The Sanford-Springvale Register turned two years old July 27. I don’t know where time went. Time seems to go by so quickly.

The very first story I wrote for the Register was a preview of Summah Daze 2006 and here it is, two years later and I’ll be covering Summah Daze for the third time. It seems like just last week I took the elevator to the top floor of Sanford Trust building to the Impastable Dream restaurant where I stood in the window and snapped a birds-eye view photo of the festival below.

Since last year when I recapped the Register’s first year, I covered the Acton Fair, the Maine Model Jet Rally at Sanford Regional Airport, the Pumpkin Drop at Number One Pond and interviewed our new police chief Tom Connolly and Teacher of the Year Martin McKeon. The now defunct Club Adrenaline in Lower MidTown Mall dominated the headlines some weeks while other headlines revolved around decisions made by the Sanford Town Council.

Following an interview with Sanford resident Ricky Arsenault, the community came together offering financial support to help him pay for a much needed surgery.

November brought stories of local elections and snow was a common topic throughout the winter. The death of Sanford resident Imelda LaRoche, who was without heat or hot water since the Patriots Day flooding the previous April, prompted town officials to initiate a special heating assistance fund called the “Imelda Fund.”

A major snowstorm last December was the first of many to come.

“A storm warning for all 16 Maine counties scrolled across the Web sites of local news stations on Dec. 16. More than 287 cancellations were spelled out in a continuous loop in the lower quarter of television screen,” one Register story read.

By January, Sanford experienced a shortage of road salt due to the seemingly constant snowfall–“Another winter storm cancelled Sanford and Acton schools, closed state offices and spurred parking bans for the 15^th time this season.” [Register, Feb. 20, 2008]

Sanford town councilors began exploring new ways to handle trash and recyclables. The talks continue today and it seems there are two camps – “pay-per-bag” and “automated curbside pickup.”

On March 20, while the 37^th Waban Telethon was in full swing, 10 local fire departments rushed to the scene of an industrial building fire on the Sanford Regional Airport grounds.

By April 24, 2008, one year since the devastating Patriots Day storm, nearly all the damage had been repaired.

Town Meeting members approved the town’s budget in May, including proposed funding for a new police station and Sanford’s $32.8 million school budget was approved, as well. Immediately following Town Meeting, Sanford School Superintendent Jack Turcotte delivered his resignation.

The Town Meeting-approved school budget was turned over to voters for the first time in a referendum June 5. To the relief of town officials, voters also accepted the proposed school budget.

Sanford High School celebrated the graduation of seniors June 6. One month later, Sanford commemorated heroes with the Fourth of July parade- – and here we are at the end of July again.

My personal column, Reporter’s Notebook, outlined my life, week-by-week.

Last August my son, Zack, came home for a week following his training at Fort Eustis, Virginia. After a very short visit, we put him on an airplane and he headed to Fort Hood, Texas. Within months, he was deployed to Iraq.

My daughter and I took a trip to Pennsylvania. Along the way, I learned the “right” way to drive in New Jersey after a woman on the New Jersey Turnpike screamed, “You’re too slow! Just go! Just drive!” when I was trying to politely merge into traffic.

I shared the death of my grandfather in December, my feelings about sportsmanship and my inability to remember which months have 30 days and which have 31. I told you about my love affair with Tom-Tom. Most recently I shared the 18 days my son was home from Iraq.

So much has happened this past year and all of it seems like it occurred just yesterday. As the Register heads into it’s third year, I look forward to what the future holds. -

– Renee Worthing