On January 17, the Biddeford Regional Center of Technology (BRCOT) was presented with a $2,500 STEM Talent Pipeline Grant from We Work for Health.
This grant is designated for use with STEM programs: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. During the grant presentation, four students from BRCOT spoke about their programs and experience at BRCOT and highlighted a specific project they have done.
Jackson Howard, a junior at Thornton Academy, conveyed his passion for medical science. Howard is currently enrolled in the Introduction to Medical Science program and plans to enroll in the Emergency Medical Services program next year. He proudly highlighted both the hands-on and research components of the program and showcased a detailed poster project of each component within a cell. “I have a much more clear path for my career due to the programming and support at the Center of Technology,” said Howard.
Biddeford Regional Center of Technology student Jackson Howard, a junior at Thornton Academy, showcases a detailed poster project of each component within a cell as he conveys his passion for medical science. Howard is currently enrolled in the Introduction to Medical Science program, which will benefit from the We Work for Health grant. (Contributed photo)
Dominic Roberts, a Biddeford High School senior, discussed his enrollment in three BRCOT programs: Business, Welding, and Technical Math. In Roberts’ presentation he focused on Technical Math by demonstrating a simple variable resistor, explaining how mathematical calculations can be performed to determine the current of the circuit at certain lengths of the graphite resistor. He shared some of the various projects he has done in Technical Math and shared his experiences in the welding program, and many projects he has helped create for the community.
Jack Squires, a junior at Thornton Academy, is in his first year of the Machining/Manufacturing Technology program. Squires shared his enthusiasm for the program and BRCOT and all that is offered. He then shared the project he is currently working on–making a ball peen hammer–and showed the plans he worked from as he made the product, as well as two products that students in the second-year program have created: air motors and a parallel clamp. “Being able to create these components from a block of metal is rewarding,” added Squires.
Anne Mathiang shared her experience as a third-year BRCOT student. Mathiang enrolled at BRCOT as a sophomore in the Computer Technology program, and now, as a Biddeford High School senior, she is completing her second year of engineering. She presented her favorite project to date, the “Joystick Adapter.” Mathiang and her classmates partnered with a community member to design and create adapters for his wheelchair joystick to accommodate his needs as he is faced with a progressive disease. She shared her 3D-printed prototypes, photos, and videos of her and her classmates consulting with their client, and videos of the client putting the adapters to use.
“I have a much clearer path for my career due to the programming and support at the Center of Technology,”
— Jackson Howard, Thornton Academy junior
We Work For Health partners with local legislative leaders to provide grants for STEM talent pipelines. Looking toward the future, this organization recognizes the development of tomorrow’s treatments and cures hinges on preparing today’s workforce with the right skills and knowledge. Investing in STEM education is essential for creating a pipeline of talent that will lead the next generation of breakthroughs.
Several local officials were in attendance, including Maine’s Speaker of the House, Ryan Fecteau, Senator Henry Ingwersen, Representative Traci Gere, Representative Marc Malon, Representative Marshall Archer, Representative Lori Gramlick, and Biddeford’s Mayor, Marty Grohman.
“We thank our local and state representatives for their confidence in our programs,” said Paulette Bonneau, Director of the Biddeford Regional Center of Technology. “Every penny counts in educating our youth, and we appreciate the We Work for Health organization for this grant.”
To learn more about We Work for Health and its grant funding, visit their website
Local and state officials join Biddeford Regional Center of Technology staff and students as they announce the award of a $2,500 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Talent Pipeline Grant from We Work for Health. (Contributed photo)
Karen Garnett is the director of communications for the Biddeford School Department. She can be reached at kgarnett@biddefordschools.me
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Despite spending a little more than $45,000 last year on upgrades and consulting services, the city of Biddeford is still wrestling to improve its external communication platforms.
During almost every public meeting, the city struggles and stumbles as it attempts to allow people to remotely watch or participate in meetings at City Hall. As a result, many meetings begin late.
There are often sound issues and other glitches, especially when the council is hearing a presentation and trying to load third-party information onto its streaming platform.
Many residents also complain that remotely watching meetings is confusing, including poor sound issues and saying online public participation is often arduous
“It has gotten a bit ridiculous,” Biddeford Mayor Marty Grohman said during a recent interview with the Biddeford Gazette.
Unlike the city of Saco, Biddeford uses the ZOOM technology platform to both broadcast and archive past meetings of the city council, school committee, planning board and other government committee meetings.
Saco, on the other hand, uses more user-friendly technology including Facebook and YouTube.
Biddeford City Councilor Roger Beaupre said many senior citizens feel somewhat disenfranchised because the city is not doing a good enough job in getting news and information out through more traditional methods, including public access television and print media such as the Biddeford-Saco Courier and the Portland Press Herald.
“All this push to online communication is fine and dandy, but many seniors are not comfortable with using websites to get information about what is happening in the city,” Beaupre said.
During the tail end of a city council meeting earlier this month, Beaupre shared his frustration about the issue with his fellow councilors, suggesting that the city should focus on more traditional media platforms.
The city now offers a weekly newsletter that is available by email from the city.
I think we need to do a better job in making sure that the public is getting the news and information they need.”
— Councilor Marc Lessard
Anyone with an internet connection can access and receive the Biddeford Beat newsletter. Updates are then automatically sent out weekly by email to subscribers.
Beaupre suggested that the council should also consider having the Biddeford Beat or something similar published in the weekly Biddeford-Saco Courier, a free newspaper that is distributed to every household in Biddeford, Saco and Old Orchard Beach.
For those who don’t receive the Courier in their driveway, the paper is also available at area newsstands.
Councilor Marc Lessard emphatically agreed with Beaupre’s idea.
“We don’t want to leave anyone in the dark, and we want to be open and transparent,” Lessard said. “But I think we need to do a better job in making sure that the public is getting the news and information they need.”
Grohman — who was elected as mayor a little more than a year ago — said he is also frustrated by the situation, an issue that has plagued almost every meeting he has chaired.
“Almost every meeting experiences some kind of technology glitch,” Grohman said. “We are striving to be open and inclusive, but we have to do better in getting information out to the public.”
Grohman had high praise for the city’s communications director, Danica Lamontagne.
“I think Danica does a really good job of putting the Biddeford Beat together every week,” Grohman. “The trick now is how do we make sure that everyone is able to see that information.”
Councilor Doris Ortiz said it’s the consensus of the council to solve the problems associated with broadcasting public meetings. She also said that many older people feel more comfortable with popular platforms such as Facebook, pointing out that city of Saco livestreams its meetings on the popular social media site rather than using ZOOM.
Although Saco seems to have a more user-friendly approach, there is no opportunity for remote public comment. Those who want to comment during a Saco meeting must attend the meeting in person, according to the city’s website.
City Council President Liam LaFountain sends out his own weekly newsletter for his constituents who use Facebook.
LaFountain uses the Biddeford -Ward 7 Facebook page to keep his constituents informed about what is happening in the city and to offer previews about upcoming issues that the council will face.
“A lot of people like that I do that,” LaFountain said. “But I have also heard complaints from people regarding how we currently stream live meetings.
“We want to use technology to increase efficiency and promote public participation, but we also have to make sure that our methods are user-friendly.
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This is a story where community crosses all kinds of lines and partnerships are formed to benefit the greater good; a story that could only take place in New England, which often feels like a small town itself.
Biddeford resident Jessica Johnson has been continuing her mother Dorothy’s legacy and honoring her wishes since 2002. When Dorothy Garnett passed away from cancer, she told Jessica to “go out and do something good in the world.”
Jessica took those words to heart, and since that time, she has been an active force in the community, volunteering and helping in a multitude of ways, from assisting with organizing Biddeford’s marching band, to making color guard flags. During the pandemic, Jessica took up running as a new passion, trained hard, and ran two marathons in 2022. She has since run the Boston Marathon to raise money for both the Museum of Science, and most recently, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
This year, Jessica will run in the Boston Marathon again for Dana-Farber, where she will continue to be part of the New England Honda Dealers team.
In another arena of sports, Dale Arnold is best known for his on-air presence and expertise as a Bruins broadcaster and NESN host. Jessica has known Dale since meeting him last year at a local fundraising event she coordinated.
Arnold’s voice is very familiar to hockey fans throughout New England. What some may not realize is that Dale has also authored three books, the latest of which is titled Tough Guys. Dale has done celebrity book signings for several of his titles in the past at a book store in Massachusetts, and his latest signing will be in Biddeford at McArthur Library (270 Main Street).
The event will be held on Saturday, February 15 at 1 pm, and will benefit Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Pre-registration is required for the event. Attendance is free, but donations are encouraged and suggested at $20 per attendee.
To reserve your spot at the book signing and to donate to Jessica’s important cause, visit the signing’s Eventbrite link. You can make donations through Eventbrite or on site at the event.
When Jessica approached Dale to see if he would be willing to collaborate on this event to raise funds for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, he welcomed the opportunity. Jessica’s hope was to have the event hosted by McArthur Library, a library she grew up visiting. McArthur’s Adult Services Supervisor Nicole Clark and Library Director Jeff Cabral were excited to be approached to host this very special program.
Johnson said that Arnold will be selling and autographing Tough Guys, which highlights the gritty world of professional hockey, a game that has long held a place for two willing combatants. Off the ice, the men who step into these brutish roles are often the kindest, gentlest and most popular players on a team, not to mention some of the best storytellers to ever lace up skates.
Arnold’s book honors the experiences of these NHL enforcers throughout history, profiling fighters across eras, sharing their journeys, struggles, and moments of glory.
Donations support the mission of an organization devoted to a fight at another level altogether. Since its founding in 1947, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts has been committed to providing adults and children with cancer with the best treatment available today while developing tomorrow’s cures through cutting-edge research.
Johnson says she is still driven by her mother’s words all these years later. “This means so much to me,” Johnson said of her prep work to qualify.
Jeff Cabral is the executive director of the McArthur Library in Biddeford. He can be contacted at jcabral@mcarthurlibrary.org
If you would like to contribute an op-ed or column regarding local interests, please send an email to biddefordgazette@gmail.com
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As Maine lawmakers gear up for what is expected to be a grueling session, there are two topics that both Democrats and Republicans agree should be a top priority.
The 132nd Legislature will consider several bills aimed at tackling the state’s housing crisis while also addressing a projected $450 million budget shortfall and a new budget proposal that represents a 10 percent increase in state spending.
When it comes to issues of housing, Biddeford’s delegation is well poised and ready to tackle the complex issues of homelessness, the need for affordable rental units, protections for mobile home residents and the rather stagnant supply of workforce housing options, which includes starter homes for Maine’s families.
“There is a lot for us to do on these issues,” said State Rep. Traci Gere (D-Biddeford) “We’re just getting started, but I am optimistic that folks on both sides of the aisle are ready to roll up their sleeves.”
Gere was just elected to her third term. She represents coastal Biddeford and Kennebunkport, and was just appointed as the House Chair for the Joint Standing Committee on Housing and Economic Development.
Rep. Marc Malon (D-Biddeford) has also been appointed to serve on that same committee.
Though Gere’s coastal district is rich in land and real estate values, it is also home to an aging population – seniors who are wondering how they can remain in homes they have owned for generations while struggling to keep pace with rising property taxes.
“Our housing problems also adversely impact people who already have stable housing
— Rep. Traci Gere
“There are so many facets that fit under the umbrella of housing issues,” Gere said, pointing out that roughly eight percent of Maine homeowners occupy manufactured housing.
Gere is hoping the Legislature will be able to help cities and towns across the state in revising zoning standards and cutting bureaucratic red tape.
“Our housing problems also adversely impact people who already have stable housing,” Gere said, pointing out that both businesses and consumers are impacted when front-line workers cannot afford to live in the same community where they work.
Speaker Ryan Fecteau of Biddeford is very familiar with housing issues. In addition to his legislative service, Fecteau is employed as a senior officer of policy and planning for Avesta Housing, a non-profit affordable housing developer that operates throughout New England.
Like Gere, Fecteau believes the state can help municipalities by cutting some of the red tape that often slows housing development.
“There are more than 200 towns in Maine that don’t have any zoning regulations or designated growth areas for new housing,” Fecteau said. “That’s almost half of all municipalities.”
Fecteau said the Legislature can find an appropriate balance in working with communities without overstepping on the bounds of local, home rule.
State Rep. Traci Gere (Photo: Maine House)
“There is an appropriate role the state can play in these local discussions,” Fecteau said. “We can bring resources to the table and help our municipal partners without stepping on their toes.”
The looming budget battle
A few days ago, Gov. Janet Mills (D) submitted her proposal for the state’s next biennial budget.
Mills $11 billion budget request represents a roughly 10 percent increase over the current budget.
To support her proposed spending increases, Mills has suggested increasing taxes on a wide range of products and services, including a 50 percent increase on cigarette taxes and more modest increases on things such as streaming services, cannabis and ambulance fees.
Local lawmakers say they are still treading through the massive budget documents that were released less than two weeks ago, but say declining federal revenues that were available to states during the Covid pandemic are no longer available.
State Rep. Wayne Parry (R-Arundel) is back in Augusta for a third consecutive term. He previously served in the Maine House for four terms before taking a two-year hiatus because of Maine’s term limit laws.
Parry will once again serve on the Legislature’s Transportation Committee. When asked about the budget, Parry said he is not feeling very optimistic.
While a majority of Democrats, including Fecteau, say the state needs to increase revenues, Parry say he favors a spending freeze.
‘I know a lot of Republicans are going into this with a mantra of cut, cut and cut, I prefer that we do our best to freeze spending at its current level,” Parry said. “Lots of people talk about the federal monies we received during Covid. Well, I have news, the pandemic is over.
“It just becomes a never-ending cycle of spend, spend, spend.”
Although a new state program designed to help seniors stay in their homes fell flat on its face last year because of huge demand and flaws in its implementation, Parry says there are still many opportunities to help seniors deal with crippling property tax increases.
“I find it really frustrating,” Parry said. “We’re not taking care of our seniors and veterans. The focus is all about people who have lived in Maine for about five minutes.
“I support programs to help people out and lend a hand, but how can we keep inviting people who need financial assistance into our state when we can’t properly take care of the people who already live here?’
When asked about the budget shortfall and looming increase, Fecteau and Gere say that many of the newer programs the Legislature passed have wide and strong support among voters.
“When you look at some of the things we accomplished – as our commitment to fund 55 percent of local school budgets to help local property taxpayers, or the universal free me program for all students, I don’t think there would be much support for cutting those programs,” Fecteau said.
“But the cost for those programs does not stay flat. We have to consider inflationary impacts and shrinking federal funds.”
Parry criticized Mills for not recognizing the importance of Maine’s transportation needs, saying 100 percent of all revenue from the state’s vehicle sales tax should be used to support a vital part of Maine’s infrastructure.
State Rep. Wayne Parry (Courtesy photo)
Currently, Parry says, only about 40 percent of vehicle sales tax revenues are being used for transportation.
“It’s really frustrating,” Parry said. “Our transportation infrastructure, including bridges, highways and roads is essential for everything from day-to-day commerce to tourism.”
“It feels like we don’t have our priorities straight.” he added.
Editor’s Note: This is a corrected version of the story. In a previous version, we misquoted State Rep. Wayne Parry in reference to gasoline taxes, which should have read vehicle sales tax. We apologize for the error.
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A popular Biddeford ‘tap room’ will soon be closing its doors in order to expand brewing operations that will support its other locations.
According to co-owner Matt Haskell, the change at Blaze Brewing will allow the company to expand overall and the space will remain as a manufacturing location for at least the next few months.
“We have a lot of irons in the fire, and decisions like this are never easy,” Haskell said during a Thursday morning interview with the Biddeford Gazette.
(Photo courtesy Facebook)
Haskell and his wife, Evelina, opened their Biddeford location just days before Maine and many other states went into lockdown at the start of the Covid pandemic on March 15, 2020.
“It was a $600,000 investment that became really difficult on Day One,” Haskell said.
Despite the pandemic and other challenges, Haskell said his company has been doing well overall. “We really just needed more room, and we’re going to be opening another location soon.”
Blaze Brewing has several other locations throughout Maine, including Camden, Blue Hill, Bangor and Bar Harbor; and Haskell is excited about opening a new seasonal location in Greenville at the Big Moose Mountain ski resort in just a few weeks.
In a recent Facebook post about the change, Haskell said he grew up skiing at Big Moose Mountain and has “been working with and donating to Friends of the Mountain, the non-profit operating the ski mountain for several years.”
Haskell said the decision to close the Biddeford tap room was not easy, but Maine liquor laws would require one of their locations to be closed before securing a license for the Greenville location.
“We are not closing the door on Biddeford forever,”
Matt Haskell, co-owner
“We figured the Biddeford location made the most sense to close since we are planning to leave this facility in the summer ahead, and it’s the dead of winter,” Haskell wrote on Facebook.
The tap room at Blaze will be open through the upcoming weekend on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Haskell said there were some challenges to operating in downtown Biddeford, most notably a lot of ongoing construction near the Pearl Street location, near the city’s municipal parking garage.
“We are not closing the door on Biddeford forever,” Haskell said. “We may return later, but for now we need more space to make more beer and cider.”
Although it may feel like the election season just ended, voters in Biddeford will have the chance next week to decide whether to secure some state funds for the purchase of learning equipment at the Biddeford Regional Center of Technology (BRCOT).
If approved, the referendum will have no impact on local property taxes. Instead, the state of Maine will fully fund the $491,500 bond as part of an existing grant, which will still require voter approval.
School Superintendent Jeremy Ray said the state approved the funding request in August but there was not enough time to place the question on the November ballot.
“This grant will not be adding to our debt service or as a burden on taxpayers,” Ray said. “This is just a step we have to follow to access funds that were already approved by the state.”
Ray said the funding from the Maine Department of Education will be used to purchase needed equipment for BRCOT students.
Qualifying for the grant was coordinated by BRCOT Director Paulette Bonneau. In a memo sent to the Biddeford City Council in November, Ray said Bonneau’s diligent efforts and leadership were essential for securing the grant funds.
“Director Bonneau’s continued dedication to securing state-of-the-art equipment and programming has once again yielded substantial benefits for our technical education programs,” Ray told the council. “This grant will significantly enhance our ability to provide high-quality, hands-on training that prepares our students for successful careers in their chosen fields.”
The grant money will fund critical equipment upgrades across multiple programs, Ray said, including an electric forklift; an ambulance for the school’s EMT training program and a van for use by students in the plumbing program.
While this funding has already been awarded as a grant, the Maine Bond Bank’s financing structure requires voter approval before the school can access these funds.
According to the Biddeford City Clerk’s office, voting will take place on Tuesday, January 21, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Tiger Gym at Biddeford High School.
The actual text from the ballot is included below:
“Shall the Mayor and the Treasurer of the City of Biddeford be authorized to
issue bonds or notes in the name of the City for minor capita! purposes in a
principal amount not to exceed $491,500 to acquire advanced industry
standard equipment to modernize career and technical education programs at
the Biddeford Center of Technology and train students for careers in high-
demand fields? The debt service on the bonds or notes shall be paid by
the State of Maine with no impact on local educational taxes.
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Note:This is an unedited interview that contains coarse language, which some readers may find offensive.
By RANDY SEAVER | Editor
Although he wears many hats, Richard Rhames of Biddeford could probably best be described with just three words: authentic, passionate and persistent.
Rhames, 78, is a well-known commodity at City Hall. He is an outspoken member of the public, a former city councilor and a tireless member of the both the city’s Conservation Commission and Cable Television Committee.
Richard Rhames | The proverbial fly in the ointment to many of Biddeford’s well-heeled political and business class interests. And he’s not backing down anytime soon (Seaver photo)
_______________________
Over the last four decades, Rhames has developed a reputation as someone who means what he says and says what he means. He rarely pulls punches when criticizing local leaders and their policies; and he is always willing to fight even when he knows the odds are insurmountably stacked against him.
Today, Richard and wife Pat own and operate Shady Brook Farm on outer West Street. That 80-acre farm has been in Rhames’ family for three generations, and the land represents one of the last family-owned farms in the area.
Rhames, who serves as president of the Saco Valley Land Trust, laments the loss of small farms, but keeps his hands firmly on the plow in a time when farming has pretty much become a corporate enterprise.
“If farming was easy, everyone would do it,” he said with a wry grin. “Let me assure you, nothing about farming is easy.”
To the casual observer, it seems that Rhames is always willing to do things the hard way. He dismisses the notion of going along to get along.
Sticking to his principles and beliefs has cost Richard some friends and his seat at the table of local power, where he was widely considered a thorn-in-the side of the Chamber of Commerce types.
Richard was an at-large member of the Biddeford City Council when the September 11 terrorist attacks occurred. Within days, the council had decided to place miniature American flags along the council dais. There was one flag in front of each councilor.
At the beginning of the next council meeting, Rhames used his arm to move the flag to his side as he was spreading out paperwork. A fellow city councilor expressed outrage, and a reporter from the Journal Tribune wrote that Rhames had “shoved the flag away.”
The public was largely unforgiving. It was a time of hyper-patriotism and there was little tolerance for anything deemed to be “un-American.”
Rhames had already been long criticized for his questioning of U.S. policies in the Middle East, including Iraq. He was unapologetic. Just a few weeks later, Biddeford voters showed him the door.
“I never shoved the flag,” he said. “But the damage was done. The political class was not happy with me, and they gladly grabbed onto a piece of red meat.”
Rhames never stopped sharing his political views. He wrote a regular column in both the Journal Tribune and the Biddeford-Saco Courier. Much of his written work focused on labor issues, workers’ rights and conservation issues.
He is a long-time advocate for single-payer healthcare and says if the city is serious about the issue of affordable housing, the best weapon to bring to that fight is municipally-mandated rent control.
He is also a fairly well-known musician, playing rhythm guitar with two different bands throughout the area.
What got you involved in local government?
“It was the airport. Back in the ‘70s, they started pushing a plan to build a cross-wind runway. They intended to buy the George Fogg property, which was between the paved part of Granite Street Extension and the town line. That’s always been the wet dream – – the cross-wind runway.
“I started going to Planning Board meetings and council meetings. I was probably the only guy in town who had actually read the master plan. I mean, who are we kidding? Master plan? Fuck that. It was supposed to be a done deal. The powerful people, the people with connections; it was what they wanted.
“Because Mayor [Babe] Dutremble was pissed that some of his political friends had been moving forward behind his back, he shut it down all by himself. It was in the papers, the York County Coast Star and the Journal.
“Then about 10 years later, in the mid-1980s, it came back again, with a vengeance. The new plan was even more grandiose. It would have Biddeford become a reliever for the Portland Jetport. We were going to get the freight shipments; it would have included 60,000-pound aircraft. They dream big, here in Biddeford. The FAA loved it, you know? And they thought they had it.
I mean, who are we kidding? Master plan? Fuck that. It was supposed to be a done deal. The powerful people, the people with connections; it was what they wanted.
–Richard Rhames
“We fought it. They wanted to change the zone to Industrial. That’s back when wetlands were just dismissed as swamps. We got some other people riled up and involved, and at one of our first neighborhood meetings we came up with a name at the supper table: NOISE (Neighbors Organized In Stopping Expansion).”
You have often complained about the fact that there is so little public participation in city meetings.
“In order to know what’s going on, you got to be there all the fucking time. And you’ve got to have no life, which is ideal for me. (Laughs)
But it’s not just local issues that get you fired up.
“Yeah, well you know. If I’m pissed about something, I’m going to stand up and say something. I don’t know any other way to be. I have this bad attitude, right?
“When I was younger, I could have gone back to teaching (public school). I was no longer 1A. I didn’t have to fight the draft anymore. When I grew up, I remember watching television and all the incessant propaganda. The whole mantra: the Russians are coming; the Russians are coming. The constant beating of the drum. The propaganda. The free world.
“I grew up in the ‘60s. I mean we were all drinking from the same propaganda trough, but it was the draft that literally forced a lot of young people to start recognizing what was happening, even though I went to a little white-bread Midwest college.
“I was as unquestioning as anyone else back then, until all this shit started happening. We had access to libraries and learning opportunities. We did this bus caravan thing. We went to Midland, Michigan, the home of Dow Chemical.
“I grew up in the ‘60s. I mean we were all drinking from the same propaganda trough, but it was the draft that literally forced a lot of young people to start recognizing what was happening”
— Richard Rhames
“We were all white bread kids; nobody had long hair; we were wearing suits at the march and the locals hated us because we had a rally in the park (Laughs).
“But we were earnest, and we had been looking into this a little bit. Most of us had some idea about the history of southeast Asia; how we took over for France in Vietnam. There was a history there that the newspapers never reported, but we came to understand that it was really fucked up; and why would anybody want to die for that?
“But to openly resist meant costs. Most of us were banking on what we were taught since elementary school: that we had some kind of career waiting for us in regular society.”
Do you ever get tired of fighting the good fight?
“I’m pissed, and I have been pissed for a long time. I don’t find that hope is terribly motivating. You gotta be pissed. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t right what we did on the grand scale.
“Even today, as much as the whole thing in Palestine is wrong, the Israelis, the Zionists, are pikers compared to the United States of America. The body count that we have rung up during my lifetime is really fucking impressive.
“Nobody talks about it, but if you want somebody killed, call us. We’ll either provide you with the weapons; better yet, we’ll do it ourselves. We’re really good at that. Spending a trillion dollars a year on the military? That’s easy.
“But if you speak up, they come after you. It’s dangerous, Randy. Why did they come after me the way they did after 9/11? Why have they come after me, including you, . . . why was I such a target? You know? This unassuming clodhopper with the big words and all that shit, you know? Why was I the target?
“Because I was willing to stand up and say this shit.”
What do you think about all the changes as Biddeford becomes a destination community?
“We were last in line. We had the incinerator [MERC]. They stopped pulping in Westbrook and that city began to gentrify almost immediately, and Westbrook isn’t placed nearly as well as we are. Against all the political odds . . . and the only reason that we got rid of the incinerator is because they wanted to leave . . . they [Casella Waste Systems] were ready to go.
“It always kills me, I guess it shouldn’t — when Alan [Casavant] expresses surprise, disbelieving; and talks about how quickly the shift started, how much things changed once we got rid of MERC. It would have happened anyway, but you had this whole Heart of Biddeford gentrifying, national advertising campaign. The whitewashing of Biddeford culture.
“We created a myth of what Biddeford is in order to entice new people to come here and exploit us, which they are doing.
“But we haven’t learned. The political class is still bending over backwards to subsidize private development.
“. . . you had this whole Heart of Biddeford gentrifying, national advertising campaign. The whitewashing of Biddeford culture.”
— Richard Rhames
“I keep telling them: Isn’t it time to pump the brakes a little? You don’t have to beg people to come here anymore. There’s no incinerator anymore. We’ve got all this ocean frontage, river frontage and all these old buildings from when Biddeford was the Detroit of New England.”
You are one of the most strident and vocal supporters of public access community television, even as the city slides further away from televised meetings to online forums.
“When we started with public access, there was some good stuff on the channel, but the political class was always uncomfortable. It frightened them because they couldn’t control the message.
“We used media for public education, to pull back the curtain and give information that you really couldn’t find anywhere else. It was good stuff, and I was never home.
“We were doing advocacy for ordinary people. You don’t generally find that on the airwaves. Who wants to do research to make a point? T.V. is something done to you now.”
Any thoughts on running for office again?
(Sighs) “I’m too old. My time is over. I understand how the world works. I’m not the one. I’m just not the one.”
EDITOR’S NOTE | This interview I conducted and wrote was originally published in Saco Bay News on May 14, 2024. This is the unedited version of that story.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR | Randy Seaver is the editor and founder of the Biddeford Gazette. He has been covering Biddeford news and politics for nearly three decades. He may be reached by email: randy@randyseaver.com
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