March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Woman on job at Lubec > Office manager takes on challenges

LUBEC — The advertisement for town office manager might read: “Wanted, individual with true grit who can handle a contentious board of selectmen and an overtaxed town.”

Those are the problems Victoria Dyer faces as she settles in as Lubec’s new town office manager. Dyer, who has been on the job for two weeks, said she was up to the challenge.

Born in Vinalhaven, Dyer describes herself as an eighth-generation islander. She once worked in a fish factory as a cod and ground fish processor. “I worked at that for one year and decided that college was a better idea,” she said.

As she pursued her college education, she worked at the fish factory during the summer. She completed three years at Husson College in Bangor where she obtained an associate degree. “I want to finish that last year, that is one of those unfinished businesses in life,” she said. Dyer said she hoped to be able to attend night classes at the University of Maine at Machias.

Dyer, who is a widow, was married to writer George Putz who died three years ago of lung cancer. Putz wrote for boating magazines including Wooden Boat.

The new town office manager served as town manager of Vinalhaven for four years and later Boothbay for three years. She said she believed her coastal background would serve her well in her new position.

Lubec has been on an economic roller coaster during the past few years. While property sales have dropped, property taxes have risen and local taxpayers have demanded that their town and school leaders bite the economic bullet. During the past few weeks, voters at town meetings have slashed both the school and town budgets.

Dyer said she believed she was up to the challenges that face Lubec. She said that at one point in her career she participated in Women’s Unlimited, an organization that trains women for non-traditional fields.

The new town office manager said she was familiar with arc welding, construction, drafting, surveying and truck driving as a result of that program. “I look forward to the role of road commissioner,” she said. Dyer has a permit for her commercial truck driver’s license, and she said she looked forward to getting her license. It would be no surprise to see Dyer helping to plow the roads this winter.

Dyer said she looked forward to working on the town’s waterfront-development project. During the past year, the town was awarded more than $1 million in state and federal grants for waterfront improvements.

The new town office manager said she also intended to work closely with the town’s volunteer groups to see what their agendas are.


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