Portland, ME – Looking for a treasure? Goodwill is the place to find it!  Goodwill Industries of Northern New England invites shoppers and donors to the Grand Opening celebration of their new Belfast store and donation center on Saturday, May 24 at 9 a.m. Grand Opening celebrations include a ribbon cutting ceremony at 9am, door prizes every half hour from 9am-2pm, and drawings for gift baskets and a $100 gas card.

Located near the intersection of Routes 1 and 3, behind Pizza Hut and the Camden National Bank, this brand new, modern 12,000 square-foot Goodwill store will provide the community with a valuable shopping experience–and an easy way to drop off donated goods.  A convenient drive-through area will allow staff members to assist with all donations. 

The store will carry a combination of new and donated goods, from clothing, books, and household items to furniture and jewelry.  The store and donation center hours will be Monday through Saturday 9am – 8pm and Sunday 9am – 6pm. 

“We are very excited to be opening a brand-new store in Belfast,” says Michael Coughlin, Executive Director at Goodwill Industries. “In this, our 75^th year, we continue to expand our retail operations to further our mission.” 

The Belfast Goodwill store will employ 13 full- and part-time employees.  Revenue generated through the network of 25 retail stores in northern New England enables Goodwill to fund its human services programs which assist individuals with disabilities and those who face other barriers achieve social and economic independence.  Visit Goodwill online at www.goodwillnne.org for more information.

Oxford County Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) Unit Coordinator Kevin N. Saisi returned Saturday, April 12th with a suitcase filled with literally reams of information to assist in the development and sustainability of the Oxford County unit. Saisi attended the 2008 Medical Reserve Corps National Leadership and Training Conference in Portland, Oregon. Also attending the conference were Kathy Knight of Northeastern Maine Medical Reserve Corps and Kymara Lonergan, RN of Southern Maine Medical Reserve Corps . The keynote addresses were given by RADM Steven K. Galson, Acting Surgeon General, RADM W. Craig Vanderwagen, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Richard Hatchett, MD; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health. The conference brought together government and non-governmental organizations, public health, preparedness/response and volunteer management experts, and other community-based MRC leaders for a 4-day knowledge sharing, leadership, and training conference. The conference agenda reflected an array of topics in public health, preparedness, volunteer management, and other areas of MRC-related interest.

MRC units are community-based and function as a way to locally organize and utilize volunteers who want to donate their time and expertise to prepare for and respond to emergencies and promote healthy living throughout the year. MRC volunteers supplement existing emergency and public health resources. They include medical and public health professionals. Community members can fill key support positions. MRC units are provided specific areas to target that strengthen the public health infrastructure of their communities by the U.S. Surgeon General. The overarching goal is to improve health literacy, and in support of this, he wants the MRCs to work towards increasing disease prevention, eliminating health disparities, and improving public health preparedness

In Maine, the Medical Reserve Corps program is coordinated through Maine CDC with six units in the state. Each unit is self-managed with support and guidance from the state and federal level, including a regional coordinator out of the Public Health Service office in Boston. Oxford County MRC is in the developmental stage with a number of teams being formed throughout the county. Saisi is working with various agencies to develop these teams in preparation for any major emergency that may occur. As the teams are established, volunteers will be sought. All volunteers will undergo screening, training and (when appropriate) credential verification. More information on Oxford County MRC is available at http://www.oxfordcountymrc.org/.

The Office of the Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps (OCVMRC) is headquartered in the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General. It functions as a clearinghouse for information and best practices to help communities establish, implement, and maintain MRC units nationwide. Aside from the annual conference, the OCVMRC sponsors hosts a Web site, and coordinates with local, state, regional, and national organizations and agencies to help communities achieve their local visions for public health and emergency preparedness. Information on the national program can be found at http://www.medicalreservecorps.gov/.

The Libertarian Party of Maine announces its annual convention, Saturday, April 19th at Governor’s Banquet Center in South Portland.  Join Maine friends of liberty, business leaders, and activists for a full day of lively discussion, great food & revelry!

Featuring:

1st District Congressional Candidate Dean Scontras

Ed Laughlin of the Maine Economic Research Institute

Tony Payne of the Alliance for Maine’s Future

Dr. Katherine Albrecht, President of CASPIAN & Co-Author of SpyChips

Hear from business leaders on the possibilities for a stronger economy. Hear from scholars on the growing threat of privacy invasion from emerging surveillance technology. Don Folkers of The John Birch Society will discuss the ominous trend toward world government and the need to secure our borders, and Jonathan Leavitt of the Maine Marijuana Policy Initiative will confront the need for more health freedom.

Schedule of Events:
9:00am Dianne Gilbert, National Heritage Center for Constitutional Studies
9:45am Biddeford City Councilor Bob Mills, Libertarian Elected to Office in 2007
10:45am Dean Scontras, First District Republican Congressional Candidate
11:30am Jonathan Leavitt, Maine Marijuana Policy Initiative
12:15pm Break for Lunch Buffet
1:00pm Business Meeting, Election of Delegates & New Officers
2:00pm Dr. Katherine Albrecht, Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering & Co-Author of SpyChips
2:45pm Don Folkers, The John Birch Society
3:45pm Open forum for local candidates (We have at least 3 “Ron Paul” Republicans on the ballot in November)
4:30pm Ed Laughlin, Maine Economic Research Institute
5:15pm Audio-Only Teleconference Debate between Presidential Candidates Wayne Allyn Root & Dr. Mary Ruwart
6:00pm Break for Dinner Buffet
6:45pm Tony Payne, Alliance for Maine’s Future

We hope to pack the Cabinet Room at Governor’s Banquet Center in South Portland for an exciting & memorable event.

$20/full day
$50/includes light refreshments, lunch, and dinner

Please RSVP promptly to Dylan at (207) 232-4975 or MarsHillCreative@yahoo.com

Portland, ME- Easter Seals Maine recently named seven new board members.

Newly elected board members are Debby Abbondanza of Yarmouth, Andre (Andy) Baillargeon of Gorham, Lisa Baillargeon of Gorham, Jennifer Buzzell of Saco, Joshua R. Dow of Cumberland Center, Maureen Keeley of Portland, and Maryann Kelly of Scarborough.

Debby Abbondanza is Senior Loan Officer at First Financial Mortgage Corporation, Andy Baillargeon is VP at JHA, Lisa Baillargeon is Director of Communications at UNUM, Jennifer Buzzell is Sales and Education Manager of L’Oreal Professionnel, Joshua Dow is member/attorney at Pearce & Dow, LLC, Maureen Keeley is an independent consultant, and Maryann Kelly is Director of Labor Relations at Blethen Maine Newspapers.

Easter Seals Maine provides exceptional services to ensure that all people with disabilities or special needs and their families have equal opportunities to live, learn, work and play in their communities. For more information, please call 207.828.0754 or visit eastersealsme.org.

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The Board of Directors of River Arts has announced that it will relocate its headquarters from the Round Top campus on or about March 8th of this year.  The non-profit arts center has leased the Coffin House (next to Skidompha) in downtown Damariscotta where it will conduct programming over the coming year.  According to Kathleen Mack, President of River Arts Board, the arts center hopes to keep the old ice cream making building at Round Top available for print making and other activities under a cooperative arrangement with the Damariscotta River Association.

The organization’s announcement follows eight months of intensive planning beginning in May of 2007 when the current River Arts Board took over control from an interim board which had announced its intention to dissolve the organization.  The interim board’s decision was based in part upon its determination that the arts center, then known as Round Top Center for the Arts, could not continue to pay the substantial costs of maintaining or upgrading Round Top’s old deteriorating buildings without a large endowment, which did not exist. In taking over management of the non-profit corporation the present Board committed itself to “…developing a financially sustainable vision for Round Top Farm that [would] combine permanent public access to the arts with greater community use of [the] riverfront campus for educational, recreational and cultural pursuits.”   According to Kathleen Mack, the Board remains committed to the substance of this vision, but has reluctantly concluded that it cannot be fulfilled at Round Top Farm.

Mack gave the Lincoln County News a summary of the events leading up to her Board’s decision:

“After we took over the organization, we developed and circulated a survey so that we could assess public attitudes about the Round Top Center. Based on the survey results, we felt that there was public support for an arts center but that it was tempered with a feeling that the campus should be more welcoming for the public in general, and not just for artists, and that more performances and events should take place there.  The survey results were right in line with our Board’s commitment; and we felt that the 1998 deeds by which the Round Top property was conveyed to the non-profit organization would allow combining public recreational use with an arts center. This was particularly true since the person who gave the property for use as an arts center had assigned an important role to the Damariscotta River Association in making the gift.”

“After we had assessed public attitudes, our Board and its Strategic Planning Committee studied a number of financially sustainable in and out of state art centers with a view towards developing an appropriate model for the Round Top campus.  Based on our research, we adopted an “umbrella” type model, meaning that we envisioned the campus becoming the area’s primary venue for all of the performing arts and visual arts and a resource for the many area non-profits lacking suitable facilities for their operations.  A major component of such a center is a performance center for theatre, music and dance.  Our research indicated that the revenues from such a center would be sufficient to subsidize visual arts programs which are critically important but which have historically been financially marginal.”

“We already knew that the existing buildings at Round Top would not be suitable as the type of center we had in mind.  And when we started looking into the feasibility of new construction at the campus, we were advised by a number of local banks that such a project would never qualify for any type of secured financing because of the restrictions and other provisions contained in the 1998 deeds by which the non-profit corporation acquired ownership of the campus.  Our deed prohibits the center from subdividing the campus in any way and forbids putting a mortgage on any part of the property, even for a construction loan.  It also provides that the DRA will get ownership of the property in the future if any of the deed restrictions are not observed. Not everyone knows that two deeds were actually involved in the original gift, the first from the donor to the DRA and the second from the DRA to the non-profit arts center.  It is this second deed that contains most of the restrictions.”

“Another major problem created by these deed restrictions involves our ability to fundraise for a performance center. We have determined that potential major donors are not willing to donate large amounts of money towards the construction of a performance center where title to the property might return to the DRA in the event of non-compliance with a deed restriction.”

Mack pointed out that the River Arts Board had written to the donor and to the DRA seeking to initiate a dialogue about relaxing the deed restrictions to the extent necessary to accommodate River Arts’ plans.             Mack said:

“Neither the original donor nor the DRA were willing to make any changes to the deeds.  We fully understand and respect their decision, but we feel obligated to pursue our goals.  Doing so requires a location where we know they can be achieved.  In the meantime, the Board felt that it made no sense to continue to pay the substantial monthly expenses of maintaining the campus and its buildings now that we know we will not be able to realize our long term vision there.  And we are leaving with the comfort of knowing that the campus will remain in good hands and will always be used for the conservation purposes of the DRA.”

Mack explained that the deed contained a provision that the DRA is required to use the property for its conservation purposes in the event that ownership of the property reverts to the DRA.

Mack went on to say that River Arts expects to turn the property over to the DRA on or about March 8th, but she hopes that the print shop and other activities will continue at the old ice cream making building on the Round Top campus.  According to Mack, River Arts will soon be announcing new programming for the coming year at the Coffin House.  At the same time, she explained that the River Arts Board has appointed a search committee to locate a suitable unrestricted site upon which to construct a performance center and visual arts facilities. Mack also said the the Board will commission a formal feasibility study to confirm the perceived need for such a center in this region of the state.  She expects that the results of this study will reinforce and support the results of the Board’s work to date.