A Look Inside the White House

By Devin Beliveau
Staff Columnist
Washington D.C.—
The nation’s capital is a great place to visit in the spring. Especially when you have a sibling who can give you a private tour of the West Wing of the White House.
Emmett Beliveau is the Director of Advance for the Obama White House, and he is also my older brother. As President Obama closed in on the symbolic 100-day milestone of his historic presidency, I was lucky enough to get an insider’s look at the halls of the legendary West Wing.
The tour began at the side entrance of the West Wing, the center of operations in the White House. On the hallways inside, there is an array of large framed photographs primarily documenting the early international travels of the 44th President. The locations of the photos are wide-ranging, including Iraq, France, Germany, England, Turkey, Canada, Mexico, and the Czech Republic to name a few. These photos continue through most of the hallways and bring a lively feel to the West Wing atmosphere.
Next the tour passed the Situation Room. As this room is restricted to the public, one can only imagine the high-tech communications gadgetry that must be available to the President in emergency situations. Across the hall from the Situation Room is the White House “Mess,” the private West Wing dining room run by the US Navy. Here the President can meet with elected officials and other important guests over dinner without the media present.
After climbing some stairs to the next level of the West Wing, it was out to the Rose Garden. The Rose Garden is often used for outdoor press conferences, but President Obama has yet to hold one there due to uncooperative weather. From the Rose Garden, one can look left towards the residence of the First Family. The residence is the most recognizable part of the complex, with its grand columns on both the north and south porticos. To the right is the outdoor entrance to the Oval Office. The mere 50 yards between the residence and the Oval Office makes for an easy Presidential commute. This covered outside area was made famous in part by the photographs of President John F. Kennedy and his brother Attorney General Robert Kennedy troubling over the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
On the way to the Oval Office the tour passes the Cabinet Room. Images of an exhausted President Lyndon B. Johnson sitting at the middle of that large conference room table come to mind, from the turbulent days of the Vietnam War. President Obama has not yet held his first cabinet meeting, as his choice for Department of Health and Human Services, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, was only confirmed by the Senate on April 28, 2009.
The public is not allowed into the Oval Office, but most of it is visible from standing just outside the door. While President Obama has not yet changed the carpet and drapes used by President George W. Bush, he has added two busts of President Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In addition, a playground has been added behind the Oval Office, so President Obama can keep an eye on his daughters, Sasha and Malia, while they play outside with their new dog, Bo.
The Roosevelt Room comes near the end of the tour. President Richard Nixon gave the room its name in honor of related Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The Nobel Peace Prize won by Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt is prominently displayed, which he earned by negotiating the peace process in the Russo-Japanese War, a process that took place in Portsmouth, N.H.
No matter its occupant, the West Wing is an impressive sight to see. And seeing it by way of your older brother makes it a very special experience indeed.
Photo caption: Columnist Devin Beliveau toured the West Wing of the White House during April school vacation. This is a view of the rose garden from outside the oval office. (Weekly Sentinel photo)

Fort Bragg General Allyn, BerwickNative, Receives Second Star

BERWICK /
FORT BRAGG, N.C.—
Berwick native Brigadier General Daniel B. Allyn, deputy commanding general, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, was promoted to Major General during a ceremony at the Fort Bragg Main Post Flag Pole on April 27.
The ceremony started off with an 11-gun salute in honor of Allyn, during which, Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Burpee, first sergeant of the salute battery from Klamath Falls, Ore. presented Allyn with a brass shell casing inscribed with his name and the date of his promotion. Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, commanding general, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, deferred the gun-salute to Allyn in honor of his promotion.
Shortly following, Allyn joined by his family on the field, smiled with pride as his wife, Debbie pinned on his new rank. His children also participated in the ceremony by placing their father’s new rank on his beret.
“[Allyn] is the kind of leader who knows how to build winning teams,” said Austin. “He uses creative ways to get more with less. He is always forward thinking and mission focused.”
“It has been extremely clear to the Army, and to anyone who has ever served with General Allyn, that he leaves excellence in his wake,” said Austin. “Dan has led men and women through savage combat. He has experienced the limits of war. And he has stood tall in the face of adversity.”
Austin concluded by congratulating Allyn on his promotion. “It has been an honor for me to serve with you,” Austin said, “and I certainly look forward to continuing to serve with you in the future.”
Allyn then took his place at the lectern, addressing the friends and family that supported him throughout his military career.
“Thank you all for joining us today, thank you all for honoring Debbie, Danielle, Josh and I,” said Allyn. “We look forward to paying back your sacrifice and your service with service from us in the future.”
Allyn’s promotion to Major General was announced Sept. 2, 2008, while he was deployed to Iraq with the XVIII Airborne Corps Headquarters. He served as the chief of staff for the Multi-National Corps -Iraq. During the 15-month deployment, the XVIII Airborne Corps saw unprecedented security gains throughout the country.
Prior to his current position, Allyn completed joint assignments with the Joint IED Defeat Organizations and the Joint Operations Directorate, J-3 of the Joint Staff. He also served as commander of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized), culminating with service during Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as two tours of duty with the 82nd Airborne Division; two years with 2nd Infantry Division, and three tours of duty with the 75th Ranger Regiment.
Allyn, a 1981 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, went on to graduate from the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses at Fort Benning, Ga.; the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.; and the Naval War College at Newport, R.I., where he earned a Master of Arts degree in Strategic and National Security Studies.
Article by Spc. Crystal Abbott, 10th Press Camp Headquarters.
Photo caption: Debbie Allyn pins her husband, Maj. Gen. Daniel B. Allyn, deputy commanding general, XVIII Airborne Corps, with his new rank during a promotion ceremony at the Fort Bragg Main Post Flag Pole on April27. (Spc. Crystal Abbott, 10th Press Camp Headquarters photo)

Two WHS Seniors Recognizedfor their Citizenship

WELLS—
Wells High School students Hope Beisswanger and Molly Burgess have been selected by officials of Wells High School to receive the Western Maine Conference’s Citizenship Award for 2009.
“It’s such a huge surprise, I never really thought I did anything out of the ordinary while I was at Wells High School,” commented Burgess in an e-mail. “It’s a huge honor to be selected for doing what I thought was expected of me.”
Each year, two seniors are picked from schools in the Western Maine Conference area which includes the counties of York, Cumberland, Oxford, and Androscoggin. Students are selected by their own schools based upon their contributions in academics, athletics, leadership, attitude, and good deeds for others.
Beisswanger and Burgess have received high honors in academics and are involved in numerous extracurricular activities at school. For example, both are members of the National Honor Society.
“It was a great honor to be selected for the WMC Citizenship Award,” wrote Beisswanger in an e-mail. “Just the other day my dad told me that both of my older sisters had received this distinction when they were seniors; knowing that made it even more special for me.” Beisswanger is referring to her sisters Jess (WHS Class of 2003) and Laura (WHS Class of 2006) who were honored by WHS and the WMC for their display of good citizenship.
On May 5, Beisswanger and Burgess, along with many other good citizens from other schools, will be honored at the Western Maine Conference’s annual banquet at Verillo’s Conference Center in Westbrook.
Article by Reg Bennett, Public Information Officer of the Wells-Ogunquit Community School District.
Photo caption: Recognized by the Western Maine Conference for their demonstration of good citizenship are WHS Seniors Molly Burgess (left) and Hope Beisswanger. (Reg Bennett photo)

20th Annual Decorator Show House

By Larry Favinger
Staff Columnist
YORK —
The 20th Annual Decorator Show House of The Old York Historical Society sits atop a hill overlooking a huge meadow and the York River.
It is a 1920s farmhouse on the historic McIntire Farm on Cider Hill Road, one of York’s most historic sites.
Over the next weeks more than 20 professional decorators from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York will bring their own specific ideas to assigned areas of the house. Working alone or in teams they will transform the house into a show place to be displayed to the public from July 18 through Aug. 15th.
To be selected as a show house, the property must be “of particular interest to Old York,” Marianne Bauman, chairwoman of the Publicity Committee said this week. “It has to have some kind of historic value.”
This site clearly fits those criteria.
The McIntire Homestead, which has been in the same family for over 300 years, located in the Scotland District of York, dates to the late 1600s.
Next to the farmhouse is the McIntire Garrison that was built in 1707 and is the oldest documented house in Maine. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Much of the surrounding property is protected by conservation easements held by the York Land Trust and the Museums of Old York.
According to Old York officials there are no deeds to help identify the exact date of the original structure. By 1872 the York County Atlas identified a second house on the Homestead property.
Where this structure was located and in what style it was built is unknown as it burned in 1922 and again in 1942.
Following the 1922 fire, a Portsmouth architect was hired to build a house there, resulting in an intriguing combination of Greek Revival architecture and 1920s stylistic flair.
While the mantles surrounding the fireplaces are modeled after Greek columns, the interior woodwork was stained instead of painted, a stylish choice typical of a 1920s home.
The event, the largest single fund-raising event for Old York, is made possible by the work of dedicated designers and visual artists, a corps of more than 300 volunteers, and the support of museum members and the community.
McIntire Farm will be open for a “Before Tour” May 2-3 from 11 AM to 4 PM On-site parking is available and a donation of $5 is requested.
The annual Preview Gala will be July 17. The event will feature a live band, food and an open bar. Tickets are $75 and may be purchased by calling (207) 363-4974. Patrons who donate $250 will receive two tickets to the event, reserved seating at the Patrons’ Table and special recognition.
The Show House will be open Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursday to 7 PM and Sunday from 1 to 4 PM It is closed on Tuesdays.
On-site parking is available and admission is $20. Tickets to the Show House are good for $2 off the cost of admission to the Museums of Old York.
Photo caption: The McIntire farm on Cider Hill Road is this year’s Decorator Show House of the Old York Historical Society. (Courtesy photo)

Ogunquit Welcomes the Season withits Patriots Day Celebration

By Jim Kanak

Staff Columnist

OGUNQUIT —
The crowds were out in Ogunquit this weekend as the Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Patriots Day festival. The event, which celebrates the midnight ride of Paul Revere and also the return of good weather, has activities that offer something for everyone. Saturday served as a case in point, highlighted by the craft bazaar on the grounds of the Ogunquit Playhouse, the Taste of the Town at the Dunaway Center, and a treasure hunt that led interested scavenger hunters all across town.
Denise Sopchyk and Carole Aaron spent Saturday staffing the chamber’s concession stand at the bazaar. They had a firsthand look at how things went in the crowded tent, where visitors had their choices of jewelry, photography, massage, clothes, and basket crafts to name just a few of the attractions.
“Things are going great this morning,” Sopchyk said. “We have not been able to keep up with coffee and the vendors are happy. That’s a good sign.”
Tammy Heon staffed the Ogunquit Playhouse’s table, stocked with copies of the written history of the Playhouse as well as schedules of the coming season’s plays. “We just cast Lorenzo Lamas as Zack in ‘A Chorus Line’,” Heon said. “He just loved it here (when he starred in ‘The King and I’ two years ago) and has been wanting to come back. And Sally Struthers will be back in ‘All Shook Up’, playing the mayor – the resident bad girl.”
Ken Bartuka of the Names Project, the group that brings the AIDS Quilt to town each spring, manned a table as well. “We have had quite a lot of people coming through,” he said. “I was surprised. I didn’t know what to expect, but it’s been a good crowd so far this morning. I think the free trolley is helping.”
At one end of the tent, members of Cub Scout Troop 357 were selling rubber ducks for Sunday morning’s duck race. Three kids, Ryan Shackford, Marcus Tufts and Sarah Shackford, worked the booth with their moms, Beth Tufts and Pam Shackford. They were nothing if not enthusiastic in their sales pitch.
“You can get an adorable little duck and win $1, 000,” Ryan told passers-by. And all for just $10 a chance.
By late morning, the Dunaway Center was abuzz as staff from the nine participants and the chamber set up in the Great Hall for the taste test.
But, there was additional action, as well. The treasure hunt ended there. Joe Scicchitano and his kids Dominic and Nadia, in town from Berwick, Penn., had traced the clues across town to find the final in a series of lanterns that had been hidden.
“We got everything,” the elder Scicchitano said. “The kids went like crazy, starting at Veterans Park. There was one color of each paper lantern placed in shops.”
“Each one gave a clue for where the next color was,” said Nadia.
Scicchitano said the family frequently visited Ogunquit. “It’s our home away from home,” he said.
As noon approached, the line for the taste of the town event swelled. Visitors could choose among a great variety of treats from chowders to black beans and sausages to vegetable spring rolls to pulled pork sandwiches to spinach salad. There were desserts as well, including chocolate truffles, gelato, and fudge.
Vera and Tom Scolastico of Wilmington, Mass. tried some clam chowder. “The chowder is delicious,” Tom said. “We’re having a lovely time.”
For Bernice and Robert McNichols of Foxborough, Mass. the pulled pork was a treat but so was the entire event.
“The pulled pork is very good,” Robert said. “It has cole slaw on top. We try to make this weekend every year.”
Photo caption: Pack 357 of the Cub Scouts sold rubber ducks for the Patriots Day weekend Duck Race in Ogunquit. Proceeds went to the Cub Scouts. Front, L to R: Sarah Shackford, Marcus Tufts, and Ryan Shackford. Back, Beth Tufts (l) and Pam Shackford. (Weekly Sentinel photo)

Southern York County to GetFederal Stimulus Funds

By Larry Favinger
Staff Columnist

YORK COUNTY —
Federal stimulus money is in the pipeline for the state, but other than some reinstated previously cut education funds, the programs have had little impact on southern Maine.
The Baldacci administration trimmed back state aid to education twice, but with the arrival of $27 million in federal funds the second of those cuts, the smaller of the two, have been returned. These funds have been earmarked for stabilization in that they are to retain current jobs and programs.
Maine Department of Education spokesman David Connerty-Marin said in a telephone interview that additional money earmarked strictly for Special Education and Title I are in the pipeline and could be announced this week.
Mr. Connerty-Marin said another $27 million will be distributed for the ‘09-10 school year.
All the education money will be distributed through the state’s current education formula that will direct the bulk of it to northern Maine.
York received $133,000 this year and could receive $157,336 next year.
“That’s what I know we’re getting,” Superintendent of York Schools Henry Scipione said of the $133,000.
Earlier the state had reduced York’s aid to education by $937,000 the first time and $133,00 the second.
Other estimates for next year include $605,844 for School Administrative District 60 (Noble), $583,362 for SAD 35 (Marshwood), $993,816 for Kennebunk, $53,389 for Wells/Ogunquit and $929,988 for Biddeford.
Little federal money has been seen as yet on the municipal side.
The town of Berwick was originally awarded $1.7 million for five Water Department projects but that has since been adjusted to $1.2 million for four projects, Town Manager Keith Trefethen said.
Mr. Trefethen said he’s not aware of any more awards “at this juncture” but added the town will be “aggressively pursuing money for fire stations projects” when it becomes available.
The Water Department money will be used to “replace decrepit water lines,” he said.
These projects must be accomplished in a defined time frame and he hopes “local contractors will be competitive to get the work” so he can “keep a lot of the money right here in town” to further benefit local taxpayers.
Things aren’t as bright for the town of Kennebunk according to Joel Downs, the town’s financial director.
The town hasn’t received any funds thus far and looking ahead Downs said he’s not aware of anything in the future.
“We haven’t seen any,” York Town Manager Rob Yandow said. “But in all honesty I didn’t expect any.”
York has been working with the Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission and hopes some projects may eventually be funded.
Mr. Yandow said the Maine Department of Transportation has received some funds but there are “a lot more by way of requests than there is money available.”
Projects he hopes to see receive stimulus funding includes $750,000 for York Beach drainage. “We’re not done yet,” he said.
South Berwick Town Manager John B. Schempf said his town hasn’t received any federal money and “we have no idea” if any is on the way.
He said with the federal funding becoming available “your odds are better than they were” to receive funds from the state but added, “There’s no spigot for stimulus money.”

Chamber Hosts Patriots DayFestivities in Ogunquit

OGUNQUIT —
Plan to be in Ogunquit April 17-19 for Patriots Weekend and experience an exciting mix of ‘18th Century Meets 21st Century’ life. Historical and modern-day happenings will abound all around town for all ages.
The Schedule
Friday, April 17:
9 a.m. -5 p.m. - Library Book Sale (Shore Road); 8 p.m. - Fife. and Drum Concert (Baptist Church-Shore Road); 9:30 p.m. - Reading of “Paul Revere’s Ride” (Revelations Gift Shop-Shore Road); 10 p.m - Re-enactment of Paul Revere’s Ride (Cottage St. to Shore Rd to School St. back)
Saturday, April 18:
9 a.m.-5 p.m. - Craft Bazaar (at the Kennebunk Savings Bank tent on the Playhouse grounds); 9.a.m-5 p.m. - Library Book Sale (Shore Road); 10a.m.-3 p.m. - Hay Rides (weather permitting); 10 a.m.-5 p.m. - Kidstown Amusements (on the Playhouse grounds); 10 a.m., noon, and 2 p.m. - Tours of the Ogunquit Playhouse; 10:30 a.m. - Tory Treasure Hunt (meet at Veteran’s Park); Noon-2 p.m. - “Taste of the Town” (Dunaway Center); 2 p.m. -3:30 p.m. - Meet our Forefathers and Mothers (throughout town); 8 p.m.-Midnight - Casino Night (Dunaway Center)
Sunday, April 19:
9 a.m.-4 p.m. - Craft Bazaar (under the tent on the Playhouse grounds); 9:30 a.m. - Cub Scout Pack 356 Duck Race (Beach St. Bridge); 10 a.m.-3 p.m. - Hay Rides (weather permitting); 10 a.m.-4 p.m. - Kidstown Amusements (on the Playhouse Grounds); 10 a.m., noon, & 2 p.m. - Tours of the Ogunquit Playhouse; 11 a.m.-3 p.m. - Cookout (on the Playhouse grounds)
All around town get to chat with such luminaries as Ben Franklin, Abigail Adams, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Edmund Littlefield, Betsy Ross and Sally Hemings. Even get your picture taken in the stocks!
There will be a free Patriots Day Shuttle running 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, from the Main Beach to Veteran’s Park, Taste of the Town, the Craft Fair and Perkins Cove, with stops in between.
A complete schedule of events will be strategically placed at many locations around town, including the Ogunquit Chamber of Commerce. Or visit: www.ogunquit.org to download the Schedule of Events.
Photo caption: Revolutionary War re-enacters will be visible around Ogunquit this weekend as the town celebrates Patriots Day. (Ogunquit Chamber of Commerce photo)