Inside news Explaining ‘Wreath’ project; Stuff the Truck effort; Apples for the Pantry Page 7B
Final chapters
BN Index
Raiders unable to keep pace with Capers; Lakers head in the right direction
Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 9B Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 9B Country Living . . . 7B-8B Directory . . . . . . . . . . 4B
Page 7A
Obituaries . . . . . . 5B-6B Opinions . . . . . . . 1B-6B Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6A Sports . . . . . . . . 7A-10A Student News . . . . . . 8A Games . . . . . . . . . . . . 4B
Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870 Vol. 150, No. 45
20 PAGES - 2 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
November 11, 2021
Legal Notices . . . . 2B-3B
www.bridgton.com
(USPS 065-020)
95¢
Dam removal gains support
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES—Some residents flip-flopped, changed their minds about the best option for the removal of the remnants of the Edes Falls Dam — as a measure to protect the salmon fishery. The favored option is removing 25 feet of the slabs that make up old dam. The proposed project is to remove the granite slabs all the way to the shoreline; that is the right side shore if someone is looking at the remaining dam from down river of it. The dam is located off River Road in Naples. Katie Cash-Staley, who works seasonally at the Naples Museum, is one of those residents who changed her mind. This summer, she was dead set against any removal of the historical dam. After hearing the options and the comments, she went in another direction. “My recommendation is to remove the middle to the Jug Town side. I drank the Kool-Aid, as my father would say. Removing the middle to the Jug Town side, Option No. 3, would allow Trout Unlimited to raise more money,” she said. “We want to preserve history, but there is also the history of the river, the history of the fish.” She liked the concept of a kiosk in Jug Town Park, showing the dam’s history as part of the removal and restoration plan. “Doing nothing is not an option,” Cash-Staley said. The goal of the Edes Falls Dam Working Committee was to explore the options. The blessing of the Town of Naples’ residents is required because the project is on town-owned land. Therefore, the proposed project will be a warrant article at town meeting. The financial angle is being handled by Trout Unlimited, which will fundraise the money needed for the project. Therefore, it is not a budgetary item. The town will not need to pay anything. The Naples Board of Selectmen last week voted, 5-0, to recommend Option No. 3 to the public. Doug Bogdan, a member of the Edes Falls Dam Working Committee, presented the three options. (Not doing anything was not an option because it is a default if the town meeting voters don’t support removing half the dam.) Option No. 1 is to take out the center, 8 to 12 feet and allow the water to go through the middle. Option No. 2 is to remove 25 feet of the dam to the River Road side. Option No. 3 is to remove 25 feet of the dam to the Jug Town side. Dave Garcia, local businessman, fisherman and volunteer, spoke. “The Land Use Committee — we are in favor of clearing it out from the middle to the Jug Town side and making it safe,” Garcia said. Prior to the vote Selectman Ted Shane gave his reasoning. “To be honest with you, for the safety issue alone, [I like] option three,” Shane said. Kenneth Norton, a retired civil engineer who was on the committee, spoke about safety as well. “Safety is first. As soon as I went down there and looked at the dam, the thing is six feet wide and 11 foot drop. It’s a dangerous situation. You need to do something,” he said. First, Norton clarified that the structure cannot be called a dam. “There isn’t enough of it left to dam the river. We are not talking about a dam. We are talking about the remains of the dam,” he said. “Eighty-five years ago, that middle of the dam was taken out by Mother Nature. It is getting worse in the last 10 years. The header is going. The east abutment is just DAM REMOVAL, Page 10A
ROCKWELL PRINT: Carolee Collier, the executive director of the Harrison Historical Society accept a Normal Rockwell print from veteran Richard Allan, who had a career in the United States Air Force. (De Busk Photo)
Chance to share their stories
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer HARRISON — One veteran with strong ties to Harrison shared his military-service stories with an audience. Then, he gave a gift to the historical society’s museum: A Norman Rockwell print from the World War II era. “I’m a part-time resident of Harrison. It goes back a ways. Originally, I was first here in 1943,” Richard Allan said. He described a summer camp that is no longer operating, where his dad used to work. He talked about the families he knew, and the children like Donnie and Denny Davis with whom he played when he was a youngster. “The only time I haven’t been in Harrison was in 1966 when I was in the service,” Allen said. “Last week, I was in Western Massachusetts and I was thinking about this group and how much I appreciate your inviting me. I figured a little something for the historical society might be in order. I went to the Normal Rockwell Museum and I picked this
up for the historical society,” he said. “It very well reflects the experience we all had, the time we were in,” Allan said. “He [Rockwell] just so well captures the spirit, the Ethos of Americana.” On Sunday afternoon, a nice-sized crowd gathered at the Harrison Historical Society Museum, off Maple Ridge Road and Haskell Hill Road, so that local veterans could share stories. People not only told stories of their own military service, but they also recalled the stories of relatives who were veterans. This year, there were nine veterans who talked about their time in the service. “Those of us that were in the war during the Vietnam era, we are not looked upon kindly,” Allan said. “Sen. George Aiken, a senator from Vermont said these words about the war, ‘Vietnam — if we have to stay there until we win, then fine. Declare victory and pull out,’ ” he said. Allan explained when and why he got into the military. “I was a history major and I could see Vietnam. I
Honor those Who Served TODAY’S LINE-UP, NOV. 11 BRIDGTON Lopeman-Potts American Legion Post 67 in Bridgton will be holding a Veterans Day ceremony at 25 Depot Street at 11:11 a.m., please arrive by 10:30 a.m. There will be coffee, hot chocolate and cookies after the ceremony. All are welcome. CASCO Breakfast for veterans, who are residents of either Casco or Naples along with spouses, will be held at the Casco Community Center from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. FRYEBURG/LOVELL Fryeburg-Lovell VFW Post 6783 will hold Veterans Day Ceremony at East Conway WW1 Memorial at 11:11 a.m., Fryeburg Bradley Park at 11:30 a.m., Lovell Veterans Park at noon. HARRISON An Appreciation Breakfast for veterans will be held at the Caswell Conservancy Center from 8 to 10 a.m. NAPLES The American Legion Post 155 will be open to the public on Veterans Day. At 10:30 a.m., people can gather for coffee and donuts. A ceremony will take place at 11:11 a.m. outdoors at the flag pole. Afterwards, people can visit with one another and eat a nice, free lunch, to be provided. SEBAGO The Sebago Lions will sponsor a ceremony in Veterans Park in East Sebago starting at 11 a.m. thought it best I stay with this, which I did. I ended up being captain in the Air Force,” he said. “The Air Force made a mistake — they put me in
a job I knew how to do,” he laughed. “I was a young guy — 22. I had 30 or 35 people working for me.” One of his tasks was STORIES, Page 3A
Military buddies’ bond
THUMBS UP — On Saturday morning, Tyler Lafontaine gives a thumbs up before building a gaga ball fence as part of his Eagle Scout community project. (De Busk Photo)
Good reason to go totally ‘Gaga’ over Eagle project
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer In the morning, with frost still on the lawn, almost 20 boy scouts showed up and started removing sod and digging the holes for the posts. By the afternoon, the sun
had warmed the air to almost 60 degrees, and a new addition to the playground had been constructed. The finished product is an octagonal, wooden fence that is 20-feet across at its widest points and 2-and-a-half feet tall.
In no time at all, the scouts decided to test out the pit and played several lively games of Gaga ball, a variation of dodge ball. Building a Gaga ball fence behind the Bridgton Community Center is EAGLE, Page 4A
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer HARRISON — One local veteran brought a piece of art from a fellow whose friendship he had treasured. After all, the friend was a military buddy who served in the Korean War with him. “This is something that one of my buddies gave me during our infantry reunion. I was in the 9th Infantry regiment, the 2nd division in Korea during the war. That 9th Regiment was called the Manchu [Dragon]. One of my buddies painted this on a piece of leather. He donated this one to me,” Harold Leino said. “I’ve had that for a while. This fellow — he painted this picture on a piece of leather,” he said. Leino shared his stories during the annual gathering of veterans at the Harrison Historical Society Museum on Sunday afternoon, a few days before Veterans’ Day. Leino brought some memorabilia to accompany his story. He spoke briefly about a few of the military buddies he had known throughout the years. “You get to know a lot of good friends,” Leino said. “I
GIFT FROM MILITARY friend was what veteran Harold Leino brought to the annual veterans gathering at the Harrison Historical Society Museum on Sunday. (De Busk Photo) had one [who] just died we were together in Korea. He was from Arkansas. We made a lot of trips together. We made one trip to Alaska on a cruise ship. That was nice.” “He was a real good friend. He saved my butt and I prob-
ably saved his,” Leino said In the Town of Harrison, the Leino family is associated with military service. “I had nine brothers. We all served. I had five in the 2nd World War, and three of us BOND, Page 3A
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