Page 1 1 of 119 DOCUMENTS Kennebec Journal October 18, 2018 Thursday Gardiner tightens leash BYLINE: JESSICA LOWELL SECTION: Pg. 1.A ISSN: 07452039 LENGTH: 662 words DATELINE: Augusta, Me. FULL TEXT Gardiner officials are expected to vote on a measure that would tighten up the city's leash law to require that dogs be on leashes in parks and public areas. City officials OK move requiring all dogs leashed GARDINER -- Even as Gardiner elected officials voted Wednesday to impose a citywide leash law, they also agreed to form a committee to recommend revisions to it. That move reflects the difference in interests between those who live in Gardiner's more densely populated areas and those who live in more rural neighborhoods. Since August, city officials have heard from residents about dog attacks and bites in and around downtown Gardiner and at Waterfront Park. As a result, the City Council has been considering a change to the city's ordinance to require dogs to be on leashes unless they are on their owners' property or on the property of someone who permits them to be off the leash. At a public hearing two weeks ago and again Wednesday, Peter Giampetruzzi brought his objec- tions to city officials. "It's a knee-jerk reaction to a singular incident," Giampetruzzi said. "It's an erosion of my liberty and a deteri- oration of my quality of life in Gardiner." He noted that the ordinance would restrict the actions of law-abiding dog owners and would be ignored by those who were not responsible. "This would not have prevented what happened in July," he said, referring to a dog attack in the Arcade park- ing lot behind Water Street in July. Under the ordinance, he said, he would not be able to let his dog swim in the Kennebec River without per- mission of the responsible party -- President Donald Trump, he said, as commander in chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He was joined by two other Gardiner residents who shared similar concerns about walking with and training dogs within the city's boundaries. Because making such a substantial change to the proposal would require the public hearing process to start again and postpone action until December or later, Mayor Thom Harnett said he did not want to delay it. "It's not a knee-jerk reaction," Harnett said; it was the result of a series of complaints from city residents. Harnett said he didn't want to delay putting the ordinance in place while changes are contemplated. The council voted 7-0-1, with Councilor Patricia Hart absent, to approve the change. Page 2 Gardiner tightens leash Kennebec Journal October 18, 2018 Thursday District 4 Councilor Marc Rines then moved to form a committee to consider how the ordinance could be ad- justed, and he volunteered to lead the committee. The council agreed with his proposal. Recommendations are due back to the council by next spring. In comments given at the public hearings and during public comments at earlier meetings, Gardiner resi- dents talked about their concerns about encountering dogs that were not on leashes and recounted instanc- es when dogs charged them or failed to respond immediately to voice commands. City officials opted to pursue requiring leashes citywide, rather than imposing that restriction on just Gardi- ner's parks and recreational areas. At the state level, Rep. Matt Pouliot, R-Augusta, is expected to announce at a news conference Friday morning his plan to submit a bill for consideration in the next legislative session that would increase penalties against dog owners whose dogs attack people. In July, Cynthia Roodman was attacked by two dogs in the Arcade parking lot. In the attack, she was bitten on both arms, her ear was ripped and she received a puncture wound on her hip. She had 23 stitches and nine staples in her head. The owners took the dogs and left after the attack, so she also had two rounds of rabies shots, because there was no way to know immediately whether the dogs had been vaccinated. After the attack, the dogs were held in quarantine at the Kennebec Valley Humane Society. At at the end of September, a district court judge ordered the dogs to be euthanized. Jessica Lowell -- 621-5632 [email protected] Twitter: @JLowellKJ Credit: By JESSICA LOWELL Staff Writer LOAD-DATE: October 19, 2018 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH ACC-NO: 44875 DOCUMENT-TYPE: News PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper JOURNAL-CODE: 44875 Copyright 2018 ProQuest Information and Learning All Rights Reserved Copyright 2018 Kennebec Journal Oct 18, 2018 2 of 119 DOCUMENTS Morning Sentinel; Waterville, Me. October 14, 2018 Sunday Pouliot understands hometown Augusta SECTION: Pg. 1.A Page 3 Pouliot understands hometown Augusta Morning Sentinel; Waterville, Me. October 14, 2018 Sunday LENGTH: 144 words DATELINE: Waterville, Me. FULL TEXT This package will contain all letters to the editor that are awaiting editing and headlines. I'm a registered Democrat, but I'm pretty open-minded when it comes to who I vote for. I tend to vote for the person who I feel best understands the community and has a proven track record. This year for state Senate, that's Matt Pouliot. He's been our state representative for six years. Plus, he grew up in Augusta and his family roots go way back here. He knows this community inside and out, and he and his wife are deeply involved in community organizations. When it comes to the State House, I'd rather have someone who I trust to know their constituents and under- stand the community's concerns than just someone who has the same letter after their name as I do. That's why I'll be casting my vote for Matt Pouliot as my next senator. Credit: Steve Ronan Augusta LOAD-DATE: October 15, 2018 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH ACC-NO: 46333 DOCUMENT-TYPE: Commentary; Editorial PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper JOURNAL-CODE: 46333 Copyright 2018 ProQuest Information and Learning All Rights Reserved Copyright 2018 Morning Sentinel Oct 14, 2018 3 of 119 DOCUMENTS Kennebec Journal September 29, 2018 Saturday A game changer for children SECTION: Pg. 1.A ISSN: 07452039 LENGTH: 777 words DATELINE: Augusta, Me. Page 4 A game changer for children Kennebec Journal September 29, 2018 Saturday FULL TEXT Early childhood care and education have countless lifelong benefits for our people, our state and our country. In fact, a person's success is rooted in what happens during the first five years of life. That is why we are proponents of investments in high-quality care and learning programs for Maine's young- est residents. With the challenges Maine and the nation face in workforce readiness and military prepared- ness, we believe investments in these areas are more important than ever and deserve to be a priority for all of us. First, an understanding of the economic and military readiness challenges we face is warranted and, frankly, should serve as a wake-up call to all of us. Maine has the oldest population in the country and our aging workforce reflects that. We are facing a work- force shortage on two fronts. One is a shortage in the number of workers that employers need, or quantity. The second is a shortage of workers with the education and skills Maine employers need, or quality. There is no question we are approaching a workforce crisis that threatens Maine's ability to compete and succeed. Our military is also facing a shortage of men and women who are ready and able to serve. Estimates from the U.S. Department of Defense indicate a shocking 71 percent of young Americans are not eligible to serve in the military, largely because they are too poorly educated, too overweight or have a history of crime or drug use. In Maine, it's 68 percent of our youth who are ineligible to serve based on one of more of these barriers. This is a looming crisis that weakens our nation's capacity to recruit, train and retain a strong mili- tary to keep America safe. Many collaborative efforts are underway to help address the looming workforce and military preparedness crises, including efforts targeting Maine kids early in life that merit further investment. Specifically, what efforts can be expanded to give Maine kids the right start so they can achieve and succeed in school and in life and be ready for the workplace or military service? The first are high-quality early care and education programs such as Early Head Start and voluntary home visiting. By reaching infants and new parents -- even parents-to-be -- with these programs, parents learn skills to best support child development and health so their kids are given a stronger foundation and start in life. Next, increased investment in programs like Head Start and high-quality pre-K and child care can continue to support kids and families. These programs can have an enormous impact not only on a child's reading and math skills but also can help cultivate their curiosity and benefit their cognitive, social and emotional devel- opment, teaching them the beginnings of key lifelong skills such as self-discipline, how to work with others and a mindset to stick with a task until it is completed. Combined, high-quality early care and education programs reach kids at an age when we know rapid brain development takes place. They then are better prepared to learn when they start elementary school and stronger learners throughout the education pipeline. Long-term studies and rigorous research provide clear evidence of this.