EASTON NEWS
By Hillary Hallett
A few weeks ago 14 students from Easton Junior Senior High School as well as their bus driver and chaperone headed to August. On Thursday they arrived at the Capitol building and went through security. The first stop was the Hall of Flags where all Ag Day displays were set up. The group met with various industry representatives and discussed their products and answered many question about FFA and their chapter in particular. The group was able to have a lengthy discussion with Van Buren native Dan Devoe, Governor LePage’s ombudsman to Quebec and Willie Greenier of Maine Ag in the Classroom who have provided the Easton chapter with grant funding and books to read to the Easton Elementary students.
The also stopped by the House and Senate Chambers to have photos taken with Representatives Dustin White and A.J. Edgecomb and Senator Michael Willette.
The group then met with the Governor LePage. Once seated in the conference room, they were joined by Sen. Willette and a legislator from Madison along with a student from Skowhegan.
Our students questioned the Governor on the state of the fishing industry and the impact the pending minimum wage bill would have on Maine’s economy. The Governor inquired about each student’s family involvement in agriculture and if they intended to stay in Maine following graduation. The Governor presented each of participant with a gift and took time to pose for photos.
The Easton group then arrived in the House gallery amid a heated debate over sending the minimum wage bill to committee rather than straight to referendum. The students were very attentive to this discussion. They were summoned to the Senate for their introduction and promptly complied with the request. Following Sen. Willette’s introduction they stayed for a few minutes, however, due to the Senators not having the proper papers for the bill they were to consider, they were somewhat in disarray, thus the students returned to the House.
When exiting the Senate chamber, they met Attorney General Janet Mills, who introduced herself to the students and chatted with them about her office.
They arrived back at the House gallery just after the minimum wage bill had been voted on. Unfortunately due to a delay with the Governor and being summoned to the Senate the students missed both of their introductions to the House.
Lunch on Thursday was at the Maine Grange building accompanied by Reps. Edgcomb and White. The group had a nice conversation with Commissioner Whitcomb and the Representative from Elliot who spoke very highly of Reps. Edgcomb and White and informed us that they were among the youngest elected representatives in the nation.
After lunch the group toured the Capitol Justice Center and met with Supreme Court Justice Hjelm, clerks and Retired Chief Justice Daniel Wathen, who is from Easton. The group was met at security by Toni Day and escorted to the fourth floor Supreme Court room where we were met by Justice Wathen.
Justice Wathen, after inquiring about each student’s family background and giving us an explanation of his Easton High school experience, explained the workings of the court system. Following Justice Wathen’s presentation, Toni Day took group on a tour of the justice center. It started at the garage area where prisoners are brought into the facility and ended in the Supreme Court justices offices where we met Justice Hjelm and numerous law clerks.
The students were particularly fascinated with the security control room. One person can view and control access to any part of the building from this room. While in the control room, they also got to view the jury being given further instructions for a murder trial and see what a functioning courtroom looks like.
On Friday morning the group gathered in the environment and natural resources committee room located in the Cross Building. Rep. White explained the committee process and had the students each draft bills to be voted on by the committee. The students authored four proposals and then the students were moved in to the witness seats to present their bills.
Following a short primer on the rules of the decorum, the presenters presented their bills to Rep. White and Adviser Kevin Marquis, who acted as the House and Senate committee chairs. One bill that engendered much discussion was an act to repair the school lunch program. The students learned about state and federal regulation overlap and where lunch program funds come from. The group also learned that rules can be changed at the state level.
Rep. White informed the group that he has a bill in that will affect Easton’s FFA chapter. A bill passed last session dictates that all non-profits will collect sales tax on food items sold. This generated a great amount of discussion on the impact to the ocal chapter as well as other school groups.
The next tour was of the Department of Education; during the visit the group was spotted by acting Commissioner of Education, William Beardsley. Dr. Beardsley sent his secretary to invite the group for an impromptu meeting. They learned that Dr. Beardsley has a strong connection to agriculture, having a degree in ag economics and studied in Africa. He also ran a maple sugar business during his youth.
Last on the list was a stop at the Maine State Archives where archivist Samuel Howes opened the doors just for the Easton group. Students were taken to the Civil War Conference Room and shown many documents from Freemont Plantation and letters sent to Augusta on behalf of the town’s grievously wounded seniors. This sparked a great a great discussion of the Civil War’s impact on families. The group then travelled home.
Francis Malcolm Science Center plans Launch Day
The Francis Malcolm Science Center invites members of the public to Launch Day, Saturday, April 30th. The Center will open its doors to demonstrate their new digital projection system recently installed in the planetarium theater. Demonstrations will be given every 30 minutes from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience this exciting new technology!
Refreshments will be served and Planetarium Director Larry Berz will launch a giant model rocket at noon! A presentation of $10,000 will take place at 11:45 a.m. There will also be interactive displays and refreshments in the lobby.
For more information about this event please call the Science Center at 488-5451.
Easton prepares for Pageant
The 2016 Easton Pageant is well underway. This year’s contestants are Little Miss contestant Ashton Embelton, Tiny Miss contestant Allison Bate, Pre-Teen contestant Amelia Bate, Teen Miss contestant Anna-Marie Tompkins, Miss contestant Breann Clayton and Jr. Miss contestant Alysa Lamoreau.
The current queens are 2015 Little Miss Easton Chloe Lento, 2015 Pre-Teen Miss Easton Makenzie Kinney, and 2015 Miss Easton Madison Shaw. The pageant is Saturday, April 23, at the Easton High School at 7 p.m. The cost is general admission for $7.
Co-ed Softball
Easton Recreation is now accepting registrations for the summer 2016 co-ed softball league. Please contact Hillary if you plan to enter a team or for more information. Fee will be determined by number of teams who enter.
Kindergarten/Early Childhood
Program registration
Easton School Department is now accepting registration for children entering kindergarten or pre-K in the fall of 2016. All children residing within the Easton school district who are 5 years old (on or before Oct. 15, 2016) are eligible for enrollment in the kindergarten class. All children residing within the Easton school district who are 4 years old (on or before Oct. 15, 2016) are eligible for the pre-K class.
Please call the Easton Elementary School at 488-7700 as soon as possible to register your child for either of the above classes. The classroom teacher will notify parents/guardians when an informational meeting for parents is scheduled.
The following documents are required by the State of Maine: (1) Proof of immunizations, (2) Birth Certificate (hospital copies are not acceptable), and (3) Proof of Residency (rental agreement, utility bill, etc). These documents must be presented prior to the child beginning school.
Sesquicentennial Memorabilia
As a year of celebrating Easton’s year-long 150th birthday has concluded there are still a few items available including books on the history of Easton, titled “A Community Carved from the Wilderness 1865-2015 for only $10. 20-ounces glasses with Bears & Sesquicentennial logos for $8, glass coffee mugs with Bears & Sesquicentennial logo, royal blue T-shirt with sesquicentennial logo for $8 (sizes are limited), blue sweatshirts with sesquicentennial logo for $20 (quantities very limited) and two-tone caps or standard caps with Easton Bears logo or Sesquicentennial logo for a price of $10.
Orders can be placed by emailing info@eastonme.com or calling the Town Office at 488-6652. To see samples please visit eastonme.com or stop by the Easton Town Office.
Hillary Hallett is the correspondent for Easton. She can be reached by sending an e-mail to hillary_jt@myfairpoint.net or calling 551-7737.
