Sagadahoc County hires patrol deputy; renews equipment-storage agreement

Bath, Maine — Sagadahoc County commissioners voted Nov. 13 to hire a new patrol deputy and to renew a storage-and-maintenance agreement for county equipment.

Sheriff Joel Merry described candidate Daniel Ouellette, a Lisbon police officer and U.S. Army veteran, and recommended his hire. Merry said the county must reimburse the town of Lisbon a prorated amount of about $39,000 because Ouellette completed his basic law-enforcement training within the past five years. Merry told the board the candidate will still complete the agency’s 30-day field-training officer program and a six-month probationary period.

Commissioner Charles Crosby moved to hire Ouellette and Commissioner Todd McPhee seconded; the commission voted to approve the hire. Merry said Deputies who rode with Ouellette were “very impressed” and that his background check was clean.

The board also authorized a renewed agreement with Glenn Kirkpatrick, who has stored county items such as speed trailers in the off-season for several years. Merry said the agreement would include some maintenance, such as making sure trailer lights function, and that one county vehicle that had been stripped down could be conveyed to Kirkpatrick in exchange for services rather than being sold for cash.

Merry earlier told commissioners that the removal and eventual reinstatement of rumble strips after a Woolwich paving project coincided with several serious accidents; he said DOT and town coordination led to contractor work that put the rumble strips back in place, which he called a “potentially life-saving act.”