PARIS — The Oxford County Commission renewed its contract Tuesday with the U.S. Forest Service to provide law enforcement on federal land in western Oxford County.
The White Mountain National Forest, which straddles the Maine-New Hampshire border, covers 42,364 acres near Gilead, Stow and Stoneham.
The five-year contract runs through Dec. 31, 2026.
The contract sets aside $3,000 annually to reimburse the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office at a rate of $60 per hour and 53½ cents per mile for patrol vehicles.
The U.S. Forest Service roads include Patte Brook, Deer Hill, Great Brook, Crocker Pond and Bog Brook, in addition to U.S. Route 2 and state Routes 5 and 113.
The U.S. Forest Service is part of the United States Department of Agriculture.
In other business, county Administrator Donald Durrah reported the county is scheduled to receive $416,000 from the state from the supplemental jail fund, which will cover 60% of the jail’s deficit.
Commissioners set aside a few dates later this spring to hear another petition from residents of Kezar Lake Road in Stow about the poor condition of the gravel road. The board heard a similar complaint about the same road last year, but commissioners ruled the road was “safe and convenient” at the time they inspected it May 21. Town officials admitted it was repaired two weeks before the inspection.
The town, however, was charged $3,000 to cover the cost of the public hearing, which was held at the Fryeburg Fairgrounds.
Commissioners approved hiring Kiersten Kise as a legal secretary in the District Attorney’s Office.
Oxford County Regional Communications Center has five vacancies, Director Geff Inman said, and he expects to fill two of them at the next meeting March 3.
The board held a 63-minute executive session to discuss contract negotiations for the Criminal Investigation Division of the Sheriff’s Office.
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