Anna McDougal said being inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame last month was one of the best moments of her life.

The Wiscasset woman said skiing in the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria was awesome, and a big deal, “but I think this was more of a big deal.”

She loved the Hall’s induction ceremony, including the heavy trophy and the standing ovation she and the other inductees got, McDougal, 45, shared in a phone interview Monday. 

She said her whole family was at the ceremony; so were her ski coach Connie French-Smith, Special Olympics Maine and Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows. In a same-day post at x.com, Bellows called McDougal’s induction historic, a first for a Special Olympics athlete in Maine.

Last January, the Hall announced this year’s inductees to be. And McDougal said Monday, as a result of being part of the Hall’s Class of 2024, she has a new friend, fellow 2024 inductee Kissy Walker, the award-winning Husson College basketball coach.

“It’s nice to have a friend I can relate to about sports, someone who understands me,” McDougal said.

In the 2017 Games, McDougal won silver in Alpine novice slalom and bronze in Alpine novice giant slalom. 

Her favorite memories from the Sept. 15 Maine Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, at Portland’s Merrill Auditorium, were having her family there and the standing ovation. “That meant a lot to me.”

Giving her speech, she got to talk about determination, being prepared and her love of skiing, she said. “I think my speech was very powerful because I showed a lot of emotions, and I just wanted to cry, because I was so happy in that moment. And all of the inductees, they were in that moment, too. That’s what I loved about it.”

What’s next for the artist, author and advocate for people with disabilities? McDougal’s latest book, “Ski Dreams,” is still set to come out. McDougal said it will be paired with her earlier autobiography, “A Look Back,” about growing up with Down Syndrome. “Two books in one.”

And she will keep on skiing, for her love of it and always in loving memory of her grandfather Harry Shartar, who was proud of her skiing. 

PORTLAND (WGME) – Monday marks one year since Hamas attacked Israel killing 1,200 people and taking hundreds more as hostage. Maine’s Jewish community commemorated the day, gathering at the Jewish Community Alliance Center in Portland to mourn and remember those lost.

“The cemeteries are filling up,” said Dr. Eric Dinnerstein, an Israeli American who spoke at Monday’s event. “There are some who do not have a gravesite.”

A candlelight vigil was held in remembrance of those who were killed October 7, and in support for those taken hostage. Mourners hearing about the atrocity firsthand from a survivor.

“People are saying I have a family member who is wounded please send security squad to me,” said Keren Borovsky Oren, a survivor of the October 7 attack. “In a different neighborhood people are saying the terrorist burned our home, what can we do please come and save us.”

The 200 attendees in Portland were protected by heightened security. The safety measures were sparked by a rise in antisemitism across the country, including in Maine.

“The anti-Semitic increase in the wake of October 7 is real,” said CEO of Jewish Community Alliance Leslie Kirby. “And it hasn’t just been words there have been people who have been attacked.”

Across the city, Portland Mayor Mark Dion signed a proclamation, remembering those who were lost in last year’s attack.

“The trauma of October 7 has reverberated across the world with Jewish communities including here in Portland,” said Dion.

It was an act praised by organizers but questioned by some attendees who were frustrated the city voted to divest from Israel last month.

“Why did that phony vote to divest from Israel?” an attendee shouted out at the commemoration event in Portland.

Monday’s remembrance was filled with song and prayer. And similar events happened all over the state, linked together virtually.

“I think it’s really important,” said Margery Goldberg, who attended the commemoration. “In our tradition people support each other during trauma and the loss of loved ones.”

A man has been arrested in the death of a woman last month in Mexico, Maine, police said Monday.

Elijah Cowper, 23, is suspected of murder and arson in the death of Lacey Tidswell, also 23, in a fire reported on the morning of Sept. 26, Maine State Police said.

Cowper, who’d been in custody on an unrelated charge, was due in court Monday about 3 p.m., according to police. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney who could speak to the charges.

Police initially said that they found the body of a person, later identified as Tidswell, while putting out flames at a burning home on Tucker Street, while another person was rescued by ladder. That person wasn’t hurt.

The fire was reported about 7:09 a.m., and first responders found fire burning from the front porch and other parts of the building, police said. The body was found inside the house later.