Morning Sentinel from Waterville, Maine • 2

2 Morning Sentinel Tuesday January 28 1992 MaineLocal Earning Sentinel Carole Vincent ZL In hungry pursuit Keyes ibre Plant Manager John Raden holds a plastic casing for a hand grenade The casings were produced Raden said the US government is be ginning to share plates and trays left from Desert Storm with the former Sovi et Union now the Commonwealth of In dependent States Today about a year after the Gulf War plate and tray contract with the GSA is returning to its pre Gulf War level about 160 million a year Raden The company also is working with the government to develop new MREs "meals ready to eat" for the military Raden said the new MREs for merly called rations will come in trays made by Keyes and will contain heating elements so meals can be warm ed inthe Held Raden said Keyes has had contracts with the GSA since about World War II though not always for disposable trays In the 1940s Keyes produced plastic casings for hand grenades and grips for Colt 45 pistols Raden said leftover grenades and the handguns also were used in the Vietnam and we were restocking government wnrehoiises" Raden said grew rapidly for a few months It peaked in about December and virtually stopped by March" Raden added that the end of the conflict all of the trays used by the military were produced by Keyes 85 per cent cnmino out of Raden said the government deter said mined that Chinet plates and trays were best for the Gulf War because they were resistant to heat and oil and could be bur ied in the desert sand where they would decompose was important because of the huge volume of garbage" he said Raden added that Keyes reacted swiftly when the government found that olive drab Chinet trays used by US troops were easily seen against the sand in the Saudi desert military found that olive drab could be seen in air Raden said were quick on our feet and made sandcolored Waterville school officials unveiled their a $107 million 1992 93 budget proposal Monday night but con ceded they have little idea how to pay for the than bare proposal Up 23 percent from the 1991 92 budget the plan slashes spending for supplies books and capital im provements to pay for salaries according to Superin a 4 0 Uawll lenueui niuvii Aau or example salaries and benefits for the high school teaching staff will increase 3 percent to about $17 million Spending on books and supplies at the high school will drop 50 percent to $46889 And spending on new equipment at the high school will drop 100 percent from $26198 to zero Beyond the two layoffs announced in the fall the budget does not cut any jobs done is put all the money in programs and said Hall three percent of the The Wolf Moon is waning It hangs no more in the frigid night sky full frosty eyeball on sap curdled hillside pines sending cold gray shadows down frozen fields at midnight No wolves call from these woods now they are gone like the Indians who named this first month moon for their lonely howls i The cold eye is closing only a slit left time moving on into Snow Moon Cold has deepened the cycle swings to snow month of heaviest fall a blanket to cushion frozen ruts the prints of delicate vulnerable deer the dog prints of coyote new wolf in hungry pursuit Shadows darken pull in tighter hiding under silvered spruce skirts He lies in silence perfectly still A slice of light catches his sight cold green street light throwing shadows on the sheets pattern of tubes and bags life keeping drip pursuit of vulnerable veins Angry flakes spit from a sullen sky hitting his window with icy sound Down the hall a cry then wet slap sound of rubber soles a murmur fretful watchful stillness hangs heavy backdrop to stinging whispers on cold dark glass He drifts to the sound remembers silent snowshoe hikes on Wolf Moon nights ni nuning a path to cold light redemption Moving swiftly silently bear paw prints blotting out mundane daytime life reedom escape in the cold moonlight muscles loosen coordinate his body sings over the snow exulting exalting Eyes focused on ceiling he feels his inert weight pressing against taut sheets Id cold metal cell he takes bleak mid winter stock His body holds a fury a demon growing in his bones sucking strength leaving sap curdled trunk like a winter shocked tree one blow and it breaks one wolf jaw snap and he is down like a doe on ice doomed City light streams onto his bed distant and cold while out on the hills a coyote calls answered by hollow boom of lake ice thickening in midnight freeze She wanders to the window cold so cold Leaning forehead to frosty glass she peers into silent shadowy light At her pack the mantel clock mocks with relentless voice: the end the end the end Weary tears blur her search for clues in the sleepless night What went wrong what was said unsaid left bruising in the air? Upstairs a cry she comes alert listens Nightmares how to explain to a cjijld when its world splits in two? Sleet hisses she turns to the glass' gazes into Wolf Moon night remembers Lpte night walks her body bulky with the treasure she carried she herself a treasure iq his eyes as they tramped the fields the silent strip of road a tender winter joke putting baby to sleep Hands held dreams made real nipped noses ignored in warmth of shared moonlight on their hair Now her body holds a raging despair a sap draining cold at the shadows lurking unknown future sniffing the air of her uncertainty The clock drones time ticking away the frosty night her shattered dreams glittering like icicles in cold eye light In the woods a fox barks in lust for his niate He tiptoes barefoot across the icy gritty floor At edge he breathes child sweet breath on frosted fern pane peers out at the night They are back The rusty truck tilts drunkenly on precarious ditch edge They approach dark ghosts clinging exaggerated care for ice and balance she throws back her head To condemn? No all right slivers of laughter float through window gap He shivers his belly aches Cornflakes In August 1990 five months before US and allied bombers first attacked Iraq to begin Operation Desert Storm Keyes ibre Co in Waterville knew something was Without explanation government or ders for Keyes molded fiber trays and plates began increasing dramatically To that point Keyes had been selling about 160 million plates and trays a year to the General Services Administration which runs and supplies government in stallations late August 1990 we began notic ing a swell in orders from GSA John Raden plant manager at the Keyes mill on College Avenue said Monday September orders were growing at a dramatic rate and we knew some thing was awry Our volume grew at rate of 40 million trays a month influx to Keyes from Desert Storm was definitely a boon to At its College Avenue mill which straddles the Waterville airfield line Keyes manufactures molded fiber and laminated products for food service res taurant consumer packaging and fro zen dinner uses Raden said all the products manufac tured at the Waterville mill are made of which the company gets by processing and reusing old prod ucts packages milk cartons and even record albums Old newspapers also are used for products such as egg cartons and trays used by carry out and drive thru restaurants to hold beverages 7 are 100 percent secondary fiber in Waterville and very happy about Raden told about 110 members of the Waterville Rotary at a lunch meeting at John Manor Raden said the recent growth Keyes experienced in government orders ran through the start of the allied air attack on Iraq and the ensuing six week conflict in the Persian Gulf December the military had 60 to 90 days of (plates and trays) in the field Sentinel photo by Ron Maxwell by Keyes in the 1940s Raden told members of the Water ville Rotary Monday War during which the company also be gan making food trays for the govern ment GSA is not something that just happened to us" Raden said Keyes is heavily involved in GSA and that role is big business for But business admittedly has slowed for the 89 year old company which was by Martin Keyes in Shawmut unuxe bcott paper uo which recent ly announced it is letting go about 360 workers at its Winslow and Skowhegan mills and in its timberland division Keyes has said nothing about layoffs pr employment cuts Raden said he could not predict if cuts will come at the mill which employs about 750 full time hourly workers i are seeing our government or ders taper off due to cuts in the war de partment and in armed Raden said recession is hitting ev eryone though we tend to feel it a little slower sales are down a bit and assessing our business total budget is for salaries and fringe benefits" Teachers are scheduled to get an average 8 percent pay raise but officials suggested Monday that the pay hikes still might be renegotiated Initial efforts failed budget sounds good said Josepn in jauar member of the Board of Education meaning The problem is school officials have no idea how to pay for tne plan State funding is a big question mark The lengthy proposal detailed this week did not have any information about revenue dealing with many more gray areas than any other said Hall Substantial cuts and layoffs are possible before the budget is approved Even if the school department received as much money next year as this year from the city and state an unlikely event the proposed 1992 93 education bud get would have to be cut by at least $430000 Cutting $430000 from the proposal would bring the budget down to $103 million which is about what school officials estimate they will actually get in reve Rise in gov't orders foreshadowed war Manager: Keyes knew something was By ANTHONY CRISTAN Sentinel Staff By CHIP GAVIN Sentinel Staff Waterville unveils school budget $1 o7 million proposal hinges on uncertain revenue projections nue this year 7 If the city or state decides to further reduce educa tion spending the school budget will have to be cut even But what cuts will have to be made is entirely un known School officials will discuss the budget again at their eb 3 meeting and will hold a public hearing eb 10 at the Brookside Elementary School The Board of Education will hold an initial vote on the budget March 2 and a final vote March 9 School officials will then present the budget to the City Council March 13 The value of the public hearing was questioned Monday night by board members since they do not ex pect to have any better handle on revenue numbers by then Until they get revenue numbers the board will not know how much or what will be cut 7 si irm revenue figures might not be available untij mid March according to Hall WIH Ma BKK BIHb Iff and water the little ones cried no school lunch hot and pitied to still their growls still too young Back in bed he lies tense perfectly still witching tree shadows against a wall gaunt black limbs arching ready to pounce He shivers still closes ms eyes Small body bumps his he groans his bruises tender yet Ears straining he listens interprets prepares Down the hall a curse damn Will frigid night tempers flare hot flowing sap from bellies full of beer explode in flashing pain of fist in face? Small town night of the Wolf Moon where howls come from houses not the hills where pursuer and pursued circle warily against three shadowed walls while the frost blossoms in fantastic flowers on frosty panes and vulnerable veins blossom in shattered flowers of pain on small rib furrowed bodies saplings of neglect in the winter of cold discontent Tn the icy alley a cat yowls from a nearby porch a dog howls and the cold eye of the moon is merely a slit the slightest touch of light in the dark The Wolf Moon wanes bitter black month sinks to a close the Snow Moon waits in the wings In his beep monitored bed he lies perfectly still and waits In her cold wide bed she waits aid watches the green eyed clock ticking away the night the years In his lumpy crowded bed he watches the door hears the howls and waits Out on the hills the coyotes call Carole Vincent It a Sentinel columnist Welfare package before council By CHIP GAVIN 1 Sentinel Staff Waterville likely will spend less on welfare once city councilors approve a reform package but who will get less help is unimown too early to tell said Linda ossa the health and welfare director much of this is brand know if fewer people will said ossa might mean about the same people will get General assistance is a state mandated program administered by local officials Municipalities must 7 pay to administer the program while the state re imburses 83 percent of the direct benefits paid to the poor Legislators recently approved drastic changes to the program to stop escalating welfare costs and help save the state $48 million including $18 million in re imbursement for direct benefits The proposal now before the Waterville council re flects those changes in state law and is intended to stop escalating welfare costs welfare budget increased from $131 000 in 1987 88 to $546000 in 1990 91 In 1987 88 when the city had more control over its welfare program the state reimbursed Waterville about $47000 or 36 percent of its costs By 1990 91 the state had taken over more of the pro gram and also increased its share of the cost In Water ville the state paid 82 percent or $449000 of the $546000 "spent by the city i Some changes earlier this year slightly reduced the welfare expenses Waterville spent $137000 in the last three months of 1991 down from $149000 a year earlier But spending still was far ahead of several years ago think it needed some said ossa necessarily to get people off the rolls but the program needed to make people more accountable as to where they spent their she said And the new welfare program will be a dramatic departure from the current system The old system based aid on the difference between a monthly expenses and monthly income The new system will determine aid by subtracting monthly income from a preset maximum level of assistance or example the monthly maximum for a one bed room heated apartment in Waterville will be $366 If a income is greater than that he would not qual ify for assistance Essentially most people who qualify now still are expected to qualify under the new rules But they will qualify for less local welfare That anticipated effect of the new rules is not cer tain they apply I have a said ossa a month I think have a better Winslow teacher aide arrested or selling pot By CHIP GAVIN Sentlnel Staff Jeff Gagnon 22 a aide at Winslow High School was arrested Monday night for allegedly sell ing marijuana at the school 7 Gagnon of 26 Garand St was charged with ag gravated trafficking and trafficking in marijuana according to Kennebec County District Attorney Da vid Crook He was arrested on Bay Street Police have a list of students who allegedly bought 7 drugs from Gagnon and will consult with school offi ciak about how to proceed in dealing with the teen 7 agers it at the school 1 be up this said Crook just after midnight Tuesday 7 the school where my kids go to The district attorney has one child graduated 7 from the high school and another still enrolled Crook would not specify how much drug dealing allegedly occurred at the school except to say it was Gagnon had worked at the Winslow school 30 hours a week for about three months He was hired to assist a handicapped student according to Crook School officials were told of the incident Monday night and intended to immediately suspend Gagnon said Crook CENTRAL MAINE MORNING SENTINEL (USPS4W2M) Published tvtry diy except Sundey end Chrletmee Dey it 25 silver Street Watervltte Melne 04901 by the Ouy Dennett Publishing Company Second claee poetege paid at Waterville Melna 04901 Poetmaeter: Sand address changes 10 Morning Sentinel PO Box gag Waterville Maine 04901 Subscription Rates Carrier: 1 year 512400 six months 50240 throe months 53120 ons month 51100 one week 5240 Hibo Routes: 1 year 512400 six months 55240 three months 52120 one month 51100 Msll Subscription: 1 yssr 512000 six months 56400 three months 55200 one month 51140 Out ol Stats Mall 51400 per month Sorvtoemonwomen: 5640 par month 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