Tap icon teaches locally
The Dance Studio of Maine in Gorham hosted a master class Nov. 5 with tap great Savion Glover. The class, open to intermediate and advanced level tappers, was attended by tap dancers from all over Maine and New Hampshire, including several dance studio owners and teachers.
“Savion was amazing. The dancers were amazing,” said Trish Moulton, owner of Dance Studio of Maine, “I am so thrilled to have provided the dance community with this opportunity to learn from one of the greatest in the industry. It is inspiring, and I am excited to continue to offer other classes and workshops with artists at this level and caliber of talent in the near future.”
For information on other upcoming special classes and workshops, visit www.dancestudioofmaine.com or Facebook.
Main Street update plans under way
Gorham planning officials and consultants are working to incorporate public suggestions into a document about updating the town’s Main Street Master Plan.
Public input was heard in a workshop meeting on Nov. 13. Gorham Zoning Administrator David Galbraith said on Tuesday about 45 members of the public attended the workshop.
Galbraith said suggestions from the public included improvements for pedestrian safety in Gorham Village and developing a unified streetscape. Galbraith said members of the community were positive, engaged and excited. “We had some great suggestions,” Galbraith said.
He said information about last week’s meeting would be posted on the town’s web site www.gorham-me.org.
Galbraith said the town would schedule another public hearing about the master plan before sending it to the Town Council.
Bartlett heads state Democrats
Former state Sen. Phil Bartlett of Gorham has been chosen to lead Maine’s Democratic Party.
Bartlett on Nov. 16 was elected by the Maine Democratic State Committee as its chairman, succeeding Ben Grant.
“I am honored to serve as chair of the Maine Democratic Party and hope to bring the same passion and dedication that my predecessor brought to this role,” Bartlett said in a statement released by the party. “This is a critical period of self-reflection for the party and I look forward to working with elected leaders, candidates, staff and local and county organizers to analyze the results of the election,” Bartlett said in a statement released by the party.
Bartlett, who served in the Senate from 2004 to 2012, was the Senate majority leader in the 124th Legislature. He was one of Maine’s representatives to the Democratic National Committee for the past two years, according to the Maine Democratic Party.
USM alumni
mentoring on campus
Eleven graduates of the University of Southern Maine returned to the Gorham campus on Wednesday, Nov. 19, to participate in the university’s Alumni 30-Minute Mentoring Program. The alumni met with students to mentor, network and share experiences.
Among the mentors were a music therapist, a police detective and an etiquette consultant. Gorham residents participating werre real estate agent Sherrie Benner, who serves on Gorham’s Town Council; Charles “Chuck” Crockett, retired Hannaford director of investor relations and assistant corporate secretary; and Ezra Friedlander, Portland Web Works software developer.
Shaw to aid immigrants at border
Laura Shaw of Gorham and Amber Attalla, students at the University of Maine School of Law, are the first legal team from Maine to travel to the Southwest in response to a humanitarian crisis at the U.S. border
They left on Nov. 16 to spend a week as volunteers at the Artesia Center, an immigration detention center in New Mexico.
At the Artesia Center, Shaw and Attalla will provide legal assistance to unaccompanied immigrant children and women. The trip is being coordinated by the law school’s Refugee and Human Rights Clinic, a hands-on program in which student attorneys represent people seeking asylum or other protections under federal law.
Shaw is a third-year law student and Attalla, from Amherst, N.H., is a second-year student. To cover their costs, the students raised $2,500 from area law firms, attorneys, fellow law students, Maine Law staff and faculty, family, friends, and funding from the Student Bar Association at Maine Law. Shaw and Attalla will be documenting their trip on their blog: http://amberandlaurainartesia.wordpress.com/.
U.S. taxpayer debt
The Bureau of the Fiscal Service reported on Nov. 11 that the U.S. public debt was $17,941,406,575,143.38.
Dance Studio of Maine hosts a master class with tap sensation Savion Glover.
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