LEWISTON — During a Monday night meeting of the Lewiston School Department’s redistricting committee, member and City Councilor John Butler advised Superintendent Bill Webster not to bring up the subject of redistricting to the City Council.

“It will open a can of worms,” Butler said.

“It’s none of the city’s business!” agreed the not-so-shy School Committee member Jim Handy. He, or someone else on the committee, asked, “You got that, Bonnie?”

I nodded and said, “Got it.”

Webster explained that the intention of talking about the controversial plan to distribute poorer and English-learning students throughout city schools next fall is to promote “good communication and transparency.”

Learning new words in the kitchen

On Wednesday at the Green Ladle Culinary Arts School at the Lewiston Regional Technical Center, I picked up a few new terms.

Chefs who specialize in baking are called “puffs,” stemning from pastry puffs; chefs who specialize in meals are “greasers.” In the kitchen, you hear both words used matter-of-factly.

So were other terms that describe ways to prepare food, which I’m sure brought looks of confusion to my face. One was “tournee,” which means to cut a potato with seven sides so it looks like a little football.

Seven sides? Are you serious?

Another term is “brunoise,” which means to cut a vegetable into tiny squares — one-eighth of an inch by one-eighth of an inch.

You’ve got to be kidding! Not in my kitchen.

More words overheard in the kitchen were nicknames for Lewiston Regional Technical Center Director Rob Callahan and Assistant Director Jake Langlais. Green Ladle students have dubbed Callahan “Dish Thing 1” and Langlais “Dish Thing 2.”

The nicknames were inspired by two characters, Thing 1 and Thing 2, in the children’s book “The Cat in the Hat” by Dr. Seuss and describe the directors’ talent in the kitchen: washing dishes.