On Thin Ice – rescued dog “doing fine” - Raymond, Gray, New Gloucester crews display seamless teamwork in rescue operation - By Walter Lunt

Mishka, the dog rescued from icy Notched Pond just before New Year’s, is in good condition at her home on Inlet Pond Road in Raymond.

Mishka is back to her old self.

The dog, described by first responders as a light colored lab mix, fell through thin ice on Wednesday morning, December 30 off the west shore of Notched Pond in Raymond. Officials said a neighbor was alerted by the sound of disquieting, incessant barking and was led to the pond by Mishka’s sister dog, Senga (now credited with saving Mishka’s life). There they saw Mishka, about 150 feet offshore, struggling to climb back onto the ice. A call to 911 alerted rescuers in Gray, New Gloucester and Raymond. Units from Gray, which were closest to the scene, responded first under a mutual aid agreement with Raymond. All three departments answered the call off North Raymond Road, including the Gray cold water rescue team. Fire Chief Kurt Elkanich said the first challenge was getting from the road to the pond, with emergency responders having to trudge with their gear 400-500 feet through a wooded area, then down a steep 50 foot embankment that was blanketed with snow and ice.

Captain Nick Hutchins and Lieutenant Chris Desjardins donned water rescue suits and proceeded on their bellies to the struggling dog, who was close to exhaustion. Desjardins, in the lead, said that the ice gave out under him as he neared the dog…”And I knew, I’m going swimming.” He said the dog, its energy practically spent, put up no resistance. Buoyant in his rescue “gumby” suit, Desjardins cradled the dog, limp with exhaustion, and passed her off to Hutchins, who inched his way back to safe ice.

Captain Scott Doyle of the New Gloucester rescue team then took the dog, who was docile and shaking, and began what officials described as a strenuous, treacherous climb up the icy 80 degree embankment where another rescuer took the dog to a heavy rescue vehicle. Doyle said the inside of Mishka’s ears had turned purple. Once inside the vehicle, Mishka was wrapped in jackets and blankets strewn with heating pads. Raymond chief Bruce Tupper contacted the dog’s owners, who arranged transport to the veterinary hospital in Poland.

Desjardins said he estimated the dog probably had only minutes left in the water before the operation would have been a recovery instead of a rescue.

“You hate getting calls like that one,” Chief Elkanich said, “but when it ends that way it’s very gratifying.” Doyle, of the New Gloucester department, said training and certification of cold water rescue teams really pays off, “It’s prideful for all of us. This rescue operation was more unique than most, (all the departments) came together like seamless team.”

For ice safety, it is recommended that at 3 inches of ice or less, stay off. Four inches is good for ice fishing, walking , cross country skiing. Five inches is okay for one snowmobile or ATV. At 8 to 12 inches it’s safe for a small car or pickup to be on the ice. At 12 to 15 inches, it’s okay for a medium truck. Safety first. Be safe on the ice.

Be The Influence Coalition welcomes new director - By Elizabeth Richards

The new director of Windham’s Be the Influence (BTI) Coalition is no stranger to substance abuse prevention work. With more than 15 years of experience in the field, Becky Ireland takes the reins to manage the Drug Free Communities (DFC) Grant awarded to the coalition in October.

Ireland began her career as a coordinator for a DFC grantee in NH, which gave her the foundation for DFC work. She is enthusiastic about the model, which brings many different sectors of the community together to look at their local issues and local solutions for those issues, she said. “It’s not a situation where you’ve got some outside governmental agency telling you what your community needs, it’s about your community partners coming together and talking about it,” she said.

For the past several years, Ireland has been a contractor for the state office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services. In that position, she helped develop programs to support communities across the state in addressing underage drinking.

Ireland said she’s impressed with the BTI leadership team and the work of the coalition. “It’s very strong in that the members are really engaged and are really partners, which is the true spirit of the grant program and the coalition,” said Ireland. “The staff people are really just a resource to the community to help them bring the grant alive.” 

The BTI Coalition members did a strong community needs assessment, and after looking at root causes and factors that might be contributing to substance abuse, came up with a comprehensive plan, Ireland said. The overarching goal, she said, is to establish and strengthen community collaboration in support of local efforts to prevent youth substance use.

The coalition will strive to engage members of the community from a variety of sectors in the coalition and its activities as well as to increase community and coalition members’ awareness, knowledge and skills around the root causes of teen substance abuse and evidence-based prevention efforts. “We will do this through holding community forums, public awareness and education campaigns, and training for community partners,” said Ireland

BTI will also partner with community members to address young people’s access and factors that support or contribute to the issue, such as youth perceptions about community attitudes and norms.

Finally, according to Ireland, BTI will train and support youth to be peer leaders, educators, and mentors to help increase youth awareness about substance abuse prevention and the benefits of making positive choices.

Ireland started on December 4^th. She said she’s excited by the energy that surrounds the work at the local level. She’s beginning to see people engaged in the work getting excited about the changes they are seeing, she said.

One of the things that Ireland appreciates about working in the field of substance abuse prevention is the collaboration she sees among coalitions across the state. “They understand that substance abuse isn’t an issue that’s unique to any one community,” she said.

Substance abuse prevention work needs to be comprehensive and coordinated, she said, to be sure all the issues are being addressed and there is consistent messaging across communities who are being served by DFC Coalitions. “The coalitions in the greater Portland area really have a great working relationship with each other in terms of sharing resources and finding a way that they can have some strength in numbers and efficiency by working together,” she said.

Her role as director is to support what the community wants and needs, she said. “I’m there to support them but at the end of the day it’s really going to be community driven, and it’s about what they see as the need. I’m just available as a staff person to provide some content expertise and to help make sure that we’re moving the coalition forward in our action plan and doing all I can to make sure the resources of the federal grant are used efficiently and effectively,” she said.

The Windham Eagle - December 31, 2015Front Page Stories

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The Year In Review

The Windham Eagle - December 24, 2015Front Page Stories

Fire Fighters “Light Up” Christmas for Four Families - By Michelle Libby

Windham Middle School Celebrates 12 Days of Giving - By Michelle Libby

Fundraising Initiative To Keep Windham Family Mobile - By Elizabeth Richards 

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Fire Fighters “Light Up” Christmas for Four Families - By Michelle Libby

After many hours of behind the scenes work, Windham firefighters and their families pulled out of the East Windham Fire Station with three decorated fire trucks and more emergency vehicles following behind on their way, with Santa, to drop off presents for four families, including six children.

The event was organized by Lieutenant Chip Jones, who has been doing this for the last four years. Each November he goes to local businesses to gather gas cards, gifts, food, cleaning supplies, gift cards, haircuts, money and anything else families might need. The members of the

fire department also donated to the cause. This year they were able to provide Christmas for four families.

“It was outstanding that we got so many gifts,” said Jones. “Next year we’ll go a little bigger.”

Some stores were not able to donate, but the managers pulled money out of their pocket to help the cause. Waitresses at Bucks Naked BBQ bought gifts with their own money and according to Jones, “They went way over board. There was an overwhelming response from Windham.”

On the way to visit the first family, the trucks stopped to pick up homemade cookies and treats. Then, the caravan of emergency vehicles paused to pick up two more trucks at the Windham Public Safety building before continuing on to visit the first single mother and her three children.

Each family was pre-qualified by the Windham Food Pantry. Many families can only afford to buy one gift for their children. This year these kids are going to get 15 to 20 gifts each, Jones said. “It’s pretty amazing.”

With the lights going and the sirens calling out, Santa and the fire truck procession arrived at the first house.

“The kids are going to be happy,” said mom Amanda Perrin. “It’s nice to know there are good people out there.”

“The house is full of hundreds of presents!” exclaimed Jacob, age 7.

At the second house, the mother and daughter came out to greet Santa and say thank you while the gifts were taken inside.

“I wasn’t expecting all of this at all,” said the mother, who asked not to be identified.

The third family was Stephanie Smith and her 41/2-year-old daughter, Arley, who didn’t have tree, but were assured that they would have one by Monday.

“I can’t believe we don’t even have a tree. We’ve never really sought help at Christmas. It was just really tight this year,” Smith said. 

“We got her everything on her list,” said volunteer Melissa Wing. “We get just as excited about it as they do.”

The fourth family came to meet the fire truck and volunteers at the end of their driveway. “This is more than I expected,” said mom Nicole Adams. “It’s pretty awesome. It’s not something that happens to you every day. I’ve seen other people get gifts, but nothing like this…a bunch of firefighters come to bring you gifts. It’s a real big help to me with the gifts.”

The final stop for the lighted trucks was to the home of Lisa Duncanson, whose husband worked for the fire department before his passing three years ago. Santa made a special trip to see Duncanson’s grandsons.

The Windham Fire Department would like to thank the following businesses for their donations:

Masa Sub & Grill, Gorham Windham Professional Firefighters Association Local 4095, South Windham Firehouse, North Windham Firehouse, Cyclone Hose Company, East Windham Firehouse, Latin Honor Society at Windham High School, The Nail Spa, Lee’s Auto, Benny’s Barber Shop, Molly’s Cupcakes, Buck’s Naked BBQ, Payless Shoes, Marshall’s, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Friendly’s, Hannaford, Shaw’s, Walmart, Windham Jewelers, Innovations Salon & Spa, Dena’s Lobster House and Tavern, Lowes, Applebee’s, Danielle’s Sebago Diner, Smitty’s, Heaven & Earth Day Spa, anonymous donors and family members of the Windham Fire Department.

Windham Middle School Celebrates 12 Days of Giving - By Michelle Libby

Windham Middle School’s student council organized a fun way to gather donations to help the Windham Food Pantry and Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital with their 12 days of giving drive.

The idea came from a brainstorming session with the council. “We thought about things we’ve done in primary and Manchester,” said sixth-grader Riley Parker, who came up with the name based on the 12 Days of Christmas. They wanted to use the word “giving” because some don’t celebrate Christmas, they said.

“The idea totally came from the kids,” said student council advisor Shelly Cook. “The kids really do good things.”

Each day the council asked students to bring in an item, from toiletries and baby items to animal needs and books. On the first and last day, students, who are not allowed to wear hats in school, were able to pay $1 to wear a hat. They raised almost $200, which will go to the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital.

The sixth grade donated the most items and the top two classrooms were Mrs. Cook with 231 items and then Mrs. Brown at 220 items. The top team will be awarded their choice of a pizza party, ice cream sundae party or hot chocolate party. As of press time, the class had not decided which they wanted.

“It feels really good giving back,” said seventh-grader Ashley Riley. The most successful days were collecting food, toiletries and animal items, Riley said.

“I feel all of it was important. They are things people need,” said seventh-grader Katelyn Smith. “Every year we do something to give back.”

The 12 days of giving gave the students a chance to think about others. The lesson was “It’s better to give than to receive,” said Cook.

One sixth grader and her parents made it a family project, and went shopping every day for what was next on the giving list. The mother told her daughter that “We have enough that we can give to other families,” said Cook.

The items were picked up from the middle school on Tuesday for distribution.

Fundraising Initiative To Keep Windham Family Mobile - By Elizabeth Richards

During this holiday season a Windham family has been chosen by HARK, Inc. to be the recipients of a handicapped accessible van through a fundraising initiative dubbed “Hopemobile for PALS”.

Donna York lost her father to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease), a progressive disease that attacks the nervous system, but does not impact intellectual capabilities. She started HARK in memory of her father.

Living with ALS is devastating in many ways, not the least of which is financial, York said. She started HARK to help patients and their families with the financial issues that can arise. Though vans are quite expensive, many families stretch to buy them because they don’t want to be prisoners in their homes, she said. But, they can’t recoup the costs when the van is no longer needed.

She envisioned a program where HARK would buy a van for a family, and when that family no longer needs it, the van will return to HARK to go to another family. “Everybody is different. You never know how long you have,” she said. “A van could go to four or five families over the course of ten years.”

She connected with Anthony Carbajal, a young man with ALS who has become a prominent advocate. Together, they decided to organize the fundraising campaign, with a goal of raising $30,000 for a gently used van. The campaign began on Giving Tuesday and is scheduled to end on New Year’s Day. The intent is that the “Hopemobile for pALS” initiative will be an annual event.

John and Linda Gregoire of Windham were married in 1981. After 26 years of “normal” family life, including raising two sons and all the youth activities, camping, fishing and backpacking trips that go along with that, their world was turned upside down. The Gregoires received devastating news when John was diagnosed with ALS in 2007.

An expert told John he would live a year to 18 months from the time of the diagnosis, but the family refused to accept that prognosis. John has long outlived the doctor’s expectations. “We lived like we didn’t believe him, and that has helped,” said John’s wife, Linda.

After the diagnosis, the family went to work. They have spent countless hours on advocacy and raising awareness for ALS, including starting a foundation called the Hope-JG Foundation (www.hope-jg.org). A visit to the Steve Sailing ALS/MS Residence in Chelsea, MA inspired a vision of establishing a similar residence here in Maine, so that people with advanced ALS won’t need to leave the state to get the care they require.

Officers take time out to shop for Christmas - By Michelle Libby

Five police vehicles pulled up to the front of Walmart Wednesday morning, but it wasn’t for some nefarious reason. They were there to shop for Christmas presents for children this holiday season. Armed with ages and either boy or girl, the officers set off in groups to two to shop, each group expected to spend approximately $450. 
 

Officer Gene Gallant had an early game plan. “My mindset was that the new Star Wars movie was coming out, get Star Wars stuff.” 

The officers kept track of how much they spent while getting great gifts for the children. From Legos to dress up items, camping gear to electronics, the baskets were filled with Christmas cheer.

“It’s for the kids,” said union president Jason Burke. “It’s nice when people compliment you. It’s not something we hear every day.” 

As officer Gallant wandered around Walmart, people stopped him and gave donations for a few dollars to a $100 bill. “It’s nice to give back to the community. And for those kids who won’t get anything for Christmas. On a personal level, it’s fun for us. It’s a blast. It’s really neat when people walk up to you to give you a donation,” Gallant said. Donations totally almost $200 during the time they were in the store.

One woman said that “Other people were doing it, so I said, ‘What the heck? It’s for toys. It’s the Windham Police Department.’” 

The money was raised during a yearbook fundraiser the police department does each year, where they sell ads in the book that focuses on a theme within the police department. Last year it was specialties within the department, according to Officer Jim Cook. They also receive regular donations throughout the year. 

The union also spends money on Special Olympics, DARE and occasionally a sports team that made it to play offs out of state. 

The officer who shopped were Burke, Josh Katuzny, Gallant, Ray Williams, Brandon Ladd, Matt Cyr, Cook and Sue Rogers, the administrative assistant to the police department.

Stories from Wreaths Across America touch Windham - By Michelle Libby

Monday morning five vehicles from Wreaths Across America were parked in front of Chute’s Bakery on Route 302 and it drew a lot of attention. The five drivers were on their way back to Columbia Falls to drop off the cars after a trip to Washington D.C. to place wreaths on the graves of soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. 
 

Lil Charron, an employee of Wreaths Across America, was originally from Windham and her parents are buried in Chase Cemetery, was finishing up her eighth convoy. Every year she stops on the way back from Washington to place a wreath that rode on her car on their graves. This tradition is what brought the five of them to Windham. 

Jim Johnston is formally from Raymond and now lives in Saco. The Army Veteran was asked to drive Gold Star Parents (parents who lost a child) and Blue Star Parents (who have a child serving presently) down to Washington. He agreed. 

“There’s no “nos” in Wreaths Across America,” said Charron. 

When Johnston retired from the Army, he said, “I’ve got to do something with Wreaths Across America. I was selected as a driver. It was the trip of a lifetime.” He drove four gold star parents. “Just listening to their stories is fantastic,” he added. 

Ruth Stonesifer from Ocala, Florida, a Gold Star Mother, lost her son 39 days after 9/11. Her son’s marker is at Arlington and she is a board member for Wreaths Across America.

Doug Brown from Westbrook was excited about completing his first trip with Wreaths Across America. “It was my first year, but I hope it’s not my last. It was humbling to ride with a gold star mom and aunt,” said Brown. 

Most of the Veterans and the gold and blue star families rode down on a bus. However, Chevy donated four Suburbans, three pickup trucks and one Camaro. It was the first time they had a corporate sponsor said Charron, who was tasked with finding the drivers. “That’s when I called in the troops,” she said. 

The wreaths, all from Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine, were loaded into 63 semi-trucks and shipped in convoy to Washington D.C. Truck drivers came from all over the country to drive. The lead driver was from Maine. Scott and Lorna Harris from Patton are gold star parents. The truck Scott drove was wrapped for Wreaths Across America and in his mirrors he could see a picture of his son on the side of the truck. Drivers also deliver wreaths to 1,000 other sites across the country, according to Charron. Nine hundred thousand wreaths are made and shipped. 

On December 12, 240,000 wreaths were laid at Arlington National Cemetery at each headstone where it was appropriate.

“It’s an experience with everyone going every which way. They wait a good amount of time to get a wreath or two,” said Stonesifer. “It’s wonderful energy, chaos.” 

Within three hours the entire cemetery was covered with wreaths. Seventy thousand people had volunteered to place wreaths and honor those who fought for our freedom. 

“It’s easy to pick out people associated with Wreaths Across America. While they’re placing their wreaths they are teaching their small children, reading to them. People are encouraged to spend time with each one,” said Johnston. People go home and learn about the Veteran they honored. Volunteers are also encouraged to say their Veteran’s name. 

Johnston quoted Karen Worcester, “She would talk to us every morning. ‘Every individual dies twice. Once when his heart stops beating and again when a person says your name for the very last time’.”

The mission for this year’s program was “Remember, honor and teach.” The volunteers are reminded that “Every stone has a story.” 

Nancy Buell, from Salisbury, Massachusetts, told a story about a girl who had just finished a book report on a Veteran buried at Arlington. She didn’t know the World War II Veteran, but she learned about him. “She walked right up to the stone, just walked up to it,” Buell said. They ran off to get a wreath to put on his headstone.  

“These stories happen a lot. It’s amazing,” said Buell. 

The program was started by Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine. For more, visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org or visit them on Facebook.

Photo: Lil Charron, Hunter Diffin, Jim Johnston, Ruth Stonesifer, Doug Brown and Nancy Buell stop at Chute’s on Monday for breakfast on their way home from Washington D.C.

Photo by Michelle Libby