Maine

New StoryWalk trail in Readfield on Maine’s ‘lobster lady’ highlights growth in state of the reading educational experience

Published

2 years ago

September 17, 2022

New StoryWalk trail in Readfield on Maine’s ‘lobster lady’ highlights growth in state of the reading educational experience

Barbara Walsh, left, reads her e book, “The Lobster Woman: Maine’s 102 12 months outdated legend,” to Henry Trefethen, Wylan Dubord and others Sept. 8 throughout opening ceremonies for a brand new StoryWalk at Readfield Elementary College. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

READFIELD — The message that comes with native creator Barbara Walsh’s newest e book about Ginny, the 102-year-old lobster lady from Maine, is one which encourages folks of all ages to stand up and transfer round, irrespective of their age — a seemingly excellent theme for the primary official story on the Readfield Elementary College StoryWalk.

The StoryWalk was put in final 12 months however Walsh, together with Readfield Library Director Melissa Small hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 8 the place Walsh learn and lead the stroll by means of the trail on the college for round 35 attendees.

Walsh’s youngsters’s e book, “The Lobster Woman: Maine’s 102 12 months outdated Legend,” options Rockland’s Virgina Oliver, who turned a neighborhood celeb when the world caught wind of how at her age, she continued to lobster fish three days every week.

Walsh noticed her featured on the tv program, “207” and shortly sufficient, Walsh was on the lobster boat and strolling by means of Hannaford Grocery store together with her to be taught her story.

“With Ginny, she’s on the market, she’s nonetheless lobstering and interesting and that’s an essential message as you become older to not be in entrance of a TV or cellphone,” Walsh stated. “She’s a job mannequin for all of us and particularly as folks age.”

StoryWalks should not a brand new idea to Walsh, but it surely was the primary time her e book had been featured in a single and he or she knew and was conversant in Small and the Readfield Library after doing a number of story time readings for kids within the space.

When Small considered a narrative to function on the grand opening, “all of it fell into place,” she stated.

“Barbara (Walsh) says herself that it’s a narrative from ages 2 to 102 and everybody can get pleasure from it,” Small stated. “It’s a narrative a couple of Maine lady and a real story that every one ages can admire and be taught from.”

Barbara Walsh, middle, reads her e book, “The Lobster Woman: Maine’s 102 12 months outdated legend,” to youngsters Sept. 8 throughout opening ceremonies for brand new StoryWalk at Readfield Elementary College. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

The Readfield Elementary College StoryWalk is the second StoryWalk in Readfield, but it surely was put in similtaneously the StoryWalk behind the Readfield Library.

Small, with the assistance of Jada Clark, a nurse in Regional College Unit 38 which incorporates Readfield, put in two StoryWalk places within the city with a small $400 grant from Let’s Go!, in addition to outsourcing from members locally for the supplies.

Two pupil lessons — one at Maranacook Group Excessive College and one other at Kents Hill College in Readfield — created the constructions for 2 story walks, with every class creating all of the models for one location.

A web page of Barbara Walsh’s e book, “The Lobster Woman: Maine’s 102 12 months outdated legend,” seen in a case Sept. 8 through the opening ceremony for the brand new StoryWalk at Readfield Elementary College. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Each StoryWalks have been put in in Could 2021, however the Readfield Elementary College location didn’t formally open till this 12 months due to efforts to mitigate the COVID-19 scenario on the faculties by not attracting extra folks to the world.

Although books have been put in over this summer season, they weren’t marketed.

The Maine Library Affiliation requested librarians from throughout the state the place their StoryWalks are positioned and the overall response they’ve gained from having them.

Librarians from Orono, Bridgton, Auburn and Fryeburg and others replied, with most saying it proved to be an ideal exercise through the pandemic for households to do.

“When COVID-19 first swept internationally, we have been all navigating one of the best ways to proceed offering library companies to patrons,” one librarian stated. “With extra households displaying curiosity in out of doors packages, a StoryWalk appeared like an ideal providing to assist our neighborhood. StoryWalks foster youngsters’s curiosity in studying whereas additionally encouraging well being exercise.”

Tory Rogers first introduced a StoryWalk to Maine round 14 years in the past after listening to in regards to the thought by means of the founder, Anne Ferguson, and her sister-in-law at a party in Vermont.

Pediatrician Tory Rogers introduced StoryWalks to Maine after having a dialog with Anne Ferguson round 14 years in the past. Tory Rogers

As a listener within the dialog with Ferguson, Rogers thought it was “the good factor,” however as a pediatrician, Rogers noticed the hyperlink of the way it may assist meet objectives with bodily exercise and studying.

“There’s information on how we be taught and the extra you progress, the higher your studying is,” Rogers stated. “There are such a lot of research when you get them (youngsters) up for quarter-hour and they’re lively, then have them sit down and take a check, the exercise of the children who have been bodily lively earlier than a check did considerably higher than the children sitting and doing one thing else.”

Rogers is a pediatrician on the Barbara Bush Kids’s Hospital at Maine Medical Heart and senior director of Let’s Go!, a program that strives for kids to have wholesome habits. She believes the primary StoryWalk was at Freeport Elementary College.

Ferguson began StoryWalks a 12 months earlier than she met Rogers in Vermont, in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier.

Now, 15 years later, it’s unknown what number of StoryWalks there are, however they’ve unfold to all 50 states and 20 international locations. Ferguson provides this system free of charge and stated that as of lately, she has fielded calls from New Zealand, Israel and Estonia on beginning StoryWalks.

In accordance with her, the state with essentially the most StoryWalks is Massachusetts; the Boston Kids’s Museum and Boston Public Library even obtained a “Race to the Prime” grant through the administration of former President Barack Obama.

“They ready a number of books in StoryWalk format and distributed them throughout the state to neighborhood staff within the subject of early literacy,” Ferguson informed the Kennebec Journal. “It was very thrilling!”

A bunch from the town of Augusta’s college age childcare program walks towards one other framed e book web page as they make their manner alongside the brand new story June 29 on the brand new story path in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal file

As a way to put a e book in a “StoryWalk format,” two copies of the kids’s e book are wanted and are break up open on the backbone so it could match within the clear casing on the wooden pillar. Two copies are wanted as a result of when displayed, the again web page is not going to be proven.

Ferguson stated she has seen StoryWalks on the seaside, in faculties, at libraries and parks, and even in cities and playgrounds.

Nan Bell, the Let’s Go! coordinator for Southern Kennebec County and this system that initially gave Small and Clark the grant to begin the Readfield StoryWalks, stated she first found one in Cumberland at her grandson’s baseball sport.

“It was like discovering gold,” she stated.

Barbara Walsh, again, reads her e book, “The Lobster Woman: Maine’s 102-year-old legend,” to Gavia Hasenfus and others Sept. 8 throughout opening ceremonies for brand new StoryWalk at Readfield Elementary College. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Since then, Bell has tried to fund StoryWalks across the space and extra lately, helped with the set up of the StoryWalk at Farrington Elementary College in Augusta.

She turned captivated with them after discovering the one together with her grandson and since it may be a wholesome manner for kids to get exterior, like Roger’s reasoning.

“I feel it’s a silver lining to COVID,” she stated. “Extra folks have regarded to get exterior and there are much more folks utilizing (strolling or climbing) trails and in search of actions geared in the direction of youngsters exterior and interesting youngsters.

“Not that it wouldn’t have taken off that manner, however individuals are catching onto the concept that it’s a free household exercise that you are able to do exterior.”

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Maine

Increasing tobacco tax, AI protections among 2025 Maine health priorities

Published

3 hours ago

January 12, 2025

Press Room

Health experts and advocates are prioritizing a wide range of issues in the upcoming legislative session, spanning from the tobacco tax and artificial intelligence protections to measures that address children’s behavioral health, medical cannabis and workforce shortages.

Matt Wellington, associate director of the Maine Public Health Association, said his organization will push to increase the tobacco tax, which he said has not been increased in 20 years, in order to fund efforts to reduce rates of cancer.

Maine has a higher cancer incidence rate than the national average, yet one of the lowest tobacco taxes in the region.

“One in three Mainers will face a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime,” Wellington said. “We’re putting a big emphasis on educating lawmakers about all of the tools at our disposal to prevent cancer and to reduce the incidence of cancer in our state.”

MPHA also supports efforts to update landlord-tenant regulations to create safer housing that can handle extreme weather events and high heat days by requiring air conditioning and making sure water damage is covered to prevent mold.

Wellington also emphasized expanding the breadth of issues local boards of health are allowed to weigh in on beyond the current scope of nuisance issues such as rodents, and establishing a testing, tracking and tracing requirement for the medical cannabis program.

Dr. Henk Goorhuis, co-chair of the Maine Medical Association legislative committee, said he is concerned about the use of artificial intelligence in denial of prior authorizations by health insurance companies and said there are some steps the state could take.

Both Goorhuis and Dr. Scott Hanson, MMA president, emphasized stronger gun safety protections.

“The Maine Medical Association, and the Maine Gun Safety Coalition and the American Academy of Pediatricians … we’re all not convinced that Maine’s system is as good as it can be,” Hanson said.

Goorhuis added that while he thinks Maine has made progress on reproductive autonomy, it will be important to watch what could happen at the federal level and whether there will be repercussions here in Maine.

Jess Maurer, executive director of the Maine Council on Aging, and Arthur Phillips, the economic policy analyst with the Maine Center for Economic Policy, both said they are working on an omnibus bill to grow the essential care and support workforce and close gaps in care.

Maurer said this bill will include a pay raise for Mainers caring for older adults and people with intellectual and physical disabilities; an effort to study gaps in care; the use of technology to monitor how people are getting care; and the creation of a universal worker credential.

Phillips said he hopes lawmakers will pursue reimbursement for wages at 140 percent of minimum wage. A report he published this summer estimated that the state needs an additional 2,300 full-time care workers, and called for the Medicaid reimbursement rate for direct care to be increased.

Maurer said Area Agencies on Aging are “overburdened” with demand for services and at least three have waitlists for Meals on Wheels. She is pushing for a bill that would increase funding for these agencies and the services they provide.

John Brautigam, with Legal Services for Maine Elders, said his organization is focused on making sure the Medicare Savings Program expansion is implemented as intended.

He’s following consumer protection initiatives, including those relating to medical debt collection, and supports the proposed regulations for assisted housing programs, which will go to lawmakers this session.

Brautigam said he’s also advocating for legislation that will protect older Mainers’ housing, adequate funding for civil legal service providers and possible steps to restructure the probate court system to bring it in line with the state’s other courts.

Jeffrey Austin, vice president of government affairs for the Maine Hospital Association, said he’s focused on protecting the federal 340B program, which permits eligible providers, such as nonprofit hospitals and federally qualified health centers, to purchase certain drugs at a discount.

Austin said this program is crucial for serving certain populations, including the uninsured, but the pharmaceutical industry has been trying to “erode” the program. Maine hospitals lost roughly $75 million last year due to challenges to the program, he said.

Katie Fullam Harris, chief government affairs officer for MaineHealth, also highlighted protecting 340B. She said that although it’s a federal program, there are some steps Maine could take to protect it at a local level, as other states have done.

Both Austin and Harris said there is more work to be done on providing behavioral health services for children so they aren’t stuck in hospital emergency rooms or psychiatric units. Harris said there will potentially be multiple bills that aim to increase in-home support systems and create more residential capacity.

Austin said there’s a second aspect of Mainers getting stuck in hospitals: older adults with nowhere to be discharged. Improving the long-term care eligibility process will make this more effective. For example, there’s currently a mileage limit on how far away someone can be placed in long-term care, but that’s no longer realistic due to nursing home closures, he said.

This story was originally published by The Maine Monitor, a nonprofit civic news organization. To get regular coverage from the Monitor, sign up for a free Monitor newsletter here.

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Maine

Watch these otters playing in the Maine woods

Published

13 hours ago

January 12, 2025

Press Room

Watch these otters playing in the Maine woods

River otters are members of the weasel family, and are equally comfortable on land or in the water.

They probably are the most fun mammal Maine has, just because they like to play. But their play antics have a more serious purpose too. They teach their young survival skills, and hone their own, that way.

You will see them slide down riverbanks and muddy or snowy hills, wrestle with each other, bellyflop, somersault or juggle rocks while lying on their backs, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

The otters in this video courtesy of Colin Chase have found a fun log to include in their games.

Otters are social creatures but usually live alone in pairs. Parents raise two or three kits that are born in spring in a den near a river or stream, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife website says.

They primarily eat fish, but also shellfish, crayfish and sometimes turtles, snakes, muskrats and small beavers, according to the MDIF&W.

Otters can swim up to a quarter mile under water, and their noses and ears close while they are submerged. They also have a membrane that closes over their eyes so they can see better under water, the Smithsonian said.

They are mostly nocturnal so it’s a treat to see them during the day, playing or hunting for food.

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Maine

Maine State Police respond to dozens of highway crashes amid Saturday snow

Published

21 hours ago

January 11, 2025

Press Room

Maine State Police respond to dozens of highway crashes amid Saturday snow

Maine State Police responded to more than 50 crashes and road slide-offs Saturday after southern Maine woke up to some light snowfall.

Police were responding to several crashes on the Maine Turnpike (Interstate 95) and Interstate 295 south of Augusta, state police said in a Facebook message posted around 10 a.m. Saturday.

Maine State Police spokesperson Shannon Moss said that as of early Saturday afternoon, more than 50 crashes had been reported on the turnpike and I-295.

“The Turnpike has seen 24 crashes and slide offs primarily between Kittery and Falmouth with a higher concentration in Saco,” Moss wrote in an email. “The interstate has seen about 30 crashes and slide offs also in the Falmouth area but now in Lincoln and heading north.”

Moss said no injuries have been reported in any of the crashes.

“So far it appears visibility and driving too fast for road conditions are the causation factors,” Moss said.

State police reminded drivers to take caution, especially during snowy conditions, in the Facebook post.

“Please drive with extra care and give yourself plenty of space between you and the other vehicles on the roadway,” the post said. “Give the MDOT and Turnpike plows extra consideration and space to do their jobs to clear the roadway. Drive slow, plan for the extra time to get to your destination and be safe.”

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