In a Tuesday public benefit determination, the MDEP said a 9.35 million cubic yard expansion in waste capacity at the state-owned, Casella Waste Systems-operated Juniper Ridge Landfill “would be in the public’s benefit because it meets the state’s long-term disposal capacity needs and is consistent with Maine’s waste management plan.”

The expansion isn’t final. MDEP said the Casella may now submit a technical application to the department to license up the expansion. If that’s submitted, there will be a public hearing and public comment submission period before a decision is made.

The department’s decision comes after Juniper Ridge applied last year to expand by more than 21 million cubic yards, which they said would have “provided long-term state-wide disposal capacity for the next 20 to 25 years that is not presently available elsewhere in the state.”

A 2010 state report said Juniper Ridge has a licensed capacity that will last them until 2016 or 2017. In the statement, MDEP said the expansion would “provide statewide disposal capacity for between eight to 11 years” on top of that period, “which given uncertainties of future waste generation rates, the department felt was more appropriate than the 21.9 million cubic yard expansion the applicant had proposed.”

The department’s proposed maximum would nearly double the landfill’s current capacity of 10.3 million cubic yards, of which Casella is currently using roughly half, according to George MacDonald, director of community assistance for the Maine State Planning Office.

MDEP’s decision leaves a Casella representative decrying regulatory slowness, while one of the area’s most active landfill opponents has mixed feelings.

Don Meagher, Casella’s manager of planning and development, said Casella has been working to expand the landfill since 2005 without getting to the official permitting process. He said when Casella signed the contract in 2004 to operate the landfill, it was assumed they would be allowed to expand to the size they needed within 30 years.

“The contract was a statement of what the state wanted in 2003 and 2004,” he said. “And what we’re talking about now is something very different. This does not get us to the end of the 30-year term.”

Furthermore, he said permitting the expansion will likely take from four to seven years, and Casella hasn’t readied the next technical application, the next step in the process.

“So really what will have to happen is this expansion application will have to be followed by another,” Meagher said. “And how soon that will have to be will depend on how long this process takes.”

Paul Schroeder, an Orono resident and longtime landfill opponent, said the decision seems to be a “piecemeal approach” to expanding the landfill incrementally. But he praised MDEP Commissioner Patricia Aho for her focus on limiting out-of-state waste from showing up in Old Town.

“It seems like they are going to get serious about putting the lid on these importations,” he said. “Clearly, the commissioner got the message that something is going on here that isn’t in the benefit of the state.”

In the determination, Aho recommends Casella and the State Planning Office amend Casella’s operating services agreement signed in 2004 to “address the significant quantity of [construction and demolition debris] being imported into Maine.”

The document briefly targets KTI Bio-Fuels, a Lewiston subsidiary of Casella, which is known to import waste transferred to Juniper Ridge.

A 2010 annual report from KTI said only 8 percent of waste processed at the facility that year originated in Maine, while 85 percent came from Massachusetts. From KTI, useless materials and wood residues are shipped to Juniper Ridge, according to Rep. Bob Duchesne, a Hudson Democrat.

In the decision, Aho finds “some of the [construction and demolition debris] delivered to KTI has little to no processing value, and therefore is usually disposed in a landfill, usually Juniper Ridge Landfill.” A spreadsheet appended to the determination says more than 95 percent of state CDD in deposited in Maine landfills, and Juniper Ridge takes nearly 50 percent of it.

The expansion  was approved with the condition that third-party audits would be conducted every two years of CDD processors anticipating deliverin more than 10,000 tons of oversized bulky waste (OBW) to the landfill, the statement said. Casella would reimburse MDEP for the cost of these audits, according to the decision.

Though OBW doesn’t equal the majority of the waste stream at Juniper Ridge, its share of the total has skyrocketed between 2007 and 2010.

A report appended to the public benefit determination said more than 96,000 tons of oversized bulky waste were deposited there in 2010, comprising 13.6 percent of the landfill’s waste for that year. In comparision, OBW comprised  only 2 percent of new waste in 2007.

“The audit condition was incorporated in response to public comments and a commitment from [Aho] to ensure that as much material is being recycled and beneficially reused in Maine to minimize the amount landfilled in the state,” the release read.

Meagher said the audit was a regulation he hadn’t heard of before.

“What they’re doing is regulating another independent facility through a landfill,” he said. “If they’re going to regulate how processing facilities conduct their business, they should do that through those facility licenses, not through the landfill.”

Many area citizens have opposed the landfill since the state purchased it in 2004 to handle in-state CDD. At an October public meeting on the public benefit determination with Casella and MDEP officials in Orono, hundreds vociferously opposed the expansion because of concern regarding out-of-state waste being transported there.

“Audit the dump” was a rallying cry for many then. Old Town resident Ralph Coffman wore a home-made shirt bearing the slogan.

“We and a lot of people are calling for a full audit — not only of the money, but the waste,” Schroeder said. “Until we get a grip on that, how do we authorize the expansion of this landfill?”

Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul, a candidate for his party’s 2012 presidential nomination, will appear at the Union Street Brick Church in Bangor on Friday morning to kick off a whirlwind two-day tour of Maine, according to his state chairman.

Paul state chairman Paul Madore said at 10 a.m., the candidate is expected to speak at the church, located at the corner of Main and Union streets, for a half-hour, allowing time for a Q-and-A session in a town-hall format.

“No question, that’s in the plans,” Madore said.

Madore said the church was picked for its historical significance, as figures such as writers Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau appeared there in the 1800s. Hannibal Hamlin, a Maine native and vice president under Abraham Lincoln, was a member of the church.

“If we were going to paint something out, I wanted to do it at a place that could use it,” Madore said. “And it’s very nice on the inside.”

Madore said Paul will be arriving in Maine late Thursday night. Friday, he’ll appear in Bangor and then travel to Waterville, where he’ll be speaking at 2 p.m. in Colby College’s Ostrove Auditorium. Paul’s staff have also scheduled a Lewiston town hall meeting slated for 6:30 p.m. at the Ramada Inn on Pleasant Street.

On Saturday, Paul is scheduled to appear at the University of Southern Maine’s Gorham campus at 11 a.m. According to a Facebook page run by Maine Paul supporters, he’ll appear in the Freeport town square at 1:30 p.m. and end his Maine tour with a meeting at Alfred Town Hall at 5 p.m.

Madore said Paul’s early focus on Maine, whose Republicans will caucus from Feb. 4 to Feb. 11, is due to an “aggressive” strategy. He’ll be the first Republican presidential hopeful to campaign here this year.

“He’s in it for the long haul,” Madore said. “He’s got a strong base in Maine because Maine is ripe for his kind of message.”

Amy Fried, a political science professor at the University of Maine, said Paul is guaranteed at least 10 percent to 15 percent of the GOP vote in any state because of a rabid support base. But she said in Maine he could see more.

“Maine has a strong libertarian streak and that could be the basis of his support,” Fried said.

Paul, a Republican with a sharp libertarian edge, won 18 percent of the Republican vote in Maine in 2008. At the time, he was the only Republican to campaign in-person here.

In a Jan. 10 letter to the Maine Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, LePage adviser Carlisle McLean said the governor recommends a new $4-per-ton fee of construction and demolition debris (CDD) put into Maine landfills, along with a new $3-per-ton fee for any CDD processing residues. Some landfills less than 6 acres in size would be exempt from fees under LePage’s plan.

The fees could become law if a bill sponsored last year by Rep. Bob Duchesne, D-Hudson, passes the legislature. LD 1278, “An Act To Stabilize Solid Waste Management Funding,” is in committee, scheduled for its final work session on Tuesday in Augusta.

The fees have two aims, Duchesne said: to regulate a long-unregulated waste type often originating out-of-state and to help Maine fund approximately $5 million in landfill-related obligations.

“The governor gets it,” Duchesne said. “The governor, I think, has made a policy statement saying that our landfill resources are for the use of Mainers.”

McLean estimated LePage’s recommended fees would generate $1.2 million in new annual revenue for the state, though Duchesne said fees enacted by the Maine Legislature will likely be in the $1- to $2-per-ton range, as higher fees may not be needed to stabilize the Maine Solid Waste Management Fund.

Sen. Tom Saviello, R-Wilton, the committee’s senate chair, said the fees will go to the fund to aid towns in shuttering landfills they must close but for which they don’t have money to cover closing costs. He said money in the fund could also go toward operating Dolby Landfill in East Millinocket, which the Maine Legislature authorized the state to purchase in June 2011.

By design, the fee would have a large impact on Casella Waste Systems, the Vermont-based operator of Juniper Ridge Landfill, which straddles the Old Town-Alton border. Duchesne, long a critic of Casella’s practices, represents Alton.

“There’s fees on every type of solid waste in the state. The only exception there ever was was on construction and demolition debris,” Duchesne said. “It really was never an issue until about 10 years ago, when a lot more of it started showing up in the state.”

Citizens from communities surrounding the landfill have opposed the state-owned, Casella-operated Juniper Ridge Landfill since the state purchased it in 2004 to handle in-state CDD. Opponents of the landfill say it’s full of waste originating out of state.

A 2010 annual report from KTI Bio-Fuels, Inc., a Lewiston subsidiary of Casella, said only 8 percent of waste processed at the facility that year originated in Maine, while 85 percent came from Massachusetts. From KTI, useless materials and wood residues are shipped to Juniper Ridge, Duchesne said.

“Whenever you have a tax or a fee on anything, you really want someone else to pay for it,” Saviello said. “Why not get the out-of-state people to pay for it?”

Duchesne said the bill hasn’t met much opposition among lawmakers. Saviello said he’s supportive of the bill.

“I think generally there is support for the concept,” Duchesne said. “Mainers are paying these fees for municipal solid waste and other solid waste streams, but the Massachusetts folks who are sending their waste up here are not paying any fees.”

Saviello and Duchesne said the committee is still working on coming up with a fee arrangement that will penalize smaller-load trash haulers as little as possible.

“Casella can absorb it in a number of ways, including passing the charge on,” Saviello said. “The small guy can really only … pass it on to you or I or absorb it truly out of his profit. That’s what we’re trying to sort out.”

Last year, Casella asked the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to allow it to expand capacity from 10 million cubic yards to approximately 32 million — a difference of 143 acres. In an email, department spokeswoman Samantha DePoy-Warren said the decision is expected by January’s end.

Don Meagher, Casella’s manager of planning and development, did not respond to a message left on his cellphone Friday, but Duchesne said the company will reluctantly bear the cost.

“They’d be able to bear it, and they won’t like it a bit,” he said. “That’s why they pay a lot of expensive lawyers.”

One second-year student has arrived at the Bangor International Airport. But he’s not boarding a commercial flight to spend Christmas with the family.

Tucked into the corner of the airport’s winding runways, between an expansive hangar and fences separating tarmac from street, there awaits a glimmering Cessna 172, a small four-seat aircraft that will soon be piloted by John White, 19, a chemical engineering student at UMaine, at the cool, unassuming height of 3,600 feet.

White has never been in a Cessna 172, and he certainly has never flown a plane before. That’s not uncommon in the University Flying Club.

The club has been a fixture at the UMaine for more than 40 years. It offers students a shot at hands-on flight training and an opportunity to earn a pilot’s license.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a plane,” White said, bundled in a puffy parka jacket while waiting in the lobby of BIA’s General Aviation Terminal. “I’m nervous. Oh yeah, definitely.”

Before long, Rick Eason, an electrical and computer engineering professor at UMaine and the flight club’s faculty advisor, lumbered through the door with two mid-sized bags weighing him down. 

Eason will be White’s instructor for the day, equipped with flight maps, manuals and other necessities required to provide White all he will need to know on his introductory flight.

A typical day with the flying club has begun.

Flying ‘ain’t cheap’

Eason has had his license for “around 30 years now” and is no stranger to the sky. He has recently undertaken an effort to increase the club’s profile and attract more members.

Not long ago, the club boasted around 45 members, according to Eason. But in recent years, the number has dwindled to 25, which Eason attributes to the recession, increased competition from other area flight clubs and even some former members who purchased their own aircrafts.

“We have two airplanes now,” Eason said. “We had only one for quite a while, but people were waiting on a list to get into the club. Our insurance only allows us up to 30 people on one plane. So we said, ‘Let’s get another plane.’

“The university doesn’t own [the plane], the club owns it,” he added. “We have to pay the costs – we have to cover the costs.

“Just the fuel itself, we get to burning around 35 or 40 bucks per hour in fuel,” Eason said. “Another big expense with airplanes is you put a new engine in them every once in a while. It’s extremely expensive to buy a new airplane, so people just keep the old airplanes in the sky.”

Eason estimated that overhauling an engine costs between $15,000 and $20,000. He also said there are routine maintenance and annual inspections that cost more than $1,000.

Currently, the club charges a $174 fee to join, which covers the first month’s dues, an owner’s manual, keys for the airplanes and other materials.

Additionally, members pay a $300 damage deposit, $25 in monthly dues and an hourly rate for every lesson, which varies depending on the aircraft a student flies.

“Again, it ain’t cheap,” Eason said.

In order to earn a pilot’s license through the flight club, the total cost is around $5,000, according to Eason. However, a student can take as long as he or she wants to obtain the license.

“It’s just like you own your own airplane. It’s not like a flight school. A flight club is managed a bit differently than a flight school,” Eason said. “Flight schools have a rigid curriculum. With a flight club, it’s up to the instructor to teach what needs to be taught. They can have their own curriculum and manage things how they want.”

This, according to Eason, affords a student a degree of flexibility in paying the necessary fees that lead to a pilot’s license. The club is also open to community members who do not attend UMaine.

Eason said all prospective students simply need to fill out an online application and then arrange to meet the club’s treasurer at the airport. After contacting an instructor, students receive their keys to plane and schedule a time slot online, then they’re ready to fly.

“In reality, you could be flying this afternoon, if the treasurer can meet you at the airport,” Eason said.

But before you take off, an hour-long ground school is mandatory. 

Learning to fly

“Does the plane measure fuel in gallons or pounds?” White asked Eason in a makeshift classroom at BIA during his ground school. “How do you read the map with it stretched out in the cockpit while you’re trying to fly?”

“It can be tricky. You want to have everything in front of you and within reach,” Eason replied. “It’s gallons, they measure in gallons.”

Eason continued his tutorial by pulling a die-cast toy plane from his bags. He also used his hands to mimic the maneuvers White would be practicing on his first flight. 

During the first day of ground school, a student gets an introduction to flight maps, cockpit controls and some of the trickier aspects of flying.

Eason explained the functions of an aircraft’s rudders, which help to keep the plane steady while other components work to steer: Ailerons are flaps on the wings that help the plane stay level and the yoke is used to steer.

After examining about six handouts, reading over portions of a textbook and a question and answer session, the duo made sure to hit the bathrooms and pack their belongings before heading to the aircraft for White’s first flight.

When they reached the plane, White and Eason circled the aircraft for a 15-minute pre-flight check.

“When you’re flying for the first time, you really want to double-check hinges, nuts and bolts — all those kinds of things,” Eason explained as he stood beneath the wing of the aircraft. “You should kinda know when things are wrong.”

White followed suit with a checklist in hand, playing the part of the enthralled student.

“Like look at this, it’s the baggage door,” Eason said. “Somebody didn’t lock it. Must have been the new guy.”

Finally, when the fuel truck pulled away after topping off the puddle jumper’s two gas tanks and after Eason discovered the plane needed two more quarts of oil, it was time to buckle up and strap on the headsets for a cold December flight.

The flight

The plane — 4261 Lima, as it is referred to by air traffic control — was ready for takeoff. Soon enough, White would have his chance to take the controls.

Once the engine was primed and White ensured the propeller was clear of any objects or people, Eason checked over the instrument panel. The propeller rumbled to a start, and the plane began moving. 

White’s head was on a swivel, and the anticipation in the cockpit mounted. He was about to fly a plane for the first time.

The tower gave the go-ahead, and Eason taxied the plane to the end of the runway. Chatter overwhelmed their headsets.

Sun poured into the cockpit and the plane hurtled down the strip. Eason said he might let White take the controls during takeoff.

The plane reeled to get off the ground; the nose strained upward, and as Eason strained for more speed, the aircraft experienced a few jostling bumps.

Eason guided the plane to 3,600 feet – even Mount Katahdin, 75 miles away, stood clear on the horizon. Soon, instructor and student steered the plane toward the air space over Pushaw Lake, which serves as a practice area for pilots in training, free from the dangers of air traffic. 

After Eason demonstrated a bank in flight, White took the controls and followed the instructor’s lead. Miraculously, the turn was a smooth one – and again and again White practiced climbing, descending, turning and banking.

All the while, White laughed and talked with Eason, their voices audible through the headsets.

“Have you done this before?” Eason asked White, jokingly. “I think he’s done this before.”

In all, the flight lasted about 25 minutes, and Eason and White worked together to land the aircraft.

“That was incredible,” White said once they returned to the ground.

“I think that was one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had — definitely worth it,” he added. “I’ve wanted to do that for so long.”

“Tell your family it’s what you want for Christmas,” Eason said.

One of three finalists for the University of Maine System’s chancellor position, Hay served as provost at Arizona’s flagship institution from 2008 to 2011, drawing faculty ire most evident in a 2009 survey showing 57 percent of those polled had no support for her management of a massive reorganization plan resulting from state budget cuts.

It didn’t end there. Comments appended called Hay an “acerbic” and “rude” communicator who lacks adequate communication skills, respect for faculty and transparency in decision making.

A former dean removed from his position during her tenure goes further, saying Hay, who left her provost position in August 2011 for an advisory position to the chair of the Arizona Board of Regents, caused the university irreparable harm.

“Her leadership style and communication style is very problematic,” said Juan Garcia, now a history professor at UA who served as vice president for instruction working under Hay, until he was notified by the university’s president his contract was not to be renewed after he challenged Hay for making “unilateral” decisions when she took an academic initiative from his office’s control in 2009.

Hay, though noting errors in communication, downplays the survey result, noting slightly more than 31 percent of faculty voted. She said the faculty who responded to the survey were likely those most affected by the change she oversaw.

Differential cuts

In 2008, UA was in crisis and set in motion the UA Transformation Plan, which aimed to trim $19 million from the university’s budget in the wake of $77 million in state budget cuts in 2008, according to an article in the Arizona Daily Star.

According to Hay’s October letter to the University of Maine System’s search committee, between fiscal years 2008 and 2012, the three universities the Arizona Board of Regents govern lost nearly 45 percent of their state appropriations, adding up to nearly $180 million cut.

To trim much of the budget during Hay’s tenure at UA, “differential cuts” — or cuts that vary by the presumed efficacy of the department — were used.

The Daily Star reported that President Robert Shelton told UA’s faculty senate in 2009 that a program’s ability to generate revenue was the most important criterion for , followed by the program’s overall impact on the state’s economic growth.

In the fall 2009 semester, colleges and vice presidential units, equivalent to the UMaine Division of Student Affairs, were handed budget cuts of 0, 2, 5 or 7 percent, according to Lo Que Pasa, a news website produced by UA’s Office of University Communications.

“It’s very difficult when your budget cut is a different percentage than somebody else’s,” said Wanda Howell, chair of UA’s faculty senate. “And if the explanation isn’t forthcoming about that and the process used to determine who got what wasn’t really transparent, faculty get very upset.”

Hay, then provost, headed up the plan’s implementation. In a December interview, she described the two-year reorganization process as “bottom-up,” emanating from faculty ideas.

AMarch 2010 memo from Hay outlined the changes: 16 departments were consolidated into eight, 40 departments and units were reorganized into 13 schools, four colleges were rolled into one, and 42 academic programs were either closed or merged.

The handling of the cuts led to rancor among faculty, many of whom expressed concern that sciences saw smaller cuts than liberal arts.

No confidence

Faculty concern led to something Howell had never seen at UA — a symbolic faculty vote of confidence of the leadership of Hay and Shelton.

In the online poll, in which 31.1 percent of faculty participated, 483 of 846 respondents said they had no confidence in the way Hay carried out the plan, although the notion of differential cuts was generally supported.

“You have to keep providing resources for the areas that bring in the most revenue and the most fame, and there’s nothing wrong with that,” Howell said. “It’s just the way you go about it that is so critical.”

Comments appended to the survey, released in October 2009, were far harsher than the poll numbers. Some claimed Hay was “rude,” “acerbic,” didn’t seek out faculty input and wasn’t transparent with them about her plans for reorganization.

Howell called Hay “impressive” and a leader who moved quickly on solving perceived problems, but one who “could get short” with coworkers if frustrated with a slow work pace.

“I think it comes down to this extremely talented woman who, in terms of relating to others, just couldn’t get out of her own way,” Howell said.

Hay said the pace of change led to some of her actions being misinterpreted among certain groups of faculty, but the survey episode helped her understand the importance of communicating well with faculty, especially in the midst of a budget crisis.

“It’s not about more emails or more memos, it really was about spending more face-to-face time with faculty, small groups, walking through the budget and really talking about how we’re going to get through this together,” Hay said in the December interview. “That really changed the tone and the tenor in the relationship with how we worked through this.”

She apologized to the faculty senate later that October after the poll was released.

“I’ve heard the message loud and clear from the faculty that I must do a better job communicating. I believe that to my core,” Hay told the faculty senate, according to an article in the Daily Star. “I will do a better job. I’ve obviously failed in that regard and I offer you my mea culpa.”

“It was a very good gesture on her part,” Howell said in December. “The question was, of course, on everybody’s mind, ‘Was it too little too late?’ And I think the jury’s still out on that.”

Well-suited to Maine?

Hay spoke excitedly of the opportunity to be considered for one of Maine’s top higher education jobs.

“I got pretty excited about the commitment of the trustees and the state of Maine to really look at how higher education needs to fundamentally shift and reorganize in order to be sustainable,” Hay said.

She said the University of Maine System’s New Challenges, New Directions initiative, outlined in 2009 as the system faced a four-year, $42.8 million deficit, is a good blueprint for success, but more can be done.

“I think Maine really has an extraordinary opportunity to invest in and invigorate its research capacity, especially the flagship university,” Hay said. “I don’t think it has yet seen its full capacity reached.”

She said the chancellor’s first job should be to get out into Maine communities, selling citizens and state officials on the importance of higher education, which she expects to be a hands-on effort.

“You can’t just do that by sitting in a system office,” she said.

Howell said a Chancellor Hay could be better than a Provost Hay because of the position’s wider focus and more limited interaction with large groups of people.

“I think she would be more suited to a job like chancellor than she would provost because the chancellor doesn’t deal with the day-to-day interactions with the masses,” Howell said. “Maybe she’d be the fit for that type of job.”

However, Garcia isn’t convinced Hay, who had a vice president-level job at the University of Iowa before moving to UA, where she served as provost and a professor of physiology, has the experience to be a chancellor.

“If people look closely at what she’s done, she’s never been a department head. She’s never been a vice president of any kind,” he said. “She really hasn’t worked her way up the ladder. That’s why she has no appreciation for what’s involved in running a university from the grassroots level.”

Cain, at her term limit tin the Maine House of Representatives his year, is vying for the seat to be vacated by Elizabeth Schneider, who represents District 30 and is also term limited. District 30 encompasses Orono, Old Town and Veazie, as well as a swath of communities stretching north, including Lincoln.

The decision, Cain said, came after a lot of thought.

“I didn’t make this decision in an instant,” she said. “I sat down to think about if I can handle the job. I’m ready for this.”

Cain feels the decision came in light of her attitude toward her work in Augusta.

“I’ve enjoyed every single day of serving in the House, of representing Orono,” she said. “I feel the work in Augusta is so important for what I care about. I love the work that I have been so lucky to get to do.

“There’s more work to be done,” Cain said.

For Cain, representing District 30 would mean a big change in the scope of her duties. While she currently only represents a part of Orono, District 30 encompasses 21 municipalities.

“I see the diversity of the broader district as an opportunity to me,” she said.

Schneider also feels the district’s diversity has impact on how she represents it. With the size of the district, she said serving its residents is a challenge.

“You can never make everybody happy,” Schneider said. “I see the district as a ‘mini-Maine.’”

Schneider currently has no concrete plans for political work elsewhere and said she will not run for Cain’s vacant seat.

“A long time ago I decided not to run,” Schneider said. “I think it would be really difficult to just switch to a House seat.”

For Cain, the prospect of running for Senate is still a distant one, but she is excited to go on the campaign trail once more. Campaigning means meeting the residents she wants to represent, which she enjoys.

“I love campaigning,” she said. “I knocked on 2,500 doors when running for the House of Representatives; now I’ll be doing double that. I can’t wait.”

There are no other candidates currently running against Cain, nor are there any vying for her vacant seat in the House of Representatives. Even with a lack of candidates, she says she isn’t counting on winning the Senate seat easily.

“I certainly do not take any election for granted,” she said.

Schneider said Cain would be a solid choice for her vacant seat but isn’t counting on anything.

“I hope whoever takes over does what I did,” Schneider said, “which is do their best to represent the whole district.”

Dunkin’ Donuts has started featuring the University of Maine Black Bear on medium-sized hot beverage cups through January and February as part of an Athletic Department sponsorship agreement. They will be available throughout January and February or while supplies last.

Andrew Stuebner, general manager of Black Bear Sports Properties, explained that Dunkin’ Donuts has a great interest in being involved with UMaine athletics.

“They see the power of the University of Maine athletic brand and want to be associated with it,” he said.

Black Bear Sports Properties, owned by Learfield Sports, owns and manages the multimedia rights for UMaine athletics. According to Stuebner, this means they guarantee a payment to UMaine’s Athletic Department each year drawn from sponsorships, which he and his coworkers are responsible for securing.

“It’s our job to go out and sell the sponsorships with local businesses, regional businesses and statewide businesses associated with the athletic department,” he explained.

Dunkin’ Donuts was chosen for the sponsorship due to interest it showed in partnering with UMaine. When a company shows interest, Stuebner and BBSP must come up with an outline for a partnership package with the university athletic department.

“One of those elements is the opportunity to use the UMaine athletic logo for things like their coffee cups,” Stuebner said.

However, control of the Black Bear logo remains under the discretion of the university.

“It’s not like we say, ‘OK, we want Dunkin’ Donuts,’ and just talk to them,” Stuebner said. “If they didn’t have an interest but somebody else did, that’s fine. [Sponsorship is] not limited to just coffee.”

According to Lisa Honnell, manager of the Dunkin’ Donuts on Stillwater Avenue in Orono, area stores had no say in whether they could choose to not sell the cups.

“I just placed an order for some cups and they sent me those,” she said.

Although Honnell claimed she had no notice from corporate about the new cups, Christy Demers, manager of the store on Stillwater Avenue in Old Town, said she found out about the logo cups just before Christmas.

BBSP has over 90 partnerships with other companies that have similar opportunities as Dunkin’ Donuts to utilize UMaine trademarks. Some of these include State Farm Insurance, Pat’s Pizza and the University Credit Union.

“Through the course of discussions and negotiations, it worked for Dunkin’ Donuts, it worked for the Athletic Department and it’s a great partnership. We see it as a win-win,” Stuebner said.

Dunkin’ Donuts’ agreement with BBSP has multiple elements. Fans at UMaine hockey games may have noticed their tickets have a buy-one, get-one-free coupon on the reverse side. Although this is a different promotion, it is all part of the initial agreement between UMaine and the company.

Although it is rare for sponsors to make agreements for only one particular advertising aspect, according to Stuebner, it does happen.

Learfield Sports has over 50 university partners and is affiliated with over 900 radio stations across the country. WAEI in Bangor and WJJB in Portland are only two of the seven radio stations Learfield is associated with in Maine.

On Tuesday, UMSG allocated $1,400 to the University Flying Club to help defray costs for the ground school course, which will be a three-hour class held once weekly to prepare students for everything about flying without actually going into the cockpit. Students will still pay $20 to attend ground school.

Nathan Theriault, a representative from the club, told the senate they chose not to charge dues to non-flying members, those who will not spend hands-on time with one of the club’s planes, as an incentive to get more students involved.

GSS did not debate the resolution and allocated the funds without objection.

“I felt like they [the Flying Club] should have put in more effort,” Sen. Daniel Norwood said after the meeting. “I feel like they should have done more fundraising. I feel like [we ask] every other organization if they do something . … I felt like the majority of organizations have dues and half the members [of the Flying Club] don’t pay dues.

“If they charged dues to the non-flying members, it would cover at least part of the cost for the class,” he said.

Sen. Christopher Knoblock recognized that most of the students who would take advantage of the club would be non-flying members but stressed his opinion that since the class is open to all students, the allocation was fair.

“They just need to advertise,” he said.

Joseph “Pat” Nabozny, vice president of Student Entertainment, reported that he has been negotiating deals with two major performers but declined to identify them.

“Neither are confirmed, but we should be getting it confirmed by early next week,” he said.

“It works out the artist we’re looking at wants to do it during President Ferguson’s inauguration week, so we’re going to see if we can make that happen. And then there is another big, big production in the works for early April,” Nabozny said.

A week of events culminating in university president Paul Ferguson’s inauguration is tentatively scheduled for the week of April 16, according to Danny Williams, chair of the week’s planning committee.

An exact schedule has yet to be determined. Williams said the lag between Ferguson starting as president and his official inauguration is not unusual, saying guests from across the nation are generally invited and need time to plan their trips. A period of six to nine months would be normal between a new president’s first day on the job and his or her inauguration.

The UMaine Figure Skating Club requested $1,000 to help pay for private ice time at the Alfond Arena this semester. Amanda Merchant, the club’s president, said her group is considering hosting a couple’s skating event for Valentine’s Day as its major fundraiser.

The Executive Budgetary Committee recommended the allocation with six in favor, one opposed and one abstaining.

The senate did not ask for the EBC’s dissenting opinion and allocated the funds without objection.

The senate began accepting nominations for a vacant seat on the EBC. Since the senate usually follows the recommendations of the committee regarding appropriations, the financial policies of EBC’s members greatly affect allocations UMSG gives to student organizations. Sen. Sarah Howard nominated Sen. Jenny Ferguson. Senator pro tempore Sam Helmke nominated Sen. Aaron Ortiz, and Sen. Sarah Porter nominated Sen. Chris Protzmann.

The log said the department responded at 3:54 a.m. and the incident is under investigation. On Monday, UMPD Det. Keith Mercier said the investigation is still ongoing, with no charges filed.

Oxford Hall is a first-year residence hall with double-occupancy only, according to UMaine’s website.

This sex offense report was the second handled by the department in less than 48 hours, as on Thursday, UMPD responded to the Division of Student Affairs after an incident “in reference to” the UMaine chapter of fraternity Phi Eta Kappa, according to UMPD Chief Roland LaCroix. That investigation is also ongoing.

A police log showed it was reported at 8:41 a.m. and police responded to the fraternity’s house, at 107 College Avenue.

After a fraternity member emailed The Maine Campus to say the police response never happened, LaCroix said the department made a mistake on the log normally emailed to media members.

He said the department did not respond to Phi Eta Kappa, but responded to the offices of the Division of Student Affairs in the Memorial Union “in reference to Phi Eta.” LaCroix gave no other details, citing an investigation.

“As far as the sex assault goes, it will remain confidential as it is an ongoing investigation,” UMPD Det. Keith Mercier wrote in an email to The Maine Campus on Friday morning.

On Monday, Mercier said the investigation is still open, with no charges filed.

This was the first of two sex offense reports to UMPD within a 48-hour period. Early Saturday morning, the department responded to a report from Oxford Hall, a first-year residence hall on campus.

This story is developing.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that UMPD responded to the Phi Eta Kappa house on College Avenue after the sex offense report. The mistake was made due to misinformation in the UMPD Daily Digest, a log of incidents regularly emailed to media.