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7月4日星期一
Rhode Island Welcome Back program helps foreign-trained medical professionals work toward licenses in U.S
The rural hospital in Colombia where Dr. Ericka Olivera worked was so poor that patients often had to bring their own medical supplies. There was no x-ray machine or CT scanner. Sometimes, she recalls, “there wasn’t enough gas for the ambulance to bring a patient to a larger hospital.”
Olivera delivered babies, treated burns and stab wounds, arthritis and heart attacks, asthma and high blood pressure. She taught patients how to control chronic diseases.
Through the Rhode Island Welcome Back program at Dorcas Place Adult and Family Learning Center, Olivera is applying that breadth of experience, as well as her language skills and cultural background, as she works toward medical licensure in the United States.
“When I came here, I had a very low level of English. I had a tutor,” Olivera said. “When my English improved, I decided to get back to my career, but I didn’t know who could help me.”
A friend directed Olivera to the Rhode Island Welcome Back Center in Providence, a statewide initiative that helps underemployed, foreign-trained doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals get licensed and back to work in the U.S. health system.
Modeled after the original Welcome Back Center in San Francisco and one of eight such centers nationwide, the program assists with everything from English proficiency and acculturation to clinical experience, internship opportunities, work-force readiness training and a host of other supports.
Adding these foreign-trained professionals to the mix helps people otherwise stymied by language and cultural barriers to access health care. The program simultaneously aims to fill in work-force shortages in key related areas.
The Welcome Back initiative as a whole was honored in Washington, D.C., in May. Director Manuela Raposo represented the Rhode Island center.
“It’s really hard, you know, to start from zero,” said Olivera. “You have to study all that you did at the university [in Colombia]. This is a very hard, demanding career.”
The center encouraged her “not only not to give up and to get my medical license, but they gave me orientation, they gave me guidance. They provided books for me to study, and study partners,” and financial aid for exam fees. They also placed her in an “observership” at Clínica Esperanza, a free clinic in Olneyville, with which the center partners.
Olivera delivered babies, treated burns and stab wounds, arthritis and heart attacks, asthma and high blood pressure. She taught patients how to control chronic diseases.
Through the Rhode Island Welcome Back program at Dorcas Place Adult and Family Learning Center, Olivera is applying that breadth of experience, as well as her language skills and cultural background, as she works toward medical licensure in the United States.
“When I came here, I had a very low level of English. I had a tutor,” Olivera said. “When my English improved, I decided to get back to my career, but I didn’t know who could help me.”
A friend directed Olivera to the Rhode Island Welcome Back Center in Providence, a statewide initiative that helps underemployed, foreign-trained doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals get licensed and back to work in the U.S. health system.
Modeled after the original Welcome Back Center in San Francisco and one of eight such centers nationwide, the program assists with everything from English proficiency and acculturation to clinical experience, internship opportunities, work-force readiness training and a host of other supports.
Adding these foreign-trained professionals to the mix helps people otherwise stymied by language and cultural barriers to access health care. The program simultaneously aims to fill in work-force shortages in key related areas.
The Welcome Back initiative as a whole was honored in Washington, D.C., in May. Director Manuela Raposo represented the Rhode Island center.
“It’s really hard, you know, to start from zero,” said Olivera. “You have to study all that you did at the university [in Colombia]. This is a very hard, demanding career.”
The center encouraged her “not only not to give up and to get my medical license, but they gave me orientation, they gave me guidance. They provided books for me to study, and study partners,” and financial aid for exam fees. They also placed her in an “observership” at Clínica Esperanza, a free clinic in Olneyville, with which the center partners.
2011年6月22日星期三
Renault Fluence Z.E. Leads Electric Charge For Fleet And Family
Renault will be the first to offer Australian fleet and family car buyers a practical, feasible and viable all-electric option when the Fluence Z.E. five-seat sedan goes on sale here next year.
The Renault Fluence Z.E. (Zero Emission) is visually similar to the petrol-powered Fluence sedan launched in Australia late last year, and shares an identical interior architecture, but under the bonnet it is very different.
The Renault Fluence Z.E. is powered only by electricity stored on-board in a 48-module Lithium-ion battery mounted behind the rear seats, which can be recharged using a charge spot installed at home or work (6-8 hours for a full charge) or at a Better Place battery switch station where a depleted battery is exchanged for a fully charged one in less than four minutes.
The battery drives an advanced electric synchronous motor, which produces 70kW at 11,000rpm. Maximum torque is 226Nm. An energy recovery system enables the car to charge the battery under braking or deceleration. As with all electric motors, maximum torque is available almost instantly, giving the car excellent acceleration characteristics that are linear and satisfying. Top speed is electronically limited to 135km/h.
The electric motor is all but silent when running and, blessed with an almost perfect 50/50 weight distribution; the Renault Fluence Z.E. boasts neutral handling and exceptional ride comfort.
The Renault Fluence Z.E. runs on low rolling resistance Goodyear EfficientGrip tyres, which have special casings and sidewalls to help extend the driving range. The tread pattern is identical to that of a conventional tyre in order to ensure high-performance road holding and braking.
Compared with the petrol-powered Renault Fluence sedan, the 4748mm long Fluence Z.E. is 130mm longer to accommodate the battery, while the front and rear styling has been modified to provide enhanced cooling and aerodynamic efficiency, as well as present some visual differentiation and Z.E. identity.
Behind the wheel, drivers will notice the rev-counter is replaced by a gauge showing remaining range and battery charge, and a centre console display identifies the selected transmission mode: ‘forward’, ‘reverse’, ‘neutral’ and ‘parking’.
An ‘econo-meter’ uses a new colour-coded system to tell the driver how economically they are driving in terms of energy consumption: light blue for ‘normal’ vehicle use, dark blue for ‘optimal’ driving and red for ‘excessive’ energy consumption likely to reduce the vehicle's range.
Standard equipment will include Bluetooth telephony and automatic dual-zone climate control, plus automatic headlamp and windscreen wiper activation.
Also standard equipment is a smart Better Place designed navigation system, known as OSCAR, which not only offers traditional route guidance but can also pinpoint the closest charge spots and Battery Switch Stations. A range of 185km is promised, measured according to the NEDC industry standard for fuel efficiency, using the same methodology to measure consumption of internal combustion engine vehicles.
The Fluence Z.E. is a C segment vehicle that can comfortably accommodate a family and their luggage.
The first Renault Fluence Z.E. vehicles will arrive in Q2 2012, for select customers in Canberra. Vehicles will be available for general sale in Q4 2012 from selected Renault dealers.
Pricing and local specification will be confirmed closer to that date.
The Renault Fluence Z.E. (Zero Emission) is visually similar to the petrol-powered Fluence sedan launched in Australia late last year, and shares an identical interior architecture, but under the bonnet it is very different.
The Renault Fluence Z.E. is powered only by electricity stored on-board in a 48-module Lithium-ion battery mounted behind the rear seats, which can be recharged using a charge spot installed at home or work (6-8 hours for a full charge) or at a Better Place battery switch station where a depleted battery is exchanged for a fully charged one in less than four minutes.
The battery drives an advanced electric synchronous motor, which produces 70kW at 11,000rpm. Maximum torque is 226Nm. An energy recovery system enables the car to charge the battery under braking or deceleration. As with all electric motors, maximum torque is available almost instantly, giving the car excellent acceleration characteristics that are linear and satisfying. Top speed is electronically limited to 135km/h.
The electric motor is all but silent when running and, blessed with an almost perfect 50/50 weight distribution; the Renault Fluence Z.E. boasts neutral handling and exceptional ride comfort.
The Renault Fluence Z.E. runs on low rolling resistance Goodyear EfficientGrip tyres, which have special casings and sidewalls to help extend the driving range. The tread pattern is identical to that of a conventional tyre in order to ensure high-performance road holding and braking.
Compared with the petrol-powered Renault Fluence sedan, the 4748mm long Fluence Z.E. is 130mm longer to accommodate the battery, while the front and rear styling has been modified to provide enhanced cooling and aerodynamic efficiency, as well as present some visual differentiation and Z.E. identity.
Behind the wheel, drivers will notice the rev-counter is replaced by a gauge showing remaining range and battery charge, and a centre console display identifies the selected transmission mode: ‘forward’, ‘reverse’, ‘neutral’ and ‘parking’.
An ‘econo-meter’ uses a new colour-coded system to tell the driver how economically they are driving in terms of energy consumption: light blue for ‘normal’ vehicle use, dark blue for ‘optimal’ driving and red for ‘excessive’ energy consumption likely to reduce the vehicle's range.
Standard equipment will include Bluetooth telephony and automatic dual-zone climate control, plus automatic headlamp and windscreen wiper activation.
Also standard equipment is a smart Better Place designed navigation system, known as OSCAR, which not only offers traditional route guidance but can also pinpoint the closest charge spots and Battery Switch Stations. A range of 185km is promised, measured according to the NEDC industry standard for fuel efficiency, using the same methodology to measure consumption of internal combustion engine vehicles.
The Fluence Z.E. is a C segment vehicle that can comfortably accommodate a family and their luggage.
The first Renault Fluence Z.E. vehicles will arrive in Q2 2012, for select customers in Canberra. Vehicles will be available for general sale in Q4 2012 from selected Renault dealers.
Pricing and local specification will be confirmed closer to that date.
2011年5月8日星期日
2012 Mercedes CLS arrives in Middle East
Mercedes-Benz has launched the 2012 CLS 4 door sports coupe in the Middle East. The car was first unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show as reported here by AutoMiddleEast.com.
Drawing design cues from the SLS AMG super sports car, the CLS will be available with a 3.5 liter V6, a 5.0 liter V8 or as a supercharged bi-turbo V8 CLS 63 power horse.
The GCC specification CLS 350 will come with an exterior sport package as standard, featuring chromed twin-pipe exhaust system with rectangular tailpipe rims, 5-spoke 18-inch light-alloy wheels with a 19-inch option, rear bumper with matt black painted cover, and sporty suspension set-up. The CLS350 also comes with the option of an AMG Sports Package.
The GCC spec CLS 500 comes standard with an AMG Sports package, including AMG front and rear aprons, single-wing radiator grill with a chrome/silver louver, and 18-inch 5-spoke light alloy wheels with mixed tyre sizes, optionally available as 19-inch.
The AMG Sports package includes 3-spoke sports multifunction steering wheel in nappa leather with a flattened lower section; matching black upholstery, seats, head restraints, door armrests and centre console with light, and roof liner with contrasting stitching. In keeping with the sporty styling of the AMG Sports package, the package also features ‘AMG’ lettering floor mats, brushed stainless-steel sports pedals, and additional ‘M’ transmission mode for manual gearshifts.
GCC Specification CLS models also include as standard Active Parking Assist with Parking Guidance, Memory package, Media Interface, and the COMAND APS multimedia System amongst a host of other technological gizmos in the car.
Pricing information is not available as yet and we will update that asap. In the mean while, Mercedes Benz TV has come up with this pretty cool video about what catches peoples eyes in the CLS, and believe it – a blonde. Interesting! Check it out.
Drawing design cues from the SLS AMG super sports car, the CLS will be available with a 3.5 liter V6, a 5.0 liter V8 or as a supercharged bi-turbo V8 CLS 63 power horse.
The GCC specification CLS 350 will come with an exterior sport package as standard, featuring chromed twin-pipe exhaust system with rectangular tailpipe rims, 5-spoke 18-inch light-alloy wheels with a 19-inch option, rear bumper with matt black painted cover, and sporty suspension set-up. The CLS350 also comes with the option of an AMG Sports Package.
The GCC spec CLS 500 comes standard with an AMG Sports package, including AMG front and rear aprons, single-wing radiator grill with a chrome/silver louver, and 18-inch 5-spoke light alloy wheels with mixed tyre sizes, optionally available as 19-inch.
The AMG Sports package includes 3-spoke sports multifunction steering wheel in nappa leather with a flattened lower section; matching black upholstery, seats, head restraints, door armrests and centre console with light, and roof liner with contrasting stitching. In keeping with the sporty styling of the AMG Sports package, the package also features ‘AMG’ lettering floor mats, brushed stainless-steel sports pedals, and additional ‘M’ transmission mode for manual gearshifts.
GCC Specification CLS models also include as standard Active Parking Assist with Parking Guidance, Memory package, Media Interface, and the COMAND APS multimedia System amongst a host of other technological gizmos in the car.
Pricing information is not available as yet and we will update that asap. In the mean while, Mercedes Benz TV has come up with this pretty cool video about what catches peoples eyes in the CLS, and believe it – a blonde. Interesting! Check it out.
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