Decorating contest brings holiday magic to Windham

The 'Gingerbread House' was one of the winners in the
Holiday Decorating Contest sponsored by the Windham
Parks and Recreation Department last year. Entries for
this year's contest must be submitted by Dec. 15.
SUBMITTED PHOTIO

By Daniel Gray

Windham's Second Annual Holiday Decorating contest is under way with just a week left for families and businesses to enter their own holiday decorating creations to win various types of prizes.

All entries must be completed and submitted by Dec. 15.

Because of COVID-19 last year, Windham's Parks and Recreation Department was unable to do Windham's traditional Christmas tree lighting event that so many look forward to every year. To keep the holiday spirit alive, a competition was created for the town to make a fun and safe holiday experience for everyone to enjoy.

The Holiday Decorating Contest is about going all-out on front lawns or business storefronts with lights, colors, and decorations. It's an activity for the whole family to participate in, and something for others to drive by and enjoy as well.

"We only had nine home entries and two business entries in last year's decorating contest, which is a good start, but we are hoping to grow the event every year," said Kelsey Crowe, Windham Parks and Recreation deputy director.

Last year, the winner of the contest was the "Gingerbread House" in the family category, and in the business category it was DeeDee's Daycare. All the voting was done digitally on the Windham Parks and Recreation's Facebook page and the home or business with the most likes there received the people's vote award.

"To make it fair, we did a couple random drawings so another family or business could win a prize," Crowe said, "This year, we will be driving a bus of judges around to see the contest entries so we can see the beautiful lights and can judge the entries a bit more fairly."

Prizes for this contest are a bit up in the air since prizes are typically donated for events such as these. It may include a $100 Visa gift card or seasonal passes to Dundee Park.

"We don’t usually promote what the prizes are because sometimes we get prizes donated to us or we just are not sure what the prizes will be,” Crowe said. “For this event we have a lot of help, support and donations from the Windham Economic Development Corporation and Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce."

To enter your home or business in the Holiday Decorating contest, you must register online at the Parks and Recreation’s website at www.windhamrecreation.com. It is free to submit entries, but keep in mind that all entries are recognized on the 2021 Holiday Lights Map so people can drive by to look at the displays you have.

With a short amount of time left to enter, members of the Windham Parks and Recreation Department hope that whoever is interested participates to spread holiday spirit. Despite the event only going on for two years now, there's already a love in the community for the decorating contest.

"I really love this event and I hope Windham residents continue to participate for years to come. Windham businesses get the chance to promote their business and it brings families together to decorate their homes," Crowe said.

For any further questions and additional photos or videos to your entry, send an email to Parks&Recreation@windhammaine.us <

Christmas craft fairs making dazzling return to local churches

With the holiday season rapidly approaching, local churches
in Windham and Raymond will be hosting Christmas craft
fairs in November and early December for shoppers
searching for unique and meaningful gifts.
COURTESY PHOTO

By Daniel Gray 

In the last leg of the year, there will always be things to look forward to; Maine winters, sitting by a cozy fire, and craft fair season. Besides the large craft fair held at the high school every year, there are tons of smaller ones scattered around town. Churches are by far the biggest places to find craft fairs.

A few churches that have scheduled holiday craft fairs during November and December are the Windham Friends Meeting Church, St. Ann’s Episcopal Church, The First Congregational Church of Gray, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and the North Windham Union Church. Raymond Village Library isn't a church, but they are hosting a craft fair as well.

St. Ann’s Annual Christmas Fair will be from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Dec. 4. Christmas wreaths will be available along with 42 gift baskets. A Christmas tree also will be raffled off. For more information, send an email to st.annschristmasfair21@gmail.com  

The Windham Friends Meeting's craft fair will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13 at the Friends Meeting House at 374 Gray Road here in Windham, which is right beside the Windham Raymond School District office.

"We are supported by many people in the community who are not members of Windham Friends but are a great help to us throughout the year," said Julianne Moore, treasurer for the Friends Church for more than 20 years.

Their craft fair will have jewelry, ornaments, stockings, knitted goods, lit Christmas trees, baked goods, and more.

"My favorite thing about the fair is working together with our group and The Windham Historical Society," Moore said. "But my favorite thing about the Christmas season is the music and decorating our meetinghouse. We have some antique paper murals of the Nativity that are quite unique and very delicate, but we still manage to get them up every year."

The First Congregational Church of Gray's annual Holly Fair is set for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20 with face masks required. It's held at the Parish House in Gray, right behind the McDonalds.

Franny Hutchings, a committee member of the church and a churchgoer herself, is very excited for the upcoming Holly Fair.

"With COVID, we were unsure if we would have the Holly Fair this year," Hutchings said. "We're all happy to do it this year and to bring it back. My favorite thing about the Holly Fair is that it puts us in the spirit of Christmas, and we enjoy seeing so many friends coming to shop."

There will be raffle tickets for $50 gift cards when you purchase goods from participating vendors, as well as jewelry, cookies, Rada cutlery, crafts, White Elephant and children activity rooms.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help's Christmas Fair will be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4, located at the church on Roosevelt Trail in North Windham. There will be a visit from Santa from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., a bake sale, knitted items, gift baskets, jewelry, books, and delicious breakfast and lunch served by the Snowflake Café.

At that event, The Knights of Columbus will also have a Yard Sale along with their Annual Christmas Tree sale. The sale for the Christmas trees begins at the church Nov. 27.

The North Windham Union Church will conduct a Christmas craft fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4 hosted at the church located off Roosevelt Trail. There will be 12 tables of hand-made crafts from locals along with baked goods, gently used books, Christmas wreaths, and light lunches to-go. Santa may also make an appearance for the kids, but the church is unsure with his busy schedule.

The church is also holding a silent auction through Nov. 16 with items ranging from gift certificates to toys. Visit their Facebook page to find additional information and to view all the items they have up for auction.

Raymond Village Library's holiday craft fair will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13. There will be plenty of items, including knitted and crocheted items, pottery, resin, jewelry, soaps, and gift baskets.

There will also be special items such as photographic works from Jesse MacDonald Photography, honey and herbal products from Bee Blossom Botanicals, alpaca fiber products from Pismire Mountain Fiber Farm, and glass art from Infinitely Fearless Designs.

The Raymond Village Library is happy to support local artists for Raymond residents said Allison Griffin, the director at RVL. She said that she enjoys seeing all the local talent from the community.

"There are so many talented people in the Raymond area, and we are happy to be able to provide a small venue to help promote their work." Griffin said. " While the event raises funds for the library, the primary focus of the fair is to provide a venue where all local crafters and artists are welcome to participate." <

Windham student recycles bottles, tabs to help kids with cancer

Cooper Fournelle of Windham, 10, raised $800
through a bottle drive to donate to the Maine
Children's Cancer Program and turned over
40 pounds of aluminum can tabs to the Ronald
McDonald House for them to recycle to help
fund their charity services for sick kids and
their families. COURTESY PHOTO 

By Daniel Gray

 

While others may reuse or recycle them, a Windham student is a great example of how recycling bottles and aluminum can tabs can help others along with helping the environment.

Cooper Fournelle, a 10-year-old student at Manchester School, has a love for hockey and helping others who need assistance. Along with his mother, Jessica Emerson-Fournelle, he’s been participating in bottle drives in Windham to donate toward children diagnosed with cancer.

The mother-son duo has been collecting bottles for the Maine Children's Cancer Program for two years. In 2019, they had raised $423 recycling bottles and last year that number increased to $635. Not only do they collect bottles, but the Fournelle's also collect can tabs to donate toward the Ronald McDonald House, another organization that aids families and medical treatments.

Jessica Emerson-Fournelle, who has a long history with community service and helping out others in need, said that she was thrilled when her son started following in her footsteps.

"Cooper has such an empathetic heart,” she said. “He stands up for kids being bullied, loves to help with projects around the house and definitely wants to see things change with people that are suffering."

In 2019, she had suggested that they collect bottles and give all the proceeds to charity in order to help other kids that were just like him that were going through tough times. They did and she said that Cooper enjoyed it so much, they have continued doing this.

Others in the community have taken a notice to Cooper's charity and pitched in to help him.

"We have several people that donate bags of cans or bottles to us on a regular basis from the community, along with friends and family,” Jessica Emerson-Fournelle said. “Others have been willing to do a bag or two. Any little bit helps.”

She said that per month, they collect about $60 in donations, but it isn't consistent. The numbers pick up some in the summer months, especially at their campsite in Steep Falls.

"We also have a seasonal campsite at Acres of Wildlife and Cooper has a sign at the end of our driveway. We usually get several bags each weekend," she said.

Where did this community awareness and desire to help others come from? In 2014 Cooper's grandmother, Donna Kullman, passed away from stage 4 breast cancer. Cooper was very close with her and this impacted him growing up. He was only 3 at the time and dealt with the loss in a new way years later.

When he was 7, Cooper asked his mom if they could do a yard sale to sell toys and give the proceeds to children with cancer.

"I felt bad about people dying from cancer." Cooper said, "People should have long and safe lives. Kids haven't lived long enough, and they are scared and it's sad. I want to put an end to that."

Ever since then, Cooper has been determined to help children through any means possible. His goal this year with his bottle drive is to raise $800 to put toward the Maine Children’s Cancer Program.

 

"I want to do this every year for the rest of my life and make more each year," he said.

 

His mother said that while the bottle drive earns money, the tabs off of cans are also important in fundraising.

"We save our tabs in old coffee cans and at the end of the year, we bring them all to the Ronald McDonald House. We are willing to pick them up from anyone," she said.

Emerson-Fournelle said that one year they had saved and turned in 40 pounds worth of can tabs, which the Ronald McDonald House recycles for a small profit that helps fund their charity services.

The Fournelle family uses Clynk's bagging and tagging system to move things along and make it easier for anyone to donate. All they need is the tag that goes towards Cooper's charity account and it's done. Though the Fournelle's still get donations of bottles without the Clynk bags, they all pitch in to count, sort, and remove the tabs off cans.

According to Emerson-Fournelle, they have recently set up a Facebook page for Cooper's charity drives called “Coopers Cans.”  Anyone can check out the page to see the progress they have made, receive updates, or make donations if they so wish. <

Gofundme benefits beloved Manchester School teacher, husband

Beloved Manchester School fourth-grade
teacher Carol Priebe will accompany her
husband, Paul Priebe, as he receives a lung
transplant at the Cleveland Clinic in 
Cleveland, Ohio. Friends and supporters
of the couple raised more than $5,000
for their expenses through a gofundme
effort. SUBMITTED PHOTO

By Daniel Gray

Have you ever had a teacher that made a huge positive impact on you or a loved one? Teachers are an important role in a child's developmental stages in life, not only for the fact that they teach our kids the knowledge they need, but because they can teach beyond that.

 

Teachers can help develop good moral stand points as well and lessons that stick with us for our entire lives. We need teachers and, sometimes, they need us as well.

Carol Priebe has taught fourth grade at Manchester School in Windham since 2001, and is one of many amazing teachers in the RSU 14 District. She treats her students as if they were her own children and puts her best effort forward when it comes to lessons.

Despite this, Carol has been facing some family medical issues since late 2018. Her husband of eight years, Paul Priebe, has been diagnosed with not one, but three different lung diseases, scleroderma, sarcoidosis, and Raynaud’s disease, a rare trio to be happening all at once.

Carol talks further about the rarity of the diseases as well as what she and her husband went through briefly.

"The doctors said there are only 22 people on Earth that have these same onset diseases at the exact same time,” Priebe said. “You'll treat one symptom for one disease, then the next will pop up from another. In October of 2018, it was almost as if his body said, 'I'm done'."

The last couple of years have not been treating them well either. Carol still teaches in person and online all through 2020 and so far through 2021 but was so nervous during a viral pandemic affecting the lungs. The two have gotten the wonderful news that Paul will be receiving a lung transplant later this month but that would require them going all the way to The Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio for it.

"The parents and the students have been so considerate during these times and completely understand what we've been going through. They have been wonderful during this process of frequent phone calls and some days when I suddenly have to drop a hat to go to a doctor’s appointment for Paul."

One parent in particular said that she was especially understanding of their situation.

When Melissa Carver-Emmons received an email that Carol Priebe would be leaving for her husband's lung transplant, she was full of emotions and couldn't stop thinking of all the troubles they had been through.

"It's obvious that she loves her husband, job, and students and I just felt drawn to help in some small way." Emmons explained, "I put myself in her shoes and knew I would do the same without hesitation but couldn't imagine the emotion around- not only his upcoming high-risk transplant, leaving all the things that you love and that are familiar for the upcoming unknown."

What better way to help than through monetary support? Emmons got to work, setting up a donation pool with a small goal of $5,000. The money would go toward Carol and Paul for anything they needed, whether it be gas, treatments, or just a comfort meal. Anything they could need during this new journey of theirs. She shared the gofundme online and within three days, it had reached its goal.

The donations had eventually brought their way around and, soon enough, the Priebes were notified of what was going on. Carol Priebe said she was utterly surprised upon hearing about the donations.

"A close friend of mine called me to tell me about all these donations. I was so shocked that I just started crying,” she said. “It was so incredible, and I couldn't thank everyone enough for helping me and Paul."

One of 80 donators, Stephanie Lombard, notes just how much Carol means to her family and the community, but along with how important it is to stick with family in the tougher times.

"Right away, you could tell how dedicated she is to her students. She always took the time to teach her students in a way that made learning fun and enjoyable. When I heard the news about her husband, I knew right away I needed to help in any way I could. She is truly a loss to the school department and her students while she takes some much needed time away to be with her husband."

On the behalf of Carol and Paul Priebe, they said they would like to take a moment to just appreciate and send their love out to the people who sent them kind wishes, donated to the gofundme, or even had them in their thoughts. <

GoFundMe campaign set up for new Raymond Elementary laminator

By Daniel Gray   

A GoFundMe campaign has been created to help Raymond Elementary School purchase a new laminator for documents.

The campaign was launched in December by Karlie Rouzer, a resident of Raymond since 2016 and the treasurer of the Parent Teacher Organization for the Raymond school district.

The staff at Raymond Elementary School had reached out to the PTO in hopes that they would create something that could help get them a laminator for the students.

According to Rouzer, a laminator helps in the process of keeping students and staff safe, since laminated paper can be easily wiped down and disinfected from spreading germs.

Rouzer said the addition of a new laminator would be another tool that teachers could use with their students to keep everyone happy.

However, not everyone was overjoyed hearing about the campaign.

Weeks into January, a Raymond resident of 11 years and GoFundMe donator, Stephanie Burke, shared the link on Facebook. Many commentors on the post were supportive of the needs of the school and pitched their own money in to help out, while others weren't too keen about the school needing money at all.

"I was surprised at all the negative feedback on my post, especially it being a local school," she said.

It didn't take long for the post to gain a lot of negative attention, which put a damper on both Burke and Rouzer.

However, the post was not deleted and the two were determined to spread the word still.

Many donations were gained and the GoFundMe for the new school laminator is sitting just a little under halfway to their $2,500 goal.

"I know times are hard, and maybe you feel like the cost of things like a laminator should be included in the school's budget,” Rouzer said. “But personally, and as part of the PTO, I want to support the community, and that includes the schools, and I feel like the schools don’t reach out and ask for much so when they do, it's important to me to do what I can."

The practical applications for the new laminator for Raymond Elementary School are endless and cost-effective. Since young students often use workbooks to learn things like numbers and letters, instead of paying for additional pricey workbooks, pages can be copied and laminated for use by many different students.

Lamination also can be used for math and teaching basic reading such as making reusable flash cards and letters of the alphabet. It can be used to make flash cards of the U.S. states, for labeling student artwork or even for identifying parts of a sentence like verbs.

They have applications for art classes and for making and preserving simple and memorable student holiday crafts.

If you would like to donate to the Raymond Elementary School's laminator fund, please visit https://gofund.me/3e0e37aa.

Even if you are unable to donate right now, clicking the share button and posting to one of the preset social media sites does help spread the word, Rouzer said. <

Spring Birdhouse Raffle a new fundraiser for Raymond Village Library

By Daniel Gray

Examples of birdhouses on display at the Raymond
Village Library are shown. A total of 20 pre-made
birdhouses have been handed out so far as 
part of a new fundraiser for the library. 
SUBMITTED PHOTO   

So far this year, there have been many new beginnings for residents and businesses alike. While the snow thaws early with hopes of more being blanketed across the state, Raymond has been creating some fun new traditions of their own so far this January.

Earlier this month, Raymond's Village Library located off Meadow Road, announced a new event they will be hosting aimed specifically toward crafters in the area. 

The Spring Birdhouse Raffle is a fun activity that the whole family can partake in to create a beautiful bird house to be a bird's future home, library officials said. Not only are the birdhouses designed fully by their creators, but the money made from the raffle is for a good cause. 

Casco resident and Raymond Village Library Director Allison Griffin said the library welcomes new initiatives such as the Spring Birdhouse Raffle.

"The birdhouse project is a new fundraiser for us this year. We have had a lot of positive feedback so far and are hopeful the raffle will be successful,” Griffin said. “In addition to raising funds to support library programs and services, we also hope the project will provide a fun activity for our patrons and community members.! We look forward to displaying all the creative designs in the library for our patrons to enjoy."

While this fundraiser is new to the library, people have already been flocking there to get themselves a birdhouse to decorate, along with viewing the birdhouses that have already been designed and returned to be viewed.

As of this week, a total of 20 pre-made birdhouses have been handed out, already reaching past the initial goal Griffin and the library staff had established.

 

According to Griffin, the birdhouses being handed out to the public have been voluntarily made by the Maine Wood Carvers Association.

 

The birdhouse raffle asks that creations be returned to the library by March 1, where they will be displayed to the public and then raffled out afterward.

The raffle tickets are $1 each with a deal of six tickets for $5. Each ticket can be placed toward a specific birdhouse in the raffle.  Winners will be notified via phone or email on April 4.

The Raymond Village Library's hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

Griffin said that anyone is welcome to drop in to grab a book to read and a birdhouse to decorate.

 

She said that even though they have pre-made birdhouses on hand, the public is encouraged to create and submit a design of their own if they have the know-how and materials to do so.

 

For more information about the Spring Birdhouse Raffle, please visit www.raymondvillagelibrary.org.<

Windham High Honors Society bottle drive boosts scholarship funds

By Daniel Gray

New Year’s Day this year was a special occasion for many globally. It's the start of a new beginning while the negatives of 2020 are sent off. On Jan. 1, many were celebrating in their own unique ways and Windham High School's Honors Society had their own special way to celebrate 2021 as well.

The Windham High School Honors Society is a group of well-rounded teenagers who are dedicated to better helping the community and individuals in it. Every year, they sell beautiful poinsettias during the holidays to raise funds for scholarships for selected classmates, and this year was no different. They sold their poinsettias but felt like there needed to be an addition.

Holden Anderson, the president of the Honors Society and a WHS senior, came up with the idea of creating an additional bottle drive to further raise scholarship funds.

Anderson played hockey in middle school and back then as a fundraiser, the team would go door to door after New Year's asking if people wanted to donate their empty bottles. Thinking back on this, Anderson brought up the idea to try something similar, but conducted at the high school.

His idea took off and soon the Honors Society vice president, Chloe Allen, was announcing it online to bring more attention to the event.

Asking why she promoted the event online on Facebook, Allen said she posted it on the Windham Maine Community Board Page because she though it would help significantly.

“I felt that we have a great community, and that the Windham residents would come help out our group,” Allen said. “I have been a part of the community board for a decent amount of time and knew how many people were in the group. I just knew that we have such a good community that would hear our call for help."

Their group leader and WHS history teacher, Brandon Champion, helped arrange everything and made sure everyone was safe, was practicing social distancing and not overwhelmed by the amount and sheer numbers of the glass bottles they were collecting.

During the drive itself, Champion drove back and forth to Patman's Redemption Center to help create space within the area they were working at the high school. 

They group collected numerous bottles, but their efforts were well worth it, Champion said. All told, the Honors Society earned a total of $550 through the bottle drive that will go toward college scholarships for WHS students.

Everyone connected to the bottle drive said that they were amazed when the news was broken of just how much they had earned through the initiative, especially the honor's society leaders. 

"I had no clue that we would get that much money, I thought $100 would be the maximum amount,” Allen said. “But everyone had bottles to give it seems, and a lot of people heard about our event."

Anderson agreed and said he was grateful to everyone who participated either by volunteering to help or for those who were willing to donate bottles to the effort.

“It's definitely a great feeling and I'm glad I was able to be part of the process,” he said. “College obviously isn't cheap, so even that amount can go a long way in helping a peer have the best experience possible in college."

The Windham High School Honors Society has some more plans for 2021 to do further community work and fundraisers for college scholarships and Anderson said that they will announce those initiatives to the community prior to them being conducted. <

Community helps solve photo mystery on Pettingill Pond

Steve Herbert of Windham is happy to be reunited with
several photos of himself that were left behind years ago 
when his family moved out of their home on Pettengill
Pond. The home's current owner, Matt Brooks, found them
in 2017 replacing a heater and tracked down Herbert and
gave the photos back to him. SUBMITTED PHOTO   

By Daniel Gray

Back in 2017, Matt Brooks discovered something a bit peculiar in his new lakeside residence on Pettingill Pond in Windham. He and a friend were replacing an old heater and, upon moving it, Brooks discovered photographs of a child from the 1960s or 1970s.

There was no name or date on the back of the photograph, and it was housed in a golden frame along with another photo of a baby. Brooks then launched a long and heartwarming journey to find the owner of the photographs and return them.

At first, Brooks did attempt to find the child in the photo through the internet. He had posted a question on Facebook seeking answers to who might be in the photo, but there had been no bites or clues rendered by his friends as to who the photo owner might be or to the identity of the child depicted in the photo.

Not being able to learn who the photos belong to, Brooks tried to donate the photo and frame to Goodwill later in 2017, although fate had something else in store for him and his fiancé.

When attempting to put it in the donation pile at Goodwill, a sign notified them that the thrift store had frozen pipes and a broken door. Brooks interpreted that as bad luck omen and scrubbed his attempt to donate it.

Brooks and his fiancé then decided to hang the frame along with their own family photos in their home as a good luck charm, hoping that one day they would be able to successfully reunite the photos with their rightful owners.

Three years later in 2020, Brooks was finally able to put an end to the mysterious photos hanging on his wall.

"Originally, I posted it on another Facebook page, but enough people encouraged me to try the
Windham Community Board Facebook Page again,” Brooks said. “Giving this another go, people had it solved within 15 minutes."

Posters suggested that a local man named Steve Herbert, who had been living in that house back in the 1970s might know who was in the photographs.

With the community's help, Brooks reached out to Herbert and, after years of mystery and intrigue, the photographs were finally returned to their rightful owner.

Herbert said that he was unsure about how any of his family photographs had slipped behind the water heater in such a way, when he lived in the house, but he was nevertheless overjoyed when he was alerted to the post on the Windham Community Board on Facebook by his friends.

"I had about 10 text messages screenshotting the post,” Herbert said. “It was pretty special."

When he was growing up, Herbert recalled that a number of issues led to many family photographs and memories being discarded, and he grew up without many photographs at all.

Herbert said that now that these photographs have been rediscovered thanks to Brooks, to him and his family, these photos mean a lot and they'll be cherished for a very long time. <

Windham community steps up to ‘pay it forward’

Ashley Waters of Windham, left, 
learned in December that two
anonymous individuals had paid
more than $1,000 for physical
therapy for her son, Zeke, who
has cerebral palsy.
SUBMITTED PHOTO 

By Daniel Gray

Some days, there are wonderful strangers who make our day just a little easier. There's someone there to help lend a couple dollars if you're a few short at the checkout, or the person in front of you paid for your morning coffee at the drive-through. 

 

These acts of kindness are often referred to as “paying it forward” and come in many shapes and sizes. Over the holiday season, a number of examples of amazing community members who were “paying it forward” came to light locally.

 

A classic example of “paying it forward” is always at Dunkin Donuts in Windham where some people in line at the drive-through pay for the person behind them. One instance of this happened to Kathy Plamann and her husband, Keith, of Windham.

 

He has been going through chemotherapy for a couple months and the only thing he can keep down because of his treatments is Dunkin's vanilla chai drinks. They were in line at the drive-through and were pleasantly surprised when they found out the person in front of them had already paid for his drink. 

 

Kathy Plamann said that she was so touched by this kind gesture that she then paid for the person behind her as well, even though the cost was $4 extra dollars. 

"My hope for all of us, with the tough times we are all going through, is to keep the Christmas Spirit going year-round,” she said. “These have been unprecedented times, we need to keep looking out for ways to bless people, which I already see in this community and surrounding towns."

Earlier in December, the Windham Flower Shop run by Rhonda Davis had a small challenge for the community in which if you purchased a tree, you then also bought one for another family.

Davis said she was surprised when their store suddenly got an influx of businesses and customers alike buying trees for families, and it all started with Nick Beaulieu, one of Davis' friends. 

Beaulieu runs the motorcycle shop Forever Two Wheels right next door to Patmans Redemption. He
had stopped by the flower shop and bought two trees, one for himself and one for a random family who needed one.

He then posted on Facebook to challenge the community into doing the same. His friends shared the post and it got traction quickly after that. 

By the middle of December, the flower shop had sold out of trees and gave out 65 trees to families free of charge. 

Beaulieu said that he enjoys “paying it forward” to people in any way he can, whether it be buying a couple’s dinner, or just simply buying a family's tree.

He said he didn't expect his small challenge to take off so well, but he has other tricks up his sleeve planned for next year that will help local business and families in Windham during the holidays.

Another small blessing in disguise in December was when Ashley Waters of Windham found that two anonymous women had paid for physical therapy appointments for her son, Zeke, who has cerebral palsy. 

She said that the family has had so many medical bills this year and the physical therapy that their son needs was very costly.

 

Waters says it got to a point where Zeke didn't get to go to physical therapy at all since the family was behind on payments. 

However, two anonymous people paid more than $1,000 for appointments for Zeke and his mother couldn't be happier that he's getting the help he needs. 

For the community, Waters just wants to remind everyone that despite the tough times today with the pandemic, there's always hope and love right around the corner where you least expect it. 

"There are still good people out there no matter how much negativity, anger, and divisiveness there seems to be right now,” Waters said. “We can all still come together as a community. At the end of the day we are all human beings and we all thrive from spreading love and feeling love from others no matter how big or small it may be."

People here just always stick up for one another and help each other when needed. Our community truly is a place of caring, amazing people despite the roughness of this year. For 2021, let's strive to keep that closeness and to continue to lend a helping hand to those who need it. <

Windham residents create heartfelt homemade Christmas treasures

By Daniel Gray

Living in Windham means being connected to your neighbors and having a connection that not many towns know. There are so many wonderful, talented community members that work with their hands every day, creating to make our lives easier or brightly colored to drown out the tones of this year. 

Because of the virus, many missed out on the yearly tradition of going to the craft fair at the local high school to marvel at all the glorious creations of our tight-knit community. As a result, we’re shining a small spotlight on some local creators who would be a happy addition for the festive holiday season. 

Nicole Keniston of Windham mixes
paints that will be used for mixed 
media designs she creates by hand
for Christmas gifts. These burnt
wood creations will be painted
and shaped into the state of
Maine. SUBMITTED PHOTO

New Windham resident Nicole Keniston creates mixed-media wood burnings and paintings. Her business name is “Nicole's Burnt Kitchen” due to "not being super accurate in the kitchen" and her wood-burning pieces.

Keniston just recently moved to Windham from South Portland with her husband and three children and is an undergraduate in college studying for a degree in early childhood education. She loves bringing two different mediums together to create different pieces of art, and it shows with her colorful Maine paintings on wood with burning details etched into it.

 

She creates with elements of nature and has nature in mind with what she makes.

 

"I’ve always loved creating art with the different elements of nature. Especially in the classroom, or on a budget, and kids love it,” Keniston said. “My husband and kids came home with a wood-burning kit one afternoon, and we all just got hooked on all the options and possibilities there were." 

 

Keeping in line with crafting, there's Ashley Riley Caswell, who places wonderful designs on glasses.

 

She’s lived in Windham her whole life and only left to attend college in New Hampshire, currently living with her husband and her two young boys. Growing up a crafter with her grandmothers, Caswell said that she learned how to paint and how to sew.

 

She's always enjoyed crafting, and to her, it isn't just “'crafting,” but more artistry.

 

“Crafting, for me, has never been "one thing,” Caswell said. “I tend to mix it up and be more of a ‘maker,’ diving into different creations along the way."

 

Her creative beautiful and oftentimes hilarious painted glass pieces are made using a computer and a machine that creates the custom-made design. A couple designs in her collection of hilarious 21+ 'Quarantine Survival Kits' includes a picture of a hammer stating 'hammered' and a bumble bee that says “buzzed,” perfect for those days to pop open a bottle of wine at home and just unwind.

 

Caswell also has made glasses and tumblers with a stencil of the state of Maine on them, quite simple, but a very nice statement piece to show off Maine pride. She has a Facebook dedicated to her glasses called the Crafty Girls Co-Op.

Nicole Warner is a local candy maker and baker who loves making sweet treats for folks and their families, especially around the holiday season. She creates cakes, cupcakes, cookies, whoopie pies, and
amazing “hot cocoa bombs,” among various other goodies.

When not baking and decorating, Nicole loves to spend time with her husband and two children, Caleb and Eliana. Another Portland native gone Windham, Nicole enjoys the community and connections she has made here, and especially loves sharing her sweets as well.

To Nicole, dessert is everyone's favorite part of any meal and she would be happy to make her treats part of a family's dinner.

 

“I have always been making cakes, cupcakes, and baked goods for family parties, but never really advertised. Decorating is a huge stress reliever for me,” Warner said. “I just started actually selling my creations a couple years ago with a bigger push on social media this past spring. I am genuinely so surprised at how well it has taken off."

 

Warner also has a Facebook page to order goodies called Nicole's Sweet Treats. <

Help available for Windham, Raymond residents with missing pets

Microchipping is an effective way for animal
control staff members to identify and return
lost dogs. The average cost for the service is
less than $70 and widely available through
local veterinarians. COURTESY PHOTO

By Daniel Gray

Whether or not you have a fuzzy loved one at home, many know the heartbreak that happens when a family pet runs off and aren't able to find their way back home. It isn’t uncommon for dogs to run out the front door or somehow snap themselves off their leashes, but there are ways to prevent pets from becoming lost and if they do, to get them back home safely.

 

Windham resident Myia Canty, a student currently majoring in mechanical engineering at the University of Maine, knows exactly what it’s like to have her dog run off unexpectedly. And to make matters worse, she lives right near River Road in Windham, making it very dangerous if her dog were to run off.

Her German Shepherd and Lab mix named Trinity loves to play and will want to play in the front yard right next to the treacherous road.

 

“Every once in a while, she’ll see something move outside like a squirrel or my dad getting home from work, so she will just book it out the door and once she realizes she’s outside, she’ll get excited and think it’s time for a walk,” Canty said.

 

Recently, Trinity has started clicker training, which is when a pet owner can use a small hand-held device that makes a soft clicking noise that gains a dog’s attention and, when done properly, the dog can associate a click meaning they did a good job and get a treat. The Cantys started the training a year ago and say that it is extremely helpful with Trinity. She knows to come when the clicker sounds, which is a vast improvement from without the clicker.

 

A dog training company called Partners in Canine, 756 Roosevelt Trail in Windham, has a very confident outlook on clicker training. Partners in Canine owners and trainers Merri Button and Meg Terrio believe tremendously in the science behind clickers that dates to the 1890s. A Russian physiologist named Ivan Pavlov created the “classical conditioning theory,” ring a bell and give a dog food, and they will expect food every time the bell chimes. The same thing happens with clicker training.

 

“Once we have established this conditioned response to the clicker, we have the ability to do tons of things that can make training your dog easier and more positive,” Button and Terrio said.

 

Windham’s Lake Region Animal Hospital’s head veterinary technician, Leah Janus, has a very positive
view on clicker training as well, but said she would also add professional training into the mix.

 

“We feel that clicker training can be a great training tool for dogs. But, if you are a true beginner, it is probably best to start with a professional trainer,” Janus said. “Without realizing it, people can give their dogs confusing cues when they are learning how to train a dog.”

 

Partners in Canine offers a few different programs that can help with dog training if someone can’t do it on their own. They have the Puppy 101 course for younger dogs and also offer a Partner Program for dogs 6 months or older. These courses are made to help owners with dogs who have behavioral issues or goals they would like to achieve.

 

Janus says she also strongly urges residents to get their pets a microchip. The chip is injected and the chip itself is the size of a grain of rice, being placed between a dog's shoulder blades. The microchip has the dog's registration number along with where the ship was registered. If your dog is found and their chip is scanned through the skin, the vet clinic can contact the registry and get your information from there. At the Lakes Region Animal Hospital, it costs $66 dollars for the “Home Again” microchip bundle. It includes a microchip implanting chip, registration, 24/7 pet recovery assistance for one year, a medical hotline for pet poison control, and even a lost pet travel assistance for when dogs end up far away from home.

 

Jackie Frye is Windham’s personal animal control officer and for the past three years has logged 40 hours a week on average to assist with strays or various animals roaming in Windham. The town’s animal control’s budget for 2019 was a little more than $68,000 with this year’s budget being slightly more than $67,000.

 

When Frye is notified of an animal running loose, she catches them safely and brings them to the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland (ARLGP) in Westbrook. She does have happy stories to tell of when she has examined a lost dog’s collar to reunite them with their owners.

 

“Before going to the shelter, I’ll try to find the owner. If there’s a rabies tag with the number, I’ll also call the town to get the owner’s name and information,” Frye said. “I’ll definitely try to find the owner first and I would rather do this every time than go to ARLGP.”

 

Raymond’s animal control officer is Jessica Jackson who has been serving the public since 2013. Raymond’s lost pet process is similar to Windham’s with Jackson bringing stray animals to ARLGP or returning them home if the information is available. In 2019, the budget for Raymond’s animal control was about $32,000 and 2020’s budget was nearly $35,000.

 

Jeana Roth of Windham is the director of community engagement for the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland and said the first thing done when a stray animal arrives is to scan for a microchip or locate other information.

 

“For pets without any identification, we hold them for a period of time to try to locate their family and to observe and treat any medical needs they may have,” Roth said. “We work with groups like Maine Lost Dog Recovery/Maine Lost Cat Recovery on Facebook to share that we have a stray pet with the hopes of an owner being identified.”

 

Typical recovery fees for owners of animals taken to the shelter is $25 and all dogs are held there for six days.

 

Both Raymond and Windham mandate that pet owners register dogs each year. pick them up and they hold all dogs for six days.

 

Registration is Dec. 31 and requirements include proof of a rabies vaccination and veterinarian's name and phone number, and a neuter certificate if applicable. For neutered animals, the registration fee is just $6 or $11 for animals not neutered. Registration can be done online at the town website, by mail or in person at town offices. <