Citing the impacts of his job on his mental health, the police chief for Baileyville has announced his pending retirement.

Bob Fitzsimmons, who grew up in Baileyville and has been the town’s police chief since 2013, said on the department’s Facebook page that he plans to step down at the end of the year. The rigors and challenges of the job have built up over the years and it is time for someone else to take on his responsibilities, he said.

“It has been a rough 5 years in Woodland for me,” Fitzsimmons said, referring to the town’s informal name. “Too many deaths, too much ugliness to deal with.”

While many police officers and other first responders struggle with mental health challenges associated with their jobs, it’s far less common for them to openly share those struggles on platforms such as Facebook.

Fitzsimmons said that in his time as Baileyville’s police chief, he has either found or been with 60 people when they died. He said he has received counseling and treatment, and has been diagnosed with anxiety and depression.

“There will always be another child, another person I have watched grow up, and another person that watched over me. Friends, or friends of friends. It’s never going to stop,” he said.

Fitzsimmons, 60, is known for his posts on the department’s Facebook page, where he would seek volunteers to help out residents or describe his interactions with local children. Often the posts reflected his wry sense of humor, but they also described the real struggles that local people were going through.

He said he has been granted “every courtesy” by the town manager and the council, and that he considers it a privilege to have served as the police chief, and before that with the law enforcement departments in Calais and Pleasant Point. But he said he plans to spend more time with his wife and to work on his mental health so he can enjoy retirement.

“The PD is in great hands now, I just hope I left Woodland just a bit better than it was,” he wrote.

Fitzsimmons encouraged anyone who has been struggling with their mental health to be open about it and to get help.

“Mental health needs to be treated like any other illness or injury,” he wrote. “It’s ok to talk about it, it’s ok to seek treatment without shame, it’s all gonna be ok.”

Stacey Souza’s most popular listing is a 4-bedroom farmhouse in the rural, coastal town of Friendship.

That’s because it’s listed for $250,000. Many people, notably first-time home buyers, are desperate for anything in that price range, even though the home needs a lot of work and will not be eligible for traditional financing.

The median sale price of a single-family home in Maine currently sits at $408,500, but that sum is far out of reach for the average household in Maine, which makes an annual income of just over $68,000, according to census data. That can afford you a home up to $254,000 with a $20,000 down payment, according to Zillow’s affordability calculator.

But home prices haven’t been that low statewide in Maine since July 2020, according to Maine listing data. They’re unlikely to return there any time soon, even in the more rural parts of the state that agents once had to urge their clients to reconsider.

“This is the new normal,” Souza, an associate broker with Rockland-based Cates Real Estate, said. “Everything that we hear from economists and real estate forecasters is that prices are not going to go back down.”

That leaves the average Mainer searching for homes in a tight spot. In southern Maine, $250,000 nets you a 650-square-foot condo, a seasonal cabin, a mobile home or just some land. In Aroostook, it can net you a charming 3-bedroom home in Madawaska’s town center.

Homes are costlier in the Portland area and along the coast. Yet buyers have been able to scoop up bargains over the last few years in central Maine, where homes were generally affordable to the average family until COVID-era price increases. In 2019, you could still find a turnkey home in the Augusta-Waterville area for $160,000.

“Now if you’re paying $160,000, it’s probably a mobile home on an acre of land,” Tim Fortin, the designated broker of NextHome Northern Lights Realty based in central Maine, said.

Fortin also has a 5-bedroom home on the market going for $250,000 in Fairfield. Like Souza’s, it is typical of those priced around this point in Maine: inland and in need of renovations.

It is a classic 1900s Victorian style build with lots of character, including original woodwork and stained glass windows. Though some renovations were done by a previous owner, more are needed. The floors need sanding and coats of polyurethane. The second floor is unfinished.

Like Souza’s listing, Fortin said this home is sitting on the market because the average person can afford to buy the home but not to fix it up.

“People are looking for more of a finished product,” Fortin said. “I think that’s hard to find in today’s market, unless you’re willing to pay $400,000.”

Because the cost of a single family home continues to climb, even in rural parts of the state, buyers keep having to make concessions. Condition of the home is one, Souza said. Typical buyers are looking at homes that need some cosmetic upgrades. People are also more willing to take a longer commute to work for the price they want, she said.

“People are willing to give up more of the things that they thought would be really important to them, especially for first time homebuyers,” Souza said. “Once they start to see a few homes in their price range there … certain things fall off their list.”

Anita Stewart, of Portland, spreads mulch in her plot at North Street Community Garden on Saturday. Stewart, who has been gardening at the site for 10 years, acknowledged the region has been in a dry spell, but said it could be worse. “The grass is still green, so it doesn’t feel as bad as other years,” she said. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

The state of Maine has seen a dry fall so far with parts of the state expected to remain in moderate drought conditions into November.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recorded 3.61 inches of precipitation in the Portland area from September through October this year, 5.41 inches below normal.

About 74% of Maine was abnormally dry or in moderate drought at the end of October – per the NOAA National Integrated Drought Information System – and much of New England is experiencing similar conditions.

Dry weather has meant more wildfires late into the typical fire season throughout the region.

Eastern Maine is in moderate drought, including Washington and Hancock Counties and the eastern parts of Aroostook, Piscataquis, Penobscot, Waldo, Knox and Lincoln Counties, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Most of the rest of the state was classified as abnormally dry for this time of year. Parts of the southern tip of York County are also experiencing moderate or severe droughts.

It was the 12th driest September through October period on record in Portland, said Derek Schroeter, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Gray. Portland only saw 10 days of precipitation during this time, the second-least rain days for the two-month period on record.

Dry conditions are expected to continue into November, with NOAA projecting below-normal precipitation for the entire state through Nov. 11. Eastern Maine is expected to keep experiencing drought throughout the month.

“This indicates there will be little relief in the ongoing dry conditions,” Schroeter said.

All of southern New England was under an NWS red flag warning on Friday, a type of warning for elevated fire weather concerns.

In Massachusetts, heightened drought conditions have resulted in a 1,200% spike in forest fires in October, the state’s Department of Fire Services said Friday.

The lack of rainfall, combined with gusty winds and an abundance of dry, falling leaves could create the conditions necessary for wildfires in Maine, as well. Much of southern and coastal Maine had a high chance of fire weather over the weekend, and the rest of the state had a moderate chance, according to the Maine Forest Service Wildfire Danger Report.

“This is kind of an unusual fall, to have this kind of fire activity in late October, early November,” said Kent Nelson, forest ranger specialist with the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

Nelson estimated that rangers have responded to about 60 or 70 wildfires in the past few weeks, more than usual at this time of year.

Maine averages 650 wildfires that burn about 550 acres annually, according to the Forest Service. There have only been about 400 wildfires so far this year, but that number could tick up as drought conditions continue, Nelson said.

“Ninety-five percent of our fires are human-caused, so that means, in some way, they can be prevented,” Nelson said.

For example, by being careful while doing yard work. Lawnmowers and tractors can spark fires if they hit rocks or other debris, Nelson said, and dry grass and leaves are like kindling for wildfires.

“Use the right machine for the right job,” Nelson said. “A lawn mower is not meant to be used to mow brush in the woods, that’s what a brush cutter is for.”

If you’re camping, Nelson recommended double- and triple-checking that campfires are out before leaving an area to make sure the fire doesn’t spread.

“It takes three or four times of putting water on it, stirring the coals and waiting a few minutes,” Nelson said.

The Forest Service recommends clearing dead vegetation 30 feet from homes and camps – but always make sure to get a permit before you burn, Nelson said. Permits are available for free online but are only valid when the daily fire danger rating is low or moderate.

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