OTISFIELD – Tired of seeing negative stories in the news and hearing people call her town names like “Otisworld,” Jane Fahey has organized a group of residents who hope to improve local community relations.
On Saturday, Voices of Otisfield met formally for the first time, about 20 residents gathering at the Otisfield Community School on Powhatan Road to discuss town government, town politics and the art of communication.
“I feel that 95 percent of the problems in this world can be solved with a little communication,” said Fahey, who is principal at Madison Avenue School in Oxford, in a phone interview last week.
Over the last two years, she said, everything from junkyard disputes to a conflict over the near disposal of some town records has given Otisfield a bad rap. The rumor mill has been churning the controversy. “Everyone’s defensive,” Fahey said.
Voices of Otisfield hopes to put an end to such negativity by helping to air issues and get answers.
For example, on Saturday the group hoped to tackle three sets of questions. The first asked whether “the current form of town government is the most appropriate to meet the needs of a growing and changing town.”
When seen at an unrelated meeting Monday, Fahey said the Saturday event had gone very well and the first question had been dealt with entirely. Once everyone learned the town already has an Otisfield Government Study Committee in place to explore that same question, it was decided further study would be redundant.
Fahey considers that a success.
“We’re not setting the world on fire with this,” she said, adding that the group is not seeking radical change.
Instead, it hopes the town will consider small measures to help make information available to residents, and that residents will learn to ask questions and share information in a positive way.
Fahey said Voices of Otisfield will address the Otisfield Board of Selectmen and request a town Web site be established, for which there already is money set aside. Public information could be posted there, she said, helping people know what’s going on.
Also, Fahey said, the group will request the Otisfield Board of Selectmen post agendas before their meetings so residents know beforehand what will be discussed.
For more information on Voices of Otisfield, contact Fahey at 627-4936, or e-mail [email protected].
Comments are no longer available on this story