In a special appreciation award Sept. 17, Lincoln County commissioners honored Jeffrey Sewell and Kathy Blagden. Sewell responded to a car crash involving Deputy Donald Davey on July 30, 1984. Davey was going to an early morning call when he and a truck driver who hit him were killed, according to Commissioner William Blodgett.

Blagden was the dispatcher who guided Sewell to the scene, Blodgett said. Davey was later honored with the bridge over the Sheepscot River between Wiscasset and Edgecomb being named after him.

Soon, his name will also appear on a monument honoring fallen county workers. The monument will be at the courthouse. A second honoree, Rueban Blackman, died in 1933 and will also have his name engraved on the memorial. Blodgett said the planned memorial will be erected before the snow flies. He said he hopes those names will be the only two.

Sewell was joined at the ceremony by Davey’s widow, Laurinda Cushman, and former Knox County Sheriff Dan Davey, who was Donald Davey’s brother and a former deputy in Lincoln County. Blagden was unable to attend.

Deputy Ryan Chubbuck was promoted to the criminal investigation division after Detective Jared Mitkus was promoted to sargeant in the patrol division. Chubbuck will assume his new duties by the new year, Sheriff Todd Brackett said.

Commissioners approved the final payment of $14,677 for a pickup truck. Communications offered a dispatcher job to Kyle Green. He is expected to start Sept. 30.

The county will pay off its $1.5 million tax anticipation note next week. Last year’s TAN was $6 million; Administrator Carrie Kipfer said the difference is due largely to improved financial agreements with Two Bridges Regional Jail and other alterations in the finance department. 

Commissioners approved a new flexible spending account for county employees, with the county matching up to $500. Kipfer said $2,500 is needed immediately to fix major problems with the road that runs through Hibberts Gore before winter; the county has entered into an agreement with Palermo for the town to grade and plow the road this year. Kipfer said the county must enter into the state’s unincorporated territories budget process to levy taxes on property owners on the road, including a single resident and a large gravel operation.

The Spirit of America award celebration is Oct. 15 at 2 p.m. in the Communications building meeting room on the ground floor. All towns in the county have been asked to name a person or group to be honored.

After an executive session, commissioners approved the dispatch supervisors contract. The union represents three employees and is the last contract to be settled this year. The commissioners will wait for the union to sign the contract before the county signs and releases it, which Kipfer said is expected to be next week.

After a public hearing, commissioners approved the acceptance of a $50,000 community development block grant for the nonprofit Lincoln County Dental Clinic, which targets patients with incomes of less than 150 percent of the federal poverty limit. Rep. Holly Stover (D-Boothbay) is its executive director. The grant will be used for operations. Opening is planned for early 2020 with a dental hygienist working several hours per week from the Wiscasset clinic. Most of the work on the clinic is done, and the mobile clinic that visits children in county schools is in operation. A full-time dentist is still needed, and donations are accepted for the professional’s salary as well as other incidentals. Donations can be sent to Lincoln County Dental, P.O. Box 256, Boothbay, Maine, 04537. For more information, email office@lcdental.org