Windham Christian Academy helps internationally through Operation Christmas Child - By Michelle Libby

Windham Christian Academy is reaching out this season to spread cheer to children in need in third world countries through Operation Christmas Child, a program run by Samaritan’s Purse an international relief organization. 
 

“It’s a collection of clothes and different hygiene things kids might want or need,” said 14-year-old Katie Willard. 

“It all starts when people decide to bless a child overseas through Operation Christmas Child. Individuals and families decide whether they will pack a shoebox for a boy or a girl and then look for gifts appropriate for a specific age range. Prayerful shoppers search for items to delight a child: A toy car or a jump rope, a slinky or a doll. They look for practical things like pencils and paper, and necessary items such as a toothbrush and toothpaste,” according to the www.samaritanspurse.org website. 

Under the direction of teacher Jackie Sands and her advisory group of freshmen, the entire school donated items to go in the 16 shoeboxes that were delivered to a church in Naples and then sent to other countries. 

 

“Sixteen boxes…16 kids are going to get a Christmas present thanks to you guys,” Sands told her class. The students that worked on the project are Katrina Terry, Tyler Homer, Jordyn Merrill, Willard, Amanda Huang, Allison McAllister and Heather Frost. 

The class was brainstorming ideas for a project they could participate in. A few of them had worked on Operation Christmas Child before through various churches. They decided this was what they wanted to do. 

Each grade was asked to bring in something for the shoe boxes. 

The third and fourth graders brought in games. “They seemed pretty into it. They were proud of what they brought in,” said Willard. The youngest students were asked to bring in personal care items. One of the parents is a dentist and sent in toothbrushes, so each box has at least one toothbrush, if not four, the students said. One grade was asked to bring in coloring utensils and the sixth grade class was asked to bring in toys and the middle school students brought in socks, hats and mittens.  

The boxes were divided up by boy or girl and then by ages from two to 14. 

“It’s really a neat program,” said Sands.

In addition to the items, the boxes cost $7 each to ship. The freshmen raised the money though fundraisers like a Zumbathon and bake sales. 

The boxes are tracked and the class can see where and when their boxes reach their destination, be it in Africa, Central America or the Dominican Republic. 

Black Friday in Windham and Raymond: Smaller crowds, personal attention, great deals - By Elizabeth Richards

It’s almost upon us, that crazy day of shopping known as Black Friday, when deals galore are offered up, but often in limited supplies, promoting panic, chaos and downright rudeness among shoppers. Windham retailers get in on the fun, but many take a slightly different approach to the day as well.
 

Bull Moose Music’s Windham store, for instance, will open at 6 a.m. on Friday, and anticipates it being a very busy day, said company representative Chris Brown. However, a lot of things will be on sale all week he said, reducing the need for the scrambling, and allowing for more personal attention for shoppers. All Black Friday specials will be available online on Thursday, and many items will be on sale into Saturday and Sunday, or go on sale earlier in the week. 

“We try to do it differently. When we are planning for Black Friday, we try to have enough to go around,” said Brown. When sales draw new customers into the store, they don’t want them to leave disappointed, he added. “If we’re going to make a deal we want everyone to be able to access that deal.”  

Black Friday deals will include CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray videos and video games at 50 percent or more off, said Brown. Black Friday Record Store Day offers limited release recordings on vinyl starting at 8 a.m. These items are a big part of the excitement, Brown said, giving music fans the opportunity to find unique things, or collect something they really love.

Brown said that the retail area on Route 302 offers an option away from the crowds of the mall. “It’s nice to have that regional shopping area, and we’re happy to be a part of it,” he said. 

For Veronica Meyer, owner of Essentials in Raymond which carries a variety of local and New England handcrafted gift items including jewelry, Christmas ornaments, puzzles, and jams as well as children’s toys, Webkins and more, Black Friday is business as usual. Having only been open since May, this is her first experience with the busiest shopping day of the year. She said she anticipates the focus will be on the busier mall area, but added that it would be nice to have people stop in on their way back to find unique gifts with personal attention.

She offers more personalized attention at the store than customers will find at the mall, said Meyer. For instance, all purchases are presented in a nice bag with tissue paper, ready to give as a gift. Holiday bags will also be available at no extra charge, she said. 

Meyer isn’t planning to offer any special black Friday deals, but customers will receive a coupon for $5 off their next purchase of $20 or more. She said she hopes that local shoppers will realize that she has a lot of more unique gifts with a little extra special service to offer.   She also encourages people to support local businesses and avoid the crowds by shopping locally.

Essentials will be open Monday through Saturday after Thanksgiving, and will offer some special events such as a men’s night and a holiday open house, throughout the season. 

Bob Mills at Mills & Company in Windham said that Black Friday is a good day for them, but not great. Small Business Saturday, he said, is much better for them. 

While the store will open at 9 a.m. on Friday, an hour earlier than usual, and close an hour later on Saturday, at 7 p.m. instead of 6, they don’t play into the hype of cut-rate prices and crazy deals. They have a rule about non-vendor sponsored sales, Mills said. “When we lower the price on something at Mills & Co we do not raise it again.”  

They don’t raise their prices in order to lower them, as many large retailers do, he said. He gives a few reasons for this policy, including time, the expectation that the merchandise will sell at the price it’s marked at, and the fact that they want customers to be able to shop when they want. 

“If we were to put fictitious prices on our merchandise to give our customers a false sense of saving then it would undermine our customers’ confidence in us,” he said.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t some deals to be found at Mills & Co. Their regular prices are often lower than suggested retail to begin, and for the weekend after Thanksgiving Wusthof Cutlery has some allowed sale prices, like the Gourmet Style 18 piece block set. Regularly sold at Mills & Co. for $299.99, this set will be $199.99 for the weekend. The 8-piece stainless steel Steak Knife box set also has a special weekend price. Mills & Co. regularly marks it at $79.99, but this weekend, the price is $49.99. Oxo has also come out with some cookware, and Mills said they have value priced these frying pans to start at $19.99. These prices will remain the same as long as the items are carried he said.

The fastest selling items in the store currently, Mills said, are alternative down comforters and blankets. “Our prices are very good on both items, much less than anywhere I have seen,” he said.

The Hometown Sears store, operated by Robert Yates, is offering all the deals made available by Sears for the weekend, without the need to travel for them. “We are loaded and ready to welcome all our local friends,” he said. “No need to drive, as you can buy it in Windham without the hassle of going to one of the mega malls.”  

The store will open at 12:01 a.m. on Black Friday, and stay open until 7 p.m. Saturdays hours will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday they will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Almost everything is on sale, Yates said, and there are many early specials that end at 1 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

42nd Street tap dances onto the stage at WHS - By Michelle Libby

In a major undertaking, the cast and crew from Windham High School under the direction of Rob Juergens, hits the ball out of the park with a musical that keeps toes tapping and Broadway songs on the lips for days. 

 

Two years ago it was announced that WHS would be doing 42^nd Street in order to give people who wanted to audition the chance to take tap dancing lessons. And over the last two weeks, the show came together with lights, sets and costumes. On opening night, the curtain went up on actors who were confident, bold and ready to dance for almost two hours straight. 

The story of 42^nd Street is described as a play within a play and is that of fresh-faced Peggy Sawyer (Emily Gagne) just off the bus from Allentown, Pennsylvania. Her nerves make her miss the audition for the 1933 show Pretty Lady directed by famous Broadway producer Julian Marsh (Jake Nobel).

Star Dorothy Brock (Jennifer Bernier) is asked to audition for the role, but bringing new meaning to the word diva, Brock is outraged at the insinuation that she can’t handle the role. Meanwhile, Peggy meets up with some of the “hoofers” and shows her dance moves to them. When Julian asks for one more dancer, Peggy is right there to accept the offer. 

Some drama with Dorothy Brock takes place between her old boyfriend Pat Denning and her “sugar Daddy” Abner Dillon. 

On opening night, someone bumps Peggy who trips and crashes into Dorothy, knocking her to the stage. Julian fires Peggy on the spot and cancels the rest of the show.

Dorothy's ankle is broken, and the show may close. The girls in the chorus tell Julian that Peggy Sawyer can fill the lead role, so he runs to the train station to stop her from returning to Allentown. He convinces her with a little song called “Lullaby of Broadway”. 

The rest of the story…is on the stage at the Windham Performing Arts Center this weekend only.

The cast was amazing and versatile, playing different parts in different shows. 

Senior Emily Gagne as Peggy Sawyer played the New York newbie with wide eyed optimism of someone who has the talent to be that one in a million that goes from nobody to star in the blink of an eye. Gagne indeed went from the chorus to Broadway star on the stage at WHS. Her tap dancing showed the amount of work she put into the show, looking flawless to the untrained eye.   

Jake Noble as Julian Marsh was convincing as a seasoned producer in his sharp business suit and dapper hairstyle. 

Dorothy Brock was played by senior Jennifer Bernier, who amazed the audience with her clear voice and considerable talent as an actress. I wanted to root for her as much as I wanted to give Peggy Sawyer a chance at stardom. 

Other standouts were Andrew Shepard at Bert Barry, Ali Wintle as “All the way Annie”, Jackie Gleason-Boure as Maggie Jones and Andrew Cooper and Ellie Joseph as Andy Lee. 

Behind the scenes were a crew of 20, costumers helping with the more than 300 costumes and numerous changes as well as a pit band of 12.

The music was amazing and had me checking the program to see who was the outstanding trumpeter. Under the direction of Richard Nickerson, the pit band drove the show from before the curtain went up until the curtain call. The pit included Sandy Barry on the sax and clarinet, Randy Crockett with trombone, Gabe Curtisbrown doing percussion, Kris Dow playing French horn, Cora Dykens on the clarinet, Scott Gordan wows on the trumpet, Daniel Juergens on drums, Seth Martin handles bass, Margaret McGovern on violin, Betty McIntyre on piano and David Young on guitar. 

If you like musicals, dancing and amazing singing, this is the show not to miss. 

The show closes after this weekend. See it Friday and Saturday, November 21 and 22 at 7 p.m, and Sunday, November 16 at 4 p.m, at the Windham Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $12 for adults, $8 for children and seniors. Call 893-1742 for reservations or email fallmusical@gmail.com. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

Residents create a community vision in first of two forums - By Michelle Libby

Approximately 50 people attended the first of two forums to help provide vision and a direction for the Town of Windham last Thursday night at Manchester School. 
 

“After the charter, the comprehensive plan is the second most important document a town can have,” said town planner Ben Smith. With a population of 17,000, Windham’s growth is slowing, but it’s still going up. By the year 2020 it is estimated that there will be over 19,000 people living in Windham. 

The night was about getting ideas out on the table of what Windham needs and things Windhamites want to protect through four worksheet exercises in small random groups.

Knowing where the town has been is important to know where it should go. 

From the last census there has been a population age shift, but not a lot of movement in or out of the community. The growth has been of the 20- to 40-year-olds who are in the “family mode”. Children under 10 also grew in numbers. Single family homes dominate. 

“Housing is just like before, but more so,” said Smith. In 2000, about 20 percent of the town’s valuation was commercial and industrial. Today it’s about 16 percent, according to census information. 

The top five jobs in Windham are in retail, restaurant and hotel, healthcare, public administration (corrections) and manufacturing.  

Windham can not control global impacts, but it can control future housing and commercial building. “We’re starting with a blank slate,” Smith said. 

The information gathered at this vision forum and the one on Saturday, November 22 will be sent to the review team and was held to give the community the opportunity to tell the committee what they think. The purpose isn’t to answer questions, Smith said. “I was surprised at how many people I know here,” said resident Michelle Jordan. “It’s rewarding to feel like you’re part of the process.” She also liked that the mixed groups gave new insight to the various demographics that Windham serves, from the elderly to the working family. 

The plan is scheduled to be completed by early 2017. Before then there will be many opportunities for the community to weigh in with their opinions, said Smith. In a year, all of the information gathered to that point will brought together and the top 20 issues will be presented at community forums and the top five or 10 things to focus on will be discussed. After that it must go through the town council and their vetting process, he added. 

Mark Eyerman from Planning Decisions in Portland acted as the moderator for the evening. The attendees were broken into small groups, each with a facilitator from the review committee. “We listen to what the community has to say and take that under advisement. It’s up to the review team. There will be other opportunities to talk,” said Eyerman, in response to a resident who wanted to know how the information gathered would be used. 

After the first exercise, Shaun Morrison, facilitator for one table, told them, “In 20 minutes a group of seven is not going to solve everything.”

Top issues at this forum, which will be checked against the one on Saturday, were that people liked the schools and educational system, the rural feel, the convenience and accessibility (close to Portland, but not Portland), access to recreation and the opportunities for an active lifestyle, and community spirit and involvement.

Things to improve or change are infrastructure issues, business issues including filling vacant stores, community center, traffic/congestion/curb cuts, library services, protect farms and open space and recreational facilities. 

“It’s similar to 10 years ago. People have the same concerns,” said David Tobin, who has been involved in four comprehensive plans over the years. “Small town feel, rural, how to get through North Windham in the summer. In our group, everyone participated. Everyone had their oar in the water.” 

There is still time to be involved in this first step. The Community Vision Forum will be held on Saturday, November 22 from 9 a.m. to noon in the Town Hall gym. Be heard!