A land search committee has narrowed down its choices to two possible spots for a new intermediate school – a parcel located across Gorham Road (Rte. 114) from the current Wentworth Intermediate School and another a mile away off Rte. 1 across from the Maine Medical Center campus.
The committee also has identified two other alternate sites, but is not recommending them. They are the Highlands property off Black Point Road and the town-owned drive-in property south of Town Hall on Route 1.
The committee, which has been meeting since December, is expected to make a presentation to the Scarborough Board of Education at a meeting on Thursday, April 4, at 7:30 p.m., in Town Hall.
The land off Gorham Road is called the Ruotolo/Foley site and consists of two separately owned parcels totaling 66 acres. The land off Rte. 1 is in the area known as Hunnewell Hill. The school would be built on the site known as the Leighton site, but there is a possibility of buying an adjacent parcel, for a total of 127 acres.
“We’re at the point where we think it’s appropriate to come back to the board and get some guidance,” said Land Search Committee Chairman Richard Shinay. “I think it’s safe to say, if all other things were equal, we would be recommending the land across the street from the current school,” Shinay said. “However, that site needs more analysis because of the potential wetlands which could impair any development. There are pluses and minuses to both properties. The committee felt that to pursue this option any further would be beyond our scope.”
The Cape Elizabeth Middle School Drama Club will be putting on the musical, “Peter Pan,” this year, with a cast of 125 middleschoolers.
The show will be up April 5, 6 and 7 at the middle school cafetorium.
It’s the sixth musical and the seventh production the club has put on in as many years. It began when the middle school renovations were finished in the mid-1990s, putting in performance space along with the cafeteria. Before that, there was a stage at one end of the gym, but that was less than ideal, said teacher and Drama Club advisor, Stephen Price.
At that time, kids said they wanted to get involved in dramatic productions, even though there was not much equipment in the school – not even a curtain over the stage or a good lighting setup, Price said.
Scarborough High School won the Division II statewide one-act play competition held over the weekend and also earned a special judge’s commendation for live music. Scarborough’s play, “Lovers/Winners,” was written by Irish playwright Brian Friel. Sara Berggren played Celtic music accompaniment on her flute. Despite the win, SHS does not get to advance to the New England Drama Festival because only Division I schools get to go. Cape Elizabeth’s one act, “Two Precious Maidens,” did well in the Division I regional competition but did not qualify to attend the New England festival.
The top two schools in Division I which will compete in finals were Wiscasset High School and Yarmouth. Caribou High School was named as an alternate.
In Division II, Catherine McAuley High School also earned several judge’s awards including awards for ensemble, costume design, set design, sound crew and dance and choreography.
Over the weekend of March 16, the Scarborough High School jazz band competed in the state jazz competition. The band fell short of victory, however.
“We were disappointed about losing, but we were happy to have made it this far,” said trombone player Gaelan Bailey.
The band played three songs. Their first selection was the fast, jazzy “Big Swing Face” by Buddy Rich. Their second song was “Rachel” by Sammy Nestico, which featured trumpet player Mike Nelson. Their final song was “Miss Fine” by Oliver Nelson. This song also featured Mike Nelson, this time playing bass.
The jazz band qualified to go to the state championships at a qualifier held at Noble High School, where two judges judged each school’s band. Scarborough received scores of 89 and 95, for an average of 92. A band needs to score at least an 85 to advance to the state competition. “We were really excited going into the performance,” said Bailey. “We played great and everybody sounded great.”
Participants in the jazz band are: on saxophone, Eric Nelson, Andrew VanHoogenstyn, Pat Norton, Ashley Drew and Mike Vanston; on trombone, Nick Hopkins, Gaelan Bailey and Jen Williams; on trumpet, Mike Nelson, Micah Davis, Mike Beaudoin, Josh Galean, Melissa Plourde and Alex Cardamone; on the rhythm section, Chelsea Sabo, Nate Kupel, Matt Garrett, Tom Pulyak, Jesse Dalton, Adam Devou and Shane Fitzgerald.
On the eve of the publication of his newest novel, “The Haunting of L,” Howard Norman will launch his national book tour in South Portland with a reading and signing at Nonesuch Books and Cards, Mill Creek Shopping Center, 50 Market St. Norman’s reputation was made with his Canadian-set,1987 debut novel,
“The Northern Lights,” and his second Canadian-set novel in 1994, “The Bird Artist.” Both were nominated for National Book Awards. “The Museum Guard,” his critically acclaimed third novel, “fairly glimmers with originality,” wrote the New York Times. Norman’s books are favorites among reading groups, both locally and nationally.
“The Haunting of L” is the final book in his Canadian trilogy. Like its predecessors, “it offers a potent mix of eccentric characters, mixed moral motives and a love story,” writes Publishers Weekly.
Rand Raabe of Scarborough will be teaching Nature and Outdoor Photography at the Maine Audubon Society,Wednesdays.
Raabe also has been invited, along with just a handful of photographers, to exhibit his work in the upcoming Spring Photography Exhibit at the Maine Art Gallery in Wiscasset.
A second-grader dressed as Clifford the Big Red Dog poses with friends at the Pleasant Hill School book fair in this file photo from March 28, 2002. The fair was a fundraiser for the school library. File photo
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