Proposed balanced budget for state invests in pandemic response

Maine's governor is proposing a 
supplemental state budget that invests 
in pandemic response funding and
preserves safety net funds for the poor.
FILE PHOTO  

AUGUSTA – Maine Gov. Janet Mills has proposed a supplemental budget for Fiscal Year 2021 and a biennial budget for Fiscal Years 2022 to 2023 that protect the health and wellbeing of Maine people by investing in Maine’s COVID-19 response, continuing to rebuild public health infrastructure, and preserving life-saving health care and safety net services.

Despite the challenges of the nearly yearlong pandemic response and current fiscal climate, the Department of Health and Human Services’ budget, a central component of the Governor’s proposals, bolsters the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, continues critical reforms, maintains access to vital programs and services such as MaineCare, and reduces costs through efficiencies and accessing federal funding.

“Over the last year, COVID-19 has altered the lives and livelihoods of Maine people in innumerable ways,” said DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew. “These budget proposals are a measure of our dedication to containing the pandemic as well as our objectives beyond the pandemic -- advancing public health, improving the safety and wellbeing of our most vulnerable residents, and making sure Maine people have affordable, high-quality health care.”

The funding priorities that Mills has identified for DHHS include an additional:

**  $5 million for Maine CDC for COVID-19 testing, vaccines, and support services for people who need to stay in isolation and quarantine (supplemental); 

**  $3 million for the Maine CDC for additional capacity at the Health and Environmental Testing Lab, the Health Inspection Program, the Maine Immunization Program, and the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program (biennial); 

**  $6 million to fund Section 29 services for adults with developmental disabilities in their homes and communities by an additional 30 slots per month (biennial);

**  $45 million for MaineCare rate increases for nursing facilities, residential facilities for children and older Mainers, Section 21 and 29 services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and other providers per state and federal requirements (biennial); 

**  $7.5 million for community mental health and substance use disorder services, including funds
for new crisis services in Cumberland County, helping individuals get appropriate treatment in the community; new MaineCare coverage for mental health intensive outpatient treatment; to promote the OPTIONS (Overdose Prevention Through Intensive Outreach, Naloxone and Safety) Initiative to dispatch mobile response teams to communities with high rates of drug overdoses and connect Mainers to local treatment; and a new Justice and Health team of intensive case managers around the state who help prevent incarceration (biennial);

** $6.8 million for continued child welfare improvements focused on preventing abuse and neglect and modernizing the core information technology system (supplemental; biennial).

DHHS additionally limits the impact of potential future shortfalls and ensures access to health care for Maine people by dedicating $25.5 million to the Medicaid Stabilization Fund to plan responsibly for potential MaineCare expenses, such as higher enrollment and costs due to persistent unemployment, federal restrictions on a nearly two decades-old funding source, and implementation of recommendations from the MaineCare rate system evaluation.

At a time when affordable and comprehensive health coverage has never been more important, Maine has reached a milestone in MaineCare enrollment. As of today, 70,689 Maine people now have coverage through the MaineCare expansion initiated by Governor Mills on her first day in office, surpassing initial enrollment estimates and representing an increase of more than 60 percent since February 2020.

While economic realities mean additional savings and reductions were necessary, DHHS’s proposal maximizes available funding sources including federal Medicaid match and prescription drug rebates, zeroes in on efficiencies that preserve services and programs, ensures compliance with federal requirements, and standardizes MaineCare rates for some similar services, Lambrew said. <

Community rallies to support 8-year-old Windham boy struggling with leukemia

Dominic Desalle of Windham, who turned 8
on Christmas Eve, was officially diagnosed
with acute myeloid leukemia a few days after
Thanksgiving. A GoFundMe page has been
set up to help the family with his medical bills.
There will also be a Red Cross Blood Drive
conducted that will provide special blood
platelet donation's to meet Dominic's needs
this coming week. SUBMITTED PHOTO 

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE SOUGHT ALONG WITH BLOOD PLATELET AND BONE MARROW DONATIONS

By Lorraine Glowczak

No parent or grandparent wants to learn that their child or grandchild has cancer. It is, in fact, their worst nightmare. But strength of spirit and love of community helps the Desalle-Strehlke family stay strong as they face together the leukemia diagnosis of their son and grandson, Dominic Desalle of Windham, who turned 8 on Christmas Eve. He was officially diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) a few days after Thanksgiving.

“It all began about three weeks before Thanksgiving,” said Dominic’s grandmother, Carol Desalle. “He was experiencing a fever, fatigue, vomiting, exhaustion and sensitivity to light, so I took him to Mercy Express Care in Westbrook. They tested him for COVID and everything came back negative, except tests showed Dominic had a mild case of strep throat.”

Carol Desalle brought Dominic back home with her to nurse him back to health. Dominic considers his grandmother’s house his second home. Dominic’s father, Joshua Desalle has just completed a certification program and is currently a surgical technician. He shares custody with Dominic’s mother, Kylie Strehlke, who works full-time as a certified nursing assistant. Dominic also has a younger brother, Landon.

“Dom’s fever and the other symptoms continued despite the medication we received,” Carol Desalle said. “When Dom’s mother brought him and Landon over the day before for Thanksgiving – I had planned the day for making pies - it is our holiday tradition.  Dominic said he couldn’t do it. He kept asking to go upstairs. I thought that was odd behavior for his personality.”

By 2:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Dominic’s symptoms had not only increased but included the loss of coordination. He was unable to put his hands together to wash them and found it difficult to stand up straight and walk in a steady manner.

“I looked at his nail beds and they were completely drained of color. I knew I had to rush him to the emergency room. I called his mother and she met us at the ER.”

It was there that spinal and bone marrow tests were completed and the diagnosis was confirmed.

Dominic is now receiving his first round of cancer treatments. He and his family are now in a “wait and
see” mode since further treatment is determined by how Dominic’s body reacts to the medication therapy. In addition to this, Dominic faces a few hurdles that add to the emotional and physical difficulties of cancer.

“One challenge Dominic faces is that his body carries a gene that will cause a relapse,” Carol Desalle said. “Due to this fact, it is deemed he will have to have a bone marrow transplant and thus will have to find a donor.”

A bone marrow transplant is not the only thing needed as part of Dominic’s healing.

“He also needs blood platelets,” said Carol Desalle. “What surprised me the most is that platelets are not readily available because very few people donate them. Dom and another young girl that was in the hospital at the same time had to wait over 12 hours before platelets were given to them.”

There is a way the community can help and be there for Dominic and his family. One such individual is a friend of the family, Jennifer Harmon. She established a GoFundMe page immediately upon hearing the news.

“Josh's parents, Carol and Tony [Desalle], have always been people who want to help others,” Harmon said. “They opened their home to my daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. My grandson Matthew was just an infant when Dom was just a year old. Soon, they became best buddies over the next several years. I felt that starting the GoFundMe page was the right thing to do.”

Harmon continued, “I know how compassionate we are, especially for our children. Josh and Kylie need to be able to focus on Dominic without the stress of covering their expenses to be with him. I don't want them ever to feel like they can't be with him while he goes through his treatments.”

As of this printing, the GoFundMe page for Dominic has raised $5,450 out of a $10,000 goal. The GoFundMe web address is www.gofundme.com/f/dominics-leukemia-fight

In addition to financial donations, there will be a Red Cross Blood Drive that will provide special blood
platelet donations to meet Dominic’s needs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12 at the Clarion Hotel, 1230 Congress St. in Portland. Reservations are required. To schedule an appointment, visit redcrossblood.org and use the sponsor code: Dominic.

If one wishes to see if they are a bone marrow match for Dominic, visit the Be The Match website at https://bethematch.org//

In whatever way you feel called to support this 8-year-old’s way back to health, any and all assistance is appreciated. But perhaps Jennifer Harmon says it best, “Let's help the Desalle-Strehlke family while Dom kicks cancer’s butt. #DomoStrong!” <

Raymond Public Works completes town roadwork projects for season

By Brianna Bizier

Maine winters are hard on just about everything. Birds fly south or spend the winter trying to find enough food to stay warm. Many animals hibernate, grow thick winter coats, or bundle up in layers of wool and down jackets. After a long Maine winter of freezing temperatures, sleet, snow, and salt, even our residential roads need some serious TLC. So, while Ben Franklin might have said the only certainties in life are death and taxes, for Mainers there are at least three certainties: death, taxes, and road construction.

Following reconstruction of a section of Mountain Road by
the Raymond Public Works Department, new stop signs have
been added at the intersection of Tenny Hill Road and
Mountain Road. PHOTO BY BRIANA BIZIER 

Raymond’s residents and visitors can drive a bit easier now that several major road improvement projects have been completed. The Raymond Public Works Department finished surface paving and shoulder work on Brown and Gore Roads, two residential spur roads that branch off busy Route 85. Shaw Road on Raymond Cape was also reconstructed with subsurface pavement, ditching improvements, and tree work.

This tree work is an essential part of maintaining roads here in the Pine Tree State. Almost 90 percent of the state of Maine is forest, making us the most-forested state in the nation. While Mainers do love our trees, those picturesque overhanging branches can become hazards if they start to block visibility by making it harder for drivers to see other vehicles, pedestrians, or even some of the local wildlife going for a stroll along the side of the road. Pruning back these trees also allows more sunlight to hit the road and melt another one of Maine’s major driving hazards: ice.

Raymond’s Public Words Department also completed a substantial reconstruction last year on the section of Mountain Road which stretches from Tenny Hill Road to Conesca Road, near the popular Raymond Community Forest. This picturesque, steep, and winding residential road received new culverts, re-ditching to enhance drainage, and major tree work to improve visibility for drivers and pedestrians and to allow sunlight to reach the road. Finally, two stop signs were added to the intersection of Tenny Hill Road and Mountain Road.

“That was a major project,” said Nathan White, the Public Works Director in Raymond. Because the

stop signs change the traffic flow in Raymond, White had to consult with the Maine Department of Transportation Engineers before adding the stop signs.

“I think it was an overdue safety upgrade,” White said.

He explained that, over the years, several drivers had blown right through that particular intersection and ended up either in the ditch or in the front yard across Tenny Hill Road. In response to those incidents, as well as several complaints and concerns from local residents, Raymond’s newest stop signs were erected this past year to make sure drivers come to a full stop before entering Tenny Hill Road from Mountain Road.

Although road construction season is over for the moment, Raymond’s Public Works Department is already looking ahead to 2021.

“Every year we plan to improve at least one public road,” White said.

This coming summer, White and the Public Works Department are proposing a large “reclaiming” of Main Street in Raymond. This massive project, which would be completed with the help of a grant from the Maine Department of Transportation, would involve grinding up the existing road, improving the drainage, and repaving the road. Finally, this coming year’s proposed reconstruction of Main Street is also slated to add sidewalks for pedestrians.

“Traffic in Raymond is heavier than it’s ever been,” White said, “so sidewalks are more important than ever.”

These new sidewalks will stretch the full length of Main Street, from Route 302 to the Raymond Village Library.

As Raymond and Windham residents know, keeping everyone safe while staying one step ahead of winter, and the toll our frequently dramatic weather can take on our local infrastructure, is a constant challenge. It’s a challenge Raymond Public Works tackles every single year to make sure our roads are as safe as possible for our drivers, walkers, and wildlife. <

WHS Robotics Team takes second in Thomas College Virtual Challenge

Members of Windham High School's Robotics Team are,
from left, Victoria Lin, Pyper Harris, Dillon Foley, Waylon
McDonald, and Julian Howard. The team will be participating
in further robotics competitions at Thomas College later
this month. SUBMITTED PHOTO 

By Elizabeth Richards

In an unusual year, the Windham High School Robotics Team is taking on new challenges and learning new skills.  Recently, three of the five members of the team participated in the Thomas College Coding and Innovation challenge. Their entry tied for second place.

Windham High School Computer/Tech teacher Michelle Lane, who started the Robotics Team at WHS last year, made a last-minute decision to sign them up for the challenge, which was to recreate a children’s book using building and coding in Minecraft. Team members Victoria Lin, Pyper Harris and Julian Howard chose The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and dove into the challenge. 

Their video had to be created in one week, and the three did not have prior experience coding in Minecraft. They met the challenge head on, working together, despite technical difficulties, to put the project together. 

Harris said that server problems prevented her from joining the game with Lin and Howard.  The students ended up working on their own pieces of the story and Lin edited it together using iMovie to create their video submission.

One of the biggest challenges, Lin said, was that they had a lot of work to do in very little time.

This was the first time the team had participated in this kind of challenge, and each member came out of the experience having learned something.  Though Harris said the technical issues prevented her from learning how to code due to time constraints, she said she learned how to use Minecraft better through this experience.

“I think I’ve learned a bit about how we can use the coding blocks in a very different kind of way,”
Howard said.

He said he was able to look at how the process of block coding, where, lines of code are put into blocks that can be stacked into a program, can change between different engines or software. 

“[It is] very interesting, how one can take a concept and shift it into something new with a new environment,” Howard said.

Lin said being able to code made the repetitive building much easier than having to do it all manually.

Having a limited amount of time to work with made the experience stressful, Harris said. 

“I think we would have been able to do better if we had more time,” she said.  

Howard said he was shocked that they tied for second place.

“We had a lot of technical issues, but we somehow did very good, and I’m proud of that, even if the result was shocking,” he said.

The team is part of VEX VRC Robotics. The season looks different this year, but Lane said she has been able to get pieces so they can begin building their robot for this year’s game. 

There will be virtual competitions that the team can participate in, Lane said.

“It’s more individual than it was but hopefully we’ll be able to start doing something by the end of January,” she said.

Traditionally, Thomas College has offered an in-person overnight challenge called the Thomas Cup.  This year, there are several smaller virtual challenges, free and open to all high school students in teams of three to five. 

At the end of January, they’ll hold the “Thomas Cup in a Box,” a 12-hour virtual event that consists of all the challenges. Teams can choose a twelve-hour block, either 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. in which to participate, according to the Thomas College website.

Lane said the team also participated in the CSI Challenge, getting an honorable mention.  They will do the Esports challenge in early January, and probably participate in the Robotics challenge as well, she said.

She’d also like them to participate in the “Thomas Cup in a Box” event at the end of January.

Team members said that they are interested in participating in challenges like this again now that they have some experience.

“I feel like there was a lot of missed opportunity to delve more into the code to create something more,” Howard said.

Lin agreed.

“It was a great learning experience,” she said, “and a nice thing to do when we’re stuck at home.” <

Raymond Parks and Recreation seeks equipment donations for winter sports loan program

Raymond Parks and Recreation is asking for donations of 
used skis, ice skates and aluminum snowshoes so they can
offer an equipment loan program to residents. Donations
can be dropped off at the Raymond Town Office, 401 Webb
Mills Road during business hours. COURTESY PHOTO  

By Lorraine Glowczak

Raymond residents who enjoy winter sports but do not have easy access to equipment can plan to soon take advantage of a sports equipment loan program that will be offered through Raymond Parks and Recreation.

But before lending out winter gear becomes a reality; the department needs to acquire the equipment first. As a result, they are reaching out to the community for used winter equipment contributions.

“We are asking for donations of used skis, ice skates and aluminum snowshoes so we can offer a winter equipment loan program to residents,” said Joseph Crocker, Raymond Parks and Recreation Director. “We want people to enjoy all the outdoor possibilities Raymond has to offer and we are making it our goal to create opportunities for those who do not have the skis, snowshoes or skates to make that happen.”

For those who appreciate the peaceful and rhythmic feeling ice skating can offer, Raymond Beach off Route 302, is the perfect place to hone those senses.

“As soon as the waters are frozen, we will prepare Raymond Beach for ice skating,” Crocker said. “And we want as many Raymond residents as possible who do not own ice skates to have that experience and visit the [Sebago] lake during the winter months.”

There are also two hidden gems often overlooked during the winter – Tassel Top Park and Raymond Community Forest.

“What a lot of people do not know is that Tassel Top offers more than summertime fun,” Crocker said. “The established trail located there is perfect for beginning snowshoers and cross-country skiers.” 

Tassel Top Park has a 0.90-mile flat trail that beautifully meanders through acres of Maine woods and is clearly marked with points of interest and has benches to offer moments of relaxation. The park is located off Route 302 in Raymond across from the Raymond Shopping Center, and behind Jordan Bay Veterinary Hospital.

The Raymond Community Forest is a 356-acre preserve owned by Loon Echo Land Trust. According to
its website, the community forest contains four miles of multi-use trails and offers exceptional views of and from Pismire Mountain. 

“There are four trails to choose from at Raymond Community Forest, two of which are perfect for snowshoeing and offer opportunities for the more advanced cross-country skier,” Crocker said.

The two trails for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing that Crocker refer to include the “Spiller Homestead Loop” and “Grape Expectations”. Both are about 1.1 miles in length.

“To have a winter equipment loan program is a great way for Raymond residents to explore outdoors and enjoy the natural recreation Raymond has to offer,” Crocker said. “The benefits are many - fresh air, quiet time in nature while providing a low impact workout. All we need is the equipment to make the lending program happen. We hope people in the area who are no longer using their skis, snowshoes or ice skates would consider donating them to us so others can have opportunities to do so.”

If anyone is interested in donating used (or new) skis, aluminum snowshoes or ice skates, they can do so by dropping the equipment off at the Raymond Town Office, 401 Webb Mills Road during business hours.

The office hours are as follows:

Tuesday - 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Wednesday through Friday - 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Monday, Saturday and Sunday – Closed

Once established, the equipment loan program will be free of charge. There will be a deposit required in an amount yet to be determined and the deposit will be refunded if equipment is returned in the same condition after use.

For more information about donating winter sports equipment, contact Crocker at [email protected] or 207-655-4742 option 2. <

Corey to serve on several legislative committees

AUGUSTA -- State Representative Patrick W. Corey, a Republican representing part of Windham, has been appointed to the 130^th Maine Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs.

Patrick Corey

Corey also will serve on the Joint Standing Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs. These two committees are among the most sought-after legislative assignments in Maine.

Members of the Appropriations Committee review the governor’s budget submissions and recommend changes to the full state legislature.

“State spending, budget and tax policy directly affects every Maine citizen,” Corey said. “The pandemic has complicated an already difficult budget situation, with massive, projected revenue shortfalls in the foreseeable future. We will need to work together to set priorities and protect our most vulnerable citizens without raising taxes on people, businesses and families struggling to survive because of the pandemic.”

A self-employed creative director and marketer, Corey is serving his fourth term representing District 25, encompassing part of Windham.

He previously served on the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee, the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee and the Joint Select Committee on Marijuana Legalization and Implementation.

Corey’s also a member of the Maine Marijuana Advisory Commission. <