Oxford Hills, together with the remaining of the world, began to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022 as virus vaccine eligibility became more widespread and coverings developed to adequately treat the disease. But Maine School Administrative District 17 entered the yr rocked by scandal, misconduct, external and internal investigations and cratering morale inside months of hiring a latest superintendent, Monica Henson, who had spent most of her profession overseeing charter and institutional schools within the southeast.
Elsewhere, annual traditions and events continued to comeback after the pandemic, giving groups and individuals of all ages welcome reasons to once more gather and have fun.
The Harrison Food Bank continued to expand its services to families throughout the region, becoming the biggest food pantry in Maine and securing a $388,000 to assist the organization meet its increasing demand.
Below are a number of the people and events that made headlines across the region.
January
As Oxford Hills students returned to class following Christmas break, many went right back out into quarantine as reported cases of COVID 19 in schools approached 200 cases.
School Administrative District 17 Superintendent Monica Henson, standing at left, and faculty board Chairwoman Natalie Andrews of West Paris, standing at right, take heed to a district resident asking about rules for public comments through the board meeting in Paris. Nicole Carter/Advertiser Democrat
Maine School Administrative District 17 spun into chaos when the Oxford Hills Education Association presented a listing of 27 complaints against Superintendent Monica Henson together with a no confidence vote through the school board’s Jan. 18 meeting. Several educators accused Henson of improperly restraining a student, covering up her actions and embarking on a months-long intimidation and retaliation campaign against employees at Agnes Gray Elementary School in West Paris.
After Henson’s actions and the depths she went to maintain the situation quiet were exposed, the kid’s parent, Agnes Gray staff who witnessed the assault and SAD 17’s school board filed complaints with Oxford County Sheriffs Department and Maine Department of Health and Human Services, leading to criminal and child abuse investigations. Henson was placed on paid administrative leave and the district’s chief curriculum officer Heather Manchester was appointed motion superintendent.
February
Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School Principal Ted Moccia announced that he would retire at the top of the 2021-22 school yr. Moccia began his Oxford Hills profession in 1990 as a teacher and coach. He was recruited to fill a vacant assistant principal post in 1998 and have become principal of the highschool in 2005. Moccia and his wife Susan, also an Oxford Hills educator, would relocate to South Carolina.
OHCHS’ future Principal Paul Bickford (left) and retiring Principal Ted Moccia at SAD 17’s Central Office. Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat
When a solar energy developer was in a position to put through plans to create a 20-acre solar farm holding 15,000 panels in 2021, Otisfield voters voted for a six-month moratorium on them. The moratorium would allow the town’s planning board to create a town-wide ordinance that future developers would wish to comply with.
The Norway Snowshoe Festival, canceled in 2021 on account of COVID-19, returned to Oxford Hills. The festival was began in 2010 to honor Norway’s heritage because the snowshoe capital of the world. Snowshoe manufacturing was an important a part of the community’s economy between 1873 and 1985.
Oxford Hills Technical School graphic design instructor Virginia Valdez, left, and senior Lucy Tardiff of Otisfield, discuss Tardiff’s Tech Challenge T-shirt design and her award-winning drawing a couple of teen coming of age in a pandemic. Nicole Carter/Advertiser Democrat
Oxford Hills Tech School senior Lucy Tardiff was considered one of 25 winners of the Latest York Times annual student cartoon contest in February, depicting emotional chaos that students faced attempting to get through pandemic times. Tardiff’s drawing was amongst 4,000 entries to the competition.
March
Following release of the feature film The Tender Bar, Oxford Hills native and alumnus Matt Delamater sat with the Advertiser Democrat to discuss local roll models who impacted his alternative to turn out to be a stage and screen actor, the novelty of auditioning for roles through Zoom through the pandemic, and dealing alongside Oscar winners like George Clooney and Ben Affleck.
Matt Delamater, actor and Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School alum, relaxes beside the Little Androscoggin River at Café Nomad in Norway as he talks about appearing within the George Clooney-directed film “The Tender Bar” with Ben Affleck. Nicole Carter/Advertiser Democrat
Two years after COVID-19 swept through Maine, closing schools for months and forcing students to adapt to learning through public health mandates, SAD 17 school board directors unanimously approved a change in policy from mandatory masking in district buildings to optional, a move received like a breath of fresh air by 4,000 students and faculty employees.
The Oxford Hills community got here together and to the rescue of an elderly Norway couple were struggling through winter with health problems, no heat and no hot water of their water-damaged house. Danielle Wadsworth mobilized people and native businesses to scrub, repair and restore the house so the couple could safely return and live with independence and security. The incident led Wadsworth to launch “Hope for Humanity,” a community non-profit dedicated to helping neighbors in need.
Kathleen and Richard Judkins admire their latest kitchen in Norway on Wednesday, seeing it for the primary time since March. Danielle Wadsworth organized an area army of volunteers through Facebook to scrub and repair the home, which had fallen into disrepair over time. Latest flooring, appliances, a furnace, electrical work, painting, trash hauling, driveway repair and more were provided by the volunteers in three weeks. Wadsworth is organising a non-profit, Hope for Humanity, to assist other members of the community. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal
Ethan Rioux-Poulios of Woodstock was arrested March 4 on multiple charges after he caused several accidents during a police chase through 4 Oxford Hills towns. The driving force of 1 vehicle Rioux-Poulios smashed into was hospitalized with critical injuries. Rioux-Poulios was on probation on the time of the chase for a 2019 manslaughter conviction after he killed a driver in West Paris while fleeing Oxford County Sheriffs Office deputies. Information gathered through the investigation resulted in several other people being arrested for drug crimes.
One in every of three agencies investigating former Oxford Hills Superintendent Monica Henson for physically abusing a minor student, the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office, sent its accomplished report back to Oxford County district attorney’s office. Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services concurrently conducted its own investigation of the incident, as did an internal investigation initiated by Maine School Administrative District 17. The investigations were launched three months after the incident became public knowledge and Henson was suspended by the college board.
SAD 17 school board directors voted to proceed participating within the Western Maine Regional Program for Children with Exceptionalities. This system had been under scrutiny by suspended Superintendent Monica Henson, with some directors taking issue with the expense of sending students with higher must out of faculty buildings. Other western Maine school districts SAD 72 Fryeburg and SAD 44 Bethel also take part in the WMRPCE.
Harrison Food Bank announced it had been awarded a $388,000 federal grant as a part of the Construct Back Higher Plan. The funds could be used to revive the food bank’s car parking zone, rewire the constructing and update its heating system, amongst other improvements. In accordance with Operations Manager and founder Sandy Swett, tons of of food-insecure families in Maine and Latest Hampshire call on the Harrison Food Bank every week for groceries and other necessities.
April
After a nine-month reign riddled with allegations of abuse of staff, improperly physically restraining a student, instigating cover-ups of her actions and motivating dozens of educators and administrators to depart Oxford Hills, embattled former Superintendent Monica Henson resigned from SAD 17. On her way out, Henson warned many individuals she intended to sue them for perceived offenses against her and characterised the events resulting in her resignation as a personality assassination.
SAD 17’s former superintendent Dr. Monica Henson (right) has a word with School Board Director Robert Jewell of Paris on Jan. 18 after the Oxford Hills Educators Association informed the board its members had overwhelmingly supported a vote of no confidence against Henson and outlined a listing of 27 complaints about her actions and conduct through the first half of the 2021-22 academic school yr. With multiple investigations against her, Henson resigned from her position on April 4. Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat
Oxford Hills graduate and international boxing champion Amelia Moore returned to Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School to handle students and share her story of hardship, emancipation and resilience. “A toddler adrift is one of the vital lonely, isolating placed you’ll be able to be,” Moore said, noting that a key one who inspired her as a toddler was an anonymous Hannaford worker who engaged her with kindness and created moments of stability that helped her cope and made her feel seen and valued.
Students wait their turn to speak with boxing champion Amelia Moore between assemblies at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School Tuesday. Moore graduated from OHCHS in 2008 and has gone on to international success within the ring. Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat
Oxford residents of Tiger Hill Road attended a board of selectmen to complain a couple of marijuana grow facility that found a loophole allowing them to legally obtain a business license outside of the town’s business and mixed use zones. While Oxford’s ordinance is supposed to stop cannabis operations from taking root in residential neighborhoods, residents urged the town to tighten its requirements, including placing a limit on what number of businesses are allowed to operate.
The Center for an Ecology-Based Economy relaunched 2030 Vision, its three-day gathering to advertise its vision of climate justice, to coincide with Earth Day. Presenters on the conference included Oxford Hills climate activists, students and Lakotah Sanborn of the Penobscot nation as featured speaker.
Chris Farrar, left, former owner Ari’s Pizza and Subs in Norway, is all smiles during his last day within the kitchen April 21. He sold the business to family friend and chef Alex White. Also pictured from left, employees Tamsyn Beaudet, Derek Shelton and Alicia Plummer. Nicole Carter/Advertiser Democrat
Chris Farrar closed longtime Norway eatery Ari’s Pizza and Subs and sold the constructing, citing a desire to exchange 34 years of seven-day workweeks for quality time with family and grandchildren. He sold the Predominant Street storefront to Alex White, who opened his own sandwich shop, The Norway Pizza Exchange.
May
Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School saw a changing of the guard as Oxford Hills Technical School Director Paul Bickford was appointed to be the brand new principal, replacing Ted Moccia. Bickford graduated from OHCHS in 1990 and returned to commit his profession as an educator and administrative leader.
Guy E. Rowe Elementary School in Norway was forced to shut on May 11 for 3 days following a reported COVID-19 outbreak. District Superintendent Heather Manchester said the choice to shut and revert to distant learning was due largely to not enough staff with the ability to report for work.
Hebron Academy teacher Joshua Kangas imported a west coast-based program when he returned to western Maine after working in California for 11 years. The STEM program sees students construct remote-controlled hydrogen cars which can be race competitively on a worldwide scale. After launching in September, Kangas secured a grant and started fundraising to construct a race course at Hebron Academy with plans to make it a Latest England hub to assist other schools create their very own hydrogen automobile programs.
Project Graduation returned to SAD 17 for the primary time in two years. Educators Jeni Jordan and Torrey Poland led an enormous effort to plan the senior class celebration on short time. Project Graduation is a national tradition for top school seniors that was originally launched in Oxford Hills back in 1980, after seven local students died in 1979 of alcohol and drug-related deaths during graduation season.
June
Stone-Smart Post #82 Norway raised an American flag donated by the family of World War II veteran Sgt. Vernon Brown during a Memorial Day ceremony. The life-long Oxford hills resident was drafted in to the U.S. Army in 1942 and served the duration of the war. He was a member of the American Legion for 56 years, serving as Stone-Smart’s post commander through the Nineteen Fifties.
Members of Stone-Smart American Legion Post #82 Norway set the post’s latest flag at half mast in honor of Memorial Day. The flag belonged to former member and commander Sgt. Vernon Brown, a veteran of World War II. The flag was donated to the Legion by his family.
Oxford voters finally settled on a latest municipal headquarters during annual town meeting, voting to buy a 6,500 square foot constructing on Pottle Road from Stephens Memorial Hospital for $750,000, with one other $300,000 earmarked for constructing renovations and updates. The acquisition saved taxpayers from having to fund a latest construction project that might have cost at the very least $5.4 million and take two or more years to finish.
OHCHS Commencement Speaker Jared Money (center) is accompanied by retiring Principal Ted Moccia and incoming Principal and current OHTS Director Paul Bickford as he enters the ceremony at graduation Saturday night at Gouin Complex in South Paris. Brewster Burns photo
The commencement ceremony for Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School was held on the Gouin Athletic Complex on June 11 despite a day thunderstorm that drenched the sector. The ceremony was the ultimate one overseen by retiring Principal Ted Moccia and featured as its keynote speaker Jared Money, an OHCHS alum who presides over the Muskie School of Public Service and serves as vice-chair on the district’s school board.
After Harrison voters rejected several 2022-23 budget articles during annual town meeting, officials called for a hearing and extra special town meeting to fund the town’s government for the brand new fiscal yr. Residents balked on the proposed administrative budget, which was was set to extend 18.5% from the 2021-22 budget $625,000. The budget that was finally approved by voters had substantial cuts and compromises, including dropping a proposal for a fulltime fire chief and two per diem EMT/firefighters.
Otisfield voters passed its $2.27 million dollar budget during its annual town meeting on June 25, with all but two articles unanimously approved and minimal discussion on any. Spending would increase by $427,000 over the previous fiscal yr and included a median of 8% raises to municipal staff.
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