People
(from the July 2008 Maine Townsman)

Windsorvoters elected two new selectmen in June, Ronald Brann and Richard Gray Jr., over incumbents Thomas Birmingham and Thomas Squiers Jr. While Gray is new to elective office, Brann is a former selectman.

Rumford incumbent Mark Belanger and newcomer Robert Cameron won two open seats on the board of selectmen on June 10.  Selectman Greg Buccina was unseated in the five-way race for the two seats.

Newcomer Kevin Doyle was elected selectman in Litchfield in June, defeating two challengers who included incumbent Selectman Muriel Bonin, who has served three terms on the board. Bonin also served 36 years on the school board.

Paris incumbent Selectman Raymond Glover and former town Police Chief and Oxford County Sheriff Lloyd “Skip” Herrick were the top vote-getters on June 10 in a four-way race for two open selectmen seats. Herrick collected the most votes with 727, followed by Glover’s 640 votes.

Incumbent Cyprien Johnson defeated challenger David Savage, 414-357, to win a second three-year term as Skowhegan selectman.

James Guerrra of Hope has been hired as the new Mid Coast Solid Waste Corp. manager, replacing Joseph Clark, who resigned in March. The corporation serves Camden, Hope, Lincolnville and Rockport.

Paul Hoyt defeated four challengers by four votes to win a three-year term on the Bridgton Board of Selectmen in June, while Douglas Taft unseated incumbent Robert McHatton for a 1-year term on the board. Incumbent Robert Bell, the highest vote-getter on the ballot, was easily re-elected to another term.

Former LewistonFire Chief Mike Lajoie defeated Mayor Larry Gilbert in the June primary election in a Democratic runoff to compete for the House District #71 legislative seat in the fall. Lajoie defeated Gilbert, a former Lewiston police chief, by a margin of 56 to 44 percent.

Baileyville selectmen have hired Luke Lazure of Lewiston as the town’s new manager, replacing Scott Harriman, who resigned in March. Lazure, who has a background in bank financing, will begin his new job on July 14.

Russ Page was elected to the Bowerbank Board of Selectmen during the annual town meeting last week. Page will serve the final year of the three-year term of James Gustafson, who resigned for personal reasons. Stephen Rainsford was elected to a one-year term.

Warren Sessions Jr. defeated Wes Wentworth by a vote of 273-259 on June 10 to win a seat on the NorwayBoard of Selectmen, while incumbent William “Bill” Damon handily defeated his challenger, Selectman Robert Walker, for another term.

Lauchlin Titus easily defeated Lee Trahan to win a three-year seat on the Vassalboro Board of Selectmen. The vote was 319 to 144. Titus will replace Donald Breton, who did not seek another term.             

Fourteen was the lucky number for Tom Farley when voters elected him in June to the Rockport Board of Selectmen on 14 write-in votes. Newcomer William “Bill” Chapman won the second open seat. They replace Robert Nichols and Alexander Arau, who did not seek re-election this month.

David LaFountain has been named the new fire chief for the combined department for the city of Watervilleand town of Winslow. LaFountain, 51, takes over for Chief William Page, who retired on June 30.

Jack Plumbley defeated incumbent David Bowen for a seat on the Hartford Board of Selectmen in municipal voting earlier this month.

Mark Winer has been named the new manager of the town of Union, besting 20 other candidates and three finalists to win the job. Winer has worked as administrative assistant in small Maine and Massachusetts local governments, and most recently served as a benefit eligibility social worker for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

Yarmouthincumbent Town Councilor Jeffrey Darrell was re-elected on June 10. He is joined by newcomers Thomas Renehan and William “Bill” Schaeffer.

Former Skowhegan Fire Chief Tom Keene was named interim chief for the next six months as the town searches for a replacement for Daniel Adams, who resigned effective early next month.

BiddefordFire Chief Robert Fournier will retire in August after nearly 40 years with the city, including the past four as chief.

Wayne Town Manager Pamela Grimshaw has resigned effective July 25 to accept an accounting job with an Augusta-based nonprofit agency.  She has been town manager for about a year.

CORRECTION:  Last month’s Townsman incorrectly stated that Grace Hatton of Charlotte had been town clerk.  The positions that she held in town government, for 60 years, were town treasurer and bookkeeper.