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Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Kaile Warren announces his race for State Senate - By Michelle Libby


Kaile Warren has been nominated to face off against Bill Diamond in the race for State Senate District 26. The business owner is running on a fiscally conservative, pro-business, champion of open dialogue who looks out for the interests of the elderly and youth in the district. 
 
Warren has been called a maverick for daring to think outside the box. He has fight.

“I understand how government attacks and tries to cannibalize their own citizens,” he said. 

His political experience is as a Windham Town councilor, which he was a very effective at “tearing into thoughtless and careless spending,” he said. He resigned from his position after a heart attack forced him to take a break. 

“I never unearthed an issue that I did not recommend a solution for,” Warren said. The 55-year-old life-long Republican has been waiting for the right time to get into politics. After spending the last few years being indicted twice and fighting the court system, he was cleared of any wrong doings. Before that he owned Rent-a-Husband, was a published author and made many appearances on the CBS morning show as a home improvement guru. 

“I want the citizens to know that all of my decisions will be well-reasoned, fair and sometimes creative. My no nonsense take on any challenge approach to helping people is driven by my compassion to help others,” Warren said. 

Through his business he did a high school challenge that asked students to create a business on $200 and execute it. All of the money raised when to Camp Sunshine. “I put students in the position to promote something, not a textbook study,” he said. “They need real world experience.”

Warren is interested in increasing opportunities for the youth of the state, college age or younger, to keep them in Maine, which in turn will help businesses to grow. “Maine is an end of the pipeline state, we educate them and they leave,” he said. 

“Turning adversity into opportunity” is a motto that Warren has lived by. In 1996, he was newly divorced, had $500 to his name and was living in an abandoned warehouse in Portland. He’s one of the people who can overcome and never give up. In November of 2000, his $500 was then estimated at $7 million valuation. “I realized I was not in a good situation and I created the opportunity. I have no fear of failing. Just like running in this race.” 

Warren describes himself as an “every man type of person. Humble, grounded and determined. That’s what makes me the candidate I am today. If they elect me, they’ll have a true champion.” 

He knows that getting into the race this late is a challenge, but he’s willing to work hard now and when he goes to Augusta. 

“It’s important for people to know that Kaile really wants this. He’s not just putting his name in. He’s going to work for it. He’s not just a paper candidate,” said Senator Gary Plummer who will retire after the election. “I’m happy to have someone who represents the conservative viewpoint, who won’t raise taxes. I’ll do anything to support him.” 

Warren’s compassion for people comes from his upbringing with, as he calls them, two exceptional parents. His mother taught him compassion and business skills and his father taught his what’s right and how to stand up for it, he said. 

“Past actions are predictions of future actions,” Warren said. He wants to know what Diamond plans to do better in the future, than he did during his last terms in office. “If we keep putting people back in office for 30 years, I don’t see how the changes will happen. I want to be that difference.”

Warren lives with his girlfriend of 17 years, Donna and his dog Maintenance. 

Senate District 26 covers Windham, Raymond, Standish, Frye Island, Baldwin and Casco.
Warren will be officially nominated as a candidate at a Republican caucus Thursday night.

Windham Pageant winners available for service, appearances - By Elizabeth Richards


Most small communities in Maine don’t have one pageant title holder in any given year. This year, Windham has three, all eager and ready to serve the community. 
 
Two of the winners come from Crossroad’s Maine Academic Scholarship Pageant (MASP), which houses twelve local pageants throughout the state from Van Buren to Kennebunk, according to pageant director Deb Landry. In the state pageant, which brings together local winners, Windham High School (WHS) sophomore Celine Baker was crowned USA National Miss Jr. Teen Maine 2015, and recent WHS graduate Kelley Wassick was crowned National Miss Teen Maine 2015. Both girls will go on to the national pageants in their category next summer. 



MASP works with two national organizations, USA National Miss Pageant and National Teen-Miss-Mrs.-MS. This year, there is a crossover in age categories for teens, which resulted in both a National Teen Miss Maine and a USA National Teen Miss Maine. This is the only year the organization will offer both opportunities.

The responsibilities for both girls are similar. Both represent the organization’s anti-bullying platform the Crown CARES (creating a respectful environment in schools). In this role, they will be peer ambassadors, visiting schools throughout the state to read to children, discuss warning signs and bullying prevention. They are also both available for community service projects and personal appearances at events.

Wassick started doing pageants in the seventh grade, before taking a break to get involved in athletics. When she was a sophomore in high school, she began competing again. Although she has competed nationally in the past, it was with an at-large title, rather than the state title. While winning a scholarship at the national competition in Williamsburg, Va. next year would be nice, she said what really matters to her is the experience. “It’s being able to compete on the national stage, and being able to gain confidence in who I am,” she said. 

Wassick is studying at the University of Southern Maine this fall. She plans to major in English, and then go on to get a master’s degree in Speech Pathology so she can work with geriatric stroke patients. 

When not fulfilling her title responsibilities Wassick likes hanging out with family. “I’m a family girl,” she said. She also works five days a week, and plans to continue working as much as possible while in school. Community service is her passion. Wassick has won five awards for community service hours performed, including an award at Windham High School for completing 856 hours throughout her four years. “That’s important to me, doing any type of community service I can get my hands on,” she said. She particularly has enjoyed working with children in community theatre, she said. 

Baker will represent Maine at the USA National Miss pageant in Orlando, Florida, next July. In addition to the anti-bullying platform, Baker has a personal platform “A Full Table.” She partners with nonprofit organizations that deal with hunger, such as Monday night community meals, Wayside Food Program, Preble Street Resource Center and others.

Her first appearance after being crowned was at the Schoolhouse Center for the Arts theater camp, where she’d been volunteering. She said she needs to do two to four appearances per month, as well as many community service hours, as part of her role. 

Baker has been involved in pageants for a year now. In November of 2013, she competed in the preliminary competition to the state pageant, and won, becoming Miss Holly High School. In that role, she performed similar responsibilities to her current role, and prepared for the state competition.
Preparation is challenging, she said, but worth it. “People have these stereotypes of the pageant world just being about outer beauty and not focusing on the intelligence and the talent that all the girls who compete have. I’ve gained a lot of skills throughout my year of doing pageants and really it’s more about self confidence and feeling good about yourself, having poise and stage presence, and the charisma to present yourself in a positive way. It really reinforces the idea of women empowering themselves to be the best that they can be,” she said. The skills she has gained, such as interviewing, public speaking, and resume writing are skills that will help her in the future, she said.

Baker is an active member of the WHS community as well. She is in the Windham Chamber Singers, heavily involved in the arts program, part of the reducing sexism and violence program, and the book club. 

Baker said that preparing for nationals will teach her a great deal, such as keeping her life balanced with school and extracurricular activities, managing her schedule, and being sure she has fun while she’s doing it. “I want it to be something that I enjoy, and right now it is. I don’t want to become too overwhelmed and stress out over everything because this is a fantastic opportunity that not a lot of people get,” she said. 

The third local title holder, Jess Toher, is part of the Mrs. Maine America pageant for married women. This year, she is serving as Mrs. Windham, and will compete in the statewide contest for the title of Mrs. Maine next April. The platform of this pageant is to celebrate marriage and the achievements of married women, she said.

When she was first approached about participating, she was not interested. But when she began to look into what it was really all about, it was exactly what she had been wanting to do for years, said Toher. “What I really wanted to accomplish going through the process is really just giving back to my community. I think that far too often, it’s easier to make up excuses not to do something than to do it. This is really my motivator,” she said. 

Toher is the busy mother of a 5-year-old son and three month old daughter. She is also a full time student, studying criminal justice at Central Maine Community College. She is a full time employee of the Oxford Casino, and owns a very small company, New England Special Occasion Consultants, where she helps people create very special moments to remember.

Being Mrs. Windham gives her the motivation to get out there and help people, she said. She wants to reach out and let people know that no event is too large or too small. She is willing to help with any kind of service, fundraising, or event in the Windham area.

Some of the things Toher has worked on to date include the Windham Backpack program and participating in a community block party. She said she really enjoys working with the elderly population as well. 

Toher has been involved in theater and commercials since she was five, but never before tried pageants. The Mrs. Maine pageant is nothing like what the stereotypical image is, she said. “It’s really about going out there and trying to achieve helping others. That’s what interests me.” 

The MASP has the goal of raising awareness of social issues, as well as fostering young women to be volunteers in their community, said Landry. “We are offering a platform for these young ladies to grow into strong, civic minded women,” she said. The national pageant goals are similar - to promote positive pageantry through volunteerism, respect, honor and integrity. The MASP is a 501c3 pageant, and 100 percent of net proceeds are donated back to Maine schools for research based bullying prevention books, curriculum and free school appearances.

All three title holders are available for appearances and service. They can be contacted via email at the following addresses: Celine Baker: cybaker99@gmail.com ; Kelley Wassick: Kelley.wassick@maine.edu; and Jess Toher at jess4meyer@gmail.com.



Monday, September 1, 2014

Tough Mudder tears into Sunset Ridge Golf Links - By Tracy Scheckel


Many folks, myself included, can’t help but ask, “Why would anyone subject themselves to the rigors of a Tough Mudder?” I asked just that of one of my friends who participated in the Northeast Tough Mudder held in Westbrook this past Saturday.
 
Matt Doughty, 39, a husband, a father of three, a Gray Town Councilor, and the Maine Gas Operations Manager for Unitil, is a pretty busy guy. When I asked him about doing the Tough Mudder held in Westbrook this past weekend, his response; “I’m doing it because of Ray, you do know the Ray Poulin story, right?” Then Matt proceeded to fill me in on an incredible journey that Poulin made from the brink of death to competing in the mudder. Doughty explained, “If Ray could overcome what he did to participate in the event, how could I not be inspired to join him?”
 
Ray is 40 years old, married with two children Hailey age 9 and Samantha 7; and he is the General Manager of the Best Buy in Topsham. In April of 2013, Ray developed sepsis, a serious blood infection. His liver and kidneys shut down requiring multiple surgeries and an induced coma. Doctors informed his family that he had a 10 percent chance of recovery when his liver began to hemorrhage and required a mass blood transfusion of 77 units of a combination of red blood cells, platelets, fresh frozen plasma and cryoprecipitate. To help with his medical costs, the Team Ray Fund was founded by Ray’s best friend, Shaun Morrison. As Ray explained, “It was the most difficult gift he has ever received.” 

After 32 days in the hospital, Ray beat the odds and went on to two weeks of rehabilitation therapy. His life and lifestyle were to change forever. Ray’s health ordeal taught him two very important things, the benefit of working and eating to stay fit, and the importance of donating blood.
Once all the medical bills were paid, Ray and his wife Nikki decided to pay it forward with the little remaining in the the Team Ray Fund, Ray and founded RaysUp dedicated to creating awareness about the importance of blood donation.

About four months before the event, Ray heard about the Tough Mudder. His brush with death the previous year, and his desire to be as healthy as possible for his family inspired him to train for the event. His friend Shaun decided to join the effort.

In addition to his training regimen of running, Ray spent a lot of time on the Tough Mudder Facebook page to learn about how other folks trained and achieved success when participating in the event.
After reading one of Ray’s Facebook posts about his medical ordeal and goal to complete the course, officials at Tough Mudder contacted Ray to learn more about his story. The folks at Tough Mudder decided to use Ray’s story to inspire others. Serendipitously, awareness of RaysUp increased, and according to Ray, it was his team who made the decision to compete in the name of RaysUp to further promote the organization.

Ray and his team had diverse physical abilities and all trained in different ways for the event. Ray had not even met three of the team members, who were recruited by Shaun, until a month before the event, when he met Matt Millard and Laura DeVaudreuil. He didn’t meet Jeff Matthews until a spaghetti dinner on the Friday night before the mudder. Ray explained, “Everyone brought different strengths and skills to the team, and we all did our own thing to train, but we all shared the same mantra; our mission from day one was to cross the finish line together as a team.” And that they did. On Saturday the group met about 8:30 a.m. to warm up and stretch. They began the course at 10 a.m. and finished together arm in arm at 2:30 p.m.
 
Regarding his team, Ray offered, “A big thank you to all of you for putting the team first and contributing to our goal of crossing the finish line together. I couldn’t have done it without the support and encouragement of the people around me,” he continued, “I’d also like to thank Sevee & Maher Engineers Inc, Innovations Salon & Spa , Cynthia Veroneau Portside Real Estate Group, and Gray Country Day Care & Learning Center Inc. for their financial contributions to buy our team shirts.”

Will there be another mudder in Ray’s future? Perhaps. He is also hoping to work with the Tough Mudder organization to facilitate blood drives at future events. To date, he has conducted one drive at the Maine Wildlife Park and collected 44 pints. Plans for the next drive in Westbrook are in the works. For more information visit RaysUp at http://www.raysup.org or www.facebook.com/raysup and Tough Mudder, at www.toughmudder.com.

Photos Courtesy of Ray Poulin
Team:
The RaysUp Team: Back Row L to R: John Conley, Shaun Morrison, Ben Cyr, Jeff Matthews, Eric Deschaines, Matt Doughty, Ray Poulin Front Row L to R: Amy Conley (John's wife), Gerry Brown, Laura DeVaudreuil, Matt Milliard



Pyramid:
Ray’s Pouiln’s favorite photo; Team RaysUp builds a human pyramid – but one of the 20 obstacles and challenges at the Northeast Tough Mudder held in Westbrook last weekend.

Popsicles with the Principal a big hit at Windham Primary School - By Michelle Libby



Primary school students were invited to the school last Thursday for popsicles with Principal Kyle Rhoads on the new playground behind the school. This made the seventh year the event has taken place to give the children a way to get familiar with the school and some of the teachers.
“When I joined primary, I wanted to have a way to introduce myself to families in a less formal way than just the school year starting. Having fun on the playgrounds and sharing popsicles seemed like a good fit!” Rhoads said.
There’s no official tally on how many students attended the outing, but Rhoads said that “It is the most popsicles that we went through in recent memories.”
This year the students were able to use the new part of the playground and see the playground construction workers actually working on the second phase of the playground as the students played on the completed part. Rhoads also mentioned that it was neat to see former students of WPS coming and being part of the event. 

Photos by Jennifer Manning