Windham History: Can you dig it? - By Walter Lunt

Utilizing shovels and smart phones, state archeologists uncover 250 year old artifacts from the site of Windham’s old province fort

Archeologist Amy Mitchell gave the sifter a stiff shake; centuries old dirt dropped through the quarter-inch screen mesh, leaving behind curious dark colored objects, mostly soil chunks and small pebbles. But then, “Hey, a button!” exclaimed Mitchell, picking up a small, round object. Fellow archeologist Megan Theriault, who had just filled the sifter, put aside her shovel and examined the tiny silver thing. She wiped away dirt which revealed a crown over two hearts in raised relief. The find drew the attention of three other archeologists working the first day of a three week dig at the Parson Smith House atop Anderson Hill on River Road in Windham. 

Later, over lunch, Theriault consulted the Internet on her smart phone. The button, it turned out, was a cuff link, English in origin, possibly dating from the mid-1600s to the mid-1700s.

 

Because the Windham site may be historic, the Maine Historic Preservation Commission is conducting an archeological study, before road construction begins on an area near the road bed. The purpose of the investigation is to learn, once and for all, the exact location of the ancient fort, which protected early settlers during the late years of the French and Indian Wars. The fort location’s possible designation as a historic site could influence how the Department of Transportation proceeds with work on widening and improving River Road.

Leith Smith, historic archeologist and project manager, said that if soil and artifact discoveries lead to well preserved fort remains, the commission will recommend that DOT further expand the survey to uncover all that can be learned about fort construction, cultural resources and its relationship with surrounding homes like the nearby Parson Smith and Anderson-Lord houses.

He said earlier digs at the site, in 1979 and again in 1981, revealed the probability, but no clear evidence, of the precise location of the fort and that one goal of the current investigation is to learn whether DOT work might negatively impact a historic site. If the current survey uncovers clear evidence of the fort’s existence within the construction area, the state would either have to re-engineer River Road around the site (an unlikely scenario) or designate the commission to closely monitor road construction. The DOT plans to lower the hill by about four feet in the area where the fort may have been situated.

In addition to the cuff link, other first day finds from the one-foot square by 20-inch deep test pits included:

 A dark colored piece of flint, probably from England and likely part of the gun flint used on flint lock rifles in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries.

Ceramic bits, known as Rockingham stock, possibly originating from New Hampshire or Vermont.

Rose head, or L-shaped nails, possibly hand-forged in the 1700s.

Archaeologists Theriault and Mitchell also identified small pieces of brick, and clay pipe stems, both from the 1800s, and both very common finds at various archaeological sites across the state. Theriault smilingly referred to the pipe stems as “cigarette butts of the age.”

Smith maintains the first-day finds at the Windham site do not necessarily confirm human activity associated with the fort. He said science cannot rule out that the artifacts were associated with mid-18^th century homes in the area.

He said a significant discovery for the 5-person team would be disturbances in the soil that indicate a line of palisade fencing, believed to have surrounded the fort. He explained that during their time at the site the small test pits will be enlarged into what he called block excavations, measuring several yards square.

Written history, especially primary source materials, can also aid archaeological digs. Smith said Parson Smith’s personal journal, a copy of which is kept by Parson Smith House owners, Donald and Elaine Dickinson, might reveal clues on the location, layout and make-up of the fort.

The Windham Eagle will continue to report on progress at the test site.

Raymond makes public properties Drug Free Safe Zones as part of the Be The Influence initiative - By Michelle Libby

Last week the Raymond Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to make nine areas in town drug free zones, which will carry harsher penalties for people selling, using or buying drugs in one of those area.

These areas were chosen as areas that are frequented by minors and will fall under the Title 30-A §3253 and Title 17-A §1101(23).

“This was part of the Be The Influence coalition. We identified town owned and town involved land to designate,” said town manager Don Willard. “We were looking for places where young people gather.”

The law about safe zones went into effect almost 10 years ago. “Schools were covered, but where else do kids hangout?” asked Sheriff Kevin Joyce from Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office. “This allows us to catch anyone in possession or selling them and charge them. In addition, it ups the ante. Don’t do it in any of these places.” If people are caught by police, whatever they would be charge with normally is elevated one level, according to Windham officer Matt Cyr, who helped Raymond with the plans to designate areas. 

Although Raymond isn’t considered to be a large area for drugs, “We’ve seen residual paraphernalia and various debris of drug use,” said Willard. 

The areas in Raymond that are now designated drug free safe zones are Crescent Beach on Webbs Mills Road, Raymond Beach and Tassel Top Park both of which are owned by the State of Maine, Sheri Gagnon Memorial Park on Mill Street, both the Raymond Elementary School and the Jordan-Small Middle School, Morgan Meadows on Egypt Road and North Raymond Road, Patricia Avenue and Farwell Drive. 

“It’s a pretty concise list,” said Joyce. “Hopefully it discourages those who violate this law from showing up and doing business. The town is trying to be preemptive. It gives us the teeth to say this is a drug free zone. They will fix the problem before it gets out of control.”  

Windham has had drug free zones and safe zones at the schools for 10 years. “It’s a deterrent absolutely,” said Cyr. “It sends a message that our community is not going to stand for that kind of thing.” 

 

Officer Cyr gave an example of what happens in a drug free safe zone. If the police catch someone dealing drugs within 1,000 feet of a school or safe zone, it’s a class D crime, but the designated safe zone will bump the crime up to a class C crime. Not only is it an arrestable offence, but the consequences are more severe. 

“We hope it will be a deterrent and be a positive influence,” Willard said. 

The signs labeling the sites as drug free zones will go up in the next few weeks.

Be The Influence coalition hosts educational forum - By Michelle Libby

Tuesday night the Be The Influence coalition, a group of community members and leaders who are working to combat drugs and alcohol use in the area, hosted a parents event discussing the dangers of drug abuse and what can be done to help those suffering from Heroin addiction. 
 

“It’s a very important conversation and we welcome you to the table,” said assistant principal at Windham High School Kelly Deveaux. 

Speakers for the night were Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce, Heather Drake and Liz Blackwell-Moore from The Opportunity Alliance, who helped begin the Be The Influence movement in Windham and Raymond.  

The coalition is made up of a large diverse group of people and is funded by a Federal grant from Drug Free Communities to spread awareness. “If we coordinate our efforts, we might make a difference,” Deveaux said. 

“I see in the jail every day the face of drugs,” said Joyce, who described heroin as the “hot button” drug. Drugs are popular because of “what’s cheap and what’s accessible”, he added. 

“The people selling heroin to our kids are coming out of Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York because they can get $80 more for a gram of heroin. They are coming up to sell poison to our people. They’re not doing heroin themselves,” Joyce said. 

We are putting the drug users in jail, but not the drug dealers, which is how law enforcement could stem the tide. It’s a matter of supply and demand. If Maine can do away with the demand, then there’s no one to sell to. 

One inmate told a story about his life, while Joyce listened in. Ten years ago he was drug free, but then he met the love of his life – no, not a woman, but heroin. 

“The one choice is your final choice,” said Joyce. “Once you use heroin – it owns you.”  

Heroin is no longer the back alley drug user with a needle in his arm. Now, it’s individuals who have had surgery, got hooked on pills and up graded to heroin for its accessibility. Drug users love the feeling it gives and always need a little better drugs and a little better high, said Joyce. 

“It’s really a public problem and it should be public enemy number one,” Joyce said. In the jail, heroin users are locked up for 28 days. They come in high and then have to detox. They are very sick and could die from the withdrawal. They do not get treatment after they are released and how the drug works in the brain, they go back to their old habits. 

One problem all of the speakers saw was the lack of beds and services for addicts who need medical care and a place to detox. Right now there are two dozen people a day who are turned away from beds in Portland. 

Blackwell-Moore told a story about a waterfall and a lake and above the waterfall is a river with schools, hospitals and a basketball court. People are coming out of those buildings and falling into the river and going over the waterfall. 

The story related to what is happening with heroin today. The net we use to catch those people is Narcan, a substance that can bring people back after an overdose. The lake is treatment and with proper treatment and follow up medical care the success rate is 80 percent, said Drake. Those who receive methadone or suboxone, very tightly controlled substances that help regulate the withdrawal symptoms, are typically the ones who are successful. There are 4,000 methadone clinics in Maine. 

“This is something we can all do, not just the police or teachers,” said Drake. Citizens can advocate for more treatment facilities, although treatment requires insurance or ability to pay out of pocket and 44,000 people do not have insurance in Maine, said Drake. People can advocate for MaineCare/ Medicare expansion and advocate for the legislation to allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe suboxone. “We can’t spend all of our time in the lake,” said Drake. 

Blackwell-Moore pointed out the research and facts that the younger a person is who tries drugs and alcohol the more likely they are to become addicted to drugs. One in four teens think that abusing prescription drugs is safer than using illegal narcotics. 

The drugs completely change the brain during a time of major brain development in teens, she said.

It was also suggested to be a patient advocate to avoid having prescription drugs left over in homes. Ask the provider, do I need this? What are the risks? Are there safer options? What if I do nothing? And what are the costs?

Parents can get unused medication out of their homes at any time with drug disposal locations, like at the Windham Police Department. 

Research shows that “young people do better when they’re connected to adults and the community.” Be a caring adult. Be someone teens can talk to. “Young people are less likely to use if they think adults disapprove of them using.” Give youth a consistent message. 

“We can all be the influence,” Blackwell-Moore said. 

The audience was broken up into small groups for discussion and then encouraged to ask questions of the professionals in the room. 

Joyce and Windham Police sergeant Bill Andrew described how heroin can look, but also said it can come in many forms like powered or chunks that look like brown clay. It is also being mixed with Fentanyl which is 100 times more potent than heroin. This is causing more overdoses and more deaths, Joyce said. 

“You have one choice and then the drug takes over your body,” Joyce repeated. “One choice.”

WHS sophomore Josh Libby earns Boy Scouting's highest achievement - By Michelle Libby

Last Sunday, Boy Scout Josh Libby of Windham celebrated something he has worked toward for 10 years – his Eagle Scout Award. Friends, family and fellow Scouts from the area joined Josh and his family, his parents Michelle and Chuck and his sister Anne, at St. Ann’s Episcopal Church for a ceremony and a reception to celebrate him achieving the highest rank in Scouting. The master of ceremony was assistant scoutmaster Paul Preston.
 

To accomplish this he and other Eagle Scouts have to complete 21 merit badges, some which involve camping out for at least 10 days or keeping track of physical fitness for 90 days. All Eagles are required to do a community service project that helps the community and they go before a board of adults to answer questions about Scouting and the completed project. 

Josh earned 43 merit badges on a variety of subjects and did a community service project in which he built a covered sandbox on the Windham Primary School playground with help from his troop and friends. 

In his speech, Josh spoke about trips he had been on, including hiking all 100 miles of the 100 mile wilderness on the Appalachian Trail, in two trips. 

A sophomore at Windham High School, Josh is in Troop 805 in Windham, which is also the same troop where his father earned his Eagle Scout award. Josh is also a member of the Order of the Arrow, the honor society of the Boy Scouts.    

Photos:

Eagle Scout Josh Libby stands with Veterans from the troop’s chartering organization who attended the ceremony on Sunday.

Eagle Scout Josh Libby stands under the covered sandbox he built as his Eagle Scout project.