Grace Nevins, an AmeriCorps member receives recognition of exceptional achievements

Grace Nevins is a part-time AmeriCorps member who serves in the REAL School’s innovative and ongoing student lead culinary program called the” REAL Lunch Program.”  In this program, Grace is the consummate student advocate and facilitator of learning. The program’s theme marries learning about the politics and production of food with practical culinary skills. There is a tremendous amount of preparation that goes into delivering this curriculum and Grace is the first to get the job done! While her position as a half-time member does not require her to be here every day of the week, she chooses to come every day in order to be a consistent presence in the lives of the students she serves. She has a wonderful, engaging presence, and work ethic that has won her respect by students and staff alike.
 

Grace is a 2013 graduate of Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts where she earned her BA in Psychology. At Stonehill, Grace volunteered at the Family Life Center where she organized and conducted activities for children residents of the shelter. Grace also spent time as a tutor for children in elementary school. Since March of 2007, Grace has been a staff member at the Cumberland County YMCA in Freeport. During her tenure there, Grace has “done a little of everything” including lifeguarding, coaching, acting a child care specialist and as a camp counselor.

In the month of January, Grace has gone above and beyond in her service as an AmeriCorps member at the REAL School. Grace has facilitated numerous off campus service-learning projects, assisted with academic programming in the classroom, and gone above and beyond to assist in a wide variety programming throughout the school. Everyone at the REAL School honors the Grace’s exemplary service to the school, students, and community! Thank you Grace!

To learn more about the REAL School visit www.realschool.org,

Art on display at Windham Public Library

Pieces of mixed media by artist Donna Rondeau are on display at the Windham Public Library now through April 30th. Rondeau said she has been "drawing and painting since I could hold a crayon and brush. I trained in Boston for a few years after high school at the School of Practical Art in Boston. In 2001 I received a bachelor of fine arts in art from University of Maine, Gorham.” A variety of watercolors and prints are on display, giving a much-needed burst of color and imagery to these long winter days. Stop by the library for a look at these colorful, scenic paintings. The Windham Public Library is located at 217 Windham Center Road in Windham. For more information, library hours, or directions, please call the library at 892-1908 or visit www.windham.lib.me.us .

Up In Maine visits Augusta

On Thursday, February 6, a combined group of students from Windham Christian Academy and student from Taiwan in the Up In Maine program visited with Senator Gary Plummer (left) at the State Senate. 

“Mr. Plummer warmly welcomed the group, talked with them, and took photos just before last Thursday's session. He was terrific!” said Up In Maine organizer Nathaniel Bennett. “The senate president recognized our group and all the senators stood for an ovation. We then went to the museum for a special talk and hands-on activity about the Malaga Island archaeological work and then a wonderful presentation on rocks and minerals.”

Joyce announces candidacy for a second term as Sheriff

For the last 28 years it has been my honor to serve the citizens of Cumberland County through the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.  I’ve worked diligently to make our community a safer place to live, and the organization I admire, a better place to work.  But I believe I still have more to do…more to offer…more to accomplish!   

 

I am proud to announce my candidacy for Cumberland County Sheriff for a second term.

During my first term as Sheriff, we have increased the number of civilian volunteers in our Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) who continually give back to their community by assisting the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office with non-law enforcement activities that make our communities a little safer.  In addition to our VIPS program, in 2012, we started a law enforcement Explorer post whereby we train young adults from 14 to 21 years of age in various aspects of police work.  It is my intent to provide the young adults of Cumberland County an opportunity to also give back to their community, but also develop leadership skills under the guidance of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and the Boy Scouts of America.

I have already begun to complete our law enforcement accreditation process, strengthen our board of visitor program and continue to develop programs to reduce recidivism in our jail by working on some of the mental health issues plaguing our jail population.

We’ve made some technological improvements such as license scanners for all of our patrol vehicles, facial recognition software to compare photos of suspects against the 70,000 booking photos that we have in our jail database and we are beginning to put computers in the pods of the jail, so that correction officers can have up to date information on the inmates assigned to his or her pod.

Also, we have made great strides in improving our inter-agency cooperation by developing a memo of understanding with several police departments throughout Cumberland County to provide evidence collection and preservation services, should an agency need assistance beyond their staffing abilities.  Furthermore, in the last three years, we have added police officers from the Falmouth and Cumberland police departments to our tactical team which is comprised of deputies from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and officers from the Westbrook Police Department.

In addition to earning a Master’s degree in business administration and attending various executive training programs sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), I have diligently and with honor, advanced through the ranks at the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.  I have worked with three previous Sheriffs that taught me many great lessons. As the 50^th Sheriff of Cumberland County, I have applied this knowledge and lessons learned to improve the services, offered by the Sheriff’s Office, in addition to the quality of life of the people we serve.

My command staff and I recently developed a strategic plan.  We determined areas of the Sheriff’s Office which could be improved and we have developed committees consisting of employees from all ranks to ensure as many people  as possible would have input on the improvements.

The men and women of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office work diligently to provide the citizens of Cumberland County a great service and I am proud to continue to lend my dedication to service and leadership as Sheriff, to continue their quest.

David Mains promoted

Raymond Fire Rescue is pleased to announce the promotion of David Mains to Fire Prevention Officer. The position carries an administrative rank of Lieutenant. The swearing in ceremony took place on January 29 at the department's quarterly dinner meeting. David will administer the GO program and work with full-time staff and Safety Officer Cliff Small performing inspections. David is a great asset to RFD, as he works full time as an architect and has a thorough knowledge of fire codes and NFPA regulations. David has been a member of RFD since 2008.