Microtel Inn & Suites well under construction on Route 302 - By Elizabeth Richards

Construction has begun on a new Microtel Inn & Suites in Windham, with an anticipated opening date at the end of 2014. 
 

The project has been a long time coming. Erik Heyland, owner of Heyland Development, has owned the property since 2007. At that time he had been approved for a Microtel, but pulled back when the recession hit. Though he said they looked at alternate brands for the project, those didn’t fit the model like the Microtel does for that property. When financing was once again secured for a Microtel branded hotel, the project was up and running. “We think that this is going to serve a larger segment,” said Heyland.

In today’s market, Heyland said, guests are more savvy. They can research hotel brands online, read reviews, and have certain expectations for their stay. Because Microtel is a standards-based brand developed by the Wyndham Hotel Group, there are quality assurance scores the property must hit every year to maintain their franchise status. Customers may be more reluctant to stay in smaller, independently run motels if they can’t do their research, said Heyland. “We think in the Town of Windham this sets us apart from whoever else is in that space,” he said.

The hotel will attract a broad customer base, and span a variety of needs, including leisure traffic, visitors to Saint Joseph’s College, and business travelers, said Heyland. The hotel will also have extended stay accommodations, with small refrigerators and microwaves, for people with temporary housing needs. The building in Windham is a new prototype, which will offer an updated, fresh look in the décor, said Heyland. 

Christmas of 2014 is the targeted opening date for this first phase, which includes 58 rooms with queen sized beds, an indoor pool, fitness center, lobby area, free breakfast and a business center. The property will also offer trailer parking for those with boats or snowmobiles, and bus parking. Heyland said an expansion plan to bring the hotel to 74 rooms is already in place. He hopes to have the second phase completed within 18 months of opening.

Though the permit process was lengthy, Heyland said the Town of Windham has been very cooperative and helpful throughout the process. “They are excited about this project coming in. I’ve heard many times that this is an overdue project,” he said. 

 Tom Bartell, Executive Director of the Windham Economic Development Corporation, said that the project will fill a void in the region. There has been a lack of a branded hotel that can be part of a national reservation system, he said, and this project “fills that niche very nicely.”

Bartell said he’s heard from area businesses that when employees visit from outside of Maine, they have sent them to Portland, South Portland or Westbrook because there wasn’t a hotel of this type in Windham. He’s also heard from residents that when they have people come to visit them, there hasn’t been a place for them to stay. 

“The summer season is very full,” Bartell added. “It’s hard to get a space.” Camps and cottages fill up quickly, and in the winter, many are closed, he said. “[The Microtel] is a great asset that we are going to have,” he said. “I think it will be well received.”

Though there might be some concern from owners/operators of other accommodations, Bartell said the Microtel is really a different model, and will attract a different customer base. 

Heyland currently operates a Microtel Inn & Suites in York, Maine. Heyland said construction has been moving quickly and drawing attention. He has been receiving requests from people wishing to book rooms for next year. Reservations for the Windham Microtel can be booked now by calling the Microtel Inn & Suites in York, also managed by Heyland Development. The number for reservations is 207-363-0800.

WHS leads the way with proficiency-based education - By Michelle Libby

Windham High School principal Christopher Howell has been working with his staff for the last three years to get ready to implement the proficiency-based grading and diploma requirements that were supposed to go into effect last year and will be implemented at WHS this fall. 
 

All eight content areas have been thoroughly evaluated as to how this grading system will work with the curriculum. The content area are math, English/language arts, social studies, science, health and physical education, career prep, foreign language and visual and performing arts. 

According to Howell, every lesson was looked at to see how it would help students to meet the standards they need to pass a class and ultimately graduate from WHS. 

The school has been working with Great Schools Partnership and Angela Hardy was brought on as a coach from Great Schools to help with the implementation and connect the staff with resources they need. 

“She tells us we’re wrong if we’re heading in a direction we don’t want to go in,” said Howell. The cost of implementing the new system is $30,000 of a $40 million budget, he said. That money is used to pay for Hardy and her 20 days on site contract as well as teachers who work over the summer to continue development of the standards.  

One issue they have looked at is how to do this in the high school system so it meshes with what is happening at the middle schools and primary schools in the RSU. 

“The demands on high school is different from college or middle school,” said Howell. Colleges, employers and technical schools may or may not be familiar with what proficiency education is all about, he added. To that fact, WHS will continue to use number grades in addition to the proficiency-based system. “High school is the end of the line. We are certifying that (the student) met the standards,” said Howell. 

Although a student may meet all the standards that are set before him and he is able to graduate, that minimum requirement is not enough to market him, said Howell. Students will need to go above and beyond the required performance indicators to be ready for college or technical school. 

Higher education schools want to know what are the courses you took. So there will be two transcripts. One that is course based and one that shows the number grades. What exactly the course based transcript will look like is yet to be determined, Howell said, but he did say that attendance will be on the new report cards as well as student’s work habits. WHS is aware that the average student gets five minutes on the table at a college, so they want to work with that. 

The biggest impact will be on teachers, Howell said. Teachers will keep track of the grades and standards electronically through specialized programs created just for this. 

“There is transparency of the curriculum. Here’s what’s truly important. It has forced us to look at what we do and what we teach,” Howell said. 

Many high schools in the state have yet to start any type of evaluation of their curriculums to align with the new state mandated system, said Howell. WHS has been asked to be a model for other schools.

“We are being recognized as being leaders in this work,” Howell said. By mandate, schools must implement proficiency-based education in some form by 2020. 

Howell was also involved at the state level as one of three principals who were asked to help create the extension deadlines. Extensions were granted, however that will not stop WHS from proceeding forward. “I don’t think anyone feels like their ready, but they feel like they’re on the right track.” 

The content areas are identified as to what the standards are and the performance indicators are written. The students will have more opportunities to make up work and get ahead in classes with the new grading. It’s multi-aged schooling, which WHS is already doing, said Howell. Students will be allowed to double up in English classes or take online or adult education courses to demonstrate the mastery of certain standards. 

“They have to earn it,” said Howell of the proficiency-based diploma. 

To parents the way things are reported won’t look much different, he said. It’s how the information is collected and developed that will change. Although parents might be given more reporting on how their students is doing in relation to the standards. WHS will continue to use Infinite Campus. 

The RSU school board will hear all of the work done by Howell and his staff in the fall. “The School board should have the opportunity to discuss this publically,” said Howell. “The community should be proud of the work the teachers have done here.”

World War II Veteran presented with new cane - By Elizabeth Richards

Horace “Bud” Fogg thought he was just having breakfast with family at his favorite spot, Thayer’s Store, in Windham. When he arrived, a small crowd was gathered to watch him receive a handcrafted cane inlaid with replicas of the service medals he earned while serving in the military during World War II.
 

The cane was presented by Detective Ray Williams, and purchased by the Windham Police Association. Williams, who was the driving force behind the effort, said he has known Fogg and his family for years, and often ran into him having breakfast at Thayer’s. Last year, Fogg told Williams that he’d lost his new cane. “It became kind of a joke,” said Williams. “Whenever I was in here having coffee or breakfast he’d ask ‘did you find my cane yet?’” So Williams approached the Windham Police Association about replacing the cane. At the same time, he said, he thought it would be nice to memorialize Fogg’s military service. He found artist Shawn Hussey’s online business www.veteranshikingsticksandcanes.com, and ordered the wooden cane. 

“He has quite a distinguished service,” said Williams, including three bronze stars, a purple heart, and campaign medals for D Day. Fogg left the military as a staff sergeant. 

“It means a lot to me, because my father served in Korea, my son served in Afghanistan, I have a niece and nephew that are in the Marine Corps and the Navy – it’s part of my family, to recognize veterans. I just thought it was the least we could do for all the sacrifices he made,” said Williams.

Fogg had no idea why the crowd was gathered. His enthusiastic exclamations when presented with the new cane spoke volumes, though he declined to say a few words to the crowd. When asked how receiving the gift felt, he answered, “It feels great. I feel like the president!” 

Fogg’s daughter, Mary, was present for the event. She said her father is a man of few words, but he takes everything to heart. “He loves everybody here. That’s how he moves through the world. He loves everybody, and everybody loves him,” she said.

Gardening with Dave Nadeau at the Community Garden, Windham - By Michelle Libby

Dave Nadeau is well into his third crop of vegetables from his plot at the Windham Community Garden located on Route 202 near the public safety building. For three years, he has been planting tomatoes, beans, cabbage and more in his double lot garden. Nadeau is on the Windham Town Council and spent 10 years on the planning board. He’s been gardening for 10 years. 

The community garden started four years ago, and although no one thought it would take off the way it did, the garden was expanded this year due to its popularity. Each year there is a waiting list for garden plots and the garden doles them out as they become available, Nadeau said. 

The organic garden is a great place for like-minded gardeners to grow their vegetables in an enclosed area where they don’t have to worry about deer or trees blocking the sun, said Nadeau, who had a garden at his home, but once the pine trees grew too much, he needed another option. 

Nadeau likes color in his garden. “I like the color when it comes,” he said. He grows all of his plants from seed, so he knows exactly what he’ll grow. This year he’s growing white cucumbers, tomatoes in white, black and striped and different colored peppers. He does sell his plants at the beginning of the season and his reputation has grown. This year a man from “up state” bought all of the plants for his own garden that Nadeau had grown.

Being an organic garden provides challenges for Nadeau, who is an electronic engineer by trade. Solving problems is his forte, he said. He uses the compost provided by the garden and he uses neem oil as a spray and surround to keep the bugs down.

“It’s a big bug fight down here and has always been. I spend a lot of time picking them off,” Nadeau said. “Give me a problem and I’ll give you a few solutions.” 

To help his squash crop, he wraps the bottom of the plant with aluminum foil so the bugs can’t bore into the root. For cut worms, Nadeau buys Styrofoam pipe insulation and cuts it into five inch strips and plants the tomatoes with the Styrofoam wrapped around the stem.

“The Internet is a wonderful tool for finding all these little tips,” he said.  

Nadeau also has some tricks to help his produce grow. He has homemade miniature hoop houses for some of his plants and for his beans he made a large box with a cover to insulate them and keep the bugs out. On Tuesday, he removed the box to get ready for beans. 

He’s been harvesting cabbage, Swiss chard and broccoli. When he plants he uses trellises and other tricks to make harvesting easier on his back. 

“This year has been awesome,” he said of the growing season. He spends almost two hours of his mornings at the garden harvesting, weeding and killing bugs, he said. He also visits with the other gardeners. 

 

His favorite thing to grow is tomatoes. “I like tomatoes. The different variety of tomatoes,” he said. He’ll use the white tomatoes to make a white tomato sauce with other ingredients from his garden, he said. 

This year Nadeau is looking for a good sour pickle recipe. He freezes and pickles a lot of the extra produce.  

“You don’t need a whole lot of space for a whole lot of food,” said Marge Govoni, Nadeau’s wife, who spends her mornings helping in the garden watering and weeding. Govoni was one of the initial members who petitioned the town for the garden.  

For new gardeners, Nadeau recommends beginning with growing beans, Swiss chard and tomatoes.

Looking to start gardening at the Windham Community Garden? Find them on Facebook or on the website www.windhamcommunitygarden.org.