Concern over new garbage proposal causes stink

Sanford - Some Sanford residents are concerned over a new trash collecting program. The proposed Pay-As-You-Throw program would hopefully reduce solid waste sent to the Maine Energy Recycling Corporation or MERC. However that has not prevented town residents from voicing their opinions against the program. Most residents feel that it would simply become another cost added to their already tight budgets.

The plan if implemented now would involve residents purchasing either specially marked 15 or 33 gallon garbage bags at local stores and placing solid waste in only those bags on the side of the road for garbage removal each week. Solid waste not contained in one of these bags would not be picked up for disposal. Along with the curbside pickup, all solid waste brought to the town transfer station would need to be contained in one of these specially purchased bags. The costs of these bags would be $1.25 for the 15 gallon bag and $2 for the 33 gallon bag.

Recycling and reducing waste is the main priority with the adoption of the Pay-As-You-Go program. Sanford’s recycling rate is around 10 percent, however the goal is to increase this number to 40 percent. Also with the implementation of the new system, the current recycling pickup schedule would go from once every two weeks to weekly. As of now Sanford sends 7,990 tons of waste to the Maine Energy Recycling Corporation. However according to the proposal this number could be reduced significantly to 5,300 tons. This is important as the town has a Guaranteed Annual Tonnage or GAD deal with MERC in which the town pays for the disposal of 10,000 tons of waste. If there is a reduction of the current number sent to MERC there could be a adjusting of the rate to match the towns new lower solid waste output.

Despite these news ideas there has been a backlash against the proposal. Concerns range from the new cost of the bags to how the town will deal with residents who illegally dump their waste. The Sanford town council has tried to address these concerns by stating that there will be measures in place to deal with illegal waste disposal. Also they amended the town’s solid waste ordinance to include that the cost of the Pay-As-You-Go bags will not increase for two years after the implementation of the program.

The Roots to play at UMaine

For release February 19:

Orono ME- After several months of student petitioning the University of Maine Student government is pleased to announce that on March 20 critically acclaimed Hip Hop group The Roots will perform at the UMaine Field House. The concert can be traced to a Facebook group created by student Andrew Downey called “Bring The Roots to UMaine.” The Facebook group eventually gained over 2,000 followers and led to creation of this on campus concert event.

With the success of the “Bring The Roots to UMaine” facebook group several other groups have been started to make local groups and artists the opening acts for the show. Maine rapper Spose and local band Grant Street Orchestra are just a few of the many groups trying to gain local and student support. However at this time no announcement has been made as to who will be the opening act for the show.

The Roots are a Grammy award winning Hip Hop group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania started in 1991. Their combination of instrumental performances combined with rap lyrics have earned them a worldwide following. To date the group has released twelve albums and have worked with artists such as Nas, Common, and Jay-Z. They are renowned for their live performances and were even named “One of the twenty greatest live acts in the world” by Rolling Stone magazine. The group has also appeared in such media as the film Dave Chappelle’s Block Party and television show Yo Gabba Gabba. They can currently be seen as the house band on the television show Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased through Umainetix.com. The tickets are priced $15 dollars for students and $20 dollars for the general public. The show will be held March 20 at 7pm in the UMaine Field House.

Profile

The hollow ringing of ping pong balls grazing solo cups echoed through an ordinary student apartment. The phrase “We’re all gentlemen here. Aren’t we?” as a reminder from one pong team to another to adjust a cup or fix some other rules infraction. As I found myself standing at the end of the table I looked around and experienced a moment of complete ease. “We’re all gentlemen, right?” The comment from the opposite end of the table brought my attention to the moment at hand, in particular one of my opponents at the end of the table. There stood Timothy Labrie in all his charismatic glory.

You may be reading this and thinking, “This is a story about a college kid.” Well in theory you are correct, however Tim Labrie is no average college student. His appearance may be unassuming appearance does not lend itself to the unforgettable personality he possesses. Simply bringing up his name among friends will undoubtedly cause instantaneous smirks and chuckles. Among his group his friends the stories attached to him are the stuff of legend. From creating a chant at a middle school basketball game so offensive it resulted in countless calls to the Acton Middle School’s principal’s office from “concerned parents.” To finding the end of a rainbow in a Hannaford’s shopping lot.

These are just a sampling of the stories that are attached to him, but his appeal goes far beyond that. Those who know him personally are aware that his sense of humor is an ever present part of him. Tim always see’s the humor in life and never passes up an opportunity to make use of any comedic situation. From the juvenile fart joke, to the ability to crack up a group of people with a dumb smile during the most awkward of silences.

So as I look back at him across the table acknowledging his question “Am I a gentleman?” with a smirk and a knowing nod I realize one thing. A sense of humor is a great personality trait, and the ability to bring this sense of humor into all aspects of ones life is what makes Tim such an unforgettable character.

Television Newscasts

When presenting the news especially in a format such as television, there is a priority on the clearness and organization through which you present each piece of information. There is no time to bury the leads in your story and it is essential that what is written can be easily communicated to the audience by the newscaster. There is a necessity to be clear and concise in the order that you initially present the information. The introduction to each story should include an initial hook that will gain the audiences attention easily. The easiest way to do that is to include phrases that will instantly gain that audience attention. In the first sentence of each story there was a use of phrases such as “meth lab,” “domestic abuse,” and “budget cuts.” These quick phrases immediately catch the viewer’s attention and allow them to gain the initial attention necessary to present the full story.

What was also noticeable when watching the news was the organization that each news story seemed to have. There were the introductory sentences that used phrase to gain the audiences attention. Then that sentence was expanded upon with such information as what occurred, who was involved, and what were the consequences or after affects of these occurrences. Stories involving criminal activity were always spoken about in the past tense, while stories involving government programs were always in the present. However there was often a change in tense used by the newscaster to talk about past crimes and upcoming criminal investigations, along with other news stories requiring this change in tense. This is necessary in that the news needs to be conveyed as an ongoing series of events to the viewer. The newscasters are not simply reporting the news; they are conveying a story and trying to keep the viewers involved.

The difference between print and televised news coverage is that there needs to be and immediate hook to draw in the viewer’s attention with televised news coverage. Despite the being a competitiveness to print journalism, television is even more competitive. Viewers only have to change a channel in order to switch from one program to another, and with well over 300 cable channels available the choices are many. That is why televised news seems to use the “If it bleeds, it leads” mantra of news reporting more than print journalists. The more sensational a story, the more likely a viewer is to pay attention to the new station.