A salute to Clark

Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Nathan Clark hails from Windham, but these days, he’s spending his time aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, the USS Harry Truman. The Truman is currently in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for its Extended Carrier Incremental Availability period. Thank you, Nathan, for your service to our country. You make our community proud.

3,853 snacks

Operation Summer Snacks, an initiative of the Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish, provides snacks to Windham children who need nutritional support. This year, parish catechetical leader Jill Russell-Morey has been running the initiative from her home in Windham.

“In this time of uncertainty, we didn’t know if this program would work out of our house instead of being based in the parish,” Russell-Morey said.

Much to her surprise and with an outpouring of support from the community, “we have collected 3,853 snack items which surpassed our donation number last year by 1,000.”

“This is incredible,” she said. “All of those tiny bags of pretzels, crackers, fruit snacks, juice pouches, granola bars and fruit cups turned into an amazing offering to the Windham Food Pantry. … Our young friends in this community have reaped the benefits of this generosity and are so thankful for the people who responded to the call.”

Dundee Park is open

Dundee Park reopened Sunday, Aug. 8, after a brief closure due to an E. coli problem in the water. Bacterial levels have now returned to a level that is safe for swimming and the park is again available to the public, so you can cool down on these hot summer days. The water will continue to be monitored regularly for safety and the park will close only if levels rise again.

Duck Pond Corner

The Highland Lake Grange is hosting a History Night on the Lawn on Saturday, Aug. 22, at the Grange at 87 Hardy Road in Westbrook. Grange member and local historian, Ken Moody, will present an interesting slide show that will feature photos from Duck Pond Corner in the past. If you’d like to come, be sure to bring your own chair, some bug spray and a flashlight, and arrive at about 7:30 p.m. The show starts at 8 p.m. Social distancing and masks required. Admission is free. Rain date is Aug. 29. For more information, call Dave Gowen at 653-7209.

Haley Pal can be contacted at haleypal.aol.com.