York Town Manager On Panel Designed To Improve IRS Service

By Larry Favinger
Staff Columnist
YORK –
When you think of organizations or government agencies interested in improving customer service, the Internal Revenue Service isn’t even close to being on the top of the list.
York Town Manager Rob Yandow is the Maine representative to a group that is working on just that idea.       
“The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is a citizens advisory group to the Internal Revenue Service,” Yandow said. He said the IRS had “a few” such groups but TAP is the largest of those. In includes over 90 members from across the country, with at least one representative from each state. Yandow is included in Area 1 that includes New England and New York. There are seven areas in all. Yandow is the vice chairman of Area 1.
Members of the panel are appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury with the approval “of some arm of the White House,” Yandow said.
The membership is varied, he said, with people from all walks of life included.
The purpose of TAP “is to assist in improving the service delivery of the Internal Revenue Service.” Yandow said.
TAP was established in 2001 “to help the IRS improve” and it took a couple of years to get off the ground. “But now,” he said, “it is a very effective organization.”
The group does not get involved in individual tax disputes between a taxpayer and the IRS or legislative matters, which is the purview of Congress, the President and the Secretary of the Treasury.
TAP does get involved in grass roots issues. “We go out and do outreach,” he said. “We try to make people aware of the panel and the opportunity that they have to help the service delivery.”
Yandow said everyone has some kind of issue with the Internal Revenue Service. The TAP encourages people to bring issues to its attention. When that happens the issue is assigned to a subcommittee, studied and then comes before the area group with a recommendation.
A decision is then made whether or not to forward it “up the chain” with a recommendation to the executive committee of the entire TAP. If the issue is deemed worthy it then goes to managers within the IRS for action.
“Sometimes they agree with the recommendation and take action,” he said, and other times they can’t accept the recommendation as is but can address the issue in another way. Sometimes nothing can be done for a variety of circumstances.
Issues can also come to the TAP from the top down when IRS managers define a specific issue that has come to light that needs to be addressed.
Yandow, a native of Vermont, has always had an interest in finance. He discovered TAP while a town manager in Arizona and applied for a position. He became an alternate while in Arizona.
When he came to Maine, he checked again and found the three-year term of the woman serving from Maine was about to expire, so he sought that position. He was actually appointed in November.
People are named to TAP for a single three-year term and it is completely voluntary. Each TAP member is expected to put in 300 to 500 hours a year working for the panel.
“It’s not often you have an opportunity to serve on a nationwide panel and have an opportunity to have a positive impact on something as significant as the service delivery of the Internal Revenue Service and have an impact on people’s lives.” he said. “I think it’s a great opportunity.”
As to hearing of issues, he has had some contacts already and anticipates more as people become aware of TAP and his involvement with it.
“I talked to a lot of people about it,” he said. He makes an effort to talk about TAP to various service organizations and other interested groups. “The more people are aware of it the more people can take advantage of it.”
The entire panel gets together once a year in Washington for a four-day conference to discuss issues.
People with issues can send them to www.improveirs.com which is TAP’s headquarters in Brooklyn, N.Y., or submit them to ryandowTAP@charter.net.
“I’ll be happy to try and help them out,” he said.
Caption: York Town Manager Rob Yandow, appointed to the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, hopes to improve the customer service of the IRS. (Weekly Sentinel photo)

Local Students Help a Kentucky School “Go Green”

SOUTH BERWICK –
Ten Upper School Berwick Academy students and two faculty members recently took a week out of their summer to travel to Louisville, Kentucky to participate in an environmental summer camp with students from Lassiter Middle School. The purpose of the trip was to assist Lassiter’s students in improving their outdoor classroom, which includes a man-made pond, a compost pile, several gardens, and a greenhouse.           
With the completion of the outdoor classroom, Lassiter will be able to market itself as a school specializing in environmental education. The importance of this is immense, because with this new status, the school will be eligible for funding through the school district for better programs for their students, something they would otherwise be unlikely to receive.
Berwick’s involvement with Lassiter began last year when Berwick alum and 6th grade Lassiter teacher Rachel Davis ‘02, reached out to Berwick to “Please please please help my kids.” Heartbreaking stories of poverty-stricken and disability-laden students prompted upper school faculty member, Dana Clinton, to get Berwick students involved. Rachel’s initial request of a donation for her students turned into a year-long buddy program that included exchanging letters and postcards and four care packages sent from Berwick to Lassiter.
The program went so well that a handful of Berwick students, including Emil Cashin (Acton, ME), Hannah Coon (Dover, NH), Mike Grenier (Stratham, NH), Olivia Hutton (Madbury, NH), Derek Lavigne (Saco, ME), Mike MacVane (Hampton Falls, NH), Clara Penati (Newmarket, NH), Meg Platt (South Berwick, ME), Emma Siegel (York, ME), and John Tackeff (Rye Beach, NH) felt compelled to visit the school and help the children even further.
During their time in Louisville, Berwick students worked side-by-side with Lassiter 6th graders on several environmental projects, including gardening, building the pond, clearing out space for the compost pile, and organizing work sheds.
Recent Berwick graduate, Meg Platt of South Berwick, reflected on the trip, “The Lassiter students come from a variety of backgrounds and have different experiences because they’ve grown up in a different part of the country. We’ve learned a lot from each other.”
The buddy program will continue next year.
Caption: Meg Platt (South Berwick, ME) and Emil Cashin (Acton, ME) work alongside a Louisville, KY student to build a raised garden for the Lassiter Middle School outdoor classroom. (Courtesy photo)

Neil Sedaka Surprises, Delights Playhouse Crowd

By Devin Beliveau
Staff Columnist
OGUNQUIT –
An American music icon graced the stage of America’s foremost summer theater on Tuesday night. Prolific songwriter Neil Sedaka, author of multiple #1 hits on the Billboard charts and an artist immortalized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, thrilled a packed house in a surprise appearance at the Ogunquit Playhouse.
“Breaking Up is Hard to Do,” the production currently at the Playhouse, was inspired by Sedaka’s music, and features 19 of his hit songs, some that date back as far as 1958. During the introduction of Tuesday’s performance, Playhouse Executive Artistic Director Bradford Kenney alerted the audience to Sedaka’s presence among them, noting that his songs contribute to “the fabric of American culture.” At the conclusion of the show, Sedaka joined the cast onstage and received a standing ovation. “To see my songs come alive is a great thrill,” he said, “it was a marvelous production, I want to see it on Broadway!” Sedaka then led the audience in an impromptu singing of his hit song “Love Will Keep Us Together,” while laughing and exclaiming, “What’s the key? I didn’t rehearse! It’s not my key!”
Following the show Sedaka, 69, sat down with The Weekly Sentinel at a Gala party in his honor held at one of Ogunquit’s finest restaurants, Five-O.
Sedaka provided background on the play, explaining “The directors approached me two and a half years ago with the idea, and I gave them 200 of my songs to work with…My mother-in-law owned “Esther’s Manor” in the Catskills of New York, which is where the play takes place.”
Regarding his longevity, Sedaka said “I write songs and I sing because I love it and I never get tired of performing to a live audience…It’s wonderful to be able to play a Beethoven sonata, but even better to travel the world as an American musical ambassador. I put my heart into the songs and performances, I can’t do anything else, I’m terrible at everything else…I write things that are emotional and chaplinesque, songs that are singable and memorable.”
“Breaking Up is Hard to Do” is at the Ogunquit Playhouse through July 12th. Information is available at www.ogunquitplayhouse.org or by calling 646-5511.
Read the article on the Ogunquit Playhouse website!

Caption: Neil Sedaka leads the cast of “Breaking Up is Hard to Do” in an impromptu performance of one of his hit songs at the Ogunquit Playhouse. (Courtesy photo)

“Holiday” Brings Independent Retirement Living to Southern Maine

By Joe Hessert
Staff Columnist
KITTERY–
Retirement is supposed to be fun, relaxing and enjoyable – that’s the way Holiday Retirement has felt since 1971 and it’s a feeling that they plan to share with the communities of Southern Maine. Their new Kittery Estates complex, opening this fall at 220 State Road, will provide a lifestyle option where Holiday’s live-in staff does ‘all the work and [their tenants] do all the living.’
It’s an approach that has served them well and has impressed Greg Rydza who recently moved to Kittery with his wife, Susan. The Rydzas are one of three sets of managers who will live on site and be on-call to Kittery Estates’ residents 24 hours a day. “It’s a great company,” said Greg who managed Windham Falls in Groton, CT for Holiday before moving to Maine. “Any time there was an issue in Groton the head of the company asked me ‘What’s the right thing to do for the resident?’ and that’s what we did.”
North America’s largest provider of independent retirement living, Holiday has over 300 retirement communities across the United States and Canada and each one has guest rooms where vacationing members are welcome to stay free of charge. So retirees living in Kittery Estates have no-cost reservations at Bear Canyon Estates in New Mexico, Victoria Park in Alberta or Augustine Landing in Florida. Holiday also has two communities in Hawaii, which are popular destinations for residents at Holiday communities across the country.
And whether residents are vacationing at a Holiday location or coming home from a free bus trip to the Ogunquit Playhouse, they’ll have a warm gourmet meal cooked from scratch by one of Holiday’s world-class chefs waiting for them. In Kittery, Executive Chef Michael Rosenberg will be preparing three delicious meals for residents every day. And that’s just part of the appeal of Holiday living, said Rydza. There is a housekeeping service free to all residents in addition to the beauty salon, exercise room, free bus trips and more. “People will move into Kittery Estates,” Greg joked, “and never having to run to the store to buy toilet paper again. We take care of that too.”
Another reason that communities like Kittery Estates have become so popular is the community outreach opportunities that they provide to residents. Holiday’s Seniors Serving Seniors and Seniors Serving Society programs were named Most Innovative Programs of the Year in 2005 and 2007 by the International Council on Active Aging. That’s good news for the communities of southern Maine. Residents at Kittery Estates will have the opportunity to share their time and knowledge by helping school children learn to read, collecting food donations for local food banks, working with Habitat for Humanity and supporting Maine troops abroad.
Kittery Estates is the third Holiday Retirement facility to be built in Maine, following Sunbury Village in Bangor and The Woods at Canco in Portland. For more information about retirement at Kittery Estates contact managers Susan and Gregory Rydza at 207-438-9111, visit www.kitteryestates.com or stop by their business office at 99 State Road in Kittery.

Caption: An artist’s rendering of Kittery Estates. (Holiday Retirement photo)

The Howe Brothers

Ripsaw Showcases Local Brothers’ Talent

By Joe Hessert
Staff Columnist
ELIOT -
Identical twin brothers Mike and Geoff Howe have been building things together since they were children growing up in Augusta. “We were always taking stuff apart and putting things together,” said Mike in his office at Howe & Howe Technologies located on route 236 in Eliot. “We really didn’t receive toys as kids,“ added Geoff with a smile, “we got tools.”
Their first project together of any size was a log cabin that they built when they were eight.
And now the brothers have a new project. The federal government, at the urging of Senator Susan Collins, has invested three million dollars to support the Howe brothers as they develop, construct, test and procure their 6,500 pound robotic “Ripsaw MS-1” vehicle that does zero to 50 mph in 5.5 seconds and has no problem hurdling over sand dunes or crashing through small buildings.
Designed to work by remote to scout out combat zones and keep American troops out of harm’s way, the Ripsaw MS-1 (which underwent its first public test run at a site in Lebanon this week) is the product of years of hard work for Mike and Geoff, who started collaborating on it in 2000 before they had any financial support.
“We both had day jobs when we started working on it,” said Geoff, who mortgaged his house to help purchase materials to build their original Ripsaw.
In a way, though, this project started long before 2000. Both of the Howe’s grandfathers served in the military and their paternal grandfather, Sydney W. Howe, was wounded in north Africa when his troop carrier exploded. “He went into the service at 18,” said Geoff, “a great looking, strong young man.” And while he survived the explosion, Sydney was horribly disfigured.
“I love the Ripsaw,” said Geoff, “But blow it up. Blow up twenty of them if it will prevent one proverbial knock on the door for the mother of one of our soldiers.”
And with any luck that’s exactly what the Howe’s vehicle will do: save the lives of American troops.
Having the support of Senator Collins and the federal government has allowed their project to progress to the completion of MS-1 (Military Spec 1) – the first of three phases of development, the toughest of which will be getting the vehicle ready for procurement where it will have to pass a rigorous assault of tests at the US Army Aberdeen Test Center, the premier test facility in the world.
“The vehicle is built. That’s the easy part,” Geoff joked.
But he and Mike couldn’t be more serious about seeing this project through and bringing jobs to Maine by contracting Maine companies to build Ripsaws for the Department of Defense.
In the meantime, said Geoff, it’s satisfying to take the Ripsaw out of the garage for test runs. Seeing what he and his brother have built together this time – watching the vehicle in action and witnessing what their creation is capable of doing – is his favorite part of the job.
For more information visit www.howeandhowe.com or to speak with Mike or Geoff call 439-0990.

Caption:Mike and Geoff Howe stand with the Ripsaw in progress. (Weekly Sentinel photo)

After 33 Years North Berwick Town Clerk Set To Retire

By Ron Long
Staff Columnist
NORTH BERWICK –
Janet Belmain who is North Berwick’s first full time Town Clerk is set to retire on July 18, 2008 after 33 years of dedicated service.
Janet, who is better known as Jan, was born in York and moved to North Berwick as a very young child. Raised and educated in North Berwick, Jan has seen her share of changes. Jan’s mom Merriam Cole served as the North Berwick tax collector and treasurer from 1964 to 1988. Merriam would hand write the tax bills and then line up the children and grandchildren to lick stamps and stuff envelopes. Jan would go in and help out, just to help out. Some of the other changes Jan has seen since becoming Town Clerk include the use of computers, the change from paper ballots and hand counting to optical scanners, the number of town selectmen from 3 to 5, the hiring of the first Town Manager, and the refurbishing of her old school building into what is now the North Berwick Town Hall. Jan, who was first elected to the position, has seen that change to an appointed position. Jan commented, “I have seen the Town Clerk position change from a job into a profession.”
North Berwick resident and Selectmen Elaine Folsom worked for Jan as a Deputy Town Clerk. She said, “Jan means a lot to the Town of North Berwick and she will surely be missed.” Friendly, hardworking, dedicated, and she knows her job – is how Folsom describes Jan. “When you had a question on elections or whatever, Jan knew the answer,” Folsom concluded.
Jan has been married to husband Dick for 45 years. The couple has two children, a son Steven and daughter Chris. Steven has a PhD in Entomology and lives in London, England with his wife who is a lawyer. They have two sons, the oldest of which sings in “The Queens Choir” at the Savoy Chapel. Chris is now Deputy Town Clerk for the Town of North Berwick. She lives in Berwick with her husband who is in the biotech industry and their son.
While Jan and Dick love to travel, they have no immediate plans except to watch their three grandsons grow up. Spending family time and enjoying life is their only plan.
Jan’s co-workers, friends, and family want to invite everyone to join them in celebration of Janet Belmain’s 33 years of service as Town Clerk. The celebration will be held on Sunday, July 27 from 3-6 pm at The North Berwick Community Center, 264 Lebanon Road, North Berwick. Cake, coffee and punch will be served.

Caption: Dick and Jan Belmain. (Courtesy photo)

Vacationers Enjoy Southern Maine in Spite of Tough Economic Circumstances

By Devin Beliveau
Staff Columnist
YORK COUNTY –
The number of cars that drove to southern Maine this June is down compared to June 2007, but Carrie Eisner, Vice President of The Greater York Region Chamber of Commerce doesn’t see that as a bad thing. Eisner points out that business has not slowed for local merchants that rely on tourists and that some businesses are actually doing better this year than last.
“The York Harbor Inn – they’re right in line with their average June of the last few years,” Eisner said. The same is true of Sun & Surf Restaurant in York Beach, and “Seaside Vacation Rentals’ (a business specializing in cottage rentals) business is up 10%,” a figure that Eisner feels points to a trend in this years tourists.
They are “vacationing smarter” this year, Eisner said, “people are going on vacations with other families and friends,” and more tourists are renting cottages which give them an opportunity to enjoy a home-made snack before hitting the beach. Those extra pennies allow vacationers to indulge in delicious dinners at local restaurants that night just like they did the year before.
The population of The Yorks (York Village, York Harbor, York Beach, Cape Neddick) approximately doubles during the summer tourist season, and this year there were concerns that gas prices could keep many tourists away. “Gas prices are scary,” Eisner said, but “reservations are good, people are still vacationing.”
The York Chamber represents The Yorks, Kittery, Eliot and South Berwick. Its mission is to promote the growth and prosperity of the southern Maine region. It also serves as a resource center for “anyone visiting the area or wanting area info,” said Eisner who has been with the Chamber for seven years.