O'Shea Builders teams up with HGTV for remodel - By Michelle Libby

Warren O’Shea is passionate about building and quality of work. His honest demeanor and attitude shines through and when HGTV found out about his work on the website www.houzz.com, a photo-based sharing website to find contractors, they asked him to bid on a project for its new show “Vacation House for Free.” 

O’Shea, no stranger to television, agreed to meet with the producers and because of his knowledge of TV production, he got the job. He has been on two episodes of On Your Side and as a professional contractor, both for Channel 13 and he worked on the Restaurant Impossible for the Food Network renovating Uncle Andy’s in South Portland.  

“I’m a big advocate for consumer rights. You don’t need a license to be a contractor, but you need one to sell bait. That’s wrong,” O’Shea said. 

“I’ve been in construction for eight years,” the Cape Cod native said. He’s done a variety of jobs like commercial fishing and restaurant manager before settling on construction. Now he mostly does renovations of existing homes. 

The “Vacation House for Free” is a show where the premise is if you fix up your home, you can rent it for 16 weeks and then pay for the construction and some of the mortgage, allowing you to live there for free. The theme of the episode is maximizing space.

The home O’Shea Builders is working on is on the water in Oakland. He had three interviews before knowing that he had the job. He said he spent at least two weeks designing the layout of the bathroom to make sure there were two doors to meet code. “Creative design solved many problems,” he said. “I have a bit of a track record for media, but it’s not like I expected (to get the job).” 

The renovations were designed with the client and although O’Shea did not go to design school, his hands on experience has helped him learn how to create plans that work for both the client and the state codes. He calls it “design on the fly” and he does this by getting to know the clients and how they like their homes. 

“My show is the most involved, most logistically complicated because it’s so difficult to get to for the trucks,” he said. The whole rebuild will take six weeks wrapping up around September 16. The host of the show is Matt Blashaw, who also hosts “Yard Crashers.” 

Working with HGTV can be challenging because everything has to be approved in New York and he’s working with designers who have inspirational photos, but aren’t as concerned with which materials make a certain look. 

O’Shea said there is a film man on site every day and they do a lot of time lapse photography.

“I live in a construction site. Everywhere I look I say, ‘I have to do this or order that’,” O’Shea said. He is spending the week in Oakland and returns home on the weekends. “I’m working a 12 hour day plus, easily,” he said. 

The Windham resident doesn’t usually travel to Oakland to work, liking to stay in the Windham, Portland, Falmouth, Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough areas. 

O’Shea builders is not handyman work. He does high-end work with tile, paint, electrical and roof work. If he can’t do it, he has electricians and plumbers who will handle the job. He employs four year round and occasionally subs out work. 

O’Shea’s specialty is kitchens and bathrooms, he said. He likes to do custom tile and showers. The company’s motto is “We’ve got this.” No matter the project, big or small…“We’ve got this.”

“It’s all about attitude. O’Shea Builders does free estimates.

The show aired its first episode last Sunday night. New episodes will air every Sunday night at 10 p.m. on HGTV. There are 12 episodes scheduled. O’Shea anticipates his show will air in December.

For more information about the show, visit www.hgtv.com.

Fit 4 Duty 5K honors Windham firefighter/EMT - By Michelle Libby

The second annual Fit 4 Duty 5K to honor Windham firefighter/EMT Rick Duncanson will take place this Sunday at Windham High School. The 5K was started by Denise Allen who worked with Rick and wanted to do something special to remember him. The proceeds from the run go to the Rick Duncanson Memorial Scholarship Fund, which was started by his wife, Lisa and one of his two daughters. 

“He was always there for everyone else and this is our way of being there for him,” said his wife Lisa.

Rick passed away unexpectedly almost two years ago in December, he was 47. Rick and Lisa had been married just shy of 25 years, she said. The Windham High School graduates had been together for 30 years, which wasn’t enough time, Lisa stated. Rick joined the Windham Fire Department and Rescue in 1986 as a volunteer and his service grew from there. 

No one in the family had been to a 5K, Lisa said, but last year she finished her first and is ready to complete her second this year. Finishers will run under a 42-foot flag hanging from two ladder trucks. Last year there were 100 people enrolled and Lisa is concerned with the addition of another big race that same weekend attendance could be down. She doesn’t want that to happen. 

“Rick would have thought it was kind of fun because he was not an athlete. He’d have been humbled by it,” Lisa said. 

Denise Allen’s other motivation for the 5K was to get more fitness into the fire department and police departments, Lisa said. “Rick wasn’t the fittest, but he tried to stay healthy.”  

There is still time to register on race day between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. The cost is $40 and finishers get a tech shirt and a BPA free water bottle. All the proceeds go to the scholarship. For more information on the race visit www.RickDuncansonMemorialScholarship.org.

Another fundraiser that is done in memory of Rick is Rick’s Ride in September. “The motorcycle ride, he would have said, ‘This is cool,’” Lisa added. 

All of the fundraising goes to scholarships for students who have a fire, EMS or law enforcement connection or are going into these fields. The first year, in Windham, the fund gave away three scholarships worth $1,500, and in 2014 it gave two $1,000 scholarships, one to Devon Jones and one to Savannah Johnston. 

“There were lots of donations in the beginning in lieu of flowers,” Lisa said. In 2015 they hope to include more schools like Gorham and Portland and eventually have the funds to give scholarships all over the State of Maine. “Rick put two kids through college so he knew how much it costs. He had a lot of good friends who are participating and do all they can,” Lisa said. Rick’s best friends help to judge the entries for the scholarships around the dining room table at Lisa’s house. 

“We miss him. It’s hard,” she said.

Back to school means back to good nutrition basics - By Merilee Kern

As parents prepare for yet another “back to school” season, they will scurry to malls in search of new clothes for their ever-growing child along with a litany of school supplies too numerous to name. But, let’s not forget healthy school lunches and after school snacks as we plan ahead for the upcoming school year.

Here are a few great ideas to assure a happy school day is also a healthy school day:

• Lean meat, such as shaved ham or turkey, on whole grain bread or in a wheat wrap with some lettuce, low-fat/fat-free cheese, and a touch of low-fat/fat-free mayonnaise or mustard is sure to please…and nourish.
• Even the quintessential children’s sandwich, PB&J, can be made in a healthy way these days. Many peanut butter brands now offer low-fat and low-sodium versions. That, coupled with an all-fruit, sugar-free jelly on whole grain bread makes this school cafeteria staple a guiltless pleasure.
• Tuna fish is jam packed with oh-so-beneficial Omega-3 fatty acids. When mixed with low-fat mayonnaise, diced apple, and, if your child likes, a bit of onion and served in a wheat pita it’s nothing short of delish and a healthy home run!
• BLTs can also be healthy! Simply swap regular bacon for the turkey bacon variety (in moderation due to high-sodium levels) and layer with lettuce, tomato and fat-free mayonnaise. Sandwich in whole grain bread or roll into a pita wrap - your child will nary know the difference between this healthy version versus its fat-packed counterpart.
• What to serve on the side of the main school lunch item? Options abound! Low-salt pretzels; fat- and sugar-free yogurt or cottage cheese; celery sticks filed with low-fat/low-sodium peanut butter; any kind of pre-washed fresh fruit (nature's gift to humanity); dried or dehydrated fruit, such as raisins; apricots, pears, apples, roasted or raw almonds, walnuts or peanuts (not oiled or candied); low-fat string cheese or chunked low-fat cheese; and even baked chips or healthy pita chips in moderation are all great choices.
• Skip the sugary juice box and send along a bottle of water instead to get your child in the habit of working toward his/her optimal fluid intake (experts recommend one consume about .5 ounces of water per pound of body weight).

It’s common knowledge that after school is prime time for snacking, and it is also a time when many kids make, shall we say, less than nutritious food and beverage choices. Here are a few health and fitness-friendly after school snack alternatives your kids are sure to love:

• Potato Chips/Fries - Cut the potato in the desired shape (round, rectangular, oblong, etc.). Fully coat with egg whites. Season with a touch of salt or other herbs as desired. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown. Serve with sugar-free catsup.
• Popcorn: Air pop popcorn and on it drizzle a moderate amount of powdered butter substitute, light parmesan cheese, or even honey for a tasty twist.
• Pizza: On a fat-free/low-calorie/low-carb whole grain tortilla (or whole grain bagel), smear tomato paste or sauce and top with fat-free cheese, whatever veggies the child likes, and even lean meats like ham or turkey dices. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted with a few brown spots on top.
• Tortilla Chips: Cut Chinese wonton squares (usually found in the produce aisle) in half diagonally so they become triangles. Spread out evenly on a baking sheet, lightly spray with cooking spray, and sprinkle on a dash of salt. Bake at 350 degrees until crunchy. Eat alone or serve with fat-free salsa or the below-described Mexican bean dip.
• Mexican Bean Dip: Drain and food process two 14-ounce cans of black beans. Add 3/4 cup of fat-free salsa and 1/2 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and blend until completely smooth. Top with a dab of fat-free sour cream, fat-free cheese, diced tomatoes, chopped green onions, etc. as desired.
• Fruit Smoothies: These are a warm weather staple that can, and should, be enjoyed year-round. While fruit smoothie recipes abound, it need not be a complex process. Simply blend, in amounts to your personal liking, either plain or flavored fat-free/sugar-free yogurt with skim milk, ice cubes, and either fresh or frozen fruit chunks. For added sweetness, you can add a touch of honey or an artificial sweetener, such as stevia. Blend and enjoy!
• Healthy Ice Cream Sandwiches: These are a snap - and always a crowd pleaser! Purchase any type of round fat-free/sugar-free cookie on the market (preferably the new whole grain varieties) or bake any low-fat/low-calorie cookie recipe from scratch. Sandwich waistline-friendly sherbet, sorbet, or gelato between two cookies and press to make a sandwich. For added excitement, flavor, and visual interest, you can also roll the outside edge of the "sandwich" in chopped unsalted nuts, shredded coconut, raisins or finely diced fresh or dried fruit.
• Parfait: While the word "parfait" may not be in your child's vocabulary, (s)he will love making - and eating - this snack layered with goodness. In a cup or bowl, simply create thin, alternating layers of non-fat yogurt, low-fat granola (or other heart-healthy cereal product), and fruit slices or whole berries. Make as many layers of each as you like and then dig in!
• Jell-O®: Let's not forget how much colorful, jiggly Jell-O® can delight, especially when it is jam-packed with diced fruit.

Children’s health advocate, health industry veteran and two-time fitness champion, Merilee Kern, is the creator of the ground-breaking “Kids Making Healthy Choices” APP for children, parents/caregivers and educators (available on iTunes), which is based on her award-winning, illustrated fictional children’s book, “Making Healthy Choices – A Story to Inspire Fit, Weight-Wise Kids.” She may be reached online at: www.KidsMakingHealthyChoices.com.

Portland Water District upgrades with UV treatment - By Elizabeth Richards

Earlier this spring, the Portland Water District celebrated the completion of a $12-million project, including the installation of a new UV system and upgrade of their ozone disinfection system at the Sebago Lake Water Treatment Facility. The project brought the facility into compliance with new EPA regulations, as well as adding efficiency to their operations.

Chief Operator Joel Anderson said the project began with new federal mandates for enhanced surface water treatment focusing on the pathogen cryptosporidium, a microscopic parasite which can cause severe gastrointestinal illness. 

 

The PWD is one of just a few water districts in the country that doesn’t employ expensive conventional filtration methods. “Because we have such a pristine source in Sebago Lake, we were granted a waiver from conventional filtration,” said Anderson. But this didn’t exempt them from the new rules, even though over a two year monitoring program, cryptosporidium was never detected in the water. “When the EPA writes these rules, they’re for everybody,” said Anderson.

The treatment facility in Standish has been using ozonation and chloramination to treat the water since its construction in 1994. When they began looking at how to best meet the new regulations, they took the opportunity to update the ozone system at the same time. “We know that you don’t run your primary treatment system into the ground. You get your useful life out of it – which we did – and then you move on,” said Anderson. 

The primary concerns when looking at the project with engineering consultant CDM Smith were cost effectiveness and safety for customers Anderson said. The rules stated that there had to be a second disinfectant if the water wasn’t being filtered, so they couldn’t just increase the ozone. They could have increased the dose of chlorine used, but Anderson said organic matter in unfiltered water reacts with chlorine to form disinfection byproducts, which are known carcinogens. Therefore, the PWD didn’t want to increase those numbers. Since UV is a physical process, not a chemical one, it does not have any known disinfection byproducts associated with it, Anderson said.

Looking at the existing technology available, they concluded that UV water treatment in combination with ozone disinfection was both the most cost effective and the safest method. The light process means that no more chemicals are added to the average 21.5 million gallons of water that are treated every day. The light penetrates the outer shell of the pathogen and disrupts the DNA so they cannot replicate. One cyst won’t make you sick, said Anderson. It’s when the cells find a host environment and multiply that causes problems, he said. Since UV isn’t very effective against viruses, ozone was also still needed, he added. 

Instead of using ambient air, the upgrades to the ozone system mean that now liquid oxygen is converted to gaseous oxygen and sent to ozone generators. This new process is much more efficient according to Anderson. “We’re using much less electricity to do the same work,” he said. The sustainable design allowed the PWD to receive a $300,000 competitive grant from Efficiency Maine Trust Competitive Program. The energy efficient upgrades are anticipated to save approximately $150,000 annually.

Once the type of system was selected, there were many decisions to be made. Anderson said they didn’t want to increase the footprint of the existing building, and they needed to decide what would come first in the complex treatment process. A series of pilot studies conducted over a six month period clearly showed that because the ozone works by increasing the clarity of the water, the UV was much more effective if it came second in the process. 

Because two of each system is required, finding space to fit it all in was another challenge. In water treatment, said Anderson, redundancy is critical. 

“You can’t afford to have just one ozone generator. You can’t afford to have one UV reactor. You’ve got to have at least two of everything,” he said. In fact, it is required as part of the waiver from filtration. If there are two that means that if something fails another unit can be put on line without missing a beat.

The new system took about two years from start to finish to construct. The biggest challenge, Anderson said, was trying to maintain the existing treatment system while trying to install the new one at the same time. “It was like trying to live in your house while someone is redoing the kitchen, and the bathroom, and the roof – it did present a lot of challenges,” he said. “Our staff here did a great job of meeting those challenges,” he added. 

There hasn’t been a public response to the project, since most people don’t even know that the system changed. This is a good thing, Anderson said. As long as the process is running smoothly and safely there’s no need to know. It is only when there are problems that people want to understand where something went wrong. “It has been an interesting couple of years, but since we never made the front page of the paper, apparently we met the challenge,” he said. “I’m pretty proud of that.” 

More information on the project can be found at http://www.pwd.org/pdf/UVFact%20Sheet.pdf.