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. <