SAD 15: $79,949 to upgrade Dunn and portable
Gray--The State of Maine requires all School Departments to create a 10-year Capital Asset Renewal plan and submit it to the State. In order to complete the renewal plan, the SAD 15 needed to learn the current condition of their buildings. They hired the James W. Sewell Company, an engineering firm, to evaluate all SAD 15 buildings in terms of condition and what work will be required in order to keep them in good functioning condition. Each facility, building, or asset is ranked in terms of deficiencies and necessary improvements on a priority scale.

Excerpted from Sewell Report
Replacement value: Dunn School, $5,186,700. Portable, $136,385

The five most expensive items are:
$55,817 for roof repair over kitchen
$9,981 for damaged ceiling tiles
$6,308 for ramps at the portable
$5,119 for door awnings on portable
$1,435 for chimney piping in boiler room

All items, ranked by priority:

$78,660 currently critical
$0 potentially critical
$0 necessary but not yet critical
$0 recommended
$1,289 does not meet code

The full report is available at SAD 15 Central Office, 14 Shaker Road, Gray.

Ambush victims' names released

AUGUSTA (AP) -- The governor' office has released the names of the
victims of an ambush in Iraq on members of the Maine National Guard.
The governor's office said Spc. Christopher D. Gelineau of Portland was
killed in Tuesday's attack in northern Iraq upon members of the 133rd
Engineering Battalion.

The governor's office identified the injured soldiers as Spc. Dwight Emery Nickles of Union, Spc. Craig Ardry of Pittsfield and Spc. Sok San Pao of Portland. All are recovering.

Baldacci said that Gelineau "paid the highest price for the freedoms we
cherish in this country." The battalion was ambushed when a roadside
bomb was detonated next to the convoy's lead Humvee. Anti-American
insurgents then opened fire on the soldiers, who returned fire and killed
or seriously wounded several of the attackers. There are more than
500 soldiers in the 133rd, which has its headquarters in Gardiner and
arrived in Iraq in March.

NG Democrats Organize a Roadside Clean-Up

Continuing in the spirit of Earth Day, the New Gloucester Democrats are organizing a roadside clean-up. All Democrats, Independents, and Republicans for Kerry are invited to join us on Saturday, April 24 (Rain date: May 1) for a morning of picking up the roadside litter on sections of Route100, Route 231, and the Peacock Hill Road. A work party (muffins and coffee) to be held at the New Gloucester Meetinghouse will start at 9 AM, and our litter patrol will wrap up before noon. Call 926-5933 for details, or e-mail: gusandjoanne@earthlink.net.

NG Republicans to meet
The New Gloucester Town Republican Committee will hold its regular monthly meeting on Friday April 30th at 7:30pm in the New Gloucester Meeting House next to the Town Hall in the lower village. All Republicans and folks interested in exploring Republican solutions to our States current problems and misdirections are encouraged to attend and will be made welcome. Call Donna Glaser at 926-5644 for more information.

Local Democrats Announce Grassroots Organizing Workshops
Policies and practices of the Bush administration have generated a surge of Democratic activism around countless issues. As a result, concerned citizens have new opportunities to learn techniques for addressing issues from Medicare to the media, from electoral reform to
the environment, from taxes to terrorism. The Gray Democrats are pleased to share news of these opportunities with our fellow citizens, and encourage all to exercise the privileges of full civic involvement by becoming informed, active and involved.

CAMP WELLSTONE: DURHAM, NEW HAMPSHIRE, April 30-May 2, 2004. Camp Wellstone is an exciting and energetic 2.5 day program that trains participants in the philosophy, strategy and tactics for winning grassroots political and electoral campaigns. This national program teaches a distinctive approach that integrates electoral politics, issues advocacy, community organizing and leadership development.

Camp Wellstone has been traveling around the country training hundreds of organizers in the late Senator Paul Wellstone's unique approach to political and community organizing. The Durham program, which is open to Maine and New Hampshire residents only, costs $35 which includes meals. To register or for more information, visit www.wellstone.org/camp, send email to camp@grassrootssolutions.com. or call 202.546.6752.

Sen. Douglass honors hockey team
AUGUSTA-Three Edward Little High School teams last Wednesday were recognized by the Maine Senate and Governor John Baldacci for winning major championships in their respective sports. The student-athletes, who were guests of Senator Neria Douglass (D-Auburn), received formal recognition from the Legislature for their efforts.

The Edward Little High School Boys Hockey Team was recognized for winning their second consecutive Class A State Hockey Championship, while the Girls Nordic Ski Team and the Girls Combined Ski Team were also recognized for winning Class A State Championships.

Maine People Strongly Support Raising the Sales Tax for K-12 School Funding and Property Tax Relief
New Poll Finds Widespread Support Across All Parties

AUGUSTA - Legislative leaders on Thursday released the results of a statewide poll conducted late last month. The poll was commissioned by the Senate Democratic Caucus in response to bi-partisan proposals to provide property tax relief and increased K-12 school funding via a 1 cent increase in the sales tax.

A bi-partisan group, the Rural-Coastal Caucus, developed a plan centered around raising the sales tax by a penny and using the proceeds to significantly reduce property taxes. Legislative leaders decided to test this proposal with the public. The Senate Democratic caucus commissioned a poll by Strategic Marketing Services (SMS). From March 19th to March 22nd, 2004, SMS surveyed 400 residents who are likely to vote this November. The poll was stratified statewide and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9%.

The poll results offered strong support for using a sales tax increase to relieve the burden on the property tax. When asked if they would "support legislation to raise the sales tax by one cent and provide all the proceeds to education and provide property tax relief," 69% of those polled responded positively. There was general agreement across all parties. 68.4% of enrolled Democrats said yes, as did an overwhelming 76.4% of independents. Support remained strong among Republicans, at 61%.

LAEGE Announces Details Of Annual Meeting Featuring NASA Chief
LEWISTON -- The Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council has announced the details of its Annual Dinner and Business Forum, which will feature a keynote address by Sean O'Keefe, head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The meeting will be held Thursday, May 13, at the Bates College Gray Athletic Building in Lewiston.

Nominated by President George W. Bush, Sean O'Keefe was appointed by the President as NASA's 10th Administrator on December 21, 2001.
O'Keefe leads the NASA team and manages its resources.

The keynote address will focus attention on the need for a community like Lewiston-Auburn to create and sustain jobs in emerging fields such as nanotechnology, global information systems, and biotechnology - all of which play a critical role for NASA. Other topics of interest would be the President's new space exploration plan, and an overview of the space shuttle's past and future.

Also at the meeting, the Cities of Lewiston and Auburn will present the Economic Achievement Awards to companies or individuals who have contributed substantially to the area's economic growth and job creation.
The Growth Council is the central economic development agency serving the Twin Cities. It is a nonprofit, public/private partnership that helps attract new businesses to Lewiston-Auburn, as well as assist existing businesses to expand.

The cost to attend is $45 per person, or a table of eight for $315. For information on attending, contact Paul Badeau at the Growth Council at 784-0161.

Democrats Pass Majority Budget
Majority plan includes tax and fee increases to cover the budget shortfall.
AUGUSTA-- Majority Democrats pushed through a '05 supplemental budget in order to cover a $160 million shortfall. The engrossed budget used numerous revenue raising techniques, which includes more than a dozen tax and fee increases, the use of millions of dollars in one-time revenue, and scale backs of the Medicaid program.

The Democrats' budget passed with a simple majority vote of 69 to 34. Republicans unanimously opposed the budget.