Lincoln County Commissioners on Nov. 21 approved Sheriff Todd Brackett’s request for one of his CID employees, Jared Mitkus, to teach a 20-week course at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy beginning in January.

While the $15,000 reimbursement does not cover all of Mitkus’s salary and benefits for the period involved, Brackett said the benefits to the county would be greater than the funds alone. “He will be able to continue some of his regular duties, including overtime,” he said. “The county will get a free placement to the academy for a new hire to attend the basic law enforcement training program in January. Plus, Mitkus will get some critical supervisory experience, working with the students, which will be good for us in the future.”

Commissioners also approved hiring Scott Peterson as a deputy. Two previous hires did not successfully complete the background check, Brackett said. Peterson’s hire is also dependent on successful completion of the checks.

Carol Thibeault has been hired to run human resources for the county and Two Bridges Regional Jail. Her position will be split between the two roles.

The Emergency Management Agency reported the county had turned in its documentation to try to get Maine a federal disaster declaration for the windstorm at the end of October. Casey Stevens also reported that his search and rescue team had searched for a man who went missing in West Bath.

Joe Westrich of communications confirmed the tower outages from the storm have been repaired.

Mary Ellen Barnes of Lincoln County Regional Planning got commissioners’ approval to retrieve the funding for Maine Department of Transportation projects in Lincoln County. Those funds had been outsourced to Midcoast Regional Planning last year, but a new hire at LCRPC has experience with transportation projects and wanted to take over that part of the work. Other parts of the swap, including the GIS program, will also remain with LCRPC.