Thumbs up to all of the volunteers who spent last Wednesday doing work for nonprofits as a part of the United Way of York County’s Day of Caring. The annual event brings employees from local businesses out of the office and into the trenches ”“ literally ”“ as employees of Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution dug trenches to catch rainwater at the YMCA in Biddeford. Other work at the site included clearing trails in the woods and installing mulch on the playground. Multiple sites in the county benefited from volunteers, and those nonprofits’ leaders say the work would likely not get done without the generosity of the volunteers and their employers. Some of the other beneficiaries included Lebanon Elementary School, where volunteers from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard built “buddy” benches and bat houses; Springvale Public Library, where volunteers from Central Maine Power did tree work and landscaping; Wells Reserve at Laudholm, which got new bunny habitats thanks to Cision employees; and volunteers from the Kennebunk, Kennebunkport & Wells Water District worked on building an outdoor classroom at Middle School of the Kennebunks.
Thumbs down to the handling of an assault and robbery case that took place in Buxton recently. Police there initially reported that two people were arrested and charged with the crimes after allegedly hitting a 61-year-old woman on the head, binding her hands and ankles, and stealing $5,000. Police also said they were seeking a third suspect, who was later arrested and charged, too. Since that time, the charges against all three have been dropped, and now, 30-year-old Michael Crockett Jr. of Buxton is trying to clear his name. He told the Journal Tribune last week that since the events were heavily reported in the news media, he’s received death threats, lost his job and visitation rights with his daughter have been curtailed. Crockett said he blames the Buxton Police, and said they did not adequately vet his attorney’s attempts to connect police with the people who could provide an alibi for him during the time of the crime. This is an unfortunate situation, and while it’s understandable that police sometimes need to make difficult decisions ”“ they said they believed there was an imminent public safety risk ”“ Crockett is clearly suffering the consequences. Law enforcement should help him clear his name by speaking with his former employer and those involved with his visitation rights, to help remedy this situation. Although it cannot be taken back, there are certainly steps that can be taken to minimize the adverse effects now that the charges against Crockett have been dropped.
Thumbs up to Sanford resident Fred Berren, who will be speaking at the Relay for Life of York County’s annual fundraiser on June 21 at the Kennebunk High School track. Berren will be speaking about his late wife, Jody Vlodek Berren, who died at the age of 39 in January, after a 7 1/2-year battle with breast cancer. Berren said in a recent interview that he will talk about his wife’s fighting spirit and the importance of the fight against cancer. The event raises money for the American Cancer Society, which in turn supports patient programs and research for cures. It’s always difficult to share one’s story of loss, but people like Berren are helping to put a face to the disease, reminding people to remain vigilant in their own prevention efforts and to lend a hand to the cause when they can. For more information or to donate, visit www.relayforlife.org.
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