Oxford Hills
School fire alarm systems upgraded
"Everything went well," said Director of Facilities Dave Marshall of the tests last week in the Agnes Gray Elementary School in West Paris, Rowe Elementary School in Norway and the Waterford, Harrison and Otisfield elementary schools where the new systems are.
Marshall said the fire chiefs in each of the communities, plus a representative from the manufacturer of the equipment and the electrical contractors were able to meet at each school and review how the systems work.
"It was good to have them all together. They got their questions answered," he said.
The chiefs all received training on how to operate the systems, including how to shut them off, something they would have to do on the weekends if the alarms went off.
The work was paid for with a $1.1 million state Revolving Renovation Fund program that the district received in 2008. Sixty percent of the money is from the state and the rest is local financed through a no-interest loan, Marshall said.
The grant has been used to address fire safety issues along with other health, safety, Americans With Disabilities Act and air quality issues within the district's buildings. The projects are part of a 10-year capital improvement plan.
Marshall said the systems were upgraded with new strobe lights, which not only addressed American With Disability Act issues but brought the systems up to current code.
The strobes can be voice activated in areas such as the gymnasium and cafeteria and are installed lower in height than the old ones.
The old system could be heard before but lacked the strobe lights, Marshall said.
The Oxford Hills Middle School and Oxford Elementary School had updated fire systems and testing conducted last spring, he said.
The Paris Elementary School, Hebron Station School and high school have already been outfitted with updated fire systems.
Marshall said staff and students have 10 fire drills at each school every school year as part of their fire safety training.
ldixon@sunjournal.com
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Most Popular Today
verified on "Local schools stand to get more state money for education"
YOUR FIRST SENTENCE MAKE IT SOUNDS LIKE YOUR A TEACHER
I'm sorry Shane if i hit a nerve, but when schools allow kids to pass even thu their failing,(more then one class), then someone is not earning their pay. I've seen it, teachers come to work, sit behind their desk and go home. If kids are having a hard time learning something, they have to make an appointment with the teacher to get help....stop the crap and be there for those kids who need you, don't annoy them like their parents do. Teachers want to be respected, but it's like everything else in this world, if you want respect then earn it. In my book, if you help at least one child to get through with passing grades, you have done the most important thing in your life. I had a history teacher in High School who would not give up on me and thanks to him i completed high school. Now am always digging into history just because of that one teacher. I was held back in the 5th grade, failed in my freshman year and stayed back again in my Jr year,but because this one teacher would not give up on me, i did Jr & Sr years together without a study period and i passed. These teachers are rare around here, but their heros in my book. You talk about challenge, you must be talking about the "bad" student who disrupts the class. It goes back to respect and trust. It's not easy, but they have peers who pressure them, they have parents who don't have time or never learnt respect, themselves. You need to be ready to face that challenge head on, need to be patient (very patient)and have a keen imagination. You can't win them all over, but enjoy the ones you do...(just my opinion)...
verified on "Peru committee considers wind turbine noise levels"
sound
I noticed on 3 sound modeling maps provided to the DEP and LURC from the developer a trend.
The trend is a range of 35-45 dBa with-in a mile from turbine centers.
If we rural people are used to 20 dBa what will 42 dBa sound like?
On the decibel scale, doubling the intensity corresponds to an increase of 3 dB.
This does not correspond to a perceived doubling of loudness, however. We perceive loudness to be doubled when the intensity increases by a factor of 10! This corresponds to a 10 dB increase.
A change by 1 dB is about the smallest change a human being can detect.
verified on "D. Corrigan: Contesting benefits of wind power"
The Hidden Factors
Woodstock Site Plan Review
Page 15 , Number 18
Noise: the proposed development shall not raise noise levels to the extent that abutting and/or nearby residents are adversely affect.
A) The maximum permissible sound pressure level of any continuous, regular or frequent or an intermittent source of sound produced by any activity shall be limited by the time period and land use which it abuts listed below. Sound levels shall be measured at 4 feet above the ground at the property boundary of the source.
Sound pressure level limits using the sound equivalent level of one hour (leq 60 measured in dB(a) scale)
7:00 am to 10:00pm, residential 55 dB(a)
10:00pm to 7:00am residential 45 dB(a)
B) Noise shall be measured by a meter set on the A-weight response scale, fast response. The meter shall meet the American National Standards (ANSA SI-4-1961) American standard specification for general purpose sound meters.
My name is Leola Ballweber, I live in Woodstock, Maine. The town of Woodstock Planning board used the DEP guide lines for sound, yet, approved a waiver to raise the sound levels.
The wind project was appealed at the town level, DEP level, which Warren Brown suggested a NRO for 3 turbines starting at 7pm and adding 3 more from 10pm till 7am, 6 of 10 turbines would be restricted during this time and then it was off to the BEP. After the Supreme Court case was dropped, only 20% chance in the citizen’s favor. Patriot Renewable petitioned for the NRO to be removed. My understanding is that it was granted and the NRO was removed.
What was learned was that the state does not have regulations in place to protect the citizens from the unique infra-sound projected by industrial wind turbines.
The science is there to prove it exists, yet it is the citizens who are left to protect themselves.
The wind industry does and will not admit that these machines on top of Maine’s mountains make noise.
The sound maps that are computer generated are flawed and incorrect in these projects.
Bayroot, LLC owns land that is part of the Spruce Mount Wind Project, leases were giving. As soon as the Spruce mountain wind project began construction, Bayroot, LLC began removing timber between abutting properties and the wind project. If, the abutters had taken some consolation in the filtering of sound through the trees, it was made clear, it was not to be. The Logging Company came in and literally stripped the land. They paid the fines for their actions and continued to strip the 1000’s of acres around the Spruce Mountain Wind Project.
It is clear that the wind company, land owners of the logging properties, walk hand in hand on these wind projects.
There is no consideration for the ECHO Effect from the surrounding ridges and sound traveling down into the valleys.
It has been made clear that this is not a time for emotions. It is clear that the distress felt by the victims of these projects will not be considered.
I present to you some facts from Woodstock:
There are over 90 abutting properties to the Spruce Mountain wind project. Most of those are seasonal residents. The figures that I am submitting to you are taken from the Woodstock Map/Lot Index dated Tuesday, January 2008. I checked with the town manager and he assured me that this was the latest, up to date version.
Concord Pond Area-
• 75 properties,
• Towns value for buildings and land, $4,316,090.
• 1 local household considered year round resident of Woodstock
Shagg Pond Area-
• 67 properties,
• Towns value for buildings and land $4,507,390.
• 3 local households considered year round residents of Woodstock
Cushman and Perkins Valley Road-
• 54 properties,
Town’s value for buildings and land, $$3,241,030.
• 29 residents considered year round residents of Woodstock.
The Combined total,
• properties within 1.5 miles, 196
• property values to the town- $12,064,510.00
• The number of residential property owners considered year round residents- 33
It is clear that the properties involved are mostly seasonal owners who pay taxes and buy groceries when they come to Woodstock. They may be considered seasonal citizens, yet, spend summers, go skiing, snowmobiling or just get away from their busy lives on weekends, year round. They have no vote at town meetings and could not participate in the decision of this wind project coming to their neighbor. Now they live with the blade flicker and the Whooosh Whooosh of industrial wind turbines. The wind turbines came to them and they are given a short list of alternatives in dealing with the noise. Please consider the impact this will have on the other small towns, who have or will have wind projects come to their town. Our small townships are now being put in the position no matter what they decide, for or against a wind ordinance; they can expect challenges from both sides of the issue. Law suits are costly, timely and can at times be indecisive in the outcome. (Moot) When the industrial wind projects are built in Canton, Carthage, Dixfield, Peru, Sumner and phase two of The Spruce Mountain Wind Project is put into motion, these figures, one town at a time, will add up.
I believe that the Maine Legislature put us in this position of Fight or Flee and I believe the legislation should send a strong message to the wind industry. It is time for educating yourselves on the dangers of infra sound and making regulations that protect the citizens of Maine. Distance is the only control factor when dealing with this industry. I believe that the BEP’s intents are good, but feel that the 42 dB(a) is still too high, yet, it is a beginning.
Industrial wind turbines have a unique sound, they are a unique industry and the citizens of Maine deserve to be protected to the fullest from industrial wind’s noise pollution. I have been following the PUC with First Wind and see a pattern with the challenge to ethics, along with morals. Business is business and we should all go by the same rules, with the same penalties. They say that Enron is dead, yet, we are still dealing with the ghost of Enron,
There are other alternatives to choose from and Maine is already 30% renewable energy. Remove the cap on hydro and let the waters run. In these economic times, we should be consolidating, rather than wasting federal dollars on rich man’s projects. The down fall is that until someone tells the rich guy, he can’t walk all over the little guy, there will be casualties. The seasonal residents, tax payers and abutters to the Spruce Mountain Wind project are caught in the cross fire of this warring power for dominance on Maine’s mountains.
- Agree Agree (1)
In order to make comments, you must verify your account.
In order to comment on SunJournal.com, you must use your real name and include the town in which you live in your profile. A member of our staff will call you to verify this information. To join in, fill out your user profile completely and check the box "please verify my status." We'll get back to you within one business day to verify your account.
Login or create an account here.
Our policy prohibits comments that are:
- Defamatory, abusive, obscene, racist, or otherwise hateful
- Excessively foul and/or vulgar
- Inappropriately sexual
- Baseless personal attacks or otherwise threatening
- Contain illegal material, or material that infringes on the rights of others
- Commercial postings attempting to sell a product/item
If you violate this policy, your comment will be removed and your account may be banned.