Debate team finds national success

FALMOUTH — On Feb. 11, members of the Falmouth Debate Team competed at the Maine district qualifiers for the Catholic Forensic League’s National Championship, which will be held in Baltimore, Md. over Memorial Day weekend.

Nate Wolf, Abbie Pratico and Michael Norton were public forum qualifiers. Serene Singh, Emily Connolly and Lincoln Douglass were selected as second alternates and Benn Dobbins was selected as first alternate. Desmond Molloy will be the Congressional debate second alternate.

In addition to qualifying for the CFL National Championship, Grigel and Norton recently won the Harvard Round Robin and the Harvard National Debate Tournament. The round robin is an invitation-only contest for the top 14 teams in the country. Grigel and Norton took the win when they beat a team from Fort Myers Park, Fla. They also won the debate tournament, becoming only the second team ever to win both the round robin and the tournament.

The Harvard debate tournament draws 250 varsity teams and 200 novice teams from across the country. The novice team of Singh and Connolly placed 11th out of 200 teams and Singh was honored as 6th speaker out of the 400 novice competitors.

Freeport grad receives Downeast Energy Scholarship

FREEPORT — Jenna Kiely, a graduate of Freeport High School, was recently awarded a scholarship by Downeast Energy. The $500 scholarship is given to students already enrolled full-time in heating or building trades at an  approved college. Awards are based on a combination of factors, including scholastic merit and participation in extracurricular activities.

Kiely is a student at the University of Maine at Orono.

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YARMOUTH — On Feb. 16, Pack 31 Cub Scouts of Yarmouth celebrated their induction into the Boy Scouts and received the Arrow of Light Award. The Arrow of Light is the highest achievement in Cub Scouting. Troop 35 Boy Scouts of Yarmouth joined in the ceremony held at the Yarmouth Elementary School gym to honor the newest members as they crossed over the bridge from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts.

The scouts who crossed over include Will Pendleton, Philip Bock, Parker Rollins, Eric LaBrie, Jackson Rollins, Owen Crone and Harison Pazar. They are all fifth graders at the Harrison Middle School in Yarmouth and many have been in the Scouts since they were in first grade.

On Feb. 28 Maine Reps. Meredith Strang Burgess, R-Cumberland, and Anne Graham, D-North Yarmouth, welcomed the North Yarmouth Middle School to the State House in Augusta.