Hello from the COVID-19 universe. Don and I managed to escape Florida before
the big surge and enjoyed the Maine summer. We are retired and working on
winterizing our lake house. To be honest, we don’t know if Florida will be on our
radar this year but I’m not sure I’m ready for a Maine winter after 30-plus years in
Florida. The Shaker Village was closed due to the pandemic, so our usual
summer tour guide jobs didn’t materialize. It has been a quiet summer for the
most part and even the dogs are enjoying the isolation.
Rep. Jeffrey Evangelos G is an Independent who ran successfully for re-election
for the Maine House of Representatives District 91, which encompasses
Friendship, Waldoboro, Washington, and West Union. Some of his key interest
areas include: improving state infrastructure, health care and expanding access
to broadband in all areas of the state. He said, “I view broadband expansion
much like President Franklin Roosevelt approached rural electrification in the
1930s — no winners and losers, everyone should be getting the same rights and
service.”
He is also interested in increasing municipal revenue sharing, improving the
Homestead Exemption, and increasing state aid to education, which should all
contribute to lowering property taxes. His role on the Judiciary Committee will be
looking at the Equal Rights Amendment for Women, Native American
sovereignty, reforming the indigent legal defense system, and post-conviction
reform. Probably the most pressing issues, however, are the protection of the
lobster industry and the fight against the power corridor. He’s going to have a
busy year.
Congratulations to Dave Halligan ’79G for receiving the Varsity Maine Coach of
the Year for a boys’ team leading the Falmouth Yachtsmen to their first Class A
soccer state championship and the boys’ basketball team to the Class A South
final. But the pinnacle of the success this year was crossing the 1,000-combined
career victory plateau. He’s been coaching for four decades but it seems 2019-
2020 was the icing on the cake.
Dave has been part of the evolution of Falmouth High from Class C to Class A. A
graduate of Falmouth High, he played soccer and basketball at the University of
Southern Maine and received his degree in physical education at the University
of Maine. After teaching and coaching in Portland and Cape Elizabeth, he
returned to his alma mater in 1987. He has decided to retire from teaching
physical education, but coaching is still in his blood. A lot is at stake due to
COVID-19 and as of this writing, schools are opening cautiously and no
decisions were made regarding athletics.
Ed Morin’s familiar voice isn’t heard on Maine Public Radio anymore, as the
longtime reporter and news producer retired in October. Ed had worked at Maine
Public since 1979.
My high school alma mater, Brewer High School, selected its Hall of Fame
recipients for the Class of 2020. Stephen Tardiff was the starting quarterback for
the 1968 Class A state football championship. That same year, he was the
leading scorer on the basketball team and top hitter in baseball, leading the
Witches in RBIs and stolen bases, and they won the league title. He was recognized
as Brewer High Male Athlete of the Year in 1969 and played four
years of baseball at Maine. Congratulations to Steve and the other recipients.
I had a nice email from Jeff Temple ‘76G. Here’s his message:
Hi guys,
“Just moved to Kissimmee, FL, in December after retiring from the United States
Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Bethesda, MD. I graduated from UMO in
1974, with a graduate degree in 1976. Please let me know if anyone plans a
UMO reunion in Florida … love to see old and new friends from UMO. I was a
political science major at Orono, and worked at the campus radio station, and
later WGUY in Bangor. Joined the University Police Department and let the
university pay for my master’s degree.”
I suggested Jeff check the Alumni Association’s Facebook page and website for
updates for the winter/spring alumni events.
That’s all for now. Please, everyone, be safe out there. It’s going to be a long
time before COVID is in the rearview mirror.
GO BLUE!