the fastest speed event, which is the downhill. But the super G is pretty fast.”
Barras will accompany Alex to the race. “He’s excellent on all fronts,” she said. “He knows he’s good but he doesn’t flaunt it. He’s confident and really supportive of his teammates. He’s really come into his own this year.”
In addition to honing his physical skiing skills, Alex also had a challenge finding the right equipment. When he began skiing, his prosthetic leg and foot was fit into a regular ski boot. Because that prosthetic leg itself was rigid, Alex couldn’t have the slight forward inclination for his right leg that a ski boot normally provides. The leg also didn’t fit well into a regular boot. It made it hard to keep the right ski in synch with the left one.
That changed, however, when Alex was able to obtain special ski prostheses that attaches to his leg and fits directly into the binding. The device is shaped at the proper angle thus allowing better control of the ski.
“It works just like a ski boot,” Alex said.
Alex doesn’t limit himself to the Golden series of races. Recently, he skied in an able bodied race against college age skiers and other teens. “I beat 10 college kids (on Mar. 20) at Attitash,” he said. “It was my first ever super G. I think I did pretty well.”
Alex said he skis “60 or so” times a year. “I ski every Saturday with MHS and then on school vacation weeks I go up to my coach’s house at Sugarloaf,” he said.
Beyond Colorado, Alex has his sights set on the 2014 Paralympics, which will be staged, ironically, in Russia. “Hopefully, I can compete in that,” he said. “If I make the U.S. Adaptive team, I have a good chance of going. If I’m on the team, they will pay for me to go.”
Money is something of an issue, given the need for equipment, competitor licenses, and travel expenses. For now, Alex claims two sponsors: Freedom Innovations (they provided the prosthetic boot) and Ski Maine (they provided a free pass usable at any mountain in Maine).
Ultimately, Alex hopes to be a professional skier. Freeman said that’s entirely possible.
“He’s got all the makings to have it happen,” Freeman said. “If he continues to work hard, he’s on track to go as far as he wants.”
Photo caption: Wells teen Alex Tomaszewski in action. Alex competed in a national ski competition in Colorado Mar. 28 through Apr. 2. (Courtesy photo)

York Hospital Gains a New Helipad

By Larry Favinger
Staff Columnist

YORK —

A new helipad is up and operational at York Hospital.
The $150,000 recently completed project at the end of Williams Avenue adjacent to the hospital parking area provides a safer and more convenient operations area when helicopter evacuation is necessary for a hospital patient.
“Because minutes can make the difference in their recovery, having a dedicated helipad for emergency transport is essential” to some patients, Jud Knox, hospital president said after a Maine LifeFlight Helicopter landed on the pad late last week.
The hospital has been using LifeFlight for patient transfer for some time. There are helicopters based in Lewiston and Bangor that can be in York between 20 and 30 minutes after being called. The exact number of flights from York isn’t known but the number has increased since the inception of the TeleStroke program in cooperation with Massachusetts General Hospital.
York Hospital utilizes helicopter air medical transport services to transfer seriously ill or injured patients from the hospital when necessary. The hospital provides advanced care for most situations but the need for air transports proves vital.
As an example, Knox said: “When a patient arrives at York Hospital presenting symptoms of stroke it is imperative that we act quickly and decisively. Our neurologists and ER physicians often confer with stroke specialists from Massachusetts General Hospital through our TeleStroke program. If a patient needs highly specialized stroke treatment that is not available at York Hospital, we immediately transfer the patient.”
Patients are also transferred for specialized care in other situations as well. Some are taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland.
Last week’s landing of the Italian - built Agusta 109 simulated the landing to pick up a patient. Once it was on the ground and shut down, there was an orientation and demonstrations for York Hospital staff.
Barbara Green, an emergency room nurse, said it is important that ER staff “does everything we can for the patient before they get here” and LifeFlight is very helpful in providing guidance in that area.
Two-thirds of the cost of the new helipad was paid for by a grant from LifeFlight Foundation. “We need to give them credit,” Knox said. “We thank the LifeFlight Foundation for their support.”
The old helipad was located in the hospital’s parking lot and required moving 30 to 50 cars when a flight was needed. There are 17 spaces at the new location, which will make removal much faster if those spaces are in use, a hospital spokesperson said.
York Hospital is a not-for-profit 79-bed hospital located on the southern coast of Maine. It is a modern facility with medical/surgical units, an emergency care center, extensive inpatient and outpatient services and many year-round community programs.
York Hospital recently kicked off the For Every Patient Campaign to renovate and expand the Surgical Center, renovate and privatize patient rooms, and build a dedicated helipad for emergency patient transport.
The LifeFlight Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that provides fundraising and public relations support to LifeFlight of Maine.
The Foundation is supported by the generosity of the many friends of LifeFlight, raising funds for statewide aviation improvements, aircraft, helipads, and the many training outreach programs offered by LifeFlight staff include trauma and critical care, brain injury, ground safety, cardiac care and injury prevention programs at elementary schools.
For more information about the services offered by York Hospital, please visit their website at www.yorkhospital.com or call the Friendraising Office at (207) 351-2385.
Photo caption: The new helipad, a $150,000 project at York Hospital, is now up and running. (Weekly Sentinel photo)

A Quest to Our Human Roots

By Richard “Chip” Schrader
Book Review Editor

KITTERY —
The Young Adult novel is an oft-overlooked genre among adult readers, even though they are frequently on critics’ short list for the year’s best fiction. Young Adult literature is defined by having a main character between the ages of about 13 to 18. This definition gives great leeway for content and reading levels, and the “YA” label is highly deceptive.
“Catcher in the Rye,” “The Golden Compass” and authors like Walter Dean Myers, James Patterson, and Neil Gaiman have contributed to this form of literature. It is as important, provocative and challenging as Adult fiction, and is treated as seriously.
Local author, R.I. Miller is a recent contributor to the Young Adult genre with his novel “The Touch of Bark, the Feel of Stone”. The story follows a misfit 13-year-old member of an indigenous tribe named Racken. With a deceased father who drowned making his spirit eternally “wander beneath the sea,” and a mother who is a great tribal healer, Racken wants to escape his vision dreams and become a hunter.
Angry with his mother for passing on her gift of intuition, Racken goes on a journey with Mathen, a sage spirit speaker to learn more deeply the blessings of what he considers his curse. As their journey progresses, the magical wolves that lead Racken and his rivalry with Thaypen all lend to the lessons he must learn if he truly is the chosen one Mathen seeks.
Told from a first person point of view, Miller nicely adapts his language to fit the narrator’s age without downplaying Racken’s intelligence. The descriptions focus more on Racken‘s internal life and the people around him, rather than the picturesque expanse on which he embarks with the other travelers. This element also lends to the introversion of the child seeking manhood from within.
The details are sparse to make the reading seem light, but each word must be savored in order to fully visualize the tapestry Miller has woven. It reads like a poem where every word counts, and has greater weight and value due to scarcity.
On a deeper level, this novel is about equating the value of the feminine power of intuition and insight with the masculine powers of physical strength and observation. It is about balance and harmony, and the deeper yearning for an understanding of human nature as Racken’s hands become “used to the touch of bark and the feel of stone.”
This is a book to pass on to younger readers after finishing, or to read together at a bonfire. Battling tribes, rough terrain, strange people and creatures all find their way into these pages. The narration has a campfire feel of vision quests, translated into a form that has become in modern times the coming of age novel.
All of the action, mysticism and folktales in this book make it impossible to put down. Highly recommended for anybody looking for a good story that brings the reader back to nature.
Photo caption: The book jacket of “The Touch of Bark, the Feel of Stone” by R.I. Miller. (Courtesy photo)

York High School Coach NamedCoach of the Year in New England

By Larry Favinger
Staff Columnist

YORK —
Rick Clark has been coaching basketball at York High School for 38 years, the last 27 of them as head coach of the girls varsity program,
In the recently completed season, the Wildcats compiled a 20-1 record, losing the state championship game to Eastern Maine Champion Waterville High School. It was Waterville’s 66th straight victory and the school’s third straight state title.
Prior to the title game, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association named Coach Clark District I High School Coach of the Year. District I includes all New England States.
He has seen many changes over the years he has been coaching. When he began coaching girl’s basketball there were jumps balls every time a held ball was called, the ball was bigger and there was no three-point shot, just to name a few.
“I like it if I have three-point shooters and don’t like it if I don’t,” Coach Clark said this week, sitting in his homeroom at York High School.
As to the change making a held ball alternate possession, he remembered he had some tall girls and set plays for those jump ball situations. “We got 10, 12 points a game on those,” he said.
There have been changes in the girls over those years as well.
One of those changes is the amount of time spent on the game outside the high school season. Early in his career when the last game was played, the players put away the basketball, picking it up again when the pre-season rolled around.
“They rarely touched the basketball in between (seasons),” he said. “That is not the case today. Either in organized or unorganized ways, they’re shooting baskets in the back yard, doing ball handling drills and so on. They have more skills if they’re working on the right stuff.”
There is also a difference conditioning wise, he said, “Because in all sports we’re allowing girls to live up to their potential. They are much stronger.”
Coach Clark, a graduate of Wells High School, one of York’s neighboring rivals, came to York when he graduated from the University of Maine Orono as a teacher and a coach and has been at York ever since.
Over his tenure as coach the Wildcats have won four Western Maine Class B titles and one state championship, that coming in 1992. His overall regular season record as varsity girl’s coach is 338-148. In that span the Wildcats have had only five sub-.500 seasons.
Coach Clark’s teams have qualified for the Western Maine Class B tournament in 25 of his 27 years.
Coach Clark coached the girl’s jayvee team when Kathy Dunn was head coach for five years before taking the head-coaching job in 1982-83 when he led the varsity to the Western Maine finals.
He has also coached the boy’s jayvee team for three years when John Griffin was head coach and the girl’s jayvees for five years when Kathy Dunn was the varsity coach.
He has also coached the York High varsity boys and a women’s semi-pro team, Lesswing Hardware that included several outstanding women players.
Clark said some people wondered how he could go from coaching boys to girls but it as no problem for him. “I love the game,” he said. “I love the sport. I love working with kids.”
He credits the overall success of the program to those coaching the younger girls and the interest of parents. His approach to the game at all levels is to have fun, have fun, have fun.
Among those who have worked at that level are Rick Contera, Kevin Wyatt and Mona Blais. Clark’s jayvee coach is Steven Freeman.
“They are a critical piece of the chain,” Clark said, as is the York Recreation Department and the Police Department with the annual Charlie Brown Tournament.
“If you’re not having fun it’s not worth it,” Clark said of playing the game at all levels. He said he and his team “hated to lose that game” to Waterville in the state final but “we gave everything we had and everyone knew it, what fun it was to be involved in that week” when only two Class B girl’s teams in the state had a game remaining.
Clark focuses on the defensive side of the ball a great deal, something he learned early in his career as a jayvee coach. His team doesn’t always play the same, but defense is vital part of every Wildcat team.
There’s also sportsmanship involved no matter the level, no matter win or lose.
York’s team has won five sportsmanship banners over the years, two more than any other program, something of which the coach is very proud.
“I’ve never had a player get a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct,” he said.
In 27 yeas of coaching that’s really the bottom line.
Photo caption: York High School Coach, Rick Clark, has been named Coach of the Year in New England. (Courtesy photo)