Heroes Welcomed Home from Afghanistan

AUGUSTA—
On March 8, 173 members of the 1136th Transportation Company (SECFOR) of the Maine Army National Guard returned from Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom at the Augusta Armory. The 1136th Transportation Company had served a year in Afghanistan.
The soldiers deployed last March to Afghanistan, where they provided security for bases and convoys against Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces.
The 1136th Transportation Company is stationed in the Sanford, Bangor and Calais. In 2003, the unit deployed to Kuwait and Southern Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Photo captions: Bottom - Jason Pepin of North Berwick, greeted by his family and friends, along with National Recruiter Wayne Elkins VFW Post 1285 and seven members of VFW Post 5744 South Berwick. Top - Brian Dickerson of South Berwick, greeted at the Augusta Armory by his family, friends, and VFW members. (Photos by Robert Place)

Shipyard Continues to Affect Maine Economy

By Larry Favinger
Staff Columnist
KITTERY—
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard continued to be a major contributor to the economies of southern Maine and southeastern New Hampshire in 2010 with indications of even further increases this year.
The Seacoast Shipyard Association recently released the Economic Impact Study for the calendar year 2010, showing growing employment, the purchase of goods and services, and contracted facility services.
Civilian employment at the Kittery facility has risen from 3,648 in 1998 to 5,168 last year with a corresponding increase in payroll. In 1998, workers earned $192,008,527, while last year’s payroll was set at $395,166,516.
The total civilian payroll for the shipyard is set at over $395 million, and $227,335,288 of that is to workers in the state of Maine. A total of 2,911 Mainers are employed there. New Hampshire’s 2,015 workers have a payroll of $149,514,994.
The military payroll also showed an increase over 2009. The 2010 figures included $24,961,035 for Navy personnel and $14,978,396 for the Coast Guard.
The shipyard purchased over $44 million in goods and services, $6.4 million from Maine and $4.3 million from New Hampshire providers. Over $20 million worth of goods and services were purchased in the six New England states.
Good news on the horizon for the shipyard came in a joint press release from Republican U.S. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, New Hampshire Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, announcing that the Navy proposes to invest approximately $100 million during Fiscal Year 2012 in facility upgrades and modernization.
The funding, provided through the Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization (SRM) budget, would be used for energy conservation and repairs to submarine enclosures, building renovations, repair to the waterfront support facility and structural repair and consolidation of the yard’s workshops.
“This announcement represents an important commitment by the Navy to the future of the Kittery-Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and I am pleased by this response to our efforts to encourage such investments in the long-term health of the Yard’s facilities,” Sen. Snowe said.
Sen. Susan Collins said, “This is wonderful news not only for the dedicated men and women who work at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, and their families, but also for the economy of the greater York County region.”
“I am glad to see the Obama administration prioritize funding of these long overdue improvements at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard,” Sen. Shaheen said. “Investments in this facility are critical to our country’s national security. (This) announcement is encouraging news to the hardworking men and women who keep the shipyard up and running.”
“The workers at Portsmouth have a long history of executing high quality work, and this funding is a reflection of that stellar record,” Sen. Ayotte said. “As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I will continue the fight to ensure that Portsmouth receives the strong support it has earned.”
The funding is contingent on Congressional authorization and appropriation of the funds in the 2012 budget.

The Wild and Crazy Guy Gets Serious

By Chip Schrader
Book Reviewer
“An Object of Beauty” is actor Steve Martin’s latest novel featuring the cutthroat business behind art collecting. A follow up to the novella “Shop Girl,” which was adapted to the screen, Martin positions himself as a Renaissance Man with screenplays, stage plays, novels, albums featuring his banjo playing, and comedic writing all credited to his name.
“An Object of Beauty” is told from the perspective of Daniel Franks. While the reader might expect the novel to be the lamenting of his own life, Daniel’s focus is on the life and times of his muse, Lacey Yeager. Lacey is a street-wise, unattached, and ruthless self-promoter. Starting in the basement of Sotheby’s restoring and cataloging “dogs,” or lesser paintings, she climbs her way up to work for a private collector.
Martin’s descriptions of the paintings mentioned in the story please even readers who do not have an understanding of art and its collectability. The story uncovers why certain paintings become valuable, and how successful people become successful through cunning. Lacey’s beauty and cunning embody the art and the business of the art trade. As Martin describes the beauty of a painting, and the teetering values of these pieces, the reader quickly realizes, he is also describing his main character.
The intermittent first person insertions in the narration give this book a shade of the old hard-boiled detective fiction. While narrator Daniel admits some of the details of his subject are made up, the account of her life seems plausible. Furthermore, this admission by the narrator is a clever device that Martin uses to enable for a more complete depiction of the elusive Lacey that even her greatest admirer could not follow her enough to witness.
The sensuality, wit, and strength of Lacey are almost enough to forgive her predilection to use the people around her. She is nearly tragic as value has only a material context, and the story, without judgment takes us on her rise to Power. Among the most interesting incidents during her ascent is her trip to Russia where she is asked to trade paintings. It is here that she meets Patrice, a European with the eyes and hands of an artist. For the first time, Lacey finds interest in somebody for more than a one-time rendezvous.
Another touch this novel provides is full color reproductions of many of the paintings Martin references in the story. Martin never falls into the trap of using art world jargon, and he keeps his audience interested in his subject while retaining the integrity and intelligence in his storytelling.
While readers might expect a fluffy romp from the actor who made “The Jerk” a household classic, Steve Martin veers away from comedy avoiding high drama, and weaves a tale with a great deal of class and tact. His descriptions are light and read quickly, yet vivid enough to paint a thorough picture in the reader’s mind. “An Object of Beauty” belongs in the same category as the work of Peter Mayle and even Truman Capote.
Grand Central Publishing, November 2010, 292 Pages, $26.99.
Photo caption: (Courtesy book cover of “An Object of Beauty” by Steve Martin)

WHS Art Students Receive Regional Recognition in National Contest

WELLS—
Six Art students at Wells High School have placed in the Regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, a national competitive art competition sponsored regionally by Heartwood College of Art in Kennebunk.
The students are those of Vanessa White-Capelluti. According to White-Capelluti, 12 students entered the regional competition with 6 students receiving awards or honorable mentions. The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards recognize students with three levels: Gold and Silver Keys and Honorable Mention.
For the past three years, Heartwood College of Art has hosted the Regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. This creative competition is open to all Maine high school and middle school students from grades 7 through 12.
Those from WHS who placed in this year’s Regional Scholastic Art Awards include Megan Foster (Grade 12: 1 Silver Key Award for Photography Art Portfolio), Cheyenne Bastille (Gr. 12: Honorable Mention), Courtney Crawford (Gr. 12: Honorable Mention), Wantana Theerathampitak (Gr. 11: Honorable Mention), Emily Knight (Gr. 12: 1 Gold Key Award for Drawing, 4 Silver Key awards including one for Art Portfolio plus 1 Honorable Mention) and Kaley Merrill (Gr. 11: Honorable Mention).
Emily Knight received a Gold Key for her black and white drawing “Hatching Things Up.” As a result, she will be entered in the national competition of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, which will take place in New York City in the spring. Knight will also exhibit some of her work on March 19 at a ceremony at the Coastal House in Wells. At that time, the work of all Gold Key winners will be displayed. Entries that received a Silver Key will be presented in a slide show.
Another of Knight’s work, a computer generated drawing titled “Mixed Thoughts” will be on display in the Maine Art Education Association’s display for Youth Art Month at the Portland Museum of Art beginning in March. Knight says she will study art in college and hopes to become an Art teacher.
According to White-Capelluti the students’ artwork was entered in the contest in December of 2010.
“I always tell them they do good work and sometimes they are recognized for it; sometimes they aren’t. So celebrate the times when you are. They’ve all done so fantastic (a) job this year. So I was very pleased to see them rewarded.”
Photo caption: In the back row from (l to r) are Megan Foster, Cheyenne Bastille and Courtney Crawford. In the front row (l to r) are Wantana Theerathampitak, Emily Knight and Kaley Merrill. Emily Knight’s Gold Key Award winning drawing is on the table in front of the students. (Photo by Reg Bennett)

Opening Scenes: ‘The Adjustment Bureau’

By Chip Schrader
Movie Reviewer
“The Adjustment Bureau” begins with Matt Damon standing alone in a cathedral like room with the light seeping through ornate windows. The key words are “Next Senator David Norris” as a montage showing dailies and GQ with his face on the cover, an appearance on “The Daily Show,” and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsing him all accompanied by Norris’ speech at a rally. The last headline to drop across the screen regards a college prank that could cost his election.
Set in New York and inside some of the most palatial buildings, “The Adjustment Bureau” follows the handsome political hopeful through the early stages of his career. But, through a misstep of chance interfering with “The Plan,” his career is sidetracked by a woman with whom he is forbidden to fall in love. The Bureau is employed, like guardian angels of a sort, to ensure that “The Plan” is followed through and properly executed. When David Norris is in the wrong place at the wrong time, he finds himself having to choose between the greatness he is fated to become or the woman he loves.
Norris is genuinely and articulately played by Matt Damon. While this role provides little challenge to Damon, he comes off naturally as the Kennedy-like politician. Elise, played by Emily Blunt, is seductive but with an organic soul. Blunt’s performance is so intimate the viewers feel they are in the room with her whenever she speaks. Like Damon’s performance, Elise is not a difficult character to manage, but Blunt brings about very natural portrayal, as well.
The characters are likeable, charming, and interesting to watch, but there is little psychology in their development. Other than loving Elise, we really aren’t shown what makes David Norris tick. We see his public side and his yearning for this woman, but we don’t see much about who David Norris really is, other than a well groomed politician with a relatively squeaky clean image. Much of the same can be said about Elise. We learn she is a passionate dancer and has a wit that equals that of Norris, but there is little development beyond that.
The wide-angle shots, visual effects, and shots from various angles are dazzling. The pacing of the film is even, but it never gets dull. While one might expect more action from a film like this, the intrigue and interplay between chance and “The Plan” are more than enough to keep the audience invested in the story. The wide-angle shots that show Norris inside a palatial room or a giant warehouse nicely parallels the concept that one man is very small portion of a much larger architecture. The imagery, setting and design are stunning!
“The Adjustment Bureau” has the soul of a classic Hitchcock thriller coupled with a postmodern edge like “North by Northwest” meets “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” The story that inspired the film came from the same author who inspired the science fiction cult classic “Blade Runner.” While this film sets its aim high, the movie falls just short of the mark needing a deeper back-story to make the need for the characters’ success more compelling. With that said, the combination of romance and intrigue make “The Adjustment Bureau” a date movie well worth the price of admission. 3.5 out of 5.
Photo caption: (Courtesy movie poster of “The Adjustment Bureau”)

Ogunquit Celebrates Mardi Gras in Style

By Molly McCoy
Staff Columnist
OGUNQUIT—
Hats, masks and floats filled the streets of Ogunquit on Saturday, March 5, as visitors and locals gathered to celebrate Fat Tuesday early with events all weekend. A Hat and Mask Making Party at MaineStreet helped outfit the crowd who then paraded downtown, led by the King and Queen of Mardi Gras who had been crowned the night before at The Front Porch. Homemade floats were pulled down the street and sidewalks as colorful Mardi Gras beads were thrown from the second floors of downtown businesses.
Award ceremonies at Old Village Inn immediately followed the parade. Best Child Costume went to Estelle Reardon. Best Hat Made at MaineStreet was by Isabella DeHart. Best Hat Brought from Home went to Brenda McKeon. The Best Float was made and decorated by Julie Twombly. Best Costumed Group or Family went to the Fournier/Kaszubinksi Family. Judges’ Choice for costuming, hat and overall attitude went to Dan Leonard.
Photo caption: The Ogunquit Mardi Gras Parade is pictured leaving MaineStreet’s Hat and Mask Making Party and beginning their route through downtown to Old Village Inn. (Courtesy photo)

Chamber Leader Joins Senator’s Staff

By Molly McCoy
Staff Columnist
YORK—
Jeff Pelkey, Chairman of the Board of the Greater York Region Chamber of Commerce, announced recently that Cathy Goodwin, Chamber President, has accepted a job with U.S. Senator Susan M. Collins as her state office representative for York County. Ms. Goodwin has led the Chamber for 15 years.
“While we are certainly going to miss Cathy, the board is very pleased that she will be taking on this new role with the Senator,” said Pelkey. “Cathy has grown our chamber into becoming a strong advocate and voice for businesses in southern Maine. We believe her new job with the Senator will only expand and strengthen the linkage between local businesses and our federal government.”
“It’s a mixed blessing,” said Ms. Goodwin, when asked about her new position. “I’ve had a long-term relationship with the [Greater York Region] Chamber, and I was President of the Kittery Chamber for two years prior to that. There is a lot of history.”
Despite the change of occupation, Ms. Goodwin is optimistic about taking that history with her.
“That’s the good part about my new job,” said Goodwin. “I was hired precisely because I have these relationships, and I plan to continue to nourish those relationships and be as helpful as I can to the Senator’s office.”
To say that the Greater York Region Chamber has grown under Ms. Goodwin’s watchful eye would be an understatement. When Goodwin arrived in York as President, there were only two full-time employees, and the Chamber had opened their new building off of Route 1 just two years prior to her coming onboard.
“We didn’t even have a fax machine,” says Goodwin. “Now, we’ve grown the Chamber into the web world. It’s hard to believe that people thought it was just going to be a short-term thing, but now we know it’s hugely important.”
Other big changes under Goodwin’s presidency have included the official purchasing of the Welcome Center land at fair market value, securing their four-acre presence for years to come. In addition, Goodwin has seen her members come together to maintain that building with “huge donations of time, talent and money,” to accommodate the more than 90,000 visitors they see every year – half of which arrive during the three summer months alone.
“We continually have to ask ourselves how we stay relevant to our members,” said Goodwin, referencing the redesigning of the Chamber website as one of many updates necessary to appropriately represent the organization.
“We started the Farmers’ Market before that was a trend, and now we have one of the largest summer markets in Southern Maine,” said Goodwin. “HarvestFest is in its 27th year, and I’ve been around for fifteen of those. It’s been a long, long time.”
In addition to her role as President, Ms. Goodwin has co-chaired a bi-state committee to save the Kittery Shipyard, and worked on committees to manage the Memorial Bridge Project, among other causes.
“I’ve had an active job, an active role,” said Goodwin.
Clearly, her presence has been felt throughout York County over the past 15 years, and her friends and colleagues can look to continue their relationships with Ms. Goodwin, who will soon be working in the Senator’s Biddeford office.
The Chamber Board of Directors has been in a strategic planning process for the past several months. They do not expect to replace Ms. Goodwin until their planning process is completed, at which point a search committee will be formed to fill the position. Holly Roberts, the Chamber’s current business manager, has been appointed Interim Manager for the Chamber.
For more information, contact Mr. Pelkey at 207-439-4900.
Photo caption: Cathy Goodwin, the President of the Greater York Region Chamber of Commerce, has accepted a job with U.S. Senator Susan M. Collins. (Courtesy photo)