Career fair offers networking and connection for successful professional life in Maine

By Briana Bizier

Last Wednesday, as the bright March sun melted the remaining snowbanks on Saint Joseph’s campus, a group of businesses, community members, and college students gathered to focus on their futures and, together, to help advance the future of our state.

The annual Saint Joseph’s Career and Internship Fair, which was re-scheduled for March 27 due to a snowstorm on the original date in February, provided an excellent opportunity to build networks and connections which may lead to internships, jobs and, ultimately, a successful professional life in Maine. With over 60 employers in attendance from fields as diverse as banking, law enforcement, mental health services, and recreation, the Career Fair represented a large swath of the southern Maine professional community.

Saint Joseph College Alumni, Brett O'Kelly, Jason Riley and
Danielle Capozza attended the career fair representing Tyler Technologies

“It’s great to see this number of employers,” explained Muhammad Humza Khan, a Talent and Diversity Specialist with Bangor Savings Bank. “And, the students I’ve met are very impressive,” he added.

While the Career Fair has a very strong connection to Saint Joseph’s, this event is always open to the entire community. Laurie Murphy, Assistant Professor of Human Resources in Saint Joseph’s Business Department, explained that this event is an opportunity to support the Maine economy and connect motivated, talented workers from the college and beyond with local employers.

The fair also provided Saint Joseph’s students with an intensive hands-on opportunity to participate in planning, managing, and running a large event. Over thirty students volunteered their time and expertise to make the fair a success, according to Steve McFarland, the Director of Career Development at Saint Joseph’s. Student involvement in the Career Fair ranged from running the check-in counter during the fair to reviewing resumes and LinkedIn profiles for fellow students and members of the community alike. Students even suggested new employers to invite. Tri-County Mental Health, McFarland said, was attending this year’s Career Fair thanks to a suggestion from a current Saint Joseph’s student. Students were even volunteering at the photo booth to offer all attendees the opportunity to sit for a professional portrait.

“This is an all-campus undertaking,” explained McFarland.

Historically, the students’ efforts have certainly paid off. Last year, McFarland stated that several Saint Joseph’s students met their future employers during the Career Fair. One of those students, Steven Albert, found his position as a management trainee at Enterprise during last year’s fair. He returned to the Saint Joseph’s campus last Wednesday to represent Enterprise’s Portland branch and their Management Training program.

“This is really ground-up training in how to run a business,” Albert said. And it all began with a handshake over the Enterprise table in the same room one year ago.

Other Saint Joseph’s alumni in attendance worked for Covetrus, a software company in Portland who designs technology to serve veterinarians and their teams, and Tyler Technologies in Yarmouth.

“We’ll recognize a lot of students who come through today,” explained Danielle Capozza, an Associate HR Representative at Tyler Technologies, who was one of three recent Saint Joseph’s graduates representing Tyler Tech at the Career Fair.

This personal connection to a fellow classmate can make networking and job hunting much less intimidating, explained Alyssa Theriault, a current HR Management Major at Saint Joseph’s and one of the student volunteers who helped to organize the Career Fair.

“I found an internship here,” Theriault said, explaining how a connection made at last year’s Career Fair led to her summer internship position with Norway Savings Bank. “It was a great experience,” she told me, with a cheerful smile.

Yet this annual Career and Internship Fair helps to build more than individual careers.

Professor Laurie Murphy explained that this event is an important part of building the Maine community. As a state with an aging population, Maine faces a demographic challenge. “We need a strong workforce to ensure a successful future for employers, their employees, and the entire state.”

“Many of our alums want to stay in Maine,” Murphy explained. This Career Fair gives the talented young students at Saint Joseph’s, and the larger community of Windham and Raymond, a chance to connect with employers, to learn of opportunities they may not have imagined, and to envision themselves building their career in Vacationland.

According to Theriault, living and working in Maine after graduating from Saint Joseph’s is an easy sell for most of her classmates.

“We spend four years here,” Theriault said, gesturing to Saint Joseph’s panoramic views of the ice-covered Sebago Lake and the white peak of Mount Washington. “How can you look at that view every day and then want to move to a big city?”

           

New Raymond fire truck named to honor the late Captain David Mains

Fire truck dedication ceremony

By Briana Bizier

On October 28, the town of Raymond welcomed a new fire truck into its fleet. Tank 2 has been dedicated to Captain David Mains, a beloved member of the Raymond Fire Department who passed away in June of this year. The dedication of Tank 2 assures his memory lives on.

The truck named in honor of Captain Mains was built by METAFAB Fire Trucks. It has a 3,000-gallon tank and is designed to carry water to fire scenes in rural areas without access to fire hydrants. Those familiar with the town of Raymond will note fire hydrants are a rarity and will be relieved to know Tank 2 is standing by in case of emergency.

Ninety percent of the funds used to purchase the vehicle came from a FEMA grant written by Deputy Chief Cathy Gosselin, and the remaining ten percent of the funds were contributed by the town of Raymond.

“The ceremony of pushing a truck into service comes from old fire traditions,” Deputy Chief Gosselin explains. “The horse-drawn fire wagons had to be pushed into the stations as the horses didn't like backing up. The christening of the truck was taking water from the old tank truck and placing it into the new truck. Everyone was invited to help dry the truck after it was washed and then to push it into service.”

Tank 2 was welcomed into service during a ceremony attended by 75 people. Chief Bruce Tupper offered a welcome and explained the tradition of putting a new truck into service. After a ceremonial transfer of water by firefighters Chris Nassa and Doug Kerr, the truck was christened by firefighter Brandon Cunningham and Lieutenant Andrew Jordan. The truck was then officially “pushed” by Captain Scott Mildrum, who was assisted by the speaker Alice Mains, Dave’s aunt; Jen Mains, Dave’s wife; firefighter Charissa Kerr, who spoke about Dave’s history with the Raymond Fire Department; Noah Mains, who unveiled the plaque; and Deputy Chief Cathy Gosselin, who offered the closing.

 “David's name is David Alexander Mains,” Gosselin explains. “As a kid he couldn't pronounce Alexander, so said his middle name is alligator!” Hence, the logo being put on Raymond’s newest fire truck is a fire-fighting alligator complete with a water bucket, axe and helmet.

David Mains is deeply missed in this community. Through the dedication of this new fire truck, Captain Mains is still protecting the homes and businesses of Raymond, Maine.

Managing the 90 Year Crop: Sustainable Forestry in Raymond’s Hayden-Murdock Memorial Forest

Hayden-Murdock Memorial Forest

By Briana Bizier

Have you ever looked at a stretch of forest along the shore of one of our beautiful lakes and wondered how long it would remain undeveloped?

This tree was removed because it showed signs of damage.

For the Hayden-Murdock Memorial Forest on Panther Pond, the answer is forever. Owned by the Maine Woodland Owners as a land trust, this 100-acre parcel on Panther Pond is a working forest managed sustainably by the forestry company Timberstate G. to encourage tree health and growth. The Maine Woodland Owners currently own more than 5,000 acres of land, all of which is open to the public, sustainably managed and permanently protected from development. Although they are a non-profit organization, the Maine Woodland Owners chooses to pay property taxes out of the proceeds of their timber management.

This forest property contains 1,000 feet of lake frontage which will never be developed, and the entire acreage is open to the public for hiking, hunting, or nature walks. The property is also crossed by an existing snowmobile trail for winter access to the woods.

On a recent beautiful, sunny Wednesday, Greg Foster of Timberstate G. gave me a tour of the property to explain how sustainable forestry works. In the 1800s, the lot which eventually became the Hayden-Murdock forest was a sheep farm. As Foster and I walked through the woods, we found several crumbling rock walls, evidence of the land’s past as a working farm. The sheep fields reverted to forest in the 1920s, and the land was donated to the Maine Woodland Owners in October of 2000. 

Since then, the Maine Woodland Owners has held several meetings and demonstrations on the property, including inviting members of the Portland Water District to discuss past and future forest management and its impact on the watershed.

“The objectives of long-term forestry are very compatible with long term environmental goals,” Foster said as we began our walk in the woods.

Sustainable forestry, he explained, involves a careful inspection of every single tree on the lot. The larger trees are the most profitable, but size isn’t the only concern when a forester marks a tree for cutting. On the Hayden-Murdock acreage, the current timber harvest is being managed for maximum sustainability. This means any tree which shows signs of insect damage, disease, or rot is removed, even though those trees are not the most valuable. Clearing those trees, Foster explained, opens the forest to more sunlight and air flow.

“Sunlight is the only thing we can control,” he told me. Removing the larger trees allows more sunlight to penetrate the canopy and reach the forest floor, encouraging the growth of the most valuable tree in the forest: white pine.

Maine’s famous white pine has been highly valued since the 1600s, when it was used for the masts of the great ships of England’s Royal Navy. Many of the original white pines in Maine were marked with “The King’s Broad Arrow,” a pattern of three hatchet slashes forming an arrow pointed toward England. It was illegal to cut a white pine with the King’s Arrow, a law which fueled the simmering resentment toward England which eventually boiled over and created an independent United States.

These days, foresters use bright orange spray paint instead of hatchet marks to indicate which trees will be removed from a forest. As we walked through an area of forest which had been logged several days earlier, I was surprised to note how many large white pines remained standing.

“We’re doing what’s right for the forest,” Foster explained, “and leaving the best quality trees.”

The hemlock, white pine, and hardwood trees taken from this plot of woods will travel all over New England. The largest and highest quality wood will be sold to lumber yards, where it is destined to become boards, furniture, decorative trim, or even tongue and groove planks. The tops of the trees, which tend to be smaller and knottier, become pulp logs for paper mills, or are processed into wood chips and sold to mills or power plants to generate electricity. Remaining tree limbs are returned to the forest, where they will decompose naturally.

“If a landowner can get good returns on selling timber, they’re a lot less likely to sell their land for development,” Foster said. “The forest is like an investment. You can’t have a better long-term investment than high quality fiber from a forest.”

Lily the forestry dog on a recently felled white pine 

This acreage, Foster elaborated, will probably be logged every fifteen or twenty years. Cory Jordan of Jordan Tree Removal, the loggers who are currently removing trees in the forest with high tech machines like feller bunchers, explained that he and Foster had logged the Hayden-Murdock Memorial Forest fifteen years ago.

“There was a lot more rotten pine then,” Jordan said, explaining how the sustainable forestry practices of fifteen years ago had led to healthier trees for this harvest.

I noted that sustainable forestry was a bit like farming, only on a very large time scale. Jordan laughed.

“Instead of a ninety-day crop, we’ve got a ninety-year crop,” he said.

As Foster and I walked through sections of forest which were marked for logging and sections holding stacks of trees that had just been felled, chickadees flitted over our heads and an enormous pileated woodpecker flew between the trees. Foster explained Maine state regulations recommend foresters leave one standing tree per acre to remain as a “wildlife tree,” although his practices of thinning the forest to maximize white pines left significantly more than one tree per acre.

I also noticed many white pine saplings lining the forest floor. Some of those trees barely reached my knees, and some were almost as tall as me. Foster explained that white pine seeds germinate quickly after a logging operation, especially along the trails which have been disturbed by logging equipment.

He told me the saplings which now reach my shoulders may be ready to harvest in a hundred years.

We won’t be around to see them when they are harvested, but the Hayden-Murdock Memorial Forest will remain a forest for the next hundred years, open to the public and echoing with the sounds of chickadees and woodpeckers as the white pines stretch toward the sun.

Ice fishing with small children by Briana Bizier

Ian Bizier holds a small mouth bass

“Ice fishing with a toddler? You’re crazy!”

It may sound far-fetched, but ice fishing is actually a wonderful activity for small children. What’s more, getting out on the ice is a great way to enjoy the beauty of the lakes region, to spend quality time outside with your children, and to shake a fist at old man winter!

Ian and Sage Bizier

After extensive testing with my two little ice fishing assistants, I’ve come up with a few tips and tricks for taking small children onto the ice. Hopefully this will give you the confidence to get outside and enjoy all that Maine has to offer - even in February.

Fishing with small children is not about catching fish. Serious fishing takes commitment. Unfortunately, fish tend to bite first thing in the morning and just as the sun is setting, times when it can be very difficult to convince small children (or their parents) to bundle up and head outside. Serious fishing also requires time and patience, both qualities that can be a challenge if your fishing buddy is a toddler.

When ice fishing with small children, it’s helpful to remember that the purpose of the trip isn’t actually to catch as many fish as possible. Instead, taking a child fishing is an investment in the future. If your two-year-old loves ice fishing now, chances are she will love ice fishing when she’s ten. She might even love it enough to wake up in the dark and set up traps with you by flashlight.

Be safe. Ice has to be four inches thick to safely hold the weight of a person, five to seven inches thick for a snowmobile, and a foot thick to hold a car. 

But how can you tell how thick the ice is on any given lake? Ask around! Local bait shops are happy to share information about ice conditions. You can also check websites like IceShanty.com, or you can look for other ice fishing parties. This time of year, you may see ice fishing shacks or even

pickup trucks on a frozen lake. If you see shacks, other fishermen, and especially cars, you can stride across the ice with confidence.

Another safety concern is footing. Conditions on the ice change every day, and sometimes the surface of a frozen lake can be quite slick. YakTraxs or similar cleats help adults keep their footing, while a sled or backpack can help transport kids comfortably across the ice. When my youngest was a baby, we pushed his stroller out onto the ice.

Finally, if you’ve never been on a frozen lake before, you may be surprised to realize ice makes noise. It’s normal for ice to gurgle and, yes, even crack under your feet. 

Let your kids help. To a young child, there aren’t many places as exciting as a bait shop. Why not let your assistant tag along on your pre-fishing errands, or help you to “choose” your bait fish? They will feel more invested in the fishing trip if you let them assist with the preparations, even if their “help” consists of carrying a single water bottle to the car.

Sage Bizier enjoys hot chocolate

Once you’re on the ice, chances are your little fishing buddies will be fascinated by the whole process of drilling holes and setting up traps. When we go ice fishing with our kids, they want to help us do everything. Yes, this did lead to losing a scoop down a hole on the first fishing trip of the year, but it’s also led to a seven-year-old who knows how to use an ice auger and spends the summer talking about how much she misses ice fishing.

Keep them warm. The most expensive outfits in our house are the kid’s snow suits. 

Why spend all that money on something we only use in the winter? Because nothing ruins a fishing trip faster than a cold kiddo!

Before you go ice fishing with small children, make sure you’ve dressed them well. Their bottom layer (and yours, too) should be wool, silk, or polypropylene. Avoid cotton, which gets wet and cold faster than you can say, “Don’t stick your foot in the water!”

Hand and foot warmers are readily available at many stores. Our strategy is usually to put foot warmers in boots before we leave the house, and to open a pair of hand warmers in the parking lot.

If you have an especially curious or fast toddler, it also pays to bring a spare pair of mittens. Even on the coldest day, toddlers have an uncanny knack for getting wet.

Feed them. Fruit, vegetables, and a balanced diet may be the rule at home, but I am hereby giving you permission to feed your small children junk food while ice fishing. We usually bring an assortment of snacks which are easy to eat without taking off your mittens, like lollypops and pretzel rods.

A thermos of hot water and a few packages of instant noodles, as well as a plastic mug and hot chocolate mix, tend to brighten spirits on the ice. For longer ice fishing trips on days when the wind is low and the sun is shining, we light a fire and cook hot dogs. If you’re lucky enough to catch a few pan fish, those make an excellent addition to the picnic!

Bring a few extras. When the fishing is slow, a frisbee can go a long way. If the conditions permit, ice skates can be a lot of fun for both kids and adults. And an impromptu adult versus children snowball fight is highly recommended (by the children, at least).

Know when to head in. Even if the fishing is great, when our children start to complain about being cold, we pull up the traps and head for the shore. Why? Because I want my kids to love the winter.

I want them to have fun when they’re outside, and to grow to enjoy Maine just as much in the snow and ice as they do in the middle of August. When my children look back on winter fishing trips with Mom and Dad, I don’t want them to remember being miserable and cold. I want them to remember special food, laughing with their parents . . . and maybe even catching a fish or two!

You don’t have to fish! You may not own any ice fishing gear, or you may not have the slightest interest in ice fishing. Don’t worry - you can still have fun on the ice. With a sled and a backpack, you could have a wonderful, unique picnic on the ice. A frozen lake is also a beautiful place for cross-country skiing, especially during a moonlit evening. Maine’s lakes are breathtaking any time of the year, and our winters are too long to spend indoors.

So, get outside, enjoy nature, and take the kids with you!

There’s a new robot in town at the Raymond Village Library by Briana Bizier

Sage Bizier has fun testing out her programming skills with Dash

As part of their new STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) Programming, the Raymond Village Library recently purchased Dash the Robot. This little robot looks like a pyramid of blue plastic balls with a cheerful bank of lights for a “face” and a vocabulary of electric chirps and trills. It even peeps a wide array of friendly phrases like, “Toodles!”

With the help of a tablet and the computer application called Wonder, children can create computer programs that make Dash the Robot move, wink, blink its lights, and even speak. Wonder is designed to be visual and intuitive, so children can learn the basics of computer programming through hands-on play.

Using the Wonder program on the tablet, visitors to the library can program Dash the Robot to race around the floor, dance and spin, light up and even record messages. The application comes with a tutorial as well as built-in programs; but it is also flexible enough to allow children to create their own routines for Dash. 

Along the way, kids learn problem solving skills, gain familiarity with the basics of computer coding, and explore their creativity. 

And the kids think they’re only playing!

Although Dash the Robot, and the application Wonder, are designed for children ages six and up, personal testing by my three-year-old assistant found that even a toddler can make Dash spin in circles or move backward and forward while saying, “Hello!”

Dash the Robot also received the highest form of praise from my three-year-old tester: A crying meltdown when it was time to leave the library and say goodbye to the robot. I suppose there are still some problems technology can’t solve!

I would imagine even an adult would enjoy playing with Dash . . . if you can manage to pull your
children away from the fun!

Stop by Raymond Village Library during regular business hours on Monday, Wednesday, or Saturday to check out Dash the Robot.

Raymond Elementary Class wins second place in national contest by Briana Bizier

Dr. Bizier helping the second-graders set up their crystals

A second-grade class at Raymond Elementary School started the new year with some exciting news.

On December 21, Mrs. Aileen Pelletier’s second-grade class won second place in the United States Crystal Growing Competition! Open to U.S. students of all ages, this competition is a STEM Outreach Program designed to encourage scientific literacy for students in kindergarten through high school. Now in its fourth year, the contest is organized by Dr. Jason Benedict at the University of Buffalo.

Mrs. Pelletier’s class began growing their crystal on October 23, when Dr. Bizier, the Honors and AP chemistry teacher at Windham High School, visited Raymond Elementary to help the second-graders set up their own crystal growing experiment.

Many common household items, like sugar and the cleaning solution Borax, will grow crystals under the right conditions. For the United States Crystal Growing Competition, all competitors are required to grow a crystal using alum, a common pickling salt found in most grocery stores.

To grow their crystal, the second-graders first heated water and dissolved the alum. Then they suspended a tiny “seed crystal” from fishing line, and hung it in the alum and water solution to serve as a nucleation site. If the alum solution is left undisturbed at a consistent temperature, the dissolved alum in the water begins to grow a crystal around the nucleation site.

Crystal making, day one

“Think of crystal growing like stacking Legos,” explained Dr. Bizier. 

If the water is heated too quickly, or the solution is disturbed, the alum will fall out of the solution

like a handful of Legos thrown on the floor. Under ideal conditions, however, the alum molecules dissolved in the water will slowly stack together to form a beautiful crystal.

Leaving a solution undisturbed was a challenge for a class full of second graders. 

Same crystal, 26 days later

The students were very careful as they eagerly tracked the growth of their crystal. Mrs. Pelletier added daily photos to the class website so parents were able to follow the experiment as well.

Despite losing power for three days after the late October wind storm, the crystal continued to grow, especially once the class heated the solution again to re-dissolve the alum.

After 26 days in Mrs. Pelletier’s classroom, the crystal was mailed to Buffalo, New York to be judged against crystals from classrooms across the country. The crystals are evaluated for size and quality by a team of experts who judge factors like intact edges, well-formed faces, and clarity.

Out of 160 entries, Mrs. Pelletier’s class won second place! 

The prize comes with a $100 award and the crystal from Raymond Elementary School will be added to the permanent Winner’s Display at the University of Buffalo. If your travels ever bring you to Buffalo, New York, be sure to stop by the University to view Raymond’s prize-winning crystal.