Sentinel The Weekly
ECRWSS PRSRT STD
U.S. Postage
PAID Seacoast Media Group Portsmouth, NH POSTAL CUSTOMER
Your Community Newspaper Serving: ARUNDEL, BERWICK, CAPE NEDDICK, ELIOT, KENNEBUNK, KENNEBUNKPORT, KITTERY, KITTERY POINT, MOODY, NO. BERWICK, OGUNQUIT, SO. BERWICK, WELLS, YORK & YORK HARBOR
Friday, April 22, 2022
Volume 18 • Issue No. 16
US Education Secretary Visits Kennebunk and Wells KENNEBUNK & WELLS On Monday, April 11, US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona met with Regional School Unit (RSU) 21 bus drivers to listen to their concerns and suggestions about pandemic and recovery issues facing public school transportation. Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D) joined Cardona in meeting with leaders of the RSU 21 Transportation Employee Association (TEA). The welcome delegation also included several teachers and students from the unit’s schools. Superintendent Dr. Terri Cooper welcomed Cardona and Pingree, who then hosted a listening ses-
US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardon joins, from left to right, RSU 21 Superintendent Dr. Terri Cooper, Cindy Messier, Dennis Duprey, Scott Pipher TEA, Cardona, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Frank West, and Renda Turner.
sion roundtable with bus drivers and a senior mechanic. “I am here today to listen,” Cardona said. “It’s such an important job,” said Dennis Duprey, an RSU 21 bus driver. “I absolutely love it, it’s rewarding and fulfilling.” Cardo-
na thanked Duprey for his service, saying that bus drivers are “the first person students see each morning.” Cardona shared that when he was a school principal, his uncle served as a bus driver in his district, and he learned a lot
Auto Show at Wells Harbor Park WELLS The Seacoast Region of the Maine Obsolete Auto League would like to invite all to their 59th annual antique and classic auto and truck show, Sunday May 1, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Wells Harbor Park, in Wells. Vehicles from 1997 to as far back as 1908 will be on display. There will be many classes of cars and trucks with ballot voting for your favorite auto. Hot coffee, Congdon’s doughnuts, hamburgers,
Local Average Tide Chart Date High Low Sat 23
am pm
am pm
5:02
5:55
11:28 11:47
Sun 24
6:11
7:05
Mon 25
7:23
8:12
1:00
12:37 1:44
Tue 26
8:32
9:12
2:10
2:46
Wed 27
9:33 10:04
3:13
3:40
Thu 28
10:27 10:49
4:07
4:28
Fri
11:15 11:31
4:56
5:11
29
Sun Rise Sun Set Sat
23
5:45 7:35
Sun 24
5:43 7:37
Mon 25
5:42 7:38
Tue 26
5:40 7:39
Wed 27
5:39 7:40
Thu 28
5:37 7:41
Fri
5:36 7:42
29
hot dogs, and more will be available. Show vehicles will be $10 and spectators will be $3; free admittance to children under 12. There will also be a 50/50 raffle. This year’s featured antique will be the Ford Model A. For further information, email Dave Currier at builder1@maine.rr.com.
Evolution of Earth Day NATIONWIDE “Reduce, reuse, recycle” is a mantra for many people. It’s difficult to imagine that just 50 years ago, awareness of the state of the environment was not part of the collective consciousness. An emerging public consciousness about the planet began amid environmental issues like increased air pollution and massive consumption of fossil fuels in the 1960s. The bestselling book “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson also raised public concern for living organisms and the links between pollution and public health. The push for environmental reform gained even more momentum on April 22, 1970, when the first Earth Day was celebrated. ThenSenator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin put Earth Day on the
Arts & Entertainment 11-15
Library News
Classifieds
27-30
Pets
Dining
19-21
Calendar of Events Computer Pro
8-10
18
Home & Business 25-27
Obituaries Puzzles
Real Estate Sports
4-6
23-24
22 30
23,31-32
27
PAGES
national stage following a large oil spill that struck off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif. Before this disaster, recycling was not a word in the popular lexicon. But when the disaster struck, people began to reason that changes would have to be made to save the planet. Since the first Earth Day 50 years ago, many strides have been made in the environmental movement. This grassroots initiative gave rise to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act. Environmental awareness has become much more mainstream and is a less polarizing issue than it was in the 1970s, although there are still debates about the reality of
about his students from the bus drivers. Cardona asked for recommendations he could take back to Washington. Cindy Messier, an RSU 21 bus driver responsible for driver training programs, shared an example in which recent federal commercial driver license (CDL) training books have more than doubled in length, leading to recruiting and retention challenges. Messier held up an instructional manual she said she had been required to use until this winter to teach new recruits. It appeared to be little more than one inch thick. She then picked up two large binders and showed
them to Cardona and those gathered in the circle. Those binders, she said, were now the required learning material. They included, among other items, towing instructions for tractor trailers. “There’s a lot of material inside that doesn’t pertain to a bus driver . . . I have successfully trained seventeen people in the transportation department using the prior manuals, and they worked fine,” Messier said. Later, Cardona told reporters that he would take Messier’s recommendation back to his team to Washington to address how his See EDUCATION page 18 . . .
Fort Foster to Reopen KITTERY Fort Foster is a local treasure, steeped in history. Serving as an active fort from 1901 to 1946, it is now a town park, with trails, beaches, play areas, and outdoor function space. It is also a complex and vital natural resource, providing habitat to native and endangered animals, plants, and trees. As Fort Foster reopens in May, visitors will see exciting new park signage that reflects the newly updated park rules and regulations, and encourages everyone to help protect this vital natural resource. Park visitors may also notice signage indicating that invasive plant removal operations inside Fort Foster are underway. The town developed the Invasive Species Management Plan in 2020. Recommendations in the plan focus on controlling
existing invasive plants and eradicating new ones, with the goal of restoring the dominance of native plant communities throughout the park. The plan also aims to incorporate community education and engagement while fostering public acceptance and volunteer effort. Fort Foster passes can be purchased at the Kittery Town Hall Customer Service Center, Monday through Thursday, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., or online at www.epay.cityhallsystems. com. Fort Foster day passes will become available once the park officially reopens May 1. Please be advised that there are no open restroom facilities or trash receptacles inside the park until then. For more information, visit www.kitteryme.gov/fort-fosterpark.
See EARTH page 7 . . .
Health & Fitness
A section concerning your health . . .
16-17
Check out the pages on
FINANCE & CAREER 22
Don’t forget to visit Ogunquit for
April 23 - May 7 www.ogunquit.org