REGION — The year 2021 started off with promise in the form of vaccinations against the coronavirus pandemic which, by the end of last December, had sickened more than 20 million Americans and claimed close to 350,000 lives in the United States. Health professionals, assisted living patients and the elderly were among the first eligible to be vaccinated. In South Paris, Market Square Health Center resident David Hatch, 58, declared he would be the first there to get the shot. Hatch was among the 10% of patients at the nursing home who escaped the virus when it swept through care facilities in late 2020.

By spring most Mainers above the age of 12 were eligible and rolling up their sleeves for protection against COVID-19. In June just 77 cases of the virus were reported in Oxford County, the lowest number since the previous October.

Read on for some of the highlights reported in the Advertiser Democrat.

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January

A customized urn containing ashes got mixed up with returnable bottles brought to Roopers in Oxford. Once employees discovered it they made it their mission to return the remains to the family of the deceased.

With no expectant mothers ready to deliver by their due dates, Stephens Memorial Hospital had to wait until Jan. 7 to welcome its first baby of the year. Dianna and Eli Hutchins’ second daughter Rowan Ainsley arrived two weeks early, beating out a maternity ward of other (late) January babies.

Dianna Hutchins, left, had the first baby born at Stephens Memorial Hospital in 2021. Also pictured, baby Rowan Ainsley and father Eli. The Hutchins family lives in Lovell. Supplied photo

Oxford Hills’ school winter athletic teams saw the start of their already-delayed season pushed back even further because of COVID-19. While some counties were able to start by Jan. 11, those in yellow status — like Oxford County —would not start until Feb. 22. Because of that, the Lady Vikings’ basketball team lost their chance to compete for their third straight state championship.

Longtime Oxford Hills Superintendent Rick Colpitts announced that he would retire at the end of the 2020-21 school year. Colpitts was hired to lead the district in 2010. In 2015 he was named superintendent of the year by the Maine School Management Association.

The Oxford Fire Department rescued a skater who broke through the ice on Thompson Lake. Fire & Rescue Chief Paul Hewey credited 24-hour per diem crews as the reason rescuers were able to respond quickly and avert a tragedy.

February

A malfunctioning ventilator led to burst pipes that flooded an entire wing of the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School on Jan. 30, damaging equipment and putting several classrooms out of commission. The school’s heating and cooling system had been replaced just six months earlier.

Oxford selectmen approved a revision of the marijuana ordinance that had been adopted in 2017 and scheduled a special town meeting for residents to vote on the changes. The proposed new rules would eliminate limits on the number of dispensaries and remove the prohibition of retail marijuana stores.

Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School senior Tiana James shared her experiences of working in a COVID ward at a Lewiston hospital during the pandemic. After graduation James began school at the University of Alabama, planning to earn her master’s degree in nursing and pursuing a career in obstetrics.

The town of Paris unanimously passed a resolution opposing mask mandates during the public health crisis caused by COVID-19, claiming it violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. Representatives of Disability Rights Maine, an advocacy group for the disabled, criticized the resolution, saying masks help keep vulnerable Mainers safe and said resolutions of that nature misappropriated the point of ADA laws.

March

The promise of cell phone and internet connection for the majority of Otisfield residents was boosted when the Planning Board unanimously approved Verizon Wireless’ application to build a communications tower on Bell Hill Road.

Oxford Fire & Rescue teamed up with the Walmart Pharmacy to offer vaccination clinics on March 12 and 19, providing free Moderna vaccines to the public, by appointment.

The Oxford Casino reopened Thursday morning. Steve Sherlock/Sun Journal

Oxford Casino announced that it was rehiring its entire staff amid plans to reopen the casino and hotel to 50% capacity on March 26.

The town of Oxford announced that its new town manager, Adam Garland of Brunswick, would report for his first day on the job on March 22, ushering in a fresh approach to resolve long-standing challenges, such as addressing aging and degrading lake dams and building a new town office.

Harrison Food Bank founder and operations manager Sandy Swett and her husband Terry were blown away when they found out she had been awarded with an all-expense paid vacation to Costa Rica for her work to feed Maine families in need through the pandemic. More than 500 residents from 62 Maine and New Hampshire towns regularly depended on the food bank from the start of COVID-19 in March of 2020.

April

Miranda Hinckley of Otisfield started a Facebook campaign to celebrate Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School’s graduating senior class. Parents, friends and family posted a picture of “their” senior and community members “adopted” them virtually to send cards, gifts, gift cards and well wishes. Friends, teachers, businesses and other organizations all got in on the adoption movement.

OHCHS announced that senior traditions would return in 2021, including prom and graduation at Gouin Field.

Bridgton musician Terry Swett wrote his song “My Sweet Maine” to commemorate the state’s bicentennial celebration. Events for the entire year were largely canceled due to the coronavirus, but the Maine state Legislature and Senate confirmed the spirit of his message by declaring it Maine’s official state song of the century.

The Inn Town Motel in Norway got a new lease on life with new owners. Vincent and Michelle Williams snatched up the property before it could hit the auction block. The couple immediately began renovating their personal quarters along with the other rooms. The motel will no longer be available for long-term renters and guests will not have to worry about arachnids and reptiles in neighboring rooms. Instead, the Williams’ business plan is to operate a 100% hospitality model.

Vincent, left, and Michelle Williams have big plans for the Inn Town Motel, which will be renamed the Norway Inn. Nicole Carter/Advertiser Democrat file

The upheaval roiling Buckfield’s local government continued with the resignation of its Select Board Chair Tina Brooks. With one member of the board, Martha Catevenis, refusing to even second a motion to accept her resignation, the board couldn’t even distribute nomination applications for Brooks’ replacement. The dysfunction continued during the board’s April 22 meeting as new Town Manager John Andrews presented budgets for the next fiscal year.

May

Citing hostile select board meetings and a toxic work environment, John Andrews abruptly resigned as Buckfield’s town manager after just six months on the job. Andrews’ tenure began as longtime Town Clerk Cindy Dunn quit, leaving the town short-staffed with little institutional knowledge or experience.

School Administrative District 17 approved a $43.9 million budget to be presented to voters. The overall budget was a 2.3% over the 2020-2021 budget. Board directors scheduled a district-wide referendum on the 2021-2022 budget for June 8.

Stephens Memorial Hospital honored its 250 nurses during International Nurses Week. “We are showing Compassionate Fatigue, which is apropos to what we’ve experienced with COVID,” SMH’s Chief Nursing Director Margaret Burns said. “It’s been a hard year, lots more PPE, people giving vaccinations. Whatever was requested, they (nurses) delivered care in a different way.” Kara Merrill Frost, RN was presented with the Daisy Award in recognition of her dedication to and support of her patients.

School Administrative District 17 Superintendent Monica Henson addresses the district’s board of directors about goals set for her first 90 days on the job. Nicole Carter/Advertiser Democrat file

Dr. Monica Henson was appointed superintendent of the Oxford Hills School District by the board of directors on May 17. Her first day would be July 1, one day after retiring Superintendent Rick Colpitts stepped down. Going back to 1985 Henson had worked in many aspects of public and charter education, as teacher, principal, curriculum dean, coach and superintendent.

Oxford Elementary School teacher Melissa Guerrette was named Oxford County’s 2021 Teacher of the Year. OES has been Guerrette’s first and only position since she graduated from college in 2001. She is the chair of the National Board Certified Teachers’ Network of Maine, which promotes the value of board certification and encourages educators to pursue it. Guerrette has also has presented at several National Council of Teachers of English conferences, on topics of authentic writing and community-wide reads or conversations of brave topics.

June

Buckfield Junior-Senior High School announced that high school graduation would be held on June 12, in person at the high school. Kylie Carrier was named valedictorian of the 31-student class.

SAD 17’s $43.9 million 2021-2022 budget referendum easily passed in all eight towns of the Oxford Hills School District by a 71% to 29% margin. Oxford Hills Technical School’s $471,000 budget was also approved by 75% of voters.

Matt Delamater, left, OHCHS Principal Ted Moccia and OHTS Director Paul Bickford at the start of Oxford Hills’ 2021 graduation at Gouin Field in June. Courtesy Cristina Sugars

Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School’s senior class graduated together in person, shoulder-to-shoulder and mask-free at Gouin Field on June 13. Actor, entrepreneur and OHCHS alum Matt Delamater delivered the keynote speech urging students to face, embrace and befriend fear as they move beyond school and start new chapters in adulthood.

Two Lewiston juveniles were charged with theft after taking a parent’s vehicle without permission and stealing person property, including firearms, from vehicles parked in Norway neighborhoods.

After Oxford voters rejected a proposal to temporarily move the town’s municipal offices from Pleasant Street to Oxford Plaza at the annual town meeting, officials once again called in mold remediation and sanitization services in an attempt to make its degraded building safe for employees. The town office has been beset by flooding and mildew for years.

Otisfield residents cast their final vote at town meeting to elect the town’s road commissioner. Richard Bean Jr. was elected on June 26, replacing his father who had recently passed away and who had held the job for more than 50 years. Voters also approved making the road commissioner an appointed town employee position instead of an annually elected official, starting in 2022.