SUMNER – At their meeting Tuesday, selectmen agreed to send letters to both the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office and the Maine Department of Transportation asking for help with traffic through East Sumner Village.

“Due to the newly rebuilt portion of Route 219 from West Paris to Turner, traffic is much faster through the village than the posted 30 mph limit,” Selectman Mark Silber wrote in a letter to Sheriff Skip Herrick. The letter asks for an officer to be present either in the parking lot of the Congregational Church, which selectmen say has had a consistent problem with drivers making “power turns,” or by the Oxford Networks building.

In a letter to Norman Hagan of MDOT, administrative assistant Cynthia Norton requested that the 30 mile per hour zone on Route 219 be extended to cover the stretch of road from the intersection with Gammon Road to the town line with Hartford. The school zone on Route 219 would remain at 15 mph.

The school zone now is bordered by 45 mph zones on either side. “People don’t slow down,” Norton said.

In other business, selectmen discussed the safety of a sharp curve on Bonney Road. Property owners living next to the curve recently complained that a car failing to make the turn struck a tree in their yard.

Selectmen asked Road Commissioner Jim Keach to consult MDOT about the best design for a guardrail on the curve. They also decided to install a stop sign at the curve, where traffic can either continue on Bonney Road or go straight onto Trenoweth Road, with a “stop ahead” sign to slow traffic to a safe speed.

The town is looking for an assistant for Animal Control Officer Danny Paine. Interested parties should contact the town office for more information.