Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Darfur Community Opens
Portland Office
by Denis Netto
The Fur Cultural Revival opened its doors to the
public on Saturday, October 18th. The office,
located at 222 St. John Street, will serve as a
resource for the Sudanese community living in
Portland. It offers an inviting atmosphere where
refugees and immigrants are able to seek assistance
navigating in and around our complex and often
confusing society. Newcomers will get help
finding a school, a job, doctor, dentist, and more.
Visitors will connect with area ESL programs,
tutors trained by Literacy Volunteers of Greater
Portland, and other available educational
opportunities.
Mansour Ahmed, a Darfur refugee, is the FCR
President. Darfur is a region of Western Sudan the
size of Texas. The U.S. Congress and Bush
Administration declared the violence in Darfur as
genocide in July, 2004. It is estimated that over
250,000 have died and more than 2 million people
have been intentionally displaced, creating a major
refugee crisis.
Portland is home to the largest community (about
80 people) of Fur tribal members from Darfur, of
any city in the United States.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
School Committee Chooses Name
for New Elementary School
The Portland School Committee chose ‘Ocean
Avenue Elementary School’ as the name for the
city’s new school that will be constructed on the
site of former Baxter Elementary School. The
School Committee voted on October 22nd to
choose that name over choosing ‘Joshua
Chamberlain Elementary School,’ after Maine’s
celebrated Civil War general and governor.
Portland residents and former residents submitted
66 names for consideration. Criteria that were used
in reviewing the names included
preserving history, having a citywide focus,
reflecting a specific place and honoring educators
and education.
The School Naming Subcommittee’s first choice -
Elizabeth B. Noyce Elementary School - was
eliminated because the foundation set up by the
late philanthropist said that Noyce did not want
anything named after her.
Construction of the new school is expected to
begin in 2009 and it is slated to open in
2011.
Four Elementary Schools to Close
on Election Day
Students at four Portland elementary schools that
are used as polling places will not attend classes on
Election Day, November 4th. The affected schools
are Reiche, Riverton, Presumpscot and East End
Community School.
Anticipating heavy turnout at the polls, Portland
City Clerk Linda Cohen requested that the school
department close those schools due to concerns
about student safety, accessibility for voters and
parking availability. The Portland School
Committee voted its approval in September.
Teachers at the four schools will have a full day of
staff development on November 4th. The Maine
Department of Education has decided that the
schools will not have to make up the day because
less than a quarter of all students in the district are
affected.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Governor Calls for Review of
Lobster Industry
Governor John Baldacci on October 24th signed an
Executive Order establishing a Task Force on the
Economic Sustainability of Maine’s Lobster
Industry. The Task Force will make a
comprehensive review of Maine’s lobster industry
and recommend to the Governor and Legislature -
no later than April 15, 2009 - specific strategies to
help maintain the viability of the lobster industry in
Maine.
Last week the Governor directed a number of State
departments to work on financial issues impacting
lobster businesses and families. The Department of
Economic and Community Development,
Department of Marine Resources, and the Finance
Authority of Maine have begun meeting with
financial institutions and agencies to expedite
measures that may bring relief.
After meeting with lobster industry representatives,
the Governor determined that a broader strategy
was needed to address the challenges to Maine’s
lobster industry.
Among the targets of the Task Force is identifying
opportunities for expanding and diversifying both
live and processed markets for Maine lobster,
increasing product quality and profitability, and
expanding marketing initiatives.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Leaf and Yard Waste Collection
Begins Next Week
Next week, the City's curbside leaf collection
program begins and will run through the week of
November 21. Portland residents should set their
leaves out in paper yard waste bags the same day
as their normal trash collection.
The City of Portland's Public Services Department
will also offer yard waste, such as leaves, grass
clippings, and garden waste, drop-off sites for its
residents. People can drop offer their yard waste
between 8:00 AM and 2:00 PM at PATHS, 196
Allen Avenue or the West School, 57 Douglass
Street November 1, 8, 15 and 22. Residents need to
bring their Riverside e-card to participate.
Residents should bring brush and tree waste (any
woody material) directly to the Riverside Recycling
Facility during regular business hours 7:00 AM to 4:
00 PM. Yard waste and leaves can also be dropped
off at the facility. For more information about the
program, call 874-8801 or visit www.
portlandmaine.gov.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Traffic Advisory for Forest
Avenue Today
Between the hours of 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM today,
reconstruction work will be underway for the
inbound lanes of Forest Avenue between Marginal
Way and Bedford Street, near the USM campus.
Two-way traffic and access to I-295 will be
maintained at all times, but motorists should
anticipate delays and traffic. Commuters may want
to avoid this section of Forest Avenue and seek
alternative routes such as inbound traffic taking
Bedford Street to Deering Avenue to Park Avenue
back to Forest Avenue.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Two Arrested During Old Port Melee
At 1:15 AM on October 11th, police responded to a
disturbance call at Fore and Plum Streets in the Old
Port. Upon their arrival, an altercation was going on
in the roadway involving five or six people.
Police stated that they saw someone being assaulted
by two men who were caught a short distance
away. The victim sustained a broken orbital bone.
The two men involved in the attack, Andrew Lunt,
22, of Portland, and John Vance, 21, of South
Portland, were arrested and charged with
aggravated assault.
-Marge Niblock
Monday, October 20, 2008
Police Searching for Victim’s Next-of-
Kin
On Wednesday October 15th, at 2:40 A.M. a 56-
year -old man was killed in an accident involving a
front end loader at Portland Public Services on
Hanover Street.
He has been identified as Donald Trombley. The
Portland Police Department has been unable to
identify any next of kin. Mr. Trombley was a
homeless man who has frequented local shelters
since 2005. He was well known to local service
providers and suffered from mental illness.
It is a rare instance when no next of kin can be
identified. The plice are releasing the victim’s name
in hopes locating family. The Portland Police
Department is asking the public for assistance. If
you knew Mr. Trombley and have any information
that may be helpful in locating his family please call
874-8479.
Car Burglary Thwarted by
Hospital Guard and Victim
David Keith, 46, of Portland was arrested on
October 6th at 4:30 PM and charged with theft,
burglary of a motor vehicle, and probation violation.
Police were called to the intersection of Vaughn and
Brackett Streets in reference to a motor vehicle
burglary. They were met by an officer from Maine
Probation and Parole, who had placed handcuffs on
Keith. The probation officer was in the area and
had seen people from Maine Medical Center and the
victim, who had detained Keith.
The victim had gone into the hospital for an
appointment, and upon returning to his car in the
hospital parking lot, found David Keith in the
vehicle. While being questioned by the victim, Keith
walked off and then began to run. When the victim
yelled, a Maine Medical Center security officer and
another hospital employee chased and caught Keith,
who had removed cigarettes and a CD from the
unlocked car. - Marge Niblock
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Portland Offers Fall Flu Prevention
Clinics
This Election Day, November 4th, voters can "vote
and vax" at City Hall
The City of Portland's Public Health Division will
offer a series of eight influenza (flu) vaccination
clinics throughout Portland. As part of a national
"Vote and Vax" flu prevention campaign, Portland
has collaborated with local health care providers to
offer an extended six hour clinic at City Hall on
Election Day, November 4, 2008. Flu shots
provided at Portland Flu Clinics cost just $10 per
person, or are FREE with a Medicare Part B card.
Seasonal flu epidemics are a critical public health
risk each fall and winter, causing more than
200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths each
year. Adults who should be protected with an
annual flu shot include seniors (age > 50); those
with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart
disease, and asthma; those with weakened immune
systems; residents of nursing homes; and pregnant
women. People who live with and care for those at
risk, such as household contacts and health care
workers, should also be immunized. For more
information about flu or vaccination, visit http:
//www.cdc.gov/flu/ or http://www.maineflu.
gov/seasonal.htm.
For more information about the clinics, call the
city's Flu Clinic Hotline at (207) 874-8946 or visit
online at http://www.portlandmaine.
gov/hhs/fluschedule.pdf or the city's health events
calendar at http://www.portland-calendar.com/cgi-
bin/calcium38.pl?
Op=ShowIt&CalendarName=health.
Flu clinics available between October 23, 2008 and
November 18, 2008
New Exhibit Hall Comes to Arts
District
Portland Harbor Museum has opened a new exhibit
hall in the Arts District at 510 Congress Street.
The museum held an opening reception on
Tuesday, October 14th.
The additional exhibit space provides the museum
with an opportunity to display some rarely seen
artifacts. Two large paintings recovered from the
chapel at Fort Williams are included in the exhibit.
The soldier who painted the works, T. Paul
Silverthorne, went on to have a successful career in
Miami as a designer and muralist.
The exhibit also features the Dash, a half model that
hung in the pediment of the 510 Congress Street
building for roughly 60 years. W. T. Grant
Company commissioned the model in 1942.
Eventually, wear and tear and public safety required
that the building owners remove it. Before its
display in the new exhibit, the museum arranged for
the model’s restoration.
The exhibit includes the first display in Portland of
the Virginia, a large model on loan from Maine ’s
First Ship, a Bath, Maine organization that recently
resurrected plans to build a replica of the vessel.
English settlers began constructing the Virginia in
1607 at the mouth of Maine 's Kennebec River . A
30-ton pinnace, it was the first English-built ship in
North America.
Portland Harbor Museum is looking for a
permanent home in Portland . The museum’s
Board hopes that the Arts District exhibit will make
more people aware of the museum’s activities. The
museum’s current location in South Portland is
temporary, although the museum has grown up
there over the last 21 years.
The new exhibit has been made possible through
the generosity of Penelope P. Carson, Madeleine G.
Corson, Harold C. Pachios, Tom Walsh, and a
Friend of the Museum. The museum will occupy
the exhibit space through at least March 31, 2009.
Except for holidays, the hall will be open Monday
through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Friday, October 17, 2008
West End Burglar Caught
Arden R. Shaw, 35, of Portland, was arrested on
October 1st and charged with a residential burglary
that occurred at 236 State Street on June 25th,
where an apartment had been entered by breaking a
window, and a laptop was stolen.
The suspect was caught by the use of DNA
swabbing at the scene of the crime; he was in the
DNA database. The computer was not recovered.
Shaw was also charged with a commercial burglary
at the Lourdes Beauty Salon at 9 Deering Avenue,
that happened on September 19th at about 1:20
AM. The suspect also smashed a window in this
case, and moved and opened the cash register,
which was empty.
-Marge Niblock
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Sleeping Man Run Over by City
Vehicle
The Portland Police traffic unit is investigating a
fatal accident that occurred on Hanover Street in
Bayside at approximately 2:30 AM this morning.
The accident involved a City of Portland front end
loader, operated by 55-year-old Wayman Estes of
South Portland, and a 56-year-old male pedestrian.
The name of the man is being withheld pending
notification of next of kin.
The front end loader was backing up inside the City
salt shed at 83 Hanover Street when it ran over the
man, say police. Although the accident is still
under investigation, it appears as though the man
was sleeping under the front end loader at the time
of the accident.
Police are asking for anyone who may have
witnessed the accident to contact the Portland
Police Department Traffic Unit at 874-8532.
In the wake of the tragedy, the City of Portland
reminded residents that services for men, women
and families without a home are available within the
city. Adult, adolescent and family shelters, as well
as counseling and outreach services are accessible
for those in need.
People interested in accessing these services, or
those who want to learn more can call 2-1-1 for
information about emergency shelters, basic needs
and heating assistance.
The Oxford Street Shelter for Men (OSSfM)
Support Services Team (Housing Counselors) is
also available between the hours of 1:00 PM - 8:00
AM to assist homeless individuals and families
access emergency shelters in Portland, 761-2072.
Another resource available for individuals who find
themselves homeless is the Healthcare for the
Homeless clinic on 20 Portland Street , 874-8445.
Contact information for Portland Emergency
Shelters is below:
Adult Emergency Shelters
Oxford Street Shelter for Men, 203 Oxford Street
761-2072
Preble Street Women's Shelter, 5 Portland Street
874-6560
Milestone Foundation, Substance Abuse Shelter, 65
India Street, 775-4790
Adolescent Emergency Shelters
Preble Street Lighthouse Shelter, 65 Elm Street,
774-3073
Family Emergency Shelters
City of Portland Family Shelter, 54 Chestnut Street,
772-8339
Family Crisis Services, Domestic Violence Shelter,
767-4952
MAPS Shelter Services, 775-4188
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Community Responds to Hate Crime
About 150 people gathered in Monument Square on
October 7th to show support for the city’s gay
community and express outrage at a recent hate
crime committed against a young Portland man.
Mayor Ed Suslovic, Attorney General Steven
Rowe, and Portland’s acting Chief of Police Joseph
Loughlin, as well as leaders of Portland’s religious
community were among those who addressed the
gathering.
Byron Nilsen, who before the rally was identified
only a “B”, was the Portland man who was beaten
unconscious by two assailants on Cumberland
Avenue on September 6th. Nielsen sustained a
fractured skull and a concussion. He addressed the
crowd, telling them that before they attacked him,
one of the men told him “I can’t understand why
you would be a faggot.”
Nilsen also addressed his attackers directly, asking
them “Are you ready to face your demons?” He
thanked those who called police that night, and
those who have supported him since the incident.
Attorney General Rowe apologized for the City of
Portland and called the attackers “cowards.”
Chief Loughlin called Nilsen “very brave” for
coming forward. He said that the attack made him
angry, and vowed to bring the perpetrators to
justice.
The suspects are described as being in their early
20's. One is a black male, between 5-feet-6-inches
and 5-feet-10-inches tall, with a muscular build and
shaved head or very short hair.
The other suspect was described as a white male,
thin build with long brown hair. The car they fled in
was a late- model, white, four-door sedan with
"fancy" chrome wheels, according to Portland
Police Captain Vernon Malloch.
Anyone with information about the crime may
contact the Portland police website or call (207)
874-8604. People can also help defray the victim's
hospital costs by making a donation at HealPortland.
com, a fund set up by Portland citizens.
Betsy Smith, Executive Director of Equality Maine
said that “hate has no place in the State of Maine”
and it will never be tolerated here.
Cop Assaulted at Preble Street
On Thursday, October 2nd at 6:35 P.M., Officer
Robert Pelletier was working an overtime
assignment at the Preble Street Resource Center.
He was approached by staff of the Wayside Soup
Kitchen asking for assistance in removing a man
who has been banned from the soup kitchen.
Officer Pelletier approached fifty-year-old Ricardo
Bennett, a transient, and asked him to leave.
Bennett refused to leave and cursed at the officer.
Officer Pelletier told Bennett he was being arrested
for criminal trespass.
Bennett responded by assaulting the officer.
Officer Pelletier was struck in the face and torso
several times and knocked to the ground.
Additional officers responded to the scene and
Bennett was eventually subdued and taken into
custody.
Officer Pelletier suffered a facial laceration, broken
ribs, and bruises and cuts to one elbow. He was
treated at Mercy Hospital and released. Bennett is
charged with assaulting a police officer, criminal
trespass and refusing to submit to arrest. He is
currently being held at the Cumberland County Jail.
Officer Pelletier is currently unable to work
because of his injuries. His recuperation is
expected to take several weeks.
Saturday, October 11,2008
Police Swarm in West End After Cops
are Assaulted
More than a dozen Portland police officers
descended upon a house on Horton Place in the
West End just before 11 PM on Thursday night,
October 9th, and took four men into custody, three
of whom were arrested.
Police had originally received a call from a Dow
Street resident about a barking dog that sounded as
though it were in distress.
Upon arriving at the scene, a strong smell of
marijuana was noticed coming from a Horton Place
apartment. After gaining entry to the apartment,
Batisa Bazeya, 29, of 3 Horton Place, was arrested
for an outstanding warrant charging him with
failure to appear in court.
Ten police cars arrived on the scene within minutes
of each other after two other residents of the
apartment, Salpa Akuar, 22, and Akok Nyang, 24,
allegedly assaulted responding officers. Akuar was
charged with assault and obstructing government
administration and Nyang was charged with assault
and refusal to submit to arrest.
The location has been the object of intense police
scrutiny and actions by public officials to counter
what neighbors describe as an epidemic of drug
dealing and violence.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
City Releases Creative Economy Report
Steering Committee recommends the
creation of the Creative Portland
Corporation
The Creative Economy Steering Committee on
October 2nd released its Creative Economy Report
available at www.portlandmaine.
gov/creativeeconomy.htm. The Steering
Committee recommends a number of actions
including creating the Portland Creative
Corporation, establishing a loan fund to foster small
business growth, and exploring the creation of a
Center for the Arts and further developing the Arts
District.
The Creative Economy Steering Committee was
established in 2006 by then-Mayor James Cohen,
and co-chaired by Cohen and West End Councilor
Dave Marshall. The Steering Committee was
comprised of seventeen individuals from a diverse
cross section of artists, cultural organizations,
university leaders and Portland business people.
The Committee presented its recommendations to
the City Council on Monday, October 6th .
"A key recommendation in this report is the
continued development and support of the City's
Arts District," said Marshall. "The single greatest
threat to the city's creative economy is erosion. We
cannot afford to have local businesses and
individuals relocate because they are unable to
afford the rent to stay in Portland, which is why
we recommend the creation of an organization
whose sole mission is to maintain and build this
vital part of our economy."
King Middle Teacher Honored by
OfficeMax
Ellen Norton, a teacher at King Middle School in
Portland, receivedmore than $1,000 in classroom
equipment and supplies from OfficeMax on
October 1st as part of the company’s “A Day Made
Better” initiative.
Norton, who has taught art for 39 years, was
nominated by the school for her innovative
approach to teaching and dedication to student
success.
Students and teachers assembled in the art room
and watched as OfficeMax employees presented
Norton with a new desk, a digital camera,
art and classroom supplies. Norton was totally
surprised and delighted.
“Nothing like this ever happened to me!” she said,
as she sat in her new chair looking over the gifts in
the enormous OfficeMax gift box.
“A Day Made Better” draws attention to the fact
that teachers spend more than $4 billion of their
own money on classroom supplies each year.
OfficeMax collaborates with the nonprofit group,
Adopt-A-Classroom, on the initiative. Norton was
one of more than 1,200 teachers honored
nationwide.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Maine Irish Heritage Center to Re-
Open
Éamon Ó Cuív, the Minister for Community, Rural
and Gaeltacht Affairs of the Republic of Ireland,
will preside over the official reopening of the Maine
Irish Heritage Center (formerly St. Dominic's
Roman Catholic Church) on Gray Street in the
West End, on Tuesday, October 21, 2008.
The Center has been effectively closed since May
2006. Construction on the bell tower and on the
lower level has been completed by general
contractor Consigli Construction.
There will be brief ceremony and ribbon cutting
outside the main entrance on Gray Street beginning
at 11:45. There will be brief performances the
upper sanctuary by AIRE Theater and local Irish
musician Kevin McElroy and his Killa Ceili Band. All
in the community are welcome to attend.
Minister O’Cuiv is the grandson of Eamon de
Valera, one of Ireland’s dominant political figure of
the 20th century. His Ministry is responsible for
community development programs, volunteering,
and also retains the critical responsibility for the
promotion of the Irish language and the Gaeltacht
areas of Ireland, and also the development of
Ireland’s inhabited off-shore islands.
The Minister will be welcomed by Speaker of the
Maine House of Representatives Glenn Cummings,
and Mayor Ed Suslovic of Portland, along with
other state and local officials.