Issue of June 5, 2008
An American flag that was draped outside South Portland High School for several months after graduates Angel Rosa and Jason Swiger died in Iraq last year has quietly been returned to the building entrance to memorialize a third war casualty: Justin Buxbaum.
No other Maine high school has suffered so many losses in Middle East conflicts, since the death of Buxbaum, who died of a gunshot wound on May 30.
Principal Jeanne Crocker said that after losing two former students within weeks of each other in 2007, there was a feeling in the school community that there would be no more deaths.
“We didn’t think it could happen again,” said Crocker.
Her comments were echoed by students and faculty this week, who say that the deaths of the three South Portland soldiers in 14 months bring home the dangers of war and the risks to young people who enlist.
Crocker plans a plaque to commemorate the former students:
• Buxbaum, an Army Specialist, who died in Afghanistan on Memorial Day. He was a 2004 South Portland High School graduate.
• Marine Lance Cpl. Angel Rosa, 21, also a 2004 graduate, who died on March 13, 2007, in Iraq.
• Army Sgt. Jason Swiger, 24, who died in Iraq on March 25, 2007. He was a 2000 graduate.
“It just seems that all too often we have an announcement that another soldier from South Portland was killed in the war,” said senior Tom Biskup, treasurer of the Student Senate. “Every time Mrs. Crocker comes on with an announcement now, we cross our fingers and hope that it’s good news, not bad news.”
“Obviously, when any soldier dies, it’s horrible,” noted Jake Viola, a high school junior and president of the Student Senate. “But these losses show everyone the war’s impact on family, friends and our community. The war is not on the back burner for us. We realize that Americans are dying.”
Planting carrots isn’t part of the average kindergarten curriculum, but it’s a growing part of the learning process at Scarborough’s Eight Corners Primary School.
Since late May, students and a few dedicated parent volunteers have been cultivating Eight Corners’ first community garden in two small plots behind the 250-student, K-2 school.
“I thought it would be a wonderful idea,” said Principal Sandra Gorsuch-Plummer, who was approached by parents in March. “It fits in wonderfully with our curriculum.”
A 1990 graduate of Scarborough High School and teacher leader at the district’s three elementary schools has been named principal of Pleasant Hill Primary School.
Kelly Mullen-Martin replaces Evelyn Horton, who is retiring.
Horton, a 34-year veteran, has been principal at Pleasant Hill for a decade. Mullen-Martin assumes her position July 1.
Mullen-Martin was recommended by a search committee composed of community members, staff members and School Board members, Superintendent David Doyle said.
“She impressed them,” Doyle said. “She’s got a great way with people. She really has strong feelings for students, and she’s very impressive … She’s been a great lady to work with.”
Mullen-Martin has been a consulting teacher for the primary schools since 2003.
At age 3, Alicia Fournier was diagnosed with epilepsy. At age 6, she auditioned for, and won, her first role on stage.
Now 9, the Scarborough girl lives with daily seizures that rob her of huge blocks of time from her memory. She spends her school days at Wentworth Intermediate in classrooms close to the nurse’s office, and, because of the seizures, she struggles to keep up academically with her peers.
But epilepsy hasn’t slowed Alicia’s performing career. And, thanks to frequent visits to Children’s Hospital in Boston, she’s developed a concern for others that is far beyond her years.
On June 21, Alicia will take her first steps in her public anti-epilepsy battle, starring in a two-hour Broadway revue, “Alicia and Friends,” in South Portland, to raise money for the Epilepsy Foundation.
“I tell (my daughters), ‘You have a good life and therefore you should do what you can to help others,’” explained Alicia’s mother, Julie Fournier.
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In a 4-3 vote that seemed to satisfy no one, the Cape Elizabeth Town Council narrowly approved a $3.8 million 2008-2009 school budget May 27, a 4.6 percent increase over the current year.
The budget approved will face a town-wide validation vote on June 10. An advisory question on the ballot will ask all voters whether they think the increase is too high or too low, to guide the Town Council in revising the budget for another vote should the 4.6 percent budget fail.
The budget was in excess of the 4.3 percent target originally set by the Town Council, but $263,083 lower than the 6 percent increase originally sought by the School Board.
Councilors Paul McKenney, Mary Ann Lynch, David Backer and Cynthia Dill voted in favor of the 4.6 percent increase. Cynthia Dill, James Rowe and Anne Swift-Kayatta opposed it, Rowe and Swift-Kayatta because they felt it was too high, and Lennon because she felt it was too low.
Eight Corners kindergartner Kellan Wood of Scarborough plants carrots in a school garden in this file photo from the issue of June 5, 2008.Send questions/comments to the editors.
