Remember the Aug. 28 Couples feature about how Jodi and Michael Hayashida met? In that story the Auburn couple were expecting their second child.

Now they are a family of four. Their second daughter was born Sept. 13, Michael said. Little Tessa Joy weighed in at 8 pounds, 10.5 ounces, and was 20.5 inches long.

“Mom is doing great. Tessa is doing great,” Michael said. Their older daughter, Kaia, 2, is very interested in her little sister, and is treating her gently, Michael said.

Jodi, the minister for the First Universalist Church in Auburn, and Michael, a teacher at Poland Regional High School, are on maternity leave.

– Bonnie Washuk
Camp lessons

L/A Arts officials say they’ve put this summer’s Slim Mints incident behind them. But next summer’s theater camp may be a little different because of it.

“I think the only thing we’ll ever provide is bottled water,” said Andrew Harris, L/A Arts’ executive director.

This summer, Harris offered Slim Mints, a weight-loss supplement, to children attending the L/A Arts Summer Youth Theatre program. An older camper had shared the mints a few days earlier and, following the complaints of another camper’s parents, some of the kids became worried they’d eaten something dangerous. Harris said he offered the mints to assuage their fears.

The parents of a 9-year-old old girl pulled their daughter from camp when they found out. They asked the Auburn police to look into the incident, though no charges were filed.

The incident was reported in the Sun Journal in July.

Now that the season is over, Harris said he’ll think twice before doing anything similar at camp again.

“Would I calm kids down by showing them something next time? Damn well, no,” he said. “I won’t even handle it next time.”

Jon Oxman, board chairman, said another Slim Mints incident is very unlikely to occur again. But officials may caution campers that passing out food or candy could be dangerous.

“And we’ll proceed with both the safety and social implications of our actions in mind,” he said.

– Lindsay Tice