By Ed Pierce
2025: A year of new opportunities and moving forward
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| Bill Diamond of Windham, a longtime legislator, educator, business owner and child welfare advocate, died Aug. 31 at the age of 80. He co-founded Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors to provide heat assistance to those in need and the Walk A Mile In Their Shoes Foundation to end child homicide in Maine. FILE PHOTO |
July 4’s top story was about Raymond’s new Code Enforcement Officer Jason Williamson, who had been serving as the town’s assistant Code Enforcement Officer, but was promoted to his new position after Chris Hanson was selected to the Raymond Select Board in June. A graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a background in carpentry and building, Williamson says he finds his code enforcement job to be both challenging and rewarding. “The biggest challenges, I would say are when you’re dealing with some issues that crop up with neighbors,” he said. “It seems like you’re taking sides … but you’re really trying to be fair and not infringe on anybody’s rights.” Getting people to see the other side’s point of view “can be extremely difficult,” he said. An important part of the job, Williamson says, has to do with enforcing shoreline zoning and protecting the waterways, as much of the building that takes place in Raymond is along or near lakes. “Protecting the water quality, making sure and informing homeowners when they are doing projects in and around the lakes and showing them how to do it in a manner that’s going to be respectful to the lake,” is one of his biggest responsibilities. Williamson said, “Everybody wants to do what they want with their property, but most people understand that there’s a responsibility of being down by the water. When you get people who understand is the most rewarding, I would say.”
The top story for July 11 reported on the Town of Raymond’s intention to apply for a grant later this summer to help the town prepare for climate change. The Raymond Select Board conducted a workshop where residents and Select Board members discussed priorities of how the grant, if approved, could be best be put to use. During the workshop, which was led by Lucy Perkins of Siler Climate Consulting, community members were invited to share their thoughts about how the town could use grant funding to make the town more resilient in planning for climate change. Funds can be used to support projects that reduce energy use and costs and make communities more resilient to climate change effects, such as flooding, extreme weather, drought, and public health impacts. The town of Raymond has contracted with Siler Climate Consulting, together with North Star Planning, for assistance in enrolling in the Community Resilience Partnership, a program under the Maine Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future and applying for a Community Action Grant that would range between $50,000 and $75,000. The grants are funded through a mix of federal and state sources. According to Perkins, so far 263 Maine municipalities have enrolled in the program, which encompasses about two-thirds of the state’s population; and a large percentage of those communities have received funding.
July 18’s top story was about Windham High School graduate Brady Afthim, who has dreamed of playing Major League Baseball since he was a child competing in Windham Little League. His dream took a step closer when the Cincinnati Reds selected him in the 13th round of the 2025 MLB Draft with the 384th pick this week. A right-handed pitcher who dominated opponents while playing for Windham High School, Afthim, 22, was the closer for the University of Connecticut Huskies after graduating from WHS in 2021. At Windham, he was honored as Maine Gatorade Player of the Year, was USA Today Player of the Year in Maine, and was recognized as First Team All-Southern Maine Athletic Association as both a pitcher and a catcher. He also won the John Winkin Award designating him as the top senior high school baseball player in Maine in 2021 and he was named as the recipient of the 2021 Mr. Baseball in Maine Award. This year as a senior, Afthim closed out his college career as second in UConn history with 92 appearances. He was tied for 8th place overall in team history with 17 career saves and he posted the lowest opponent batting average in Huskies’ history at just .211. Afthim also had a career-low 2.45 ERA, earned nine saves and had two wins as the team’s closer. In 22 appearances, he racked up 53 strikeouts. Afthim signed with Cincinnati and played for its Rookie League team in Goodyear, Arizona and was promoted to its Single-A affiliate at Daytona Beach in the Florida State League by the end of the season.
The top story for July 25 was about Mason Hall, 11, a skilled artist who has been honored as the first-ever winner of the Finance Authority of Maine’s (FAME) “Design Your Dream Money Contest.” The contest was created this spring and intended to help raise awareness of the importance of teaching financial skills to younger students in partnership with the Alfond Scholarship Foundation. Students in first grade through sixth grade were invited to create their own $500 bill using a template created by FAME. Hall was a student in Lynne Latham’s fifth-grade classroom at Jordan-Small Middle School this past spring and he joined his classmates in learning about basic financial education, capped off by the students entering FAME’s “Design Your Dream Money Contest.” During a school assembly before classes let out for the summer in June, Jordan-Small Middle School students cheered when Hall was announced as this year’s “Design Your Dream Money” contest winner. For his winning design, Hall received an Amazon gift card and a box of prizes including a T-shirt with his $500 bill design printed on it. “I was really surprised by winning,” he said. “I truly felt like I accomplished something.”
AUGUST
Aug. 1’s top article told the story of Brysen Sheridan of Raymond, 10, whose dream of building his own boat and taking it out on the water came true. He spent more than 10 months designing his own boat and working to pay for materials to build it. The son of Rob and Chanelle Sheridan of Raymond, Brysen came up with the idea for a small boat last fall. “I just had the idea and wanted to make it happen,” he said. “I thought of the idea before bed one night and I drew it out and started making it the next day.” He first had to figure out how to pay for the building materials he needed to construct the boat and then saved to purchase them. Throughout the winter, Brysen shoveled snow from driveways and sidewalks for his neighbors and helped them with yard work. As the weather slowly warmed up this spring, he earned some additional money from mowing lawns and stacking firewood. Working steadily in his family’s garage and outside in his yard from his initial design, the boat project began to take shape. The project was wrapped up on July 11 and resulted in a vessel measuring about 6 feet by 2 feet. He named his new boat “the unsinkable” and tested it out with his family watching to ensure it was safe to be out on the water. During the summer, Brysen has taken his younger brother Bennett (Benny), 5, out on the water for a fishing trip on “the unsinkable” on a small cove near Jordan Bay in Raymond. “You can do whatever you put your mind to,” he said. “I’d tell other kids wanting to build a boat to stick with it even if it’s hard.”
The top story for Aug. 8 reported how a Windham family had their faith tested and strengthened their resolve when their 22-year-old son, who was working as an electrician and was installing solar panels on a roof in Kingfield, suddenly fell 20 feet to the ground and sustained multiple breaks in his T-11 vertebrae which smashed and put pressure on his spinal cord. It left him paralyzed and struggling to cope while his parents did their best to lift his spirits and motivate him to go on. “One of the hardest things for me is not being able to make things better for him,” said his mother, Kathleen March. “I can't heal his broken heart. I can't promise or even tell him he will get better because it's an unknown of time and faith. It's been hard to see our son who was just beginning his life in his chosen career, enjoying it and doing well to lose it all, including the possibility to be able to return to that job as he did it.” Parishioners at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Windham rallied to help and support Brian and Kathleeen March and so did American Legion Post 148 in Windham. The couple’s son, Ethan, is doing better now and in a motorized wheelchair and aiming to become a pilot.
Aug. 15’s top story was about Greta Paulding, a 2023 Windham High School graduate, who has found swing dance to be her way of not only coping with stress, but also noticed improvements physically, mentally, and socially. This is the second year that Paulding has served as president of the Windham Swing Dance Club, a group she founded. When she left for college in the fall of 2023, she decided to join a swing dance club for an extra-curricular activity and found that she not only enjoyed it, but also noticed improvements in her life mentally, physically, and socially. She decided to bring the idea back home when she came to Windham for summer break and started a high school swing dance club, open for incoming students, current high school students, and recent graduates. “We started off very small withia group of around eight people,” says Paulding. “It was small, but the people who attended were loyal and would invite other people; we had a lot of fun. Coming back this year, we have grown to between 20 to 30 regulars and about 20 attendees each event.” Since the club’s inception students from South Portland, Durham, and even students from New Hampshire have traveled to swing dance with the Windham Swing Dance Club.
The top story for Aug. 22 was about a Windham attorney, Katie Winchenbach, who won the National United States Mrs. 2025 Pageant. After winning the title of United States of America’s Mrs. Maine for 2024, Winchenbach was crowned National United States Mrs. 2025 at the National United States Pageant, held in Hershey, Pennsylvania from July 28 to Aug. 1. “In 2024 I competed for the United States of America (USOA) pageant system. This time I competed in the National United States pageant,” Winchenbach said. “I chose to switch to National United States because the pageant has a significant community service focus through the ‘Crowns Making an Impact’ initiative and I felt that it was more closely aligned with my personal values and goals.” Beside winning the national title, Winchenbach was honored at the pageant with the Diamond Crowns Making an Impact ™ Award for her dedication to volunteering and community service. She is passionate about advancing women’s leadership, breaking barriers, and inspiring confidence in women of all ages. Winchenbach is the founder of Lead Fearlessly, a movement and podcast dedicated to elevating women’s voices, sharing stories of resilience, and providing actionable strategies for personal and professional growth. She is also the designer behind a new clothing line created to inspire confidence through bold, empowering designs. “This title means more than a crown and sash. To me, it’s a platform to encourage women to embrace their full potential, trust their intuition, and step boldly into leadership,” Winchenbach said. “I’m honored to represent the National United States Pageant system and to connect with women across the country who are ready to lead fearlessly.”
Aug. 29’s top story reported about the new Roosevelt Trail Maine History Tour featuring eight important local historical sites which will be open to the public with free admission. The self-guided auto or bike tour includes open houses and some guided tours and stretches all the way from Westbrook to Harrison along the historic Roosevelt Trail. Brochures are available throughout the area and include a list of participating historical sites and museums, a trail map, and museum profiles and missions. Margaret Myatt is the publicity coordinator for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Boyhood Home and the Hawthorne Community Association in Raymond and says that she is looking forward to the tour and hopes to spread the word to the community. “It should be a fun event if we can get people out there. I hope it is a well-received event,” she said. “It is sort of an open-house road show of history sites, informal, but easy. I think Windham Recreation caught wind of it and may do a van or bus.” Myatt also said that they plan to distribute brochures at adult recreation and assisted living facilities in the area. She said that the tour is perfect for all age groups from youngsters and teens to families and seniors.
SEPTEMBER
Sept. 5’s top story covered the death of former Windham State Senator and State Representative Bill Diamond, who died Aug. 31 at the age of 80 following a hard-fought battle with cancer. He spent more than 40 years in politics and Diamond also served as Maine’s Secretary of State from 1989 to 1997. He left behind a legacy few will equal. Diamond grew up on his grandfather’s farm in West Gardiner and came to Southern Maine to study to become a teacher at Gorham State Teacher’s College, earning a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in education. He married his wife Jane in 1968, and the couple raised two daughters, Kristin and Karyn, in Windham and now have eight grandchildren. He taught from 1968 to 1986 in Windham schools and was the first principal of Windham’s Manchester School. He went on to lead Field-Allen Junior High School and Windham Middle School as principal and was Superintendent of Schools for Raymond. As the cost of heating homes rose in the early 2000s, Diamond co-founded and served as president of Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors in 2007, an all-volunteer effort which raised money to provide emergency heating oil to community residents in need. He also served as a board member for the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals in Windham and Hospice of Southern Maine. In 2023, Diamond launched the “Walk A Mile In Their Shoes Foundation,” a non-profit dedicated to preventing child homicides and the abuse of children who are under the supervision or direct care of the State of Maine or who are or have been associated with the state’s Child Protective System.
The top story for Sept. 12 reported on significant progress made on the construction of the new Windham Raymond Middle School on Windham Center Road, including moving the horse barn on the property for future use as an outdoor classroom. Christopher Howell, RSU 14 Superintendent of Schools, says that construction costs for the school have remained constant and the project continues to be on schedule for a planned opening of September 2027. The new school will be a free-standing multi-story building with more than 260,000 gross square feet of new construction for learning space, an auditorium, gymnasium, and dining facilities. Howell says that the new school will use a team-teaching concept where students will be divided into 12 teams to provide personal connection and then broken up into smaller instructional teams. It will incorporate Integrative Project Based Learning through team teaching, a method of instruction where a group of teachers work together to plan, conduct, and evaluate learning activities for the same group of students and the school’s design takes all of that into account with the team areas of the building allowing for a science teacher, math teacher, social studies teacher, and an English teacher to be in the same teaming area. “It’s just been an amazing process to watch and see the large precision of this process,” Howell said. “We are $16 million under the original budget and expect things to remain that way.”
Sept. 19’s top story was about Tia’s Prom Project, an initiative to memorialize the late Tatiana “Tia” Morrell of Windham, who tragically died at age 28 in a moped accident. She was a real estate agent and business professional who loved proms. Her friends and family say that they wanted to find a way to remember Tia in a meaningful and lasting way because of the type of person she was. Tia’s Prom Project will provide dresses to high school and middle school students in Cumberland County for prom, homecoming, or any other formal or semi-formal school events at no cost to the student. The inspiration for remembering Tia through Tia’s Prom Project stems from an event that took place when she was just in eighth grade. A new girl started school in Windham and Tia, her mother said, wanted to help the girl by buying her a dress to attend a semi-formal dance cruise that eighth grade students were attending at the end of the school year. Tia enlisted the assistance of her mother and together they bought a dress and on the day of the dance cruise, Worthing helped the new student with her hair and makeup. Her mother said that story helped inspire this new initiative.
The top story for Sept. 26 detailed the opening of the Space to Thrive non-profit childcare organization’s new facility, located on Pope Road in Windham. The 6,000-square-foot facility welcomed families, community members, and local and state leaders for a music-filled event to celebrate the grand opening. Colorful chalk decorated the sidewalks, as families enjoyed music, snacks and an opportunity to explore the new building. The building’s five classrooms are welcoming spaces, with activity-specific areas dotted around each, and doors leading directly to a new playground. Each teacher assembled and arranged their classrooms to fit their students’ needs, ensuring that children will find enrichment wherever they turn. The event was attended by Maine Gov. Janet Mills and State Senator Tim Nangle. “Parents across the state need consistent, affordable care for their children, not only so they can go to work, but so their children can have a great place to learn and grow,” she said, while touting her administration’s accomplishments in helping to expand childcare access in Maine. As someone who raised five daughters and as someone who is now a grandmother to five, I deeply appreciate the work that childcare providers do every day, and I know it isn’t easy,” Mills said.
OCTOBER
Oct. 3’s top story was about the resignation of Joseph Crocker as Raymond Town Manager. Crocker, 37, had formerly served the town as Parks and Recreation Director, and was appointed to the Town Manager position in May succeeding Sue Look, who resigned in March. The Raymond Select Board had then tapped Crocker to serve as the interim Town Manager until a permanent replacement could be hired. Look had served as Raymond Town Clerk before succeeding longtime Town Manager Don Willard in January 2024 upon his retirement. Crocker was hired for the town manager position after a competitive recruiting and hiring process conducted by HR Maine Consulting, LLC. All told, there were 46 applicants for the town manager position. Nine of those 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, town department heads, a Town Manager from another community, and Betsy Oulton from HR Maine Consulting. His contract was for three years at an annual salary of $100,000. “When you provide services to a small town for so long, they become your friends,” Crocker said. “All I can say is I have given my best effort to make the Town of Raymond better, and all I ask is that our elected officials act in good faith to do the same.” <
The top story for Oct. 10 reported on the return of the Presumpscot River Revival Race after an absence of three decades. The race is sponsored by the Friends of the Presumpscot River at Dundee Park for a day of friendly paddle competition and celebration. The 2.5-mile race and festivities at the river will span several hours to include paddling, food trucks, leaf-peeping, and more. The goal of the event is to “bring awareness and community to the river,” says Leah Zwain of FOPR. The organization has been increasing its outreach efforts to help build connection with the river and to each other. It provides that opportunity to connect through Community Paddle and Grill events and Evening Paddles on the Presumpscot and hosts conversations and presentations at local libraries or yacht clubs, partnering with other nonprofits such as Friends of Casco Bay. Some of the proceeds from the races will help with the FOPR school outreach program which is designed to get students in Gorham, Westbrook, Windham, Portland, and Falmouth out on the water, and the program introduces children to the river. Students are taught paddling techniques and learn about the Wabanaki and industrial history of the waterway, while also discussing the river’s future.
For Oct. 17, the top story unveiled plans for the final segment to extend the Mountain Division Trail from Windham to be added to Maine Department of Transportation’s Three-Year Plan. During a meeting of the Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System’s Advisory Committee, PACTS members voted to recommend the project to be included on MaineDOT’s Three-Year Plan spanning 2026-2027-2028. Aubrey Miller, Senior Transportation Program Manager for the Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG), said that following the Draft Plan’s adoption by the committee, the GPCOG Policy Board will review and consider adopting the Regional Trail Plan on Oct. 23. The $16.2 million project will extend the Mountain Division Trail from its current end at Main Street (Route 202), in Windham, and extend the trail about 5 miles south to Bridge Street in Westbrook. Doing this will create a continuous, nearly 10-mile off-road bicycle and pedestrian transportation link running from Standish to Westbrook. Once funded by MaineDOT, project work will include new pavement, gravel, curbing, drainage, signing and striping, retaining walls, fencing, and rectangular rapid flashing beacons located at the trail crossings on Bridge Street in Westbrook, Depot Street in Windham, and Main Street (Route 202) in Windham.
Oct. 24’s top story covered the induction of Windham High School boys’ basketball coach Chad Pulkkinen into the Saint Joesph’s College Athletics Hall of Fame. He has led Windham High School to consecutive state boys’ basketball championships and competed for Saint Joesph’s as a player in the 1990s. In his freshman year at Saint Joseph’s College, Pulkkinen tore his Anterior Cruciate Ligament. Less than a year later, he tore his ACL again in what he described as “extremely dark moments” for his first two years playing college ball. Being injured was a life lesson for him. It took away everything he loved. He said he thought it was the best thing for him because he looked at the game differently; he appreciated it differently, especially after the second injury. He overcame that adversity and finished his college career strong and eventually went on to play professionally in England for the Northampton Neptunes in the European Basketball League. “I want Windham alumni to be proud and hopefully my experiences including failures and successes can help my current players,” said Pulkkinen.
The top story for Oct. 31 was about the Windham Town Council choosing Anthony Blasi to succeed longtime Windham Town Clerk Linda Morrell, who is retiring. Blasi will be sworn in Nov. 4 and understands that he has big shoes to fill. “Linda is a tough act to follow. I can only hope to command the love, respect, and trust that the people of Windham have bestowed upon her,” Blasi said. “Linda is so helpful. You see the way she interacts with people, and she is always willing to help. If she cannot do something or is not sure, she always finds out the answer. I learned more about resourcefulness from her and hope to be as resourceful as she is.” Blasi is originally from Auburn and graduated in 2015 from Edward Little High School. He then earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Maine Farmington in 2019. Before coming to work in Windham, Blasi served as the Town Clerk of Woolwich for about a year and a half, and he applied for the Windham job because it posed more of a challenge. He is a Certified Municipal Clerk by the Maine Town and City Clerks Association and is a Notary Public.
NOVEMBER
Nov. 7’s top story reported on the Nov. 4 municipal election in Windham as three new Windham Town Councilors and two members of the RSU 14 Board of Directors will be sworn in following the election. In Windham’s North District, Margaret “Maggie” Terry defeated Deborah Devou, while in the South District, Doug Fortier beat Michael Russin for the council seat. In a race for an At-Large council seat, Katie Cook defeated Clayton Haskell and Joseph Campbell, and a recount challenge confirmed her victory. In a five-candidate race with the top two vote tallies earning seats for three-year terms on the RSU 14 Board of Directors, incumbent Christina Small and first-time candidate Matthew Irving received the most votes and won seats on the school board, over candidates Adam Zajac, Megan Potter and Destiny Johnson. Voters in Windham and Raymond were among state residents casting ballots in Tuesday’s election to decide the fate of two statewide referendum questions. Question 1 about requiring voter identification and eliminating two days of absentee voting failed statewide, while Question 2 prohibiting individuals posing potential harm to others from having dangerous weapons was approved statewide.
For Nov. 14, the top story covered the 2025 Veterans Day observance hosted by VFW Post 10643 at the Windham Veterans Center on Veterans Day. Featuring guest speaker Elizabeth Cormier of Honor Flight Maine, VFW Post 10643’s new commander Jeffrey Cook served the master of ceremonies and local essay winners for the VFW’s Patriot’s Pen for grades 6 to 8 and Voice of Democracy audio essay contest for grades 9 to 12 were announced. The Patriot’s Pen winner was Windham Christian Academy eighth grader Elsa Pearson with second place awarded to Annaelle Kawaya. The Voices of Democracy winner was Windham sophomore Shea Carey. Pearson spoke of the importance of volunteering and how when she was in fifth and sixth grade, she volunteered at the local food pantry setting up Thanksgiving baskets. She said helping our community is one step closer to making our country better. She and her class have also traveled across southern Maine to perform juggling acts for nursing homes and spread the gospel, while visiting with the residents of these homes. Carey’s essay was about the many ways to display patriotism. Her version of patriotism involves the simplest acts of kindness and integrity. She values being a kind person and hopes those who heard her essay take those words and strive to make a difference where they can.
Nov. 21’s top story was about a Windham parent who enlisted teens and members of the community for a food drive that raised more than $500 to purchase food items for the Windham Food Pantry, along with collecting additional food donations from Windham residents. Angela Libby spent a little under two weeks collecting funds and donations, ending up with more than four shopping carts full of food for the food pantry. She assembled a group of teens from Windham High School to help with both collecting donations and with a shopping trip to Market Basket in Westbrook. “I wanted to help, and I wanted my youngest daughter to be involved and see that there are people who are less fortunate than us” in the community, she said. “Having the kids hear about how many are in need, how many people come [to the Food Pantry], and what is available was really eye opening for them, which is exactly what I was looking for.” Libby said that hearing from a food pantry volunteer that there are 38 families from the Windham Primary School seeking help from the community organization really hit home for the kids. Upon hearing about recent cuts to SNAP benefits, the mother of three daughters used a group chat from a group of teens who attended Homecoming together to reach out to parents and their kids to see if any would be interested in participating. “Everybody of course said yes,” she said. “Some kids came over with boxes of food they had collected, and others collected money.”
For Nov. 28, the top story reported on a Windham veteran who was surprised by every aspect of her Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. earlier this year and describes it “as an experience of a lifetime.” Alola Giffin Morrison, 88, grew up as the daughter of a U.S. Coast Guard captain, and lived in eight different cities ranging from New Orleans to throughout the Northeastern U.S. and as far north as Agentia, Newfoundland in Canada growing up. After earning dual Bachelor of Science degrees in nutrition and home economics in 1959 from the University of Maine, she completed a one-year dietetic internship at Beth Israel Hospital in Massachusetts, qualifying her to become a registered dietitian in 1960. Later that same year, she became a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) in Boston and was sworn in by her father as a Lieutenant Junior Grade. She married her University of Maine classmate and sweetheart Joe Morrison in November 1961 at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts and resigned from the Public Health Service in June 1962 to move to Orono, Maine to start her family in August 1962. Resuming her military career by re-enlisting in the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps (USARMC) as a captain in 1974, she was assigned to the 1125th Medical Unit out of Auburn, Maine and Section 1 in Bangor for 12 years as a registered dietitian. She retired from the USARMC in 1986 having obtained the rank of Major. The Honor Flight experience was very humbling and Morrison said going to the Women’s Military Memorial was her favorite. Her military story was officially entered into the Women's Military Memorial. She was one of 77 veterans from Maine and was the only female veteran on this trip.
DECEMBER
For Dec. 5, the top story was about the Maine Dance Company and the Maine Dance Center’s upcoming new holiday dance production, Christmas at the Castle, premiering Dec. 20 at the Donald M. Gay Performing Arts Center located at Edward Little High School in Auburn. Dancers of all ages from the Maine Dance Company and the Maine Dance Center, located on Roosevelt Trail in Raymond, will take the stage to help the Sugar Plum Fairy retrieve her lost wand to ensure Christmas magic will carry Santa Claus across the globe. “If Sugarplum Fairy doesn’t have her wand, Christmas is in jeopardy,” said Adrienne Pelletier, one of the two authors of the show’s storyline, when detailing the adventures the cast will face. Pelletier, along with her sister and co-author, Rhiannon Pelletier-Guerrette, worked to develop the show for almost two years, after a performance at Windham’s Summerfest in 2023. Once the duo founded the company in 2024, they realized they had talented dancers to fill the roles and develop a full performance. They began writing in January of that year and spent almost two years finishing a script and patching the music together. Both Pelletier and Pelletier-Guerrette are each principal dancers with the Maine State Ballet. Family support will be essential as the Maine Dance Center expands in a new location in the North Windham Shopping Center behind Windham Jewelers in February 2026.
Dec. 12’s top story was Raymond residents voicing both support and criticism of their town’s Select Board chair, and vice chair during a packed public hearing on a recall election that could remove them from office. Former Raymond Select Board member Teresa Sadak initiated the recall petition against Chair Denis Morse and Vice Chair Kaela Gonzalez. The election is scheduled for Dec. 30. In her petition, Sadak listed four reasons for the recall including failing to put Raymond’s interests first, creating division, micromanaging, and denigrating employees during public meetings. Sadak detailed actions she said supported her claims, many tied to the board’s treatment of former Town Manager Joseph Crocker. Crocker, who resigned earlier this fall, had served as director of Parks and Recreation before becoming interim town manager in March and the permanent town manager in May. He continues part-time work on a special project for the town. Glenn Michalowski, formerly Lisbon’s town manager, was appointed interim town manager on Nov. 18. During the public hearing, Sadak accused Morse and Gonzalez of violating board protocols, citing emails obtained through a Freedom of Information request and accounts from staff. She said the two Select Board members berated Crocker over a septic issue at a church leased for town programs, their voices loud enough to be heard by staff and residents. She also criticized Morse and Gonzalez for contacting staff, attorneys, and other town managers without board authorization. Raymond Select Board members Chris Hanson and Derek Ray acknowledged some of those actions occurred. Crocker himself wrote a letter that constant questioning of his decisions from certain board members contributed to his resignation. Despite the support for the recall, many Raymond residents defended Morse and Gonzalez during the public hearing, praising their efforts to address longstanding town issues and urging that Morse and Gonzalez to not face a recall vote.
For Dec. 19, the top story was about Amanda Lessard being designated to serve as interim assistant town manager for the Town of Windham until a permanent candidate can be hired by the Windham Town Council. Windham Town Manager Robert Burns appointed Lessard to the role last week. Lessard had been serving as Senior Planner/Project Manager for the town. Burns became the first person to hold the position of Assistant Town Manager for Windham with his appointment to the role in December 2021 and was named Windham Town Manager by town councilors when Barry Tibbetts stepped down from that position June 30. Lessard had served as Windham’s Planning Director from 2019 to 2024 when she joined Royal River Conservation Trust in Yarmouth as Conservation Director. She subsequently was rehired by the town and will now assist Burns in his duties on an interim basis until councilors appoint a permanent assistant town manager. As a town planner, Lessard was involved in everything from the creation of Windham’s Comprehensive Plan, handling zoning issues, reviewing subdivision and commercial building plans to the development of the town’s Open Space Master Plan. As Planning Director, Lessard led Windham to partner with Presumpscot Regional Land Trust to purchase and conserve 661 acres near Little Duck Pond in East Windham. Called the East Windham Conservation Area, the project acquired the forested acreage for recreational opportunities in Windham while also adding 1,545 feet of undeveloped water frontage on Little Duck Pond, the 150-acre Deer Wintering Area for hunting, and Atherton Hill. She helped Windham obtain a $1 million grant from the Land for Maine’s Future initiative for the project. <
