For Staff Sgt. Korey Silknitter, business is good.

The Auburn-based Air Force recruiter has been named New England’s top signer, enlisting 31 people from central Maine in the past year.

His bosses had asked him to sign up only 10.

“When you have a great product, people want it,” he said.

Possible recruits like the Air Force’s offer of money for school. And parents, many of whom are worried about the war in Iraq, like the fact that fewer than 10 percent are sent to the the Middle East.

“Our people are sent all over the world,” said Silknitter. A few go to Iraq and Afghanistan, flying planes or running the airports, he said. “We are in South Korea and Europe. Our mission takes us everywhere.

It takes him all over a portion of Maine.

“I cover 19 high schools and one community college,” said Silknitter, one of 55 recruiters in New England.

Like an Air Force guy, described his Maine territory from a bird’s-eye perspective.

“It’s 2,800 square miles,” he said.

– Daniel Hartill
Ken Starr calls on Snowe-Mello

Bates College’s Ed Muskie Archive room in Lewiston was jammed Wednesday night when Kenneth Starr, the man who led the 1998 investigation into the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky affair, came to speak. His subject was gay marriage.

As Starr lectured, more than once he focused on state Sen. Lois Snowe-Mello, R-Poland, who was sitting near the front. She was the only one in the audience he referred to more than once.

At one point Starr praised New England traditions, saying, “New England is wonderful in many respects, senator,” looking at Snowe-Mello.

Later, he spoke about California voters approving a 2000 referendum against gay marriage, which won by 62 percent. That’s a hefty margin for any campaign. “Senator would you like to win by 62 percent?” Starr asked Snowe-Mello. She smiled and nodded. Before Starr was done at the podium, he noted the Poland senator one or two more times.

After, Snowe-Mello said, “Man, was I ever surprised” with Starr’s attention. “I was both flattered and embarrassed!” Snowe-Mello wondered if Starr paid her special attention because “legislators don’t show up at these college things too often.” Or it could have been because Snowe-Mello was the highest-ranking Republican in the room.

– Bonnie Washuk

Boys and girls

Sitting through two aspirations classes Thursday at Lewiston High School was an eye-opener. It’s not often you see large groups of freshman boys and girls segregated. The classes offered a glimpse on why girls could be easier to teach than boys.

Neither sex seemed overly enthralled to be there.

The junior panelists offered good advice on how to get to college – take three years of the same language, four years of math, two years of lab sciences. During the lecture the boys didn’t talk to each other when they shouldn’t. But they squirmed. At times they made so much noise wiggling in their seats it was tough to hear whoever was speaking.

The girls were quieter. Once a teacher separated two for talking, but no one constantly squirmed in their chair. The girls seemed less bothered to sit and listen.

During both classes students were constantly prodded to ask questions. Most of the time neither sex did. They did the freshman hang-back.

Near the end that changed for the boys. They began to ask questions, some good ones.

It probably didn’t hurt that they were promised a Dunkin’ Donuts Munchkin for a good question.

– Bonnie Washuk

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