Todd or ‘Troy’ and company opened for a bevy of acts such as, Johnny Winter, Robin Trower, The Neville Bros., Son Seals, Dickey Betts, Omar & the Howlers, Gregg Allman, The Outlaws, Smithereens, Zebra, and his first opener back in 1980 , Albert Collins!

Todd decided to head west in 1990 to write and record a demo with a then unknown backup singer named Sheryl Crow. After having that demo passed on by some major labels and not generating much interest after one show case performance, Todd decided to stay in Los Angeles to record and tour with former Textone, Carla Olson. Todd continued to record and perform with Carla and gig with his own blues trio and kept busy scoring soundtracks for the Playboy Channel. Sheryl in the meantime, had finished her first album, ‘Tuesday Night Music Club’ and needed a guitarist for her touring band which she put together in June of 1993 so, Todd came on board and remained until February of 1998.

In 1996, Todd relocated back to the NYC area and with Eric Massimino, Mike Lawrence and Crow band mate Scott Bryan founded A & M Record’s MOJOSON, a modern blend of psychedelic Rock and Blues. Since the Universal takeover of the Polygram group left new A & M acts like Mojoson in limbo, Todd elected to leave the label and dissolve Mojoson, putting his energies into Wolfe, which was born during the downtime from Sheryl Crow tours.

Todd and his band, plays aggressive and daring blues tinged jam-rock reminiscent of the bands of the sixties and seventies. Now, with his newest band Todd Wolfe picks up where he left off 10 years ago with his original Bluesadelic-jamming sounds! “Borrowed Time”, Todd’s fifth album just released by Blues Leaf Records in North America and soon to be released in Europe by Hypertension Music is mostly comprised of original songs including “California” a song that Todd wrote with Sheryl Crow.

Also included on the upcoming release is “Baby I’m Down” a Felix Pappalardi song from the first Leslie West album “Mountain”. Todd is joined by Leslie on guitar and vocals for the remaking of this song making it a new classic! Also joining Todd and the band on the new disc is Susan Cowsill and Mary Hawkins. Todd’s songs have been covered by a diverse range of artist such as, Deborah Coleman, Larry McCray, Faith Hill & Stevie Nicks.

Sun, 11th
7:00PM-10:30PM
Unity Center for the Performing Arts
42 Depot Street
Unity, ME
(207) 948-7469
- Map It!

Mon, 12th
7:00PM-10:30PM
Time Out Pub
275 Main Street
Rockland, ME
(207) 593-9336
- Map It!

The statistical information contained in this publication is from several sources: annual reports from Maine public libraries, data collected from Maine Library Snapshot Day (a day in late September 2009 when attendance, circulation and other statistics were collected from 163 Maine libraries – see page 2) and national library surveys.

As you review this glimpse into the world of Maine libraries, we hope you will have an updated perspective on our libraries and the variety of programs and services they provide. Libraries DO change lives.

Complete Publication

For PC’s: Best to right click, choose “save link as” then navigate to the desktop or where you want to save the document. For Macs: it is “download linked file as”.

Snapshot 2009 publication – [PDF, 18.9MB] VERY Large file

Reduced publication with the cover, a spread (2 pages) on one, back cover. [17.85MB] still a VERY large file . To print this one, be sure in the print dialog box, under “Page Handling”, “Page Scaling”, it’s set to “Fit to Printable Area.”

Linda Lord
State Librarian
(207) 287-5600

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Friday, January 15th – 7pm Game at the Civic Center!

By George L. Tibbetts Jr.

NOTE: Book signing at Planet Fitness on Tuesday (Jan 12) from 11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm, 260 Civic Center Drive, Augusta, ME (207) 623-0023

It was a bit treacherous on the day that Mr. Brown arrived at my house to do an interview with me. Our driveway was snow covered and beneath it there was an icy base. I opted not to offer my guest any direct assistance because I sensed that his response would have been that he would make his own way just fine. From my doorway, I witnessed his unsteady gait as he approached the house making sure that his every step and movement of his cane were well planned.

Mr. Brown and I had never met face to face before but we had talked many times via the internet and the miracle of email. Upon introducing ourselves to each other, we settled in around the dining room table where he revealed much to me about his life and his many experiences. As I knew he would, Mr. Brown proved to be engaging, confident, intelligent and, most importantly, inspiring. He brought with him a copy of his first book “Sunshine on My Cane” published under the pen name of Scott Front.

Before our interview, I had only known that Mr. Brown was a writer who had become disabled over the years and that he was most interested in articles placed on our website, thevalleyvoice.org, that addressed issues relating to the people’s initiative to enact a law that would allow for marijuana to be prescribed for certain medical conditions.

During our interview, Mr. Brown spoke freely and openly and for some time. He told me about his life, his goals and ambitions. I found it very interesting that in the course of our conservation, the words he referred to the least were “my disability.” At first, I thought that he was in some simple state of denial. However, I soon realized that I really wasn’t talking to a person who was either taxed or limited by any circumstance or condition.

As concerns Mr. Brown’s background, he was born and raised in Richmond. He went to school there and graduated from Richmond High School where he played baseball, basketball and soccer. He was born with a genetic, spinal degenerative condition and the on-set for his condition surfaced when he was fifteen. He went on to tell me that this disease does not attack the muscles of the legs. Rather, the disease effects the brain’s signals to the legs hampering stability and balance.

Mr. Brown’s prognosis was not good and he was told that he would be destined to live out his life confined to a wheelchair. Clearly, the young Mr. Brown either wasn’t listening to the doctors or, if he was, simply decided that his future was in his hands and not to be determined by medical books and statistical information. Upon graduating from high school, He also served as a U.S. Air Force medic for ten years. Take note that he just turned 45, is totally self-sufficient and highly motivated to continue an independent lifestyle.

“I don’t want to be on social security and I am determined to do what is necessary to maintain my independence,” he said. I know from having lived in Richmond myself for several years that his way of thinking is shared by most people who call Richmond home.

In his lifetime so far Mr. Brown mentions proudly that he was married for nineteen years and has four children ranging from eighteen to twenty-two years of age. He is also a busy caretaker for his other siblings and his father who are confined to wheel chairs. Utilizing all available resources, he has also took advantage of vocational rehabilitation services he was offered and attended the University of Maine for four years where he studied, which comes as no surprise, social services. In 2009 he also studied Anthropology.

To keep both mentally and physically healthy, Mr. Brown can be found at Planet Fitness in Augusta where he spends considerable time working out with leg weights and toning exercises. He is a familiar face there and takes pride in the fact that people look to him for inspiration and guidance.

“Sunshine on My Cane” is a digest of his background, tests and accomplishments. In “Can We Call it a Loan,” Chapter 5 he writes a summation that makes the reader feel his sense of loss, around that chapter are others that deal with coping, progress, hope and the power of positive thinking.

His book at the present time is available at the UMA Bookstore, the State Library, Gardiner Public Library and Lithgow Library. It is also available at lulu.com, Barnes and Noble.com and by the middle of February at Amazon.com. He is currently in negotiations with the West Gardiner Travel Plaza, Hannaford Brothers and Mr. Paperwork while also looking for more outlets until he finds the right “niche.”

Mr. Brown is an inspiration for us all and I am very pleased that I am able to share his story on our pages. Mr. Brown teaches us through his words and by example, how to stay positive and grow through understanding intentions.

Steve Brown,
thunderstruck20062000@yahoo.com

Date: May 20, 2009
Contact: George Tibbetts
Tel: 207.592.0431

An exciting and fresh approach to media and information distribution has come to central Maine, according to a recent press release from the news company’s founders.

The owners have chosen a two pronged approach that includes a website called thevalleyvoice.org that is updated daily. The second is The Valley Voice magazine. Five thousand issues will be distributed for the first time throughout the area on June 1^st.

Publisher, and Editor-in Chief, George Tibbetts said he always wanted to produce a dual media center which included both print and on-line news and information formats. “When I first met graphic artist and media specialist, Alex Theberge, we soon learned we shared the same vision. The deal was sealed at our second meeting when he agreed to become a partner and co-publisher,” Tibbetts said.

Theberge was a founding member, editorial designer and webmaster for Hallowell’s popular newspaper, “The Hallowell Record”. Tibbetts is the former publisher and editor of “The Local Voice,” a weekly Hallowell newspaper he circulated back in the 1990s.

“We each have strengths, and are able to complement each other in various ways,” Theberge said. “It was only natural that we ended up working together because we both have the energy and desire to produce another media outlet for the people of Maine,” he added. According to Theberge,“ it was just a natural fit and an opportunity for me to advance my career goals that couldn’t be passed up.”

Both agree that their new project is not an attempt to compete against other media sources with distribution throughout Maine. “We think that there is room enough in the media fields for all of us to do well,” Tibbetts said. “We just wanted to be part of the action,” Theberge offered.

Both partners were quick to point out that both local and statewide stories as well as news releases will be categorized under many topic areas both on the website and in the monthly magazine. They intend to offer feature stories, articles on local and state government, social happenings, local interest, tourism, veteran’s affairs, entertainment, energy and economic issues just to name a few.

The Valley Voice company is a literary non-profit. All their net profit will be used to help Maine people, communities, groups, individuals and other non-profits who may have come to their attention. According to Tibbetts, they are currently working with their accountant and their administrative assistant to insure accountability.

“We are optimistic that we are on the right track and believe that, in short order, we will have a significant following. We simply hope that people will take the time to check out our website and pick up a copy of our magazine when it becomes available on June 1^st,” Tibbetts said.

You can reach The Valley Voice by calling 592-0431. Their fax number is 582-4213. Their individual emails are George@thevalleyvoice.org or Alex@thevalleyvoice.org. Press releases and stories may be emailed to beheard@thevalleyvoice.org or mailed to Box 885, Gardiner, ME. 04345. Ad inquires may be sent to ads@thevalleyvoice.org.

I had volunteered for combat service in Vietnam at the ripe, old age of 19. I soon learned that my decision was a really bad one. After only a few weeks in country, I became disillusioned but I was then, as now, always proud to be an American. A couple of casualties into my tour of duty, however, I said to myself, “This war is wrong and it will be through the workings of a free press that the American people will finally demand that the door to this dark chapter in our history needs to close”. This, ultimately, came to pass and I learned that in the larger scheme of things, that just a piece of paper, a camera and/or an audio tape can have the effect of shaping the course of human history.

For those of you who might be considering a full or part-time excursion into the fields of media keep the following in mind. You don’t necessarily need to have college degrees, perfect writing skills or other forms of advanced training. What you do need, however, is a sense of professional ethics, and the ability to bring to the table an unbiased and accurate reporting on a wide range of topics. After all is said and done, it would be through your eyes that the general public is supplied the necessary information for them to make cognitive and sound decisions on important issues of the day.

Personally, I never thought I would ever hold any responsible position within the field of media since I was only a fair student in high school English. While growing up, I really couldn’t have cared less about such things as grammar, sentence structure and book reports. In college, however, where I majored in U.S. history, political science and public administration, I learned some writing skills but after graduation my writing was limited to only the kind associated with bureaucratic genre as dictated by my position as Fuel Management Specialist for the Maine Office of Energy Resources (OER). In those years (1973 – 1978), I assisted governors Ken Curtis, Jim Longley and Joe Brennan with the preparation of position papers and wrote many speeches and testimonials which expressed Maine’s position with respect to state and national energy policy initiatives. On several occasions I appeared before Congress and our state’s elected officials, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the New England Regional Commission (NERC) and the National Governor’s Conference (NGC). I believed my training would always limit me to writing about only those issues that rested in the quasi-political domain.

I certainly never expected to partake in a concerted effort to form a local newspaper but as things worked out my friend and Hallowell musician Billy Beard had been working in the wings and approached me with the idea of doing just that. I learned that he had been discussing such a venture with Vern Warren, former United Press International (UPI) reporter and past editor of the well known Coastal Journal. I had never prepared news copy and, although I loved the idea, I was apprehensive about taking on this set of challenges.

Vern assured both Billy and I that in his capacity as publisher he could provide us with the skills necessary to produce well written copy by affording us editorial assistance, teaching us how to manage photographic input, run desktop publishing programs and also bring to the table approaches needed to develop an advertising division and employ a sales force. The Local Voice was born.

Much like The Valley Voice, The Local Voice publisher put together a team of editors, journalists, columnists and contributors. I was sure many of these people were like I was. They were concerned that they might not make the grade or were apprehensive to accept the challenge of expressing views on topics important to them. Well, if these concerns are holding you back, I can only say that in these economic and social times if you have ever had the desire to express your views The Valley Voice would love to here from you. We would be grateful and appreciative of hearing from you. Our paper will gladly provide you with all the support you need to help us promote our area cities and the many activities that Kennebec valley people are involved in. You can help us make a difference.

Ultimately, my message is that The Valley Voice really needs people willing to learn journalism or provide their journalistic training and become willing participants in our efforts to report on the issues of the day. Whether your interests are focused on the economy, the war, the environment, education, the activities within the walls of city and town hall or any other issue that you might fancy, we could put your thoughts and ideas to good use.

If you have been inspired to contribute in any way, please contact George Tibbetts at george@thevalleyvoice.org or Alex Theberge at alex@thevalleyvoice.org.