DIXFIELD – David Orr, the town’s Public Works director and Water and Sewer superintendent for the past three years, is no longer employed by Dixfield.
When contacted Tuesday, Town Manager Nanci Allard refused to discuss Orr’s employment termination about 12 days ago, saying it was a personnel issue.
Board of Selectmen Chairman Hugh Daley also declined to talk about the matter Thursday.
“We haven’t decided what we want to do yet,” Daley said, speaking for the board and Allard. “At our meeting Monday night, we might make a decision.”
Selectmen are to meet at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 23, in the Ludden Memorial Library community room.
But, Daley had plenty to say about Tim Hanson, whom the town hired at $10 per hour to temporarily replace Orr as the acting Public Works director.
Hanson, a Dixfield resident with a strong compassion for the town and town affairs, said he was hired Feb. 10 for the job, a day after the last Board of Selectmen meeting.
In Dixfield, the Public Works director also serves as superintendent for the Water and Sewer departments. The Public Works office is located off Route 2 about half a mile east of the town office.
Daley said Hanson, a Rumford Falls Times reporter and columnist and frequent SAD 21 substitute teacher, was hired for his sense of loyalty to town affairs and his managerial skills.
“He loves Dixfield, and Tim has good solid management skills behind him, and we thought that we needed that,” Daley said Thursday afternoon.
“Good, firm management practices – we haven’t had that for a very long time down there. You have to have control down there and the employees need guidance,” he added.
Daley said Hanson was a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, who retired on June 30, 1985.
“Tim ran a military procurement section in the Air Force and he’s got an ungodly amount of management years behind him. There is three criteria for this job – honesty, compassion and fairness – and Tim fits all of those,” he added.
Prior to being hired to the new position, Hanson was a grounds keeper at Harlow Park. During winters, he also tends the ice skating rink at McGouldrick Park.
“I’d like to be able to foster a sense of local patriotism, because I think that we ought to support our local government and local officials,” Hanson said Thursday afternoon.
“The government supported me for the first part of my life, and now it’s time to give a little back,” he added.
tkarkos@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.