Rotary Star

By Marty Peak Helman

The Rotary building was rocking last Thursday with good company and good cheer. As soon as word got out that Boothbay Harbor Police Chief Bob Hasch would be our guest speaker, lots of folks made plans to be there to hear from and show support for one of our favorite people.

Chief Bob came with a small fistful of dollar bills. He reminded us that in the old days, Rotary members were “fined” every time their name showed up in the Register that week. Since his name is always in the Register, he wanted to come prepared. Of course we’re a lot more relaxed these days – plus I doubt if anyone would have the nerve to fine the Chief even in the bad old days – but Bob donated those dollars to our kitty anyway. Just one more reason why we love Bob Hasch!

Chief Bob said that the past few years have been the most challenging of his 29-year career. He said the addiction crisis, coupled with strains caused by COVID – which brought with it personnel issues as well as stress throughout the community – have made the job especially tough.

Bob said that police work isn’t about guns or blue lights or badges, he believes it’s about human interactions. He said that like many recruits, he got into the business because police work sounded exciting, but that he stays because of the people he is able to help. He said a good day is when a family gets back together with support from his interventions; a bad day is when the community loses a member.

This comment was especially poignant because of the fatal crash on Southport this past week. Even before the Chief spoke, President Bruce had asked us to remember that all first responders tend to see people in their worst moments, and that it’s never possible to leave the resulting strain at the office. Jonathan Tindal spoke poignantly as well and said that it is always a bad day when our beloved community loses a member especially because of a moment’s inattention or carelessness, and he asked us all to remember this, particularly when we are out on the road.

Chief Bob said dealing with substance abuse is one of his priorities. He said that all the counseling programs in the world won’t do lasting good unless the people behind the programs have proved they are trustworthy. When he talks to someone about their addiction, for example, his first questions are to learn about the person’s relationship with family members and friends. The goal is to build a circle of friends to support the person in addiction, he said. “I don’t do anything that any of you couldn’t do,” he said, although this writer finds that hard to believe. But the Chief’s point is: Good police work – either in a small town or a big city – is all about relationships. He brought this home when he said that someone can be really mad about a parking ticket, but that almost always, the parking ticket is a symbol of something else that’s really bothering them, and it’s his job to figure out what that is.

COVID has made everything more difficult. When COVID first appeared, the Chief was hampered by the impossibility of relating to people or being able to read their faces with everyone masked and wearing protective gear. And the stress of isolation during COVID has affected all of us – even those who prefer not to recognize the problem. It also made a number of our own police officers decide that it was time to pursue other careers. “We’re okay on staff this summer,” the chief said, adding that he is always looking for good people to join the profession.

Q&A with Chief Bob is always lively and informative. Rotarians and guests were united in our recognition of how fortunate we are to have him and his team doing the work they do in our town, and many appreciative comments were shared. Bob received a standing O both before he spoke and at the end of the evening; we all consider him just one more reason why we are fortunate to live on this peninsula.

Visitors for the evening included Maeve McGuire, from Cleveland, and her brother and Rotarian Rory McGuire. They are the grandchildren of Arch Klumpf, the oldtimer who famously started The Rotary Foundation, the charitable, billion-dollar 501( c)3 that today funds the good work Rotarians do around the world, including right here in the Boothbay Region. We also welcomed back Diane and Jim Saunders – always a pleasure – and Lenore Imhof – a neighbor of Marty Helman in Appalachee – as well as several spouses: Doug Fowle, Annette Stormont, and Ann Reed who, we suspect, had to remind Robin where and when the club meets. It’s always good to see you, Robin!

In other club news, we shared updates on Bob Pike and Billy Dodge. We also learned that close to $5000 was raised by the Barn last weekend! Kudos to all our hard-working volunteers, who pick up, sort, move, organize, sell, and do it all again the following week. And kudos to our neighbors, who both donate and purchase. The results can be seen in our charitable contributions around town.

Interested in learning more about Rotary? This week (August 4) we are going to hear from Damariscotta-Newcastle Rotarian Tina Hall about pollinator programs and simple ways we can help our insect friends improve habitat. Sound like fun? It certainly will have us all abuzzzzz.