Windham Town Council approves hire of new Public Works Director with Fortier retirement

By Ed Pierce

A familiar face will be returning to serve the Town of Windham as Jon Earle has been hired as the town’s new Public Works Director, succeeding Doug Fortier, who is retiring in early November.

Jon Earle, left, has been hired by the Town of Windham as
its new Public Works Director. He will succeed Doug Fortier,
right, who is retiring in early November after 31 years
with the department. COURTESY PHOTOS 

Earle emerged as the leading candidate for the job from a field of seven candidates with an interview process held to identify a candidate with the background, skills and experience that would be a good match for the position. The Public Works Director has primary responsibility for the organization, operation, and overall performance of the town’s Public Works Department. Duties include oversight for the department and administration of the departmental budget and the supervision of all department employees.

“Jon worked for the town for a little over two years as Town Engineer,” said Phyllis Moss, the town’s Human Resources Director in a memo to the council. “During that time, I had the opportunity to spend time with Jon and I feel confident he will be successful in the role of Public Works Director. My interaction with him demonstrated that he has the real passion for public works and is a clear communicator, ethical, analytical, and has excellent interpersonal skills. The position of Director of Public Works can be challenging, but I believe he has the background, skills, experience, and personal attributes needed for the position. We would be privileged to have him as part of our team.”

He graduated from the University of Maine with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering and has completed graduate coursework at the University of Southern Maine in Public Administration. Earle currently serves as the Supervisor of Engineering Services for the Maine Water Company and is responsible for capital project delivery and oversight in 12 public water systems serving more than 32,000 customers across the state. Earle also obtained a graduate certificate in Public Management from the Muskie School of Public Service.

His work history includes more than 22 years of progressively responsible public and private sector experience, including nine years in management roles. During his professional career, Earle has been responsible for budget management, personnel hiring and development, in both union and non-union environments. He is also a member his local planning board and is currently a board member of the Maine Society of Professional Engineers.

Earle will be responsible for Highway Maintenance, which includes winter plowing as well as maintaining all town roads, ditches, shoulders, drainage and other infrastructures; vehicle maintenance, which includes maintenance of all equipment from excavators and backhoes down to chain saws and hand compactors, as well as the police and town office vehicles; and Buildings & Grounds, which includes care of over 20 town cemeteries, nine municipal buildings, and two intersections. His duties will include budgeting, seeking grant money for roads, working on capital equipment replacement plans, getting bids for anything from equipment purchase to buying winter sand and salt. Another part of his job is hiring when there are vacancies.

Fortier has served as Windham’s Public Works Director for the past 20 years and has been a member of the town’s Public Works Department for 31 years overall. He was first hired in 1992 as a member of the grounds crew but was almost immediately moved into a truck driver position. In 1999, he was promoted to Equipment Operator where he gained valuable supervisory experience. In 2001, Fortier was promoted to the role of Deputy Public Works Director and then appointed as the town’s Director of Public Works in May 2004.

Windham Town Manager Barry Tibbetts said Fortier will be missed and what he’s done through the years to help the town is remarkable.

Tibbetts said that Fortier oversaw the construction of the $9.3-million Shared Maintenance Facility which was completed in the fall of 2019 under budget; worked with Gorrill Palmer on the design and bidding and construction for all phases of the Brand Road reconstruction and the Hillcrest Drainage project renewing 28 infiltration bed­ style catch basins; worked with Gorrill Palmer on the design to reconstruct the Route 302 shoulders to create the center turn lane north of the Anglers Road intersection for 7,200 feet and assisted in securing a contractor for the $1.5 million dollar project; secured an additional $50,000 from the Maine Department of Transportation to help with the expense on the Route 302 turn lane; worked with Gorrill Palmer on the design for reconstruction and pedestrian enhancements for Depot Street; and worked with the town engineer in securing a Maine DOT MPI grant of up to $625,000 for the Route 302 North smart signal and intersection improvements, among many projects he has been involved with.

“These accomplishments only touch the surface,” Tibbetts said. “Doug has taken an active role in union negotiations, interviewed, and hired candidates for positions throughout Public Works, provided learning opportunities and encouragement to employees, and let's not forget Merry Christmas Trees, his business located here in Windham. Speaking for the entire town, I would like to thank Doug publicly for his years of dedication and wish him a very merry retirement.” <

Referendum seeks voter approval to build new middle school

By Ed Pierce

With Election Day nearing on Nov. 7, a referendum is asking voters in the towns of Windham and Raymond to approve a proposal to construct the proposed Windham/Raymond Middle School at 61 Windham Center Road in Windham.

A referendum seeking approval for RSU 14's proposed new
Windham/Raymond Middle School will be before voters
on Nov. 7. Clockwise are sketches of the school's outdoor
learning area, front entrance, a classroom and a
team-teaching area. SUBMITTED PHOTOS

The total cost of the new school is estimated to be $171,563,889 and the state of Maine would pick up $131,725 million, or 76.8 percent of that amount. That leaves 23.20 percent, or about $31,870,755 remaining with voters in Windham asked to OK gradually funding 80 percent of what’s left or $25,496 million. Raymond voters will be asked to approve gradually funding 20 percent of the remaining cost or about $6,374 million.

RSU 14 Superintendent Christopher Howell said that if the referendum passes, the school district is anticipating that the Windham/Raymond Middle School project will be financed through either two or three separate bonds during construction.

“The stair step approach to financing will provide a gradual increase to the mil rate in both communities,” Howell said. “With updated interest rates, we are anticipating a 28-cent increase in the first year in Windham and a 33-cent increase in Raymond. In the second year, it would roughly increase an additional 41 cents in Windham and 19 cents in Raymond. This is assuming that town valuations remain the same. If three bonds are issued, the steps towards the final mil impact would take place over three years and not two.”

Howell said the district is seeking voter support because both Windham Middle School and Jordan-Small Middle School are older schools and are both in need of significant upgrades in continue to be used as educational facilities into the future.

“The district has the opportunity to develop a new campus with a new energy efficient and secure building that will cost the local taxpayers far less than a renovation project in both buildings. The opportunity is being provided by the Major Capital Construction Program run by the Department of Education,” he said. “Seventy-four schools were rated by the Maine DOE in 2018 and were placed on a priority list that is based on need. Windham Middle School scored fifth on the list. The high rating for WMS was due to several factors that included structural issues in the roofing system of the classroom wing, outdated/inadequate electrical and HVAC systems, and that the building is undersized with one-third of the student population and several applied arts programs taking place in a separate building.”

According to Howell, besides addressing the shortcomings in the current facilities, the project will also help to address areas of programming that are currently lacking in both buildings.

“This will include a science lab for each science teacher, project spaces for students, classroom spaces for academic interventions and special education, increased safety and security for students and employees, classrooms that meet state requirements for minimum size, adequately equipped technology classroom and art rooms, music and performing arts spaces that match current programming, and additional play and competition space outdoors,” he said. “Outside of the direct impact to the middle level, the change in grade configuration will provide the opportunity for the district to provide universal Pre-k for any families that are interested in accessing this service. The facility will be an asset for both communities in the spaces that are provided. The project includes walking trails as well as access to the neighboring Pringle Preserve. The large gym and auxiliary gym spaces provided by that state will provide additional play spaces for youth and adult sports including an indoor walking track for community use outside of school hours. Lastly, the project includes an auditorium that will be accessed by students participating in the performing arts as well as our local community theater programs. Lastly, the two current buildings are slated to be returned to both towns for future community use. In discussions with the leadership in both communities, there has been interest in turning the two schools into community centers.”

The original Windham Middle School was built in 1977 and intended for a capacity of 483 students. That number has grown in the last year to 555 students this year, with sixth graders being housed for some classes at the adjacent Field Allen School, originally constructed in 1949. Jordan-Small Middle School in Raymond was built in 1960 and currently has an enrollment of 184 students.

More than 132 potential 35-plus acre sites were originally identified for review by the RSU 14 WMS Building Committee and then ranked according to transportation accessibility, utility availability, environmental impact, and a range of other factors. The RSU 14 Board of Directors entered into an option-to-purchase agreement with the owner of 61 Windham Center Road in Windham and the owner agreed to take the property off the market for a period of up to two years in 2021.

As part of the proposal to build the new Windham/Raymond Middle School, Windham and Raymond students in Grades 5 to 8 would attend classes there. Windham fifth graders currently attending Manchester School would instead attend the new school, as would Jordan-Small Middle School students from Raymond. The new school is being designed for a capacity of 1,200 students.

Lavallee Brensinger Company of Portland is serving as architects for the construction project and Howell said that the new school is being designed to accommodate teams of two to four staff members.

“The teaming structure will give students the feel of being in a smaller school within the larger school. Each team will have spaces that are dedicated to each of the core subject areas,” he said. “In addition, the building will be structured to allow for the integration of some of the applied arts within the team. The development of the team structure will serve to bring the best possible facilities to each team. In contrast, the original Windham Junior High School, now Windham Middle School was built as a departmentalized Junior High School.”

Howell said that under provisions of the State of Maine Construction Program, school districts must pass a referendum within six months of having the concept for the school approved by the Maine State School Board.

“If a district fails to have a positive referendum within the time frame, the project can be removed from the state funding list,” he said. “The concept for this building project was approved on Sept. 13. In the event of a no vote on this referendum, the building committee and school committee would need to reconvene and look at a revamped project that could be sent out to voters. The additional constraint that we are also working under is the land purchase. Our option to purchase 61 Windham Center Road will expire on Dec. 31 of this year. If a project cannot be passed, any future projects would have to be locally funded.” <

Windham’s ‘Trunk or Treat’ promises to be an event full of spooky fun

By Masha Yurkevich

For those who love Halloween, it’s the most wonderful time of the year for fear and if you haven’t already selected a costume, time is growing short as Windham’s annual Halloween extravaganza known as “Trunk or Treat” is approaching.

Windham Parks and Recreation will be hosting its annual
'Trunk or Treat' event for kids from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday,
Oct. 28 behind the Windham Mall in North Windham.
Registration is required for participants at 
North Windham. Registration is required for participants at 
https://windhamme.myrec.com/
SUBMITTED PHOTO

Windham’s Parks and Recreation Department will once again be hosting the spooky and social event behind the Windham Mall from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 and it promises to be an evening filled with fun, treats, and spooky beats.

Trunk or Treat has become a popular event nationwide, either as an alternative to or in addition to conventional trick-or-treating to neighborhood homes. For those who choose to host a trunk, they decorate and serve candy out of the trunk of their vehicles.

For the businesses and community organizations that participate, it is a way to spotlight their mission and give back to their communities. For individual families, it is often their way to give candy to trunk-or-treaters who might not otherwise visit them if their homes are in a rural setting, or they just want to have fun.

In Windham, trunk participants are judged for creativity, originality, and effort, and it is amazing to see what some of the trunks end up looking like.

“The department had been hosting Windham’s Halloween Adventure for a number of years at Manchester School for children in third grade and below,” says Linda Brooks, Director of Windham Parks and Recreation. “In 2016, in an effort to expand upon this event, we moved it to the Windham Middle School, opened it to grades 8 and under and in addition to the Trunk or Treat, added a haunted house, games, refreshments and a Costume Contest.”

In 2016 there were 10 trunks and by 2019 the number had grown to 24 trunks with an estimated 700 children in attendance, so the Parks and Recreation staff knew that they had outgrown the Middle School and the format for the event. With the arrival of COVID-19 in 2020, Parks and Recreation was forced to modify the event to be a Drive-Thru Trunk or Treat at the Windham Mall. By 2022’s Trunk or Treat, the number of trunk hosts had grown to 32.

“Our event is always held the Saturday evening before Halloween so that it doesn’t interfere with anyone wishing to go Trick-or-Treating in their neighborhoods,” says Brooks.

While the event is free, people do need to register in advance, both to host a trunk or to attend as a participant. Registration can be done by visiting https://windhamme.myrec.com/ or in person at the Parks and Recreation Department at Windham Town Hall. Registration for Trunk Hosts ends Wednesday, Oct. 25 and children and families must pre-register for a specific time frame to visit the Trunk or Treat event through Thursday, Oct. 26.

Brooks said the event will be held in Windham but is open to residents outside of Windham, as long as they register in advance.

“This year we will return to a walk-thru event which allows more direct contact by both the participants and the trunk hosts,” says Brooks. “If the weather is poor, the event will move indoors at the Windham Mall. This is a wonderful community event that brings so many different groups together to celebrate Halloween in a safe way. The event is co-sponsored by the Sebago Lakes Chamber of Commerce and Smitty’s Cinema, and we will have entertainment provided by the Maine Dance Center.”

According to Brooks, among the comments received from one of the 2022 trunk hosts when asked what they like about the event, they replied, “The kids and how happy they were plus the comradery amongst the trunk hosts. Music's playing, everyone singing along. So much fun!”

Although attendance is free, participants are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item to Trunk or Treat or to make a monetary donation to the Windham Food Pantry.

For event registration to host a trunk or to attend the event as a participant, go to https://windhamme.myrec.com/ <

Bubar closing out 2023 racing season in winner’s circle

By Ed Pierce

Auto racer Corey Bubar of Windham is finishing the 2023 season with a flourish by winning the finale for the Granite State Pro Stock Series in New Hampshire on Oct. 1 and will compete Sunday in his final race this year at the Oxford Plains Speedway.

Auto racer Corey Bubar of Windham takes the checkered flag
for winning the Bosowski Properties 150 Pro Series Race,
the final event of the 2023 Granite State Pro Stock Series, at
Lee USA Speedway in Lee, New Hampshire on Oct. 1. 
Bubar's victory earned him a first-place check for $8,500.
SANDY HALEY PHOTOGRAPHY     

In winning the Bosowski Properties 150 Pro Series Race and the $8,500 first-place check at the Lee USA Speedway, Bubar continues to impress after a handful of races there this year. Earlier this summer, he finished third and fourth in the races that he entered there.

“We built a new car this year, so it took a while to figure it out and all of those good finishes were in the last three races there,” Bubar said. “We just have worked really hard on trying to improve it little by little and slowly we kept getting closer to where we needed to be and had a race where everything went our way.”

Bubar, 31, was second in time trials for the Bosowski Properties 150 Pro Series Race in New Hampshire, and that gave him a good feeling about his chances to win the race that night.

“We time trialed second, and I knew we had a good car because I suck at time trialing,” he said. “We had a couple of good battles with Jimmy Renfrew Jr. and Ryan Green but ended up with the big check. Thank you so much to my crew, Dan Bubar, Alan Berry, Karen Salvo Bubar, Dylan Bilodeau, Tinker Doughty, and Michael Landry. We lost a clutch in the second practice, and they all busted their butts to get it changed in time to make it out there for the scuff session. Thank you to Ryan Green for letting us take his spare clutch.”

During the race, Bubar held off challenges from drivers Ryan Green and Jimmy Renfrew Jr. to pull away down the stretch and win his second Granite State Pro Stock Series event.

His passion for racing began at a young age when he started competing in go-kart races at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough in 2004. His father Dan started racing at that track in the 1980s and as his racing career was wrapping up, he stepped up and helped his son launch his own career.

Bubar moved up to auto racing in the Sports Series division in 2007 at Beech Ridge, and then just a year following his graduation from Windham High School, he won the championship in the Sports Series division at the Beech Ridge track in 2011. He raced there in the Pro Series division in 2012 and enjoyed breakout success, winning more NASCAR Night races than any other racer at Beech Ridge and was eventually honored with the “Driver of the Decade Award” at Beech Ridge for the 2010s.

A key to his continued success on the racetrack is his knowledge of mechanics and being able to quickly size up problems with his car as they arise. He started working as a used car mechanic at Lake Region Imports in Westbrook while still in high school and in 2020, Bubar started a new job at Viking-Cives in Lewiston building plow trucks and performing welding there.

By 2021, he had built a solid Bubar Motorsports racing team and Bubar won three different races that year along with his first touring series race. He narrowly missed winning the championship in the last year of racing at the Beech Ridge racetrack, trailing by only four points in the standings. Last season was tough for Bubar, but he’s rebounded in 2023 and appears to be back in business and aiming at another title.

He debuted his new car in April built by Berry Racecars and Customs during a race at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon and Bubar says he’s grateful to everyone who has helped him get to this point in his career, including his wife, Ashley, and daughters Kinsley and Gracey.

“Thanks to my sponsors, Jef Simpson from J.A. Simpson, Strictly Roofing, Union Wharf Market, and T&L Racing,” he said. “And thanks to Tom Mason, and Alan and Stefanie Berry. Thank you to Robbie Harrison for all the help he's been this year.”

As far as the future goes, Bubar said he takes it one race at a time but will be back racing again next year.

“We don't have plans for next year yet,” he said. “I think we will wait until the schedules come out to decide but we will probably race some at Lee and some at Oxford again.” <

Windham resident's accident leads to children's book

By Kaysa Jalbert

Rosemary Ramsdell was driving on Route 302 on a sunny day in October 2016 on her way to North Conway to meet a friend and do some shopping in the area. Only one month into her retirement, Ramsdell said to herself on the drive, “It’s a gorgeous day and I am free.”

Rosemary Ramsdell of Windham survived a devastating 
accident and was helped by a therapy cat named Andy,
who became the subject of a children's book she wrote
called 'Andy The Kitten's Forever Home.'
COURTESY PHOTO  

As she approached the town line with Raymond, trucks took up half the road as workers in lifts cut down trees, meaning only one lane of traffic was able to pass at a time. The traffic flagger held up the slow sign as everyone began slowing down, including Ramsdell who was keeping her distance from the large van in front of her that had, what she described as, a large thick object like a rolled-up carpet, sticking out of the back. She recalls watching the van and thinking to herself, “It would be awful if I went right into that” and proceeded to stay several feet back.

It was only seconds later that she was struck from behind by a speeding driver, her car being pushed forcefully into the van in front of her. Her body had missed the large thick object she had worried so much about, but that doesn’t mean Rosemary’s life wasn’t about to change forever.

“I am not the person that I was before,” says Ramsdell who suffered a traumatic brain injury and PTSD when her head went back and forth so forcefully in the accident that it caused her brain to hit her skull, damaging her frontal lobe.

Seven years later, Rosemary Ramsdell, also known as Rosie, is the author of her first book "Andy The Kitten’s Forever Home," a story told by her ragdoll cat Andy who accompanied and comforted Ramsdell during her toughest times of recovery.

“I was very lonely, living a very lonely sad life and I couldn’t sleep at night. It was like climbing a mountain and walking around with a black cloud on top of your head,” Ramsdell said. “I never smiled. Andy brought my smile back. He was so funny, and he would cuddle with me, and I would talk to him. He always slept with me and even now when I can’t sleep, I just listen carefully to his purring, and it puts me right to sleep.”

It wasn’t until six days after the accident when Ramsdell realized that something was wrong. She was at her daughter’s house babysitting her three grandsons when a wave sickness took over. It was in that moment, she said, things started to go bad. 

The damage to her brain from the accident caused Ramsdell to lose much of her basic abilities taught in school as a child, such as reciting the alphabet, how to count, the ability to spell and do simple math. It also threw off her balance and peripheral vision, her speech, motor skills, and memory were all affected.

She spent the next 10 months in rehabilitation, working with a team of therapists when one day, as Ramsdell was at home with Andy, she picked up a pen and a note pad and started writing about her ragdoll's life.

“It just happened. I can’t tell you how it happened because it just happened,” said Ramsdell. “I didn’t even start on a computer because I didn’t know how to use one. I taught myself Word and it just started to flow because it was something very dear to my heart.”

It was in 2018 when Ramsdell adopted Andy and it wasn’t fate that had brought them together. She had a ragdoll for most of her life prior and felt it was exactly what she needed in her new life living with TBI. She had found Andy at Paws and Claws in Windham amongst his four sisters.

“My life was so small it was a miracle that I found him, and he has just become such a good part of my life,” says Ramsdell. “Being able to write has been a gift and Andy is my inspiration.”

The book "Andy The Kitten’s Forever Home" and Rosemary’s story has served as an inspiration for others who struggle with Traumatic Brain Injuries and PTSD. Ramsdell says many of the people who reach out to her have been veterans and she has since encouraged others to get pets to help them deal with PSTD and brain trauma.

She is now working on her second book that will feature her other furry friend, Cali, and talk about a pet’s life during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rosemary Ramsdell came to the United States when she was 23 from Scotland and has lived in Maine since. She is a mother and a grandmother and has been married to her husband Alan for 33 years who she says has been her rock throughout her recovery and she is so grateful for her family. <

Windham resident competes for national mullet crown

By Ed Pierce

Move over Joe Exotic, Billy Ray Cyrus and Joe Dirt, you’re about to have some serious competition for the finest looking mullet hairstyle in all of America, and this one is homegrown right here in Windham, Maine.

Jason Putney of Windham, 33, has
been growing his 'rat tail dread
mullet' hairstyle for the past three
years and is a contestant in the 
2023 National Mullet
Championships.
SUBMITTED PHOTO 

The iconic “business in the front and party in the back” mens’ hairdo now has a National Mullet Championship contest and Jason Putney of Windham is making a run at this year’s title. Putney has been growing his “rat tail dread mullet” for the past three years and is ready to stand out in the opening round of the competition, sponsored by https://www.mulletchamp.com/

The first round of voting ends Sept. 15 and the top 75 competitors will move on to Round 2 of the contest, so there’s still time to vote for Putney’s mullet. All proceeds raised during the contest will go directly to Jared Allen's Homes for Wounded Warriors, which helps to provide accessible and mortgage-free homes for disabled military veterans.

“I had a huge afro back in my senior year of high school in 2008,” Putney said. “It took up the entire frame of my senior photo. The afro was truly getting out of hand, and something had to be done about it so I decided to get it dreaded up. My dread journey started 15 years ago and after 12 years of a full head, I asked my barber, Spencer at the Windham Crow’s Nest Barber Shop, to cut everything except the back of my head. Thus the ‘rat tail dread mullet’ was born and I’ve been wearing it for the past three years, much to the dismay of my wife.”

Originally from Calais, Putney, 33, runs a small trucking company called Downeast Shipping. His wife, Shelby LeClair, said that her husband was inspired to join the contest when he saw that it was a cause that supports veterans.

“He normally wouldn’t put himself out there like this, but his father is a veteran of the Air Force,” she said.

Known for a short trim on the top and sides with lengthy locks in the back, the mullet hairstyle first rose to popularity as worn by athletes Andre Agassi and Jose Canseco, actor Patrick Swayze and singer Bono during the 1980s and 1990s, but the hairdo has actually been around since the days of the ancient Greeks. Native American warriors wore the style in the 19th century and now the style is enjoying a revival, with celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Zendaya sporting their own versions of the look.

The mission of Jared Allen’s Homes for Wounded Warriors is to raise money to build injury-specific, accessible, and mortgage-free homes for our critically injured U.S. military veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. It was founded in 2009 by retired Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen after he returned home from his USO trip to US Military Bases in the Middle East. Allen says that he was moved by the commitment, dedication, and sacrifices that our soldiers make every day to protect our freedom and he wanted to say thank you to every soldier in the only way that he knew how. By embracing the conflict and making a positive life-changing difference in the lives of those who need it most, Allen hopes to make life for wounded vets just a little bit easier.

Allen’s charity was selected as the recipient of proceeds for this year’s mullet championships because of the good work that it does and the fact that Allen himself sported a mullet hairdo throughout his football career.

According to its website, the National Mullet Championships were created several years ago to celebrate the “bold and outrageous hairstyle that is the mullet.” The national competition travels throughout America searching for the wildest mullets and hosts a series of live contests where contestants can show off their mullets to lively audiences. Its’ annual digital contest, which Putney has entered this year, calls for photo submissions in a variety of categories, such as Femullet, Mens Mullet, Kids, Teen and 55-Plus.

Winners receive cash and prizes as donated by contest sponsors. Voting in the first round is only open for three days nationwide and only 75 competitors advance to the next round. The best 25 mullets will then compete for the National Mullet Championship later this fall.

To vote for Putney’s hairstyle, go to https://www.mulletchamp.com/ and cast a vote for Putney’s “rat tail dread mullet.” < 

WHS Class of 1963 fondly recalls role models

By Ed Pierce

Windham High School’s Class of 1963 gathering Wednesday at the Little Meeting House is something that Carroll McDonald of Windham says he’ll never forget.

Carroll McDonald of Windham displays a wooden replica
of a P-51 aircraft that he flew during World War II. He was
presented with the model as a gift during a gathering of
members of the Windham High School Class of 1963 at
the Little Meeting House on Wednesday afternoon for
being a genuine friend to the class. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE  

McDonald, 98, was himself a graduate of Windham High in 1942, and went on to become a P-51 pilot during World War II. He returned to Windham after the war and became a postal carrier until he retired and then volunteered for years as a Meals on Wheels driver.

Through the years, a special kinship and bond has developed between McDonald and members of the class. McDonald’s son, David, was part of the WHS Class of 1963, and some members of the class performed in the town band with David McDonald and his father.

“Carroll is surely near and dear to all of our hearts,” said Al LaRhette, a member of the Class of 1963. “I remember getting to play in the band with him when we performed at Fenway Park in Boston for the State of Maine Day in 1959.”

LaRhette said Carroll was known as a friend to all the class members and is beloved by everyone who knows him.

“He was just always there for us,” LaRhette said. “He had a way about him. It was like when you were with him, you were the most important person he got to speak to that day. He’s been a cherished friend to all of us throughout all these years since our graduation.”

To commemorate McDonald’s devotion to the WHS Class of 1963, the class invited him to attend their gathering in Windham and then presented him with a wooden P-51 model like the one he flew during World War II and personally engraved to Lt. Carroll McDonald and his original unit, the 487th Fighter Squadron at Page Air Force Base in Ft. Myers, Florida.

“It was a total surprise,” McDonald said. “I will treasure it always. I think it will either have a place on my desk at home or a spot in my front window to show it off to my neighbors.”

McDonald said he’s always liked LaRhette, who was a close friend of his son and now lives in South Weymouth, Massachusetts.

“I remember going to visit them once when David and Al worked construction out in Michigan,” he said.

LaRhette said that he and David worked in construction together after graduation from WHS and the project they worked on was at Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, Michigan. Both went on to serve in the U.S. Air Force and David McDonald passed away at the age of 76 from prostate cancer in 2021.

Another special guest at the gathering was Korean War veteran Jerry Black, whose late wife, Mildred, was the faculty advisor for the Class of 1963 at Windham High.

Mildred Black taught history, civics, and social studies to students at Windham High during a long teaching career that began in 1955, while her husband Jerry was an art teacher at Falmouth High School. She passed away in 2017.

“She was our favorite teacher,” LaRhette said. “We just had to invite Jerry to this event today because he was Mildred Black’s arm candy. We miss her greatly.”

To honor his contributions, including being the past president of the Little Meeting House Association where the gathering was held, class members gave Black a replica of a 1918 Model T Fire Engine that he bought and restored as a teenager. Black told the gathering that the fire engine still works today and he still owns it although it’s currently on loan to a museum in Owl’s Head, Maine.

Of the 62 graduates of the WHS Class of 1963, some 34 members and their spouses attended the event and each of them personally shook McDonald’s and Black’s hands and wished them well.

“Like I said, this is something that I’ll never let go of,” McDonald said. “I feel so loved.” <

WMS teacher AJ Ruth delighted to take on new role as assistant principal

By Lorraine Glowczak

AJ Ruth knew from the moment that she taught her first seventh-grade class that she would always be a middle school educator. As she enters her 21st year in education, with 19 at Windham Middle School serving as a science and math teacher, Ruth remains with the age group that stole her heart in the earliest years of her career. Only now, she has moved from teaching students at WMS to leading them and her colleagues as the new WMS Assistant Principal, replacing Peter Hill.

AJ Ruth, who has been a Windham Middle School science
and mathematics teacher for the past 19 years, will serve
as the school's assistant principal.
PHOTO BY LORRAINE GLOWCZAK  

“I am thrilled to get this job in this community and this school,” she said. “I’ve been working on becoming an administrator for the past four years and the thought of having to leave WMS saddened me. I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome regarding my professional goals.”

As for her new role as a leader, Ruth seemed to possess the innate ability to lead others at an early age. During her middle and high school years at Presque Isle, she eagerly directed and guided fellow youth in many club and sports activities, including the President of her Key Club and swimming instructor as a youth and throughout adulthood. As a result, her role from teacher to leader seems like a natural transition.

“I’ve always loved being a leader and my involvement with school and community events continues to this day,” she said. “Becoming the WMS Assistant Principal has been a dream and is the right fit at this time for me.”

Ruth’s colleagues agree and are very happy with the selection of their new assistant principal.

“Because we already know and love her, AJ is the perfect liaison between staff and the new principal [Greg Applestein],” said Doug Elder, WMS seventh-grade social studies teacher who has team-taught with Ruth over the past seven years in hands-on, inquiry-based projects.

“As much as we all hate to lose her as a team teacher, she has the skills and qualities it takes to be our next assistant principal. Working closely with her the past couple of weeks in her new role has proven us right. We are happy she is staying with us at WMS.”

Providing youth with authentic and engaging learning experiences is how Ruth approaches education. In recent years, Ruth, and fellow WMS colleagues including Elder, have implemented Project Based Learning (PBL), an educational method that promotes students’ ownership of their learning as they design, develop, and construct hands-on solutions to real-life situations.

“PBL allows students to show their creativity in ways they can’t in the regular classroom,” Ruth said.

Ruth said the best part about her new job is the amount of support and encouragement she has received from her colleagues.

“The WMS staff are like family and to have their backing in this transition has meant the world to me. We are a close group. If you ask anyone in our building what the one most important strength we carry, they will tell you it is the strong relationships we have with each other.”

There is also positive strength growing and developing between Ruth and the new WMS principal.
Their admiration and support for one another reflect that strength.

“Greg has had a variety of experiences in administration and has led at different schools across the state,” Ruth said. “As a result, he brings expertise to WMS that will help guide and continue the wonderful work we offer students. Being a veteran administrator, Greg will be a good resource for me and a great mentor as I learn my new role.”

Applestein said that he is also looking forward to continuing to grow and develop the relationship with Ruth to best serve the students, staff, and families of WMS.

“We share a lot of the same core values, and we have a very similar vision for WMS,” he said. “She is a seasoned veteran teacher who held many teacher-leadership positions which gives her the background and experience working with all stakeholders. As a long-serving teacher at WMS, AJ has that historical perspective about the climate, culture, and community of the school and the town. Additionally, her ability to do the right things for the right reasons, makes AJ a vibrant and dynamic assistant principal and we are very fortunate to have her at WMS.”

Ruth received her bachelor’s and master’s in education as well as her certification in administration from Saint Joseph’s College of Maine.

When she is not working with middle school students and staff, Ruth spends time with her family, hiking in the summer and skiing in the winter, noting that being in nature is her saving grace. She lives in Windham with her husband, a son, and a daughter. <

Recall ordinance measures provoke differing opinions in Windham

By Ed Pierce

The debate over recalling elected municipal officials before their term is completed and removing them from office has arrived in Windham and two tracks have emerged as to how to best establish procedures for adding this to the town charter. Earlier this summer, a citizen’s group launched a petition drive to create a recall ordinance and collected enough signatures of registered voters to place a referendum on the ballot in town this fall. The Windham Town Council also developed a recall ordinance and will vote to implement it at a council meeting on Tuesday night.

A citizen's petition to create recall procedures for town and
RSU 14 elected officials has received enough signatures to
be on the ballot this fall in Windham, but on Tuesday
evening the Windham Town Council will vote on a more
detailed recall ordinance to be added to the town charter.
PHOTO BY ED PIERCE  

While there are common aspects contained in each proposed ordinance, there also are some striking differences and the citizen’s group says that the town council ordinance is nothing more than a way to help protect elected officials subject to recall, which councilors and town administrators deny. Both groups say they are trying to be fair to voters and elected officials but put an ordinance in place in Windham that holds public officials accountable.

“Having a recall ordinance makes sense and provides a check and balance approach to local government,” said Barry Tibbetts, Windham Town Manager. “Ordinances with the least amount of uncertainty and with greatest clarity provide the least costly measures of implementation. I personally have always felt simple government, ordinances, rules etc., whenever possible are the best, this is not easy to achieve. The citizen petition did a good job in bringing this forward so that is a win for all, as with any initiative getting the “T’s” crossed and “I’s” dotted can be challenging.”

Kristen Day of Windham, who is part of the citizen’s group leading the petition drive for the recall ordinance referendum, says that there is nothing questionable or controversial about their proposal from a civic perspective.

“Ours is a non-partisan citizen’s initiative, and as such, we are proposing this language which we believe is in the best interest of every voting resident of Windham,” Day said. “The town has the opportunity to decide the outcome by doing their civic duty. And should it pass, any citizens can follow the process outlined in our Town Charter, as we have, to propose amendments to the ordinance.”

Under the terms of the citizen petition, any elected official may be recalled and removed from office by the qualified voters of the town. According to the petition, recall is intended to be used when, in the opinion of the number of voters hereinafter specified, an elected official, acting as such, has caused a loss of confidence in that official’s judgment or ability to perform the duties and responsibilities of the office.

The citizen’s group petition also specifies that any 25 qualified voters of the town may file with the Windham Town Clerk an affidavit containing the name of the official sought to be recalled and a statement of specific facts to support the grounds of recall. The Town Clerk would then send a copy of the affidavit to the official targeted for recall to the Windham Town Council. A petition would then be issued and must be returned within 30 days signed by registered voters of the town equal to at least 10 percent of the number of votes cast in the town during the last election for governor, but no less than 100 voters.

The Town Clerk would allow five days for the filing of legal challenges to the signatures on the petition. If no such challenges are filed, the Town Clerk would certify and submit the petition to the Town Council. At that point, the Town Council would give written notice to the official named in the recall and, if the official sought to be removed does not resign within five days, councilors would order an election to be held on a day fixed by them not less than 50 nor more than 60 days after the date of the Town Clerk’s certificate that a sufficient petition was filed.

The citizen’s petition also specifies that if any other town election is set to occur within 75 days after the date of said the Town Clerk’s certificate, the Town Council may, at its discretion, postpone the holding of the recall election to the date of such other election. If a vacancy occurs in the office after a recall election has been so ordered, the election shall nevertheless proceed as in this section provided. If the official sought to be recalled so requests, the WindhamTown Council shall make provisions for a public hearing on the matter, said hearing to take place not less than seven days prior to said election.

Petition details also ask that any official being recalled shall not be a candidate in the recall election. The nomination of candidates, the publication of the warrant for recall election, and the conduct of the same shall be in accordance with the provisions of the laws of the State of Maine relating to elections. Nomination petitions for candidates at the recall election shall be filed with the Town Clerk within 15 days after the date of the filing of the certificate of the Town Clerk as to the sufficiency of the recall petition.

Terms in the petition also require that the incumbent official shall continue to perform the duties of the office until the results of the recall election are certified. If the official is not recalled by voters, the official shall continue in office for the remainder of the unexpired term, subject to subsequent recall. However, if a subject is recalled by voters, the official would be removed upon the certification of the election results. In the event the recall petition is passed, the candidate receiving the greatest number of votes shall be deemed elected for the balance of the term of the official recalled.

The citizen recall measure also mandates that no recall petition shall be filed against an official with fewer than 60 days of term remaining or within three months after such official assumed office, nor, in the case of an official subjected to recall election and not removed thereby, until at least three months after that election. It also requires that no person who has been recalled from office or who has resigned from office while recall proceedings are pending shall be appointed to any town office or town board, commission, or committee within two years after such removal by recall.

If the referendum is approved by voters in November, it would replace all prior Town of Windham recall ordinances.

The language in the Windham Town Council’s proposed ordinance is more specific regarding certain provisions.

Under grounds for recall, elected town officials serving as a Town Councilor or a member of the Regional School Unit 14 Board of Directors elected by Windham voters could be recalled when, in the opinion of the number of voters specified an elected official has caused, through actions while in elected office, a loss of confidence in the official’s judgment or ability to perform the duties and responsibilities of the office.

The council’s proposed ordinance differs from the citizen’s petition in that it requires 75 qualified voters of the town to file with the Town Clerk an affidavit containing the name of the official sought to be recalled for actions in office, and a statement of specific facts of up to 200 words to support the grounds of the recall. The Town Clerk would then transmit a copy of the affidavit to the official who is the subject of the affidavit and to the Windham Town Council. The subject of the affidavit may submit a rebuttal statement within four business days of the Town Clerk’s transmission of the affidavit. Within five business days after the date of the filing of the affidavit, the Town Clerk would deliver to the 75 voters a sufficient number of copies of petition blanks for the requested recall.

The recall petition would have to be returned and filed with the Town Clerk within 30 days after issuance of the petition. Once returned, the Town Clerk would be required to determine that at least 15 percent of the number of participating voters in the last preceding gubernatorial election signed the petition. Once that is done, the Town Clerk would then deliver the petition to the Registrar of Voters, and the Registrar of Voters would have 10 business days to certify the number of signatures of qualified voters.

If the petition shall be certified to be sufficient by the Town Clerk and the Registrar of Voters, the Town Clerk shall allow five business days for the filing of legal challenges to the signatures on the petition. If no such challenges are filed, the Town Clerk would then certify and submit the petition to the Town Council. The Town Council would give written notice to the target of the recall and, if the official sought to be removed does not resign within five days, they would order an election to be held on a day fixed by them not less than 50 nor more than 60 days after the date of the Town Clerk’s certificate that a sufficient petition is filed.

Should any other town election occur within 90 days after the date of the certificate, the Town Council could, at its discretion, postpone the holding of the recall election to the date of such other elections. If a vacancy occurs in said office after a recall election has been so ordered, the election shall nevertheless proceed and if the official sought to be recalled so requests, the Town Council shall make provisions for a public hearing on the matter, said hearing to take place not less than seven days prior to such election.

The council’s proposed ordinance also mandates that if a member of the Town Council is recalled, any such vacancy shall be filled in accordance with Article II, Section 2.D of the Town Charter. If a member of the Regional School Unit Board is recalled, the Town Council shall select an interim director for the town to serve until the next annual municipal election. An election shall be held at the next municipal election to elect a director to fill the vacancy.

An incumbent official shall continue to perform the duties of the office under the council’s proposal until the results of the recall election are certified. If not recalled, the official shall continue in office for the remainder of the unexpired term, subject to subsequent recall. If recalled in the recall election, the official shall be removed upon the certification of the election results.

Terms of the town council’s ordinance require that no recall petition shall be filed against an official with fewer than 60 days of a term remaining or within six months after such official assumes office, nor, in the case of an official subjected to recall election and not removed until at least six months after that election.

The councilors’ ordinance specifies that the total number of votes to recall an elected official shall be no less than 25 percent of participating voters of the last preceding gubernatorial election. If the recall fails to meet this total, then the elected official shall not be recalled from office, regardless of the result of the vote on the recall. When a recall fails, the official shall not be subject to another recall petition until at least six months after the failed vote.

Tibbetts said that if the council votes on Tuesday evening to enact its recall ordinance, it would take effect in 30 days or on Sept. 29.

“The citizen petition if voted in the affirmative would take effect in November and replace the council’s action but those sections where the citizen petition is in conflict would be eliminated by a council vote,” Tibbetts said. “Since the citizen petition is an ordinance, the Windham Town Council can amend it at any time. Those amendments most likely would bring it back to the existing council ordinance tentatively approved on Aug. 29.”

If a charter amendment by the council is approved, it would override all the ordinances, replacing them, and according to Tibbetts that language is identical to the council ordinance.

“Another question relates to when this goes to a vote, that by charter states the council has 30 days to set the date, hence the November vote,” Tibbetts said. “The charter amendment would not allow any modifications unless 30 percent of participating voters in the last gubernatorial election approved of them if those changes were sought it could be by Council initiative or citizen initiative.”

Councilors also will vote Tuesday night to protect the integrity of the Windham Town Clerk position from partisanship by changing it from an elected position to an appointment. Linda Morrell has served as Windham Town Clerk for the past 28 years. <

RTT rider’s determination to overcome MS leads to 2023 Adult Equestrian of the Year award

By Kelly Johnson
Special to The Windham Eagle

At Riding To The Top’s 14th annual Triple B celebration last fall, Debbie Hutchinson of Raymond shared her emotional story of navigating life with Multiple Sclerosis and how riding horses at the Windham facility has improved her physical heath and that her relationship with a horse there has boosted her emotional well-being. Hutchinson’s efforts to overcome MS at RTT have led to her being honored by the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International as its 2023 Adult Equestrian of the Year.

Riding To The Top rider Debbie Hutchinson
shows her equine partner Paxton her award
as 2023 Adult Equestrian of the Year by the
Professional Association of Therapeutic
Horsemanship International.
SUBMITTED PHOTO

Hutchinson has been dealing with MS for 30 years and has been a client of RTT for the past three years. She’s experienced struggles with balance and spasticity which affect her ability to walk, but something magical began to happen to her when she was partnered with an RTT mare named Paxton.

“When I’m riding Paxton, I don’t have MS,” she said.

According to Hutchinson, working with Paxton at RTT has not only helped her to deal with her MS more effectively and has also given her a new support network to deal with MS through the friendships that she’s forged with the staff and volunteers at RTT.

Multiple Sclerosis is an immune-mediated disease producing an abnormal response of the body’s immune system which attacks the central nervous system by mistake. The immune system attack damages the body’s myelin, the substance that surrounds and insulates the nerve fibers and the cells that make it. Without myelin to protect nerve fibers, they are also damaged. This can lead to a range of unpredictable symptoms such as tingling, numbness, pain, fatigue, memory problems and paralysis.

Riding To The Top (RTT), a Therapeutic Riding Center in Windham, was founded in 1993 and its mission is to enhance health and wellness through equine assisted services. More than 250 clients each year are impacted and assisted by a team of certified instructors, a herd of 17 horses and nearly 100 volunteers, all specially trained to assist with therapeutic riding, carriage driving and Physical Therapy/Occupational Therapy using equine movement. It is Maine’s only facility that is accredited by Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (Path Intl.).

The RTT facility is a community-based nonprofit and receives no federal or state funding while providing scholarships to more than 60 percent of clients who avail themselves of equestrian services offered there.

Hutchinson’s efforts to not let MS control her life drew notice and admiration from everyone she has worked with at RTT.

“From her first entry to our center, Debbie's grit and determination were as obvious as her wide smile, said Kate Jeton, RTT program director. “She has formed an amazing bond with her horse and without assistance is able to walk and trot, modulating rhythm and pace and creating bend in her horse’s body, in spite of not being able to effectively use her right leg. Her feel for her horse is obvious and her elation is infectious."

The riding team that works directly with Hutchinson said she’s truly inspirational and deserving of the 2023 Equestrian of the Year honor.

"I’ve had the pleasure of working with Debbie for several years. She performs her pre-ride warm up with tenacity, enthusiasm, and determination to assure a successful lesson,” said Susan Layton, RTT team member. “She deals with the stress of her condition daily, but when she is sitting high on her horse, her focus is on establishing a close connection with her horse, achieving horsemanship skills, and the pure joy of riding. Her constant smile says it all."

Her achievements riding Paxton also gained the attention of Path Intl., which leads the national advancement of professional equine-assisted services by supporting members and stakeholders through rigorously developed standards, credentialing and education.

“As an international voice in the equine-assisted services (EAS) industry, PATH Intl. has a responsibility to recognize individuals and equines that symbolize our celebration of ability, optimism, diversity, and a shared love of equines,” said Alyson Thrasher, PATH’s Membership and Education Representative. “Exceptional equestrians who join in the excitement offered by EAS are a testament to the power of the horse to change lives. Debbie Hutchinson is an outstanding representative of the PATH Intl. adult equestrian community.”

To learn more about Riding To The Top’s client services, volunteering, or making a gift to RTT, visit www.ridingtothetop.org or call 207-892-2813. <

State approves funding to complete final segment of Rail Trail project

By Kaysa Jalbert

The final pieces of the puzzle are coming together in the creation of a recreational rail trail from Portland to Fryeburg including a five-mile section passing through Windham, Gorham and Standish that has been underway for the past year.

A completed five-mile section of the Mountain Division 
Trail in Windham is the most used trail west of Portland 
because it is accessible to everyone and features a gentle
grade, wide trail width and is paved. Maine has now 
approved funding to extend the trail to run all the way from
Portland to Fryeburg along old railroad tracks and work
on a new five-mile segment through Windham is
expected to start soon. COURTESY PHOTO  

According to Doug Smith of Windham, vice president of the Mountain Trail Alliance, once completed this section of rail trail will run from Route 202 in Windham to Westbrook and is part of several Active Transportation projects and legislation sponsored for rail trails in other parts of the state. In July, Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed into law a bill authorizing the Maine Department of Transportation Commissioner to construct a multi-use “Trail Until Rail” from Standish to Fryeburg.

Smith said that this is the first of many such pieces of legislation for rail trails forthcoming in the next Legislative session and beyond.

“I am a long-time resident of Windham who bikes and walks the Mountain Division Rail Trail several times a week,” he said. “I joined the Mountain Trail Alliance organization to advocate for building out the rail trail from Portland to Fryeburg. “

Leading up to the drafting of the bill was an extensive, seven-month review of potential rail and non-rail uses for the Mountain Division rail corridor from Standish to Fryeburg. The 12-member Mountain Division Rail Use Advisory Council (RUAC) voted 11 to 1 to recommend conversion of 31 miles of the existing railroad track to an interim paved bicycle and pedestrian trail some 10-feet wide. The committee further recommended snowmobiles remain an allowable use, under annual agreement with Maine DOT, within the corridor.

Advocates for the new rail trail say that it is the least expensive method to expand recreational opportunities in Maine and will provide the most direct and lasting economic and health benefits for residents along the rail corridor.

Smith said that The Mountain Division Trail will spur economic growth and connect Maine communities with a safe, car-free, multi-use trail. The previously completed Eastern Trail, is arguably Maine’s most popular rail trail, and has spurred millions of dollars of economic impact, according to recent studies.

The rail trail will attract tourists, bolster local businesses, and provide a boost to the overall economy. The project will also create job opportunities, stimulate construction-related industries, and drive local investment, further strengthening the region's prosperity.

The passage of the bill and approval by the governor creates a pivotal moment and opportunity for the residents and towns along the western section of the Mountain Division Rail Corridor, said Paul Schumacher, the President of Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission.

“The confluence of this opportunity with availability of grants and other funds brings the reality of accelerated economic development in the form of new businesses, real estate development, health benefits, and tourism within our reach,” Schumacher said.

Once work on the section running to Fryeburg is finished, this Mountain Division Trail section in western Maine will be a continuous 40-mile, paved trail, running from Route 202 in South Windham to Fryeburg. Over time it will connect with trails from Portland to North Conway, New Hampshire.

“This is the culmination of 30 years of work by many individuals, organizations, municipalities, and legislators in our quest to make the Mountain Division Trail a reality,” said Dave Kinsman, President of the Mountain Division Alliance.

The completed five-mile local section, created just over 15 years ago, runs about halfway through Gorham and halfway through Windham. This is the most used trail west of Portland because it is accessible to all, with a gentle grade, wide trail width and paved. This path allows walkers, runners, bicyclists, wheelchairs, and strollers.

“This was the original vision of the Mountain Division Alliance when it was founded in 1994,” says Kinsman, “The Mountain Division Trail will be the best use of a much-underutilized public asset that has sat dormant for 40 years. It will bring joy and economic benefits to the towns of Western Maine.”

The next five miles east from Route 202 in Windham to East Bridge Street in Westbrook is in the planning phase. Funding provided by the Maine Department of Transportation, the Town of Windham, and the City of Westbrook has provided a year-long planning and design study. The study estimates the cost to build the trail with an initial trail design. Once built, the trail with be 10 miles long, wide, flat, and accessible to thousands of people within walking distance of the trail.

“This will be a major project for the state of Maine, Windham, and Westbrook to invest in - and will involve federal active transportation funds. The design and engineering will need to be completed in the next year, and then the fundraising and building will take several years,” said Rachelle Curran Apse, Executive Director of the Presumpscot Regional Land Trust. “We plan for the trail to be complete in the next five to seven years.”

The Mountain Division Alliance is a Maine based non-profit organization formed in 1993. Its mission is to work with the nine communities along the Mountain Division Rail corridor, Maine Department of Transportation, and other organizations and stakeholders to create a safe, welcoming, contiguous trail to provide for active transportation and recreation opportunities from Fryeburg to Portland. Its Board is comprised of representatives from each of communities that the Mountain Division Rail corridor passes through. <

Windham USOA Pageant contestant a champion for women's equality

By Ed Pierce

Windham attorney Katie Winchenbach is not afraid to fail, but she is afraid not to try. That sense of self confidence and a champion for women’s equality has led her to become an official contestant in the 2024 United States of America Pageant in October in Augusta.

Katie Winchenbach of Windham will
compete as a contestant in the USOA
2024 Maine State Pageant in Augusta
this October. She is an attorney who
works as Program Director for Ms. JD,
a national nonprofit organization
dedicated to the success of aspiring
and early career women lawyers.
SUBMITTED PHOTO 

Winchenbach will represent the community as Mrs. Windham in the pageant which is designed to encourage women to strive to achieve their hopes, dreams, goals, and aspirations, while making them feel confident and beautiful inside and out. The pageant’s motto is to empower women, inspire others, and uplift everyone and it focuses on women empowerment, promoting positive self-image and advocating a platform of community service, which allows contestants to rise by lifting others up.

She is a corporate attorney and nonprofit leader who is a passionate advocate for women’s equality and is dedicated to finding ways to inspire and empower women across the United States. Winchenbach currently serves as the Program Director for Ms. JD, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the success of aspiring and early career women lawyers.

As Program Director, she spearheads impactful events and programs that foster diversity in the legal profession and set young women up for successful legal careers. Winchenbach says she’s a firm believer in the power of collaboration and inclusivity and has brought that energy to her community by volunteering as the Vice-President of The Maine Women’s Conference, a local organization that brings together Maine women to connect with, educate, and inspire each other.

Earning a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Maine, a Juris Doctorate law degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hofstra University, Winchenbach is eager to share her passion and make an even bigger difference in the lives of women as a USOA contestant.

She said that the pageant will challenge her in new ways that she hasn’t experienced previously.

“I'm looking to be able to show up and support my community as the best version of myself,” Winchenbach said. “Upon starting this journey, I was surprised by how much it pushed me outside of my comfort zone and how many opportunities there were for me to grow as a person. Already, I've been able to become more confident in the way I carry myself and in the way I speak publicly. I work as a corporate attorney and a nonprofit program director, so these are skills that are going to help me immensely even once the pageant is over.”

Along with her husband Jared, she moved to Windham about two years ago and was born in Maine and grew up in the small town of Milford, near the University of Maine Orono.

This will be her first time as a pageant contestant.

“I have never done a pageant before,” Winchenbach said. “When the USOA Pageant Director Christie Hines reached out to me to see if I would be interested in competing, I really thought she had the wrong woman. Once I learned how much of the pageant was focused on community involvement and championing causes close to your heart, I knew I had to say yes.”

According to Winchenbach, she believes being a new pageant contestant will help her.

“I think being a first-time contestant is both a strength and a challenge,” she said. “I'm lacking the experience that more seasoned contestants will have, but I am also going into it without the pressure or expectation of winning. My goal is to represent Windham the best that I can, and to learn as much as I can about competing in pageants. The other women competing are truly incredible and I know I can learn so much just from being part of this.”

She said empowering women will be the cause she will champion if she wins the state title.

“I believe in empowering and inspiring women to dream bigger and boldly pursue these dreams. As the Program Director for Ms. JD, a national nonprofit dedicated to the success of aspiring and early-career female attorneys, I am able to impact over 800 women per year,” Winchenbach said. “More locally, I am partnering with the Compassionate Leadership Project to create a one-day conference for Maine’s emerging female leaders. The conference will provide attendees with access to prominent female leaders from Maine, practical training on key leadership skills, and the opportunity to build their networks. The conference will be live streamed, to provide this critical resource to women from all over the State of Maine, and eventually, across the United States.”

Grateful to have the support of her family, friends, and community on her quest for the crown, Winchenbach said when she’s not working or preparing for the pageant, she loves to stay busy, so she doesn't have a lot of downtime.

“When I do get down time, I love being out on the water on my paddleboard,” she said. “My husband got me an inflatable one a couple of years ago and I love it. I try to get out on the Presumpscot River on the weekends, do paddle board yoga in Casco Bay, and every once and a while bring my rescue pup out for a ride. My family and friends have been incredibly supportive of my pageant journey. My husband, Jared, was a big factor in my learning more about the pageant and even being open to talking to Christie about it. He clearly saw something in me that I didn't see in myself. My dad has also been a huge support system for me.”

Another reason that Winchenbach chose to compete in the United States of America Pageant is to honor the memory of her mother.

“My mom competed in a Mrs. pageant when she and my dad were just married,” she said. “She passed away from cancer last November, so this is a really nice way for my family to be able to come together again. They cheered her on over 30 years ago and now they get to cheer me on.”

The USOA Pageant for Maine will be held Oct. 21 and Oct. 22 at The Senator Inn & Spa Augusta and the Augusta Civic Center. <

Windham performer reflects on successful music career

By R.D. Frum

Con Fullam of Windham has been described as “Maine's musical maestro” because he combines lyrical genius and melodic magic to captivate your ears and win your heart. Fullam doesn't simply sing, he also orchestrates a symphony of passionate tales.

Musician Con Fullam of Windham has
performed with many bands and artists
such as the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, 
Aztec Two-Step, Razzy Baily, Gram
Parsons and Emmylou Harris. He is
also known as the composer of 'The
Maine Christmas Song.'
COURTESY PHOTO  

Fullam’s talent has taken him to stages around America and performances with legendary musicians and bands, but it all started where he grew up in Sydney, Maine on a gentleman’s farm.

“It was lovely and lonely,” Fullam said. “My closest peer was about six miles away, so I spent a lot of time by myself, and that’s where imagination comes in. My father passed away when I was 5 and so I inherited his ukelele, and that’s how I began to play. It was a huge help to me to get through some very sad times.”

Fullam’s entire family played music, further fostering his interest.

“My father played ukelele, my mother was a pianist and a voice teacher, my brother played the banjo and guitar, and my sister played the guitar, so we were a musical family,” he said. “Back in those days, I went to a Catholic school. I was the only kid without a father. It was a defining point at some level, but I found that I had something they didn’t have. I was the guy that played the ukelele, and then a four-string guitar, and it sort of set me up as somebody who could stand his own ground.”

Fullam would play at church and civic events, and he and his brother played together as a duo on a radio show that his brother had in Waterville. When Fullam was 14, he started a band, and since then he hasn’t looked back. Music has transformed Fullam’s life because it is his life.

“Sometimes lyrics come to me, sometimes melodies come to me. There's no real set process that I go through,” Fullam said. “Writing a good lyric to me is hard and writing a good melody is hard because as far as I know there hasn’t been an original song written in many millennia. This is a 12-tone scale and there are 50 million songs written. It's then a matter of finding something that is as best you can do and unique to yourself.”

He said that he’s written a lot of songs and on any given day one particular song sticks in his head.

“But if I finish them then I generally think that they're pretty good,” Fullam said. “At some point you get to a certain level where you can sort of tell when something's going to actually breathe or not. So, if they breathe and I finish them, then generally speaking they go into the repertoire.”

Fullam has performed with many other artists like the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Aztec Two-Step, Asleep at the Wheel, Richie Havens, Tim Harden, Razzy Bailey, and more. And he’s co-written a song with Rex from Aztec Two-Step, who is also from Maine.

One of Fullam’s favorite places to perform is Max’s Kansas City in New York. There were three up-and-coming clubs during the time Fullam played in New York: The Bitter End, Gaslight, and Max’s Kansas City.

“I got to play all of them,” Fullam said. “I just had some great shows at Max's Kansas City. There was a great audience, always. It was a small, 200-seat room, very intimate. I played there with Richie Havens, Gram Parsons, and Emmylou Harris. It was always a special moment.”

According to Fullam, if a musician goes into writing a song thinking that they want to write a hit, they should probably find another profession.

“A hit song is a rare and unusual accomplishment and I warn people that in this business if somebody comes to you and says that they know what a hit is, you want to run away because they don’t, no one does,” he said. “Why something is a hit and why something isn’t, nobody knows.”

Fullam said if you don't play for yourself and about yourself, then you're never really going to capture an audience.

“The audience needs to see that you're genuine, that the songs you play or you're playing are coming from your heart,” he said. “And if that happens then as a rule the audience will buy in, and you know there's nothing better than to have people come up afterwards and say this song touched them. I wrote ‘The Maine Christmas Song,’ which is obviously special to Maine, and 35 years later, I still get people coming out and saying how much it meant to them and that's a very wonderful feeling. I never would have written it without Bob Elliot, who was the muse for the song.”

He also wrote a picture book inspired by “The Maine Christmas Song.”

“The book came absolutely out of the blue. Bob passed away several years ago, and it was two years ago that I got a call from this young publisher who grew up with the song, and she and her mom were talking about it and her mom suggested she thought it would make a great children’s book,” Fullam said. “I would’ve never thought about that in a million years.”

During his career, Fullam has served as the executive producer of the PBS children’s series, “Ribert and Robert’s Wonderworld,” for which he co-wrote, and co-produced the music. His co-creation “The Wompkees” has also aired on PBS and is now distributed in more than 40 countries around the world.

In 2005, Fullam founded Pihcintu, a multi-national girls’ chorus.

“The obvious and most immediate challenge is you lose your voice, literally,” he said. “They are coming in speaking Arabic or Portuguese or French or whatever it may be. That's obviously immensely difficult, so I formed the chorus to give girls their voices back.”

Fullam has a new 2-set CD called “A Song, Paintings, and Portraits” coming out with 26 songs.

“All of the songs on there made it because they’re important to me,” he said. “Some of the songs go back 40 years and some of them are as recent as months ago just before I finished compiling the CD.”

That CD will be available at confullam.com <

Windham mourns loss of business leader, community champion Bartlett

By Ed Pierce

George H. Bartlett Jr. will be remembered as a kind individual who uplifted his community and a reliable friend who wanted little praise for his volunteer efforts on behalf of others.

Longtime Lakes Region resident and Busy
Bee Laundromat owner George Bartlett Jr.
has died at the age of 84. Through the years
Bartlett has been a fixture at charitable
events locally and was an active member
of the Sebago Lake Rotary Club and the
Sebago Lakes region Chamber of Commerce.
COURTESY PHOTO

Bartlett, 84, died Friday, July 21 after a short illness. He owned and operated the Busy Bee Laundromat in Windham for 38 years and was heavily involved in the activities of the Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce and the Sebago Lake Rotary Club.

Since the 1990s, he also served as an international ambassador for the Rotary Club, making numerous trips to Romania representing Maine and making treasured friendships with Romanians.

Other than his trips to Romania, Bartlett lived for most of his life in the Windham, Raymond, and Casco areas. His mother, Olive Sawyer Morrill of Westbrook married his father, George H. Bartlett Sr. in the 1930s and the couple moved to the Little Sebago Lake area of Windham where they started a family. George Jr. was born in 1939 and his father owned the Bartlett Radio Company.

Mechanics

While helping at his father’s business after school, young George developed an interest in mechanics, and he went on to become a mechanical engineer and have a business of his own launching Busy Bee Laundromat in 1985.

“My father was in business for many years, and he gave me some great advice,” Bartlett said during an interview in 2020. “He told me that a business goes through ups and downs and the best way to keep a business going is to serve the people,” Bartlett said. “That’s exactly what we do here.”

According to Robin Mullins, the President and CEO of the Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce, Bartlett was well-liked by nearly everyone he met.

“One thing was his outgoing personality. He said hi and spoke to everyone he met,” she said. “He also had an infectious smile. You couldn't help but smile with him, even if you were having a bad day.”

Mullins said that Bartlett was a member and huge supporter of the Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce for years.

“The two things that stand out the most for me were first, he hosted many of the chamber’s After Hour events, or what we call Business Breaks,” she said. “During the Business Breaks we have 50/50 raffles for local charities. George would offer to squeeze himself into a dryer at the laundromat if folks gave extra dollars to the charities. We made lots of extra money for charity because of this. Second, George was a Rotarian who came to me and asked what I thought would be a great local charity to benefit from the Polar Dip, which was part of the Sebago Lake Rotary Club's Annual Ice Fishing Derby. I, of course, recommended the chamber's charitable trust, ‘Feed The Need.’ We started the Sebago Lakes Region Polar Dip for Feed the Need in 2021 and have raised over $22,000 for the 12 food pantries in the Sebago Lakes Region thanks to George.”

Huge loss

His loss will be huge to the chamber, Mullins said.

“George was my partner on the Polar Dip. I relied on him for so many things,” she said. “I have already asked myself, ‘Will I be able to do this without him?’ The answer is yes, but it will not be easy. I have to keep it going because that is what George would have wanted. The 2024 Sebago Lakes Region Polar Dip will be dedicated to my Polar Dip partner and my friend, George Bartlett.”

In years to come, Bartlett will be remembered fondly, Mullins said.

“George will be remembered for three things – his love and dedication for the Sebago Lake Rotary Club. He truly believed in the work of the Rotary and traveled to Romania several times to partner internationally. He will also be remembered for his never-ending supply of energy. George was a worker and he never stopped. I often referred to him as the ‘Energizer Bunny.’ And lastly, George will be remembered for his ability to give you a hard time and do it in a fun, jovial manner.”

Cyndy Bell of the Sebago Lake Rotary Club says Bartlett joined the club in 1985 and has been part of the fabric that has kept the club relevant and a constant in the community ever since.

“He just had a passion for the organization,” Bell said. “One event that brought him a great deal of joy and pride were his trips to Romania. In 1998 as part of a Rotary International project to meet medical needs for Romanian hospitals, the Sebago Lake Rotary Club collaborated with six other Rotary Clubs and began gathering medical equipment, collecting over $750,000 worth of equipment that included 12 refurbished dialysis machines from the Maine Dialysis Center. He traveled back to Romania to coordinate the distribution of the equipment and over the past 20 years he has returned 16 times, working with their schools, bringing books and supplies collected by Rotary clubs in Southern Maine including his local club and helping schools establish Interact Clubs, a high school version of the Rotary Club. While there, he stayed with his adopted Rotary family, making long-distance, long-term friendships.”

Outgoing personality

Bell said Bartlett’s outgoing personality was contagious and he was passionate about anything he was involved in.

“He always showed an interest in you and what you were doing or your business. And he always invited you to a Rotary meeting and encouraged you to join,” she said. “George was involved in everything that the Rotary Club was hosting. He especially was very involved in preparations for the Polar Dip held during the club's signature Ice Fishing Derby fundraiser every February. Even when things weren't going smoothly, he always had a positive attitude and made the event a success. George's presence will be missed in every event the club sponsors moving forward. He always had an ‘idea’ how to make events better.”

Funeral services are pending, and Bartlett is survived by his wife, Jane, three children and other family.

Mullins said she believes Bartlett’s legacy will be one of unselfish service to his community and a responsibility to help his friends and neighbors.

“George did what he did because that was just how he was wired,” she said. “It was who he was, a concerned community leader who wanted to make a difference. And, boy, did he ever.” <