Welker coaches BEHS students in ‘financial football’

The office of the Maine state treasurer recently announced that 20 student athletes from Bonny Eagle High School participated in December in an event called “Financial Football” at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots.

The team included ten male athletes and ten female athletes, representing the football, girls’ soccer and field hockey teams. Bonny Eagle won the 2007 Class A football state championship and was selected to participate in “Financial Football” by State Treasurer David Lemoine in honor of that accomplishment.

“Financial Football,” a product of VISA, is an interactive financial education video game that follows the rules of an NFL football contest. Teams are given questions on topics such as mortgages, interest rates and student loans. If questions are answered correctly, a virtual ball is advanced downfield with the goal of scoring a touchdown. If questions are answered incorrectly, a team suffers a loss of yardage.

The December event brought high school teams from every state in New England together to compete. Maine played a team from Vermont and managed a 7-7 tie.

New England Patriots players Wes Welker and Dan Koppen joined the teams as honorary coaches. Welker coached the Bonny Eagle team while Koppen coached Vermont. “Walking through the locker room, you see a lot of big diamond earrings and things like that,” Welker said in front of the students. “Whether it’s a dollar here, a dollar there, just put it away. There’s a big difference between want and need.”

Bonny Eagle students who attended were Matt Beckwith, Jacob Boudreau, Lindsay Bradeen, Averi Cole, Robyn Cyr, Joseph Gallant, Dana Jackson, Brandon Keene, Megan Kuschke, Darren Lovley, Dayton McPherson, Otis Oakes, John Onesti, Janessa Plummer, Rachel Porter, Amy Richardson, Gretchen Sjulander, Emily Soucy, Matthew Spearin, and Ashley Young.

After the game, the Bonny Eagle students were given copies of Financial Football on CD-ROM and autographed photos of Welker.

Kind hearts from afar

Buxton has recently received three donations from out-of-state residents for the town’s “Keep the Heat On,” a program helping needy elderly pay for home heating costs.

Jean Harmon, chairwoman of Buxton selectmen, said recently the town received a $100 donation from a former Maine resident living in New York and two $100 donations from California. “They heard about it on National Public Radio,” said Harmon, who called the response amazing.

Harmon said the New Yorker is a self-described “Mainer living in exile.”

Antique road show

The Dorcas Society is sponsoring an antique roadshow 1-4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19, at the Bar Mills Parish House, Route 4.

Frank Wood of DeWolfe and Wood will relate the histories and appraise items taken to the show. Cost is $10 for 1 item and $15 for two.

Refreshments will be available. For more information, call 929-4382.

Cutline (BEHS at Foxborough) – Bonny Eagle High School students, representing Maine, were at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro for nd Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker, front, and center Dan Koppen, back row.