A new Franco Trail L-A bus tour will offer a special test run on Friday, May 24 at 9 a.m. The bus will weave its way through the streets of Lewiston and Auburn, stopping at historic locations and sites that reflect the area’s French heritage as a tour guide explains their significance.

At least 18 locations have been identified and included as part of this all-day tour. The normal cost of the tour would be $75, but this special opportunity costs only $36, which includes all stops and attractions, plus two meals and a show at the Gendron Franco Center in Lewiston. 

Auburn Mayor Jason J. Levesque has announced that Marine Colonel Todd Desgrosseilliers (retired) has been selected as the Grand Marshal of Auburn’s Sesquicentennial Memorial Day Parade.

The parade will start on Monday, May 27 at 10 a.m. on Mill Street in New Auburn. It will follow Main Street into Auburn’s downtown, turn onto Court Street, then Turner Street, and proceed through Great Falls Plaza. It will then cross the bridge to conclude at Veterans’ Memorial Park in Lewiston, where a special Memorial Day ceremony will take place. 

A Pinning Ceremony was held earlier this month for graduates of the Central Maine Community College Medical Assistant Program. Family and friends were in attendance as members of the program’s 2019 graduating class were awarded their special medical assistant pins. Also participating in the ceremony were externship coordinator Anne Russo-Ladd and instructors Dr. Carmin Iadonisi and Tracey Martin.

The Androscoggin Retired Educators’ Association recently presented its Leadership Award to Sue Tymoczko at the Maine Education Retired Convention in Augusta. Tymoczko, who taught math at Edward Little High School for 32 years, is the group’s membership chair. For many years, she has served as captain of teams participating in the Dempsey Challenge and Autism Walk. She also works as a tax preparer for AARP and is a member of Delta Kappa Gamma and the Red Hat Society.

When Attorney General Mike Carpenter first dedicated the Maine Law Enforcement Officers Memorial to our fallen officers back in 1991, he declared “there never should be in the State of Maine another name added to it.”

With solemn grief and a renewed commitment to fulfilling that promise, we all gathered this week to add the eighty-sixth name to that memorial.

While the men whose names are chiseled into the law enforcement memorial departed this life in supreme acts of sacrifice, that is not the only thing they had in common. For those individuals – every one of them – the rule of law was not some dusty book sitting on a shelf or some set of bygone beliefs enshrined on a faded plaque. 

Peter Murphy (c.), named 2019 Auburn Citizen of the Year for his involvement in local volunteer organizations and his commitment to the community, recently visited the Maine State House, where he received a legislative sentiment and congratulations from the entire House of Representatives. He is pictured here with Auburn Representatives Bruce Bickford and Bettyann Sheats. 

A Community 5K Run-Walk in memory of Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Dennis P. Sampson will take place on Saturday, June 22 at Poland Spring Inn. The event will begin at 9 a.m. from a starting line in Preservation Park. Sign-ins will begin at 8:15 and Poland Spring Heritage Days events will follow at 10:00. 

Sampson passed away unexpectedly on May 5, 2018 while off-duty at his residence in Poland. Proceeds from this event will fund a scholarship to support a graduating Poland Regional High School student entering a first responder field, such as police, fire, rescue, and EMS. Sampson spent time working in local schools and occasionally provided opportunities for students to job shadow with him. 

The Challenge is a call to action for all mayors and other state and local leaders to publicly commit to making sure that every veteran who served America has a home in America. Pictured here with Mayor Jason Levesque (3^rdfrom l.) at Auburn City Hall are (l. to r.) Erin Kelly, Veterans Housing Services Program Manager, Preble Street Shelter; Robert Marcroft, Veteran Housing Services, Statewide Housing Liaison; David Tille, HUD New England Regional Administrator; and Clifford (Mike) Gray, Easter Seals Military and Veteran Services Care Coordinator.

Trek Across Maine and the American Lung Association have announced several new elements and released a detailed map of the new route for the annual three-day bicycle ride. For the 35th anniversary event, taking place June 14-16, the ride will have a new route that will start at Brunswick Landing in Brunswick and showcase more Maine cities and towns, including Bath, Freeport, Auburn, Lewiston, Augusta, and Belgrade.  

Final preparation and planning is still underway, but organizers have already unveiled a detailed map that includes specifics on the roads and streets to be used by the event’s 2000 bicyclists, along with an elevation chart for cyclists to use in planning their training rides. The map may be viewed at trekacrossmaine.org.

Education is key to Maine’s future and the future of our families. Nothing will have a greater impact on the economic prospects of all Maine people than investing in the education of our children.

Last week was National Teacher Appreciation Week, a time to recognize the significant contributions our teachers make to public education and to honor their commitment to the success of Maine’s students. On behalf of the people of Maine, I want to thank all of our teachers for dedicating their careers to providing our students with the foundation for greater opportunity and life-long learning.