Winthrop Grade School Nominated For National Award

The Maine Department of Education has nominated Winthrop Grade School and Turner Elementary School to be 2014 National Blue Ribbon Schools.

Since 1982, the U.S. Department of Education has annually sought out schools where students attain and maintain high academic goals, including those that beat the odds. In its 32-year history, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has bestowed this coveted award on over 7,000 of America’s schools, including nearly 50 in Maine. The Education Commissioner in each state nominates schools, which are then invited by the U.S. Secretary of Education to submit a formal application.

Both of the nominated schools have student achievement in the top 15 percent in Maine for both reading and math. The federal education department will announce awardees in September 2014.

Last fall, the Williams-Cone School in Topsham was named Maine’s 2013 National Blue Ribbon School. The RSU 75 elementary school, which also earned an “A” in the Maine School Performance Grading System, was honored in part because it had seen double-digit increases over the last five years in the percentage of its students deemed proficient.

For more information about Maine’s program and past winners, and a link to the national website, visit www.maine.gov/doe/recognition/.


Record Number Of Moose Hunters Successful For Second Year In A Row

  The numbers are in from this fall’s moose hunt, and 2,971 moose hunters were successful last season in their quest for a moose. 4,110 permits were issued this past season, with 72% of the hunters successful. The 2,971 successful hunters marks a new record, eclipsing the 2,937 of last year.

“Maine has a thriving moose population,” said Chandler Woodcock, Commissioner for the Department of Inland fisheries and Wildlife. “The moose hunt allows us to regulate the moose population in Maine, and it gives hunters the opportunity at the hunt of a lifetime.

Maine currently is in the fourth year of conducting aerial surveys to estimate moose abundance and population composition (composition of male/females; adults/calves). The aerial surveys provide data used to estimate the moose population and health of the herd.

“Maine has a healthy and strong moose population and has the highest density of moose in the lower 48 states,” says Lee Kantar, Maine’s moose biologist.

Biologists are set to establish moose permit numbers for the fall 2014 moose season. The number of moose permits available are based upon population numbers and the composition of the moose population in wildlife management districts, as well as the population goals and objectives for that district.