Aimee Michaud, a senior at Biddeford High School, facilitates a meeting in her English class Thursday. The students in teacher Carolyn Gosselin’s class are hosting meetings with other students at the high school to get their input on what they would like to see in Biddeford’s downtown. (DINA MENDROS/Journal Tribune)

Kennebunk Elementary School student James Noonan twists the stem off of an apple during the Wellness Fair at the school on Wednesday. KES is making an effort to encourage exercise and proper eating habits, and has been helped by a grant from Kellogg’s. (JEFF LAGASSE/Journal Tribune)

KENNEBUNK — Third-grade student Jacob Towne was having trouble with his pushups. He was utilizing a set of devices called the Perfect Pushup, a pair of discs that, when placed on the floor, allow for movement and flexibility in the wrists while exercising. Towne, while gamely plowing through his repetitions, was starting to feel strain […]

Third grade students Jacob Towne, left, and Casen Luck do push-ups in the fitness room of Kennebunk Elementary School on Tuesday. KES is making an effort to encourage exercise and proper eating habits, and has been helped by a grant from Kellogg’s. (JEFF LAGASSE/Journal Tribune)

Third grade student Joe Parent does sit-ups with the help of a classmate in the fitness room at Kennebunk Elementary School on Tuesday. KES is making an effort to encourage exercise and proper eating habits, and has been helped by a grant from Kellogg’s. (JEFF LAGASSE/Journal Tribune)

SPRINGVALE — Buildings came tumbling down as a result of urban renewal. The textile mills closed. Sanford marked its 1968 bicentennial in grand style and the bicentennial of the country a few years later. Two men, prisoners of war for five years and six years respectively, came home. The joy on the face of the […]

Parent Tami Chestnut, right, serves fresh fruits and vegetables to students at Kennebunk Elementary School during its Wellness Fair on Wednesday. KES is making an effort to encourage exercise and proper eating habits, and has been helped by a grant from Kellogg’s. (JEFF LAGASSE/Journal Tribune)

Megan McCabe, Brittney Molligi and Mark Phelps, students in a U.S. History class at Sanford Adult Education, take in the “Defining Moments” exhibit now on display at Sanford Springvale Historical Museum. (TAMMY WELLS/Journal Tribune)

PORTLAND — With an exuberance rarely seen since his campaign trail days, President Barack Obama regaled a large crowd at the Portland Exposition Center Thursday with the details of the new health care bill, which was passed by Congress last week. The energy was high, not only for Obama and his throng of supporters, but […]

President Barack Obama delivers a speech about the new health care reform law at the Portland Expo building Thursday. (JEFF LAGASSE/Journal Tribune)