Dignitaries dedicate North Windham Wastewater Treatment Plant

By Ed Pierce

It’s been said that success in life is about project management in determining deliverables, making milestones, and always pursuing the critical path. For years, the Town of Windham has sought to find a solution to effective wastewater treatment and on Oct. 8, all those efforts were achieved with the dedication of the new North Windham Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Dignitaries watch as U.S. Senator Susan Collins of Maine
cuts the ribbon to open the new Windham Wastewater
Treatment Plant on the grounds of Manchester School in
Windham on Oct. 8. From left are Scott Firmin and Bill Lunt
of the Portland Water District, Senator Collins, Windham Town 
Council Chair Mark Morrison, RSU 14 Superintendent of
Schools Christopher Howell, and Windham Town
Manager Robert Burns. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE   

With U.S. Senator Susan Collins of Maine on hand to cut the ribbon marking the new facility becoming fully operational on the grounds of Manchester School, Windham Town Council members and representatives of the Portland Water District and RSU 14 spoke about the collaboration it took to bring the $48 million project to fruition at no expense to taxpayers.

After decades of proposals, studies, and rejections from voters at the ballot box, Windham residents resoundingly approved sewer and wastewater treatment project for North Windham in a special referendum in June 2022. Partnering with the Portland Water District and RSU 14 to create the massive infrastructure project, the Windham Town Council covered the remaining costs for the initiative through a combination of grant funding, a $38.9 million award by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and North Windham TIF funding supported by North Windham businesses.

Now completed, the new wastewater treatment facility will address environmental issues in North Windham by removing 25,000 pounds of nitrogen and phosphorus pollutants each year being dumped by septic systems into the aquifer and watershed. The installation of sewers is expected to stimulate significant economic growth in Windham and lead to development in the area by industries and businesses not willing to locate here because of associated septic system issues and costs.

Through an agreement between RSU 14 and the Town of Windham, in exchange for locating the new wastewater treatment site at Manchester school, the town built four new playing fields for youth sports at the school.

The new Windham Wastewater Treatment facility uses Membrane Bio-Reactor technology with innovative drip dispersal and will be the first system to use drip dispersal of this scale in Maine. This technology is designed to improve the quality of local groundwater and local waterways, and was selected for its reliability, flexibility, and cost effectiveness.

Portland Water District officials say that the facility will clean and filter community wastewater that is currently being discharged untreated into septic systems. The cleaned, high-quality water, which is extremely low in nitrogen and phosphorus, will be released into an advanced drip dispersal system that will be 2 feet underneath the new athletic fields at Manchester School. They say the sandy soils native to the area are ideal for this system.

Because of the lack of an effective sewer system in North Windham, over the years contaminants have continued to pollute the aquifer, threatening surrounding ponds and lakes, and stifling economic growth. For the past two decades increasing nitrate levels have been observed in the underlying aquifer that threatened local water resources including Sebago Lake. Current levels of nitrates in the ground water have exceeded drinking water standards and septic system pollution entering the aquifer directly impacts surrounding valuable water resources. This new wastewater treatment plant addresses the issue before the problem escalated and became irreversible.

Speakers at the dedication included Senator Collins; Windham Town Council Chair Mark Morrison; RSU 14 Schools Superintendent Christopher Howell; Windham Town Manager Robert Burns; Maine DEP Water Quality Division Director Gregg Wood; Bill Lunt of the Portland Water District Board of Trustees; and Portland Water District General Manager Scott Firmin.

Collins said she was surprised to learn that Windham did not have an existing sewer system but praised everyone who worked diligently to make this project a reality.

“I was shocked that an area this populated did not have a wastewater treatment facility,” she said. “It was essential that we help.”

Collins was able to obtain $2 million from Congress to contribute toward the project.

“It has the smallest carbon footprint, and this innovative technology will serve as a model for other communities in Maine,” she said. 

The project fits with an upcoming MaineDOT project for Route 302 redevelopment in Windham, the senator said.

“The two projects complement each other,” Collins said. “The vision of community leaders and citizens is truly impressive.”

Funding to support the Windham Wastewater Project included a $38.9 million Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund Award; a $3.25 million SRF Debt Forgiveness Grant, $1.7 million in American Rescue Plan Funds allocated to the town, $2 million in Congressional Direct Spending sponsored by Senators Collins and King, and $1.5 million from Cumberland County Government. <

Windham resident part of Congressional Gold Medal ceremony in Washington

By Ed Pierce

March 21 is a day that Malinda “Mindy” McKinney of Windham will never forget as she was part of a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony in Washington, D.C. recognizing her late father for his service during World War II as a member of the secretive U.S. Ghost Army.

Malinda 'Mindy' McKinney of Windham, left, joins her
sisters, Helen and Anne, in accepting the Congressional 
Gold Medal on March 21 in Washington, D.C. on behalf
of their late father, U.S. Army Captain William Skelton, 
who served in the 'Ghost Army' during World War II.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
 

McKinney’s father, Captain William Skelton, served with the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, 603rd Camouflage Engineers Unit and McKinney and her sisters were given the Congressional Gold Medal, the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States awarded by Congress, for the work of their father. To date fewer than 200 Americans have been awarded this distinction and it was presented to the sisters by U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.

The medal presentation ceremony wraps up a nearly 20-year effort by members and volunteers of the Ghost Army Legacy Project to raise awareness and win recognition for the little-known Army units that played a unique but unheralded part in the Allied victory of World War II.

“Ghost Army” soldiers represent nearly every state in the nation, including eight from Maine, and the units were handpicked, top secret units containing some of America’s most promising artists, engineers, and signals professionals. The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, composed of a mere 1,100 soldiers, impersonated up to two divisions of 30,000 men physically, sonically, and radiographically to the enemy.

The strategy of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops was so effective, they held a position in the middle of the line for eight days during combat, allowing U.S. General George S. Patton to throw all the fighting forces at German defenses. Captured German officers and documents related to the operations of both units demonstrated that the Germans were utterly convinced by the unit’s deceptions and redeployed units and assets in response.

The efforts and contributions of the “Ghost Army” were classified for more than 40 years, until 1996, and therefore have not received formal recognition. Without the “Ghost Army,” an estimated 15,000 to 30,000 American soldiers and 10,000 German soldiers would not have made it home alive during World War II.

McKinney, a retired Raymond Elementary School secretary, said that her father served in the Ghost Army as a member of the 603rd Camouflage Engineers Unit of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops Unit and was previously awarded the Bronze Star by the Army for Meritorious Service with five battle engagements for his valor and distinction in World War II.

Following the war, Skelton studied chemical engineering at Carnegie-Melon Institute of Technology and had a 33-year career working for DuPont Corporation in Delaware, and in Kinston and Wilmington, North Carolina. He passed away in 2011 and was predeceased by his wife, Jessica Matthews Skelton, in 2007.

In February 2022, U.S Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts announced that bipartisan and bicameral legislation had been approved to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the top-secret U.S. Army units that served in World War II.

Collins attended the March 21 “Ghost Army” medal presentation and said this recognition is long overdue.

“The ingenuity and contributions of the ‘Ghost Army’ were classified for decades without its members receiving the recognition that they deserved. It was not until 1996 that their heroic actions were declassified, and the American public began to learn the full scope of their contributions to achieving our Allied victory,” said Senator Collins. “I was so proud to co-sponsor in the Senate with Senator Markey, the bipartisan, bicameral legislation to honor these unsung heroes with Congress's highest civilian award. And today, finally, today, Congress will bestow this long-awaited honor on these deserving veterans.”

Because of the secretive nature of his work with the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, 603rd Camouflage Engineers Unit, McKinney said her father never divulged with his family his military activities until the unit had been declassified 50 years after World War II ended. After that, McKinney said that Skelton shared many fascinating stories with his family about his service and the activities of the Ghost Army and he would be very proud of this honor if he were still alive.

“Receiving this Highest Honor, The Congressional Gold Medal, that one can receive is very humbling,” McKinney said. <