PARIS — A nearly $10,000 grant that was slated for tactical helmets will be used to buy a portable electronic traffic enforcement sign for the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office.
County Commission Chairman Steve Merrill of Norway and Commissioners Timothy Turner of Buckfield and David Duguay of Byron unanimously signed off on the change at Thursday morning’s monthly workshop.
The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant of $9,328 was awarded through the U.S. Department of Justice. Chief Deputy James Urquhart said the sign comes with a trailer so it can be used throughout the county. The purchase qualifies under the terms of the grant, he said.
In other business, commissioners heard a report from Sheriff Christopher Wainwright concerning the possibility of adding a school resource officer for Regional School Unit 56 based in Dixfield. Discussions between the school district and the county are in the early stages.
The district also includes Carthage, Canton and Peru.
The county provides a school resource officer for Regional School Unit 55 based in Hiram and one for Regional School Unit 10 to cover Buckfield.
Commissioners authorized the acceptance of $4,511.10 from a drug forfeiture case, which is one-third of the total forfeiture since three agencies were involved in the case.
Lee Smith of Albany Township was reappointed as county representative to the Maine Land Use Panning Commission.
Commissioners authorized hiring Lawrence Winson and Dakota Willhoite as full-time deputies and Samuel Billings as a dispatcher for the Oxford County Regional Communications Center in Paris. The board also accepted the resignation of dispatch supervisor Cheryl Coffin.
At the start of the meeting, commissioners held a moment of silence for County Administrator Donald Durrah, who died unexpectedly Wednesday. There is no timetable for filling the position.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
