Latest news with #Kennebunk
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Kennebunk High grads told to take risks: 'You have the power to change the world'
KENNEBUNK — Kennebunk High School Valedictorian Emilia Ilyas remembers when the question of her future shifted from fantasy to 'evoking anxiety.' 'I unfortunately had to accept that I would never live in a castle,' Ilyas said. Ilyas, speaking to 168 of her classmates at their graduation ceremony on June 8, said much of life is too focused on the future. She encouraged students to embrace the moment on the school's football field as they prepared to stand and receive their diplomas as the Class of 2025. 'Yes, we're actually graduating. It's real. And it's fleeting,' Ilyas said. 'Let's not forget to be here before we go out there.' A total of 174 students graduated from Kennebunk High School this year, and 169 chose to walk, according to Principal Scott Tombleson. Students gathered on the field in front of friends and loved ones as they turned their tassels and tossed their caps. Superintendent Terri Cooper told students that Sunday marked 'not an ending, but a beginning.' She told students to take risks, travel to 'places that scare and excite' them, and apply for their dream job. 'You have the power to change the world,' Cooper said, 'Whether through grand gestures or quiet moments of compassion.' Kennebunk High School graduate Cooper Thompson told students they grew not just academically, but in their ability to adapt and lead through change. He said students have seen their school evolve over the past four years, welcoming new teachers, coaches, assistant principals, and even a new principal in Tombleson this past year. Every year brought a different rhythm, new expectations, and fresh faces, he said. 'Through it all, we didn't just adjust, but we thrived,' Thompson said. 'That speaks to who we are as a class – resilient, flexible and strong.' The day's faculty speaker, history and social studies teacher Rebecca Moy, put a focus on sports as she described the passion with which she has followed the Oakland Raiders since she was a child. She said sports bring out the best in people who strive to compete. She encouraged students to pursue their passions with the same effort many athletes show in athletics. 'To love sports is to understand the value of competition in testing your personal limits and to make a stand for what you've trained for or what you believe in,' Moy said. She concluded her speech, 'This is about the sincere gratitude I have for those graduates who have allowed me to be a part of your lives and let me share the passions I have.' More: Kennebunk High School names top 10% students in Class of 2025 The day marked Kennebunk High School's 150th graduation. Tombleson, hired in August 2024, said he did not take lightly his role as one of about 20 principals who have led the school. Tombelson described the history of Kennebunk 150 years ago — how shipbuilding was in decline in Maine while tourism was on the rise. He spoke about how the first Kennebunk High School graduation might have had families in town for the graduation staying at the Ocean Bluffs Hotel on Cape Arundel, overlooking Walker's Point, 'having no idea the global significance that small spit of land would one day hold.' (It was and still is owned by the Bush family, who produced two presidents of the United States.) Tombelson said they could not have imagined the student body and its community gathering in 2025. At the time, 150 years ago, Alexander Graham Bell had only just invented the telephone. At the June 8 ceremony, students took photos with their cell phones. To build on his point about history, Tombleson asked everyone who graduated from Kennebunk High School to stand up. He then asked those who graduated before the year 2015 to remain standing, then continued to count back each decade until no more were standing. The numbers went back to the 1960s before every person was sitting, the last met with loud applause. 'Together, we can build across generations,' Tombleson said. 'Together, we can renew our hope and faith in the life that is yet to unfold.' Alexis Vetrano Lucia Collin Reigosa Shay Smithwick Tru Jarvis Melody Rousselle Lila Turley Nova Genest Megan Ames James Bertus Trudo Noah Richardson Emilie Barter Dominique Owen Willow Knowles Caroline Tabor Kathryn Manning Emilia Ilyas Logan Lefebvre Emily Dube Thomas Morin Mykyta Vykhodtsev Ella Beals William Turgeon Elijah Blanchard Collin Reetz Parker Plourde Ethan Burr Charles Majkowski Alexandros Cartwright Phoenix Williams Hank Flynn Ainsley Harden Philip Dyer William McMann Aaron Rosen Luis Roberts Jacob Ghans Ryan Clark Sarah Vargonen Alexandria White Gray Rogers Skylar Holder Emma Orendorf Katherine Orendorf Donovan Kendrick Jonas Adams Alexander Adams Benjamin Johnson Norah McLeod Sasha Altshule Taylor Giles Talia Kellum Juliann Pike Anna Fox Maximilian Prosenc Elan Keys Cooper Samson Samuel Haley Finley Knappe Mekhi Gillard Finneas Coldreck Jordann Gilpatric Eliza Herring Owen Swain Connor Therrien Riley Pelletier Novalee Page-Auger William Eagleson Amara Roberts Annabelle Welch Kylee Caron Otto Fontaine Declan McGlashan Eva Havey Kellyn Zambrano Alexis Snow Robert Pollard Isabel Esch Makena Garriepy Mikayla Kimball Kelsey Ewing Karla Hernandez-Vinajero Cindy Perez-Vinajero Eva MacDonald Summer Shea Simone Houdlette Hannah Keene Owen Snow Jacob Emmons Eric Schoener Wyatt Boulette Gabrielle D'Orso-Palmer Grace Mitchell Anna Smiley Madelyn Smith Delaney Hanson Camryn Houle Noah Hammond Andrew Johnson Owen Quitog Samuel Pietrowicz Charley Norton Ian Pentland Anthony D'Elia Kyle Barron Marcelo Pastora Caballero Bennett Webster Maya Kimball Elizabeth Torstensen Ella Pitchforth Abigail Jenannette Lorelei Ogden Maeve Noble Nicholas Vasquez Mario Real Christopher Smith Jacob Labrador Avery Rossics Elsa Liberatore Isabella Donnery Aubree Veilleux Kaden Stevens Jenna Wright Grace O'Neil Ryan Hansen Jackson Thombs Wyatt Hafer Bronwyn Parkhurst Mya Todd Tanner Wendle Ava Kane Mason Binette Meghan Taggart Nicole Axelsen Sonja Frederich Eliza Sayer Abigaile Santerre Molly McKinney Addison Carbone Cenzie Cunningham Audrey Madden Weston Church Blake Dallara Theo Pow Benjamin Urban Kellen Connor Gavin MacDonald Isaac Jensen Calvin Johnson Jack Mosser Brady Stone Jonathan Hines Cooper Thompson Cole Perkins Willard Kull Cole Seitz Aidan Lynch Max Andrews Noah Tarring Brady Holder William Camp Jasper Raymond Shane Woloszyn Ryan Cumiskey Autumn Shaw Aurora Crone Maxwell Stewart Maddox Ralls Caleb Auriema Jacob Eon This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Kennebunk High grads told to take risks and 'change the world'
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Kennebunk doctor will not serve prison time for overprescribing opioids
May 15—A Kennebunk doctor and well-known addiction medicine specialist in Kennebunk will not serve any prison time after she was found guilty last summer of writing illegal prescriptions to five patients. U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced Dr. Merideth Norris, 54, on Thursday to three years of probation and 600 hours of community service, generating applause from a courtroom full of friends, family, former patients and colleagues who turned out by the dozens to support her. Norris was the first person arrested in 2022 by a New England task force focused on prescribers and was convicted last June on 15 counts of unauthorized prescribing of a controlled substance. Those prescriptions included high dosages of opioids, sometimes dangerously combined with benzodiazepines, another controlled substance. In her remarks to the judge before sentencing, Norris asked for a lenient sentence that would "leave my family intact and (let me) serve my community the best way I can." The judge said she felt the publicity and professional consequences Norris has suffered in the last three years has been enough. "You have now been convicted of 15 federal felonies, you are a convicted felon. And the biggest punishment to you is that you lost the ability to do what you love to do most," Torresen said. At trial, prosecutors repeatedly noted that Norris had been warned by pharmacists, had the highest opioid prescribing rate in the state and put her patients' lives at stake. Torresen said Thursday that's partly because Norris was "one of the only available doctors willing" to take on patients with complicated medical histories of chronic pain and addiction." "To highlight the number of prescriptions that made it to court, and then the totality of her practice — I mean, 15 bad prescriptions?" Amy Fairfield, one of Norris' attorneys, said after the hearing. "It does feel like cherry-picking by the government," co-counsel Timothy Zerillo chimed in. Norris had more than 400 patients, many whom other doctors had turned away. Some weren't easy to work with, she told the judge, but they still deserve a doctor. "There is no roadmap," she said. "Sometimes the most important thing I did for my patients was not medical care, but treating them with respect and dignity." UNLIKE ANY OTHER DRUG CASE A line of people hoping to attend the hearing extended outside the front door of the U.S. District Courthouse in Portland before the hearing began at 9 a.m. The courtroom was packed with Norris' supporters and an overflow room was opened for others to watch the proceeding via video. Torresen allowed a dozen of them to testify to Norris' character before speaking at length herself about the complexities of addiction and how it intersects with the American judicial system. Prosecutors sat quietly as they described Norris' work as a doctor, her life as a mother of three and all of the volunteer work she does with at-risk youth, the homeless community and her church. "She's not before the court because she's accused of being a bad person," Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sakowski said; it's because Norris "lacked respect for known medical standards" and placed her patients at risk 15 times, ignoring federal and state guidelines, alerts from insurers, a nationwide block by Walmart and tips that a patient was diverting medication. Sakowski told the judge the "nature and circumstances of this case are serious" and requested that Norris spend 16 months in prison. She declined to discuss Norris' sentence after the hearing. Torresen said she has overseen trials and sentencing for hundreds of people charged with dealing drugs and using them. Unlike those cases, she said, there was "not a shred of evidence that (Norris) got anything from issuing these prescriptions." CONTROVERSIAL INVESTIGATION Norris oversaw two methadone clinics before her arrest and was previously president of the Maine Osteopathic Association. She has since closed her practice, Graceful Recovery. Although she retains her osteopathic license, she cannot prescribe controlled substances. When federal agents descended on her office in October 2022, seizing dozens of patient records and arresting Norris, she had just been cleared by the Maine Board of Osteopathic Licensure of the same allegations. An FBI investigator said in February 2024 that he hadn't been aware of the dismissal and that he didn't believe it would have affected the FBI investigation. Although Torresen allowed the case to move forward, the judge remarked at the time that she felt the case had been assembled unusually fast. The government's case against Norris focused on five patients who she wrote prescriptions for without a legitimate medical purpose, putting them at risk of overdose. The investigation was controversial — both in and out of court — given her prominent work in advocating for Mainers struggling with substance use disorder and her outspokenness against prescribing restrictions. Even after her felony convictions, she has continued to testify against bills in the Maine Legislature that would further criminalize substance use. Jessica Mosey, who studied under Norris during her first year of medical school, said the doctor taught her how to treat "the whole patient, not just the disease." "Dr. Norris understood that life is messy," Mosey said. "Now that' I'm in my own clinical practice, I can see how difficult it is to make the time and actually see people this wholly." Mike Hope, a nurse who has worked with Norris, said he was concerned about the effect her case will have on other doctors treating vulnerable populations. "Doctors play a crucial role in saving lives, often in ways that may not align with our expectations," Hope said, noting a "clash with rapidly changing laws" that pressure physicians into reducing or stopping care for complicated patients. Norris said in a written statement that she was "grateful for the court's careful consideration in this case and for the massive amount of support I have received from my family and the community." She has 14 days to appeal the sentence. Her lawyers declined to comment on their plans. Copy the Story Link We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion. You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs. Show less
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Track and field: Athletes to watch in southern Maine in 2025
Apr. 22—BOYS Kyle Barron, Kennebunk senior, sprints: Barron is part of a deep and talented group of SMAA sprinters. As a junior, he was second in the 100 and third in the 200 at the Class A championships. He placed sixth in the indoor 200 this winter. Advertisement Andre Clark, Marshwood senior, sprints: The defending New England 100-meter champion, winner in the 100 and 200 at the Class A championships, and a 2024 Varsity Maine All-State pick, Clark holds the Maine record in the 100 (10.59 seconds). In the indoor season, Clark was the New England 55-meter champ, tying his Maine all-time best of 6.38 seconds. He recently committed to Boston University. Carter Engelman, Windham senior, pole vault/hurdles: Engelman is coming off a winter season in which he finished second in the pole vault and third in the 55 hurdles at the Class A meet. Griffin Gammon, Gorham senior, jumps/javelin: Already a two-time New England champion in the high jump (and two-time Varsity Maine All-State choice), Gammon has the speed and strength to be among the top long jumpers and javelin throwers. Sam Laverdiere, Lake Region senior, distance: Laverdiere is coming off a strong indoor season that included an 800, mile, 2-mile distance sweep at the Class B championships. He has earned Varsity Maine All-State honors in cross country and indoor and outdoor track. Advertisement Owen Partridge, Greely senior, middle distance: Partridge won the Class B 400 title a year ago and also was the indoor champion this winter. He will be a key relay performer for the Rangers, who won team titles last spring and this winter. Isaiah Perodin, Marshwood senior, hurdles/jumps: A Varsity Maine All-State selection indoors, Perodin emerged this winter as a top contender in several events, winning the 55 hurdles and placing second in the long jump and third in the triple jump. Aidan Ring, York senior, distance: A case can be made for Ring as Maine's No. 2 distance runner, behind Sam Laverdiere. His second-place times in Class B this school year would have been fast enough to win the Class A title in cross country and take second (2-mile) and third (mile) at the Class A indoor meet. Max Shapiro, Falmouth senior, sprints: Shapiro ran 6.41 at the Class A indoor meet to beat Clark in the 55 dash. He matched that time while placing third at New Englands. He and teammate Ali Carter — who ran 10.75 in the 100 at this season's first meet — should challenge Clark all season. Advertisement Arnaud Sioho, South Portland senior, jumps/hurdles: Already a two-time Varsity Maine Athlete of the Year (2024 outdoor track, 2025 indoor track), Sioho became just the third boy to win four events at the Class A outdoor championships, setting meet records in the long and triple jump and also winning the 110- and 300 hurdles. This winter, the University of Rhode Island-bound Sioho shattered Maine's all-time best indoor triple jump record with a leap of 50 feet, 1 3/4 inches. GIRLS Avery Bariteau, Fryeburg Academy sophomore, sprints: Bariteau won Class B championships in the 100 and 200 as a freshman, and this winter turned in the fastest time in Maine in the indoor 200 at 26.1 seconds. Shealyn Brochu, Morse senior, distance: Third in the Class B 800 last spring, Brochu took a major step this past winter when she placed third in the mile at the New England championships with a personal-best of 5:00.13. Advertisement Zoe Carroll, York junior, distance: The returning Class B champ in the 800, she also finished second to since-graduated teammate Cary Drake in the 1,600. Carroll won the Class B cross country title this past fall. Emerson Flaker, Scarborough senior, sprints: The top sprinter in the state, Flaker swept the 100, 200 and 400, and anchored team champion Scarborough's winning 1,600 relay at last year's Class A meet. A returning Varsity Maine All-State pick, Flaker was fifth in New England in the 400 (56.06). Samantha Moore, Portland senior, distance: Moore was the fastest in Maine last spring in the 800 (2:14.44 at the SMAA championships) and 1,600 (Class A state meet). It was her second Class A title in the 1,600, to go with an 800 win as a sophomore. A multi-time Varsity Maine All-State pick and two-time cross country champ, Moore will compete in college at UConn. Lexi Moran, Brunswick senior, throws: The three-sport standout has already earned Varsity Maine All-State honors in soccer and basketball and enters her final high school senior as the defending Class A champion in the javelin. Advertisement Lindy Moreland, Gorham senior, jumps/hurdles/javelin: Moreland has committed to compete for Southern New Hampshire University as a multi-event athlete. She'll lead the Rams in the long jump, high jump, hurdles and javelin. Aubrey Pelletier, Mt. Ararat senior, throws: Lexi Moran's KVAC and neighboring rival, Pelletier was second in the javelin and placed seventh in the discus at the 2024 Class A outdoor championships. Tayla Pelletier, Windham senior, jumps/hurdles: Pelletier has been a multi-year, multi-season standout. She was the lone girl from Maine to win a New England title outdoors in 2024, taking the triple jump. Also a top hurdler and long jumper, the 2025 indoor track Varsity Maine Athlete of the Year recently committed to the University of New Hampshire. Victoria Zandan, Greely sophomore, hurdles/jumps: As a freshman, Zandan was key to the Rangers' 2024 Class B team championship, winning the long jump and 300 hurdles, and placing second in the triple jump and third in the 100 hurdles. Advertisement Copy the Story Link We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion. You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs. Show less
