Dennis Damon: as good as it gets: devoted to bettering the wider community, this Maine Senator lives up to the state motto "Drigo"--I lead.

• Author: Myers, Teresa
• Position: One Of Our Own

You could say that things are bad in Washington County, Maine, and you'd be right. When a local paper mill tried to fill 133 open positions last year, it received only 113 applications despite chronically high unemployment in the county. Of those 113 individuals, only 19 passed the required pre-employment drug test.

The easternmost county in the United States and the poorest in Maine, Washington County is in many ways a microcosm of rural America. In quaintly named towns like Mud Landing, Dog Town and River's End, hardworking New Englanders fish, mill and farm as their forefathers have for generations. The dark edges of the American experience lurk here, too: oxycontin, methamphetamine. Their nasty cronies---hopelessness, apathy and withering ambition--have moved in and are acting like a cancer on the futures of a whole new generation.

AN EDGE TO GET AHEAD

For nearly a hundred years, the Maine Sea Coast Mission has been ministering to the poor in Maine's coastal communities. The mission "visits the sick, clothes the needy and feeds the hungry, offering help to all who struggle with rural poverty and isolation." For five years, Senator Dennis Damon has been an active and dedicated member of the mission's board of directors. The mission launched a new endeavor in 2002 aimed at helping the county's young people.

Named for Ed Greaves, a terminally ill mission board member who challenged Senator Damon and his fellow board members to fulfill his vision after his death, the EdGE Centers currently serve about 150 students in grades five through eight in five Washington County schools. The program is open to all students in those grades and includes both in-school, after-school and evening activities proven to improve a child's academic performance and leadership skills. Plans are moving ahead to add an additional three schools by 2005. The EdGE Centers have three basic goals: improve academic performance, particularly in math, science and language arts; provide character enrichment and life skills; and promote family involvement and access to resources. The centers are run by specially trained teachers who assist in the classroom and lead recreational games, sports activities and field trips after school and evenings. Parents and classroom teachers often join in.

Early evaluations strongly indicate that the program is making progress toward its goals. Eighty percent of the fifth through eighth grade students at participating schools have enrolled...