Thumbs up to all the participants and organizers of the Mad Science event at the Village Fire Station in Kennebunkport, which was held the weekend before last. Children were able to participate in the presentation as they learned about cave exploration and geology.
Taryn Friedman, who is co-owner of the Portland-based Mad Science group, said she aims to make activities and presentations hands-on and interactive, so that the children are engaged and eager to learn about science. STEM subjects are the way of the future, and we’re pleased to see Friedman and others working to make children interested in these subjects so they might pursue them later in life.
Thumbs up to Regional School Unit 23 for passing the savings in its most recent budget back onto its member towns to help reduce the tax rate. After a recalculation by Thornton Academy and news that the district would be receiving more than expected in state aid, Saco received $503,268, Old Orchard Beach, $111,654 and Dayton received $67,921. The RSU could have kept the funds to help fund next year’s budget, but instead, school board members recognized that it would help local taxpayers to have that money back to hopefully help lower their tax bills.
Thumbs down to those complaining about Biddeford’s new curbside recycling program. This program has been a long time coming, and the city’s solid waste committee and council spent much time working on and discussing the recycling regulations. There was ample time for residents and business owners to comment and participate in the process, and changes were even made following discussions with some of the city’s downtown apartment building owners. Recycling containers have been provided to commercial apartment buildings that were considered “grandfathered,” but those residents do have to purchase trash bags for their waste disposal. It’s good that the city was able to include more buildings than it expected in the recycling program, and residents who aren’t happy with the set-up should take full advantage of the opportunity to recycle for free ”“ as most packaging and other products we use can be recycled rather than thrown out. Trash disposal ”“ like snow removal and other amenities ”“ is just one of the prices of apartment and condo living.
Thumbs up to the children and adults who have worked to make fresh produce available to the families in and around Pierson’s Lane Playground. The Joyful Harvest Neighborhood Center after-school and summer programs planted raised-bed gardens with many kinds of vegetables earlier this year, and children and others continue to work in the garden to weed and harvest the vegetables. Even better still, some of the produce will be used in “Cooking Matters,” a program of the Coastal Healthy Communities Coalition, in which the children are taught about how to use the food. We hope families will take advantage of the fresh vegetables and the information on how best to use them in meal preparation.
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