Town of Raymond looks to use same program as Camp Hinds to develop town property

The Town of Raymond found out on Tuesday that the plan they had for a community and recreation park was not going to happen because the 83-acre property off Egypt Road on Farwell Drive, which is owned by the town, is an environmental oasis for beavers, salamanders, vernal pools, fresh water streams and more.
 

“There’s always that twinge of disappointment, but we’ll take the bad and make it good,” said the project leader Danielle Loring, who works in the code enforcement office. 

The project was a large scale plan that was one of the many items the town planned to have the military housed at Camp Hinds in Raymond as a part of the Department of Defense Innovative Readiness Training Program (IRT) work on. Through the IRT, groups of military personnel will come from all over the country to work in Raymond in two week rotations. Projects will be done based on what specialty the unit that is in town that week has. Raymond is working in conjunction with Camp Hinds, a Boy Scout property, which will be housing the soldiers. 

“This is a good opportunity over the next five years to develop town-owned property,” said Loring.

The town made a quick decision last year to get approval and apply to have the IRT complete projects for the town while they were housed in the community. The selectmen approved money to do an environmental study on the Farwell site, which contains the former Raymond landfill. Other projects that were approved were to have a pole barn built for storage, a sight-distance project done at the public safety building to make the building more visible and mobility for the trucks entering and exiting, dredging of fire ponds, and erecting a tower for public safety communications. “The town already had a need,” said Loring. “This is a huge savings. We pay for engineering and materials.” 

Although the recreation park won’t happen the estimated costs were that it would have only cost around $782,000 compared to the estimated $4.3 million to do it on their own without the military help and in-kind donations.

When asked about a plan B for the field project, Loring and town manager Don Willard admitted that they didn’t have anything concrete, however they are now looking at the fields on Mill Street and land on Patricia Avenue for possible development.    

Mill Street fields

“It was a bit of a surprise. It’s unfortunate,” said Willard. “But, not wholly unexpected.” 

Loring will present the findings of the environmental report at the May 13 selectmen meeting. “We will look to reevaluate projects that were put aside or conservation efforts,” she said. “We are taking the news and making it positive.” Loring hopes to make the area a conservation area with hiking trails and a place where people can go to see wildlife, though no plans have been made at this point. 

 

“It would have been an important community debate,” Willard said. He mentioned that the landfill has monitoring wells and there hasn’t been any trouble on the Farwell Drive property. “From a natural environment standpoint, it’s working.” That property has begun healing itself and the wildlife is thriving there.

“Danielle should be praised and congratulated to have gone forward,” said Willard. To have coordinated all of this in six months is laudable, Willard said. “Government is not known for going quickly,” he said. Everyone from staff, engineers and town officials should be congratulated, he added. 

Willard hopes that someone will step forward and donate property to the town for a recreation field like the one that was planned.

Longtime area resident shares experiences in letters - By Elizabeth Richards

Fred Collins, 88, has many stories to tell, and often shares them through letters to the editor in The Windham Eagle. Collins is committed to keeping history alive by sharing his recollections and insights.

Collins was born in 1926. When he was four years old, he was given up for adoption due to family health issues and financial concerns. He became a ward of the town, and lived with the Libby family on a small farm in Windham. Everyone was expected to work, and since there wasn’t much a small child of four could do, it became his job to keep the wood box for the old iron stove full. Collins said he likes to remember these times, to help keep everything in perspective. 

As a child, Collins attended the one-room Friends School and Church at the Friends Church. In 1938, when Collins was 12, he joined the Boy Scouts, an organization that would remain important to him throughout his life. Now in his 75^th year in scouting, Collins has been a scoutmaster and was awarded the Silver Beaver Award for distinguished service to the Boy Scouts of America in December of 2000. 

Collins said that his involvement with Scouting has been a highlight in his life, bringing many benefits.

The skills he learned earning his swimming lifesaving merit badge were put to use when he was just 13. He was at a Sunday School picnic by the Pleasant River when a girl on the outing got swept to the other side of the river by the current. He went in after her, and after a tough start, was able to bring her to safety. He then saved another girl who had come in to try and assist him and also been caught up in the current. “That was a highlight of a life, saving somebody’s life,” said Collins. “You do a good turn, it will return to you,” he said. He said he uses that experience often when he talks with Scouts, to show that everything they do in Scouts will be useful someday.

Collins was just sixteen years old when he was drafted into the military during World War II. In moving from Westbrook to Windham as a young child, his records had been lost and when he went to school two years had been added to his age. He was sent to get a birth certificate from a gentleman in Westbrook, who asked him how old he was. When he said his records showed he was eighteen, the man asked him if he was sure he wanted to be 18. Collins said, “I could have changed it to 16 and finished high school, but I figured if they need me in the service, I’ll go.” 

Collins joined the Marines and was sent to Iwo Jima. His Scout training served him well once again, and he saved a man who had a gaping chest wound by using large safety pins from the machine gun bandoliers to pin the wound together, then carrying the man to the sick bay tents. As they moved to the tent, he said, he told the soldier in front not to change his stride. With each step they took, a bullet was going right between the legs of the man in front. Collins said telling these stories means a lot to the kids he speaks to. 

“You can hear all kinds of stories, but if you’ve got somebody that was there, it means a lot more,” he said. Collins is one of many WWII veterans featured in “Neighborhood Heroes: Life Lessons from Maine’s Greatest Generation,” by 18-year-old Westbrook High School student Morgan Rielly. The book will be released in early June.

After being discharged from the Marines in 1946, Collins returned to Windham and finished high school. He married his wife, Geneva, in 1949. In 1950, Collins was called back into military service to fight in the Korean War. When he returned, he briefly considered a restaurant career, but instead ended up at SD Warren paper mill, where he worked for 23 years.

At the same time, he began a home painting business, which he operated for 55 years. When his wife inherited some property in Westbrook, the Collins decided to open a small nursing facility. They put an addition onto the old farm, and opened Rocky Hill Manor, which they ran for 25 years. It was here that Collins was able to indulge his longtime interest in cooking. The residents became his family, since he didn’t really have any, he said. 

Collins had a memory from when he was very young of attending a party with a large group of people. He often wondered about that memory, he said, and when he was in his late 60s, he discovered the truth. He did indeed have some family, including a half brother he had never known about, and had gone to visit them as a young child. After the family located him, Collins attended a large reunion in Sanford, and continued to spend time with his half brother afterwards. “I found a family,” he said. “That was good.” 

Collins and his wife had a big family of their own. They raised six children, and have numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren. After having five bypasses over 13 years ago, he said he is pleased that modern medicine has been able to give him these years to see his grandchildren and their accomplishments in life. Collins said he feels he’s been very fortunate in his life, despite the difficulties he faced. “I think I have an angel on my shoulder. I’ve had some close calls,” he said. “You can’t take all the time,” he added. “It doesn’t hurt to give. Sometimes it’s good.”

These days, Collins spends a lot of time at the desk in a little room in his house. He does his writing on a typewriter, and the walls are filled with photographs and mementos. “This is my life,” he said. He has filing cabinets full of writing, from poetry to stories and articles he’s written for the Iwo Jima Survivors Journal based in Connecticut. 

The room overlooks a large garden where he can watch the birds at birdfeeders. He said he also enjoys mowing the large lawn that surrounds the property. Collins said he doesn’t sleep much, thinking about what’s going on in the world. He leaves a pad of paper beside his bed to capture inspiration when it comes to him. “I have a great feeling for the constitution and trying to keep America on track. In a subtle way, I like to put that on paper,” Collins said.

Local man encourages people to go bald for children's cancer fundraising event - By Michelle Libby

Dan Jackson hasn’t had any direct personal experiences with childhood cancer, but he felt the need to be involved in doing something for others and felt called by the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. 
 

Once a year people volunteer to have their head shaved, called a shavee, or donate to someone who has volunteered or donate outright to support the foundation that looks to close the funding gap for the treatment of childhood “kid” cancers. Since 2005, St. Baldrick’s has awarded more than $127 million to support lifesaving research, making the Foundation the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants.

Jackson said that through his work as a special education teacher at RSU14, he has had two of his students pass away from cancer. 

There are four St. Baldrick’s events scheduled around Maine. One of them in May is in Orono, Jackson said. 

University of Maine sophomore Andrew Tyler is a shavee for the first time this year. “Being that it is Maine Day at UMaine which it is a day of volunteering and giving back, I am shaving my head to stand in solidarity with all those with cancer and raising money for childhood cancer research,” he said.

At the southern Maine event on June 1, at Jimmy the Greeks in South Portland, there will be professional licensed hair stylists standing by to do the shaving. Melissa Carlberg from Escape Hair in Windham is one of the shavers. 

“We’ve invited over 1,000 people and 20 have confirmed they will be there,” said Jackson. Six people have agreed to have their heads shaved. 

“It’s a great case of something unique and different,” he said. There will also be raffles for those in attendance. It’s not only shavees who will be at Jimmy the Greeks on June first, but others who want to donate, support, or to observe the fun. 

 

“We are looking for individuals and teams to get excited about shaving their heads and helping to Conquer Kids' Cancer! Getting started couldn't be easier. Register as an individual or start a team with your co-workers, family, friends or neighbors. Got a competitive side? Fundraise against your boss, in-laws or softball rivals to see who can raise the most money in donations. Prizes will be awarded to top fundraising individuals and teams at the event.

Jackson said his tentative goal is to raise $10,000 with $1,000 of that coming from him personally, but he said he’d be happy with whatever the event can raise. “People are very supportive,” he said.

To donate to the event or a specific shavee, visit www.stbaldricks.org and find the community tab and then click event, type in Maine and find Jimmy the Greeks 2014.

Participants will receive a t-shirt and the satisfaction of knowing they made a difference.

Worldwide a child is diagnosed with cancer every three minutes, and one in five children diagnosed in the U.S. will not survive. With only 4 percent of all federal cancer research funding dedicated to pediatric cancer research, St. Baldrick’s Foundation volunteers, supporters and donors are needed to continue the battle against this devastating disease.

Volunteers are needed and can contact Jackson at jacksoda70@gmail.com. The event also has a Facebook page under Greater Portland St. Baldrick’s.

Facts about childhood cancers from St. Baldrick’s website 

-         Childhood cancers are not related to lifestyle factors, and little can be done to prevent them.

-         Some cancers almost never strike after the age of 5; others occur most often in teenagers.

-         Even when kids get cancers that adults get—like lymphoma—they must be treated differently. Children are not simply smaller adults!

-         Many adult cancers can be diagnosed early. In 80 percent of kids, cancer has already spread to other areas of the body by the time it is diagnosed.

-         There are over a dozen types of childhood cancers, and countless subtypes, making it more challenging for researchers to find cures for every kid.

Windham author Russell Warnberg writes about murder and mayhem - By Michelle Libby

One day Russell Warnberg woke up and said he was going to learn to use his computer. What he wrote that day was the opening paragraph to his first novel. 
 

For five months he wrote every day. When he was finished, he submitted it, like so many other aspiring authors. “I never expected it to happen. It was just something ot leave for my grandchildren,” Warnberg said. However, he was offered a contract for his first book “Edge of Redemption.” On March 20^th his latest novel was released, “The Chalk Line Killer,” published by Fountain Blue Publishing. He is now working on his fourth book, which is set in Windham.

His books are murder mysteries most of which are centered in Maine. His detectives, like Cole Sullivan his lead character, are “really good guys,” he said. They have normal backgrounds. They just deal with serial killers. 

 Warnberg has lived in Windham for 35 years and spent 11 years teaching at Windham Christian Academy. Originally from Minnesota, he moved to Maine after getting is first job in Lewiston in 1970.

His time now is spent in his man cave surrounded by a TV, microwave, “Everything I need to be content with and my computer on my lap,” he said. “I read a lot. I think I could write one,” he told himself when he first began. 

“You have to be constant. You have to write every day at least one sentence,” Warnberg said. He averaged 500 to 1,000 words each day, so he completes his novels in four or five months. 

“You have to have some kind of goal,” he said. 

His goal is to write 10 novels before “it’s all over” and he turns 70. He is 66 presently. 

He has started work on his fourth novel at take-off of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four, a Novel. “It’s not going to be pretty,” he said. 

Warnberg’s books can be found online in paperback, hard cover and ebook. He also has a website www.russellwarnberg.com.