Garder Sheds Light on Winter Economy for Sun Journal

UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

February 3, 2015 UMaine in the News

Per Garder, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Maine, talked about the impact of the recent deluge of snow on the economy in the Sun Journal piece “Businesses mixed on too much snow.” “People have gotten the expectation nowadays it should be possible to drive like summertime, all the time, everywhere. If we go back a couple of generations people had very different expectations,” Garder said. “To a great extent, I think, snowstorms just delay. People don’t go out shopping today but tomorrow will be a sunny, beautiful day and there’s a pent-up need. I don’t think snow and winter is devastating to the economy. And of course it can also be beneficial that people come to Maine for snowmobiling or skiing.” A 2010 study that Garder co-authored for the UMaine Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center estimated agencies in Maine spent $98 million ($76 per person) maintaining winter roads and purchased about 750 pounds of rock salt per person each winter.