Whittier promoted at Maine Manufucturing Partnership

Bill Whittier has been promoted to senior project manager at Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership, according to a news release from the organization.

The Manchester fire department shows off it’s Safety and Health Award for Public Employees. The award is give to “exemplary public sector employees after a thorough review and inspection of the employer’s safety and health policies and procedures,” according to a news release from the state Department of Labor. “A well-rounded safety and health program achieves lower employee injuries and illnesses and provides for better employee morale and retention,” the release said. Contributed photo

Whittier

CHAMBERLAIN

NEIL

The senior project manager, through public-private partnerships, works with small to medium size manufacturers to help ensure these businesses are operating as safe, effective and efficient as possible – with an eye to improving their bottom line. He had previously been a project manager. In his new role, Whittier will also help project managers by generating leads, providing training and acting as liaison/ambassador to MEP’s core partnerships, according to the rlease.

Whittier joined MEP in 2010.

“Bill embodies the MEP Center’s mantra of providing relevant services to best serve our clients’ needs,” said MEP President Muriel Mosher in the release.

The Maine MEP is a program of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development and an affiliate of the National Institute of Standards and Technology under the U.S. Department of Commerce. The national MEP system is a network of manufacturing extension centers that provide business and technical assistance to smaller manufacturers.

Chamberlain joins Albion’s Lovejoy Health Center

Dean Chamberlain, DO, has joined the medical staff of Lovejoy Health Center in Albion, Connie Coggins, HealthReach president/CEO announced Thursday.

Chamberlain will provide medical care including osteopathic manipulative treatment, or OMT, to area residents of all ages, according to a news release from HealthReach.

Chamberlain’s areas of interest include behavioral health, osteopathic manipulation, pediatrics, and management of chronic diseases.

At the health center, Chamberlain will work alongside Forrest West, MD; Bert E. Mason, DPM; Gretchen Morrow, PA; Margo Beemer, FNP; Kathryn Dempsey, PA; and Deborah Daigle, LCSW. Over 4,000 people from Albion, China, Freedom, Palermo, Thorndike, Troy, Unity and surrounding communities use the health center for physicals, chronic care management, behavioral health, podiatry and more, according to the release.

Chamberlain recently graduated from the Maine Dartmouth Family Practice residency. In 2012, he received a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, School of Osteopathic Medicine. He graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a bachelor of science degree in biology.

Lovejoy Health Center is part of HealthReach Community Health Centers, a group of 11 health centers in central and western Maine.

Neil Joins Franklin Memorial Hospital anesthesiology service

Jay Neil Jr., MD, joined the medical staff at Franklin Memorial Hospital last week, joining James Lancaster and Heather DeCarolis in staffing anesthesiology services, according to Rebecca Arsenault, president/CEO of Franklin Community Health Network.

Anesthesiology is the practice of medicine dedicated to the relief of pain and total care of the surgical patient before, during, and after surgery. For the past two years, Neil has provided locum (temporary) anesthesiology coverage across New England and the Northwest. Before that, Neil was a staff cardiac anesthesiologist for 10 years at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, according to the release.

Neil received his medical degree from Loma Linda University School of Medicine in Loma Linda, California. He completed an anesthesiology residency at University of Vermont Medical Center. Neil is a board-certified diplomate of the American Board of Anesthesiology.

Augusta Allstate agency owner Deschamp honored for customer service

Augusta Allstate agency owner Peter Deschamp of the Peter Deschamp Agency has been designated an Allstate Premier Agency for 2015.

The Allstate Premier Agency designation is bestowed upon 48 percent of Allstate’s nearly 10,000 agency owners across the country, according to a news release from the insurance company’s headquarters in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Deschamp earned the designation for his outstanding performance and commitment to putting customers at the center of his agency’s work, according to the release.

The Premier Agency designation is awarded to Allstate agency owners who have demonstrated excellence in delivering an accessible, knowledgeable and personal customer experience while achieving outstanding business results, the release said.

Maine Grocers & Food Producers Association scholarship recipients from Oakland, Winthrop

An Oakland woman and Winthrop man have been awarded 2015 Maine Grocers & Food Producers Association scholarships, the organization announced in a news release.

Katherine Dyer of Oakland, a student at Husson University, and Matthew Pazdziorko of Winthrop, who attends Thomas College, will each receive a $1,000 scholarship.

Dyer is studying to be a pharmacist and is employed by the Waterville Shaw’s Supermarket Osco Pharmacy, where she was recently promoted to be a student pharmacist. She started her career as a cashier at Shaw’s, according to the release.

Pazdziorko intends to graduate with a BS in finance and an MBA, the release said. He is employed by the Winthrop Hannaford supermarket, where he is training to be an evening operations manager. Once completed, he plans to apply to Hannaford’s Retail Management Trainee program.

Also receiving a scholarship was Cody Gray of Verona Island, who attends Maine Maritime Academy and is employed by the Bucksport Hannaford.

The Scholarship Committee select winners on the basis of financial need, academic merit, involvement in the community and school activities and career goals, especially those related to business and the food industry, the release said.

KVCOG, MOFGA get job-creating grants from USDA

The Kennebec Valley Council of Governments and the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Assocition have been awarded Rural Business Development Grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that officials at the organizations hope will create more than 70 jobs.

KVCOG, based in Augusta, will use an $89,000 grant to assist with expanding the Maine Grains Oat Project, according to a news release from the USDA.

The project will consist of acquiring and installing oat-dehulling and related equipment and mechanical work, alone with testing, package design, web consultation for online marketing, and project management The project has the potential to create 21 jobs.

MOFGA, based in Unity, will use a $98,950 grant to assist with organic grower business consultation services, organic farming workshops and professional training and third-party loans for non-production purposes from an organic farmers’ revolving loan fund, according to the release. The project has the potential to create 50 jobs.

The grants are part of $3.6 million that’s being dispersed in 67 grants. Congress established the Rural Business Development Grant program in the 2014 Farm Bill by combining and improving the Rural Business Enterprise Grant program and the Rural Business Opportunity Grant program.

Professional Logging Contractors, Poliquin team up to change minimum age rules

The Professional Logging Contractors of Maine and U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine, have partnered to develop legislation that would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to be employed by their parents in certain logging operations and lower the minimum age requirement for the operation of commercial motor vehicles across state or international borders.

The bill would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and “to strengthen Maine’s strong family logging heritage and secure the future of an industry that capitalizes on Maine’s abundant natural wood resources while directly employing more than 2,300 people,” according to a news release from the Professional Loggers Association.

“Maine is home to the best loggers and truckers in the country,” said Poliquin in the release. “Unfortunately, the logging and trucking workforce is declining due to obsolete regulations that are prohibiting our young Mainers from choosing this career path. The ‘Securing America’s Next Generation of Safe Loggers and Truckers Act’ will remove outdated regulations that are hindering the logging and trucking workforce. Our young Mainers should be given every opportunity to explore a career as a logger or trucker in their formative years and this legislation will ensure it for future generations.”

Dana Doran, executive director of the PLC said in the release that both logging and trucking “are family-based businesses that have been passed down from generation to generation to create an $8 billion forest products industry” and that the act “will ensure that family-based businesses in the state of Maine can sustain themselves for the long term.

“Without common sense legislation like this, the future of this industry will continue to be at risk.”

Safety is of primary concern to the PLC, and the bill introduced by Poliquin would only apply to those 16 and 17-year-old children working under the direct supervision of their parent or guardian in a mechanized operation owned or operated by such parent or person, the release said. The bill excludes the manual use of chain saws for felling and processing timber as well as operating cable skidders, which are not considered mechanized timber harvesting.

Compiled from contributed releases

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