October 19, 2025 • 31 mins
Indigenous Peoples' Day weekend marked the 18th annual Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta with pumpkin-centric events new and old. After LCN general assignment reporters Christina Wallace and Claire Taylor recap this week's biggest stories, Christina talks with Coastal Kids Preschool Development Director Abi Iverson about the school's sensory-friendly Pumpkinfest event.
Thank you for listening to "Beyond the Broadsheet: A Podcast by The Lincoln County News." Beyond the Broadsheet is produced by Lucas McNelly and Maia Zewert. Production support provided by Tyler Davis of Tyality Productions. Theme music by Stu Mahan and Sherwood Olin.
Have a question or suggestion? Email us at info@lcnme.com. And if you haven't already, please be sure to rate this podcast and subscribe wherever you listen.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:09):
Welcome to Beyond the Broadsheet, a podcast by the
Lincoln County News. We are a community newspaper
based in Mid Coast Maine and we provide the most comprehensive,
in depth coverage available anywhere of the 18 towns and 1
plantation that make up Lincoln County.
My name is Claire Taylor and I am a general assignment reporter
here at LCN. And my name is Christina
(00:30):
Wallace. I'm also a reporter here at LCN,
and I cover the towns of Bristol, South Bristol, Bremen
and Nobleboro. And last week was Claire's first
podcast with us, and she got to introduce herself and talk about
her experience. This week we had Pumpkin Fest.
And so I am sitting down with Abby Iverson, the Development
(00:52):
director for Coastal Kids Preschool, who hosted A sensory
friendly Pumpkin Fest event on Monday, October 13th with a
famous PBS Kids character, a raccoon named Carl the
Collector. And he is very cute and he is
the first PBS Kids lead character to have autism.
And so we're going to sit down and talk about the event and how
(01:14):
they're able to create sensory friendly environments for kids.
But first, here are some of the top stories from the Thursday,
October 16th edition of the paper.
Newcastle residents authorized 1.45 million for the Lynch Rd.
Bridge at a special town meetingon Tuesday, October 14th.
(01:35):
The town can now move forward with winter construction plans
to replace the current culvert, which has failed repeatedly in
recent years. The culvert failed in 2010 and
then failed again in May 2023 during a rainstorm.
Town Manager Kevin Sutherland said that the town is entitled
to at least 1,000,000 of reimbursed funds for the project
(01:56):
through FEMA. He anticipates the town will
ultimately pay anywhere from $86,996 to 429,626 for the
bridge once completed. Town officials, I hope the
bridge will stand sturdy for. A while.
(02:17):
Yeah, Maine Game wardens find a missing 91 year old man.
Maine Game Wardens recovered an Edgecombe resident from the
woods near his home just as temperatures dipped below
freezing on Thursday, October 9th.
A man was reported missing by one of his caregivers after he
was gone for the majority of theday.
Game Warden Chad Robertson and his canine partner, Storm, found
(02:40):
the man at approximately 5:40 PM.
Game wardens helped him out of the woods where he was loaded
into an altering vehicle and then examined in a waiting
ambulance. He was ultimately released to
his family and did not have to go to the hospital, according to
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Communications Director Mark Latte.
So thankfully he was able to make it home safe and sound and
(03:05):
yeah, all goes well. Pumpkin Fest was a success by
all measures, Executive directorsaid.
The 18th annual Pumpkin Fest wasdefinitely record numbers.
According to the Executive director Jed Weiss, programming
(03:26):
mixed together new and old events for the festival's
biggest crowds yet. A rounded out food court and the
Tour de Gourd 5K race for editions this year, both of
which were quite successful. Over 200 people ran in the 5K.
Smashing originator Mike Lees hopes to have 100 attendees in
the race, so doubled it. Oh wow.
(03:47):
Weiss attributed the festival's success to the sponsors,
volunteers and the towns of Newcastle and Damariscotta.
It's so exciting. It was a successful event for
everyone, no? Kidding.
A political protest attempts to close Main Street during Pumpkin
Fest Regatta. A white filled woman was
arrested during a political protest on the Damroscatta
(04:10):
Newcastle Bridge at the same time as the Pumpkin Fest Regatta
on Sunday, October 12th. 10 to 15 protesters were attempting to
block the roadway, according to Lincoln County Sheriff's Office
Chief Deputy Randmaker. The group called People's
Perseverance for Palestine was demonstrating to draw attention
to current events evolving Israel and Palestine.
(04:32):
Alexandra Welsh, who was the protester who was arrested,
refused to leave the roadway andwas arrested for obstruction of
a public way, a Class E misdemeanor.
Welsh was taken to Two Bridges Regional Jail and released the
same day after posting $200 bail.
Her initial court appearance will be on Thursday, December
(04:53):
11th. In some more fun Pumpkin Fest
news, I got to cover the PumpkinDerby, which featured children's
children ages 12 to 17 from across the state and beyond, and
they raced in this annual Tamara's Got a Pumpkin Fest
(05:13):
Derby on Sunday, October 12th. According to Charlene Corbett,
the Executive director for Healthy Kids, 72 razors
participated this year, an increase from just over 50 last
year. So quite a big difference.
Alex Ashton of Winterport won first place with his pumpkin
decorated as a Purple People Leader.
(05:34):
Alwyn Wells of Portland won a second place with her pumpkin
decorated as a pink cat with a Unicorn horn.
Love and DJ Limoth of Caribou placed third with his Life
Flight of Maine helicopter inspired pumpkin.
So the kids had a lot of fun andhad a great turn out and it was
(05:54):
so fun to see all of the decorated pumpkins and seeing
how creative kids got and all ofthat.
So yeah, it sounds. Like a great time, it was very
fun. Across the bridge at Newcastle's
newest Italian restaurant, Meticini, owner Tim Cheney and
head chef Judd Valet are just getting started.
(06:16):
When he was considering buying the Newcastle Public House and
its surrounding property last year, Cheney, who is from New
Haven Set, Connecticut, said that the dilapidated barn and
garage seemed perfect for a new restaurant.
After a nine month renovation, the restaurant opened its doors
in August and has been finding its stride as a music venue and
(06:38):
eatery. Valet, who hails from Chicago,
said the restaurant's menu should fulfill any craving with
bar food like sandwiches as wellas fine dining options with
classic pasta dishes. Meticini is located at 52 Main
St. in the Back Lot. I'm very excited to have people
try out this restaurant, and we really did need an Italian
(07:00):
restaurant in the area. Yeah, we were.
Talking about that the other day.
I'm really excited about it, yeah.
It sounds like a great time. I also love how he looked at a
dilapidated barn and garage and was like, that's perfect for a
restaurant. And it looks stunning, like he
did such a good job with it. Yeah, the.
Renovations were fantastic. Yeah, he saw the vision.
That's all that matters, yeah. In other local news, the
(07:23):
character of the county this week is Leah Pucky, and she
knows what she wants. Pucky grew up in Newcastle with
plans to take on John A Pucky Oil Co, an independent oil, an
independent fuel oil dealer founded by her grandfather in
1939. After she and her dad, Jack
(07:44):
Pucky, decided to sell the business when she was barely 35,
Leah Pucky needed to take on a new path.
After negotiating a deal with Dead River Co, Leah Pucky stayed
on in the local office to provide continuity for
customers. She still works at the Newcastle
office Monday through Friday, ontop of caring for her father and
(08:07):
maintaining her license as a basic emergency medical
technician. To learn more about Leah Pucky,
pick up a copy of the paper or visit lcnme.com.
So we were talking about this earlier, but this was our first
Pumpkin Fest like ever that we've experienced.
So I guess can you tell me a little bit about like what your
(08:31):
experience was like coming from a different state into Maine,
experiencing Pumpkin Fest for the first time?
Yeah, it was really fun. It was kind of wild to see all
these places that I'm getting toknow, like, covered in pumpkins
and all of the activity and waysthe town came to life.
It's just really fun, yeah. Yeah, it was a great time.
(08:53):
I got to cover the parade and I also covered the Derby as we
talked about. But my fiance and I took her dog
to the pumpkin regatta and it was so cute.
He was so calm because he's justa puppy, so.
That's very that's great socialization.
For him, absolutely. There's so many people there.
It was a. Big crowd it.
Was huge. Lots of other dogs.
(09:14):
Too there were and he did reallywell around the other dogs too.
So proud, proud dog mom moment there.
Absolutely. But it's I was just telling my
fiance how silly it is that likeand how the most main thing ever
is to see a pumpkin and be like,I'm going to turn that into a
boat. Yeah, and it works.
Like it really does. They were impressive.
(09:35):
It drew like a huge crowd, so that was really cool and you got
to go around and take pictures of the pumpkin.
I did. It was very fun to see like, oh,
like they just popped up all over town.
And I think it just like, like getting to know the area and
like, oh, there's one out in front of Hannaford's.
(09:55):
Oh, there's one right at the McDonald's.
Like just knowing like all of these spots, like, oh, there's
pumpkins all over town and they're all so beautifully
decorated. It was just so fun to see
everybody's creativity. Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah. The artist did an incredible job
and it was so cool to walk, especially around Main St. in
Demoscada because there's like apumpkin everywhere there, right?
(10:18):
So it was so cool to see the creativity of the artists and
how they were able to bring their vision to life, and that's
really cool. So if you want to see pictures
from that, definitely check out a copy of our paper.
We have pictures of pretty much all of the events there, from
pie eating to the Tour de Gourd to the pumpkins to the parade,
(10:39):
all of it. So definitely go check it out.
But now on to my interview with Amy Iverson.
Can't wait. All right.
(11:06):
Hi, everyone. I am here with Abby Iverson, who
is the development director for Coastal Kids Preschool.
Abby, thank you so much for being here with me today.
Thank you so much for having me here today.
Of course. So over Pumpkin Fest, Coastal
Kids Preschool held a sensory friendly event with a famous PBS
Kids character, Carl the Collector.
(11:27):
So I would love for you to tell me about that event and how that
was for the kids. Absolutely.
So Coastal Kids Preschool was very excited to have the
opportunity to host the award-winning PBS Kids series
character Carl the Collector, aswell as have a Carl the
(11:48):
Collector themed event bringing sensory, the first ever sensory
friendly dedicated space to Pumpkin Fest.
That's awesome. And so can you tell me a little
bit about the activities that were offered for kids there and
how they got to interact with Carl?
(12:08):
Absolutely. So first thing that I have to
say is I worked closely with Maryland Public Television and
they provided a wonderful kit that can be adapted anywhere to
provide this Carl the Collector themed sensory friendly event.
So a lot of the activities that I'll describe came directly from
them with the idea of allowing multiple friendly events to
(12:32):
exist nationwide and wherever else they want to be adopted.
So a couple of the activities that we had that day, we are
lucky to be geographically connected from or to the trail
system for the central Lincoln County YMCA.
And so we were able to incorporate a scavenger hunt
(12:55):
that guided kids from the pumpkin hunt and the pumpkin
drop via trail system and a scavenger hunt activity to
coastal kids preschool. So that scavenger hunt was one
of the activities that we had. We also had pumpkin painting and
Carl our our wonderful raccoon loves his Argyle sweater and so
(13:20):
one of the activities that was sponsored by our local Damer
Scott Hannaford was we were ableto make Argyle sweaters out of
Hannaford shopping bags. So all of the kids got to walk
away with their Carl inspired Argyle sweater.
We also provided a quiet, calm coloring space.
(13:42):
One of the characters, Lada fromthe show is quite the artist and
definitely likes to have her lowsensory STEM environment to get
her art done. So we had that space dedicated
and we were also able to create a low sensory STEM screening
(14:06):
room at Coastal Kids, which allowed us to show a couple of
episodes, including the new episode which we're very excited
about, the release of the Halloween Carl the Collector
episode, which the new collection of episodes dropped
on Monday the 13th. So that was perfect coincidence
(14:27):
for us. That works out perfectly.
Yes. And last but absolutely not
least, we worked with LCTVLCTV was able to work with us that
day to bring in their green screen and Alex, our cameraman
came and provided kids with the opportunity to see themselves in
(14:50):
fuzzy Town. So it was a wonderful
opportunity to kind of break that 4th wall or at least jump
through it and and be a part of the show themselves.
So we definitely got a kick out of that.
Yeah, it was so cute watching all of the kids like light up
when they saw themselves on TV and get to experience being in
different scenes from the show too.
(15:11):
So it was very cute to see. So Carl the Collector is kind of
a first of its kind TV show for PBS Kids really because the main
character is the first main character in PBS history that
has autism. So can you tell me a little bit
about the impact that having that representation on screen
(15:33):
for kids has? Absolutely.
I think we can all say that we look to see ourselves in the
media that's represented. And if you are searching to
identify with a character, whether you're a child or an
adult, and you're not really finding that representation, it
(15:58):
can feel isolating. And I would say especially if
you already find yourself on what is considered the
neurodivergent spectrum, the chance of that feeling of
isolation or disconnect from thegeneral population can feel more
intense. So having a character that
(16:21):
represents the emotions that youfeel, represents those periods
of sensory overwhelm, as well asdemonstrates how to navigate
through those periods is very helpful for anyone that has
those experiences. It's validating for them.
(16:43):
Likewise, it provides an opportunity to show the
community around that individualhow to support them in those
instances. So it it gives us all the tools
of how to engage with one another while simultaneously
teaching us all a little bit about emotional regulation and
(17:04):
what everyone can do if we get into a situation that might feel
a little bit stressful or overwhelming.
The beautiful aspect of the showis that interplay exists amongst
all of the characters, and so it's not at no given time are we
solely solving the problems or the challenge lunges that Carl
(17:26):
faces. We are seeing as a community how
these characters in Fuzzy Town really, truly show up for one
another. Yeah, that's awesome.
And I think that's really important to show kids at a very
young age that representation too, so they don't feel like
that isolation that people can feel.
(17:46):
Have you seen that impact on kids at the preschool with Carl
the Collector? I would say a couple of
different things. One, I'm a mother of three.
My kids are 9, seven and five. We are a neurodivergent
household. And I could say even from the
beginning, once the show released, because I was very
(18:07):
excited about it from the get go, it sparked lots of
conversations. And those conversations, again,
9 times out of 10, when I think of the space that we create in
an early childhood setting, whatwe're doing is we're providing
an opportunity for social emotional development and skills
(18:29):
that lead towards behavior regulation, emotional
regulation. There's really no other
dedicated period of a human being's life except for maybe as
an adult when they choose to revisit therapy, that they're
going to actively engage in strategies towards emotional
regulation, behavior regulation.These are tools that help all of
(18:50):
us. And so whether you're in an
early childhood setting or you're watching these social
dynamics unfold through an animated television series, once
you see how someone else managesthose life experiences that
we're all faced with, you begin to integrate those tools and
(19:11):
those experiences. So then you see that reflect.
And you see, I one of a, a high school student that that I
worked with at the Y in her junior high years, she mentioned
the other day that she feels like Carl the collector is the
Daniel Tiger for her generation.And you know, for me it was Mr.
(19:34):
Rogers and then my kids a littlebit more Daniel Tiger.
But really what that is all about is, again, being a good
friend, showing up for one another and how you navigate
through the daily challenges of life that we all face.
So that's definitely, I see thatplay out on a daily basis and
that's where the professionals are amazing staff at Coastal
(19:57):
Kids. That's what they are working on
with those kids day in and day out.
There's the. You know, the early math and
early reading skills that they're working on.
But in order to show up preparedfor those, they have to be in a
the right social emotional stateto be receptive to to learning.
And they have to be able to workwith their peers because as
(20:19):
Priscilla Cogney and our foundersaid a couple at at a a recent
interview, we all know as educators, the most impactful
teachers to the students are their peers.
That's really who they're learning from most.
So how do we create a supportiveenvironment where they can gain
(20:39):
that knowledge and experience through those friendships?
Absolutely. And Coastal Kids is really
unique in the fact that it is a very inclusive preschool.
Can you kind of talk me through what that means exactly?
Absolutely. So Coastal Kids Preschool
designates a third of its spots for children that have I have
(21:00):
been identified as in need of additional support up until
recently in this transition is happening more or less as we
speak. CVS child development services
had that preschool as in prior to kindergarten child find
responsibilities so a responsibility.
So if a a child was identified either by the parents or by a
(21:24):
pediatrician as being in need ofadditional services, be it be it
speech therapy, occupational therapy, behavioral supports,
whatever it may be, or maybe they have a physical disability
or need, CVS would then refer that child to coastal kids.
(21:48):
And we work directly with them. And we have been the largest
provider of special needs early childhood services in the Mid
Coast area. So we have that distinction,
that designation that is there to make sure that we can
accommodate and serve those kidsthat that need that support.
(22:08):
We also know, just as I said, that kids learn best from their
peers. And so creating an exclusive
environment that only provided services for children with
additional needs at times can provide a disservice because
they're not experiencing the, you know, what some might
(22:30):
consider the general population or typically developing.
There's different language that is used.
But the idea is that we want those kids, we want all kids to
be within a community of their peers, supporting one another,
to learn and to be prepared for when they transition to
kindergarten. So when you talk about creating
(22:52):
sensory friendly spaces for kids, can you tell people what
exactly that means? Absolutely.
So when we speak to a sensory environment or when we speak to
sensory sensitivity or sensory seeking, there's a couple of
different ways that we can look at it or at least a couple of
different things that we observe.
(23:14):
Adults, kiddos that have exceptional sensory needs can be
either sensory seeking in that they are looking for that
sensory input. I mentioned that I'm I come from
a neurodivergent household. One of my kiddos in particular
(23:36):
seeks spinning in a way that would make me and probably the
vast majority of the population completely and utterly sick to
their stomach. This child can be spin like, can
be spinning at ridiculous speeds, swinging all over the
place, and then the 2nd that it stops, walk out as if nothing
(23:56):
phased him. And nine times an out of 10 in a
much more calm and regulated state than before then.
And so I provide that example just to say that there is a
spectrum to what sensory needs look like.
There is that sensory seeking. Another one of my kiddos, I can
(24:17):
say definitely moves into the realm of vocal stimming where
sometimes he likes a lot of noise in a space and will fill
the space with noise, which can definitely challenge anybody who
might have any sensory aversions.
So there's that end of the spectrum just because a lot of
times that gets overlooked. The other end of the spectrum, a
(24:39):
great way to think of it, even if we put it into an educational
context, if you were in a classroom and you were asked to
focus on the work that you had at hand and that classroom, the
thermostat stat was like crankedup to 105°.
It would make it absolutely impossible for you to
concentrate on anything else other than getting yourself out
(25:00):
of that space and making it thatmuch more challenging to be in
that space and get the work donethat you have to get done.
For folks that have a lower sensory threshold, and again, we
can think about this in the context of all 5 senses.
Any of that sensory input can feel as intense as the room
(25:22):
being as if you were in a sauna,even though to the general
population it might not lead to that same level of overwhelm.
And so again, bringing it back to education, if you are
creating a sensory friendly environment within an
educational setting, you are doing so to help an individual
(25:45):
be able to regulate, move away from that sensation of
overwhelm, to be able to focus on whatever task is at hand.
And so I bring in the education piece because what Coastal Kids
provided on Monday was a beautiful recreational space for
(26:06):
people to come and know that they could feel safe, know that
they can enter into a room that is calm, comfortable.
You have nice calm activities where you know that you're
entering into an environment where you can be yourself.
That's the other piece of it too, is if we have a sensory
(26:28):
friendly environment, it's an indication to folks that this is
an environment that they can bring their kids to and their
kids can feel safe. We, I work closely.
We work closely with Mobius and one of the case managers from
Mobius, the child case managers leading up to the event,
(26:50):
mentioned that she has a family that said explicitly that they
don't bring their two kids anywhere, That it's just it's
too much and for them and too much just it.
It's just a very stressful experience all around.
But she said they were excited to come to the Coastal Kids
(27:12):
event. And so that was great news.
Well, there was also a post thatcame up on our Facebook page
asking about what age it was forbecause their kiddo did attend
the the Super fun and so exciting kid zone at the Central
Lincoln County YMCA, but found that environment a little bit
too stimulating, like over stimulating for them and was
(27:35):
wondering a little bit more information about our event.
So again, it's not about, you know what it's about.
Just making a space that is accessible to all is really what
it comes down to. And again, just thinking about
it from an educational context, providing that space within an
(27:57):
educational context allows the children to then regulate that
level of overwhelm to be able toreturn to their academics or
whatever is expected of them in a classroom setting.
Yeah, absolutely. So does coastal kids have any
more sensory friendly events coming up?
(28:17):
And if so, or if not, is there any way that people can support
those events happening in the future for coastal kids?
Absolutely. Our mission has always been to
Createspace for specifically early childhood individuals
regardless of ability and income.
And I've I mentioned that because holding that space in
(28:42):
and of itself requires a lot financially.
Coastal Kids preschool continuesso strong in providing that in
the early childhood setting. And we see and we feel and we
observed on Monday that need formore sensory friendly spaces
during these events. And otherwise we want to call
(29:07):
families in and we want to make sure that everyone knows because
they already do know. We had so many families that
showed up on Monday and and to be clear, the families that
showed up on Monday, some of them would fall into the
neurodiverse demographic. Other ones are alumni of ours
that just love Coastal Kids so much.
It is their safe home. So it's not it's not exclusive
(29:29):
at all. It's truly inclusive.
So I would say that if there is anyone listening that is
passionate about making sure that Coastal Kids can keep
providing space for children to access that early childhood
education piece, but also in these social opportunities, a
(29:53):
space for families to come to and be able to enjoy that
community together. I would love for them to get in
touch with in touch with me. You can reach out via our
website. We're at Coastal Kids ME as in
coastalkidsmaine.org and definitely reach out.
(30:14):
We would love to see more. We would love to host more, but
we absolutely cannot do it alone, so we would really love
to have local support get on board to make sure that we can
see more of these events in the future.
That's awesome. Well, thank you so much for
being here with me today. I really appreciate you coming
on and being able to talk about this event and the impact that
(30:35):
it had on kids. And yeah, thank you so much.
Thank you so much for your time.All right, we will see you next
week. Thank you for listening to Be on
the Broadsheet, a podcast by theLincoln County News.
This podcast is produced by Lucas McNally and Maya Ziwert.
Tyler Davis of Tiality Productions provides production
support. Our theme music is by Stu Mahan
(30:56):
and Lincoln County News associate editor slash bassist
Sherwood Olin. The Lincoln County News hits
news stands across the county every Wednesday afternoon and
you can also access our work online at lcnme.com.
If you have a question, comment or suggestion, please e-mail us
at info@lcnme.com. As always, we're grateful for
(31:19):
the support of our readers and listeners in Lincoln County and
beyond. It's been great catching up
today and we'll talk with you again soon.
Welcome to Beyond the Broadsheet, a podcast by the
Lincoln County News. We are a community newspaper
based in Mid Coast Maine and we provide the most comprehensive,
in depth coverage available anywhere of the 18 towns and 1
plantation that make up Lincoln County.
My name is Claire Taylor and I am a general assignment reporter
here at LCN. And my name is Christina
(00:30):
Wallace. I'm also a reporter here at LCN,
and I cover the towns of Bristol, South Bristol, Bremen
and Nobleboro. And last week was Claire's first
podcast with us, and she got to introduce herself and talk about
her experience. This week we had Pumpkin Fest.
And so I am sitting down with Abby Iverson, the Development
(00:52):
director for Coastal Kids Preschool, who hosted A sensory
friendly Pumpkin Fest event on Monday, October 13th with a
famous PBS Kids character, a raccoon named Carl the
Collector. And he is very cute and he is
the first PBS Kids lead character to have autism.
And so we're going to sit down and talk about the event and how
(01:14):
they're able to create sensory friendly environments for kids.
But first, here are some of the top stories from the Thursday,
October 16th edition of the paper.
Newcastle residents authorized 1.45 million for the Lynch Rd.
Bridge at a special town meetingon Tuesday, October 14th.
(01:35):
The town can now move forward with winter construction plans
to replace the current culvert, which has failed repeatedly in
recent years. The culvert failed in 2010 and
then failed again in May 2023 during a rainstorm.
Town Manager Kevin Sutherland said that the town is entitled
to at least 1,000,000 of reimbursed funds for the project
(01:56):
through FEMA. He anticipates the town will
ultimately pay anywhere from $86,996 to 429,626 for the
bridge once completed. Town officials, I hope the
bridge will stand sturdy for. A while.
(02:17):
Yeah, Maine Game wardens find a missing 91 year old man.
Maine Game Wardens recovered an Edgecombe resident from the
woods near his home just as temperatures dipped below
freezing on Thursday, October 9th.
A man was reported missing by one of his caregivers after he
was gone for the majority of theday.
Game Warden Chad Robertson and his canine partner, Storm, found
(02:40):
the man at approximately 5:40 PM.
Game wardens helped him out of the woods where he was loaded
into an altering vehicle and then examined in a waiting
ambulance. He was ultimately released to
his family and did not have to go to the hospital, according to
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Communications Director Mark Latte.
So thankfully he was able to make it home safe and sound and
(03:05):
yeah, all goes well. Pumpkin Fest was a success by
all measures, Executive directorsaid.
The 18th annual Pumpkin Fest wasdefinitely record numbers.
According to the Executive director Jed Weiss, programming
(03:26):
mixed together new and old events for the festival's
biggest crowds yet. A rounded out food court and the
Tour de Gourd 5K race for editions this year, both of
which were quite successful. Over 200 people ran in the 5K.
Smashing originator Mike Lees hopes to have 100 attendees in
the race, so doubled it. Oh wow.
(03:47):
Weiss attributed the festival's success to the sponsors,
volunteers and the towns of Newcastle and Damariscotta.
It's so exciting. It was a successful event for
everyone, no? Kidding.
A political protest attempts to close Main Street during Pumpkin
Fest Regatta. A white filled woman was
arrested during a political protest on the Damroscatta
(04:10):
Newcastle Bridge at the same time as the Pumpkin Fest Regatta
on Sunday, October 12th. 10 to 15 protesters were attempting to
block the roadway, according to Lincoln County Sheriff's Office
Chief Deputy Randmaker. The group called People's
Perseverance for Palestine was demonstrating to draw attention
to current events evolving Israel and Palestine.
(04:32):
Alexandra Welsh, who was the protester who was arrested,
refused to leave the roadway andwas arrested for obstruction of
a public way, a Class E misdemeanor.
Welsh was taken to Two Bridges Regional Jail and released the
same day after posting $200 bail.
Her initial court appearance will be on Thursday, December
(04:53):
11th. In some more fun Pumpkin Fest
news, I got to cover the PumpkinDerby, which featured children's
children ages 12 to 17 from across the state and beyond, and
they raced in this annual Tamara's Got a Pumpkin Fest
(05:13):
Derby on Sunday, October 12th. According to Charlene Corbett,
the Executive director for Healthy Kids, 72 razors
participated this year, an increase from just over 50 last
year. So quite a big difference.
Alex Ashton of Winterport won first place with his pumpkin
decorated as a Purple People Leader.
(05:34):
Alwyn Wells of Portland won a second place with her pumpkin
decorated as a pink cat with a Unicorn horn.
Love and DJ Limoth of Caribou placed third with his Life
Flight of Maine helicopter inspired pumpkin.
So the kids had a lot of fun andhad a great turn out and it was
(05:54):
so fun to see all of the decorated pumpkins and seeing
how creative kids got and all ofthat.
So yeah, it sounds. Like a great time, it was very
fun. Across the bridge at Newcastle's
newest Italian restaurant, Meticini, owner Tim Cheney and
head chef Judd Valet are just getting started.
(06:16):
When he was considering buying the Newcastle Public House and
its surrounding property last year, Cheney, who is from New
Haven Set, Connecticut, said that the dilapidated barn and
garage seemed perfect for a new restaurant.
After a nine month renovation, the restaurant opened its doors
in August and has been finding its stride as a music venue and
(06:38):
eatery. Valet, who hails from Chicago,
said the restaurant's menu should fulfill any craving with
bar food like sandwiches as wellas fine dining options with
classic pasta dishes. Meticini is located at 52 Main
St. in the Back Lot. I'm very excited to have people
try out this restaurant, and we really did need an Italian
(07:00):
restaurant in the area. Yeah, we were.
Talking about that the other day.
I'm really excited about it, yeah.
It sounds like a great time. I also love how he looked at a
dilapidated barn and garage and was like, that's perfect for a
restaurant. And it looks stunning, like he
did such a good job with it. Yeah, the.
Renovations were fantastic. Yeah, he saw the vision.
That's all that matters, yeah. In other local news, the
(07:23):
character of the county this week is Leah Pucky, and she
knows what she wants. Pucky grew up in Newcastle with
plans to take on John A Pucky Oil Co, an independent oil, an
independent fuel oil dealer founded by her grandfather in
1939. After she and her dad, Jack
(07:44):
Pucky, decided to sell the business when she was barely 35,
Leah Pucky needed to take on a new path.
After negotiating a deal with Dead River Co, Leah Pucky stayed
on in the local office to provide continuity for
customers. She still works at the Newcastle
office Monday through Friday, ontop of caring for her father and
(08:07):
maintaining her license as a basic emergency medical
technician. To learn more about Leah Pucky,
pick up a copy of the paper or visit lcnme.com.
So we were talking about this earlier, but this was our first
Pumpkin Fest like ever that we've experienced.
So I guess can you tell me a little bit about like what your
(08:31):
experience was like coming from a different state into Maine,
experiencing Pumpkin Fest for the first time?
Yeah, it was really fun. It was kind of wild to see all
these places that I'm getting toknow, like, covered in pumpkins
and all of the activity and waysthe town came to life.
It's just really fun, yeah. Yeah, it was a great time.
(08:53):
I got to cover the parade and I also covered the Derby as we
talked about. But my fiance and I took her dog
to the pumpkin regatta and it was so cute.
He was so calm because he's justa puppy, so.
That's very that's great socialization.
For him, absolutely. There's so many people there.
It was a. Big crowd it.
Was huge. Lots of other dogs.
(09:14):
Too there were and he did reallywell around the other dogs too.
So proud, proud dog mom moment there.
Absolutely. But it's I was just telling my
fiance how silly it is that likeand how the most main thing ever
is to see a pumpkin and be like,I'm going to turn that into a
boat. Yeah, and it works.
Like it really does. They were impressive.
(09:35):
It drew like a huge crowd, so that was really cool and you got
to go around and take pictures of the pumpkin.
I did. It was very fun to see like, oh,
like they just popped up all over town.
And I think it just like, like getting to know the area and
like, oh, there's one out in front of Hannaford's.
(09:55):
Oh, there's one right at the McDonald's.
Like just knowing like all of these spots, like, oh, there's
pumpkins all over town and they're all so beautifully
decorated. It was just so fun to see
everybody's creativity. Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah. The artist did an incredible job
and it was so cool to walk, especially around Main St. in
Demoscada because there's like apumpkin everywhere there, right?
(10:18):
So it was so cool to see the creativity of the artists and
how they were able to bring their vision to life, and that's
really cool. So if you want to see pictures
from that, definitely check out a copy of our paper.
We have pictures of pretty much all of the events there, from
pie eating to the Tour de Gourd to the pumpkins to the parade,
(10:39):
all of it. So definitely go check it out.
But now on to my interview with Amy Iverson.
Can't wait. All right.
(11:06):
Hi, everyone. I am here with Abby Iverson, who
is the development director for Coastal Kids Preschool.
Abby, thank you so much for being here with me today.
Thank you so much for having me here today.
Of course. So over Pumpkin Fest, Coastal
Kids Preschool held a sensory friendly event with a famous PBS
Kids character, Carl the Collector.
(11:27):
So I would love for you to tell me about that event and how that
was for the kids. Absolutely.
So Coastal Kids Preschool was very excited to have the
opportunity to host the award-winning PBS Kids series
character Carl the Collector, aswell as have a Carl the
(11:48):
Collector themed event bringing sensory, the first ever sensory
friendly dedicated space to Pumpkin Fest.
That's awesome. And so can you tell me a little
bit about the activities that were offered for kids there and
how they got to interact with Carl?
(12:08):
Absolutely. So first thing that I have to
say is I worked closely with Maryland Public Television and
they provided a wonderful kit that can be adapted anywhere to
provide this Carl the Collector themed sensory friendly event.
So a lot of the activities that I'll describe came directly from
them with the idea of allowing multiple friendly events to
(12:32):
exist nationwide and wherever else they want to be adopted.
So a couple of the activities that we had that day, we are
lucky to be geographically connected from or to the trail
system for the central Lincoln County YMCA.
And so we were able to incorporate a scavenger hunt
(12:55):
that guided kids from the pumpkin hunt and the pumpkin
drop via trail system and a scavenger hunt activity to
coastal kids preschool. So that scavenger hunt was one
of the activities that we had. We also had pumpkin painting and
Carl our our wonderful raccoon loves his Argyle sweater and so
(13:20):
one of the activities that was sponsored by our local Damer
Scott Hannaford was we were ableto make Argyle sweaters out of
Hannaford shopping bags. So all of the kids got to walk
away with their Carl inspired Argyle sweater.
We also provided a quiet, calm coloring space.
(13:42):
One of the characters, Lada fromthe show is quite the artist and
definitely likes to have her lowsensory STEM environment to get
her art done. So we had that space dedicated
and we were also able to create a low sensory STEM screening
(14:06):
room at Coastal Kids, which allowed us to show a couple of
episodes, including the new episode which we're very excited
about, the release of the Halloween Carl the Collector
episode, which the new collection of episodes dropped
on Monday the 13th. So that was perfect coincidence
(14:27):
for us. That works out perfectly.
Yes. And last but absolutely not
least, we worked with LCTVLCTV was able to work with us that
day to bring in their green screen and Alex, our cameraman
came and provided kids with the opportunity to see themselves in
(14:50):
fuzzy Town. So it was a wonderful
opportunity to kind of break that 4th wall or at least jump
through it and and be a part of the show themselves.
So we definitely got a kick out of that.
Yeah, it was so cute watching all of the kids like light up
when they saw themselves on TV and get to experience being in
different scenes from the show too.
(15:11):
So it was very cute to see. So Carl the Collector is kind of
a first of its kind TV show for PBS Kids really because the main
character is the first main character in PBS history that
has autism. So can you tell me a little bit
about the impact that having that representation on screen
(15:33):
for kids has? Absolutely.
I think we can all say that we look to see ourselves in the
media that's represented. And if you are searching to
identify with a character, whether you're a child or an
adult, and you're not really finding that representation, it
(15:58):
can feel isolating. And I would say especially if
you already find yourself on what is considered the
neurodivergent spectrum, the chance of that feeling of
isolation or disconnect from thegeneral population can feel more
intense. So having a character that
(16:21):
represents the emotions that youfeel, represents those periods
of sensory overwhelm, as well asdemonstrates how to navigate
through those periods is very helpful for anyone that has
those experiences. It's validating for them.
(16:43):
Likewise, it provides an opportunity to show the
community around that individualhow to support them in those
instances. So it it gives us all the tools
of how to engage with one another while simultaneously
teaching us all a little bit about emotional regulation and
(17:04):
what everyone can do if we get into a situation that might feel
a little bit stressful or overwhelming.
The beautiful aspect of the showis that interplay exists amongst
all of the characters, and so it's not at no given time are we
solely solving the problems or the challenge lunges that Carl
(17:26):
faces. We are seeing as a community how
these characters in Fuzzy Town really, truly show up for one
another. Yeah, that's awesome.
And I think that's really important to show kids at a very
young age that representation too, so they don't feel like
that isolation that people can feel.
(17:46):
Have you seen that impact on kids at the preschool with Carl
the Collector? I would say a couple of
different things. One, I'm a mother of three.
My kids are 9, seven and five. We are a neurodivergent
household. And I could say even from the
beginning, once the show released, because I was very
(18:07):
excited about it from the get go, it sparked lots of
conversations. And those conversations, again,
9 times out of 10, when I think of the space that we create in
an early childhood setting, whatwe're doing is we're providing
an opportunity for social emotional development and skills
(18:29):
that lead towards behavior regulation, emotional
regulation. There's really no other
dedicated period of a human being's life except for maybe as
an adult when they choose to revisit therapy, that they're
going to actively engage in strategies towards emotional
regulation, behavior regulation.These are tools that help all of
(18:50):
us. And so whether you're in an
early childhood setting or you're watching these social
dynamics unfold through an animated television series, once
you see how someone else managesthose life experiences that
we're all faced with, you begin to integrate those tools and
(19:11):
those experiences. So then you see that reflect.
And you see, I one of a, a high school student that that I
worked with at the Y in her junior high years, she mentioned
the other day that she feels like Carl the collector is the
Daniel Tiger for her generation.And you know, for me it was Mr.
(19:34):
Rogers and then my kids a littlebit more Daniel Tiger.
But really what that is all about is, again, being a good
friend, showing up for one another and how you navigate
through the daily challenges of life that we all face.
So that's definitely, I see thatplay out on a daily basis and
that's where the professionals are amazing staff at Coastal
(19:57):
Kids. That's what they are working on
with those kids day in and day out.
There's the. You know, the early math and
early reading skills that they're working on.
But in order to show up preparedfor those, they have to be in a
the right social emotional stateto be receptive to to learning.
And they have to be able to workwith their peers because as
(20:19):
Priscilla Cogney and our foundersaid a couple at at a a recent
interview, we all know as educators, the most impactful
teachers to the students are their peers.
That's really who they're learning from most.
So how do we create a supportiveenvironment where they can gain
(20:39):
that knowledge and experience through those friendships?
Absolutely. And Coastal Kids is really
unique in the fact that it is a very inclusive preschool.
Can you kind of talk me through what that means exactly?
Absolutely. So Coastal Kids Preschool
designates a third of its spots for children that have I have
(21:00):
been identified as in need of additional support up until
recently in this transition is happening more or less as we
speak. CVS child development services
had that preschool as in prior to kindergarten child find
responsibilities so a responsibility.
So if a a child was identified either by the parents or by a
(21:24):
pediatrician as being in need ofadditional services, be it be it
speech therapy, occupational therapy, behavioral supports,
whatever it may be, or maybe they have a physical disability
or need, CVS would then refer that child to coastal kids.
(21:48):
And we work directly with them. And we have been the largest
provider of special needs early childhood services in the Mid
Coast area. So we have that distinction,
that designation that is there to make sure that we can
accommodate and serve those kidsthat that need that support.
(22:08):
We also know, just as I said, that kids learn best from their
peers. And so creating an exclusive
environment that only provided services for children with
additional needs at times can provide a disservice because
they're not experiencing the, you know, what some might
(22:30):
consider the general population or typically developing.
There's different language that is used.
But the idea is that we want those kids, we want all kids to
be within a community of their peers, supporting one another,
to learn and to be prepared for when they transition to
kindergarten. So when you talk about creating
(22:52):
sensory friendly spaces for kids, can you tell people what
exactly that means? Absolutely.
So when we speak to a sensory environment or when we speak to
sensory sensitivity or sensory seeking, there's a couple of
different ways that we can look at it or at least a couple of
different things that we observe.
(23:14):
Adults, kiddos that have exceptional sensory needs can be
either sensory seeking in that they are looking for that
sensory input. I mentioned that I'm I come from
a neurodivergent household. One of my kiddos in particular
(23:36):
seeks spinning in a way that would make me and probably the
vast majority of the population completely and utterly sick to
their stomach. This child can be spin like, can
be spinning at ridiculous speeds, swinging all over the
place, and then the 2nd that it stops, walk out as if nothing
(23:56):
phased him. And nine times an out of 10 in a
much more calm and regulated state than before then.
And so I provide that example just to say that there is a
spectrum to what sensory needs look like.
There is that sensory seeking. Another one of my kiddos, I can
(24:17):
say definitely moves into the realm of vocal stimming where
sometimes he likes a lot of noise in a space and will fill
the space with noise, which can definitely challenge anybody who
might have any sensory aversions.
So there's that end of the spectrum just because a lot of
times that gets overlooked. The other end of the spectrum, a
(24:39):
great way to think of it, even if we put it into an educational
context, if you were in a classroom and you were asked to
focus on the work that you had at hand and that classroom, the
thermostat stat was like crankedup to 105°.
It would make it absolutely impossible for you to
concentrate on anything else other than getting yourself out
(25:00):
of that space and making it thatmuch more challenging to be in
that space and get the work donethat you have to get done.
For folks that have a lower sensory threshold, and again, we
can think about this in the context of all 5 senses.
Any of that sensory input can feel as intense as the room
(25:22):
being as if you were in a sauna,even though to the general
population it might not lead to that same level of overwhelm.
And so again, bringing it back to education, if you are
creating a sensory friendly environment within an
educational setting, you are doing so to help an individual
(25:45):
be able to regulate, move away from that sensation of
overwhelm, to be able to focus on whatever task is at hand.
And so I bring in the education piece because what Coastal Kids
provided on Monday was a beautiful recreational space for
(26:06):
people to come and know that they could feel safe, know that
they can enter into a room that is calm, comfortable.
You have nice calm activities where you know that you're
entering into an environment where you can be yourself.
That's the other piece of it too, is if we have a sensory
(26:28):
friendly environment, it's an indication to folks that this is
an environment that they can bring their kids to and their
kids can feel safe. We, I work closely.
We work closely with Mobius and one of the case managers from
Mobius, the child case managers leading up to the event,
(26:50):
mentioned that she has a family that said explicitly that they
don't bring their two kids anywhere, That it's just it's
too much and for them and too much just it.
It's just a very stressful experience all around.
But she said they were excited to come to the Coastal Kids
(27:12):
event. And so that was great news.
Well, there was also a post thatcame up on our Facebook page
asking about what age it was forbecause their kiddo did attend
the the Super fun and so exciting kid zone at the Central
Lincoln County YMCA, but found that environment a little bit
too stimulating, like over stimulating for them and was
(27:35):
wondering a little bit more information about our event.
So again, it's not about, you know what it's about.
Just making a space that is accessible to all is really what
it comes down to. And again, just thinking about
it from an educational context, providing that space within an
(27:57):
educational context allows the children to then regulate that
level of overwhelm to be able toreturn to their academics or
whatever is expected of them in a classroom setting.
Yeah, absolutely. So does coastal kids have any
more sensory friendly events coming up?
(28:17):
And if so, or if not, is there any way that people can support
those events happening in the future for coastal kids?
Absolutely. Our mission has always been to
Createspace for specifically early childhood individuals
regardless of ability and income.
And I've I mentioned that because holding that space in
(28:42):
and of itself requires a lot financially.
Coastal Kids preschool continuesso strong in providing that in
the early childhood setting. And we see and we feel and we
observed on Monday that need formore sensory friendly spaces
during these events. And otherwise we want to call
(29:07):
families in and we want to make sure that everyone knows because
they already do know. We had so many families that
showed up on Monday and and to be clear, the families that
showed up on Monday, some of them would fall into the
neurodiverse demographic. Other ones are alumni of ours
that just love Coastal Kids so much.
It is their safe home. So it's not it's not exclusive
(29:29):
at all. It's truly inclusive.
So I would say that if there is anyone listening that is
passionate about making sure that Coastal Kids can keep
providing space for children to access that early childhood
education piece, but also in these social opportunities, a
(29:53):
space for families to come to and be able to enjoy that
community together. I would love for them to get in
touch with in touch with me. You can reach out via our
website. We're at Coastal Kids ME as in
coastalkidsmaine.org and definitely reach out.
(30:14):
We would love to see more. We would love to host more, but
we absolutely cannot do it alone, so we would really love
to have local support get on board to make sure that we can
see more of these events in the future.
That's awesome. Well, thank you so much for
being here with me today. I really appreciate you coming
on and being able to talk about this event and the impact that
(30:35):
it had on kids. And yeah, thank you so much.
Thank you so much for your time.All right, we will see you next
week. Thank you for listening to Be on
the Broadsheet, a podcast by theLincoln County News.
This podcast is produced by Lucas McNally and Maya Ziwert.
Tyler Davis of Tiality Productions provides production
support. Our theme music is by Stu Mahan
(30:56):
and Lincoln County News associate editor slash bassist
Sherwood Olin. The Lincoln County News hits
news stands across the county every Wednesday afternoon and
you can also access our work online at lcnme.com.
If you have a question, comment or suggestion, please e-mail us
at info@lcnme.com. As always, we're grateful for
(31:19):
the support of our readers and listeners in Lincoln County and
beyond. It's been great catching up
today and we'll talk with you again soon.
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