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www.bridgton.com Vol. 142, No. 1
Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. 20 PAGES
Bridgton, Maine
January 6, 2011
(USPS 065-020)
SIXTY CENTS
Petitions seek fast food, big box bans
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer It’s official. Two petitions were submitted Monday at the Bridgton Municipal Complex that call for a ban on formula restaurants and big box stores in Bridgton. If the two separate petitions are deemed to be legal under state laws governing citizen initiatives, then the Board of Selectmen will be obligated to call for a special
Light shines on CMS’s future
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO – The Town of Casco has been pondering a quandary similar to the classic question “What comes first, the chicken or the egg?” In the case of approving the expenditure of funds to save the Memorial School or tear it down and build new, the Catch-22 has been: Does the town seek voter approval on a dollar amount first, or does it go to contractors for bids and then approve the amount for the job? At Monday’s Casco Board of Selectmen meeting, a panel of construction experts said many Maine towns are putting out bids first, and then taking plans to the voters to secure the finances for projects. SCHOOL, Page 3A
election within 60 days from Monday, meaning a townwide vote would need to be held by March 3 at the latest. Town Manager Mitch Berkowitz said the town’s attorney will be determining the legality of the petitions this week, prior to the selectmen’s next meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 11. At that time, the board is required to take action on the petitions, Berkowitz said. The petitions were circulated
by resident Scott Finlayson and several supporters following the Planning Board’s approval of the McDonald’s Restaurant project across from Hannaford’s Supermarket on Dec. 6. “The selectmen have the ability to make a recommendation, either for or against, that would be printed on the ballot — or they could choose to take no position,” Berkowitz said.
Town Clerk Laurie Chadbourne said Tuesday she validated 286 signatures on the petition calling for a ban on formula-based restaurants and validated 298 signatures on the petition calling for the a cap on retail store development to 30,000 square feet. A total of 229 signatures were needed, based on voter turnout in Bridgton in last November’s elections. There were 14 invalid signatures on each petition;
the result, Chadbourne said, of duplications in some cases and the signators not being registered as a voter in other cases. Fast food ban The first petition calls for a referendum vote to amend the town’s Site Plan Review Ordinance by adding the language “Fast food restaurants and/or formula restaurants shall be prohibited” under the ordinance’s Special
Regulations section. It also adds a definition for “fast food restaurant and/or formula restaurant” as a type of restaurant that uses “prescribed employee uniforms, interior and exterior color schemes, architectural design, signage, name, presentation format, or similar standardized features which cause the restaurant to be substantially identical to another restaurant regardless PETITIONS, Page 3A
Crash leaves 2 injured
By Lisa Williams Ackley Staff Writer CASCO — Two people were injured, one seriously, when they lost control of a snowmobile while riding on Thomas Pond Sunday afternoon. Investigators with the Maine Warden Service said Thomas Hartley, 47, of Casco, and Patricia Butler, 41, of Naples, were traveling on a 1997 Ski Doo 600 Formula 3 snowmobile on Thomas Pond in the vicinity of Hartley’s residence on Thomas Pond Shore Road at approximately 12:05 p.m. Sunday when they were ejected after losing control of the vehicle and hit the shoreline tipping the sled onto its side. The Maine Warden Service interviewed two ice fishermen who said Butler was on the AN AERIAL LADDER TRUCK WAS USED TO ATTACK — the fire that destroyed the main building at the former Saunders front of the sled and Hartley Brothers wood products mill on Fair Street Dec. 30. See story on Page 3A. (Ackley Photos) was sitting behind her, but that SNOWMOBILE, Page 10A
Manager to make snow day decision
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO – Since Dec. 30, 2007, the Casco Town Office has been closed for snow days only three times. During the most recent December snowstorm that was accompanied by strong winds, seven employees braved the elements and showed up for work at the town offices. “The governor declared a state of emergency and told people to stay off roads. Seven people drove on the roads and came into work on the Monday. I think the risk of those people being out on roads is too much of a risk,” Casco Board of Selectmen Chairman Barbara York said. On Tuesday, the board voted unanimously to overturn a previous board vote, and allow the town manager to make the call to open offic-
es late or close them early in the event of adverse weather. “It was part of the record that the town offices should never close,” Town Manager David Morton said. Morton explained that some time ago, the selectmen had addressed the issue of employees getting paid for snow days when they remained home. When the board voted against paying for snow days, it had also declared the town office should never be closed because of bad weather. The primary reason for the latter decision was to not deny residents town services by closing unexpectedly. “As Road Commissioner, I drive on the worst of roads. But, if someone goes through all the effort to drive through CHARRED RUBBLE — from the fire that leveled the main building former Saunders 18 inches of snow to the town Brothers wood products mill on Fair Street, last week. Over 70 firefighters from two states office to register a vehicle, responded to the blaze that could be seen from as far away as Bridgton and Conway, N.H. SNOW, Page 10A
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — Local resident and businessman Greg Reinhard was surprised when his name came up as the general contractor tasked with putting in a septic system on a Sebago Cove property. The owner of Reinhard Excavating Inc. said his company has not been hired for the job. In fact, Reinhard said getting soil samples is the only work he has done on the Beach Road parcel. “I used the soils test to get
a price on the job. I haven’t even given the guy a price for the job,” Reinhard said. A soils test is required to determine what type of septic system would be most appropriate; and from that determination, a cost estimate can be made, he said. “I’m not the contractor,” he said. “Yes, I may be the contractor. I was in line to do the job. But, we haven’t made any agreement yet.” The owner of the land, Gordan MacNevin of Massachusetts, told the Naples
Sebago Cove tree-cutting incident murky Board of Selectmen during a mid-December meeting that Reinhard’s company handled the sub-contracting of a company to clear the trees prior to putting in a septic system. At press time, The News was unable to contact MacNevin for comment. The tree clearing became an issue when it was brought to the attention of Naples Code Enforcement Officer Boni Rickett that more trees had been removed than what is allowed according to two Shoreland regulations.
The Shoreland Ordinance that applies — and was broken — states that property owners cannot perform tree removal on more than 25 percent of the entire lot, according to Rickett. She had walked the property and said approximately 6,900-square-feet of trees had been removed from the 16,000-square-foot lot. The illegal tree removal occurred in the portion of the property located past the 100foot zone, she said. The 100 feet is measured from the high water mark on Sebago Lake
— in the case of this parcel, she said. Trees in the 100-foot zone had not been touched. The second shoreland regulation that comes into play prohibits anyone from removCUTTING, Page 2A
Robbery suspect identified
By Lisa Williams Ackley Staff Writer NAPLES — Police are searching for the alleged suspect in the robbery of prescription painkillers from a pharmacy on Route 302 here last year. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office obtained an arrest warrant this week for 21year-old Jesse Arthur Lavalle, whose last known address was in Windham, charging him with Class B robbery for his alleged involvement in the holdup at the Rite Aid Pharmacy on Roosevelt Trail on May 10, 2010. Detective Brian Ackerman said Lavalle allegedly passed a note to pharmacy personnel demanding Oxycontin and threatened to “blow heads off” if they refused to comply. He then fled on foot. No weapon was observed, however, according to Det. Ackerman. Lavalle is also wanted on an arrest warrant obtained by the Biddeford Police Department charging him with violation of bail conditions for a robbery he was allegedly involved in at a ROBBERY, Page 10A
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