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Your Community Newspaper Serving: ARUNDEL, BERWICK, CAPE NEDDICK, ELIOT, KENNEBUNK, KENNEBUNKPORT, KITTERY, KITTERY POINT, MOODY, NO. BERWICK, OGUNQUIT, SO. BERWICK, WELLS, YORK & YORK HARBOR
Friday, July 28, 2023
Volume 19 • Issue No. 30
40th National Night Out
Lifeguards and Rip Currents OGUNQUIT Area lifeguards recently finished a particularly difficult training workout, which included handling 100-yard rip currents. For those unfamiliar with rip currents, they are channels of water flowing between sandbars, or structures such as piers and jetties that flow out to sea. They can also form in seemingly calm area, but pose a risk to swimmers of all skill levels. As lifeguards reported to their stands, three juveniles from a nearby summer camp were pulled into a rip current off the main beach. Guards Thompson, Ferraro, Miranda, Lapointe, and Smart sprang into action with rescue boards and tubes to assist them. The swimmers were successfully extricated from the water and sent for further evaluation by Beach EMT Tardif. Captain Adam Legg said, “Due to the strong rip current, the area was closed to swimmers for approximately three hours.” Lifeguards positioned their ATV in the middle of the rip on the beach to provide preventive information, as the Jet ski patrolled the shore to ensure a fast removal of anyone captured in a rip. Later in the evening as life-
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guards were about to go off duty, Guards Hallowell and Gomes entered the water on the point of the river mouth for three teens who had stepped off the edge of the drop off and were pulled into a fast moving rip current. 911 was called by a nearby patron, but lifeguards were already responding and securing the teens with a rescue board until the jet ski deployed by guards Miranda and Legg reached the patrons who were shuttled back to main beach for further evaluation by Ogunquit Fire Department. One teen was transported to YorkHospital for evaluation. The recent rip tide activity has Ogunquit Lifeguards wanting to remind the public that rip currents are dangerous and abundant across the beach. Chief Osgood said “The guards have launched a rip current See RIPTIDES on page 12 . . .
YORK COUNTY Si nc e 19 8 4 , Na t io n a l Night Out has been held across the country as an event through which citizens can connect with their local law enforcement agencies. According to the organization’s website, “National Night Out enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community. Furthermore, it provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances.” This year’s night out takes place on Tuesday, August 1, and will feature various events with local police departments. The Kennebunk Police Department will host at the Waterhouse Center pavilion, 51 Main Street, from 5 to 8 p.m. Their event will give visitors the opportunity to meet with local police, EMS, and fire department members and will feature face painting, a
scavenger hunt, and other activities for kids, as well as free hotdogs and a lemonade stand. There will also be multiple displays highlighting home and personal safety. Raff les will be held, the proceeds for which go to Special Olympics of Maine. In Kittery, the police, fire, harbormaster, and public works departments, along with the Eliot Police Department, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and other local area first responders, will host a community event that “shines a spotlight on crime prevention, safety, and community partnerships.”
It will be held at the Kittery Community Center, 120 Rogers Road, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Food will be available, including free hot dogs, chips, water, and ice pops, along with fried dough and shaved ice for purchase. It will also feature lawn games, bounce houses, caricatures by Leona, and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard STEM activities. The Thursday Afternoon Band will perform live starting at 6:30 p.m. In York, the police department, joined by the village and beach fire departments and the South Berwick Police Department, will host at the Bog Road Fields, 50 Bog Road, from 5 to 8 p.m. It will offer games, free food, and the opportunity to mingle with local first responders and explore a number of emergency vehicles. For more information, visit www.natw.org. To see details of local events, visit your town’s police website or Facebook page.
Healing the Wounds of Grief By Susan Gallagher, Staff Writer NORTH BERWICK Anne Heros knows grief. It took up residence in her heart on a bleak March day in 1992 with the sudden and heartbreaking loss of her 10-year-old daughter. The cruel hand of fate had ripped a gaping hole in the fabric of a loving family. As if the heavy burden of her own grief was not enough, she bore the added challenge of two young sons dealing with their own grief. Anne was too overwhelmed to cope alone. Thankfully, she and her family found solace and healing at the Center for Grieving Children. The center welcomed the stricken family with open arms and loving support. At the time, Anne had no idea that this was only the be-
Obituaries
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ginning of her long affiliation with the center. While her journey began with a plea for help, it would lead to her current position as executive director of this special place that healed her. Heros ex udes a quiet strength as she relates her grueling path through grief. “There is no explanation for death,” she says in a soft voice of acceptance. While she is aware that the loss of a child is often considered the most tragic, she is adamant when
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she says, “Any grief is painful to the person. I’m not into trumping one loss over another.” She adds sadly, “They all hurt.” The Center for Grieving Children, with a location in Portland and another in Sanford serving all of York County, was founded in 1987 by Portland resident Bill Hemmens. In his quest to find help for his niece in the wake of her mother’s death, he realized the great need for peer and adult support for grieving children. Despite its moniker, the center is not solely for children. The organization provides support for children, teens, adults, families, and communities. According to Anne Heros, the center was always a family model. “The reason it was a family model from the very beginning, and was before its time,
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was not to work in isolation with one family member, but to work with the whole family.” She goes on to say, “The support was really there for the children when the adults were also on board. There was change happening across all of them.” This approach was instrumental in her own healing process and that of her young sons, ages 11 and 8 at the time of their sister’s tragic death. The boys participated in peer support groups for the first two years, and then the whole family joined. The experience would so affect Anne that she was compelled to return to the center as a volunteer. This led to a staff position, and finally, in 2001, the executive directorship. “It gave me a strong impetus to be See GRIEF on page 16 . . .
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