In the public eye: Retirement bittersweet for WMS secretary

Editor’s note: This is another in an ongoing series of Windham and Raymond town employee profiles.

By Ed Pierce

After more than two decades of service to RSU 14, Debbie Hall will walk out of the doors of Windham Middle School on the final day of school this week and stroll into retirement.

Debbie Hall, who has worked at the Front Desk and been the
Attendance Secretary at Windham Middle School since 1999,
is retiring at the end of the school year. She is the only person
to ever hold that position at WMS. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE 

Hall, who grew up in Gray and graduated from Gray New Gloucester High School, has worked at the Front Desk and been the Attendance Secretary at WMS since 1999 and is the most prominent staff member for anyone visiting the school.

“I do all attendance details, manage all the doors of both the main building and Field Allen schools,” Hall said. “I sign in and out all visitors, help students, staff and administrators with any needs they might have. I answer the phones, manage the surveillance cameras and help parents and venders who come to the middle school with questions or concerns they have. You have to be a good multi-tasker, because at any time phones can be ringing, doorbells buzzing, and students are at the window waiting to be signed in. You have to be able to do it all at once and keep a smile on your face while doing it.”

Before landing the job, Hall was a substitute teacher in Windham and worked quite a lot at WMS. The principal at the time, Hal Shortsleeve, told her they were creating a new receptionist position in the middle school office, and he thought Hall would be a good fit.

“He asked me if I would be interested in applying,” she said. “The rest is history.”

According to Hall, meeting the students every year, watching them grow over the three years they are there and then seeing them come back for Senior Walk through the school the week before they graduate is very moving.

“It is so amazing and emotional,” Hall said.

The most difficult aspect of her work is not getting emotionally attached to students who are struggling.

“It's very hard to not get involved or keep from voicing my opinions,” she said. “Society has changed so much in 26 years and a lot of it has not been for the good. Schools are not just a place to learn and grow anymore. Sometimes school is the only safe place a student has. Responsibility is a thing of the past, bullying is rampant, cell phones and social media have really had a negative effect on our younger generation. Teachers and administrators’ hands are tied in so many situations. It's been hard to watch.”

Before working for RSU 14, Hall went to Southern Maine Community College for Food Service and Nutrition.

“I was a cook at Ledgewood Manor until I had my third child. Then I opened my own in-home daycare,” she said. “Some of the children that were at my daycare have students in the middle school now. I have also owned my own business ‘Cakes by Debbie’ and I have made many cakes for staff and students over the years. Every year a new student comes in and says ‘Ms. Hall, my mom and dad said you made their wedding cake.’ It is a great ice breaker for new kids.”

Many people have gotten to know Hall through her Christmas Angels program at the school which collects gifts for students and families who are in need over the holidays. She plans to continue with that initiative, retired or not.

“Our community is so amazingly generous. The Christmas Angels program I started up here at WMS has been so rewarding,” Hall said. “Last Christmas, we helped 42 Windham kids have a great Christmas. We help parents who need a helping hand with birthday gifts, gas cards and even have helped with heat and car repairs in the past. If you are interested in joining the program, let me know at deb1130@msn.com.”

In retirement, Hall plans to travel, spend time with her family, garden and relax.

“I want to thank all the parents and students over the years who have touched my heart and made me feel like I have made a difference in their lives,” she said. “Being stopped outside of school and having someone tell me I have been an influence upon them is so amazing. I had a mom thank me last week for being her lifeline to WMS for the past 12 years while her four children went through the school. That made me day, and it is why I have dedicated my heart and soul to this job over the last 26 years. The thought of leaving is very bittersweet for me, I am the only person to hold this position at WMS, and I wish the next person good luck. <

Former Windham state rep leaves legacy of public service

By Ed Pierce

Former State Rep. David Tobin of Windham will be remembered for his unwavering support for the community and years of dedication to delivering the mail here.

Former Windham State Representative
David Tobin has died at the age of 93.
Tobin also served as a member of the
Windham Town Council and was a
longtime letter carrier in Windham
for the U.S. Postal Service.
COURTESY PHOTO 

Tobin, 93, died May 22 in the home he had built for his wife and family in South Windham.

He worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 39 years and through his work on the 14-mile route he made many lasting connections in the community leading to representing Windham on the town council and as a state representative.

Tobin spent 10 years as a town councilor from 1997 to 2007 and then filled the position briefly in 2009 replacing a councilor that had resigned. From 1998 to 2004, he served as a Republican State Representative in the 119th, 120th, and 121st Maine Legislatures representing Windham.

A graduate of Gorham High School, Tobin served in the U.S. Air Force as an Air Traffic Controller during the Korean War and was stationed in England. After his discharge from the military, he returned to Maine and attended Maine Vocational Technical Institute and worked as a service manager for both Pontiac and Ford automobile dealerships, then was a manager at Northeast Cold Storage before joining the U.S. Postal Service.

While living in Windham, Tobin joined American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 and was elected as Post Commander. He also logged time as a member of many Windham town committees, including three Comprehensive Planning Committees, the Public Safety Building Committee, and the Windham Ordinance Review Committee.

His dedication to public service was felt statewide when he served in the Maine Legislature. He was instrumental in creating bills aimed at assisting veterans and leading efforts to pass significant environmental legislation protecting the natural resources of Maine for generations to come. His bill, LD 1813, created a system to provide incentives for auto scrappers to get rid of older polluting automobiles statewide and was signed into law by then Gov. Angus King.

A strong supporter of public education, Tobin supported programs and initiatives that helped provide Maine students with access to laptop computers, and he helped sponsor student dances along with being a leader in Windham Boy Scout Troop 802. He was nominated twice for the Jefferson Award for Public Service and served on the Board of Directors for New Marblehead Manor and was involved in other public efforts affecting residents of the town of Windham.

In 2022, Tobin was honored as the Windham Summerfest Parade’s Grand Marshal. He was a captivating storyteller and historian of Windham, Little Falls, and the Presumpscot River watershed.

Surviving him are his wife of 68 years, Joan (Hawkes) Tobin, their three children, Colleen Tobin (Leo), Bridget Gallagher (David), and James Tobin (Xavier), eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

To honor the memory of David Tobin, his family is asking that donations may be made to Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors, P.O. Box 1956, Windham, ME 04062, or to the Windham Veteran's Center, 35 Veteran's Memorial Drive, Windham, ME 04062.

A private graveside burial service for Tobin will be held sometime this summer. <

WMS band, orchestra dazzle judges at Trills & Thrills Music Festival

By Ed Pierce

Two Windham Middle School musical ensembles for band and orchestra have a lot to be thankful for as each earned a superior rating from judges during the Trills & Thrills Music Festival on June 5 in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Windham Middle School's Band and Orchestra members 
gather after earning Superior ratings from Trills & Thrills
Music festival judges in Nashua, New Hampshire on
June 5. SUBMITTED PHOTO  

A superior rating is the highest honor and one reserved for music making at its finest that festival judges can award. It is based not just upon student musicians performing the right notes and rhythms or playing a difficult piece of music, instead it is reserved exclusively for the most outstanding performance by a band or orchestra.

Morgan Riley, WMS Orchestra and Band Teacher, said that musical ensembles at the festival are rated on Tone Quality, Intonation, Interpretation, Technique, and Balance.

“Both the WMS Seventh and Eighth Grade Orchestra and Band earned the highest rating of Superior, Riley said. “Students were able to listen to other ensembles who attend the festival from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and beyond.”

During the festival two judges, who are typically college music professors, listen to two pieces of music from each ensemble. The judges then provide written and audio-recorded feedback.

According to Riley, WMS students took way several things from this trip such as constructive criticism to help them improve, received positive feedback about their strengths, and a sense of accomplishment when they received their rating from the judges. The feedback from judges included techniques for improvement as ensembles and listening to other musicians.

“We have participated in festivals similar to this annually as a school for many, many years,” said Morgan Riley, WMS band and orchestra teacher. “The oldest plaque we have is from the 1990s.”

Riley said students started rehearsing festival pieces in January.

“We have been working on the basics, notes, rhythms and articulations, and are now getting to the details of dynamics and the other parts,” she said. “These students are incredibly hard-working and show perseverance in every class.”

According to Riley, the festival creates an environment where students feel comfortable and free to express themselves. Participating in festivals like this one can help make performers work harder when engaging and pushing to create the best of their performances, she said.

In all about 50 WMS students, including all the orchestra and band members, were able to participate in the festival trip.

Riley has taught in Windham and Raymond schools for 18 years. She has been an instructor for band, orchestra, chorus, and guitar to students at Jordan-Small Middle School, at Windham Middle School, and for Manchester School in her career with RSU 14.

“We would like to thank our supporters who purchased items at last fall's Mattress Fundraiser. Without those funds, we couldn't have attended the festival,” Riley said. <

Lack of federal funding threatens Meals on Wheels’ future for elderly residents

By Ed Pierce

If adopted, the federal government’s drastic proposal to slash social programs could radically affect some of the most vulnerable residents of Windham and Raymond.

Federal funding for the Meals on Wheels program
nationwide could be eliminated if Congress
passes the 'Big Beautiful Bill' as currently
proposed. The Meals on Wheels program is a
lifeline for many aging, elderly and homebound
residents of Windham and Raymond.
FILE PHOTO 

Currently under consideration in the U.S. Senate, the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” would eliminate federal spending for successful programs in Maine such as Meals on Wheels, the Through These Doors Domestic Violence Resource Center, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland's Critical Home Repair Program, and the elimination of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program affecting public improvement projects.

Ashley Perrone, Community Impact Director for the Southern Maine Agency of Aging which administers Meals on Wheels for Cumberland and York counties, said the program is a lifeline for elderly and homebound residents.

Perrone said that Meals on Wheels has been operating in Maine since 1965 and currently provides 1,000 meals to aging and elderly Mainers every day at an annual cost of $2 million. SMAA has administered the program since 1973 and uses volunteers to deliver meals.

“We speak about how beneficial Meals on Wheels is from a nutritional basis, but social isolation is just as deadly as smoking a half pack of cigarettes a day,” Perrone said. “Besides food, Meals on Wheels is a social connection for adults and caregivers here in Maine.”

Established under the auspices of the Older Mainers Act by the Maine Legislature, the intent of Meals on Wheels has always been key to combating senior adult food insecurity and social isolation since its launch six decades ago.

During the past year, SMAA’s Meals on Wheels program delivered 114,663 meals to 888 clients at their homes in FY 2024, plus an additional 6,114 meals to 936 clients at congregate meal sites.

Along with funding from the federal government, Perrone said about 50 percent of Meals on Wheel funding comes from the state of Maine. SMAA is one of six agencies overseeing community Meals on Wheels programs in the state.

The Through These Doors (TTD) Domestic Violence Resource Center in Maine offers free and confidential advocacy and support services to about 3,000 domestic violence victims in Maine each year through phone calls, face-to-face meetings, or through court proceedings. Each year, the center answers 8,000-plus helpline calls, meets with people face-to-face more than 5,000-plus times, supports more than 1,000 individuals through court proceedings, and shelters nearly 135 people every day, including more than 45 children.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland's Critical Home Repair Program works with homeowners to make needed health and safety repairs to their homes at an affordable cost such as roof replacement, accessibility modifications, structural repairs and repairs to unsafe mechanical systems. The organization has completed about 11 projects this fiscal year and expects to finish another 32 projects in the next 12 to 18 months.

Meals on Wheels, Through These Doors Domestic Violence Resource Center, and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland's Critical Home Repair Program are recipients of funding from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program.

In the last two decades alone, CDBG funds in Maine have created or retained nearly 5,800 jobs for Mainers, assisted more than 10,000 low-income households in the state, helped more than 71,000 Mainers through public improvement projects, and assisted about 1.5 million people across the state through public services.

In Windham, the Windham Town Council used CDBG funds to revitalize South Windham by installing new sidewalks on Gray Road and the expansion of a public parking lot for residents doing recreational activities and visiting local businesses in the area.

Windham Town Council Chair Jarrod Maxfield says losing Meals on Wheels and CDBG funding will be tough. 

"Both of these programs are extremely important for the wellbeing of many of our seniors in town. The loss of these programs could be devastating for some who rely on them for basic needs and services and finding replacements for them is not an easy option," Maxfield said. "Losing these programs should never be an option."

The federal government’s “Big Beautiful Bill” mandates the complete elimination of FY2026 funding for CDBG programs and suggests these programs should instead be funded by state and local governments.

Vicki Watson, executive director of the National Community Development Association, said without CDBG-funded programs, local communities will be overwhelmed and will find it difficult to fund such critical services.

“Thriving local economies and strong communities lay the foundation for a brighter, more prosperous future for everyone. For more than five decades, CDBG funding has been a lifeline for U.S. communities as it has created jobs, improved public infrastructure, and expanded affordable housing,” Watson said. “Asking cities, counties, and municipalities to shoulder the burden of funding these important programs, projects, and initiatives would ignore the scale of the need and the federal government’s responsibility to invest in equitable growth. Eliminating CDBG from the fiscal year 2026 budget could devastate local economies, including Maine's and would also erase hard-won progress, especially in the nation's rural and underserved areas.” <

Raymond Select Board chair won’t seek reelection, will remain serving in State House

By Dina Mendros

As a young man, Rolf Olsen, now 69, moved to Maine to attend college, but he never left. After attending the University of Maine, Orono, Olsen took a job in the Lakes Region and fell in love with the area. Originally from New York state, Olsen made Raymond his home 46 years ago and for 38 of those years he has provided service to the town which welcomed him and where he raised his family.

Rolf Olsen has served nine years on the Raymond Board of
Selectmen including three years as chair, and 29 years on
the town's Budget-Finance Committee, with 15 years as 
committee chair. He will not seek reelection to the
Select Board but will continue serving in the Maine
House of Representatives and plans to run for reelection.
COURTESY PHOTO 

After serving nine years on the Board of Selectmen, three years as chair, and 29 years on the Budget-Finance Committee, 15 as chair, Olsen said he is winding down his political career with the town. He will not seek election in June as his term on the Select Board comes to an end. However, Olsen will continue serving his first term in the State House of Representatives. He says he plans to run for reelection next year.

Olsen, who was married for 40 years, became a widower in November; he is the father of two sons. He is a licensed insurance agent specializing in health for individuals and small groups and seniors. In addition to the Select Board and Budget-Finance Committee, Olsen has served on numerous other town committees including Raymond Middle School Study Committee, RSU Withdrawal Committee, Economic Development Task Force, Compensation Committee, Road Improvement Committee, Recycle Committee, COLAB (Fiber optic), RSU 14 Middle School Building Committee, and the Boy Scouts Pack 800 Committee – as the chair for eight years. He was also the Raymond Village Community Church moderator for 12 years, and a church elder for two years.

Olsen, a Republican, said he is not seeking reelection to the Board of Selectmen because he wants to devote more time to his work in the Legislature.

“The time at the Legislature turned out to be more than I had anticipated,” Olsen said. “To give the best representation to the people that elected me to both positions I needed to make a decision on one or the other. In the 38 years combined between the Select Board and the Budget-Finance Committee, I had only missed three meetings, unfortunately two of those were since I started in the Legislature. I feel I can help the people of Raymond in my position in the Legislature so want to be able to devote the time to do this properly.”

Over the years, Olsen said he’s seen a number of changes in town, especially in town government.

“When I started off, we were just a Select Board run town and there was only three Select Board members. Then we moved to a town manager type system and increased the Select Board from three to five members.”

In addition to the style of the town government changing, he said the budget has grown substantially.

“The very first budget I did with the town was about $1.5 million. That was the municipal plus the county,” he said. “We are now about $9 million between municipal and county. That was a big change.”

The other big changes have been on the public safety side, Olsen said.

“When I started the Fire Department was all volunteer,” he said. “Now you’ve got a number of full-time positions plus some volunteers, but the number of volunteers has gone down dramatically. Some of that is just because of the demographic changes but an awful lot is based on state and federal mandates on what the firefighters have to do. So it makes it harder to have a volunteer fire department.”

The number of volunteers to provide service in a variety of areas of town life has been decreasing, he said, because like Maine in general, Raymond has an aging population.

One area that Olsen said he’s proud of the work he and the rest of the Select Board have done is keeping the budget, and property taxes, as low as they can despite the growth in the budget. A testament to the fiscal responsibility of the Select Board, he said, is that Raymond is one of the few towns in Maine with a Triple A bond rating.

“We worked hard over the years to maintain a reasonable budget so that we were not kicking people out of their houses, which is the last thing you wanted to do,” he said.

Road improvement is another area Olsen said he feels he’s had a helping hand in.

“We went through a period where there was very low maintenance being done on it for a number of different reasons. Roads tended to be the scapegoat if they had to cut money,” Olsen said. “So, when I was on the Road Improvement Committee, we came out with a plan to bring those back up to snuff and to maintain those going forward.”

Olsen said that the town began handling services like plowing in-house rather than subcontracting that work, and that has saved the town money in the long run.

“The other big improvement is on the rec side,” he said. Parks and Recreation used to be a volunteer department, but since hiring a director, new programs have been added, and other positive changes have taken place.”

Olsen said he chose to help his constituents by focusing on state rather than local politics because he thinks that’s the area in which he can do the best. Again, he is mostly focused on fiscal responsibility as the best way to help residents.

“The biggest issue we have at the state right now is the budget,” he said. “The budget is out-of-whack so we know it has to be looked at seriously to bring that back in line with what the people can afford.”

He said a more reasonable budget, including less wasteful spending in state government will filter back to the towns in the mil rate.

While Olsen is focused politically on fiscal responsibility and other practical matters, he says that’s not all that’s important in creating a healthy community. For Raymond, one thing that is very important is the “small town feel.”

“It doesn’t look like it on paper,” Olsen said, “but it still is a small-town feel. There is still an awful lot of pride in the town as far as what it is, who they are and what they can do. It’s getting harder and harder because of schedules and things like that to have people do a lot of volunteering that was done in the past but when you get people together, you’ll get things done. That really needs to stay a focus because people still want that small-town feel. Even though we have that large growth in the summer of people, year-round residents still want that small-town feel.” <

RSU 14 budget and Raymond races on ballot Tuesday

By Ed Pierce

Town clerks in Windham and Raymond will be busy on Tuesday, June 10 counting ballots as residents will have their say about several races and determine the fate of RSU 14’s annual budget proposal.

Windham and Raymond voters will cast ballots on Tuesday,
June 10 regarding the RSU 14 annual budget, several
referendum items in both towns and Select Board and 
School Board candidates in Raymond. FILE PHOTO 

Voters in Raymond will choose between candidates Susan Accardi and Diana Froisland for a three-year term on the RSU 14 Board of Directors.

Accardi is a retired registered nurse and served as a school nurse with RSU 14. She has been a member of the Raymond Budget-Finance Committee for two terms, been a member of various short-term town committees, has served as a town ballot clerk and sits on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Raymond Village Library. Froisland attended Gordon College and graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a double major in Economics and Business Administration. Along with her husband, she co-owns Northeast Property Management. She’s been a volunteer for the Raymond Parks and Recreation Department as a ski instructor, a regular town election worker, and previously served two terms on the RSU 14 Board of Directors from 2012 to 2018.

Raymond voters will elect two new members of the Board of Selectmen for the three-year terms. Candidates include Mark Meister, Christopher Hanson, Kaela Gonzalez and Frederick Miller.

Meister is a consulting executive at IBM Consulting and graduated with a degree in Business Administration from The Ohio State University. He has also served on nonprofit and community boards. Hanson is the code enforcement officer for Raymond and graduated from the University of Maine Orono. He also serves as a member of Raymond’s Budget-Finance Committee.

Gonzalez is a program coordinator with the city of Portland and has a degree in Health Science. She has served on various town committees including the town’s most recent Comprehensive Plan Committee. Miller is the owner of Miller Flooring LLC and went to trade school after high school. He serves on the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals.

Also on the ballot in Raymond is a referendum question asking voters to approve $67,500 in funding for a partnership with the Regional Transportation Program to establish a QuickRide program in the town. Riders using QuickRide would be able to schedule a micro-van that would pick them up at their home and take them where they want to go within the Raymond community if approved.

Also on the ballot, both in Raymond and Windham, is the RSU 14 annual budget for 2025-2026 of $67,861,394. The budget represents a 12.75 percent increase over last year’s $60,185,403 budget, with a 6.4 percent increase stemming from the construction of the new Windham Raymond Middle School. The 

school district will receive an additional state subsidy to cover almost half of the increase, resulting in an impact to taxpayers of 6.5 percent. Included in the RSU 14 budget regular operating expense increases and a Pre-K expansion program.  

Windham voters will gather at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 14 at the Annual Town Meeting to approve the municipal services budget for fiscal year 2025–2026.

The Windham budget proposal of $50,402,149 is a 6.39 percent increase from last year’s $46,991,715 budget and includes funding for several significant capital improvement projects.

If the budget passes, Windham will construct a new North Windham Public Safety Building housing firefighters behind Hannaford Supermarket on Route 302, design and construct new playing fields at Gambo Fields, build a new public ice rink and playground in North Windham, and continue funding for the North Windham Moves and sewer projects.

For Raymond residents, in-person voting will be from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 10 in the Jordan-Small Middle School gymnasium at 423 Webbs Mill Road in Raymond.

In Windham, RSU 14 budget voting will run from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 10 at Windham High School. The Annual Town Meeting to vote on the municipal budget starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 14 at Windham Town Hall on School Road in Windham.

Absentee ballots are available at the town offices for Raymond’s election and the RSU 14 budget voting. <

Beloved Manchester School music teacher preparing for retirement

By Ashlynn Cuthbert

At the conclusion of this school year, one of Windham’s most beloved and dedicated music teachers, Charles Oehrtmann (Mr. O to his students), is retiring after 45 years of teaching music.

Manchester School music teacher Charles
Oehrtmann is retiring at the end of the
school year and after decades of inspiring 
Windham students to love all kinds of music.
He has spent 45 years teaching music in 
his career. SUBMITTED PHOTO

As he enters a new chapter in his life, he would like to offer a few last words of wisdom to his students. He encourages them to “find the silver lining in even the darkest cloud. Laugh a lot and be friends to many people. Reach out to others if they need help, even if you don't get any thanks – it makes a difference.”

Even though this part of Mr. Oerhtmann’s life is coming to a close, it all began when a young Mr. O fell in love with music, listening to primarily classical records with a smattering of Frank Sinatra, Harry Belafonte, and Lena Horne. This adoration of music expanded to the love of creating it when he joined a school band as a trombone player.

While it was difficult at first, Mr. O credited his parents with supporting him through times when he lacked motivation. From this foundation at home, Mr. O became the diligent and persistent person he is today. This support system at home was very much needed because Mr. O’s high school didn’t have an orchestra, only a small band and chorus.

This saddened and inspired him to major in music at Glassboro State College (now Rowan University), in hopes of building great music programs as an educator. When he graduated, Mr. O began teaching music in New Jersey. He said that he tried to create a “top-notch” music program but soon realized that this dream was not serving his students as well as it should have.

After a switch to teaching general music, Mr. O learned a lesson that he would take forward with him for the rest of his career. He described this lesson as being able to “have high expectations, but those expectations have to be tempered with a kind heart.”

In 1997, after seven years of teaching in New Jersey as a band and orchestra teacher, his loving wife Deirdre Clark, who sadly passed away in 2024, urged Mr. O to move to Maine, so he did.

When he first arrived in Maine, Mr. O taught in Waterville, Old Orchard Beach, and at Deering High School before he settled in Windham. In Windham, Mr. O served as an orchestra teacher at Windham High School, a choir teacher at Windham Middle School, and a general music teacher for grades K to 5.

Throughout his time in Windham, Mr. O has held a passion for teaching his students the beauty of string instruments as well as for the co-workers at his side. He said that one of the things he will miss the most when he retires is his fellow music educators, his second family, as they “share ideas, share some laughs, share some tears, and rely on each other when the going gets tough.”

Mr. O’s involvement with the local music community doesn’t stop with teaching. He has performed with the Plainfield, New Jersey Symphony, the Bangor Symphony, The Bates College Orchestra, the Maine Music Society, the North Shore Philharmonic in Danvers, Mass, the Maine State Ballet, the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra in Topsham and the Southern Maine Symphony at USM in Gorham.

In these ensembles, he has sung and played cello and double bass. Mr. O has also been on the administration side of different musical organizations. He has “served on the Executive Board of the Maine Music Educators' Association as manager of the All-State orchestra for six consecutive years and he was manager for the District 2 Elementary Orchestra sponsored by Maine Music Educators Association, the state affiliate of the National Association for Music Education.”

After his retirement from teaching at Manchester School, Mr. O intends on continuing with his participation in local orchestras as a double bassist. If you would like to see him perform, he will be with the Midcoast Symphony, the Bates College Orchestra, and the Southern Maine Symphony. He also intends to fill his time by gardening, traveling across the U.S. and doing whatever strikes his fancy. <

Governor’s Awards for Service and Volunteerism pay tribute to RTT volunteers

Riding To The Top (RTT) in Windham is proud to announce that three youth volunteers and seven adult volunteers were recently honored at the Governor’s Awards for Service and Volunteerism for the hours they contributed to RTT in 2024.

From left, Riding To The Top youth volunteer Orley Garett
joins RTT Executive Director Sarah Bronson and
volunteer Jennifer Robinson during the Governor's
Awards for Service and Volunteerism ceremony.
SUBMITTED PHOTO 

The awards ceremony was launched in 1987 as a way to recognize the dedication and impact volunteers have on the state of Maine.

RTT’s youth volunteers honored at this year’s ceremony, Orley Garett, Hannah Mitschele, and Archer Akers, each contributed more than 50 hours to the farm in 2024. Adult RTT volunteers Trina Bellavance, Janis Childs, Stacie Hamilton-Waldron, Ginna Jones, Susan Layton, Jennifer Robinson, and Clayton Peters were honored for volunteering over 500 hours each over the course of the year.

“Simply put, RTT wouldn’t exist without the countless hours that volunteers contribute each year. It’s wonderful to have youth volunteering here at the farm and being mentored by so many caring adults who give so generously of their time. Volunteering at Riding To The Top, not only benefits our clients and the organization, but our volunteers benefit as well, saying time and time again, how much they get out of their volunteer time here,” said Sarah Bronson, RTT Executive Director. “I’ve always loved the quote: ‘You make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give.’ We were grateful to have these volunteers from RTT recognized by the Governor’s Awards for Service and Volunteerism, and it was impressive to see all of the volunteers from all over Maine honored at this year’s ceremony.”

Volunteers are the heart of RTT. They contribute over 11,000 hours each year to improve the lives of our clients and horses. While volunteers serve in many capacities, the majority assist in lessons. They can also help with barn chores, facility and trail maintenance, administrative tasks, events and special projects.

The RTT organization was founded in 1993 and its mission is enhancing health and wellness in the community through offering equine assisted services.

Riding To The Top welcomes new volunteers throughout the year.

To learn more about becoming an RTT volunteer, visit https://www.ridingtothetop.org/volunteer. <

In the public eye: Building positive relationships leads to success for WMS health teacher

Editor’s note: This is another in an ongoing series of Windham and Raymond town employee profiles.

By Ed Pierce

Anne Fougere believes that developing and fostering positive relationships with students and leveraging that into better classroom results and an overall better classroom environment is crucial to her success as an educator at Windham Middle School.

Anne Fougere has worked for Windham
Middle School for the past eight years
and for the last seven years she has
been the school's health teacher. She
also serves as the WMS swimming
coach. SUBMITTED PHOTO

Fougere has taught at WMS for the past eight years and for the last seven years she’s served as the school’s health teacher. It’s a challenging role covering topics related to physical, mental, and social health including nutrition, physical activity, and substance abuse prevention, with a goal of empowering students to make informed decisions about their own health and well-being.

“As a middle school health teacher, I help students learn how to take care of themselves physically, emotionally, and socially,” Fougere said. “I spend a lot of time creating lessons and activities that get students to think about real-life situations and choices, like how to eat well, handle stress, and build healthy relationships. I strive to make my classroom a place where everyone feels comfortable asking questions and sharing ideas. One of my main priorities is to build trust with students, support them through challenges, and encourage healthy habits that will stick with them as they leave middle school.”

She says that the best thing about her job is building real connections with my students and watching them grow into more confident, thoughtful people.

“It is incredibly rewarding to create a space where all students feel seen, heard and supported no matter the context,” Fougere said. “Knowing that I can be someone they trust and can turn to makes the job meaningful to me.”

One of the more challenging parts of her job is knowing how to navigate the tough, real-life topics in a way that students feel safe, she said.

“Each student comes from a different background, and I try to honor their experiences while still giving them the honest and accurate information that they need,” Fougere said. “Sometimes it can also be emotionally tough when a student is clearly struggling and you want to help them, but I can be limited on what support I can provide. Moments like this stick with you but they are also a reminder of how much students need someone who cares and show up for them.”

Originally from New Hampshire, Fougere attended Saint Joseph’s College of Maine in Standish where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education, and she’s currently attending the University of Maine to obtain a master’s degree in instructional technology.

While she was at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, Fougere says that she spent a lot of time doing internships and at different placements throughout RSU 14.

“I met a lot of awesome teachers and some that I currently work closely with that I knew would be great coworkers,” she said. “I felt welcomed at each school I went to and knew that this would be a good fit for me. I started at Windham Middle School as an educational technician. During that time, my current position became available, and I decided this would be a great opportunity for me and I have been here ever since.”

She’s been coaching swimming at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine for eight years and has been the WMS head swim coach since 2022.

According to Fougere, people may think that being a health teacher means covering basics like nutrition, hygiene or puberty, but it’s so much deeper than that.

“Health class is a place where students can open up about real things like stress, relationships, identity and mental health to name a few,” she said. “It’s not just about teaching the facts; it’s about creating a space where they feel safe, heard and supported as they figure out who they are and how to take care of themselves. I feel that the public may not realize how much effort and care goes into creating my classroom climate and creating a space where students feel safe opening up. It becomes a place where they talk about things they are struggling with, possibly things that they may not share anywhere else.”

The most important thing she’s learned while working for Windham Middle School is simple.

“I have grown so much as a person and as a teacher over the years and I owe a good portion of it to my work family I have formed,” Fougere said. “There are a lot of great people that work at this school, and I know I wouldn’t be here without them. I’ve learned to trust my instincts and know that I am here for a reason and that I belong here.” <

Volunteers clean up Windham Veterans Center grounds during Rotary’s ‘EPIC Day of Service’

By Ed Pierce

Love for their community and a willingness to help prompted Sebago Lake Rotary Club volunteers to lend a hand May 17 in cleaning up the Windham Veterans Center grounds after a long winter.

Sebago Lake Rotary Club members Mark Morrison, left, and
Robin Mullins take a break from volunteering to help
clean up the Windham Veterans Center grounds during
Rotary's 'EPIC Day of Service' n Windham on May 17.
SUBMITTED PHOTO

The volunteers were inspired as part of Rotary International’s initiative of action, impact, and unity called the “EPIC Day of Service” which united more than 2,500 Rotary clubs and 75,000 Rotarians, community volunteers, and partners across the globe in a single day dedicated to making the world a better place. In all, 1,264 projects worldwide were completed during the “EPIC Day of Service.”

Sebago Lake Rotary Club President-Elect Robin Mullins said that the “EPIC Day of Service” is an unprecedented day for Rotary members to give back to the community because service is at the core of Rotary’s mission.

“We use our knowledge of local issues to identify areas of need, then apply our expertise and diverse perspectives to find a solution,” she said.

Mullins said that as part of the “EPIC Day of Service,” the Sebago Lake Rotary Club reached out to the Windham Veterans Center to see if they needed help.

“I worked with Dave Tanguay and Dave Langway on a list of outside items such as raking, leaf blowing, weeding, and more to help get the property ready for the landscapers, LJ Gagne Landscaping and Excavation, to come in and mow and mulch.”

The prep work was completed Saturday, May 17 as part of the “EPIC Day of Service in Windham.

“What's cool about it though was that the Sebago Lake Rotary Club partnered with the Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce and the Lakes Region BNI chapter to do the work,” Mullins said. “We had a dozen people representing all three groups that came together that day to get the work done. It is often hard to find enough volunteers to get things done, so by teaming up we were able to get everything complete in three short hours on a Saturday. LJ Gagne was then able to mow and mulch there and the property was ready to host the Memorial Day activities for the Windham Veterans Center.”

Rotary International brings together a global network of volunteer leaders who dedicate their time and talent to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects millions of members from more than 200 countries and geographical areas. Its work impacts lives at both the local and the international levels.

The Rotary was created in February 1905 by a Chicago attorney named Paul Harris. He intended to create a space for professionals with diverse backgrounds to gather, creating meaningful and lifelong friendships and exchanging ideas. Now with more than 1.4 million members worldwide, it’s the biggest service organization in the world. Members are currently working on helping save mothers and children, supporting basic education for children, fighting diseases, promoting peace, providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. Rotary has no religious or national affiliation.

The Sebago Lake Rotary Club was originally chartered on March 15, 1983. In 2006, it officially changed its name to better reflect the club’s membership from throughout the Lakes Region of Maine. It has served the local community for decades by raising money for charitable causes, distributing college and career technical education scholarships, and participating in service projects such as the cleanup at the Windham Veterans Center.

“Our club members are dedicated people who share a passion for both community service and friendship,” Mullins said.

She said that becoming a Rotarian connects you with a diverse group of professionals who share your drive to give back.

“Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders who dedicate their time and talent to tackle the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges,” Mullins said. “Rotary connects millions of members from more than 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work impacts lives at both the local and international levels.”

The Sebago Lake Rotary Club meets on Thursdays at 12:15 p.m. at Pat's Pizza in Windham. For more details, call 207-577-6654 or visit www.sebaolakerotary.org. <

Windham student attends 2025 Student Craft Institute

Since 1983, the Student Craft Institute has brought high school juniors and seniors across the state of Maine to the Haystack campus in Deer Isle for an immersive three-day program. Students live on campus, share meals in the dining hall, and focus on one discipline for the duration of the weekend. In addition to long days in the studio, faculty lectures are presented each evening, providing insight into the professional and creative lives of working artists.

Maine students, from left, Moriah Doody of
Windham, Lee MacCorkle of Round Pond, 
Sofia Duncan of Kennebunk and Elliot
Larsen of Harpswell join instructor Sharon
Chandler Correnty of Groton, Massachusetts
in creating felted tapestries at a Fiber
workshop during the 2025 Student Craft
Institute at Deer Isle on May 18.
SUBMITTED PHOTO 

This year, a total of 74 students from 64 schools across Maine participated in the Student Craft Institute from Friday, May 16 to Sunday, May 18 and one of those students was Moriah Doody of Windham.

The event provided a truly unique and memorable experience for students. Instructors included Sharon Chandler Correnty (Fiber), Funlola Coker (Metals), Aspen Golann (Wood), Angela Humes (Ceramics), Meghan Martin (Blacksmithing), Rangeley Morton (Fab Lab), and Pilar Nadal and Rachel Kobasa (Graphics).

Haystack’s Student Craft Institute was supported in part by Haystack’s Program Endowment with additional operational support from the Maine Arts Commission and The Windgate Foundation.

The Haystack Mountain School of Crafts connects people through crafts. Haystack provides the freedom to engage with materials and develop new ideas in a supportive and inclusive community. Serving an ever-changing group of makers and thinkers, it is dedicated to working and learning alongside one another, while exploring the intersections of craft, art, and design in broad and expansive ways.

Founded in 1950 as a research and studio program in the arts, Haystack is an international craft school located on the Atlantic Ocean in Deer Isle, Maine, offering one and two-week studio workshops to participants of all skill levels as well as the two-week Open Studio Residency program, tours, auctions, artist presentations, and shorter workshops for Maine residents and high school students. The award-winning campus was designed by noted American architect Edward Larrabee Barnes and opened in 1961 when the school relocated to Deer Isle from its original location in Montville, Maine.

To learn more about the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, visit haystack-mtn.org. <

Route 302 improvements meeting to be held June 18

By Dina Mendros

Improvements are being planned for a portion of Routes 302, 35 and 115 in North Windham and a public open house on Wednesday, June 18 at Windham Town Hall will provide an update for plans of the area.

A Maine Department of Transportation map shows 
improvements planned for a portion of Routes 302,
35, and 115 in North Windham. A public open house
to discuss this project hosted by MDOT will be held
on Wednesday, June 18 at Windham Town Hall.
COURTESY PHOTO  

The majority of the about $31.25 million road project will be paid for through a U.S. Department of Transportation Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity or RAISE grant. In addition to the $25 million federal grant, the state and town of Windham will each pay half of the remaining $6.25 million.

The June meeting is basically an update of the North Windham Moves project, Maine Department of Transportation Senior Project Manager Ernie Martin said. An initial public hearing was held in June 2024.

The partnership between the town and the state regarding the project, Martin said, began in 2019 and it will be over a decade later when construction is completed. The two entities worked on a feasibility study in 2022 and applied for the RAISE grant the following year. The final preliminary project design report is due in January, with a final public hearing taking place in February.

The plan impact report will be completed by August 2026 with plans and a cost estimate for the project to be completed by June 2027. Construction is set to begin in October 2027, and the estimated completion date is June 2030.

According to Martin, the goals of the project which will affect 4.85 miles are manifold and are designed primarily to improve “a dangerous and inefficient U.S. highway bottleneck.”

Other specific goals include improving “safety and efficiency for motorists;” providing "more uniform accessibility to employment and retail as well as tourism and recreation;” implementing “modern design features that will improve pedestrian and vehicle flow;” meeting the “Americans with Disabilities Act and Maine Department of Transportation standards;” and creating “an efficient and modern supply chain path for goods and services throughout the region.”

The project involves redesigning about 9,000 feet of Route 302 from River Road to White’s Bridge Road in Windham and the creation of three connector routes – walkable back streets – behind the region’s commerce center to ease congestion on Route 302. This project will make improvements to Routes 35 and 115 and it will replace aging traffic signals on Route 302 with smart signals. In addition to making road improvements aimed at benefiting pedestrians and bicyclists, Martin said that this project will construct about 11,700 feet of new multi-use pathway.

Some other key project features include repaving existing roads and adding new roads, adding and upgrading sidewalks on Route 302, installing new curbs in some areas, roadway alignments to be modified, and adding median islands on Route 302.

The North Windham Moves, Regional Mobility, Local Access Transportation Planning and Feasibility Study was commissioned in 2021 as a joint venture between the Town of Windham and the Maine Department of Transportation, with the study conducted by Gorrill Palmer and North Star Planning. The study recommended transportation improvements along Route 302 in North Windham area through the phased creation of three connector roads, addressing access management along Route 302 such as limiting left turns through deployment of a center median, and making corridor and intersection improvements in the area. Heavy traffic during peak travel times remains a problem along Route 302 from the intersection of Route 115 to Franklin Road and causes congestion, motorist delays and a high accident rate for motorists.

Some of the challenges to the area began in the 1990s, Martin said, when Route 302 was expanded from two to five lanes in North Windham with few sidewalks in the area.

“Route 302 was never designed to serve as both a local street dotted with businesses and a through-route for travelers heading to Sebago Lake and other western destinations,” he said. “Routes 35 and 115 are facing similar challenges.”

Traffic has increased so much in recent years it has taken a toll on safety.

“The project area had seven high-crash locations in the three-year period from 2018 to 2020,” Martin said.

The MDOT project was announced in 2023 and when construction is completed, the area should be much safer, he said.

“The construction of the numerous safety elements on this project is expected to reduce vehicle crashes by 21 percent,” Martin said. The safety improvements to be implemented, he said, “will aid in reducing crashes and injuries in a commercial area that has grown rapidly around outdated safety features – or no safety features at all.”

The North Windham Moves road construction project’s open house will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. June 18 at Windham Town Hall at 8 School Road in the Town Hall Gymnasium. Questions can be directed to Maine Department of Transportation Senior Project Manager Ernie Martin at 207-592-0567 or ernest.martin@maine.gov. <

Memorial Day events remember sacrifices of fallen Windham veterans

By Ed Pierce

Once again, Windham residents were reminded that Memorial Day is about more than watching a parade or enjoying a picnic lunch, it serves to honor the men and women of the United States military who unselfishly gave their lives in service to the nation. It is not just a day off from work or the official start of summer. It is a solemn day to remember those who have perished in the defense of liberty.

American legion Post 148 Commander Tom Theriault, right,
reads the names of Windham veterans who have died in the
past year while VFW Post 10643 Commander Willie
Goodman tolls a bell for each name read during Windham's
Memorial day observance on Monday, May 26 at
Windham High School. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE 

During a Memorial Day observance at Windham High School on Monday morning, members of Windham American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 showed reverence and respect for their fellow veterans and recalled their sacrifices.

Post 148 Tom Theriault introduced Don Swander, who served as Grand Marshal of Windham’s annual Memorial Day Parade, and a Korean War veteran. Swander, who lives in Windham and formerly was the president of the Windham Veterans Association, helped to place a wreath at the Windham Veterans monument as part of the observance.

Lee Humiston, the founder, director, and curator of the Maine Military Museum & Learning Center in South Portland, was guest speaker at the observance. A retired U.S. Air Force colonel, Humiston created the museum with a desire to honor Maine’s men and women who have served the state and the nation for the last 300 years.

Theriault said that Humiston has amassed one of the largest collections of Prisoner of War artifacts and related items in the world. He said that he has extensive experience building exhibits and played a significant role in creating exhibits at the Nixon Library celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Vietnam Homecoming, as well as two exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and the museum in the Hindenburg hangar at Naval Air Station Lakehurst, New Jersey.

Humiston discussed how the museum continues to grow and remains relevant for future generations of Mainers as they learn about American veterans and their wartime experiences.

“I built this museum not for me and not for you but for your kids,” he said.

During the observance, old unserviceable U.S. flags which were collected last week at gravesites at cemeteries across Windham were properly burned.

“The American Legion’s Ceremony for Disposal of Unserviceable Flags is a dignified tribute to the U.S. flag and to its symbolism.” Theriault said. “This ceremony is an effective instrument for promoting enhanced respect for the U.S. flag.”

For several weeks before Memorial Day, volunteers picked up old flags and replaced them on the graves of Windham veterans with new flags. Legion members also obtained new flags hung by the Windham Public Works Department on utility poles throughout the town. Those flags will fly all summer long through Labor Day in Windham.

The observance wrapped up with a reading of the names of military veterans from Windham who have died in the past year. Each time Theriault read one of their names, VFW Post 10643 and American Legion post member Willie Goodman of Windham rang a ceremonial bell paying tribute to their service to America. At the conclusion of the reading of those names, a contingent of Legion Post 148 members fired a 21-gun salute in their memory.

Attending the Memorial Day ceremony were State Senator Tim Nangle of Windham, State Rep. Mark Cooper of Windham, State Rep. Barbara Bagshaw of Windham, Cumberland County Commissioner Tom Tyler of Windham, Windham Town Councilor Mark Morrison and Windham Town Councilor David Nadeau.

Prior to the observance, dozens of vehicles and marchers paraded down Gray Road from Windham Town Hall to Windham High School to the delight of children and their families watching. The annual Memorial Day Parade featured members of the Windham Fire Department, Windham Police Department, a small marching band from Windham High, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, Boys Scouts, old military vehicles, Windham Republicans, Honor Flight Maine, Miss Teen Windham, Windham High School’s state championship boys’ basketball team, and the Knights of Columbus. <     

Raymond officials dedicate new Tassel Top concessions building

By Ed Pierce

One of the best hidden gems of the Lakes Region is about to get even better. On Friday, May 16, Raymond Parks and Recreation welcomed guests to Tassel Top Park for a ribbon-cutting ceremony officially dedicating a new concessions building there.

Raymond's new concessions facility at Tassel Top Park was
dedicated during a ceremony on May 16. The new building 
contains a concessions shop, bathrooms, changing rooms 
and showers and is part of a years-long initiative to upgrade 
the park. From left are Tassel Top Facilities Maintenance
Manager Barry Alden, Tassel Top Operations Manager
Karen Alden and Raymond Town Manager Joe Crocker.
PHOTO BY ED PIERCE      

It’s the realization of a longstanding dream to have a permanent concessions structure at Tassel Top Park which has significantly upgraded the facility over the past five years. The park itself spans 38 acres off Route 302 in Raymond and features a 900-foot beach, a safe and secure swimming area on Sebago Lake marked off by buoys, picnic tables, outdoor grills, a children’s Story Walk, a mile-long walking and hiking trail, and a convenient parking lot with 108 spaces, including six designated handicapped spaces.

There are renovated cabins available to rent and majestic pine trees towering overhead providing shade. Tassel Top Park is clean and it’s free of ATV and bike traffic, making it a wholesome family experience for all ages.

The upgrades are intended to lure more visitors to the park and this new building will replace the old town boathouse that was used as the park’s snack shack for years. But along with the new space for concessions, the building also includes public bathrooms, changing rooms and showers.

Construction for the new building was performed under the supervision of Michael Meyer of Island Cove Builders.

Tassel Top Operations Manager Karen Alden and her husband, Barry Alden, the park’s Facilities Maintenance Manager, live at Tassel Top year-round and said the new concessions building was the result of a team effort.

“We celebrate this milestone,” Karen Alden said. “Barry was always told it couldn’t be done but look at us today. It’s a game-changer for our patrons.”

Raymond Public Works Director Nathan White said he was amazed at how construction of the new building proceeded this spring.

“I have to thank the crews for doing what they said they would do and on time,” White said. “This was a great experience. It’s been a long time coming.”

Raymond Town Manager Joe Crocker, who also serves as the town’s Parks and Recreation Director, spearheaded the project and praised everyone involved for making it happen.

“Our partners and Raymond Public Works did a great job with this new building,” Crocker said.

Crocker and the Aldens thanked the contractor, members of the Raymond Select Board and all the town committees through the years which approved funding for the park upgrades and helped to obtain bonds and grants to finish the project.

In 1931, Dr. Earl and Margaret Hall purchased the Tassel Top property on Sebago Lake from Charles and Fred Crockett of Raymond for $6,000. Over the years the family cleared some of the property to build a small cabin with living space and sleeping quarters, sauna, boathouse and outhouse. The Hall’s son, James W. Hall, applied in 1989 to the Land of Maine’s Future Program for the state to purchase Tassel Top and lease the property to the Town of Raymond. The name Tassel Top was given to the property by Margaret Hall and refers to the pine trees in the park and the pine needles that look like “tassels.”

During a Raymond Town Meeting, residents voted to develop, manage and maintain Tassel Top as a state-owned municipal park. In 1993, after making some capital improvements, including converting the old town boathouse to serve as a snack bar, Tassel Top Park opened to the public.

For the past 32 years, the park has been able to operate from the revenue taken in each summer from park patrons. <

Select Board appoints Crocker to serve as permanent Raymond Town Manager

By Ed Pierce

Raymond’s search for a new town manager has come to an end and the individual selected to serve in that position is the same person who has been filling that role for the past few months as interim town manager.

Joseph Crocker

The Town of Raymond Select Board voted unanimously Monday evening to appoint Joseph Crocker, 37, as Raymond Town Manager and his official starting date was Wednesday, May 21.

Originally from Saco, Crocker attended high school at Thornton Academy and then went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Saint Joseph’s College of Maine. He later earned an MBA in sports and recreation management from New England College. Prior to coming to work for the Town of Raymond, Crocker worked in parks and recreation for Saco, Auburn, Kennebunk and Lewiston.

In 2020, Crocker was hired to lead Raymond’s fledgling Parks and Recreation Department as director and he was appointed to serve as the Interim Raymond Town Manager in March of this year, replacing Sue Look, who resigned.

A press release issued by the town of Raymond says Crocker was selected after a competitive recruiting and hiring process conducted by HR Maine Consulting, LLC. All told, there was a total of 46 applicants for the town manager position.

Nine candidates participated in a rigorous essay and pre-screening process, with four candidates moving forward in the panel interview process, consisting of the Raymond Select Board Chair, Vice-Chair, a community member, department heads, a Town Manager in another community, and Betsy Oulton from HR Maine Consulting, according to information reported in the press release.

Raymond Select Board Chair Rolf Olsen brought Joe Crocker forward as the candidate for select board consideration on Monday evening.

“We are extremely happy to have Joe Crocker continue to serve our community,” Olsen said. “Joe has taken the Parks and Recreation Department to another level and has gained the support of the staff and the community in his endeavors. He has the demeanor, and resilience to lead our community toward the future.”

Crocker will serve on a three-year contract and will be paid an annual salary of $100,000. <

Memorial Day honors ultimate sacrifices for America

By Ed Pierce

Memorial Day Weekend marks more than the official launch of summer but the Memorial Day holiday itself is steeped in tradition and pays tribute to those who gave their lives for the cause of liberty.

Memorial Day will be observed in 
Windham on Monday, May 26 with
a parade running from Windham Town
Hall to Windham High School, 
followed by a special observance
 at Windham High and a picnic lunch
for the community at the Windham
Veterans Center.
PHOTO BY ED PIERCE     

U.S. General John A. Logan, the commander of the Civil War veterans group known as “The Grand Army of the Republic,” is credited with the idea for a national commemoration day to honor American soldiers who lost their lives in battle. He called his idea “Decoration Day” and recommended that Americans everywhere take time to pause and reflect on May 30, 1868 about the courage and valor that these men demonstrated with gravesite flowers and prayer.

Newspaper accounts of the time reported that Logan selected May 30 as the date for “Decoration Day” because it was not a day that a Civil War battle had been fought, and it allowed for spring flowers to reach full bloom and be in plentiful supply to place on the graves of veterans.

Logan served with distinction during the Civil War, sustaining serious wounds at the Battle of Fort Donelson in Tennessee in 1862. After recovering from his wounds, Logan became a command officer and served under U.S. Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant.

He later served the state of Illinois as a member of the House of Representatives and then as a U.S. Senator and joined Maine’s James G. Blaine on the Republican ticket as vice presidential candidate in 1884, which was defeated by the Democratic ticket, led by Grover Cleveland. Upon his death in 1886, Logan became one of just 40 Americans who have laid in state in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.

For more than 100 years, Americans observed “Decoration Day” and used the holiday to honor the sacrifices made by all those who perished during America’s wars.

But in 1972, the federal government’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act approved by Congress moved “Decoration Day” from May 30 to the last Monday in May with the new designation as “Memorial Day.” The reason given for the change was to standardize the federal holiday to a Monday since May 30 could fall on any day of the week.

Memorial Day activities in Windham will be hosted once again by the American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 on Monday, May 26.

For the past several weeks, Legion members have placed American flags on the graves of veterans in town to commemorate their service to the nation. Flags have also been placed on utility poles throughout the town and will stay up through Labor Day in September.

A Memorial Day parade begins at 9 a.m. Monday from the Windham Town Hall and proceeds down School Street onto Route 202 south in the direction of Windham High School. The parade forms at 8:45 a.m. by the Windham Town Hall.

The parade terminates at the Town’s Veterans Memorial flagpole at Windham High School. About 10 minutes after the parade ends, Memorial Day ceremonies commence with guest speaker Lee Humisten, the curator of the Maine Military Museum.

Master of ceremonies at the event will be American Legion Post 148 Commander Tom Theriault, who will coordinate the ceremonial events including a ceremonial wreath laying, the bell tolling for lost veterans from the community this year, a ceremonial burning of flags removed from local veterans’ graves, and a traditional rifle salute and the playing of “Taps.” To add a name to the list of deceased veterans in the past year, call 207-892-1306.

At noon the American Legion will host an open house at the Windham Veterans Center, 35 Veterans Memorial Drive in Windham, with a brief memorial ceremony and the dedication of a granite bench in memory of the late Korean War veteran Walter Braley of Windham, including a wreath ceremony and rifle salute. A picnic style luncheon follows that is free and open to the public. <

Windham Drifters Snowmobile Club plans pig raffle fundraiser

By Masha Yurkevich

If you would like to support your local snowmobile community as well as have a chance to win local and fresh pork, you are strongly encouraged to participate in the pig raffle being hosted by the Windham Drifters Snowmobile Club. This is the first time the Windham Drifters Snowmobile Club is holding a pig raffle, and it is a wonderful opportunity for someone to have a great product at a very affordable price. The final raffle will be held this fall.

The winner of a pig raffle sponsored
by the Windham Drifters
Snowmobile Club gets to choose
whether they would like to keep
the pig as a pet or have it
processed and packaged for
their freezer with the cost of 
that covered by the club.
SUBMITTED PHOTO 

The Windham Drifters Snowmobile Club has maintained a 40-mile trail system in Windham for snowmobiles since 1977.

“Windham has the highest number of registered snowmobiles of any town in the state of Maine,” says Barry Bernard, treasurer of the Windham Drifters Snowmobile Club. “There are almost a thousand registered sleds in the town of Windham.”

The Windham snowmobile trail has about 50 bridges to get over brooks, streams, and rivers that the Windham Drifters Snowmobile Club maintains.

“In a year, we are probably replacing or repairing six to ten of those bridges,” says Bernard. “We spend about $15,000 to $25,000 each year to keep our trails in the best shape."

He said that this includes equipment, insurance, and administrative work.

"The Windham Drifters Snowmobile Club relies on state grants, and we also get a little bit from the town, as well as membership money from club members,” Bernard said. “We also get donations and sponsorships from a few businesses in Windham.”

Still, there is a need for funds to keep local trails in tip-top shape.

Emily Buell, a member of the Windham Drifters Snowmobile Club and head of its events committee, works at Mineral Spring Farm in Windham where she also helps raise animals. She suggested the idea about raising a pig and holding a pig raffle to raise generate funds for the trail system.

“I have been raising pigs and offered the idea to the club,” says Buell. “I know that a lot of people like to have local fresh meat in their freezer.”

Buell offered to raise the pig free of charge and the club will cover any other costs for the raffle.

Apart from selling raffle tickets at Windham Summerfest, there will also be a chance to suggest a name for the piggy for a small fee, and then a name will be drawn at random.

Buell puts a lot of work into caring for the pig, from maintaining a clean pen to meticulously looking after the diet to make sure that it is nutritious.

“I know exactly what the pig eats, I know what has gone into it, I know how the pig has been treated, and it feels great to know where your food comes from,” says Buell. “It takes six months to raise a pig efficiently; you can keep a pig for longer than six months, but it will eventually begin to just put on fat.”

The pig is expected to grow around 300 pounds in six months, and the winner of the raffle gets to choose whether they want to keep the pig as a pet or have it made ready for their freezer.

“The processing date is in December, so the winner gets to choose whether they want to keep the pig alive or send it to the processor,” says Buell. “If they want to keep the pig as a pet, I will drop it off at their house and it will then become their responsibility.”

If the winner would like the pig to be prepared for their freezer, the club is willing to cover the cost of processing and packaging the pig, she said.

“There is a lot of personalization on the way the winner wants their meat cut and packaged,” says Buell.

The average cost to raise a pig is $800, from purchasing the piglet, all the feed, care, and processing and slaughtering fees. The cost of the meat itself, however, has a retail value between $1,100 to $1,200.

“This is a wonderful way to not only support Windham snowmobile trails but to also have a chance to win delicious fresh and local pork that has been humanely raised in a small farm environment. Both care and flavor are top notch, and the meat will feed you for a while,” says Buell.

Ticket costs are five tickets for $10 or 12 tickets for $20 and will be sold at the Windham Summerfest’s Windham Drifters Snowmobile Club booth as well as on the Windham Drifters Snowmobile Club website under the store tab. <

Grave of Civil War Medal of Honor recipient can be found in Raymond

By Kendra Raymond

Civil War hero Daniel Scammon Milliken is one of the least-recognized residents of Raymond, but his heroism endures to this very day.

The grave of Civil War hero and Medal of Honor
recipient Daniel Scammon Milliken of Raymond
can be found at Riverside Cemetery located at
168 Plains Road off Route 85 in Raymond.
COURTESY PHOTO 

Milliken was awarded the Medal of Honor on Aug. 30, 1870 and was presented to recognize his meritorious conduct during the U.S. Navy attacks on Fort Fisher, North Carolina in the Civil War. He served as the Quarterdeck gunner onboard the USS New Ironsides.

He received the Medal of Honor for his leadership and heroism specifically in the Jan. 15, 1865 Second Battle of Fort Fisher where he manned a cannon that laid fire to the fort. Unfortunately, for more than 100 years Milliken’s accomplishments remained wholly unrecognized, and a simple marble stone was placed on his gravesite following his death, notating only his birth and death date.

Milliken was born in Saco in 1838 and joined the U.S. Navy in New York City. Following his Civil War military service, Milliken married a Raymond resident, moved to the town, and went on to establish a local farm. He died in Raymond on May 3, 1899, at the age of 58.

The Congressional Medal of Honor Society website honors Milliken’s heroism in an excerpt from its “Stories of Sacrifice” section.

“The ship steamed in and took the lead in the ironclad division close inshore and immediately opened its starboard battery in a barrage of well-directed fire to cause several fires and explosions and dismount several guns during the first two days of fighting. Taken under fire as she steamed into position on 13 January, the New Ironsides fought all day and took on ammunition at night despite severe weather conditions. When the enemy came out of his bombproofs to defend the fort against the storming party, the ship's battery disabled nearly every gun on the fort facing the shore before the cease-fire orders were given by the flagship.”

Fortunately for residents and visitors to the Lakes Region, the national Medal of Honor organization contacted the American Legion Field Allen Post 148 in Windham to ask for assistance in honoring Milliken with an appropriate monument. Momentum built as Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10643, the Raymond Casco Historical Society, the Windham Historical Society, and the Town of Raymond all joined forces to raise funds to honor the distinguished veteran.

On July 4, 2015, local dignitaries joined with town officials and Third Maine, a Civil War reenactment group, in presenting a Medal of Honor Memorial Service in Raymond honoring Milliken and issued a proclamation recognizing his extraordinary contributions during the Civil War. Members from the American Legion Field Allen Post joined with the Town of Raymond to unveil a new gravestone for Milliken to commemorate his achievements.

Milliken’s grave can be found at the Riverside Cemetery, located at 168 Plains Road (off Route 85) in Raymond. His plot is in Section C, Row K, Lot 10 in the cemetery. Visitors are welcomed and reminded to observe all cemetery ordinances set forth by the town. <