This article summarizes a visit by students from Oxford Hills Technical School to Region 9 School of Applied Technology in Mexico to learn firefighting skills. Key points: - 16-year-old Jasmine Roundeau overcame her fear of heights by climbing a ladder and smashing a window during a simulated firefighting exercise, despite smoke grenades creating realistic smoke. - The instructor was impressed with the Oxford Hills students and how much they accomplished in one day compared to his students over three months. - In a thank you letter, Jasmine thanked the instructor for pushing her out of her comfort zone and helping her realize she could overcome her fears and health issues to potentially work in firefighting.

1. Students overcome fears, learn reality of firefightingBy Erin Place
Staff Writer
PARIS — On a sunny day
in October, 16-year-old
Jasmine Roundeau found
herself in full firefighting
gear, high up on a ladder,
smashing in a window with
an axe as she simulated vent-
ing air during a fire on a sec-
ond floor of a building.
While there wasn’t any
actual smoke or fire, there
were smoke grenades to
mimic a real blaze. And to
add to the intensity of the sit-
uation, not only was the
Waterford teen getting her
feet wet in the field of fire
science at Region 9 School
of Applied Technology in
Mexico, but she was over-
coming her fear of heights.
“This young lady was
scared to death of heights,”
said Jon Longley, Region 9
fire science instructor and
Paris deputy fire chief.
“It felt good to overcome
it but I was terrified,”
Jasmine said during Lynda
Knowlton’s law enforcement
and military prep class at
Oxford Hills Technical
School (OHTS) recently.
Jasmine was one of 27 stu-
dents who traveled to the
technical school to get a les-
son in firefighting as SAD 17
and OHTS officials continue
to explore launching their
own fire science program
locally.
Longley noted he was
impressed with the Oxford
Hills students.
“I just can’t reiterate
enough they came pro-
grammed to learn with a skill
set like none other,” he said,
noting his alumni who
helped with the visits said
these students accomplished
more in one day than they
did during three months of
the program.
Experiences
When Longley and retired
Paris Fire Chief Brad Frost
walked into the Knowlton’s
classroom at Oxford Hills
Comprehensive High School,
she handed the two men a stack
of thank you letters from her
students.
In her letter to Longley,
Jasmine thanked him for push-
ing her out of her comfort level.
“I thought being a person
with low strength, being shy,
having major anxiety, being
claustrophobic, having many
health issues and being afraid
of heights would stop me from
doing something like firefight-
ing, but you and my team made
me realize that I was complete-
ly wrong,” she wrote.
Longley said firefighting
used to be a male-dominated
field.
“It’s not any more,” he said.
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IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR — A young girl on Main Street gets a wave
from Mr. and Mrs. Claus during in the annual Oxford Hills Chamber of
Commerce Christmas Parade in Norway Nov. 26.
Dam work on target in spite of delays
By Leslie H. Dixon
Staff Writer
CASCO — Work to com-
plete the construction of the
Pleasant Lake Dam by
December continues to be on
target despite some delays.
The $500,000 job that is
being done by the towns of
Otisfield and Casco to
replace the existing dam that
has deteriorated over the
years needs to be completed
before winter sets in.
“If it isn't, we've got prob-
lems,” Hal Ferguson chair-
man of the Otisfield Board of
Selectmen said recently.
Ferguson said the project can
not be shut down for the win-
ter because of the potential
for heavy rains in the spring
that could wipe out the exist-
ing work.
Ferguson said workers
recently discovered the
remains of a very old, per-
haps the original Hancock
Lumber dam, as they
attempted to take down part
of the existing dam. Several
“huge” logs that were clearly
centuries old were found
under the existing dam.
The finding delayed the
project slightly as design engi-
neer Myron Pertrovsky was
called to the scene to deter-
mine how to handle the issue.
Ferguson said the discovery
meant that the part of the
existing abutment to the left of
the gate that had been slated to
stay, had to be removed
because it was now unstable.
The project had been slat-
ed to be completed by the
end of November but was
pushed back because the
Maine Department of
Environmental Protection did
not issue a permit in a timely
fashion, officials said.
“We started a month late
because there was no permit
from DEP until the 13th of
October. We wanted to hit
the ground September 1,”
Ferguson said.
In 2014, Casco and Otisfield
selectmen received a report
from the Maine Emergency
Management Agency about
leakage and structural deterio-
ration at the spillway dam. The
towns face significant fines
from the DEP if the dam fails.
Town officials, along with
members of the Pleasant Lake
and Parker Pond associations,
Leslie H. Dixon
PASSING BY — Bypass pipes were installed and the pond between the Pleasant
Lake Dam and Pleasant Lake on Route 121 in Casco was drained while the
demolition of the old dam takes place and the new dam is installed.
OHMPAA’s holiday
gift to the community
By Leslie H. Dixon
Staff Writer
NORWAY — Four per-
formances of "Amahl and
the Night Visitors" in four
days at four churches –
and all for free.
It's the Oxford Hills
Music and Performing
A r t s A s s o c i a t i o n ' s
Christmas gift to the
Oxford Hills community.
The one-hour long
OHMPAA production of
Gian Carlo Menotti’s
"Amahl and the Night
Visitors" opera that tells
the story of a crippled boy
and his mother who are
visited by the Three Kings
on their way to Bethlehem
to greet the Christ Child. It
will be performed at
churches in Norway,
Waterford, South Paris and
Paris Hill, beginning next
week.
Director Cynthia Reedy
described the one-act play
as a simple tale of a poor,
crippled boy named
Amahl.
"He is 'poor' only in the
pecuniary," said Reedy.
"Amahl lives in a world
rich with fascinating crea-
tures, magical beings, and
wonderful sights; with his
lively imagination, he tries
to cheer his mother from
the reality of their impov-
erished state.
"One night, Amahl
comes home with one tall
tale too many – he has
seen a star with a tail,"
Reedy continued. "And
shortly, three magnificent
visitors arrive at their
home. The neighboring
shepherds bring gifts of
food and dance to the
Kings. After everyone has
left and the Kings are
asleep, the mother is
tempted to steal some gold
from the Kings. Fear not!
The story ends happily for
all, especially the audi-
ence!"
Reedy, who teaches at
Hebron Academy, had per-
fomed the play as a teen-
ager in Massachusetts and
brought her passion for the
show with her when she
moved to the Oxford Hills
in 1987.
"Backstage of one
OHMPAA production or
another, I talked to Kenn
S a w y e r a n d To m
Littlefield about the possi-
bility of doing 'Amahl'
with OHMPAA. Tom, like
I, loved the music and
Kenn was enthusiastic. We
discussed the possibility of
presenting the play at a
local church. Then we
realized that we could
expand that idea and pres-
ent it at several local
churches," she said.
Reedy said it was
Sawyer's idea to make the
production a gift from the
SPRAYING — An Oxford Hills Technical student
tries to plug a leaking sprinkler during an exercise at
the Region 9 School of Applied Technology in Mexico.
See DAM 6A
See FIREFIGHTING 6A
See OHMPAA 5A
You all gave us the opportunity to feel like
we can make a difference, help others ...
Jasmine Rondeau
OHTS
Hampton Inn denied occupancy
permit until all work completed
By Leslie H. Dixon
Staff Writer
OXFORD — The $15
million Hampton Inn is
accepting reservations for a
room on Monday, Dec. 19,
and beyond, according to
its website, but no one is
answering the hotel’s tele-
phone.
The long-awaited open-
ing date of the 93-room on
Route 26, directly across
the street from Oxford
Casino, has only been con-
firmed by its website,
where it states, “This hotel
will soon be joining the
Hilton Worldwide Portfolio
of Brands and is presently
accepting reservations for
arrival December 19, 2016
and beyond.”
As of Tuesday, Nov. 29,
no occupancy permit had
been issued, according to
Oxford Code Enforcement
Officer Rodney Smith.
Smith said an occupancy
permit had been requested
about two weeks ago but
was denied following an
inspection by the Fire
Chief Wayne Jones and
then-Interim CEO Joelle
Corey-Whitman because of
a number of issues.
“It has to be finished
completely,” said Smith of
the procedure to gain an
occupancy permit.
A conditional certificate
of occupancy was issued to
the Hampton Inn on Nov.
17 by Corey-Whitman with
nine items, ranging from
addressing holes in the
main lobby and cafeteria
area to electrical conduit
work that need to be
addressed. Additionally all
state inspection forms must
be forwarded to the town.
Plumbing that was found
to be incomplete or incor-
rect during the Nov. 17
inspection will be rein-
spected, according to the
conditional certificate of
occupancy.
Completion of the hotel
has been beleaguered by a
number of liens from con-
tractors and in October,
Calamar Construction sued
a local framing company
See INN 5A