Warming, cooling center

(Continued from Page 1A) spells, and using the community center as a place to warm up and spend time is a nice one, it just doesn’t happen.

The reality is that very few people use a town’s designated warming center, according to Casco Fire Chief Brian Cole.

“Since the topic has come up because of last December [ extended power outages]. It is great we are offering the centers. The problem is the lack of attendance ,” he said, asking the selectmen, “How much

C/N dump changes

(Continued from Page 1A) the facilities are open to the public, according to Assistant Supervisor Matt Libby. effort are we going to put into this?”

Staff have been giving the fliers to people as they exit, he said. Additionally, the change is written on the message board, he said.

“We’ve gotten a mixed bag of responses. Some people are quick to put their nose up at it. Some people think that it is something that was expected,” he said.

“It is a way to give us a little weekend. Before the schedule was staggered. We were on one day and off the next. This way we have two days off. It will make it easier for some of us to do family stuff and holiday stuff,” he said. March 1 marks the switch, the first Wednesday the BW&TS will be open.

“Next week is the beginning of the new schedule,” Libby said.

He conveyed a story of when about a half-dozen towns designated St. Joseph’s College as a 24-hour warming center. Some of the town were Casco, Windham, Raymond, Standish and Gorham.

“There were three (3) people that went to that 24-hour center and there were some big towns involved in this. There are so many people putting time into this, to have three people show up. Is it better to offer hotel vouchers from the Microtel,” he said.

Still, it’s important to have an emergency center, a building that is available when needed. In order to do that, there are requirements outlined by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

So, the town is moving forward with the objective to have an official warming-cooling center in town and possibly to be part of a regional network. The town wants to follow the requirements for a building or buildings to qualify as centers, and to have a plan in place for different scenarios. Some of that was discussed on Tuesday night as the chief presented some details to the board.

This topic will be on the agenda on the future; the board agreed it should be workshopped.

On Tuesday, Chief Cole explained that when Don Gerrish was interim town manager, they put together a list of criteria for a structure to be a warming-cooling center or an emergency shelter. Cole said the town would involve the local school district, SAD 61, and he has already had discussions with the facilities director “Crooked River Elementary School. That is the only school building in district that has a generator,” Cole said.

The generator makes CRES an ideal candidate for an emergency center, he said.

“As a side note, Director of Transportation, Facilities and Food Services Andy Madura is working to get other schools on generators. He is going to provide those letters to the school board,” he said.

Selectman Scott Avery asked about staffing.

“It would have be a volunteer force, not the town staff. That would be based on the number of people attending as well,” Cole said.

One of the selectmen asked about trainings.

“There are several required trainings. It’s not as easy saying we want this to be a center. There is training. We have to have a space for animals because people bring animals,” Cole said.

“It is not as easy as handing out water and coffee,” he said, saying there are specific rules to follow in handling food.

“Everything is developed by FEMA. We don’t recreate that wheel. It is a matter of putting those parts and pieces together,” he said.

“It is not that we won’t do it. We need direction and we need to create the volunteer force to do this,” Cole told the board.

Casco Town Manager Anthony “Tony” Ward touched on what a policy would do for the town.

“With a policy, we wanted clarity for the staff, for the public. When is the center giong to be open? What are expectations? So the public will know more about what is going on,” Ward said. “Once we create a policy and adhere to it, it will be better for everyone involved.”

One way to get around the cost of opening a facility simply as a warming center is to offer the use of places during business hours, Chief Cole said.

“A lot of communities use the town office, the community center, the library during business hours when people are there already,” he said. It’s just a matter of communicating with public that on days when the library is open, the warming center is open.”

First-aid station

(Continued from Page 1A) work, and to be completed by early or mid-July,” he said.

On Tuesday, Mulkern made the request of the selectmen to permit the Casco Days Fair Association to use the town property to build a proposed garage.

“What Casco Days needs to do is build a warehouse by the basketball court. It’s a 20-X-50 foot warehouse. On this side would be the first aid house. The rest would be the warehouse,” he said.

“The door would be in the front rather than on the side. It will be 42 inches. Rescue would have full access. The door would slide. This would allow us to palletize items for Casco Days,” he said.

The selectmen expressed pleasure that CDFA was moving forward with this added storage space after doing vital repairs to the barn.

“This has been talked about for some time. It is finally coming to fruition ,” Mary-Vienessa Fernandes said.

“This is really good thing — something that has been needed for a long time,” Avery said.

UNLEASH THE DOGS — Time for a dash and jump into Highland Lake during the annual Freezing for a Reason. (Photo by Ashleigh London Photography)

111: new Freezin’ mark

(Continued from Page 1A)

Some money is still trickling in, McBurnie said.

“Usually, there is more money that comes in later. Some people showed up [on jump day] with digital payments and we weren’t set up for that,” she said.

“I am in a little bit of shock about how much money was raised. I say that because of the economy. People don’t have extra money. Between that and our Christmas Eve Sleepover being so successful — I am shocked and grateful,” McBurnie said.

“We are in a small village. It speaks volumes the support we have from the local community. After the Christmas Eve Sleepover did so good, it was a hard from my perspective to go out and do another fundraiser, knowing the state of everyone’s finances,” she said.

In addition to helping with the shelter’s financial needs, the event “brings awareness to the shelter,” she said.

As always there are key figures in helping pull off another Freezing event.

“Thanks to Bridgton Public Works which opens up the lake. Between the public works and the Bridgton Fire and Rescue Department, I wouldn’t get anywhere with the fun- draiser,” she said. She also thanked Dan Harden, who is in charge of the winter carnival event, and is on the HHAS board of directors.

In the future, the event may have more technology down at the lake to expedite registrations, and maybe even take payments that aren’t in the form of cash or checks.

“Next year, we will do something to be a little more electronic,” McBurnie said.

“The one thing that was

Jumpers: Cold feet, happy hearts

(Continued from Page 1A) the team came to be.

“Essentially, I kind of instigated it. My friend Hannah and I have been cold water dipping for the better part of two years, pretty regularly in the ocean and in the lakes. We decided to do this. But a couple of our friends couldn’t make it today. I was able to round these guys up and convince them. Then, my 85-year old grandmother Anne Warner came to watch,” she said.

Faye’s cousin Jessica “Jess” Warner jumped for the first time, too.

“I’m from Bridgton, grew up in Bridgton and now I’ve just bought a house recently back in Bridgton. So, I’ve known about this for years,” she said,

Over the years, she has watched people jump in Highland Lake for the area animal shelter.

“This is the first year I’ve done Freezing for a Reason. I’m so glad I did it. It was lot more fun being part of it — that is for sure,” Jesse Warner said. When asked for a takeaway from the experience, she answered: “Freezing cold. Just a lot of fun. And it is for charity so it feels good.”

SUCCESSFUL DAY AT THE LAKE — Jumpers conquer cold lake temps; emcees Dan Harden and Joan McBurnie; rail balancing acts.

Faye Warner said she and her friends were pleased that they exceeded the original, fundraising goal.

Another first-time jumper Katie Miller, of Standish, was delighted with her decision to not chicken out.

“You know, there was so much adrenaline pumping that I did not feel cold until I got out of the water,” Miller said. “So I would do it again. However, having a nice warm car picking me up would really make the difference.”

Fellow jumper Kenzie agreed, “It was cold.”

Katie explained how everyone ended up at the lake for Freezing For A reason in 2023.

“My husband has five younger siblings. They all live in Pennsylvania. Last year, they were visiting and we were in Bridgton eating somewhere, and the waitress said, ‘You should go to the winter festival,’ ” Katie Miller said. “My little sister in law, who is 15 now, did it all on her own. She signed up. We showed up too late to do it last year.”

When asked why she followed through with it

February 23, 2023 The Bridgton News, Page 3A

Harvest Hills Animal hard for us is last minute registrations. We try to push for people to preregister. It makes it easier for everyone. We had 55 people preregistered. On the day of the event, we had 50 to 60 people register,” she said. “People don’t realize that we need a cutoff time for tallying. We have to tally how much money came in to figure out who the winners are.”

The 2023 winners were: Team Spirit Award:

Sportsman’s Kitchen & Keg Team that raised most and jumped: Bridgton Veterinary Hospital

Adult (18+) who raised the most and jumped: Dawn Wentworth Young Adult (13 to 18) who raised the most and jumped: Katie Collins Child (Up to 12) who raised the most and jumped: Zoe Anderson. Non-jumper who raised the most: the Burnell Team

TESTING IT OUT — One of the people who registered for the rail jam tries out the course prior to the competition. The rail jam was a new addition to the activities at the Bridgton Winter Carnival. It was set up on the shore of Highland Lake. Brad Bonney, of Bridgton, hosted the event, which drew almost two-dozen [22] competitors on skis and snowboards. “I was very happy with how many people came out to compete and so excited to see how many people showed up to spectate,” Bonney said. “Everyone seems to love the idea so much that we will be returning again next year, and it will be bigger and better.” (De Busk Photos) this year, Miller answered. “This year, I couldn’t let my 15-year old sister in law show me up,” she said.

“But also for the pets, of course.”

The group from Pennsylvania ended up with 10 people.

“There were nine of us plus one person from Nora Belle’s Pizza shop decided to join us yesterday. We went to get pizza and he was like last-minute, ‘Uhh, I guess I’ll do it with you,’ ” Katie said. “It’s all for the pets.”

Relative Chris Miller said he really enjoyed himself. He didn’t complain about cold feet.

“It was a ton of fun. [I] did it twice because it was so fun,” he said.

Chris said the ‘Freezing’ experience is worth repeating again.

“It is going to be [a tradition] for many years to come,” he said.

“It’ll be a family tradition,” Katie said.