The Rumford Meteor » Dooryard Doings

Portland Decides Against Using “Thank Christ We’re Not Lewiston” For Its Slogan

Aubuchon Connery — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:53:21 +0000

PORTLAND – City and business leaders introduced Portland’s new slogan Tuesday, saying its simplicity and versatility open up many marketing opportunities. The new slogan got less favorable reviews from a local marketing firm. And the upbeat line about Portland’s quality of life got skewered by droves of Facebook users. The slogan – “Portland, Maine. Yes. Life’s good here.” – was inspired by a writer who lived in Portland, and is part of a branding effort the city expects to roll out over this summer. That effort includes a promotional video, which also debuted Tuesday, and other yet-to-be-developed strategies for promoting the city. The Portland Regional Chamber, Portland’s Downtown District, the Convention + Visitors Bureau and Creative Portland Corp. volunteered to help the city with the effort. The city provided staff support but did not allocate any funding, officials say. Jennifer Hutchins, executive director of Creative Portland Corp., said the strength of the slogan is its versatility and a simple message that can be embraced by the three groups targeted by the effort: businesses, visitors and residents. “Let’s face it, we’re a small city in a big world and the best thing we can do is to combine our limited marketing dollars and raise one voice to the rest of the world,” Hutchins said. (read more at Portland Press Herald)

Bicyclist Finishes Trek Across Maine In Thirty Minutes, Flat

Aubuchon Connery — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:46:03 +0000

BELFAST — As the 130 or so cyclists pedaling with the athenahealth team crossed the finish line of the Trek Across Maine on Sunday afternoon in Belfast, they were met by sustained cheers, shouts, clanging cowbells and clapping. And not a few tears. Most of the group wore red ribbons tied around their arms in memory of David LeClair, a 23-year-old athenahealth employee from Watertown, Mass., who was killed Friday morning in a collision with a tractor-trailer about 10 miles into the trek. “There’s nowhere else we’d be today, that’s for sure,” athenahealth employee Sarah Milne of Rockport said at the finish line. She and many others from the company came to cheer on their co-workers and support them at the end of the emotional ride. “We’re close. When something happens to one of us, everyone feels it.” The tragedy cast a pall over the 29th annual three-day, 180-mile ride, according to some of the cyclists who had started at Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry and finished at Steamboat Landing Park in Belfast. Last year’s event raised $1.8 million for the American Lung Association of the Northeast, and organizers said they had a goal of raising $2 million this year. Riders had cycling safety on their minds for the duration of the ride, as well as LeClair’s short life and sudden death. (read more at Lewiston Sun Journal)

Thomaston Antique Appraiser Beginning To Wish Grandma’s Antique Chamber Pot Had Been Rinsed Out A Little Better

Aubuchon Connery — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:56:32 +0000

Fine art, valuable paintings, rare glass and intricate silverwork, even a restored Jeep – they have all made their way to Thomaston Place Auction Galleries appraisal events. Some owners are pleasantly surprised by the value of the item they bring in. Others are disappointed; but everybody who brings something to the event leaves with a better understanding of the background of a prized possession. “We take our time and make sure people understand the culture, the origins of the piece and where it was made,” said John Bottero, Vice President of Thomaston Place. “We try to talk about the aspects that make it saleable and build the story of the piece.” Thomaston Place Auction Galleries will be at St. Andrews Village June 19 from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. for an Antiques Appraisal Fair. Kaja Veilleux, President of Thomaston Place, will provide instant onsite appraisals in the Pinkham Dining Room at St. Andrews Village. (read more at Wiscasset Newspaper)

Local Man Attending Kite-Flying Seaside Picnic For Goths Hopes Something Depressing Happens Soon

Aubuchon Connery — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 13:34:12 +0000

CAPE ELIZABETH – It wasn’t hard to figure out where “Goth Fly a Kite” was taking place in Fort Williams Park Saturday afternoon. With a broiling sun and the temperature climbing near 90, the park was filled with beachgoers, a wedding party and sightseers, most wearing T-shirts and shorts in bright summer colors. The Goths were dedicated to upholding their image, donning a sea of black clothes for their annual outing of kite-flying, picnicking and other fun and games on top of a hill overlooking Portland Head Light. It was the outdoorsy part of a southern Maine Goth weekend, kicked off with a pre-party Friday night and due to be followed by a party at a downtown nightclub Saturday night and then capped with a “hangover brunch” Sunday at a Munjoy Hill restaurant. Jason Marston of Lewiston — known as Thor’s Son to his friends — said he made some concessions to the heat for this Goth weekend, his 10th. He said he normally wears black jeans, a long-sleeved black shirt and black boots. Plus, there was the handmade chain-mail shirt he’d normally don as the final touch. This year, it was a loose, three-quarter-sleeve black shirt, dark green shorts, sandals and a black hat to protect his head of thinning hair from sunburn. He also took care to keep hydrated with bottled water. (read more at Portland Press Herald)

Wiscasset Crafters Begin Selling Whatever Those Things Are That Everyone Just Loves But Nobody Wants

Aubuchon Connery — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:57:40 +0000

A rainy Monday was no deterrent for five crafters on Wiscasset’s waterfront May 20. The women were setting up shop for their second summer of selling crafts together, out of the baby blue Maine Craft Shack. The shack on the town-owned “creamery pier” opens for the season Friday, May 24, the start of Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start to summer. They can’t wait. It’s an income for all of them, but, as they found last year, vending on the waterfront in Maine’s prettiest village has perks, like meeting people from around the world. The shack’s guest book was signed by visitors from Australia, South America, Canada, Europe, the Far East and from all over the U.S., fleece crafter Pam Shockley said. The cooperative started when Shockley, of Westport Island, told her crafting friends she planned to rent a spot on the Wiscasset waterfront. “And they said, ‘Not without us.’” Shockley, 59, makes toys for children, dogs and cats, along with other fleece items like wraps, blankets and scarves. (read more at Wiscasset Newspaper)

Ramshackle Saint Louis Church In Auburn To Be Razed; Apparently Catholics Have Forgotten To Stay In Touch With A Decent Carpenter

Aubuchon Connery — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:13:55 +0000

AUBURN — Compounding structural problems with the St. Louis Catholic Church have led church officials to recommend to the bishop that the 1905 building at 80 Third St. be deconsecrated and razed. At a Sunday meeting at Sacred Heart Church in Auburn, parishioners of both churches filled the downstairs in anticipation of hearing what will become of St. Louis Church. Pam Vaillancourt of Auburn, a member of Sacred Heart who went to the meeting as a show of support, said, “We’re just here to support them. It’s their home.” It was a sentiment throughout the room as people met, hugged and hoped for the best. Those hopeful feelings faded when, in his opening prayer, Father Richard McLaughlin quoted from Ecclesiastes: “To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” McLaughlin likened the assessment of St. Louis to an elderly relative going to the doctor and finding out there is something seriously wrong with them. As more tests come back, the prognosis gets worse. He likened St. Louis’ condition to one of a pervasive illness. (read more at Lewiston Sun Journal)

Participant In Weight-Loss Challenge Gets On The Scale After Taking A Dump

Aubuchon Connery — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:36:22 +0000

I am so happy to report that I lost 4.4 pounds this past week. I can’t sufficiently relay the feeling of joy, relief and success I felt as I looked down at the scale. This week’s weight loss brought my total to 8.6 pounds for this challenge with just week to go. The big drop last week may be the result of eating more. That’s right – more. Coach Lisa Hall told me to try increasing my caloric intake to 1,400 per day. Up to this point in the challenge I have been eating about 1,200 per day. Last week, I doubted I could hit my 12-pound goal, but now I think I will come close; I will just have to lose 3.4 pounds this week. (read more at Wiscasset Newspaper)

Local Fire Officials Urge Homeowners Not To Smoke While Lighting Oily Rags And Green Wood In Their Substandard Woodstoves While Wearing Gasoline-Soaked Clothes After Lighting Candles In Order To Put Pennies In Their Fusebox. Just FYI

Aubuchon Connery — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:50:51 +0000

COUNTY [sic]— Following a few “common sense” procedures can prevent fires that can become uncontrollable or result in fatalities, say experienced fire personnel. The most important and perhaps easiest procedure fire experts recommend is changing the batteries in your smoke detector regularly. “It can save lives,” said Maine Fire Marshal Joseph E. Thomas. “Smoke detectors are your most early warning that there is a fire,” he explained. “Detectors often react to a smoke condition before a person can see or smell it,” he said, which is why changing the batteries and making sure it operates correctly is imperative. Without the alert of a fire alarm, people who succumb to fire at night while they’re sleeping can die from exposure to the by-products of combustion, Thomas explained. “The tragedy we see is that in many cases with fatal fires, we find a smoke detector within the premises only to determine there was no battery in it to operate,” Thomas said. “We recommend that everybody changes their smoke detectors when they change their clocks forward or backwards,” said Paris Firefighter Joe Cormier. (read more at Advertiser Democrat)

Climate Scientists Assure Local Flower Growers That Global Warming Will Show Up In Time To Grow Next Christmas’s Poinsettias

Aubuchon Connery — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:25:24 +0000

BUXTON, Maine — Maine flower growers remained defiant against the elements on the first official day of spring Wednesday, saying they’ll persevere despite late-winter cold and snow that drives up heating costs and stalls plant rotations. “We’re in the midst of our spring openings, and we’re not going to let snow deter us from that,” said Mike Skillin, head of the Falmouth-based Skillins Greenhouses. Skillin acknowledged, however, that the abrasive end to winter — with a 12-inch snowstorm Tuesday and overnight low temperatures in the single digits in recent weeks — does present challenges. He said his company spends around $100,000 annually to heat its 4-plus acres of greenhouses in Falmouth, Cumberland and Brunswick with heating oil and propane, and that figure climbs when Maine stays colder longer. (read more at Bangor Daily News)

Wiscasset Weight-Loss Challenge Obviously Hasn’t Started Yet

Aubuchon Connery — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:28:37 +0000

Over the past 25 years, I have tried and succeeded weight loss many different ways, but have often gained it back. My 55-pound weight loss in 2010, while enrolled at Weight Watchers, was my most successful. At Weight Watchers, leaders often said, “It’s a lifestyle change, not a diet.” That connected with me. I gained understanding on the relationship of healthy eating and exercising. Lisa Hall said, owner of Ship’s City Cross Fit, said her six-week weight loss challenge was definitely prompted by the “Biggest Loser” television show. The fit 39-year-old admitted she really has never had an issue with her weight, but losing her mother at the age of 15 to cancer gave her the drive to stay fit and healthy. So approximately four years ago she began her own weight loss challenge program to try to help people overcome weight and fitness issues. “I’ve seen amazing transformations,” Hall said. (read more at Wiscasset Newspaper)