Issue of April 17, 2003

Scarborough’s own children’s circus, the Gym Dandies, put on two fine performances for the home crowd last week. The Gym Dandies performed on Wednesday and Thursday nights to capacity crowds at the high school gym.

The title of this year’ s annual community performance was “ The Greatest Kids Show on Earth.” Over the course of the two nights more than 200 kids did juggling tricks, rode unicycles while doing various skills and walked on big globe balls.

Despite last-minute “concessions” required by adults nervous about causing unnecessary anxiety, a fake drunk-driving car crash that “killed” two kids and “injured” five in Cape Elizabeth made its point.

“At first it was going to be a surprise,” said Katie Tammaro, one of the student organizers and an accident victim. They had approval and assistance from town and school officials.

“Under a week left, that was changed on us,” said another student organizer, Alex Weaver.

In a meeting with high school Principal Jeff Shedd, it became clear that an explanatory letter would have to go home with all students in advance. “It had been a surprise everywhere else” the program was conducted, including Deering High School, Old Town and Wells, Weaver said.

Scarborough officials are hoping to limit next year’s property tax increase to 5 percent by reducing the proposed budgets for education, town administration and social services while also dipping into the town’s undesignated fund balance.

Town councilors agreed unanimously during a Finance Committee meeting Tuesday to reduce the Board of Education’s proposed $24.4 million budget by $450,000. The committee also directed Town Manager Ron Owens to reduce his proposed town-side budget by $150,000.

Before Tuesday’s adjustments, the property tax would have risen 7.2 percent, but councilors argued this was too great for many residents to absorb. The budget, as endorsed by the committee Tuesday, would require a 78-cent increase to the mill rate, bringing it to $16.48 per $1,000 of valuation.

After more than 35 years at South Portland High School, math teacher John Brunette is taking the love of his subject matter to the next level, leaving the school to become a full-time professor at the University of Southern Maine next year.

Brunette, a Portland native with a doctorate in differential geometry, has been teaching at USM part time in recent years while keeping his full-time job at the high school. At 59, Brunette’ s version of “ retiring” is scaling back to just one full-time job. He chose the college level where he can both teach at a higher pace and pursue his own studies.

“ You can really get into some complex math with high school students here, and that is gratifying,” Brunette said. “ But I’ m really looking forward to being full time at the college level. Mostly, I’ m looking forward to the math.”

Despite concerns that it is little more than a token reduction, it appears the Town Council will ask developers of the Great American Neighborhood to cut their project by 44 units, or 10 percent, and at least one councilor wants the development to include housing truly affordable to working-class people.

Councilors also told developers, John and Elliott Chamberlain at a workshop Monday night, that the design plan for fixing the congested Route 1 intersections in Dunstan would have to be complete and approved by town engineers before any construction on the project, now being called Dunstan Crossing, could start.

As the culmination of Scarborough Middle School’ s Community-Service-Self program, students in all grades celebrated a journey through the decades Friday.

The students learned about the events and people in the decades from the 1920s to the 1970s, and then simulated activities that would have occurred in those decades.

Three candidates – two incumbents and one newcomer – are running for the three open seats on the Cape Elizabeth School Board. Anne Belden, a parent active in the Pond Cove Parents Association, said the budget is the big concern, particularly with state funding cuts. She hopes to serve on the board’ s policy committee to make sure the policies in force are adhered to. “ I think the policies in place are really sound policies,” she said.

Elaine Moloney, presently the board’ s finance chairman, said she wants to “ recommit the public to moving forward with our education,” and to “ develop a common vision for both education and the town as a whole.”

Kevin Sweeney, also an incumbent, also focuses on the budget.

“As a community, as a state and as a nation, we have to start going back to our state and federal governments and demanding that they keep their promises” about funding government-mandated programs like the Maine Learning Results and special education services, he said.

Michael Mowles is one of three newcomers running for one of three open seats on the Cape Elizabeth Town Council. Incumbents Henry Berry and Carol Fritz also are running. Mowles is a mortgage officer for Cape Mortgage Company and has lived in town for close to three years. He is active at St. Bartholomew Church, where he is a lector, and also with Boy Scout Troop 30, where he is the committee chairman.

Cape Town Councilor Henry Berry is running for re-election this May 6 and faces a field of four other candidates, all vying for three council seats. He and Carol Fritz are the only incumbents. Berry served for four years on the very first Town Council and has served on the council for the past six years. Next month will be his 120th council meeting. Although born in Boston, Berry has spent more than half his life as a Cape Elizabeth resident. He and his wife Susan raised seven children together, all of whom graduated from CEHS.

The Inn By The Sea in Cape Elizabeth has been designated a Backyard Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). Innkeeper Maureen McQuade and head groundskeeper Derrick Daly received the designation for the inn grounds after a conscientious effort to create landscaping that enhanced the environment and restored wildlife habitation.

Scarborough’s own Gym Dandies perform in this photo from April 17, 2003. File photo