Leading the way

From left, Troop 1027 Junior Girl Scouts Michelle Shaw, Ava Carr and Maci Pratt lead the Pledge of Allegiance at the Jan. 4 Town Council meeting. Also shown are Councilors Ben Hartwell and Ron Shepard. Robert Lowell / American Journal

High school switches to remote learning

An outbreak of COVID-19 canceled in-person learning at Gorham High School until Jan. 12 due to the number of staff who contracted the virus earlier this week.

A posting on the school district’s website said the situation would be reevaluated Wednesday afternoon to determine the status of classes for the remainder of the week.

“The issue is GHS staff in general. Right now, today, we have 17 GHS staff members out; 10 are confirmed positive cases of COVID-19,” Superintendent Heather Perry said Monday.

As of Jan 10, the high school had 23 active positive cases, Great Falls Elementary School had 25 and Village Elementary School had nine. As of Jan. 8, Gorham Middle School had 31 cases and Narragansett Elementary School had 14.

The district on Jan. 10 reported 364 active cases since school opened last fall.

Some families, according to Facebook posts, are organizing to transport students to school in case there’s a bus driver shortage. But, Perry said Monday, “Transportation is in fine shape.”

For an up-to-date listing of schools and COVID cases, visit gorhamschools.org and click on COVID-19 at top of the page.

Appeals board appointee

The Town Council last week appointed Gary Baca to the Board of Appeals. He succeeds Christine Hume, who resigned. Councilors thanked her for her years of service on the board.

50 years ago

The American Journal reported Jan. 12, 1972, that the Annie Louise Carey Club was to meet at the home of Rosamond Phinney on State Street. Anne Emerson, Mary Young and Marjorie Arnold were named assistant hostesses.

U.S. taxpayer debt

The Bureau of the Fiscal Service reported Jan. 6 that the U.S. public debt was $29,711,273,060,203.84.