Kennebec Journal from Augusta, Maine • 1

rf I SO Cents Maine's Oldest Newspaper Augusta Maine THURSDAY MARCH 10 2005 Founded in 1825 A BLETHEN AI A I A Copyright 2005 Guard Ihioeors Maine soldier Leader father figure in 133rd remembered Joy turned to sadness after return from Iraq 1 Jones who survived Iraq but died in an upstate New York hospital shortly after returning to American soiL "To have him pass away that way is very said Maj Peter Rogers spokesman for the Maine National Guard really wonder why at that point fellow soldiers say they consider him no less a hero fair dying of apparent blood dots in his intestines rather than an blow The estimated 800 people who gathered for the memorial service apparent agreed They gathered in a building better known far basketball tournaments than funerals a site chosen to accommodate the size of the arriving crowd FImm tee SERVICE A2 By AMY CALDER Staff Writer AUGUSTA Sgt 1st Class Michad Jones of Unity wait to get home to his wife Lori and the rest of his family He had spent a long year in Iraq with the 133rd Engineer Battalion of the Maine Army National Guard and like his fellow soldiers had visions of a sweet homecoming had a cruise lined up to go on with his 1st Sgt Anthony Prest said wanted to see his' new granddaughter He was very home-oriented He would get up at 4 in the Running to call his wife" But after a 17-hour flight to the United States Jones 43 became ill at Put Drum NY from a non By CHRIS CHURCHILL Staff Writer AUGUSTA They served together in Iraq through a year of their most difficult days Then last week they came home scattering across Maine and returning to normal lives Members of the Maine Army National JONES Engineer Battalion were reunited Wednesday r- but not for a happy occasion The soldiers dressed in desert fatigues gathered in the Augusta Civic Center for a service honoring Sgt 1st Class Michael combat-related illness and later died at University Hospital in -Syracuse NY Those who winked most dosely with Jones were shocked to learn of his death Prest of Appleton had known him 14 vots worked with him every day and he was a real good Prest said were the same age He was four months older than I was so I used to tease him about being the old man of the On Wednesday Prest stood at the Civic Center in his tan fatigues along with other soldiers many of whom walked into memorial service arm-in-arm with their spouses' widow walked alone with Please see JONES A2 Staff photo JOE PHELAN An honor guard of the Maine Army National Guard 133rd Engineer Battalion prepares to carry the cremated remains of 1st Sgt Michael Jones Into a memorial service at the Augusta Civic Center on Wednesday afternoon Doing just fine thank you Union 132 schools in line for state funds By KEITH EDWARDS Staff Writer AUGUSTA To apply a upcoming college basketball tournament to state funding for school construction Chelsea Elementary School and Jefferson Village School are the The state Board of Education received a list Wednesday of what Department of Education officials deem the highest priority school construction needs Chelsea Elementary School ranked 14th and Jefferson Village School ranked 13th out of 66 applications submitted by Maine schools Approximately $130 million is available and how many projects get funds will be determined by how far that $130 million i i Vi I i Staff photo ANDY MOLLOY Alvas Rand makes a path for a postal carrier at hla Augusta home Wednesday afternoon He claims that this snow season Is hot unusual for Maine seen many bad the 95yearJd Augusta native said was a bad Rand declined all offers to help him shovel because he likes the exercise am anxious for spring to he said Weather changes quickly in March Department of Education officials said they know until summer how many of the applications actually will be funded In the last round of school construction projects listed two years ago the top 11 projects received funding with a new Cony High School in Augusta barely making the cut at 11 Previously however as many as 24 projects received fending in a year say that probably means on the School Union 132 Superintendent Frank Boynton said a little bit disappointed as I would have liked to be in the top 10 But pleased they recognized these buildings have Both Chelsea and Jefferson are members of School Union 132 along with White-field Other central Maine schools ranking near the top of the needs-based list include: School Administrative District Nor-ridgewock Central School ranked 5th SAD Mt Blue High School ranked 17th and WG Mallett School ranked 19th is an immense amount of needs out said Scott Brown school facilities Please see SCHOOLS A2 event all that will move and it will be much warmer Roberts said it could be in the 50s and that would be bad because with all this snow there could be flooding So hopefhlfy it will gentry warm Not only can the weather change quickly this time of year but the faster the change the more people are likely to be affected by shifts in temperature The colder the weather Just prior to a warm-up the more the new temperatures will feel like spring time of year things are Roberts said think interesting Very Please see WEATHER A2 ical technician with the National Weather Service office in Gray said that according to snowfall data gathered in Portland the winter of 2004-05 has bom the 28th snowiest in the 124 the Weather Service has been 'records we still have a month and a half to go of Roberts said Maine and much of New England has been caught in the grip of a recurrent weather pattern since mid-January Roberts explained a longer-than-normal stretch of cold weather that makes the winter seem even longer than it might be Usually weather patterns such as this last no more than two or three weeks before energy powerful enough to kick in a new dominant weather maker comes along Roberts said in keeping with old wives tales that talk about March coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb Over the length of any month weather patterns are likely to change dramatically he said not really a myth because if March comes in like a lion likely to go out like a Roberts said And those changes can come quickly happens a lot of times when a long-term pattern like this something happens to give us an By GARY REMAL Staff Writer AUGUSTA Ninety-five-year-old Alvas Rand was out Wednesday cleaning up the remnants of Tuesday snow storm am sick of this Rand concluded But Rand says recent winters compare to those he recalls from long ngn remember real bad he said with a' grin I was a kid I remember a lot of snow and it was much colder weather The storm of that was a bad Butch Roberts a hydro-meteorolog Inside Rather speaks of courage on final broadcast By DAVID BAUDER AP Television Writer NEW YORK Dan Rather echoed a word he once briefly used to sign off the Evening courage in anchoring the program for the final time after 24 years on Mailbox D5 Classified PI-86-6 Comics PS Community B2 CroaswordC7 Entertainment C7 -Local news B1-8 Maine news B68 National news A3-6 -Obituaries B4 Opinion A7 Sports C1-6 Stocks D4 TV listings C7 World news A6 WEATHER Partly fcV sunny B8 an Williams and Jennings He has been a target for decades of conservatives who accuse the media of bias since his coverage of the Nixon White House during the Watergate era and many have exulted in his recent misfortunes But he had his supporters too Marian MacNeil of Windsor Calif said she watched Rather regularly and admired him feel ternble the way being treated MacNeil said think smearing a good reputation and overshadowing his 50 years I hope he's able to rise above Both Jennings and Williams paid tribute to Rather at the end of their broadcasts Williams called him a tough and a friend of nearly 20 years On News Jennings noted the National Guard story and said ABC took no pleasure in the pain it caused its competitors Please see RATHER A2 stray about English girls imitating the hairstyle of Prince bride-to-be Diana On Wednesday the lead story was oil prices causing a bad day on Wall Street the second of the three men who dominated network news for more than two decades to step down in four months Tom Brokaw exited in November leaving Peter Jennings remaining at News Bob Schieffer is temporary replacement starting Thursday CBS expects to name a permanent anchor team to succeed Rather in the coming months Rather 73 is returning to felltime reporting for Minutes broadcasts He flashed a steadfast defiance in reminding viewers of the phrase He was mocked by some for using the word to end his broadcasts tor a week in September 1986 before giving up on the idea For its first 20 minutes Bather's final broadcast was all In a brief statement at the end of the broadcast Rather paid tribute to Sept 11 terrorist victims tsunami survivors American military forces the oppressed those in failing health and fellow journalists in dangerous places to each of he said He seemed to savor each word of his signoff: the Evening News1 Dan Rather reporting Good Bathers reporting career spanned the Kennedy assassination to this tsuqaml and been the public face of legendary news division since replacing Whiter Cronkite on March 9 1981 His first newscast Included a AP Photo CBS JOHN FHO Dan Rather acknowledges applause after anchoring hla leaf CBS Evening Newt broadcast from the CBS Broadcast Center In New York on Wednesday His exit comes at a low ebb in his career Rather took much of the public Marne for a discredited story last fall about President military service and a distant third in the ratings behind Bri business No one Rather or correspondents John Roberts and Anthony Mason acknowledged it was a special night Rather wore a dark blue pinstriped suit and striped red tie His voice was hoarse nan 111 aM inriaf I f'ti'i) ntiwri 4 5 4 UJ IP.