This week’s edition!
Archive for October 2016
Poliquin has family ties to Lewiston-Auburn
Congressman Bruce Poliquin grew up in Central Maine, but he has a close connection to the Lewiston-Auburn area, too. His grandfather grew up in Lewiston.
If you turn on C-Span early enough, you can see a Congressman crisscrossing the House of Representatives’ floor, introducing himself to Republicans and Democrats alike. That Congressman is Bruce Poliquin.
A third-generation Mainer, Congressman Bruce Poliquin grew up in Central Maine, but he has a close connection to the Lewiston-Auburn area, too. His grandfather grew up in Lewiston. The Poliquins lived in the area where Lewiston High School now sits.
“It’s pretty exciting to represent the Lewiston-Auburn area in Congress, with my grandfather having grown up in the area. It makes me proud to fight for the families of L/A and all of Maine,” he said.
“Growing up in a working-class Franco-American family, my parents wanted me to understand our heritage and to instill family values. I worked the night shift at a Maine factory and painted metal roofs in the summer so I could afford college. Now I work just as hard in Congress.”
Donald Trump Jr., Gov. LePage visit Simones Hot Dogs
George Simones, Melissa Simones, Governor Paul R. LePage, Donald J. Trump, Jr., James Simones and Linda Simones. More photos and video at www.facebook.com/TwinCityTimes. (TCT photo by Laurie A. Steele)
For decades, Simones Hot Dogs in Lewiston has been a hot spot for politicians to gather, and this week it was no different. Donald J. Trump, Jr. made it one of his campaign stops on Tuesday during his visit to Maine. After speaking to supporters at Howell’s Gun Shop in Gray and the GOP campaign headquarters in Auburn, Trump Jr. arrived at Simones. The restaurant was packed wall to wall with patrons eager to meet him and offer their support for the presidential candidacy of his father, Donald J. Trump. Trump Jr. was greeted by Governor Paul R. LePage and welcomed by an uproar of cheers from supporters. Someone promptly thrust one of Simones’ “famous” red hot dogs into his hands. As Trump Jr. took a generous-sized bite of the hot dog, the room exploded in chants of “Trump, Trump, Trump!” Making his way through the crowded room, patrons approached him, offering well-wishes and requesting “selfies”, which he graciously took time for. Pictured at the event is George Simones, Melissa Simones, Governor Paul R. LePage, Donald J. Trump, Jr., James Simones and Linda Simones. More photos and video at www.facebook.com/TwinCityTimes. (TCT photo by Laurie A. Steele)
Enough is Enough: Ballot questions seek to turn Maine into liberal “paradise”
It appears that the Missouri Compromise of 1820 granting statehood to Maine may soon be nullified. As I write, there are sinister activities going on behind the scene designed to assure the reunification of Maine and Massachusetts.
For many years Maine, whose slogan is “The Way Life Used to Be,” has served as a welcoming destination for the Massachusetts working-class exodus, escaping the tyranny of Moon Bat liberalism.
Now Maine’s life is being threatened by unvetted northeast Progressive interlopers who want to turn Maine into a Moon Bat paradise, where every aspect of our lives will be controlled by their superior thinking. You don’t believe me? Let’s look at the upcoming ballot questions.
Tourney raises $70K for planned CMMC Birthing Center
Representing Rodrigue & Son Painting, Steven, Kathleen, Dylan, and Cody Rodrigue took 1st Place Gross in the tournament.
Central Maine Medical Center’s annual Fall Golf Classic, held recently at Martindale Country Club in Auburn, raised over $70,000 for the hospital’s planned Special Delivery Family Birthing Center. The tournament hosted twenty-eight foursomes who enjoyed an event complete with bag valet service, a continental breakfast, a barbecue lunch, hors d’oeuvres, and a commemorative jacket for each player.
Powell named RSU 16 Student of the Month
LiSha Powell, with Tri-Town Optimist Club President Jeff Gagnon
The Mechanic Falls, Minot and Poland Tri-Town Optimist Club has named Poland Community School sixth grader LiSha Powell its RSU 16 Student of the Month for October. Powell is described by her teacher as a positive classroom role model who leads by example and consistently goes above and beyond in all she does.
Only Steps Forward: Downtown Transportation Center provides high-quality hub
Last week, the City of Auburn along with many different partners held a ribbon cutting for the Downtown Auburn Transportation Center. This center has been in the planning stages for over 12 years, first appearing as a recommendation in the Auburn Downtown Action Plan for Tomorrow (ADAPT) plan.
The original concept, as I’ve highlighted before in this and other reports, was to provide transportation connections from other cities and states to our downtown and for our residents and businesses to reach other regions. Over time, plans were downsized and a design to build just a small warming shack on Spring Street emerged to service just the local bus system.
Thankfully, with involvement from the office of Senator Susan Collins, MaineDOT staff member Sue Moreau and Phil Nadeau from the City of Lewiston and the local transit committee, we were able to pause the Spring Street project and revisit the original intent of a transportation center.
New endowment will benefit St. Dom’s students
Laurianne Cormier was still attending to her volunteer duties at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center a short time before her death on June 23, 2015, just two weeks shy of her 103rd birthday.
The Catholic Foundation of Maine has announced the establishment of a new endowment to honor a woman who touched the lives of countless people and to assist students who demonstrate a commitment to both academics and service.
The Laurianne Michaud Cormier Endowment will allow for an annual scholarship to be awarded to a Saint Dominic Academy student who excels in the classroom and is a volunteer at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston or another area health-care facility.
Cormier, a native of Lewiston, attended St. Peter’s Parochial School and graduated from Cours Supérieur, an upper school for girls, in 1928. Both of her daughters graduated from St. Dominic High School, now Saint Dominic Academy. As a child, Cormier dreamed of becoming a nurse, but the death of her father and the need to help support her family during the Great Depression required her to set aside that dream. In her retirement, she became a dedicated volunteer at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, accumulating nearly 20,000 hours of service over 35 years.
Work-study partnership trains new CNAs
Pictured (l. to r., from front) are Cher Tara of the CareerCenter; students Casey Moore, Paula Caron, Jennifer Robichaud, Jennifer Daigneault, and Roxanne Belle; Brittany Blais of St. Mary’s Health System; Nursing Unit Manager Danielle Harmon; CNA Instructor Gloria Barker; students Emily Jackson and Casey Fitzpatrick; CNA Instructors Teri Cyr and Brianna Robinson; Linda Roberts of the CareerCenter; and Jennifer Tiner of Lewiston Adult Education. (Photo by Monica Millhime)
Nine Lewiston Adult Education students recently graduated as Certified Nurses’ Aides at a pinning ceremony attended by family, friends, administrators, teachers, and community partners. The students successfully completed a collaborative program of Ready2Work provided by Lewiston Adult Education and an On-the-Job Training Program through grant funding provided by Western Maine Community Action and the Lewiston CareerCenter.
Community Little Theatre’s “Chicago” opens Nov. 4
Colleen Katana as Roxie Hart and Melissa Stevens as Velma Kelly head up the cast.
Community Little Theatre’s production of the hit musical “Chicago” will open on Friday, November 4. In “Roaring Twenties” Chicago, Roxie Hart murders a faithless lover and convinces her hapless husband, Amos, to take the rap… until he finds out he’s been duped and turns on Roxie. Convicted and sent to death row, Roxie and another “Merry Murderess,” Velma Kelly, vie for the spotlight and the headlines, ultimately joining forces in search of the “American Dream”: fame, fortune – and acquittal.
CCU, Evergreen Subaru “Fill the Forester” for Trinity Jubilee Center
Pictured here (from l.) are Scott Turcotte of Trinity Jubilee Center, Matthew Shaw of CCU, Marc Joyal-Myers and Josh Bisson of Evergreen Subaru, and Jennifer Hogan and Monty Moose of CCU.
In a celebration of their lending partnership, Community Credit Union and Evergreen Subaru recently teamed up for a Building Community Day event featuring a “Fill the Forester” collection of diapers for the Trinity Jubilee Center. Those who came in to the dealership at 774 Center Street in Auburn were also invited to enjoy some frozen yogurt from the Top It Frozen Yogurt Bar, spin a wheel for prizes, and speak with a sales person about any of Evergreen’s new or used cars. The event collected almost 2,000 diapers.
Located in downtown Lewiston, the Trinity Jubilee Center’s five programs, Meals, Food Pantry, Day Shelter, Resource Center, and Refugee Integration, serve more than 1,000 people every week. “This generous contribution of diapers will help more than 100 families,” said Executive Director Erin Reed.
