Portland Public Library Portland Public Library Digital Commons Harbor Opinion/Harbor Voices, 2000 - 2001 Periodicals 7-2000 Harbor Voices : Vol 1, No 6 - Jul 2000 Jenny Ruth Yasi Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.portlandlibrary.com/peaks_ho_hv Recommended Citation Yasi, Jenny Ruth, "Harbor Voices : Vol 1, No 6 - Jul 2000" (2000). Harbor Opinion/Harbor Voices, 2000 - 2001. 5. https://digitalcommons.portlandlibrary.com/peaks_ho_hv/5 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Periodicals at Portland Public Library Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Harbor Opinion/Harbor Voices, 2000 - 2001 by an authorized administrator of Portland Public Library Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HARBOR VOICES V O L U M E 1\ , N U M B E R 6 t J U I y 2 0 0 0 Monthly, For the Portland Harbor Community • Box 10, Peaks Island, Maine 04108 \ / With OpSail 2000 information - schedules, photos and more - -~. --· - ...... - - . .___ - - . _,.,,._,, _.-- --'~-· -- Waterplay ln August our theme is '~rchitecture.11 From the Editor: Deadlines are Ju [y 25 for Water Plalf Jenny Ruth Yasi stories1 etc. • August 1st for advertising. The one regret I have about Jiving on Peaks Island is that there is no community swinuning pool. Water, water everywhere, but no place to really swim. When I w:is a child, we had a community swimming pool outside in this big park. My par­ ents would give us a quarter, and we would go there to spend the whole day. I remember sitting cross-legged on the bottom of the pool and "talking" to my sister underwater. We played remarka­ bly well while holding our breath . We were motivated swinnners, because you had to pass this swinuning test before you would be allowed into the deep end. and onto the diving board. What an LonlenlJ accomplishment when I graduated from the shallow end! Cover: Friends of 1 On Peaks Island, my kids haven· t had that same experience. They do a lot of wading and Casco Bay visits a collecting crabs, but for most of the year the water is too cold for actual swimming. You might imagine island kid.~ would be strong swimmers. but usually they are j ust very good at dealing with ta11 Ship cold water. We do have some amazing divers. Jumping in and getting quickly out is a natural adap­ tation to our island conditions. Tannis G. - I've seen him do back-flips off the boat dock pilings 2 that would take your breath away. We have many children on this island who deserve to have their interest in swinuning and diving supponed. 3 I don't let my kids dive off the boat pilings. With tides coming in an out, moving junk subscibe around, it's just too scary to me, even though kids have j umped in this area for generations. Last year, the kids were horsing around on the dock. one child threw another child off who accidentally 4 & 5 wound up bouncing his head off a steel reinforcement on the way down. Police say be was luck-y. I saw one boy throwing another boy off the dock just yesterday. They do this :is play. Police tell me News they've caught kids j umping off the roof of the ferry waiting shed, or from way up where the sign Pumpout Ser.vice for reads "Peaks Island." Boats "That's dangerous," the police say. "And it ruins it for everybody." The police said children are nOt going to be allowed to m:tke high dives any more, though they may be allowed to swim off the floating docks. But how can police be expected to enforce this? Naturally kids aren't running Reflections 6 around worried about spinal cord or head injuries - they're just interested in their own next logical (l etters to the accomplishment. When they can dive from the highest piling, they look for something higher. edi tor) Theyare naturally ambitious which is a good thing. But the community doesn't create a safe appro­ priate place to safely grow in this spon. And that's a bad thing. Spike and I 8 Better parents than me schlep back and forth to town to the YMCA. I do that sometimes. Doug Macvane but it is hard if not impossible to make a commitment to mainland swinuning lesson schedules. There is an elite group who get "Y" lessons at a private island pool. but obviously, not everyone can /5,.//.t ,,. Boa,J l O be accommodated. Building a community swimming pool on Peaks Island is not a luxury. A well & designed community pool would be just as valuable to Peaks Islanders as our Library, or the Child Development Center, or the Health Center. Who knows, it might even serve more people. If you .J<,Jj Pa1• know an adult who can't swim. you know that they regret this. If you know an cider who swims, you know that they stay healthy and flexible longer than anybody. My Life Aboard 12 A pool serves all ages, but especially the age group in our community who's needs go most Ship as a neglected - teens. What could be healthier for any child than to work toward getting a lifeguard or Vol unteer Scientist diving cenification. or swinuuing in a team? And on the waterfront, there are jobs for scuba divers, by Jeff Jenks whole careers that can be built out of wate,play. It's wrong to ignore the obvious interest many peo­ ple our community have in s,vinuning and instead just let children fend for them~lves - taking Fiction 14 risks on a dock. Fishing Mortal s Our children (from Long, Cliff, and Peaks ) grades five through 12, have generously been by Jenny Ru th Vasi "invited over" by the Chebeague Islanders (who built their own community pool) for a dance and Poetry and Photog- 16 pool party. July 13th. They've even arranged transponation for the kids. You need to call (846- raphy 5068) and reserve a space by July 10th. Parents interested in chaperoning should call, too. When we invited these folks out to Peaks Island last fall to talk about how they raised their $2 million dol­ lars for? pool and recreational facility (the pool was a small portion of the cost), we were impressed OpSail Info 18 that they were able to do that in a conununity 1/3 the size of Peaks Island. Maybe someday we'll have a community p00I, and we'll be able to invite the other island kids over here to celebrate. IJ.. Jiu('JJ 2,,.,ecfo,v 20 solution to last IN HARBOR VOICES month's We can agree to disagree: t his is the intellectually open environ­ Crossword Puzzle ment we value in our community, and hope t o nourish in this f orum. Welcome to Perry O'Brien, a USM Department of Philosophy and Honors Program major, who joins us as a marketing representati ve thi s month. Published by the Yasi/Presgaves Pamily on Pealta Isl&nd, Printed by The American Journal in Westbrook Upcoming themes: August- "Architecture• ; Sept.- "0n Being Bducated" , Oct.- "History," November - ~Life's Little Pleasures• Bditor/Publiaher Jenny Ruth Yaai Marketing Repreaen~ative: Perry O'Brien Layout and photograph• ar• by Jenny Ruth Yasi except where otherwiue indicated Barbor Voices Box 10, Peake X•land, Kaine OtlOB voiceab.aine.rr.com 207-766-2390 We currently distribute more th&n 5000 copies monthly. Barbor voices can be found at Portland, South Portland and Palmouth Shaw•, Shop N Saves; The Whole Grocer, V1deoport, Casco Bay L1n•a, th• Portland Public Library, City Hall, local schools, USN, Books •tc., SJtlVTI, School of Art, Java Joe's, Hannigan'•, Th• Porthol•, B•cky'• and many other locatione arouo.d the Portlend Berber. Display ad rat•• •tart at $25 dollara per month ($150 per year) for a business directory ad li•ting. July 2000 page 2 ' .. ...... Harbor Voices Needs Subscribe, write, and make it happen . ________ ..,..._, 't ...,. - I I I + Yes! I want to become a regular member of Harbor Voices. t I I I I I I I I I ' I l $30 per year i ncludes subscription, and 25 word cl assified ad in each and l I any issue. You'll also get invited to special member events! I D l I I I I l Yes! I want to become a business member. I $150 per year includes mo nthly listing in business directory, and the above! I D I I I Name _ _________________________________ I l I I I 1 - I I : Business I 1I I Name _______________________________ I I : Ad- I I I 1 dress _________________________________ I I Phone _ ________________________________ _ I I I l I I I E­ I l l I mail __________________________________ I I I I Wh at woul d you l i ke ,n your listing?_ ______________ I I ,I • July 2000 page 3 People really c.itch some fish off the Maine State Pier. The trick is casting a line with several lures on it, for mackerel. The boys caught some crabs with their crab trap. The children on our cover got starfish in the crab-trap, showed them to the camera. and then re­ leased them. The adults caught a lot of mackerel! Tom Fortier , Island Administrator, worked out recreational boat traffic from 12-4. CBL will have extra a pretty good deal for Islanders, making sure we all get boats, and they will be running lours to the various tall these fluorescent passes we can stick in our mainl and ships.