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Fall 2003
COMMITTEE WILL HOST NOVEMBER DELEGATION
Our Archangel Committee has received a grant of up to $7,000 to host a five
person Archangel legal delegation from Saturday, November 15 to Sunday, November
23. The grantor is the U.S. Library of Congress based "Open World Program" and
such grants are made available to members of Sister Cities International. We are
using this grant to complement and enhance the already existing Rule of Law
Program that is funded separately. Delegation members will be Ernest Belokorovin
(member of Regional Duma and owner of transportation/distribution company), Olga
Smirnova (member of Regional Duma and medical doctor), Tatiana Yelsakova (senior
criminal prosecutor), Yvgeny Kalinin (criminal defense lawyer) and Tatiana
Tsibizova (translator from Moscow).
Alter spending two days in Washington D.C. with the Open World staff, our
friends will arrive at the Portland Jetport on Saturday, November 15, and will
have a busy work week thereafter in Greater Portland and in Augusta.
Professionally, they will focus on domestic violence (DV) and on the legislative
process. The theme of the DV portion of the trip is "Building Coordinated
Community Responses to Domestic Violence"; if you are interested in
participating in the DV program, please call Faye Luppi at 871-8380. In Augusta,
they will study legislative structure and procedures, meet with officials of the
DEP and DHS, and meet with the Governor's Commission on Domestic and Sexual
Abuse. If you would like to participate in Augusta, please call Matt Dunlap at
827-8989.
If you are interested in meeting socially with our friends, you have several
opportunities to join us:
- Saturday, November 15, at 2:29 p.m. at the Portland Jetport to
welcome arriving United Flight 7286.
- Saturday, November 15, at 6:30 p.m. at DiMillo's Floating
Restaurant on Commercial Street in Portland for Welcome Reception/Dinner ($22
pp/chicken, fish or steak) RSVP by 11/10: Dan Glover at 854-1466.
- Sunday, November 16 at 10:30 a.m. at the Portland Museum of Art on
Congress Street for a Jazz Breakfast & tour of the museum. About $12 for
Admission and Breakfast. FMI: Dennis Marrotte at 854-3763.
- Monday, November 17 at Noon at Sebago Brewing Company Restaurant on
Middle Street in Portland for lunch on the lower level. Order off menu.
- Tuesday, November 18 at 6:30 p.m. for dinner with Maine Legislators
at the Senator Inn in Augusta. Order off menu. FMI: Matt Dunlap at 827-8989.
- Wednesday, November 19 at 6:30 p.m. for dinner with Maine
Legislators at Slate's Restaurant in Hallowell. Order off menu. FMI: Matt
Dunlap at 827-8989.
- Saturday, November 22 at 6:00 p.m. for Farewell Potluck Dinner at
the home of Steve and Amanda Rowe, 514 Summit Street in Portland. Please RSVP
prior to Wednesday, November 19 to Donna Rockett at 253-4686 or drockett@verrilldana.com
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ARCHANGEL JUDGES VISIT MAINE
Eight District Court Judges and one District Court Administrator from the
Archangel Region visited Maine in August 2003 on another project funded by the
Library of Congress based "Open World" Program. This visit built upon the
progress made by Maine's May 2003 delegation to Archangel as it focused on
domestic violence issues. Led by Director Vasili Popovsky of the Regional
District Court Administration, the delegation visited several of Maine's
district courts to observe criminal and protection from abuse matters; in
addition, they visited the Cumberland County Superior Court and the U. S.
Federal District Court in Portland. Several informal roundtable discussions
focusing on domestic violence were held with several Maine District Court
judges, a community-based violence intervention partnership, two Federal
judges, several state legislators and Maine's Attorney General. In addition,
the women judges in the delegation were able to visit a local Women's/Family
Crisis Shelter. The group also met with Maine Governor John Baldacci and Maine
Chief Justice Leigh Saufley. Finally, the delegation attended briefings on
Maine's Drug Court program and attended an actual Drug Court session.
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERS ARE BUSY
In June 2003, Maine D.O.T. engineers Peter Couglin and Arnold Fox visited
their professional counterparts in Archangel to focus on gravel roads
maintenance and vegetation management. In September, Archangel D.O.T.
engineers Oleg Gerasimov and Evgeni Ponomarev were in Maine to focus on
improved training, technology transfer and information management. The
workplan for 2004 includes efficiency improvements and sharing experiences
with new road construction materials and with roadside weather information
stations. Evgeni enjoyed his stay in Maine and said that Mainers are "high
energy and friendly people who drive on very good roads".
NOTES FROM COMMITTEE MEMBERS
- Committee Craft Coordinator Alice Strait reports that autumn sales of
dough dolls, birds of happiness and cookbooks are going well.
- James and Janie Ghaffari report that an additional eight orphans from the
Archangel Region will soon be adopted in the United States.
- Dennis Marrotte recently met Russian photographer Varvara Harmon (now
living in Windham) at an exhibition of lier Russian landscapes at a gallery in
Bridgton.
- Bob Willett's long-awaited book on the Allied Intervention in Northwest
Russia (1918-1920) has just been published. It's called "Russian Sideshow"; if
you cannot find it, e-mail Bob at
RLWillett@aol.com.
- Charlotte Rosenthal (with daughter Nadya) will work in Russia from January
to June 2004 on a Fulbright research grant.
- Mike Ouellet recently returned to Portland alter an August trip to
Archangel to follow up recent studies about Russia at USM's Muskie Institute.
Mike loved the City and its people and enjoyed the Archangel way of life (banya,
the Embankment, Malye Kareli, parties and shopping).
NEWS/NOTES FROM THE ARCHANGEL REGION
- The Archangel diamond mining company "Severalmaz" has secured a $100
million loan from the ING Bank of London in order to develop the huge
Lomonosov diamond reserve.
- This fall, Archangel's great Dobrolyubovka Public Library celebrated its
170th Anniversary; more than 50,000 people use this Library every year.
- September 19, 2003 marked the yearly celebration of the Archangel Michael,
the patron saint of the City of Archangel.
- The Japanese ambassador to Russia, Issei Nomura, visited Archangel in
August 2003 and promised to increase trade through the future opening of a
Russo-Japanese society of friendship there.
- In August 2003, Mayor Oleg Nilov visited Emden, Germany to celebrate the
14' Anniversary of the Archangel-Emden Sister City Relationship, and Deputy
Mayor Peter Orlov (who visited Maine in July 2001) formalized a new sister
city relationship with Oulu in Finland.
INTERNET NEWS
We thank Great Works Internet for hosting our Committee website at
www.arkhangelsk.org
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