ALFRED – York County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Mathieu Nadeau responded to a call in 2022 that involved a woman who was worried about her husband. He was despondent, she told dispatchers she believed he had been contemplating suicide and had left the house.

Nadeau, said York County Sheriff William L. King, found the man and convinced him to go to the hospital for care.

Nadeau’s actions likely saved the man’s life, said King.

During an awards ceremony March 31, King said the incident and its outcome would likely have not percolated through the department – except the man wrote King a letter, outlining what Nadeau, of Biddeford, had done.

The man wrote that he had planned to take his life that day.

He spoke of Nadeau’s calm manner, and his demeanor.

“He treated me with respect and helped me maintain my dignity,” King read from the letter. “I never envisioned myself writing a letter like this. Saying “thank you” seems to fall short.”

King presented Nadeau, who has been with the agency more than 20 years, with a lifesaving award for his actions that day.

Other members of the York County Sheriff’s Office police services division and corrections staff at York County Jail received lifesaving awards as well among many awards and commendations handed out March 31. An awards committee convenes to decide recipients.

King said many of the lifesaving awards involved intervention to prevent drug overdoses, though others did not.

Earning lifesaving awards in police services were Sgt. Gregg Sevigny and Deputy Troy Chenard; Sgt. Joshua Morneau); Deputies Alex Markellos and Cody Frazier; Detective Tom Searway, and Nadeau.

Lifesaving awards in corrections went to Corrections Officers Kayley Weeman, Melissa Higgins, and Keith Seymour and to nurses Maureen Everett and Melissa Lincoln, Captain David Lambert, and Major Nathan Thayer.

Commendations in corrections were awarded to officers John Nardelli, Kayley Weeman, Matthew Fitzgerald, Gerald Therrien, Gabrielle Carpenter, Patrick Pierce, Keith Merrifield, Christopher Lancaster, Corporal Donovan Cram, Sgt. Kurt Martin, and Lieut. Mike Perry.

Police services commendations went to deputies Travis Jones, Jason Soloman and Bob Carr and Nadeau.

Deputy John Willey earned a commendation in the civil division.

Civilian awards went to dispatcher Chad Kirk, Alex Martin, and Mike MacDonald and to legislators Nathan Carlow and Timothy Roche.

Deputies Alex Markellos, Shawn Sanborn and Steven Broy earned meritorious service awards in police services as did Sgt. Jason Drouin in corrections.

The Mat Baker Awards, given in memory of the late Chief Deputy, were awarded to Clerk Stacy Thistlewood and to Corrections Officer Gerald Therrien.

Faith Blanchette was named Reserve Corrections Officer of the year.

Corporal Donovan Cram, who has been with York County Jail for seven years, was named Corrections Officer of the year, while Cody Frazier, a six-year veteran of police services, was named Deputy of the Year.

Also recognized was Kim Johnson, who recently retired from her job as a deputy in the police services. She had started her career with the agency as a corrections officer.

King thanked people in the audience for attending. The event was the first awards ceremony since the beginning of the pandemic.

“While we honor all of our outstanding employees, I must say that in addition to those that were officially recognized, there are some other heroes in the room – they are the family members and significant others of our employees,” he said. ” Without your support, our employees would not be able to do their very difficult jobs day in and day out.”

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