Orono Police Department (OPD)’s Chief of Police, Josh Ewing, has announced that he is stepping down as Chief of Police to pursue other career opportunities. His last day will be Nov. 5. Ewing has served in this position for eight years and has worked various positions in the department for the last 22 years. Ewing is now going to work for the Hampden Police Department as a patrol officer. 

Of course, his resignation means a lot of changes are in store for OPD. Ewing explained that nobody is going to fill his role, but the town will create some new positions to help fill the void in leadership. 

“There is now a Deputy Chief of Police, Dan Merrill, who was the Captain. He’s been with the department since 2008 and has been the Captain since 2017. Orono will also have a Public Safety Director to oversee both Police and Fire in the areas of budget, long-term planning and personnel development. The Fire Chief, Geoff Low, will be assigned this position, and I believe this all goes into effect on Nov. 5,” Ewing said.

With Merrill and Low working together, they will fill the position of Chief in an unconventional way. These changes come amidst a nationwide era of critiquing police for racial bias, the use of excessive force and the overfunding of many police departments across the country. These issues are causing higher rates of job turnover in local police departments. According to the Bangor Daily News and their interview with Orono Town Manager, Sophie Wilson, the reorganization of the department may only be temporary. Nobody has decided if this is the best course of action for the long-term. 

To Ewing, it is clear that Orono will be in good hands after his departure from the department. 

“While I’m hearing that I’ll be missed, I think that the change will be good overall for the department. This creates opportunities for people to step up into leadership roles, albeit a little sooner than they thought. Orono has great police officers working to keep the town safe, they’re dedicated to serving the greater good, and the department is being left in good hands,” Ewing said.

Ewing explained that his motivation to become a patrol officer again stems from wanting to help the community. 

“Over the last year and a half or so I’ve realized that I have a much greater desire to serve the public in a more individualized manner, dealing directly with people on day-to-day law enforcement/public service concerns, than I do from the agency leadership role,” Ewing said. “My family has lived in Hampden for the past 18 years, so it seems like the perfect fit for me to finish out my career.” 

As Ewing looks to the future, he is reminded about his wonderful experience working for OPD. He feels fortunate to have acquired leadership roles to advance his career. As Nov. 5 comes closer, he has been doing a lot of reflection on his career. 

“My experience in Orono has been more than I could have ever expected. I know how fortunate I am to have risen through the ranks and become Chief, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Ewing shared.

Per Gårder has taught civil engineering at the University of Maine since 1992. He recently edited the 2021 edition of “Transportation Safety and Security,” which is one of several installments in the International Encyclopedia of Transportation. This is a fundamental text in the field of civil engineering. 

Gårder was the safety and security volume editor and he wrote the introduction to this volume, as well as a few of the articles featured in this publication. This text is a primary reference tool for researchers in the field. 

There are a lot of ways to study safety and transportation. It can be viewed through a sociological lense, an engineering perspective or through a combination of both. 

Gårder grounds his research in the four types of transportation safety. The first type is subject safety, which relates to how safe people feel using modes of transportation. 

“We are often really bad at assessing objective safety by being drivers or passengers in cars or airplanes, etc. But subjective safety is of some interest. We want people to feel safe, but not too safe. By being a bit worried, we become more careful,” explained Gårder. 

The second type of transportation safety is nominal safety. This means that basic guidelines are met to ensure safety. These guidelines must be followed to avoid any lawsuits against the engineers. 

The third type is theoretical safety. This is when engineers use physics or hypothetical ideas to improve transportation safety. 

Gårder shared that this type is often overlooked. “There is often not much relationship between what theoretically should happen and what actually happens if such changes are made.” 

Gårder claimed the last type of transportation safety is the most important. Actual safety, sometimes called objective safety or substantive safety, is the amount of crashes per injury severity. This gives a lot of concrete data about the amount of crashes. 

We should not believe that things got 50% more safe if we go from four crashes in one year to two the following year. There is obviously random variation around ‘expected numbers’ which is the average number of crashes that would have occurred in, for example, 2021 if we could repeat 2021 many times over without changing background factors,” said Gårder.

He felt that the U.S. has extremely safe air travel and good train safety, but motioned that there are improvements to be made on road safety. To improve safety in the Orono area, Gårder proposed that there be better bike access to Bangor from Orono. He believes that a separate bike lane between the two towns could reduce accidents. 

 On Friday, Sept. 24 at 1 p.m., Dr. Frank Wang and Dr. Dixie Turner held a workshop called “Working With Students in Distress,” which focused on how members of the University of Maine community can better serve students who are struggling with their mental health. 

 “Distress is a state of suffering. It can feel or look like confusion, loneliness, isolation, [being] overwhelmed [or] anxiety,” defined Turner at the start of the workshop.

Turner continued to explain that students in college can face a multitude of stressors they may not have experienced before college. Most are far away from home and have never left home for an extended period of time before. Students also are struggling to fit in socially and make friends. On top of that, some students have never experienced the level of academic rigor that college demands. All of these things combined can cause a student stress and negatively impact their mental health. 

According to Wang, the best thing people can do for someone in distress is to listen to them. He explained the difference between sympathy and empathy. Sometimes sympathy can be more dismissive than empathy. When someone empathizes, they imagine themselves in the shoes of the person with the problem. 

One way to help people who may be having a difficult time is to use the RAPID model to combat situations. RAPID is an acronym that stands for rapport, assessment, prioritization, intervention and disposition. 

Wang explained that this model can be used by anyone, not just mental health clinicians, to offer support to people in need. “The RAPID model is a compassionate and supportive presence designed to mitigate acute distress and assess the need of continued mental health care,” said Wang. 

He further explained that this is not a replacement for therapy and that this model includes aspects that promote personal and community resilience. 

When thinking about how to establish rapport with someone in distress, it is important to listen to their problems. Wang and Turner modeled a mock conversation, where Turner said she had anxiety and said she was feeling down. Wang used reflective listening skills to validate her feelings and asked clarifying questions so he could fully empathize with and understand Turner. 

Wang and Turner made a point to say that people’s cultural experiences can impact how they express their emotions. They share that it’s never okay to ostracize people or place blame on their culture. People should be aware of their biases and work toward having empathy for everyone. 

The assessment phase entailed looking at the basic psychological and physical needs of those in distress. It’s important to notice changes in others and see if they are experiencing dysfunction or distress. Dysfunction is more serious and could require immediate attention. It can look like chest pain, suicidal thoughts, violence toward oneself or others, panic attacks or emotional numbness. Distress requires less immediate attention but can look like fear, sadness and trouble concentrating. 

If someone is a threat to themselves or others mental health, professionals or a comparable resource should get involved as soon as possible.

 The prioritization step is all about which needs should receive help first. Physical needs and safety come first, then affection and acceptance towards the person. Next, the person can receive help with self-esteem and self-actualization. It’s important to ask questions to prioritize needs and asses what stress and trauma the person has been exposed to. 

The point of intervention is to find the appropriate resources that can help students in distress. UMaine has its own police department, and if anyone is in distress they can call 207-581-4040. Other resources like the Counseling Center and Cutler Health Center can be contacted for students in emotional or physical distress. 

The last part of the RAPID model is disposition. This step is about how the student, and the person they reached out to for help, will move forward. After referring students to a resource, a staff member could check in with the student to show they care about the student’s well-being. It is important not to pry with the student in distress. It is also important to practice self care and take care of oneself after helping people in distress. 

Please reach out to any campus resources if a situation requires them. 

With fall approaching quickly, there is a lot of last minute farm and garden work to be done in Maine. As the summer winds down, many crops are ready to be harvested and some may wonder what to do with an abundance of produce. Thankfully, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension has helpful advice about how to pressure cook excess vegetables from the garden. 

Lisa Fishman began the webinar with a quick introduction of the UMaine Cooperative Extension and read an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer statement. She then posed the following poll question: “Which of the following requires processing in a pressure canner?” Participants could select an answer of jams, tomatoes, green beans or applesauce. Fishman explained that green beans are the correct answer because they are a low acid food. Low acid foods must be canned under pressure because they carry c. bot, a bacteria that can lead to serious or fatal food poisoning if not eradicated at a high temperature. 

“The pressure canner is a little bit different than the water bath canner,” Fishman said.“The combination of steam and pressure [in pressure canning] allows it to hit 240-260 degrees Fahrenheit.” Because water bath canning relies on boiling water and not the buildup of steam, the water bath canning method can only heat food to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. 

The presentation then turned to Kate McCardy, who demonstrated how to make homemade tomato sauce with a pressure canner. She reviewed the parts of the canner and used a 16 quart stovetop pressure canner in this presentation. She pointed out specific safety mechanisms like a rack which sits at the bottom of the pot to prevent glass breaking and the locking lid that ensures users don’t open the pot while the contents are under pressure. There is also a gasket which seals the pot closed and keeps the steam inside. It’s important to check the gasket prior to each use to ensure it’s not melted from overuse and that it will still create a seal. 

McCardy went on to share her spaghetti sauce recipe which uses thirty pounds of tomatoes processed through a food mill, one cup of onions, a clove of garlic, one cup of celery, salt, dried spices, sugar and vegetable oil. For different flavors, peppers or mushrooms can be substituted for the one cup of celery. 

McCardy used tongs to handle clean jars so she could fill them with the sauce. 

“My spaghetti sauce gets paddled into the jar and we are going to leave 1 inch of headspace … when you are pressure canning your headspace is one inch usually,” says McCardy. 

Headspace is the amount of room between the sauce and the rim of the jar. Having some space ensures the jar won’t be overpressurized. McCardy finished making the sauce and turned the conversation back over to Fishman. 

Fishman shared more information about canning and left space for questions and answers. 

Next month, the UMaine Cooperative Extension will be hosting a class on fermenting vegetables. This class will be available from noon to 12:45 p.m. on Oct. 12.

On Aug. 31, 2021, the University of Maine opened its classroom doors to welcome students and professors back to in-person learning. This year, a majority of classes are taking place in person, as opposed to the previous academic year, where most classes were held in an online format. 

The university is offering more in-person experiences this semester per the requirement that every student must receive a COVID-19 vaccine to participate in in-person classes. 

The atmosphere on campus is much more vibrant compared to last year. Students can be seen congregating on campus and UMaine is supporting a variety of in-person activities, including the Student Organization Fair. 

Additionally, many students are finding it easier to learn in the classroom, as it is the modality they are used to. Sara Gundermann, a fourth-year food science student, describes her first week back with in-person classes as a positive experience. 

“I have really enjoyed in person classes this year thus far,” shares Gundermann.  “I find it is a lot easier to engage with the material when you are in person talking to your classmates and professors. As a Maine Learning Assistant, I find it a lot easier to help students and gage their understanding in person as opposed to through Zoom.” 

She feels that there has been a shift in the atmosphere at UMaine and that there is a stronger sense of community among students. This could be due to the fact that people are happier with their learning environments. 

“Going back to in-person [classes] has definitely been an adjustment but it’s going well. The biggest thing that I have noticed is the type of learning is much more active now instead of just listening to videos,” says Gundermann. 

Many students, including Gundermann, feel strongly about abiding by UMaine’s vaccine requirements. Having a vaccinated student body promotes a safe learning environment for all to enjoy. 

“I think that it is good that everyone is going to be vaccinated by October 15th. I believe that this is an important step to everyone feeling comfortable and safe in their learning environment,” Gundermann states. 

According to the Sept. 3 Friday Fututrecast, which is a weekly newsletter sent out to all UMaine students from the desk of President Ferrini-Mundy, “as of Sept. 2, more than 77% of UMaine full-time employees and 93% of residential students … have verified vaccinations recorded in PointnClick.” There are no statistics available on commuter students, which makes up a significant portion of the student body, but seeing as though all students must be vaccinated by Oct. 15, one can imagine that most students are taking the vaccination requirement seriously. 

In the most recent Black Bears Care update, sent out on Sept. 8, the administration thoroughly explained their policy regarding student vaccination. The email states that all students must be either fully vaccinated or have an exemption from getting the vaccine by Oct. 15, and that this information should be uploaded to the digital portal. 

These policies apply to students learning in the live classroom setting as well as remote students who haven’t submitted their exemption form. If a student does not take action to receive a vaccine or obtain an exemption, and the student does not withdraw themselves from classes, UMaine will automatically withdraw the students after Oct. 25. 

The email also explains that there will be no special refunds for room and board, tuition or student fees if students fail to comply with this university policy. If students need to withdraw from classes, it is advised they speak with the financial aid office to discuss how withdrawal will impact their financial aid eligibility should they choose to continue their studies. 

Thankfully, UMaine has made it very convenient to get the COVID-19 vaccine, as they are offering a clinic right here on campus. On Sept. 1, 8, 15 and 22 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the COE room in the Memorial Union, students can opt to receive the two shot series of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines. Interested students need to bring their vaccination cards if they are seeking a second dose of the vaccine. 

Although another unconventional semester lies ahead, the ability to be vaccinated has brought a refreshing wave of hope to the UMaine community and students are thrilled to be back in the classroom. 

The Department of Energy (DOE) has granted two University of Maine researchers, Mauricio Pereira da Cunha and Robert Lad, $2.34 million for their research regarding harsh environment materials and wireless sensors.

Over the last twenty years, these two professors have collaborated to work on similar endeavors. Currently, they are recognized for their research on this subject at the national level. 

  Lad has been teaching at UMaine since 1988 as a physics professor. Pereira da Cunha is a professor of computer engineering and electrical engineering who has been teaching at UMaine for over two decades. 

According to a UMaine News article published on Sept. 1, the overarching goal of this project “is to address the pressing need for a new generation of sensor materials, devices and systems that can operate under extreme temperatures (up to 2000 F) and harsh environments that may consist of erosive particles and oxidizing, reducing or corrosive gases.”

Although these environments appear intense and like something that would not be encountered in everyday life, these conditions are common across different energy areas. Some common locations include power plants and gas turbine generators. 

One practical application of this research is that, by using materials better suited for harsh environments in the wireless sensors, companies will save money on repairing their equipment because they will not break as often. 

The grant money will allow the pair to propel their research forward in new, innovative ways. Lad and Pereira de Cunha also aspire to make UMaine an epicenter of wireless sensor research in harsh conditions. The projects that were awarded a grant were selected by a competitive peer review process, and only eight other projects were chosen, aside from UMaine’s project. The other schools who were awarded include Boise State University, Montana State University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of Nevada Reno, the University of Rhode Island, the University of South Alabama and West Virginia University. 

According to energy.gov, the decision to award these grants is to help slow the process of climate change. 

“These projects are located in communities traditionally underserved by federal research and development (R&D) funding so that all parts of the country are central to efforts to solve the climate crisis and meet President Biden’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.” 

When these projects obtain government funding, it ensures that even people in communities without money can make a difference in solving the climate crisis. 

In total, the DOE gave out $22 million in funds to the schools chosen for the competitive grant awards. Through research, many experts are finding creative ways to combat climate change in their underfunded schools and surrounding communities. The DOE hopes this funding will help expedite and expand ongoing research projects around the country. The UMaine community is excited to see what new progress both Pereira da Cunha and Lad will make with their research this academic year.

April 16

At about 1:30 a.m., Cooper Chap, 23,  of Orono, was charged with operating under the influence. Chap will have a court date in June. 

Between April 18 to 23, the University of Maine celebrated Earth Week on campus through exciting events which promote taking care of the planet and sustainability. As April 22 was Earth Day, the UMaine community was committed to taking action in celebration. Many events took place to celebrate the occasion, such as a farm to table dinner and efforts to clean up the community. 

Some events were open all week for students to enjoy, such as the UMaine Green Campus Initiative’s photo contest on their Instagram page, where students can submit their nature photos to win prizes. There was also a sale at the UMaine Bookstore which featured discounted reusable straws. Fogler Library also sponsored their seventh annual film series focusing on sustainability and featured information about plastic use on their website to help people make educated decisions on how much plastic they use. 

Earth Day was first celebrated 51 years ago and became a holiday due to the general public’s increased concern about the environment. According to a Green Campus Initiative article, on the very first Earth Day, 10% of the American population participated in some activity to show solidarity with the growing environmental movement. French believes having an Earth Day is very important in order to spread awareness. 

“At present, Earth Day is established as a yearly celebration, but most importantly to raise environmental awareness for the issues we are still facing today. That is by far the most important reason for there to be an Earth Day, to keep public awareness up and to not let these environmental issues slip out of the public eye,” Green Campus Initiative author Harry French wrote. 

The first event of the week was a Trash Clean Up sponsored by Divest UMS, the Green Team and the Wildlife Society. Everyone who participated in the event met up on the Stewart Quad at 2 p.m. on April 18 and then made their way to Hilltop and it’s outdoor dining area to pick up trash that was left outside. 

Monday, April 19 was more focused on plants, as the Permaculture and Gardening Club held a plant sale at the Terrell House featuring veggie plants, flowers and potted houseplants. From noon to 2 p.m. the Permaculture and Gardening Club also sponsored an event called Sowing Seeds, where they sow seeds in garden beds outside. 

On Earth Day itself, there were many events for students to participate in, including a community art project, a merchandise giveaway at the UMaine Bookstore and a Carbon Footprint Simulation where people can see how their carbon footprint might look based on their current habits and learn how to reduce it. UMaine Dining sponsored a farm to table dinner in celebration of Earth Day as well. From 4:30 to 8 p.m., students could choose from many locally sourced entrees, including meatless options. There was wheat berry and broccoli salad from Maine Grains, potatoes from Circle B Farms, and roasted sides of salmon from the Gulf of Maine with Sister’s Salsa. 

According to the UMaine Dining website, sustainability in regards to food has been important to UMaine since 2007 when they partnered with a small farm in Newport, Maine. Since then, they have expanded their goals. 

“UMaine Dining is committed to local products and sustainable practices. The University of Maine has surpassed its goal of sourcing 20% of its food purchases locally by 2020. This includes produce grown on campus by the Black Bear Food Guild and UMaine Greens. We are looking to reach a new goal of 25% by 2025!” the website reads. 

Overall, UMaine marked another successful year of celebrating Earth Day by raising awareness for environmental issues through various events. For more information about what you can do, to please check out the Office of Sustainability website here: https://umaine.edu/sustainability/what-is-sustainability/

April 10

At approximately 1:25 a.m. Jordan Bevins, 23, of Bangor, was charged with operating under the influence. Bevins has a court date in May.

April 15

At approximately 11:06 a.m. Steven Rogers, 24, of Osborn, Maine, was charged with operating without a license. Rogers has a court date in May.

This past week, from April 12 to April 16, pride week celebrations have been in full swing at the University of Maine. The Rainbow Resource Center (RRC) held events to celebrate the LGBTQ community at UMaine and promote diversity and inclusion around campus. The RRC describes themselves as “a center of the Office for Diversity and Inclusion (ODI), [that] strives to maintain an open, safe, and supportive environment for all students and provides educational opportunities, information and advocacy services.” Pride Week is just one example of many inclusive and fun events that the RRC sponsors throughout the year. 

 To kick off pride week celebrations, the rainbow flag was raised on the university mall on Monday, April 12 at noon. At every hour the  RRC switched out the flag flying below the rainbow flag to spotlight the different gender identities and sexualities that people might have. This made the flag raising more inclusive and allowed every identity to have its time to shine. The RRC would update its Facebook page with photographs of each new flag as they were changed out. 

All the flags were posted with supportive messages, but under the picture of the bisexuality flag the RRC brought attention to the issue of bisexual erasure in both the queer and heterosexual communities. 

“It is widely believed that there are more bi folks than any other identity within the queer community, but they are still often made to feel like they are just confused or non-committal gay/lesbian or straight people. Bisexuality is valid, and so are you!” the RRC’s post read.

Along with the supportive messages regarding bisexuality, the RRC extended its support to transgender individuals as new legislation is being passed in order to prohibit transgender people from doing everyday tasks like using bathrooms or participating in athletic programs.

In a message posted by the RRC, Staff Associate for Diversity and Inclusion Rob Jackson highlighted many issues the transgender community is currently facing.  

“Trans folks and their rights are under attack, and they need our help now more than ever. These bills, over 100 of them in all, protect NO ONE. They only serve to further marginalize, stigmatize, and harm young trans folks who deserve the opportunity to live authentic, happy, and healthy lives,” Jackson wrote in the post.

Unfortunately some events this year did not go on as planned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement on their Facebook page, the RRC let followers  know that the pride parade that was to be held on Monday had to be canceled.

“In the Office for Diversity and Inclusion newsletter, we advertised a car parade on Monday afternoon. Although we had hoped to be able to make that event happen and keep it within the current COVID-19 regulations, we aren’t able to do so and have made the decision to cancel,” the statement read. 

However, the RRC proposed a new event which would be in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.

“Instead, we invite you to dress up, decorate your living space/car/desk or office space in your favorite Pride colors and share your photos with us on Instagram! Use #UMainePride and we’ll share some of our favorite posts on our social media pages,” the Facebook page announced.

Other events aside from the flag raising and social media postings included pride-themed Yoga and Pride Zumba in cooperation with the New Balance Recreation Center. Wilde Stein also sponsored a Jackbox game night, and MaineBound did a Pride Climb which was free to students with a valid MaineCard. Pride Week was a success this year, despite the current restrictions on campus, and the UMaine community banded together to show support for LGBTQ students once again.