Munjoy Hill News

By Carol McCracken (Post # 389)

The annual Rally for Hunger Relief will take place at city hall plaza on Friday, February 12th from 9:15 am – 9:45 am. As before, fifty area school children will walk the streets Friday morning spreading their message of hope for hunger relief.

At the same time, a press conference will be held on the steps of city hall. Guest speakers will be Mayor Nick Mavodones and Cheryl Leeman, of US Senator Olympia J. Snowe’s office here in Portland. She is also a member of Portland’s city council. There will be other guest speakers; all addressing hunger relief initiatives in Southern Maine and Wayside Soup Kitchen & Food Rescue’s exciting transition away from the traditional soup kitchen model and into a neighborhoold-based meals programming.

For more information, please email Melissa Gates, director of food programs at Food Programs Wayside Soup Kitchen at MGates@waysidesoupkitchen.org

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Jessica Milneil & Project Manager Scott Lewis; boarding up windows before installing the trim.

Leonard Cummings announced at noon today that a news conference has been scheduled for Monday morning, February 15th at 11:00 am at the old meetinghouse on Newbury Street. Cummings, president of the Committee to Restore the Abyssinian said that there are a number of announcements about the future of the church that will be made at that time.

Cummings’ announcement came as he was interviewed by Amy Sinclair of NECN television for airing during the 4:30 pm segment of the show this afternoon. Sinclair said that she has wanted to do a story about the Abyssinian for a long time now and this is the first opportunity it has worked out for both of them.

Meanwhile, employees of the Berwick, Maine-based Preservation Timber Framing co. have been putting up scaffolding around the building for the last week or so. Project Manager Scott Lewis said that as soon as all of the scaffolding is up the team will be able to replace the trim. Following that, the roof will be replaced. That should take 2 to 3 months, Lewis said. Working with Lewis today were Jessica Milneil and Shawn Perry.

The meetinghouse was built in the late 1820s and has served many purposes. It was the cultural center of the community. It served as a church and an important part of the underground railroad, a stable and more. In 1917, the meetinghouse was converted to apartment buildings. The city took the building for back taxes and in 1998 it deeded the building to the Committee for $250. According to Cummings it will have cost over $1,000,000. to restore the exterior of the building and it will cost that much as well to restore the interior of the building.

(editor’s note: MHN erroneously labeled the above photos. The description under the photo of Leonard Cummings should be under the top photo!)

Kevin L. Scott at the Front Room yesterday

There are 13 candidates running for Govenor of Maine this November and if Scott gets his way, he’ll be the 14th candidate. With the tell-tale clipboard in hand, Scott sat down at the bar at the Front room for lunch yesterday. Following lunch, Scott left the crowded restaurant looking for people to sign his petition so he can earn a spot on the ballot for Governor this fall. He needs 4,000 signatures to qualify to be on the ballot. So far, he’s collected 500 names of registered voters.

Business and the lack of it here in Maine appears to be the major plank in his platform. Scott cites major companies like VW and Boering Aircraft that established plants in southern places rather than here in Maine. “Where was Maine in this?” he asks MHN. No one is encouraging businesses to move to Maine. “I don’t know why this is,” he says. “Maybe it’s caise of energy costs or workers’compensation or infrastructure problems.”

The affable Scott was reluctant to talk about wind energy, but he acknowledged that it’s a “hot topic” these days. “Wind is coming whether I like it or not. I’s not viable financially. It requires tax subsidies like other businesses don’t. If Maine voters want it, we should at least work to attract manufacturers and R&D companies here in Maine. He objects to the fact that the State and the Federal government has no comprehensive plan for energy. On another controversial subject – that of tourism Scott said: “I support tourism, but not at the expense of other industries. Industries we don’t have because we focus too much on tourism.” Scott was appalled that a few years ago the State’s office on tourism tried to lure tourist from the mid-west to Maine rather than concentrating on tourism in Europe – where the euro had just risen in value and the cost of gasoline was high.

Scott, 42 years old, lives with his wife, Susan Merrow, in Andover, which is near Rumford. “I’m a mill town boy,” he said. He’s currently the president of the Water District up there. He has his own business, “Recruiting Resources Inc.,” which employs engineers all over the country. Susan is in the same field for a different company. Scott has a B.S. in government and politics from George Mason University, Fairfax, Va. (MHN’s alma mater as well.)

“I am a fiscal conservative,” he says as he prepared to leave the Front Room, clipboard in hand, looking for registered voters to sign his petition. “We are pet owners,” he said. “Maybe we’ll at least get the pet owners vote,” he said laughing.

Please visit www.mainesbestchoice.com for more on Scott.

P.S. In an email just received from Scott, he said he picked up another 100 signatures toward his effort to get on the November ballot.

By Carol McCracken (Post # 386)

The 201st anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin is Friday, February 12th. In observation of that, two videos will be shown at the Wishcamper Center, Room 205, Bedford Street, on the USM Campus. The celebration is hosted by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (”OLLI”). The event runs from 1:00 – 5:00 – pm.

The first video to be shown is a BBC production, “Darwin’s Dangerous Idea.” It puts the theory of evoluation in a contemporary context. The second video is a new feature length movie, “Creation.” It’s adapted from the book Annie’s Box, written by Darwin’s great, great nephew, Randal Keynes. The movie portrays Darwin’s family life, highlighting the conflicting attitudes toward religion between Darwin and his wife, and in the society at large, according to a press release issued today from the OLLI office. The movie had limited distribution in the US cause of its perceived controversial nature.

OLLI instructor Bill Jose will host the afternoon and lead an optional discussion following the videos for those who wish to participate. The event is free of charge and open to all.

Please email Rob at: rhyssong@usm.maine.edu for more information. OLLI is an academically stimulating program for those over 50 years old. The classes are held at the Wishcamper Buildihg at USM. For more information about the program, please visit Events on the Hill.