Jean Harris Retires From School

By Val Perkins, Principal

(Lamoine) - A long time employee and very well respected teacher Jean Harris has decided to retire. She said to me last week, “Mr. Perkins, I love my job, but the time has arrived when I need to step down and spend more time with my family.” Jean and husband Don are both native Smithfield, Rhode Islanders. They moved up to the Aroostook County town of Blaine, Maine nearly four decades ago where Don had been assigned as a soil scientist with the USDA office in Presque Isle. From Blaine, they went to East Machias and twenty- eight years ago the community of Lamoine was fortunate to have them relocate here.

Mrs. Harris has had a number of different assignments at our school and at Ellsworth High School. She began her career as a kindergarten teacher and remained in that position for five years. The past twenty-two years has seen Jean fulfill a vital role in our Resource Room as a Special Education teacher. It is here that Jean has had a tremendous impact by helping students overcome difficulties with decoding the complexities of reading as well as provide a nice support network for understanding math concepts. She is such a patient and caring teacher. We will miss Mrs. Harris very much, but I know that her home is just around the corner from the Lamoine School and as with her many other community involvements, she can always be counted on to help out in time of need.

The Last Day

Jean Harris gets ready to sign Owen McGreevey's yearbook on her final regular workday at school. Mrs. Harris was the school's special education teacher

“Island” Music Planned for State Park

(Lamoine) — Put on a tie-dye shirt and do your hair in dreadlocks—the Flash in the Pans steel drum band will be the featured performer at Lamoine State Park. The event will take place on Monday, August 1st from 7:30 to 9PM. No admission will be charged.

The event will benefit Friends of Lamoine State Park & the Lamoine Historical Society. Food will be sold at the park, and donations can also be made. More details will be available on the town's website (www.lamoine-me.gov) when we get them.

Flash In The Plans Steel Band

Go to Event Poster

Eight Graduate HS with Honors

(Lamoine) - The class of 2005 was a smart one, with eight Lamoine students graduating with honors. At Ellsworth High School Katie Good, Chad Smart, Katrina Proctor and Lucas Carriere all were named honor graduates. At MDI High School in Bar Harbor, Emma Stanley, Emily Christie, Richard Veysey and Josh Duym were among those in their graduating class receiving the honor tassels.

The Board of Selectmen did up certificates for each of the honor students who will begin college in the fall.

Students Visit Hurricane Plane

Photo & Story courtesy of Linda Feury, Hancock County EMA

(Bangor) - Seventeen Lamoine fifth grade students were treated to a field trip to Bangor International Airport to see “Miss Piggy”, a Lockheed WP-3D Orion Aircraft. “Miss Piggy” is better know as a “Hurricane Hunter” aircraft, headquartered at MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida, when it isn't flying into hurricanes.

Students and teachers accompanied by Val Perkins, Principal and Hancock County Emergency Management Deputy Director, Linda Feury had the opportunity to attend the “kick off” of the Hurricane Awareness Tour, held May 2 nd in Bangor. The Lamoine class was one of seven classes invited from Penobscot, Hancock, Waldo and Washington Counties to attend the Bangor event. The visit included a guided tour of the aircraft's data systems, radar, cloud physics, and flight director's stations, as well as a look at the Pilot and Flight Engineer's operations. Students were given an opportunity to hear from and pose questions to the pilot and flight engineer accompanying the tour group, which included Max Mayfield, Director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, FL. They learned that the total crew on a Hurricane Hunter flight numbers as many as 18-20 on its missions into the eye of a hurricane.

Help Sought

(Lamoine) — The town is looking for employees. Vacancies include the Road Commissioner's position, which pays a $500 annual stipend. Stu Marckoon asked not to be re-hired this year due to time constraints. The town is also looking for fill-in attendants at the Transfer Station. That position is paid hourly depending on qualifications. Interested persons should apply in writing to the Lamoine Town Office, 606 Douglas Hwy., Lamoine, ME 04605 by July 14th. The Transfer Station attendant pool is always open. More information on that job is available from Allen Sternfield at the facility.

Shirley Love Retires As Registrar

(Lamoine) — Registrar of Voters Shirley Love has retired from the Registrar of Voters position she has held for the past several years. Mrs. Love will move to Ellsworth for health and personal reasons.

Taking over as Registrar is Town Clerk Jennifer Kovacs. Having the registrar in the building on a regular basis will be important in the coming months as the Secretary of State's Office will supply each town with a new computer in an effort to centralize the voter registration database. The Registrar is responsible for keeping the voter list up to date and printing the list for each election.

Lamoine Cable TV Has Busy Spring

(Lamoine) — Lamoine's Government Cable TV Channel enjoyed a lot of programming during the 2nd quarter of 2005. The purchase of a digital video camera and tripod allowed the town to tape the April 28th special town meeting and the June 9th public hearing prior to the referendum vote on the 28th of June. The equipment was also used to record the 8th grade graduation. The Cable TV Committee voted to make copies of the graduation and supply the families of each graduate with a DVD of the ceremonies. The recordings became of high importance with the death of graduate Jina Haslam 6 days after the event.

The Cable TV channel bid good-bye to a young man who's been a key to most of the broadcasts. Chris Bowman has left to attend the Job Corps program in Limestone (though he returned for a few weeks in the summer). Chris has been the technician for many of the broadcasts, sitting through Selectmen and Planning Board meetings. Those attending the public hearing June 9th gave Chris a nice round of applause as thanks.

Softball Team Wins Union 92 Championship

(Lamoine) - The Lamoine Softball team (righ) won the Union 92 Championship with an undefeated season. Lamoine beat Hancock in the Championship game 15-3. Team members are: (front row) Lilly Cooper, Jina Haslam, Casey Wyman, Cara Weber, MacKenzie Curtis, (Middle row) Coach Joni Pinkham, Jen Eckert, Kayla Herbert, Drew Beauvais, Gabi Huebner, Danielle Hutchins, Coach Heidi, (Back) Alicia Lofton, Brittney Robbins, Emily Crotteau, Jen Tupper and Heather Tupper.