JAY — Regional School Unit 73 directors Thursday voted to accept the three-year plowing and sanding bid from Jean Castonguay Excavation and Logging of Livermore Falls. It was the only bid submitted.

“We were lucky,” Superintendent Scott Albert said. “They only went up 1%, $1,000 more from what we had been paying this year. Then second and third year it goes up $500 for each of those years.”

This school year, the district is paying the company $101,500, Albert said Friday morning.

“They do a great job for us,” he told directors. “It is a very big job. In years past we have tried to break it down, see if we could get other people to put in (a bid). I get it. If you are a plow driver, have 25 driveways you can just go out, push out the end of the driveway first thing in the morning then go back and have time to clear it. If you do the schools you have to clear everything in order for the school to be open in the morning so you aren’t doing a lot of other jobs. This is your job, your primary job. So that is why we don’t have a lot of people put in.”

A lot of equipment and experience is needed to do it right, Albert said. “We are very lucky that we have this bid, I think,” he added.

The district has three schools in Jay, one in Livermore, and a central office in Livermore Falls where adult education classes are also held.

In other business, it was announced that the Spruce Mountain High School boys and girls varsity basketball teams have come together to raise awareness for suicide prevention. Exhibition games against Leavitt Area High School teams will be played at the school in Jay on Jan. 20. The boys will play from 5-6:30 p.m., with the girls playing from 6:30-8 p.m. All funds raised will be donated to The Kita Center that operates summer camps for children who have lost a loved one to suicide.

“Suicide has greatly impacted our community and the surrounding areas,” Jenna Cote, the district’s Section 504 and special services director, said. “The Kita Center provides a safe place for children to work with mentors and clinical professionals to process their grief. It also provides an opportunity for the children to connect with peers who have experienced a similar loss.”

Suicide doesn’t discriminate, Cote said. “We have had students, community members, staff members die by suicide. Statistics show that there are at least 25 attempts for every person that dies by suicide.”

Local agencies and Spruce Mountain counselors will be at the games to share information about mental health and suicide awareness. Donation jars will be available.

“Anyone coming through the door will have the ability to make a tag with the name of a loved one, put it on a laminated poster that will be displayed during the game,” Marc Keller, athletic director, said Friday.

The Kita Center, formerly Camp Kita, operates summer camps for ages 8 to 17 and is building a facility in North Berwick. Since its formation in 2013, it has offered free summer camp experiences in Maine for children affected by suicide.

Board Chairman Don Emery asked if the district had ever sent anybody to the camp.

“One hundred percent,” Cote replied. “We have several kids in the district that go.”

The basketball players may not know many students in the district affected by suicide and are supported by The Kita Center, Cote said. “I think it’s such a beautiful thing, their desire to help kids who have lost loved ones.”