Otisfield board approves scholarship funds to 10 Otisfield students

Hal Ferguson, chairman of the Otisfield Board of Selectmen, reads the names of Otisfield students who received scholarships during Wednesday evening’s board meeting at the Town Office.

OTISFIELD — The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously Wednesday evening to disperse $9,300 from the Otisfield Scholarship Fund among 10 students who submitted applications.

Administrative Assistant Anne Pastore said 10 of the 29 students from Otisfield who are graduating from Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School this year applied to the Otisfield Scholarship Committee.

They are Fayd Karim, Krystin Paine, Chris Ouellette, Jarret Bund, Bradford Wielki, Ryland Van Decker, Emily Jackson, Madison LeBlond, Randy Bosquet Jr. and Leanna Wielki.

In other business, Pastore voiced concerns about the town’s animal control officer repeatedly bringing animals captured at a resident’s property to the local animal shelter.

“There’s a gentleman on Peaco Hill that has caught a couple of cats in his yard, and a dog before that, and this time, he called (Animal Control Officer) Robert Larrabee to take the cat,” Pastore told the board. “The cat he took had a collar and a bell on it, which indicates to me that it belongs to somebody.”

Pastore said Larrabee took the cat to Responsible Pet Care of Oxford Hills, where they found a scratch on the cat.

“That bill for the cat is coming back to the town,” she said. “I think we need to do something about this before it becomes a pattern.”

Selectman Rick Micklon said he’d like to think that the animal control officer would use some level of common sense when capturing and releasing an animal, and figuring out if it belongs to someone first.

He suggested that the board have a conversation with Larrabee about picking up animals and what he does with them before taking them to the animal shelter.

“If it’s state law that he pick up stray cats, then that’s one thing, but I think cats are allowed to roam free,” Micklon said.

Pastore said the bill for the cat was “only $27,” but said she doesn’t want it to happen “over and over.”

Micklon agreed to speak with Larrabee in the near future.

[email protected]