Articles
Brown finds brain challenges on North Haven
NORTH HAVEN — For 27-year-old April Brown, the key to making a life on North Haven is finding ways to use her brain. After graduating from University of Maine Farmington in 2008 with a degree in rehabilitation services and a minor in psychology, Brown moved back to North Haven. “I thought that I would take
‘Content’ is how Gaserpini describes his island life
VINALHAVEN — For Eric Gasperini, Vinalhaven is and always will be home. The 27-year-old grew up on the southerly Fox Island and attended public school there as well. His parents came to Vinalhaven as a teacher and a scallop dragger. “[My father] came to the island to pick up nets,” he said. Gasperini acknowledged the
North Haven bridge, critical to islanders, gets rebuilt
NORTH HAVEN — After decades of decline, the island’s Beach Bridge finally became a thorn in the side anyone fishing out of Pulpit Harbor. “The wall was so blown out it was damaging boats,” said Randall Brown, who fishes the harbor in his lobster boat Rock Me Baby. “Each year, concrete was forced out and
TwentySomething – Cora Comstock dives into North Haven life
NORTH HAVEN — Two days before her 27th birthday, Cora Comstock stood on a dock in the sun. “This is my office,” she said, stretching her arms wide to include the flat-calm waters of the oyster pond, steep banks covered with baskets and mesh sheets and two wooden dinghies. Comstock is North Haven Oyster Company’s
Governor’s grading is ‘harmfully reductive assessment’ for island schools
North Haven’s scarlet letter is a big blue F. That’s the grade North Haven Community School, Maine’s smallest K-12 public school, received from the Department of Education on May 1. The grade reflects our third through eighth grade students’ score on the October 2012 New England Comprehensive Assessment Program (NECAP) reading and math scores and
Emergency? I’m on my way
NORTH HAVEN — When my pager went off for the first time, I had just settled in for a second cup of tea, further delaying the household chores I had scheduled for this Thursday of my February break. It took a second to place the sound, then as realization hit, I scrambled around making sure
Single-Stream Recycling on North Haven
North Haven’s transfer station sits atop a hill overlooking a stand of trees. The facility is laid out over a loop of dirt road, on which stands a glossy green compactor. It collects the contents of blue bins brought to the facility by islanders participating in their new single-stream recycling system. Until this July, islanders
North Haven Votes to Support Preschool
When co-teachers Wendy Cooper and Liza Waterman Marquis learned of the loss of Head Start funding for the Laugh & Learn Preschool on North Haven, unease filled their minds. “I was worried I would lose my job,” Cooper said. “I was worried we wouldn’t have the funds to continue running our program,” Marquis added. The
Avoiding the Mid-Winter Island Blues
Whether fishing or building, running or biking, sailing or kayaking, islanders have many options for staying active in the summer. But once traps are hauled and roads buried under ice and snow, getting exercise becomes more difficult. For some islands, fitness facilities provide important access to indoor exercise in the off-season. For islands in Penobscot
Island Connections
We had visited the island for April break last year as well, only discovering Alton Ballance’s connection to the Island Institute after booking four nights at the National Park Service campground, tucked into the dunes that line the Hatteras National Seashore. Alton showed us around the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, including