Newburgh, Maine native Beth Andrews’ early career history doesn’t seem to convince you she wanted to be a clinical social worker. She majored in East Asian Studies and learned Mandarin Chinese during her undergrad at Middlebury College in Vermont. She worked several jobs after that before becoming a bartender and settling on social work at NYU. She know co-owns and operates a private practice in Yarmouth called H.O.P.E. Counseling Services where she is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and licensed drug and alcohol counselor (LADC).

Host of TideSmart Talk with Stevoe, Steve Woods, welcomed Co-Founder of H.O.P.E. Counseling, Beth Andrews (at right).

At H.O.P.E. (which stands for Healing, Opportunity, Purpose, Environment), Andrews works with people of all ages. More recently her client base has been leaning more toward youth with substance use disorders or youth who have been affected by someone with a drug-related disorder. During her visit to the TideSmart Talk studios she discussed how sometimes her clients are struggling with mental health issues like depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress and they end up self-medicating with substances. This is a particular struggle in Maine right now because while there is more media surrounding drug use/abuse, the drugs are also more available. According to Andrews, there is more use of cocaine, heroin, and prescription abuse in southern Maine than other regions. There is also more money available to combat these issues thanks to the increased awareness. This helps organizations like Casco Bay CAN, an organization striving to reduce underage substance use, where Andrews is a board member.

A less discussed substance-related issue is underage drinking. What Andrews calls “Fun Parent Syndrome” is becoming more prevalent. Many parents believe they are being responsible if they let their child drink under their watch. Underage drinking is detrimental to no matter how it happens. Andrews said that in Europe where the legal drinking age is lower, they have higher rates of alcohol-related health and social issues. In Maine, a parent can get in legal trouble for breaking a “social hosting law” where the penalties can range from a $2,000 fine to 14 years in jail and $350,000 in penalties if an underage person is injured or killed after drinking while in their care.

Stevoe asked Andrews what parents and caretakers should keep an eye out for if they’re worried about their children. Many times, if a child is acting out it isn’t purely just because “they’re a teenager.” She says you should ask how they’re feeling or talk to them about their life – pay attention to what they’re saying and how they say it. Also look for any big changes such as weight gain or loss, slipping grades, or changes in their social life. Ask if they’re feeling depressed or suicidal. Don’t be afraid to put that idea in their head because if they are depressed or suicidal the idea may already be there and if they aren’t feeling that way, the idea won’t stick. If you’re uncomfortable having the conversation ask your child’s school guidance counselor or another counselor like Andrews.

If you have questions or would like to speak with Andrews about counseling services (for youth or adults!), she can be reached at BethAndrews.HOPE@gmail.com.

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Host of TideSmart Talk with Stevoe, Steve Woods, welcomed Owner of Insource Renewables, Vaughn Woodruff (at right).

Woodruff always had a passion for the environment so he brought his passions together to form his company. He’s also always found himself in an educational role, whether it be a teacher or a coach. While he was in California, he got his Master’s degree in Environmental Education and in his “free time” (which there isn’t much of if you’re Vaughn Woodruff) he likes to educate others on varying topics related to solar power and environmental issues. He has taught at Deering High School and through an integrated solar technology program at Kennebec Valley Community College.

Woodruff says that compared to the rest of the country, the northeast is the fastest growing in regards to solar power, but Maine doesn’t offer any state-funded credits or incentives to make the switch so we are far behind the rest of the region. He has been lobbying in Augusta to change this, but when his bill (which had bi-partisan support) reached the Governor’s desk, it was quickly veto’d like many other bills from LePage’s term.

Woodruff believes that switching to solar power doesn’t have to be bad for existing companies, but energy providers that profit from energy use are trying to prevent end users from creating their own electricity. The bill solar energy proponents were working on would have been supported by $500M in private investment and could have created thousands of new jobs.

When Stevoe suggested Woodruff himself run for a political office, Woodruff politely declined. He feels he can have a greater effect in his own community and provide jobs at Insource Renewables, but he’s not going to quit lobbying.

To learn more about Insource Renewables and the state of solar energy in Maine, please listen to the interview below or go to InsourceRenewables.com.

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Mike Rancourt is a first generation American, born and raised in Lewiston, Maine where his father, a Canadian immigrant, learned to hand-sew loafers and shoes to make a living. When the owner of the factory retired, Rancourt’s father purchased the operation and so began a family tradition of contract manufacturing of hand-sewn shoes made right here in Maine.

Host of TideSmart Talk with Stevoe, Steve Woods, welcomed Co-Founder of Rancourt & Co. Shoecrafters, Mike Rancourt (at right).

Rancourt joined his father in the industry and when Rancourt Sr. sold the business to their largest contractor, Quoddy, the two stayed on until operations were moved “off-shore.” After leaving the company, they started Down East Footwear, another contract manufacturing company. They went through the same process of selling to their largest contractor (Cole Haan this time) and his father retired. Rancourt stayed with the company for awhile. When the Cole Haan operation moved out of state, Rancourt left and started Rancourt & Co. in 2009.

Rancourt & Co. Shoecrafters’ products are meant to “out fit a gentleman,” but they also have a small line of women’s products as well. Thanks to the exponential growth of internet shopping, Rancourt has been able to sell more product under their own brand. They are still a contract manufacturer (mostly to Brooks Brothers and Ralph Lauren), but they’re able to sell to specialty stores and online through their website rancourtandcompany.com.

A Ralph Lauren vendor consultant got in touch with Rancourt when they started this most recent iteration and entered into a contract with them. When Ralph Lauren won the contract to supply the opening and closing uniforms for the United States Olympic Team for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, they looked to Rancourt & Co. to produce the American-made, hand-sewn boat shoes. The company had to have the custom order of 1,100 pairs ready in February of this year for the Olympic and Paralympic teams.

Rancourt had no intention of taking this business outside of Maine and it doesn’t look like he’ll have to now that consumers from around the world can reach them online, freeing them from completely relying on their contracts alone. With the “locally sourced” and “Made in America” trends in full swing, Rancourt & Co. is in good shape to stay in Maine for awhile.

Mr. Rancourt left Stevoe’s listeners with a couple of lessons he’s learned over the years: Have an available, authentic, genuine product or experience and always be loyal to your customer so they will be loyal to you.

Keep an eye out for Rancourt & Co.’s boat shoes on the feet of American athletes this summer in Rio de Janeiro and go to their website to learn more: rancourtandcompany.com.

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Dick Durost grew up in the County in Mars Hill on a dairy and potato farm so no one can say he’s not a true Mainer. Durost always knew he wanted to get into education, but looking back on his career he didn’t actually know he would get this involved. He’s been a teacher, a coach, an assistant principal, and athletic director, a principal. Now he’s the Executive Director of the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA), a professional organization for Maine’s Principals and Assistant Principals, and a supervisory association for Maine high school athletics and activities.

Host of TideSmart Talk with Stevoe, Steve Woods, welcomed Executive Director of the Maine Principals’ Association, Dick Durost (at right).

Before starting his career, Durost was told that if he wanted to get a job, he should teach math or science – so that’s what he did. Durost landed a job at Penobscot Valley High School where he taught for almost 15 years. He moved on to a Building Principal position at Easton High School in 1985. At the time there were no Assistant Principals, no Athletic Director, no physics teacher, and one year there was no girls’ basketball coach either so Durost did it all. The school wasn’t offering physics at the time, but when students expressed interest, Durost made time to teach them and when the girls’ basketball coach backed out at the last minute, he didn’t cancel the season – he made time to coach them. Durost says that he quickly learned what he was good at and where he struggled. He took these lessons and continued in other supervisory positions until 1996 when he became the Superintendent for Easton Schools in 1996.

Since 2001, Durost has been the Executive Director of the Maine Principals’ Association. The MPA is a two-part organization: they are a professional service association for professional development of Maine K-12 Principals and Assistant Principals and they are the organization that oversees high school athletics and activities. While members pay dues, they are not a labor organization and the budgets for both parts stay separate. As a non-profit, their goal is to end each fiscal year that way. With a predictable winter that’s easy to do, but according to Durost when weather interferes with the basketball or football tournaments it could throw the whole annual budget awry.

Stevoe and Durost spoke at length about the career of a school principal and how it has changed over the last few decades. It used to be that a Principal was the building’s supervisor, but now the job demands 12-14 hour days where the Principal is expected to be the supervisor, the leader of teaching, and a representative of the staff. At the MPA, Durost hopes the network of professionals can support one another to keep the profession alive.

To learn more about the Maine Principals’ Association, visit their website at mpa.cc, find them on Facebook, or follow Durost on Twitter @DurostMPA.

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Alan Caron has been an entrepreneur and small business advocate for over thirty years. He also writes weekly columns about various “Maine” topics for the Portland Press Herald, Waterville Sentinel, and Augusta Kennebec Journal. His goal is to “unlock the potential of Maine by promoting an economy that is driven by the state’s entrepreneurs, innovators and doer, and that taps into the resourcefulness and tenacity of Maine people.” Caron is the President of Envision Maine where he works daily to achieve his goal and to better Maine’s economy.

Host of TideSmart Talk with Stevoe, Steve Woods, welcomed President of Envision Maine, Alan Caron (at right).

On this trip to the TideSmart Talk studio, Stevoe and Caron spoke mainly of state politics. Caron talked about the recent history of the political parties and how Maine voters seem desensitized. Conversation turned to the topic of Governor LePage’s approval rating at the beginning of his first term. At the time, according to Caron, Mainers were looking for change because many of Maine’s politicians are self-protecting and were fearful of upsetting their party or careers. The people wanted change and LePage seemed to be the candidate to incite it.

To hear more from Alan Caron, you can read his articles in newspapers across southern and central Maine, visit Envision Maine’s website at EnvisionMaine.org and listen to the interview below.

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Steve Levesque was born and raised in the Lewiston-Auburn area and joined the Marine Corps after high school. That’s how he got out of Maine. While enlisted he was able to get his degree in Urban and Regional Planning which he used in a few communities in California. He, like many Mainers, wanted to return home to settle down so he sold his business and picked up a jobs with the cities of Lewiston and Portland before taking a position with the Maine Department of Economic & Community Development. He is now the Executive Director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA), a “quasi-state run organization” tasked with finding new, resourceful, innovative ways to bring business back to the old Brunswick Naval Air Station, now known as Brunswick Landing.

Host of TideSmart Talk with Stevoe, Steve Woods, welcomed the Executive Director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, Steve Levesque (at right).

The MRRA was set up by the government when the Navy left the Brunswick base vacant. At it’s peak, the area now known as Brunswick Landing was busy with military aviation and technology. The mission of the MRRA is to bring business back to the approximately one thousand acres of land. The group manages everything the Navy left behind: all of the acreage, 230+ buildings, miles of utility lines, and the air strip. With the goal of economic development, the MRRA had an uphill battle to make it logical and affordable to bring new business to the area. The result was a change in the law to allow “back end participation.” Before the law change, the MRRA would have had to pay market rate for the property, but instead they are able to take control up front and rent or sell in parcels and pay the Navy 25% of each transaction. The money received by the Navy goes to their environmental clean-up fund.

There are a few key industries the MRRA are targeting to bring to Brunswick Landing. Ideally, new businesses to the area would be in the aerospace, informational technology, composite technology/engineering, bio-tech, and renewables. There are many empty hangars available along the air strip and the land is primed for the technology industry as it was used as an IT base during the Navy’s stay. The most pertinent regulation (in my opinion) is their “no pirating policy.” The MRRA will refuse a lease or sale to a business that could possibly be a detriment to it’s current community. For this reason, most new businesses here are from out of state. Any company looking to move or expand to Brunswick Landing would have to prove that their current community would not suffer if they left.

At this point, the MRRA has 90 different businesses and $175M of private capital invested; they have sold 30+ buildings and over 100 acres. Levesque made sure to point out that when the Navy was occupying the space, the town was not benefiting from taxes of the land they were using. Now, with more and more new owners and lessees, the community can benefit from the increase in businesses, availability of jobs, and the payment of taxes.

To learn more about the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, visit their website at mrra.us, on Twitter: @MRRAMaine and on Facebook: facebook.com/MidcoastRegionalRedevelopmentAuthority or listen to the interview below.

Steve Levesque [ 53:53 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Don Thibodeau is a Mainer in every sense of the word. He was born and raised in “the county” and moved to Fryeburg in 1977 with his wife to farm potatoes. He inherited the land from his father, a salesman who wanted to farm the land with a friend. When Thibodeau’s father’s friend passed way, his father lost interest in the land , leaving Thibodeau to take over. Now, Green Thumb Farms has 300+ acres of heirloom beans and thousands of acres of potatoes. Not only do the potatoes from Green Thumb Farms end up on our dinner tables in Maine, but also our vodka: Thibodeau is a co-founder of Cold River Vodka, distilled from potatoes grown at Green Thumb Farms.

Host of TideSmart Talk with Stevoe, Steve Woods, welcomed Co-Founder of Cold River Vodka, Don Thibodeau (at right).

Thibodeau and Stevoe talked about the state of farming in Maine. In the 1960’s, Maine led the nation in potato production, but we have since dropped because farmers here deal with more external factors (e.g. bugs, blight) than other parts of the country. It would seem logical that farmers here would try to cash in on other crops, but at this point in the game farmers in Maine have tried everything. Hydroponic farming seems to be the way of the future, but it’s costly and there isn’t a lot of capital to spend on setting up hydroponic gardens and farms big enough to product en mass.

Thibodeau also explained how he farms his potatoes to make the most money possible. The end goal for all farmers is to use as much of their harvest as they can. Green Thumb Farms is part of a group of smaller, independent farms that sell their potatoes under a common banner: Fresh Solutions Network. The nicest looking, most table-ready potatoes end up in steam-fresh bags of potatoes (sold locally at grocery stores throughout the region), but those potatoes that are the wrong size or shape can’t just be thrown away. Thibodeau remembered a story told by a family member that vodka could be made from potatoes, so he began researching if it were really possible.

With the help of his brother Lee, a Portland-based neurosurgeon, and distiller Chris Dowe, they researched and learned and traveled and experimented for two years until it was decided that it was worth trying. In 2005 Cold River Vodka was born of Green Thumb potatoes and Cold River water. They now produce three products from the facility in Freeport: Maine Potato Vodka, Blueberry Flavored Vodka (made with Maine blueberries, of course), and Traditional Gin. They are selling in over 10 states and are only hoping to grow bigger.

They just passed their 10 year anniversary last fall and are currently distilling approximately 6,000 cases of vodka per year. They have been crafting a barrel-aged vodka named “Distiller’s Reserve” that is available in Maine only and has been successful enough that they plan on continuing production in small batches.

To find Cold River Vodka near you, ask your bartender or visit your local liquor store. Learn more about Cold River Vodka on their website at: coldrivervodka.com and learn about the farm where the potatoes are grown at greenthumbfarms.com.

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Drew Dumsch is from “the palm” of Michigan and graduated from college with a degree in English so he’s not exactly the type of person you would think would found a supplementary educational school focused on sustainability and ecology on the beaches of Maine. Twelve years ago when the school based at Ferry Beach in Saco was at risk of going away, Dumsch took it over and re-branded it as “The Ecology School at Ferry Beach” and it’s grown and expanded every year since. As of 2016 they have officially outgrown their campus and have official plans to move inland to an old farm property in Saco.

Host of TideSmart Talk with Stevoe, Steve Woods, welcomed founder of The Ecology School, Drew Dumsch (at right).

Dumsch has been in environmental education for 26 years and it doesn’t seem like his passion has waned a bit. He’s worked with over 150,000 people over that amount of time and has no plans on slowing down. In fact, he’s hoping to increase the availability to students around the state when they make the transition to their new campus. They mostly work with students in southern Maine, but have reached into New Hampshire, Vermont, and as far away as Texas. The programs focus on what Dumsch calls “Ecosys-STEM” where STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and math) all play a role in learning about ecology and sustainability.

The school is a non-profit and runs on a ~$1 million annual budget. Eighty percent of the budget comes from program fees, but they also strive to offer $250,000 scholarships a year to schools and individuals who otherwise would be unable to participate. Dumsch hopes to get young students interested and aware of how our ecosystem works and how everything is connected in hopes that they carry that interest through their adulthood. They are expanding on that idea at their new campus by cultivating land for a “farm-to-table” use for their residential programs. The new campus is situated on the Saco River with some forest, some fields, and some farm land. They aren’t losing their beach-front learning though, The Ecology School will still take weekly trips to Ferry Beach to make sure it all ties together.

The Ecology school has their current space at Ferry Beach leased through the next couple years and the purchase and planning of the new land is still being finalized, but they will begin the move by next year. For more information on The Ecology School, visit their website at theecologyschool.org and listen to the interview below.

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Writing is not Jeff Ryan’s day job. For most of his career, the life-long Falmouth resident was a copywriter for L.L. Bean catalogs. Like many Mainers, Ryan grew up with a love for the outdoors. After more than a lifetime of hiking (in my opinion), Ryan turned the journal entries from his years of section hikes on the Appalachian Trail (AT) into a book called APPALACHIAN ODYSSEY: A 28-year hike on America’s trail.

Host of TideSmart Talk with Stevoe, Steve Woods, welcomed author of Appalachian Odyssey, Jeff Ryan (at right).

We opened the show with The Proclaimer’s “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” but if the song were really about Ryan, it would probably be called “4,818+ Miles” because that’s at least how much distance he’s covered over the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails.

He started his backpacking journeys by doing something most of us say we’ll do, but never follow through with: Go on a big, life-changing trip with our friends after college. In 1983, Ryan and a college buddy set out to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) with some new L.L. Bean gear and Ryan never looked back. When he started his career copy-writing for L.L. Bean, he had the opportunity to test out new apparel and gear to best write the descriptions. This connection worked out well when they hiked the PCT while testing Bean’s new Gore-Tex and Polartec products. He recalls that when a pack he was testing broke in Oregon, Bean’s first tested shipping with FedEx and got his replacement pack to him within days.

After settling back in at his job at Bean’s, a friend of a friend, a man named Wayne, was looking for a hiking buddy and Ryan couldn’t say no. At first, they set out to hike Maine’s 50 highest peaks in one year. Then one weekend they hiked the Long Trail in Vermont when Wayne pointed out that they were hiking a chunk of the Appalachian Trail (AT). It was this trip that the two decided they would hike a different section of the AT yearly until they had completed it all. Twenty-eight years later, after journaling every day of the hike, Ryan wrote the book about it.

TideSmart Talk had the pleasure of seeing the manuscript copy of Appalachian Odyssey and readers will be impressed. Supplemented with photos, facts, and maps of his journey, anyone who enjoys hiking will be able to relate to Ryan’s recanting of the sections – in order (well, in his order).

APPALACHIAN ODYSSEY: A 28-year hike on America’s trail is available for pre-order on Amazon and will be available 01 July 2016. Ryan will be going on a book tour in his 1985 VW Vanagon starting in Washington, DC and will be visiting over 30 L.L. Bean stores along the way.

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Local author Paul Doiron joined us in the studio for an update on Mike Bowditch and to talk about the upcoming release of the 7th novel in the series, Widowmaker. In this installment, Bowditch finds himself in the middle of a search for a missing professional skier who may or may not be his half brother on Doiron’s fictional ski mountain, Widowmaker. Doiron chose the name “Widowmaker” after an old logging term for a dead branch that is likely to fall and hurt someone. He uses this as an allusion to an attack of Bowditch in this most recent novel. In this interview Doiron also talks about what it’s like to get over 90,000 words written in one year and how to keep his character’s details straight.

Host of TideSmart Talk with Stevoe, Steve Woods, welcomed Author, Paul Doiron (at right).

Doiron, a Scarborough native, is truly a Mainer. He knew he wanted to write and therefore ended up in Hollywood after college for exactly one year before he’d had enough and moved back east. Since then, he’s been writing about his passions: crime mysteries and nature. He’s already set to work on the 8th installment of Mike Bowditch’s story, delving into what makes his character tick and how he can further expand and create the details of his life. Doiron says that Bowditch isn’t really a reflection of himself except for their matching piercing blue eyes, the only physical trait mentioned in the series.

Head shot of Doiron featuring his (and Bowditch’s) piercing blue eyes, courtesy of Bangor Daily News.

For more information about Doiron and the Bowditch, visit his website: pauldoiron.com. Widowmaker goes on sale 14th June everywhere books are sold.

You can pre-order on Amazon here.

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