New organization’s mission to “Move Windham Forward” provides candidate forums for fall elections

By Lorraine Glowczak

It all began as a fun and casual conversation among a group of individuals at a monthly networking Business Break event hosted by the Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce. The conversation consisted of various matters of concern expressed by Windham community members. Topics discussed included residential and commercial growth, civility among elected officials, tax increases as well as environmental concerns. The conversation turned serious and it was decided then to be proactive and do something about the concerns expressed.

“We need to move Windham forward in a positive way,” stated Maggie Terry, during that impromptu discussion. Terry is a chamber member and owner of Legal Leaf, LLC and Legal Label, Inc.

It turns outs that Terry had been thinking about this idea for a while – the idea that would unite Windham in a positive and solution-based way. “It seems we’ve been divided for a number of years and I want to change that,” Terry said.

Fast forward three months. Terry along with fellow chamber member and Licensed Insurance Agent with MetLife, Jonathan Priest, have been working together ever since to “Move Windham Forward”, making the thoughts and concerns discussed at the beginning of the summer, a reality.

The organization, Move Windham Forward (MWF) is a non-profit, non-partisan group of residents and taxpayers that have come together for what has been identified as common goals and interests of the residents of Windham. The mission as is stated on the website: “We seek to have a better understanding of the issues we face as a community while we contemplate our decisions on leadership, community planning, land use, infrastructure, taxes and technology changes.” www.movewindhamforward.org.

The group offers an educational approach for all residents who wish to get involved but are not sure how to go about it. The website includes the proper way to address the Town Council regarding any issue that one deems important as well as background information about each elected official.

But perhaps just as importantly, MWF will offer two “meet the candidates” gatherings. Windham residents will have the opportunity to meet, speak to and address concerns with the candidates running for Town Council office. The purpose of these meetings is to allow residents to get to know

the individuals they are voting for so they can make their own personal and well-informed decisions at the local election in November.

The first gathering will occur on Monday, September 30^th from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Microtel Inn and Suites’ Roosevelt Room at 965 Roosevelt Trail. The second “meet the candidates” gathering will occur again at the same location from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday, October 10^th.

“We want to make it clear that Move Windham Forward is a non-partisan organization,” began Priest. “We do not endorse or oppose any candidate running for Town Council. We just want to provide the opportunity for residents to ask questions in order to be well informed as they vote in the elections this fall.”

“We also want to eventually hold Town Hall meetings to provide ongoing conversations in a positive way,” Terry added. “This is a future goal we are working on. Right now, we want to focus on our meet and greet gatherings so they can be as successful as possible.”

MWF emphasizes a core set of concerns that include: Unity, Growth, Taxes and Environment.

Briefly, and as stated on their website:

1)     Unity: North Windham. South Windham. East Windham. West Windham. In such a geographically large town made up of a growing, diverse population it is often easy to fall into our divisions and not feel as one. Especially over the last few years. It is important that we remember that mostly - we all agree on more than we disagree on starting with this; we all love Windham.

2)     Growth 1: Everywhere we look something new is being built; a house here, a subdivision there. It all adds up. What brings many people here is the rural feel but, ironically, as they come that rural feel disappears a little more for someone who was already here. What is the answer? Unfortunately, this is not an old question, it has been around for decades - but to date has been without a real solution. Some say stop growth completely, some say have zero regulation and let landowners do as they wish. The answer is somewhere in the middle.

3)     Growth 2: Windham is one of the fastest growing towns in Maine for residential housing but is significantly lacking in commercial development. Commercial development such as retail, service businesses, restaurants, office space, manufacturing and high density residential are the keys to our economic future. This development would benefit our town, by bringing more of a sense of community and a place people want to be, by helping create new revenues to offset the residential tax burden and by encouraging growth in the places we want, instead of the places we don’t want.

4)     Taxes:  We can’t seem to avoid them, but we can certainly have more of a say in how they are spent. The town budget should reflect the needs and goals of the taxpayers, for today and tomorrow.  Our elected officials and town staff should be constantly working to maximize the return on every tax dollar by spending wisely for today and investing smartly for tomorrow.

5)     Environment: Our environment in Windham is our greatest treasure and must be protected. Windham has some of the most beautiful farm space, open space, forests, water bodies and animal habitats; it’s a large part of why many of us chose Windham. These assets need to be protected, especially our lakes, streams and ground waters, many of which are already on state impaired lists. It is in our control and our responsibility to preserve our environment for Windham’s next generations.

For more information, peruse the Move Windham Forward website at www.movewindhamforward.org

Santa mailbox adds a touch of magic to Windham neighborhood

4 year-old, Harper Maxfield, sends a letter to Santa

By Elizabeth Richards

Sometimes, Santa needs a little help gathering stories. Windham residents, Joanne Mattiace and Maggie Terry, have set up a festive holiday display outside their home, complete with a mailbox to collect letters for Santa.

The couple encourages children to write letters telling Santa what Christmas means to them. Children who have dropped off letters have received a couple of small presents, an ornament, and a letter from Santa in return. 

Town Councilor Jarrod Maxfield lives in the neighborhood and said his four-year-old daughter, Harper, “couldn’t have been more excited when we walked through the neighborhood to see the display and Santa mailbox.”  She was also very excited to receive a response from Santa, though she was worried that she hadn’t put cookies out until she was reassured that Santa would be back, Maxfield said.

The Santa mailbox is something new for Mattiace and Terry this year. The idea came spontaneously, Mattiace said, when she and Terry were at the Christmas Tree Shop. “We saw this great mailbox and thought ‘let’s decorate it and ask the kids for their letters,” she said.

The display draws people out in the neighborhood, especially at night when it’s all lit up. “It’s a nice thing for the neighborhood to bring people together,” Maxfield said.

Although giving Santa a helping hand is new to the pair, charitable giving is not.  “We’ve done a lot of charitable events at Christmas time,” Mattiace said. Each year the products attorney reaches out to clients for product donations. “They almost all come through for us,” she said.  Clients donate many household items, like blankets, comforters, sheets and pillows, as well as personal items. This year, Samsonite donated 120 backpacks. So, they reached out to other clients for things like toiletries, gloves or mittens, and hats, and donated the stuffed backpacks to the Preble Street Resource Center and the women’s crisis center.

When Mattiace and Terry began their holiday giving projects, they focused on the women’s crisis center. The first year they put some products under the tree for the women and their children. Over time, they collected enough donations to give things to the center to hold for women so that when they found a new place to live, they had some things to get them started.  Then Samsonite donated backpacks, and the charitable giving was extended to Preble Street.  “This year, we had so many additional donations of cash and checks from our family and friends that we extended the donation to the Windham Food Pantry,” Mattiace said.

Her clients respond eagerly to her requests for donations, and this year over $7000 worth of products went out, Mattiace said.  She added that they only donate to 501c3 organizations and tell clients that they can provide tax documentation if requested. “In the eleven years we’ve done this, one company, one time, has asked us for documentation. These companies are doing it because we ask them to, not because they want a write off,” she said.

Next year, Mattiace said they plan to expand their giving to Westbrook, after a recent visit to that city reminded them that there are some organizations there who also need some help. When she retires, in the next year or so, Mattiace said she hopes to start a foundation that will reach out to at-risk teens, children, and residents of nursing homes.

“I really think that Maggie and I have focused on charitable giving at Christmas time because we adopted a young boy years ago…and Christmas has meant a lot to him,” Mattiace said.  “Everybody needs a little holiday cheer, whether you’re Christian or Jewish or whatever, whether you’re old or young, straight or gay. We all just need to be a little kinder to each other,” she said.