This week’s edition!
FREE Community Seminar Tuesday: Cartilage Restoration of the Knee
Spectrum Healthcare Partners – OA Centers for Orthopaedics’ surgeon Michael O’Malley, MD will host this discussion in Portland on June 11th, 2019. His comprehensive presentation will discuss knee pain, how cartilage restoration may help and what to expect from the procedure. He will also discuss when this procedure may be right for you and will answer any questions you may have.
Dr. O’Malley is a board-certified, fellowship trained sports medicine surgeon, who performs procedures in our outpatient surgery centers and at local hospital partner sites. As with the entire Spectrum Healthcare Partners orthopaedic team, he uses leading edge technologies and practices to provide you with exceptional care.
This free community seminar will be offered on Tuesday, June 11th from 6:00-7:00pm at OA Centers for Orthopaedics on 33 Sewall St. in Portland.
Though there is no cost for the presentation, we do request that you reserve your spot in advance. For more information or to reserve your spot now, call 207-482-7854 or email Nikki.withrow@spectrumhcp.com.
Bates event cancelled
The Bates College Conservation Area walk scheduled for Saturday, November 17 has been cancelled.
Congressman Bruce Poliquin Has Strong Family Ties to Lewiston
Congressman Bruce Poliquin
Many may not know that Congressman Bruce Poliquin has strong family ties to Lewiston. In fact, Poliquin’s family comes from Androscoggin County. His great-grandfather lived and raised his family in a home on land that sits near today’s Lewiston High School. Official 1920 Census records confirm that his grandfather Poliquin grew up in that house.
Bruce Poliquin as baby (r.) with brother.
“I’m proud to have a strong connection to the Lewiston-Auburn area,” said Poliquin. “It’s a privilege to represent Androscoggin County in the United States Congress. It’s even more special knowing my family is from the area.”
Bruce Poliquin as a child (r.) with his brother and father
A census record dated January 20, 1920 notes that a census taker stopped by the Poliquin household in Lewiston and recorded Lionel Poliquin as living in the family household. Bruce’s grandfather Lionel was 16 years old at the time.
Bruce Poliquin’s mother, Nurse Louise Poliquin
“It’s amazing to see the census document with my grandfather’s name listed,” said Poliquin. “It’s also fun to see his brothers and sisters, my great aunts and uncles, listed along with my great grandfather.”
1920 Census record of Congressman Bruce Poliquin’s grandfather Lionel Poliquin from Lewiston, Maine.
The document states that the family spoke French.
“I’m proud to part of the Franco-American community,” said Poliquin. “It wasn’t always easy for our Franco-American family members. Many historians have noted that the Ku Klux Klan was active in Maine back in the 1920s, targeting French-speaking Americans. However, we persevered, and the Franco American community became known for its hard work and determination.”
As Maine’s Congressman, Poliquin stands out as a Franco-American leader for the state.
He has pushed hard for welfare reform in Congress. This past year, he helped write part of a major bill that included Maine-based welfare reforms, specifically work requirements for work-capable adults who choose to take welfare benefits.
The legislation, commonly called the Farm Bill, deals with policies regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP. Poliquin’s additions to the bill require 20 hours per week of work, job training, or community service for adults applying for taxpayer-funded food assistance who are able to work.
“We Mainers – of all stripes and backgrounds – have a tradition of working hard and caring for one another,” said Poliquin. “We don’t want a handout, we just want a fair shot. I think that’s an important part of who we are.”
“I’m all in for compassionately helping our fellow Americans build brighter futures by furthering their education, training for employment, and finding a job,” said Poliquin. “Common sense work requirements will make sure limited taxpayer-funded welfare benefits are directed to those with disabilities, the elderly sick, children, and others who cannot care for themselves.”
Poliquin also successfully fought against illegal and unfair trade from China to help save jobs at Auburn Manufacturing, Inc. The Lewiston-Auburn area company produces a heat-resistant industrial material, and Chinese producers were selling unfairly subsidized material at illegally cheaper prices, putting Auburn Manufacturing at a competitive disadvantage.
Poliquin testified before the International Trade Commission, winning a huge victory by successfully arguing on behalf of the jobs at Auburn Manufacturing.
“Mainers can compete and win against anyone – the rules just have to be fair,” said Poliquin. “Fair trade is so important, and I’m proud to fight for a level playing field and for our jobs.”
Poliquin, who serves on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee in the House, also led the effort to fix staffing shortages at the Lewiston Vet Center that had persisted for two years. Counseling personnel at the Vet Center had been understaffed for several months, limiting service to veterans and their families in the area. Poliquin pushed the VA to fill the vacancies, working across the aisle with local Republican and Democratic lawmakers and officials.
“Every day I work on issues which impact the Lewiston-Auburn area and the region,” he added. “From fighting unfair trade which harmed Auburn Manufacturing, to fighting VA staff shortages in the area, to being a voice on ideas to lower healthcare costs, I get to speak up and fight for Maine. It’s exciting and gratifying.”
Congressman Bruce Poliquin is a third-generation Mainer who represents Maine’s 2nd District, which includes Androscoggin County, in Congress.
Act now! – Get $100 Thursday!
Seeking participants 20 years & older to participant in an issue-oriented focus group on Thursday evening, March 1 from 5:30 – 9:30 p.m. Sandwiches, coffee and water will be served. Only residents of Androscoggin County are eligible. Participants will be paid $100 to listen to brief presentations and respond to questions. Session will be held in downtown Lewiston. Contact Nicole at focusgroup129@gmail.com or call 520-1457. Only a few seats left!
Governor LePage and First Lady have weight-loss surgery at CMMC
“I really feel like I’m getting my life back.” —First Lady Ann LePage
Governor Paul R. LePage, Dr. Jamie Loggins and First Lady Ann LePage share a laugh in the kitchen of the historic Blaine House, the Governor’s residence. Keeping the weight off was a challenge, as the Blaine House staff makes mouth-watering pastries, scrumptious baked goods and freshly prepared meals almost on a daily basis for the many events held there. (TCT photo by Laurie A. Steele)
By Peter A. Steele
Governor Paul R. LePage made news last week when he announced he had undergone bariatric surgery to lose weight and improve his health, but he was not alone. His wife, First Lady Ann LePage, also had the weight-loss surgery.
The Maine media and people at public events had been speculating for months about the Governor’s noticeable weight loss. Was he on some kind of crash diet? Had he turned into a triathlete? Did he put a treadmill in his office to use while poring over legislation, budgets and vetoes? More importantly, was he sick?
First Lady Ann LePage and Governor Paul R. LePage decided as a couple to get weight-loss surgery at CMMC. (TCT photo by Laurie A. Steele)
Dr. Loggins brings expertise, awareness to America’s obesity epidemic
Dr. Jamie Loggins hoists Governor LePage’s dog, Veto, in the kitchen of the Blaine House. (TCT photo by Laurie A. Steele)
By Peter A. Steele
When administrators at Central Maine Medical Center decided to create the Maine’s premier weight-loss program, they searched the for the best baritatric suregeon in the country. They chose Jamie Loggins, M.D.
A former U.S. Army surgeon who is an expert at robotic and laparoscopic surgery, Dr. Loggins is a graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University who earned his medical degree at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago. He had been working on a fellowship in minimally invasive and robotic surgery at University of California at Davis in Sacramento, Calif. when he got the call from CMMC.
Although he had never considered coming to Maine, Dr. Loggins jumped at the tremendous opportunity to create a bariatric program from the ground up. He hired the staff, designed the facilities and purchased state-of-the-art equipment. “I would do a surgery, then put on a hard hat and go supervise the construction,” he said.
Raising the minimum wage will hurt 325,000 Mainers
Op-Ed by Paul R. LePage, Governor of Maine
Make no mistake: if you vote on Question 4 to raise the minimum wage, you will be hurting your grandparents and your elderly neighbors.
The socialists at Maine People’s Alliance are pushing hard to arbitrarily increase the minimum wage, claiming it will improve the lives of workers. They don’t tell you it will harm our most vulnerable residents: the elderly and those on fixed incomes.
Don’t be fooled: Question 2 won’t improve education
Op-Ed by Paul R. LePage, Governor of Maine
We all want the best education for our children. But to improve education, we must first learn what we are getting for the $2 billion-plus that Mainers spend on pre-K through 12 education.
The Maine Education Association, funded by the out-of-state national teacher’s union, has put a disingenuous initiative on the ballot in November. They claim it will “Stand up for Students,” but in reality it will extort more taxes from Maine families and businesses without improving education at all. In fact, as Mainers have steadily increased funding of public education, our students’ performance has remained flat.
Legalization of marijuana will make Maine less safe
Op-Ed by John E. Morris, Commissioner of Public Safety
I’ve spent my entire 50-year career in public safety and the military trying to protect and keep people safe. Some of the most challenging things I have dealt with were not actions of individuals, but the consequences of political decisions.
With Question 1, the ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana, you get to be the decision maker—you get to decide whether this law goes into effect. If it does, I can assure you the unintended consequences will be many. Please read the 30-plus pages of Question 1; you will quickly see what I’m talking about.
