A typical day last summer for Waldo County Sheriff's Deputy Gerald Lincoln meant restoring peace at domestic disputes, responding to car accidents and investigating burglaries.
These days, the school resource officer makes sure classrooms, hallways and parking lots at Mount View complex and other Regional School Unit 3 schools are safe for students, staff and community members.
The new full-time job is still evolving, Lincoln said.
"It's new to the school, it's new to students, it's new to me and there's a new principal. There's a lot of newness," he said.
One recent day, Lincoln talked with middle school students about cyberbullying and first-graders about Halloween safety.
The retired Air Force lieutenant colonel also secured entrances at the three-school complex in Thorndike, greeted students when they entered and left, checked in with youth who have approached him with problems and prepared remarks for guest lectures.
Lincoln also assists, when requested by staff, with on-site issues ranging from drug infractions to fights.
Dressed in a brown uniform and equipped with a utility belt, which includes a pistol, Lincoln, arrives at 6:45 a.m. on school days in his Dodge Charger cruiser. He reviews the prior night's police reports to see if law enforcement personnel were involved in situations that might have had an impact on district students.
Then he goes to the lobby to greet students as they arrive.
As the job title indicates, Lincoln said he is a resource for students, educators, guests and the entire school community, including parents.
"I'm here to help," Lincoln said. "No student at school should feel unsafe."
The price tag this year for Lincoln's services is $70,000, which includes salary and benefits.
Superintendent Heather Perry said discussions for a school resource officer began early during last year's budget discussions and included researching how other districts used their officers.
"We liked that we could tailor the position to our needs in a unique way," she said, adding that the Unity-based, 11-town district would focus on preventing drug and alcohol abuse and preventing bullying.
She said the district had lost a drug and alcohol counselor, guidance counselors and other nonteaching staff because of recent tight budgets.
"We saw a school resource officer as focusing on prevention ... and could impact the lives of students at school and outside of school," Perry said, adding that law enforcement personnel are well connected with multiple organizations and services geared to helping youth.
Waldo County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Jeff Trafton said Lincoln is "a conduit to all kinds of other services that kids need."
In 2002, when Trafton was a Maine State Police lieutenant, he helped forge an agreement with the rural district to have then-Trooper Tom Ballard work as a school resource officer for 16 hours a week.
It was a pilot project and was provided at no cost to the district, Trafton said.
In 2003, Ballard was promoted to sergeant and Trafton said the program ended because the troop did not have enough staff for another trooper to continue the program.
Trafton said he understood that some people might have concerns about a uniformed officer with a gun in a school setting.
"The government, it seems, is involved in every facet of our lives," he said. "But I'm a trained (school resource officer) myself and the basis of the position is to serve and support the students and staff."
It's imperative that the school resource officer have good people skills, he said.
"They have to be completely approachable or students are not going to connect with them," Trafton said.
Trafton said Lincoln is professional, competent and approachable. "And if he needs to take decisive action, he has the knowledge and training and ability to do it," he said.
Lincoln was a flight instructor in the Air Force and said the school resource officer position is a good fit for his personality and interests. "I understand the importance of it and the need to build rapport and trust with the students."
During his military career, Lincoln also worked at Bangor International Airport, where he was responsible for air refueling missions for military aircraft bound for Europe and the Middle East.
After retiring from the Air Force and after a brief stint as a first officer with Northwest Airlines, Lincoln joined the Waldo County Sheriff's Department.
In 2009, Lincoln was oldest person in his basic law enforcement training program at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy, where he graduated the 18-week course third in the 53-cadet group.
"It was a good motivator for me in a lot of ways," he said. "In other ways it was very humbling."
Lincoln was elected president of his class and academy personnel in Vassalboro selected him for the Professionalism Award.
Tom Lynch, Mount View High School vice principal, said Lincoln epitomizes an ideal school resource officer "in terms of personality, presence, knowledge and experience working with kids."
"He has an ability to keep things very professional," Lynch said. "He has a way about him and kids accept him and listen to him. I think that's why we're seeing such early success."
Perry said youth have approached Lincoln with both practical and personal problems, from how to properly take care of a speeding ticket to how to handle an argument with a girlfriend or boyfriend.
Staff, Perry said, can use Lincoln as a sounding board when legal issues arise.
Lincoln's office in the high school guidance suite has a window from which he can see Route 220, the parking lot and school entrance.
Thank-you cards dot the bulletin board behind his computer.
The vice principal said Lincoln has helped make the school safer in a variety of ways -- from student behavior to reducing motorists speeding through the parking lot.
Lynch said having Lincoln at the rural complex gives him peace of mind in the event the unthinkable were to happen.
"At any given time, there are about 1,600 people, including staff, students and visitors here," said Lynch, adding that sheriff's deputies and state police troopers can be miles away.
In April 1999, Columbine High School high school seniors Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris murdered 12 fellow students and one teacher before they turned the guns on themselves in Littleton, Colo. It is the nation's worst school shooting in history.
In October 2008, closer to home, Randall Hofland took a fifth-grade class hostage with a handgun at Stockton Springs Elementary School. Maine State Police Detective Jason Andrews talked Hofland out of the classroom and took him into custody. No students were physically harmed.
Those incidents have made school staff hyper-aware of safety.
Lincoln, who has been with the sheriff's office for about three and a half years, said it can be difficult to measure incident prevention, but he said educators have told him that they can focus on educating when students are better behaved.
High school English teacher Tanya Hubbard attested to that.
"I find his presence to be encouraging," said Hubbard, who added she has seen many changes during her 36-year teaching career.
"This addition is a good one; everyone needs to feel safe. I feel like I can go to him with any concerns, behavior, students or referrals. He's professional and important to our system. He's authoritative and pleasant, together."
Lincoln, a 1982 graduate of Nokomis Regional High School, said he hopes students will use him for any number of reasons, from needing help with a domestic situation to pursuing a law enforcement career.
2011年11月14日星期一
2011年4月18日星期一
VW Beetle (2012)
A look back to the start: at the beginning Volkswagen built one of the most successful cars of all time and did not even give it a name. Why should it? After all, it was the Volkswagen! People loved it, and on all of the world's continents the small car was nicknamed according to precisely what it looked like: Beetle, Käfer, Vocho, Coccinelle, Fusca, Maggiolino or 甲壳虫! It embodied the automotive concept itself and symbolised the democratisation of mobility. 21.5 million cars were sold. Then the New Beetle arrived in 1998. It introduced a new automotive feeling to the world and brought with it Beetle Mania. In 2010, the Final Edition completed the New Beetle series that had sold more than one million cars. And now? A look forward. The future of the most famous car in the world begins now. In a completely new generation. It's The Beetle! And because Volkswagen and the Beetle call the globe their home, the new car is celebrating a transcontinental world debut - simultaneously in Shanghai, Berlin and New York .
Technological goal: high-tech in harmony with the environment
Volkswagen Beetle is an icon. This car tells a story. Only someone who knows its history could make a new generation of this Volkswagen a reality. The task ahead for the engineers was very clear. They had to develop a high-tech car that was still affordable, did not leave any stone unturned, integrated the communication technologies of our times and of course achieved the lowest environmental impact. It also had to be a car that places driving fun at the forefront. The new generation VW Beetle would have to be a very agile, dynamic performer, and the people who developed the Golf GTI would also be able to achieve this.
Volkswagen Beetle (2012)
No previous Beetle was this fuel efficient. High performance no longer suffices by itself: At 4.3 l/100 km (European 1.6 TDI) and 33 mpg (American 2.0 TDI), the new Volkswagen Beetle is the most fuel-efficient Beetle ever.
Design target: "Design a new original!"
The most recognisable automotive design in the world. Coke bottle, iPhone, Ray Ban Aviator, Beetle - how does one reinvent a design that is so recognisable and independent? There is a clear answer to this: It is necessary to understand the product and the brand; then it works! Volkswagen Design Chief Walter de Silva (Group) and Klaus Bischoff (Volkswagen Brand) "understand" both and therefore they set this as the objective for the Beetle: "Design a new original!"
Challenge as a thrill. The team began its task under Bischoff's guidance. The challenge of designing a new Volkswagen Beetle was inspiring. The designers knew that they wanted to develop the original Beetle profile more than on the 1998 New Beetle. They also made very dynamic proportions a high priority. An interesting aspect was that more than a few team members actually own their own air-cooled Beetles. It has also become a cult car among younger designers at Volkswagen. And that is how the final design of the 2011 Beetle came to be in Wolfsburg - a car of today as well as a design tribute to the automotive seed of an entire corporate group. And unmistakable indeed: If one were to take the first Beetle and the new Beetle and place them in a room together - shining light just over the roofs and viewing them from the side - one would see that the lines of the rear sections are nearly identical.
No standing still: "We remade every part."
Bolder, more dynamic, more masculine. A comparison to the 1998 New Beetle shows this: nothing remained as it was on the old car: "The Beetle is now characterised by a clean, self-confident and dominant sportiness. The car not only has a lower profile; it is also substantially wider, the front bonnet is longer, the front windscreen is shifted further back and has a much steeper incline. All of this creates a new dynamism," explains Klaus Bischoff. While the New Beetle was defined by three semi-circles (front wing, rear wing, domed roof above it), the new model has broken free of this geometry. The roof profile actually runs distinctly lower and can be considered a continuation of the Ragster concept car shown in Detroit in 2005 - a type of hot rod based on the New Beetle. The new Beetle is bolder, more dynamic, more masculine.
The figures confirm this: The new car is 1,808 mm wide (84 mm wider), 1,486 mm tall (12 mm lower) and 4,278 mm long (152 mm longer). This has resulted in entirely new proportions. The gain in length meant that the roof could be extended further, the front windscreen could be shifted back, and the rear section could follow the contour of the original Beetle. The new focal point is the C-pillar. In parallel, the development team increased the car's track widths and wheelbase. All of this gives the VW Beetle a powerful appearance with muscular tension.
Typical Volkswagen, typical Beetle: a new DNA
2011 styling. Despite all of its individuality, the styling follows the Volkswagen design DNA created by Walter de Silva and Klaus Bischoff. It clearly expresses itself in the horizontal image of the front bumper, front air inlet, straight lines of the bonnet edges, the precisely drawn line between the A-pillar and C-pillar and the styling of the rear lights.
Beetle, Microbus, original Golf. And yet it was possible to preserve all of the Volkswagen Beetle's typical styling characteristics. This should come as no surprise; after all, it was vehicles like the Beetle, Microbus and original Golf that had a decisive influence on Volkswagen's "design DNA." Of course, some of the Beetle's longstanding characteristics remain: these include its round headlights (optional bi-xenon headlights with LED daytime running lights are available for the first time in this model series), the flared wings, the shapes of the bonnets, sides and door sills and - more than ever - the large wheels (up to 19 inch) that can be integrated. A new feature is the rear spoiler that is homogeneously integrated in the design (standard for TSI engines with 118 kW / 160 PS and 147 kW / 200 PS); it aggressively maintains contact with the road on this Volkswagen, which has a top speed of up to 225 km/h, depending on the engine, and is available in the three equipment lines "Beetle", "Design" and "Sport". Incidentally, the top surface of the rear spoiler is always black, while its underside is painted in body colour. These colours - 12 different hues - will make everyday car driving more vibrant with names such as "Saturnyellow" and "Denim Blue".
An original interior like no other
The cockpit makes a visual impression. Is it possible for a cockpit to make an impression? Are you kidding? By its very nature! Car drivers sit in the cockpit. Sometimes for hours at a time. And yet, there are cars whose cockpits do not leave any lasting impression. They have a "look alike" appearance, as the marketing people say - one easily mistaken for another, lacking charisma. The VW Beetle's cockpit, on the other hand, is unique, unmistakable, cool, classic and designed with a passion for detail. This cockpit is perceived as something special.
Everything within reach and sight. The shape and use of colour in the painted or carbon-look front facia panel of the dashboard hark back to the design of the first VW Beetle, yet the new car does not have a retro look. In Europe, for example, this facia is styled in "Schwarz uni" (Black) on the base model ("Beetle"); in the "Design" equipment line, it is always painted in the specific exterior colour. Customers choosing the "Sport" level get the carbon look ("Carbon Fibre"). Regardless of which colours are used, Volkswagen drivers will be able to locate every interior feature with their eyes closed.
And yet everything has been redesigned. Three round instruments arranged in front of the driver (tachometer, speedometer, fuel gauge) provide all key information; integrated in the speedometer (middle position) is a multifunction display. From the "Design" equipment level, the adjustable air vents and the instruments have chrome bezels. This also applies to the audio/navigation systems optimally located in the driver's visual field on the dashboard, framed by two air vents. This also includes the controls for the climate control system. Everything is within grasp and sight.
Comeback of the glovebox. Similar to the original Beetle, the new car has an extra glovebox integrated in the front facia whose lid folds upward (the standard glovebox that is also integrated opens downward). Another classic feature: the optional auxiliary instruments above the selected audio/navigation system: oil temperature, clock with stopwatch function and boost pressure gauge. Also new: the steering wheels specially designed for the Volkswagen Beetle with optional painted accents in the spokes depending on the equipment line. Details like these clearly indicate that the occupants are in a Beetle - there's no mistaking it.
Air-cooled Beetle. New Beetle. The Beetle. A distinguishing feature of The Beetle - the third generation if you will - is that its interior ergonomics and packaging are based on completely new parameters. While drivers in the air-cooled Beetle travelled in a very low-slung seat, and drivers of the New Beetle felt as if they were chauffeured because the bonnet was so far forward, the latest Volkswagen Beetle now offers an agile, driver-oriented coupé experience. Every feature is within easy reach. In addition, Volkswagen has once again succeeded in implementing a quality of materials that goes beyond all class limits. The car's styling, ergonomics, operability and quality interact to create a new, friendly car with a highly individual nature.
The New Beetle was a cathedral inside. In front, the Beetle is now somewhat lower in profile, since the domed roof of its predecessor has been eliminated. It now offers 1,044 mm interior height instead of the previous 1,082 mm. However, the 38 mm will hardly be missed, even by very tall drivers, since the New Beetle's interior was a "cathedral" among compact cars. Meanwhile, in the rear seating area, the longer roof section results in a distinctly larger feeling of space. The bootspace is significantly larger; it now holds 310 instead of 209 litres. As usual, the car has a split, folding rear seatback, and a wide opening bootlid making it is easy to load and unload.
Technological goal: high-tech in harmony with the environment
Volkswagen Beetle is an icon. This car tells a story. Only someone who knows its history could make a new generation of this Volkswagen a reality. The task ahead for the engineers was very clear. They had to develop a high-tech car that was still affordable, did not leave any stone unturned, integrated the communication technologies of our times and of course achieved the lowest environmental impact. It also had to be a car that places driving fun at the forefront. The new generation VW Beetle would have to be a very agile, dynamic performer, and the people who developed the Golf GTI would also be able to achieve this.
Volkswagen Beetle (2012)
No previous Beetle was this fuel efficient. High performance no longer suffices by itself: At 4.3 l/100 km (European 1.6 TDI) and 33 mpg (American 2.0 TDI), the new Volkswagen Beetle is the most fuel-efficient Beetle ever.
Design target: "Design a new original!"
The most recognisable automotive design in the world. Coke bottle, iPhone, Ray Ban Aviator, Beetle - how does one reinvent a design that is so recognisable and independent? There is a clear answer to this: It is necessary to understand the product and the brand; then it works! Volkswagen Design Chief Walter de Silva (Group) and Klaus Bischoff (Volkswagen Brand) "understand" both and therefore they set this as the objective for the Beetle: "Design a new original!"
Challenge as a thrill. The team began its task under Bischoff's guidance. The challenge of designing a new Volkswagen Beetle was inspiring. The designers knew that they wanted to develop the original Beetle profile more than on the 1998 New Beetle. They also made very dynamic proportions a high priority. An interesting aspect was that more than a few team members actually own their own air-cooled Beetles. It has also become a cult car among younger designers at Volkswagen. And that is how the final design of the 2011 Beetle came to be in Wolfsburg - a car of today as well as a design tribute to the automotive seed of an entire corporate group. And unmistakable indeed: If one were to take the first Beetle and the new Beetle and place them in a room together - shining light just over the roofs and viewing them from the side - one would see that the lines of the rear sections are nearly identical.
No standing still: "We remade every part."
Bolder, more dynamic, more masculine. A comparison to the 1998 New Beetle shows this: nothing remained as it was on the old car: "The Beetle is now characterised by a clean, self-confident and dominant sportiness. The car not only has a lower profile; it is also substantially wider, the front bonnet is longer, the front windscreen is shifted further back and has a much steeper incline. All of this creates a new dynamism," explains Klaus Bischoff. While the New Beetle was defined by three semi-circles (front wing, rear wing, domed roof above it), the new model has broken free of this geometry. The roof profile actually runs distinctly lower and can be considered a continuation of the Ragster concept car shown in Detroit in 2005 - a type of hot rod based on the New Beetle. The new Beetle is bolder, more dynamic, more masculine.
The figures confirm this: The new car is 1,808 mm wide (84 mm wider), 1,486 mm tall (12 mm lower) and 4,278 mm long (152 mm longer). This has resulted in entirely new proportions. The gain in length meant that the roof could be extended further, the front windscreen could be shifted back, and the rear section could follow the contour of the original Beetle. The new focal point is the C-pillar. In parallel, the development team increased the car's track widths and wheelbase. All of this gives the VW Beetle a powerful appearance with muscular tension.
Typical Volkswagen, typical Beetle: a new DNA
2011 styling. Despite all of its individuality, the styling follows the Volkswagen design DNA created by Walter de Silva and Klaus Bischoff. It clearly expresses itself in the horizontal image of the front bumper, front air inlet, straight lines of the bonnet edges, the precisely drawn line between the A-pillar and C-pillar and the styling of the rear lights.
Beetle, Microbus, original Golf. And yet it was possible to preserve all of the Volkswagen Beetle's typical styling characteristics. This should come as no surprise; after all, it was vehicles like the Beetle, Microbus and original Golf that had a decisive influence on Volkswagen's "design DNA." Of course, some of the Beetle's longstanding characteristics remain: these include its round headlights (optional bi-xenon headlights with LED daytime running lights are available for the first time in this model series), the flared wings, the shapes of the bonnets, sides and door sills and - more than ever - the large wheels (up to 19 inch) that can be integrated. A new feature is the rear spoiler that is homogeneously integrated in the design (standard for TSI engines with 118 kW / 160 PS and 147 kW / 200 PS); it aggressively maintains contact with the road on this Volkswagen, which has a top speed of up to 225 km/h, depending on the engine, and is available in the three equipment lines "Beetle", "Design" and "Sport". Incidentally, the top surface of the rear spoiler is always black, while its underside is painted in body colour. These colours - 12 different hues - will make everyday car driving more vibrant with names such as "Saturnyellow" and "Denim Blue".
An original interior like no other
The cockpit makes a visual impression. Is it possible for a cockpit to make an impression? Are you kidding? By its very nature! Car drivers sit in the cockpit. Sometimes for hours at a time. And yet, there are cars whose cockpits do not leave any lasting impression. They have a "look alike" appearance, as the marketing people say - one easily mistaken for another, lacking charisma. The VW Beetle's cockpit, on the other hand, is unique, unmistakable, cool, classic and designed with a passion for detail. This cockpit is perceived as something special.
Everything within reach and sight. The shape and use of colour in the painted or carbon-look front facia panel of the dashboard hark back to the design of the first VW Beetle, yet the new car does not have a retro look. In Europe, for example, this facia is styled in "Schwarz uni" (Black) on the base model ("Beetle"); in the "Design" equipment line, it is always painted in the specific exterior colour. Customers choosing the "Sport" level get the carbon look ("Carbon Fibre"). Regardless of which colours are used, Volkswagen drivers will be able to locate every interior feature with their eyes closed.
And yet everything has been redesigned. Three round instruments arranged in front of the driver (tachometer, speedometer, fuel gauge) provide all key information; integrated in the speedometer (middle position) is a multifunction display. From the "Design" equipment level, the adjustable air vents and the instruments have chrome bezels. This also applies to the audio/navigation systems optimally located in the driver's visual field on the dashboard, framed by two air vents. This also includes the controls for the climate control system. Everything is within grasp and sight.
Comeback of the glovebox. Similar to the original Beetle, the new car has an extra glovebox integrated in the front facia whose lid folds upward (the standard glovebox that is also integrated opens downward). Another classic feature: the optional auxiliary instruments above the selected audio/navigation system: oil temperature, clock with stopwatch function and boost pressure gauge. Also new: the steering wheels specially designed for the Volkswagen Beetle with optional painted accents in the spokes depending on the equipment line. Details like these clearly indicate that the occupants are in a Beetle - there's no mistaking it.
Air-cooled Beetle. New Beetle. The Beetle. A distinguishing feature of The Beetle - the third generation if you will - is that its interior ergonomics and packaging are based on completely new parameters. While drivers in the air-cooled Beetle travelled in a very low-slung seat, and drivers of the New Beetle felt as if they were chauffeured because the bonnet was so far forward, the latest Volkswagen Beetle now offers an agile, driver-oriented coupé experience. Every feature is within easy reach. In addition, Volkswagen has once again succeeded in implementing a quality of materials that goes beyond all class limits. The car's styling, ergonomics, operability and quality interact to create a new, friendly car with a highly individual nature.
The New Beetle was a cathedral inside. In front, the Beetle is now somewhat lower in profile, since the domed roof of its predecessor has been eliminated. It now offers 1,044 mm interior height instead of the previous 1,082 mm. However, the 38 mm will hardly be missed, even by very tall drivers, since the New Beetle's interior was a "cathedral" among compact cars. Meanwhile, in the rear seating area, the longer roof section results in a distinctly larger feeling of space. The bootspace is significantly larger; it now holds 310 instead of 209 litres. As usual, the car has a split, folding rear seatback, and a wide opening bootlid making it is easy to load and unload.
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