Apse named land trust director

Presumpscot Regional Land Trust has hired Gorham native Rachelle Curran Apse as new executive director.

Apse has worked with a number of Maine environmental nonprofit organizations and has a deep commitment to land conservation.

“We are lucky to have someone with Rachelle’s skills, experience, and passion to serve in this important position for our growing land trust,” said board president Mike Parker. “She is uniquely equipped to provide leadership to the land trust while it pursues new opportunities to acquire lands along Westbrook’s Mill Brook, coordinate the 28-mile Sebago to the Sea Trail, and steward over a thousand acres already in conservation.”

Apse has worked with a number of Maine environmental nonprofit organizations, including Maine Audubon and the Environmental Health Strategy Center. Most recently, she was project manager for the Portland Food Co-op, leading a successful campaign to open a community-owned marketplace that supports a healthier, more sustainable food system. She was instrumental in recruiting some1,500 new member-owners and raising the $1.6 million in capital funding needed to open the co-op last fall.

“Having grown up a nature enthusiast in the heart of the Presumpscot region, I feel a deep connection to the area,” said Apse. “I’ve also seen firsthand the disappearance of many of its open and accessible places, so I understand the urgency to conserve land in what’s become the fastest growing region of the state. I am impressed with what the land trust has already been able to conserve for wildlife, agriculture, and recreation, and excited about its new opportunities. I look forward to helping lead the land trust’s growth into the future.”

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Presumpscot Regional Land Trust’s mission is to conserve and protect outstanding lands in Gorham, Gray, Sebago, Standish, Westbrook and Windham to preserve the character of the Presumpscot River watershed for the benefit of people and wildlife. Learn more at www.prlt.org.

Dean named student ambassador

Abigael Dean of Gorham was recently selected for the Ohio Certified Public Accounting Foundation’s Student Ambassador Program at Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio.

Dean is a 2012 graduate of Gorham High School.

The ambassador program selects high-performing students from colleges around Ohio to encourage peers to consider accounting as a major.

“The most rewarding thing will be talking to students and educating them about the varied opportunities an accounting degree offers. Accounting really is a field that can be tailored to any individual’s needs and wants,” said Dean, who will be a senior next year.

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Although she’s now an advocate of the accounting profession, Dean, who was nominated for the Student Ambassador Program by faculty in Hiram’s Accounting Department, originally hadn’t considered the major.

“When I first started college, being an accounting major never crossed my mind,” she said. “It wasn’t until my grandfather suggested that I might like accounting that I started to consider it. After thinking and researching a little bit about it I decided that I would take one class to see if I liked it. After the first week of class I instantly connected with the subject matter and decided that I wanted accounting to be my major.”

Hiram College is a small liberal arts college in Northeast Ohio. Dean learned about the college on summer trips to Ohio.

Eaton merit scholarship winner

National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced this week that Abraham M. Eaton of Gorham is one of about 1,700 additional winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by colleges and universities.

Eaton, who is home-schooled, joins more than 2,200 other college-sponsored award recipients who were announced in late May. The awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.

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According to the scholarship corporation, Eaton was awarded the National Merit Liberty University Scholarship and he will likely pursue a career in mechanical engineering.

USM dean’s list

The University of Southern Maine has announced that several part time students from Gorham have been named to the dean’s list for the past academic year.

They are Emily Eliza Carle, Samantha Louise Chapin, Sarah Mary Henderson, Michelle L Lessard, Tatiana Alekseevna Levashova, Raisa Santos Luck, Daniel Jacob Olney, Jeffrey Lawrence Robinson, and Emily Morency Rudolph

U.S. taxpayer debt

The Bureau of the Fiscal Service reported on July 9 that the U.S. public debt was $18,151,931,284,495.35.

Earthwork for Avesta Housing’s expansion project at 99 School St. is under way. The $5.1 million project will add 24 housing units for the elderly and disabled at the campus. It is being built in front of Ridgewood, which has 20 units for seniors. Staff photo by Robert LowellRachelle Curran Apse

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