By Nathan Tsukroff

RAYMOND – Summer camp is fun and educational. And for the Slovenski family, it’s a family passion.

After attending summer camps where their parents worked, the Slovenski brothers and sisters went on to become counselors, trustees and directors in Maine summer camps.

And then one of the brothers, Peter, who lives in Brunswick, opened a summer camp in Raymond.

Camp Hawthorne on the west side of Panther Pond in Raymond was closing, so Peter worked out a deal with the Plummer family to take over the camp in 2010, renaming it Slovenski Camps. The property is part of what used to be the Plummer family farm that was developed more than 200 years ago.

The story of camping goes back a generation, starting with parents Walter and Ruth.

Walter Slovenski was raised in western Pennsylvania and attended Syracuse University after serving several years as a Seabee in the Pacific theater during World War II. He met Ruth, a nursing student at Syracuse School of Nursing, and they were married in 1949. Slovenski went on to earn a master’s degree at New York University and coached both basketball track at Oneonta State College in New York for two years, where their oldest son, Steven, was born.

The family moved to Lewiston in 1952 for Walter to take on the role of head track coach and assistant football coach at Bates College.

The other Slovenski children – Susan, Peter, Paul, Sally, and Patti – were born in Lewiston, where Ruth worked as a school nurse in first the Lewiston and then the Lisbon school districts.

From City of Auburn

AUBURN – The cities of Auburn and Lewiston were expected to honor and celebrate the legacy of John Jenkins, the late Maine state senator and mayor of both municipalities, by renaming a footbridge in his honor.

The cities planned to vote this week on renaming the pedestrian footbridge that connects the cities as the “John Jenkins Memorial Footbridge.”

The Lewiston and Auburn city councils were each to consider and vote on the proposed footbridge dedication during their meetings on Tuesday.

Jenkins, who died in September, 2020, following a short but valiant fight against cancer, was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey. He fell in love with the area while attending Bates College, graduating in 1974. He made Lewiston his home after traveling the world and competing in martial arts championships.

Jenkins was an exceptional athlete, becoming a member of the Lewiston-Auburn Sports Hall of Fame, World Martial Arts Hall of Fame, Maine State Sports Hall of Fame, and USA International Black Belt Hall of Fame. He also worked with local police departments, providing self-defense and de-escalation training and as a Maine Criminal Justice Academy instructor.

A mentor, community volunteer, personal trainer, martial arts instructor, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, and more, John Jenkins was a dedicated and enthusiastic member of the Auburn-Lewiston community, serving as mayor of each city, winning once as a write-in candidate. He also served as State Senator for Maine’s 21st District – the first African American ever to be elected to the Senate.

“John was inspiring to so many in our community and beyond,” said Auburn Mayor Jason Levesque. “Whether it was his motivational speeches to school kids or his advocacy as mayor and senator, his love for people and for community was evident to all. Naming this bridge after a man that connects and connected the two great cities he loved is not just fitting, it is appropriate.”

Guest Column

By Sen. Ned Claxton

Another Maine summer has come and gone, and that means one thing – kids are back at school!

Though we all wish students were heading back to the classroom under better circumstances, I am thankful to all those who have and continue to work hard to ensure that everyone can learn, teach and excel while staying healthy. It won’t be an easy school year, but I’m confident that we can do it.

During the past session in the Legislature, we took some important steps to ensure all Maine children can learn and grow to their fullest potential. I wanted to use this space to share some of those changes that you should be aware of.

First, we took a big step in our fight to address child hunger in Maine. No child should ever go hungry, but today, nearly 1 in 6 Maine children are food insecure. This is completely unacceptable. We took action, and in the bipartisan biennial budget that we passed earlier this year, we made all school meals free for every student.

Traditionally, only certain students qualified for free or reduced lunches through the National School Lunch Program. While this has certainly helped generations of students, many still fall through the cracks. Certain students may be right above the cutoff for qualifying, yet still face challenging financial situations at home. Other students who do qualify for meals may not always get them.