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Friday, April 19, 2013
Volume 9 • Issue No. 16
Grahamtastic Connects Kids When Their World is Out of Reach By Adam Marletta Contributing Writer
Youths isolated by illness are kept in touch by technology and laptops provided by Grahamtastic Connection. (Grahamtastic Connection website photo)
SPRINGVALE – Communication is a regular and crucial part of all our lives. The need to socialize is especially urgent for children and teenagers struggling during life’s formative – and challenging – times. But for children like Gabrielle Severance, life can often be quite lonely. Severance, 14 years old, was diagnosed with a brain tumor three years ago, and spends much of her day in the hospital. However, a donated laptop -- equipped with Internet and video-networking programs like Skype -- has quite literally
White Pine Nature Education Center Announces Expansion YORK – White Pine Programs, a York nonprofit offering naturebased learning and naturalist training for people of all ages, recently opened a new adminis-
Index
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Arts & Entertainment 9 Calendar of Events 11 Classified 34-35 Computer Lady 10 Home & Business 31-33 Library News 25 Pets 31 Puzzles 38 Real Estate 26-28 Sports 28-29 Where To Dine 20-25
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trative office at The Cider Hill House, 170 Cider Hill Road, in York. White Pine has been serving the Seacoast area with nature connection experiences for children, teenagers, and adults since 1999. For the past 10 years, the offices and most programs have been based in the lower level of the house of co-founders Dan and Kate Gardoqui at 330 Mountain Rd. While educational programs will continue to be held at the Mountain Road campus, the new Cider Hill House office space will allow the administrative staff to have a more spacious area for long-range planning, staff training and meetings, mentoring calls, bookkeeping, fundraising, and event planning. White Pine’s phone number and mailing address will remain the same. “It’s exciting to be in the new space,” said Executive Director Dan Gardoqui. “Our growth over the past decade has been steady, and we have reached the point where we need space for many staff to design,
prepare for, and administer all of the different programs that we offer.” One program that has seen substantial is White Pine’s Naturalist Nights, which are supported by a grant from the Maine Community Foundation. Naturalist Nights are offered most Tuesday evening from 6 to 8:45 p.m., with topics like “Plant Medicines,” “Language of the Birds,” “Tidepooling,” and “Wildflower ID.” The full schedule for Naturalist Nights can be found on the “For Adults” tab on the White Pine Programs website, www.whitepineprograms. org. Naturalist Nights will continue to be held in the White Pine classroom and nature museum at Mountain Road, but in the future some of the more popular evenings may be held in a large meeting space at the Cider Hill Road facility. “Last year, our Owls program was attended by nearly 60 people, and they barely fit in the room,” said Dan Hansche,
Health & Fitness A special section concerning your health... INSIDE:
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See PINE page 14...
brought the outside world to her fingertips. The laptop is a gift from Grahamtastic Connection, a local nonprofit organization founded by Leslie Morissette. Grahamtastic Connection’s mission is a simple one: To donate quality laptops to children who may not be able to attend school regularly. Like so many labors of love, Grahamtastic Connection was born of tragedy. Morissette’s 8-year-old son, Graham, died from leukemia in 1998. Morissette recalled the difficulty researching medical information, as well as her son’s inability to communicate with the world
outside his hospital ward. Graham’s illness, she explained, forced him to miss several days of school, play-dates with friends, and the general fun and enjoyment of being a kid. Using then-emerging Internet technologies, Morissette resolved to assist other ailing children suffering the same isolation. “Giving children the power to communicate is what it’s all about,” Morissette said. “It is very easy for children with terminal illnesses to become depressed and emotionally isolated. We give them the tools to See GRAHAM page 19...
Berwick Academy Awarded $35,000 in Follett Challenge
(from left) Berwick Academy librarians Meg Blakemore, Darcy Coffta, and Jennifer Brewer are the recipients of third place in the Follett Challenge. Third place recognition comes with a $35,000 cash prize that will go toward library programming and materials. (courtesy photo)
SOUTH BERWICK – Berwick Academy announced recently that it was chosen third place winner in this year’s Follett Challenge. The school will be awarded $35,000 for use in its library programming. The Follett Challenge is a nationally recognized program run by Follett to identify and
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business & finance PG 12-15
reward schools for their work in applying technology, content, and creativity in ways that engage students, foster literacy and promote critical thinking through their library programs. Berwick was among over 100 schools and school districts in the running for the cashSee FOLLETT page 12...
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