Artists Join Educators

BERWICK – Artists and educators join together to benefit students at Central School in South Berwick.

According to Kate Smith, who teaches music at Central School, the after school program known as WOW (We Offer Wonders) aims to incorporate art into the program for elementary students Pre-K through third grade. The program has previously included lessons in performing arts, cooking and sports.

“We’re trying a new Artsy WOW, something we've never done before.” said Smith.

The four week program would likely start in November at a cost of $20 per child. The cost would cover snacks and a one hour lesson once a week from a local artist. The local artist would receive a sum of $100 regardless of how many students participated.

“Any extra money that could potentially be earned would be used for scholarship funds either for this WOW program or summer camps,” said Smith.

Students would assemble at 3:15 and take fifteen minutes to eat a light snack, use the bathroom and settle in. The lesson would then run from 3:30 to 4:30 and would be age appropriate for students as young as four and as old as nine.

Smith approached the Berwick Art Association at their September 18 meeting to recruit any artists that might be interested in teaching the course. Member Ruth Bleau showed immediate interest in working with the children.

Bleau said she wasn’t sure at first what art lessons she could offer the young students. However, the more she thought about it, the more she began to recall days of her own youth where she spent time outside collecting beautiful things and turning them into interesting objects.

“I would love to instill in these children a love of the outdoors, the beauty of everyday things,” said Bleau “I am thinking of collecting cones, acorns, leaves, bark, lichen - what have you and making objects. Cones turn into Christmas decorations, maybe we can make wreaths from evergreen branches. I would love to try bracelets made from birch bark. The idea is really to enjoy being outside and appreciating nature but with added benefits.”

This hands-on approach fits in ideally with Smith’s goal of encouraging kids to “wonder about the world”. We want students to stop and think about their curiosities or problems before running directly to Google or grabbing a calculator, explained Smith.

“Absolutely the ability to research is a good skill to have but so is the ability to investigate, problem solve, deduce, eliminate, estimate,” said Smith.

Smith also pointed out that with classes getting cut back kids have to make harder choices today about what lessons they want to pursue. Programs like WOW offer those children a chance to explore areas that are being cut from many school itineraries.

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Happy Ending for 37 Rescued Cats

BERWICK – The level of community support received after The Red Barn Pet Services took in 37 rescued cats has left shelter owner, Peg Wheeler, with a renewed sense of faith in humanity.
 
On August 31, Berwick police responded to a call reporting a concern regarding multiple cats at a residence on River Street in Berwick. When Officer Bill Kelloway arrived he quickly learned that the woman at the residence had a warrant out for her arrest. 

However, after Kelloway determined there was no food in the house to feed the 37 cats, his first priority was to relocate the animals to a safe location. The woman, whose name has not been released, surrendered the cats voluntarily. 

The cats were transported to The Red Barn Pet Services in Berwick where the condition of their health was checked. No major health issues were found in any of the felines. However, Wheeler reports that they were all covered in fleas.  The cost to test and treat the cats was nearly $1,500.

“It was a miracle with this many cats in such a small space that the cats were as healthy as they were,” said Wheeler. 

According to Wheeler, amongst the 37 cats rescued one was a cat only six months old that is due to deliver a litter of kittens any day.  The oldest cat in custody was only ten months.

“It all started with two cats that were not spayed and just kept having kittens. Then those kittens started having kittens,” explained Wheeler. 

Shortly after the story reached the media, Wheeler was inundated with people from surrounding communities that were anxious to lend a helping hand.  People from Sanford, Biddeford, Portland and even Bangor started dropping of cash donations and supplies, said Wheeler. 

A visit to The Red Barn revealed dozens of economy sized bags of cats food, 700 pounds of cat litter and other supplies lining the walls. 

“There was a line of people going down the street, eager to adopt or donate,” said Wheeler. “I couldn’t believe it.” 

As of Sept. 10, there were four litters of kittens that were placed into foster homes, leaving 13 other cats that are quickly being adopted. 

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Berwick Residents Questions Selectmen Motives

BERWICK – The board of selectmen in Berwick faced some heavy criticism from displeased residents at the September 3 selectmen meeting. Two residents stepped forth during the public comment segment of the meeting to voice their concern over the lack of consistency in the manner that public meetings are announced.  

The standard procedure for most towns is to post public meetings on the town’s website, which isn’t always done in Berwick. However, the real subject of discourse seems to surround, not the website, but the sign outside town hall that has come to be an expected source of notification from residents. Many residents are upset that this sign is not used in a consistent manner to announce public meetings. 

  

When faced with complaints regarding the lack of public notice of town meetings at the last two selectmen meetings, town manager Patrick Venne, stated town officials have been in compliance with Maine state law’s requirements for notice of public meetings.  

However, Maine state law is rather vague on the method and length of notice that towns are required to give to the public stating: Public notice must be given in ample time to allow public attendance and must be disseminated in a manner reasonably calculated to notify the general public in the jurisdiction served by the body or agency.  

The question then comes into play: What is considered ample time?  

According to Berwick resident Oscar Stone, some meetings have only been posted hours before the meeting was scheduled to take place. Stone has spoken to this issue at the past two selectmen meetings, and many other times by Stone's own admission, yet the problem persists. 

At the August 19 selectmen meeting Stone referred to the board as a "bunch of sleazeballs" that had a hidden agenda to intentionally conduct business without the knowledge of the public. At the September 3 selectmen meeting, Stone merely suggested that the board suffered from general "incompetence".

Berwick resident, Mike Reed, joined the crusade against the town’s procedures in meeting notification. At the September 3 selectmen meeting Reed indicated that the recent meeting regarding the fire department’s report to the selectmen was never on the sign.  

“I’m very disappointed in the board of selectmen and the town manager’s procedures,” said Reed. “The perception around town is that this board wants to do things behind closed doors without letting residents know.”  

Reed also claimed that many long-time residents have been forced to move from Berwick because of the excessive spending the town has approved.  

Selectman Bart Haley, acknowledged the oversight of some meetings not being posted on the sign and one instance where a meeting was posted without a complete time. At the aforementioned fireman's report meeting, the sign outside town hall read: Meeting 30 PM. Haley stated he believed the reason for this was the town didn't have a seven for the board as most meetings typical start at five or six. Haley also assured Reed that they had appointed a town clerk with the responsibility of keeping up with the sign and that the problem would cease to exist.  

Board of selectman member, Eleanor Murphy, stated that the sign was a relatively new means of media and implied it wasn’t an official tool of communication.  

“There was never even a motion to put the sign up,” said Murphy. “As far as I’m concerned that board [sign] belongs to the former selectman that purchased it.” 

Venne also acknowledged Stone and Reed’s complaints at the meeting.  

“Your concerns are not falling on deaf ears, but all legal obligations were met,” said Venne.  

“What’s legal is not always what’s right for the town,” said Reed.  

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