County candidate forum on public education

A legislative candidates’ forum focused on K-12 education is set for 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at Gorham Middle School on Weeks Road.

The forum is co-sponsored by the Maine School Boards Association and the Maine School Superintendents Association and is one of nine such forums being held across the state in September.

Maine School Management Association, the umbrella organization for MSBA and MSSA, is coordinating the forums and has prepared position papers reflecting the two organizations’ stand on key issues affecting public schools.

Candidates will be briefed on those issues and asked to give their views on public education. The forum will cover the need for adequate school funding, including help for economically disadvantaged students; expanding pre-kindergarten programs; implementing teacher evaluations; protecting the school board’s legal right to adopt educational policy; and the future of charter schools.

Haunted lighthouses North Gorham topic

Jeremy D’Entremont will present an illustrated talk on Haunted lighthouses of New England on Thursday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. at the North Gorham Public Library, 2 Standish Neck Road.

D’Entremont is the author of “Lighthouses of Maine” and a popular handbook about New England lighthouses. For more information about the free program, call the library at 892-2575.

Free lecture reminder

Baxter Memorial Library, 71 South St., will host a special lecture, “Pollinators in the Garden – You are Their Heroes!” by Joan Calder, on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at 6:30 p.m. A gardener, horticulturist, speaker and author, Calder’s lecture will focus on bees, butterflies and other pollinators.

The free lecture is sponsored by the Gorham Garden Club and the Friends of Baxter Memorial Library. Refreshments will be served. For more information, call the library at 222-1190.

USM hosting college fair

The University of Southern Maine will again host the New England Association for College Admission Counseling College Fair Sunday, Sept. 28, 1- 3 p.m., in the Costello Sports Complex on the Gorham campus. The event is free and open to the public, and no registration is needed.

More than 250 colleges and universities, as well as representatives from the University of Southern Maine’s Office of Financial Aid, the Finance Authority of Maine and the New England Board of Higher Education will be on hand to meet with high school students and their families.

For an up-to-date listing of participating institutions, visit www.neacac.org/cf_fall.cfm. For information, contact the University of Southern Maine Office of Undergraduate Admission via phone at 780-5670 or via email at usmadm@usm.maine.edu.

Accreditation team to visit GHS

Sixteen educators will conduct an on-site accreditation visit of Gorham High School Oct. 19-Oct. 22, said Principal Chris Record.

The accreditation visit will be conducted under the direction of the Committee on Public Secondary Schools of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

“The purpose of this accreditation visit is to review and determine from an outside professional viewpoint the extent to which the school is meeting the standards for accreditation,” Record said in a statement. “As part of the evaluation, the visiting committee will meet with all school constituents, review the school’s self-study, visit a number of classes, and examine examples of student work submitted by the school. During the comprehensive self-study, the faculty attempted to identify the school’s strengths and determined those areas in which changes would be beneficial.”

Record said, “The members of the visiting committee are contributing their services to the school. This spirit of professional cooperation is one of the noted features of the New England Association. The goal of an accreditation visit is to stimulate a continuing drive for improvement in the school.”

The members of the visiting committee are teachers and administrators from a variety of schools in the New England area.

Record and the high school staff are inviting both former and current Gorham High School parents/guardians to take part in this on-site visit. For more information or to participate, call Record at 222-1128.

Cutting the ribbon last week at Martin’s Point Health Care Center in Gorham are, from left, Warren Alpern, M.D., Martin’s Point vice chairman; Mike Phinney, Gorham Town Council chairman; Dr. David Howes, Martin’s Point president and CEO; Dr. Marty Wesolowski, Martin’s Point Gorham practice medical director; Dr. Jonathan Harvey, Martin’s Point chief medical officer; Larry Kalp, Martin’s Point patient and member of the Patient Advisory Council; Ed Dupont, Martin’s Point treasurer; and Michael Thomas, Martin’s Point board chairman. The $5 million dollar healthcare facility opened on Monday for patients.