Business Spotlight: Conroy’s Home Heating Fuels

Anyone who’s had to search for a reputable heating and propane provider in Windham values a

company that is responsive and communicates effectively with its customers while offering timely deliveries and fair prices.

Conroy’s Home Heating Fuels has been in business since 1942 but is now taking on customers in Windham and that’s welcome news for this area.

Conroy’s is family owned and operated and small enough to provide exceptional customer service and superior attention to detail while large enough to handle everyone’s heating needs. With its fleet of trucks based in Saco, Conroy’s has the capacity to handle extreme winter volumes for heating needs yet goes the extra mile to get to know its customers and values the opportunity to serve them better.

Offering heating oil, propane, and K-1 kerosene at competitive prices, Conroy’s Home Heating Fuels has various pricing platforms to keep everyone warm when it’s cold outside. Conroy’s also has private burner technicians available to handle any customer needs that may arise.

“We take pride in customer service. We know a lot of people are currently frustrated with the larger out-of-state companies,” said Brent Heanssler of Conroy’s Home Heating Fuels “Our motto is ‘large enough to serve, small enough to care.’ We make the extra effort to understand and cater to our customer’s specific fuel needs, but we also have the resources to get the job done.”

He said Conroy’s offers its customers an array of different ways to pay, including Visa, Mastercard, Discover, checks or cash, and convenient pricing plans, such as a budget plan to spread out your fuel payments over many months. Or they have a pre-buy plan designed to lock in a set price over a specified time to avoid market pricing volatility. There are also discounts available for seniors, military, and first-responders or for large-volume purchases.

Heanssler said another benefit that customers can come to expect from Conroy’s Home Heating Fuels is that there are never any hidden charges for services rendered.

“A lot of companies are now charging hidden delivery fees, hidden hazmat fees or hidden fuel recovery fees,” he said. “We do not charge any of these.”

As the cost of heating fuels has risen in the past few years, Conroy’s Home Heating Fuels is keenly aware of how this affects household budgets and strives to ensure the best price it can for its customers.

“We try to keep our pricing in line with our competitors, but we also allow 15 days for payment, which many others do not,” Heanssler said. “In addition, we offer lock-in and pre-buy options with various payment choices, and budget accounts. We are also an approved LIHEAP vendor with the state.”

With a staff of eight, Conroy’s services much of Southern Maine including Arundel; Lyman; Biddeford; Old Orchard Beach; Buxton; Portland; Cape Elizabeth; Saco; Dayton; Scarborough; Gorham; South Portland; Hollis; Waterboro; Kennebunk; Westbrook, and this year for the first time, it’s offering service to customers in Windham.

Unlike larger and more impersonal heating companies that schedule deliveries weeks out and you never speak directly to a real person when placing an order, a Conroy’s employee returns every phone call and because it’s a small company, Conroy’s typically can deliver propane and heating fuel within a couple of days from when a phone order is placed.

“The key to our business being successful are the people within our organization,” Heanssler said. “We have a great group of team members and because we’re happy, we go out of our way to make sure every one of our customers are satisfied. We believe it’s the attention to details that matter.”

Even though Conroy’s offers traditional heating oil and kerosene, the company is excited to now provide propane to customers.

“Propane is considered a green energy as compared to other energy sources, and also burns with greater efficiency,” Heanssler said. “Propane is known for its versatility and not only is it used for primary heating; but is also used for cooking, fireplaces, and pool heating. To establish a new service or to switch from another provider please call today and a service provider will discuss your needs and the installation process.”

With outstanding customer service, a quick turnaround for deliveries and handy pricing options, Conroy’s Home Heating Fuels hopes to make many new friends and loyal customers in Windham this heating season.

For more information about Conroy’s Home Heating Fuels, or to schedule a delivery, call 207-883-2572 or visit them online at https://conroysoil.com/heating-fuels/ or find them on Facebook. <

Business Spotlight: Roosevelt Trail Garden Center

T.J. and Marina Doherty are the new owners of Roosevelt Trail Garden Center and its division, L.J.
Gagne Landscaping and Excavation, remain committed to offering exceptional customer service, quality products, and the expertise needed to make the business a “one-stop” shop for all your gardening and landscaping needs.

Both divisions are well known in the Lakes Region and want customers to know that despite the ownership change, Roosevelt Trail Garden Center at 310 Roosevelt Trail in Windham is the same great local business offering the same services, expanding other services, offering the same great products, an increased knowledge, increased product inventory, and providing slightly more modern touches and new management.

The garden center itself offers spring, summer and fall annuals, along with all-season perennials, garden seedlings, a retail center featuring flower pots, bagged products, tools, house plants and more. They can teach customers what will grow in their zone, what plants would meet their landscape needs, teach about plant maintenance, how to prune and plant, and how to water and protect from weather.

The business also has a new service of repotting house plants when customers purchase both the plant and the pot from them. They offer tree installations, sod installation, landscape work including walls, planting, and associated groundwork, hardscape and custom landscape design. They do stone laying, brick laying, ground preparation, create lake retaining walls, granite steps and lake-friendly landscaping.

“What distinguishes our business from other companies offering similar services is we provide lake-friendly landscaping, are family owned, the only business that offers retail design and build, the whole package,” T.J. Doherty said. “You can have a design created, pick your own plants in house and have your work done, it’s a “one stop business.”

He said that Roosevelt Trail Garden Center and its division, L.J. Gagne Landscaping and Excavation,

The Doherty Family, from left, are Marina, baby
Theodore, T.J., and Benjamin.
SUBMITTED PHOTO  

are a premier landcape business, but hold pricing fair to ensure that they are meeting customer needs while still providing top quality work and products.

“When people think of about landscaping, they are scared of the costs, but it’s actually pretty reasonable,” Marina Doherty said.

Roosevelt Trail Garden Center has been locally owned and was founded 22 years ago with L.J. Gagne Landscape founded 40 years ago. The Dohertys took over as owners on Aug. 4 and currently employ a staff of 14 across both businesses.

“Our quality is guaranteed with a two-year warranty on select trees and shrubs,” T.J. Doherty said. “Customers have shared that they enjoy our eye for detail, the high-quality products, deliveries made in a timely manner, and they enjoy our knowledgeable staff and friendly personalities.”

He said that the business intends to become more current on trends under new ownership.

“We are going to increase services and products,” he said. “We have increased our social media presence and have updated signs. We go above and beyond such as obtaining permits in advance if any are needed for work. On the landscape side, we focus on quality and safety and for the garden center we emphasize an expanding variety of products, and a high level of expertise. We are also accepting new commercial snowplowing accounts for this season.”

Hours of operation for Roosevelt Trail Garden Center are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. The garden shop features products by Pharm Solutions and PlantSkydd animal repellents. Pharm Solutions products are safe, effective, organic insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and animal repellents made from essential oils like rosemary, soybeans, and garlic. PlantSkydd produces the longest lasting, most effective critter repellents on the market.

The garden shop also features a four-step program of 100 percent natural and lake-friendly lawn and garden fertilizers ensuring that customers can have a beautiful green lawn without using expensive chemical fertilizers.

For more information about Roosevelt Trail Garden Center, call 207-893-2757 or visit them online at www.roosevelttrailgardencenter.com Find them on Facebook at RooseveltTrailGardenCenter or on Instagram at roosevelttrailgardencenter

Visit L.J. Gagne Landscaping and Excavation on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/l.jgagnelandscape or on Instagram at l.jgagnelandscape <

Business Spotlight: Vet At Your Door

Veterinary medicine is evolving, and part of that change is available right here in Windham as Vet At Your Door offers an elevated veterinarian experience by caring for your pets in the comfort of home while saving pet owners the hassle of transporting anxious pets to the vet.  

Deirdre Frey, the owner of Vet At Your Door, says that Dr. Deanna Anderson serves Windham and having her visit clients' homes lends itself to providing a more connecting and devoted veterinary experience.

“We are a house-call veterinary practice dedicated to providing an exceptional veterinary experience in the comfort of home,” Frey said. “We offer wellness services such as exams, vaccines, screening lab work, along with sick visits, hospice care, acupuncture and euthanasia, all in the low-stress, comfortable environment of home. We are also grateful to have wonderful veterinarians offering extended emergency euthanasia hours beyond our regular office hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. Extended euthanasia hours are from 5 to 7 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.”

According to Frey, the best part of the mobile veterinarian practice is meeting and interacting with the people they serve.

“Coming to their homes, we get to connect with people in a different way,” she said. “Moreover, at home your pet, you, and your veterinarian are much more relaxed, and we really have the time and the relationship to develop the best plan with you regarding your pet's health and situation,” Frey said. “Importantly, we love and are grateful to be practicing this way. I have tried really hard to make our staff's work/life balance actually work, so they are available to you, emotionally, mentally, and physically, when they enter your home. Additionally, we have what we call our ‘One Team Approach’ that matches not only a veterinarian to you specifically, but also a veterinary technician and a client liaison. This way, you have entire veterinary team, from the person on the phone to the person in your home, that you will get to know and love as the years progress.”

Vet At Your Door has been in business since 2015 and has been serving Windham for the past four years.

“We hire doctors who live in and love the areas we serve. Dr. Deanna Anderson is the veterinarian who serves Windham and has chosen to live here and raise her family here and get to know the community, both two-legged and four-legged, through her work,” Frey said. “Also, having the veterinarian come to your home makes things so much less stressful for all involved and truly lends itself to an easy, low-stress, high-quality veterinary experience that our clients and their pets love.” 

Dr. Deanna Anderson of the Vet At
Your Door mobile veterinary
service serves Windham.
COURTESY PHOTO

Anderson received her DVM from Iowa State University in 2016 and has been a part of the Windham team since February after having been in general practice for several years.

“Jacquie Prather is her veterinary nurse and is absolutely wonderful,” Frey said. “And Amy Phillips is the team's client liaison, at the ready to answer the phone and is a ninja at her keyboard. Overall, we have 21 employees that serve in veterinary teams throughout Maine.”

Exceptional customer service and convenience are the core of the Vet At Your Door business.

“We focus on making sure our clients feel heard and listened to,” Frey said. “I sincerely believe that from the first phone call to helping a beloved pet pass peacefully in the comfort of home, our quality, sincerity, and customer service cannot be beat. We constantly receive wonderful feedback about our incredible staff, the high-quality of the veterinary advice we provide, and the devoted customer service we are so very passionate about.”

Pricing for services is comparable to regular veterinary practices. The main difference is the addition of the trip fee of $86 to bring the veterinary team to you. Frey said Vet At Your Door clients attest there is excellent value for the money in the services they provide.

“We are always ensuring that we are staying up to date on new medications and therapies as they come out, and love doing continuing education to keep ourselves educated on the best and most novel therapies. Business-wise, there are very few house call practices in the U.S. with so many employees that cover such a large service area, so we are building the plane while it is flying so to speak. But our amazing, nimble, and experienced team makes it a joy to chart a course forward, constantly making ourselves better and better.”

To reach Vet At Your Door, call 207-383-2646 or visit www.vetatyourdoor.com. Find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/vetatyourdoor. <

Business Spotlight: Mainely Ticks

By Barb Maurais
Educational Resources, Mainely Ticks

Deer ticks didn’t leave the state over Labor Day weekend.

Summer months in Maine are peak for Lyme disease – a result of our extended outdoor activities in proximity to the tiny nymphal deer tick. But as we enter the fall season, please be aware that larval ticks and adult deer ticks will become most active.

Larval ticks are out now…

Encounters with larval ticks can be messy – people often describe these larval ticks as having stepped directly into a “tick nest.” Hunters and outdoor enthusiasts – take note! This is a fair description since these egg masses can contain 1,500 or more newly hatched ticks that are seeking their first blood meal. Don’t let it be from you! Given that you’ll encounter multiple larval ticks, it’s important to know how to protect yourself. Because larval ticks are so small (about the size of the period at the end of the sentence) that they can crawl right through socks, consider wearing clothing treated with 0.5 percent permethrin to stop them in their tracks. You can purchase treated socks, plants, shirts, and other garments online, at local sporting stores (Dicks, LL Bean, Dog Not Gone), treat your own clothing at home, or send clothing to Insect Shield www.insectshield.com to be treated professionally. (15 percent savings with MainelyTicks coupon code.) You can also tackle a swarm of larval ticks before they attach on your clothing or skin by using the sticky side of duct tape – that along with patience and a keen eye will remove large numbers of ticks. Thorough tick checks to find tiny ticks that have escaped the duct tape along with a pair of fine pointed tweezers to remove any attached ticks are both essential steps to reduce your tick encounters.

Coming soon… 

While it seems as though they just left, adult blacklegged ticks will be returning near the end of September and continuing throughout the fall and into the winter…whenever the temperature is above freezing, deer ticks may be active. Adult female activity peaks in the fall. Be aware that dense leaf litter is prime tick habitat. Wear protective clothing, apply repellent to exposed skin, and do frequent tick checks when outdoors this fall.

Tick vectors…

Small rodents, not deer, are responsible for transmitting the Lyme disease bacteria to ticks. A typical field mouse can carry more than 100 ticks during peak activity periods, and all of those ticks have the potential of transmitting Lyme disease. Mouse and chipmunk activity on your property may support the presence of deer ticks.

Tick habitat and landscape modifications…

Ticks need moist areas to survive. Modifying your landscape is a simple way to reduce tick populations. Clean up your yard and keep grass short. Trim branches to let the sunshine in. Sunny areas are less likely to harbor ticks. Remove leaf litter and brush from your property and the perimeter. Move bird feeders and wood piles away from your home. Consider a run or invisible fence to keep pets out of the woods as the fall months are peak for canine Lyme.

Tick check…

The longer a deer tick is attached, the greater the chances of contracting Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. Develop a routine of checking yourself, your children, and your pets frequently after outdoor activity. When showering or bathing, do a full body inspection for a rash or attached ticks. Also use the sensitivity of your fingertips to feel for attached ticks. Pay special attention to favorite tick spots, including the back of the knees, groin, waist, armpits, and scalp.

Tick educational partnership …

Mainely Ticks recently partnered with University of Rhode Island’s TickEncounter TickSPOTTERS where you will learn tick removal tips, tick identification with photo submission, and personalized risk assessment based on your specific tick photo submissions. Click the QR Code or enter the url in the ad below to use this site.

If you’re finding ticks on your property…

Visit www.mainelyticks.com to learn more about our educational resources. Click “Request a Quote” for a complimentary estimate for our professional services that will better protect your entire family. If you have a history of tick activity on your property, the spring and fall applications are the two most important treatments of the year. Prevention is the Best Prescription. <

Business Spotlight: Fringe - Salon with Benefits

Fringe Salon in Windham is on a mission of helping people feel good about themselves and treating everyone they meet as if they are longtime best friends. 

Now open at 8 Turning Leaf Drive at The Shops at Sebago, Fringe bills itself as the “Salon with Benefits,” a slogan that makes owner, stylist, and lash artist Natalee Taylor laugh.

“We love what we do and have fun doing it,” Taylor said. “The slogan fits us perfectly and every time we think of it, it makes us all smile.”

Fringe opened July 6 in a clean and comfortable setting when three stylist friends from the old Roots Salon in Windham had to relocate and decided to open a new facility that focuses on putting people first. Although Fringe is a new salon, the stylist team there has been working together for six years at Roots and they complement each other well, bringing different skill sets and areas of expertise to the business.

“We offer our clients a judgement-free and friendly environment in which you leave feeling and looking better than when you walked in,” Taylor said. “We often have clients tell us that they wish they could just hang out with us all day because of the fun we have while working. Our staff has been complimented on the genuine love and respect we have for one another, often by other stylists. We like to make everyone who walks in our door feel like someone. Many of our clients become our friends because of the bonds we build. It’s never just about the hair, it’s about the whole person.”

Fringe Salon offers all hair services, lash extensions, Microblading and facial waxing and its staff has a combined 72 years of experience in the industry.

“We are independently priced, but we are competitive in our area,” Taylor said. “We have clients that travel from Massachusetts, North Conway, New Hampshire, DownEast, Southern Maine and right here in Windham.”

Customers love how they are treated and the quality of the work and products at Fringe.

Stylists of Fringe include Corbi Duquette,
Natalee Taylor and Shelley Worthing. They
take pride in providing professional hair
care and more in an upbeat atmosphere.
SUBMITTED PHOTO 

“I have never had an experience like I had with Natalee this evening... She was absolutely phenomenal! She really took her time to make sure every hair fell in the right place, made me feel comfortable and was very professional while still making me laugh and have a blast....!!! Will definitely be going back for more from Natalee and recommending her to everyone I know!!” Sarah Spiller

“Thank you Corbi! Excellent job and awesome service. It feels really amazing to finally have a hairdresser at home in Maine. Thank you for your warm hospitality and Omar cuddles.” Kelly Smith

“Although I have known Shelley for about 15 years, this is my first experience with microblading. My brows were in sad shape after cancer treatment. I have a little piece of myself back and my brows look great now!” Alissa Noble

“My friend recommended Natalee when I needed someone to do my makeup for an event and it was sort of last minute. She took me in and has done my makeup twice already! She is so personable, and she is very talented, I would highly recommend her! She will be there doing makeup for my wedding day! You won’t be disappointed!” - Susan Pooler 

“The name, Fringe, a salon with benefits, is exactly that! The location and space is very welcoming, bright and comfortable. The stylists there have many years of experience and ensure you feel pampered and beautiful when you walk out! They give their client the time and undivided attention to give the look you want. I highly recommend booking an appointment with them. From the warm welcome you get from the time you walk in, to feeling your best self when you walk out, the experience at Fringe is one you’ll keep going back for!” Heather Rose

Taylor says that exceptional customers service and having fun are the cornerstones of Fringe and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“The most important thing to remember about us is that we are people too, we love to laugh and have a good time,” she said. “We love to give our clients our all every day. We offer wine, coffee, and water, a warm welcome when you walk in and the very best and the latest and greatest techniques and products to achieve a custom look for our clients. We truly love what we do and love and appreciate our clients.”

Taylor does plan to add to the staff soon but will be selective to find just the right fit.

“We are always seeking out additional education and new trends to keep us up to date,” she said. “We often learn from each other. We are flexible and accommodating with our time. We try to find the right fit for every client and believe in giving back to the community. We’re good at what we do, are friendly and kind and we have a lot of fun here.”

To make an appointment for Fringe, call 207-572-1113. Find Fringe on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/fringesalonwithbenefits or on Instagram @fringe_thesalon <