JAY — Regional School Unit 73 Director Andrew Sylvester announced at the Thursday, Sept. 24, board meeting he has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

“I’m doing well. I appreciate all the support,” Sylvester, who attended the meeting via ZOOM, said. “Right now, my health is fine. I’ll keep you updated if anything changes.”

After the meeting, Sylvester said by phone he found out Sunday. He is one of three representatives from Livermore on the school board. He also works at the ND paper mill in Rumford where 16 people tested positive on Thursday, Sept. 17.

“I’ve had no contact with the board, the community. I’m quarantining at home,” he said. “I’ve spoken with the (Maine) CDC. I feel okay so far.”

“I work at the Rumford mill, that’s probably where I got it,” he said. “It came as a surprise but not a complete shock. I had been following all the protocols, had no signs. I have no underlying conditions.”

Earlier in the meeting, Spruce Mountain High School athletic director Marc Keller had said that athletes participating in intramural sports programs would wear face coverings. On Sept. 10 the board approved competition within the MVC for low-risk sports but not mid- or high-risk sports.

MPA guidelines recommended wearing masks, but it wasn’t mandated, Keller said at that meeting. He wasn’t sure if other teams would wear them, which factored in the board’s decision.

There will be intramural programs over the next 6 weeks for field hockey, boys and girls soccer and cheering, Keller said Thursday.

“It will be a 3-day program. Teams will play games one night a week, do clinics one day – perhaps with middle school students – and practice one day,” he said. “I’ve left it up to the coaches to figure out how to run it.”

There is still talk of a spring football season, we may decide to hold a program this fall to teach skills and drills, have a 7V7 or 8V8 flag format, Keller said.

Some crazy things may be thrown in, have coaches work with other teams such as the field hockey coach work with the girls soccer team, I work with field hockey athletes, he said. Those teams could then play combined games with half of the game being field hockey, the other half soccer, he added.

“We’re trying to do something fun for the kids, keep them involved,” Keller said.

When asked about younger and older students playing together, Keller said the MPA is more about scrimmages this year and is allowing younger kids to work with older ones.

Craig Collins, athletic director at the middle school, said a similar format would be used to work on skills and drills to get athletes ready to move up to the high school. Students in cohort A will meet Monday and Tuesday, those in cohort B Wednesday and Thursday, he added.

Students who are learning fully remotely will be able to participate and all students will have to be picked up by parents afterwards, he said.

In other business, the board accepted Dawn Pettingill’s retirement with regret.

A second grade teacher at Spruce Mountain Primary School, her position will not be filled, Superintendent Scott Albert said.

Pettingill had 13 students and dividing them between the other classes will give 8 students per cohort, he said.

Reasons for not replacing Pettingill include the difficulty currently in finding substitutes, the possibility of not being able to find a replacement given the time of year and it could save the district some money, Albert said.

If the pandemic requirements change next year, that person would be the first on the block to lose their job, he added.