This week’s edition!
Events
LYAC hosts MOTIVATE ME celebration
LYAC member Fatuma Mohamed with LYAC Co-Advisor Maggie Chisholm
By Dottie Perham-Whittier
Youth encouraging youth was the theme at the MOTIVATE ME standing-room-only event hosted by the Lewiston Youth Advisory Council and the Lewiston Firefighters Association.
LYAC received 480 responses from seventh and eighth graders in Lewiston Middle School and St. Dom’s Academy to the question: “What motivates you to do well in school?” The 29 stand-outs were recognized on May 11 in the Lewiston Council Chambers.
Lewiston Mayor Laurent F. Gilbert Sr. kicked off the evening. “The question LYAC asked provided a wonderful opportunity for the students to really think about what matters to them and what they want their future to be like,” he said. “I also commend LYAC for taking the time to focus on younger students’ aspirations and to serve as role models to them.”
Register now for Chief Worumbo River Race
For what has become a signature event at the Town of Lisbon’s annual Moxie Festival, the Androscoggin Land Trust has announced that registration is now open for the 13th Annual Chief Worumbo Androscoggin River Race. The annual fun-for-the-whole-family river event, which is set for Sunday, July 10, is one of the largest single-day paddling events on the Androscoggin River.
The Chief Worumbo Androscoggin River Race’s relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere has made it among the most popular paddling events in the Northeast, drawing hundreds of boats and participants from across New England. Paddlers in canoes or kayaks in 11 categories will kick off at the Durham Boat Access on Route 136 and race six miles downstream to the finish line under the railroad trestle where the Sabattus River meets the Androscoggin at Route 196 in Lisbon.
LaBonte on L-A: We must grow in ways that make us different
By Jonathan P. LaBonte
TCT Columnist
A certain romance radiates when you speak to longtime residents, or those that visited here from away, when they recall the heyday of downtown Lewiston-Auburn. They remember with affection the movies and shows in the evenings, the small shops and the large festivals that celebrated culture and heritage.
Beyond the stories of the experience along Lisbon Street, for example, it was the interactions with friends and family and neighbors that make those warmhearted memories linger.
When was the last time you heard someone share a tale of how fun it was to walk through a 200,000-square-foot department store? Or how unique it was to walk through a 200-car parking lot for chain-restaurant dining? Perhaps someone discussed moving to a city because of its robust industrial parks dotted along interstate interchanges.
Chamber After Hours is tonight at Pedro O’Hara’s!
TCT Publisher Laurie (McLean) Steele, right, and her sister Sharon (McLean) Lagasse, an advertising specialist at TCT, put aside their Scottish roots to join the St. Patrick’s Day celebration at Pedro O’Hara’s with owner Bill Welch. The After Hours tonight at Pedro’s promises just as much fun!
The Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours will be held tonight (Thursday, March 24) from 5 to 7 p.m. at Pedro O’Hara’s at 134 Main St., Lewiston. All are welcome to attend!
Pedro O’Hara’s features Mexican, Irish and American food and beverage favorites in a pub-style atmosphere. The Pedro O’Hara’s team promises fun, food and prizes, topped off by the opportunity to network. To learn more about Pedro’s, see www.pedrooharas.com.
Come enjoy food, prizes and fun throughout the event, as well as sharing fellowship with friends and colleagues, old and new.
Business After Hours, which does not require advance registration, is considered one of the most valuable networking opportunities offered by The Chamber for members and non-members alike.
Governor LePage honored at Franco-American Heritage Center
Maine Governor Paul LePage was honored on March 16 at the Franco-American Heritage Center during “La Semaine de la Francophonie.” A Lewiston native, LePage grew up in Little Canada and attended church and school at St. Mary’s, which is now the home of the Franco-American Heritage Center. He was baptized in the church, served as an altar boy and made his first confession there. After a reception, the crowd moved to the performance hall, where LePage was asked to say a few words. He got laughs when he said that he was well-acquainted with the confessional in the corner. Pictured with the governor are his wife, Ann (left), and Rita Dube, executive director of the Franco-American Heritage Center. (TCT photo by Peter A. Steele)
LETTER: The Military-Industrial Complex and class warfare
To the Editor:
I don’t recall any news story exposing retirees and union workers rigging political elections. Neither was there any mention of school teachers making risky investments that threatened to topple Wall Street.
Unemployed Americans didn’t urge the world powers to battle in the Middle East by means of fictionalized claims of WMD and false claims of their supporting of the terrorists who toppled the Twin Towers. The only conspiracy exposed has been schemes between American billionaire businessmen and elected American officials, but nothing is done about it.
Yet all the above-mentioned Americans have been forced to pay the price for investment firms whose operating procedure was based on greed and speculation in ill-advised investments in extremely risky mortgages on such a scale that world markets were endangered when it all started coming apart. We are footing the bill to keep Wall Street liquid.
Unionized state workers have been blamed for increases of property taxes, and they are losing their collective bargaining rights. That word, “rights,” is a sticking point for me. State governments want to take away citizens rights? States want to break contracts they’ve agreed to? Remember, union members are taxpayers, too.
Pedro O’Hara’s opens today at 11am for St. Paddy’s Day!
Pedro’s offers Irish food and drink specials, free valet parking and give-aways all day! Click on Digital Edition at left and see Pedro’s ad on Page 1.
Androscoggin Dance presents “A Magical Performance”
Androscoggin Dance will present “A Magical Performance” on Saturday, March 5 at 2 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. at the Franco-American Heritage Center in Lewiston. The event will feature two ballets, “La Boutique Fantasque,” a classical ballet about a doll shop that comes to life, and “The Magic Painting,” a contemporary ballet about artist apprentices’ that are beckoned into the enchanted masterpiece and their struggle to return to the artist studio. Pictured doing the “Can-Can” in “La Boutique Fantasque” are (l. to r.) Melina Plummer, Jacob Spellman, Heather Baxter, Laura Hansen, Kiah Baxter, Mariah Perry, Sara Spellman, Lacey Moyse and Neil James. See story, page 13. (Photo by Rob Spellman)
L-A to vote for winner of $100,000 entrepreneurial contest
After months of encouraging young entrepreneurs to submit their best business idea, the Launch L-A contest team is pleased to announce that its judges have winnowed the entries down to two finalists.
The start of the online voting process coincides with National Entrepreneurial Week.
Starting immediately, the public will be able to vote for which idea they think is the best in terms of viability and what business they’d like to see in Lewiston-Auburn. The two finalists are Lifestyles Massage–Bodywork for the Working Body, submitted by Chelsea Elizabeth Fournier, and The Havener Hot Plate ski binding plate, submitted by Donald Havener.
Collins: A Seven-Point Plan for Maine Jobs
By Senator Susan Collins
(R-Maine)
Through no fault of their own, too many Americans—and thousands of people here in Maine—have lost their jobs and continue to struggle to find work in this tough economy.
Putting Americans back to work is the key to economic recovery and must be the number-one goal for Congress. I recently introduced my Seven-Point Jobs Plan to help us reach that goal.
My plan recognizes that small businesses are our job creators; thus, our efforts must be targeted toward helping small businesses start-up, grow and prosper. In Maine alone, we have 141,000 small businesses. During the last decade, America’s small businesses have created about 70 percent of all new jobs.
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