Veteran's honor those present and those who have passed - By Rob McClure

G.K. Chesterton once wrote: "Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die." A fitting quote on a day set aside to honor the sacrifice and commitment routinely asked of our troops.
 

Monday, Nov 11^th, two local veteran organizations, VFW Post 10643 and American Legion Post 148 of Windham, hosted a Veterans Honoring Veterans Program at the Windham Veterans Center. The event was billed as a gathering of both local veterans as well as the general public, who were invited to attend as an opportunity to honor those who are serving and for those who have served in defense of our Country. 

 

Veterans and the public were welcomed as Boy Scout Troop 805 members presented colors, which was quickly followed by a wonderful rendition of the National Anthem by the Windham Chamber Singers. The introduction was followed by a heartfelt thanks to all the troops who had just been deployed to provide relief in the Philippines. 

The crowd of nearly 300 people filled the room to capacity. All five branches of the US military were represented: Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard, all in neatly pressed full dress uniforms, garnished with ribbons and medals. Patriotism was running high. Throughout the event, several speakers were overcome with emotion.

Commander Roger Timmons presented awards to this year’s winners of the Patriot’s Pen Essay. Each winner received a cash award and personally recited their work to the audience. The winners were: Payton White, Holden Anderson, Megan Joy and Lauren Clark. Anne Libby, a senior at Windham High School, won the Voice of Democracy contest. 

Seated at the main table as honored guests were Senator Gary Plummer, Representative Jane Pringle, Representative Thomas Tyler, councilor Dennis Welch, councilor David Nadeau and General William Begert.

Keynote speaker General Bergert, never talked about his credentials, but he flew more than 300 combat missions over Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos during the Vietnam War. He has logged more than 875 hours of combat earning him two Legion of Merit medals, two Distinguished Flying Cross medals and twelve Air medals. 

Bergert praised and thanked the members of our armed forces as he spoke about each conflict beginning with the First World War. “During those times, our soldiers had no idea when they would return home. They weren’t signing up for six months, not even a one or two year tour, they were committed until victory,” said Bergert. “Look at what our troops are doing today, at this moment. Providing relief, food and medicine to the Philippines. These humanitarian actions are happening today because of our troops readiness. The Philippine people may not have another week.” Bergert ended on a note that troop readiness must not be overlooked or taken for granted.

The Windham Chamber Singers performed another song which was followed by the Chaplains final prayer. The program ended on a gracious note as the crowd was led outside to the Memorial Garden to dedicate the ashes of deceased veterans Ralph Johnson and Barry Lombard. The outside ceremony included a granite bench dedication in memory of veteran Harold Lewis. Finally, the ceremonies concluded with a memorial garden stone dedication to MIA/POWs and Scout Dean Preston’s rendition of Taps played on his trumpet. Guests were invited back in for closing refreshments, courtesy of Dinah Aldrich.

… And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.

O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Lowest voter turnout in recent years - By Michelle Libby

 Chapman, Muir and Moore join council

 Colby and Fleck represent RSU14

On Tuesday, 17 percent of Windham voters cast their ballots for three town council seats and two seats on the RSU 14 school board. The only person re-elected was town clerk Linda Morrell, who ran unopposed and has held her position for 12 and a half years. This was her seventh time on the ballot.  

 

Town council south district race, Donna Chapman beat incumbent Kevin Call by 56 votes. Robert Muir beat incumbent Peter Anania by a wide margin for the at-large seat and Roy Moore who ran unopposed took his seat. 

In the RSU 14 school board race where two candidates were elected, Jennifer Fleck had 1,042 votes, Eric Colby had 1,010 and Pete Heanssler had 768. Fleck and Colby were sworn in on Wednesday night at the school board meeting. 

Windham voters approved all bond issues except for question 4, which asked about funds for a public-private partnership for a building project for a new science facility at the Maine Maritime Academy. Raymond’s 633 voters approved all of the bond issues, which is how the state voted as well. All bond issues passed. 

In Windham, the voter turnout was the lowest in years with the election in November 2007 coming close with 2,500 voters. Although, Morrell said that “it was steady all day. There was always a handful or more voting.”

Chapman, Moore and Muir will be sworn in on November 12 at the town council meeting.

For the love of animals and the job - By Jim Beers (updated)

For all animal and pet owners, their animals are viewed like children of the family. Losing one or having one harmed is the worst possible scenario. Luckily for Windham residents, they have a caring, dedicated animal control officer, or ACO. Joe Payton, a 22-year-old Casco resident, is relishing the challenge his job brings. "I have two loves,” Payton said, “animals and law enforcement, so this position is a perfect match for me. I have a lot of time invested in both." 

On the job for two years now, Payton first fell in love with this field as a vet-tech. Doing that for three years gave him the experience to go after a job like this, he said. "In those three years I fell in love with the welfare of animals and wanted to make a difference with them going forward," he said. Working out of Windham's Police Department at 8 School Rd. in Windham, Payton is the lone animal control officer for the town. Although his schedule says 40 hours a week, he routinely goes way over that mark. In 2012, Windham's animal control office handled 833 calls. Payton rotates his work weeks throughout the year, Monday thru Friday, then Tuesday thru Saturday. Off-duty officers will take calls and make reports for Payton on his days off. "It can be time consuming,” he said, “some calls are informational, some go unfounded, but the majority of the time I have a chance to make a difference with an animal."

Payton's busiest time of the year is in the summer. "There are just more animals and pets out in the summer,” he said. “Vacation people, summer homes, state parks, campgrounds...nicer weather in general." He has to be extra vigilant in the summer months as it is a dangerous time for animals and pets. Payton sees more calls in these months, than any others. "You will see me parked in front of Walmart, Hannafords and Shaws stores in the summertime so that I am visible and it will keep the awareness constantly up,” said Payton. His number one call to deal with during the summer is still animals locked in cars with the windows either not rolled down at all, or not enough. "Every year it's the biggest problem," Payton said. So much so, he has printed notices that go on every store door in Windham, to remind people of the danger of leaving your animals and pets in a car when the days are at their hottest.

In addition, officer Payton has many more responsibilities as Windham's ACO. With his mission clear--to protect the welfare of all animals--Payton primarily deals with domestic animals. However, he also handles farm animal calls, wild animals and assists Maine's Game Wardens when the situation calls for it. During one call where Payton was helping the Warden Service, the cable TV show North Woods Law was filming at the same time and shot many scenes with Payton in them. He's pretty confident some of those scenes will make it onto an upcoming show this season. "It was really cool to be on a call with the Game Wardens and have North Woods Law filming us," said Payton. "They were telling me these scenes would be on a future show, so that's pretty exciting."

When Payton isn't out on a call, he is constantly looking at the animal laws and understanding how they work, and how he can make them better for the Town of Windham. "The laws pretty much stay the same. The Director of Animal Welfare for the state works on clarifying the existing laws for ACO's around Maine," he said. By working with the director on improving animal control laws, for example, Maine's ACO's are able to trap feral animals that aren't indigenous to Maine, allowing Payton more power to do his job. Payton's duties range from dog licenses, animal cruelty cases, rabies tags, rabies vaccines for cats, dogs at large, stray dogs, reimbursement for damage done by dogs, damage to livestock or pets by dogs, cruelty to birds, trespassing animals to working miracles for the residents of Windham.

That brings up what Joe calls his most successful, happy ending case to date. On October 15, 2013, a Tuesday, Windham resident Laurene Dumond had two dogs go missing from her property, a beagle and a wiemaraner, who has leukemia. Luckily, the Beagle was found that night. As the week went on, animal control officer Joe Payton was called on to see if he could help. On Saturday, Payton, along with Dumond and her two young daughters, set out to find the wiemaraner, using the beagle to help track the missing dog. 

"This man walked many hours,..many miles through the woods. He went above and beyond the scope of his duty," Dumond said. Payton, with help from the beagle, tracked the wiemaraner all the way to Methodist Road in Westbrook. "It was a last chance thing,” said Payton. “We had been out there all day and were about to turn around and head back when I noticed the dog through the trees in the woods. It was the ending everyone was hoping for." Dumond was overwhelmed by Payton and his care for her animals and his job. "Honestly, he impacted my daughters in such a positive way. He remained calm even though at times we had no clue where we were. We are so thankful to have him in our town," she said.

That's the way officer Payton would have every call turn out if he could. This young man's love of animals has him in the right position to make a difference. 

"We do care about every resident's pets, he said. All animals in town are taken very seriously and we work diligently to solve problems. We make every effort to get them home." From hours spent looking and finding lost animals or pets to staying with them at the veterinary hospital after they are injured to saving them from a hot vehicle or abuse, Windham Animal Control officer Joe Payton's value to the department and town is immense. Look for him on an upcoming show of North Woods Law, he's really excited about that!