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Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 150, No. 3
16 PAGES - 2 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
January 17, 2019
(USPS 065-020)
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Wright named BH president By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer Peter Wright understands the important connection between a hospital and the rural communities it serves. Wright, an experienced hospital administrator from New Hampshire, will be the new President of Bridgton Hospital (a 25-bed critical access hospital) and Rumford Hospital, Central Maine Healthcare announced last week. Wright joins CMH after serving for six years as president and CEO at Valley Regional Healthcare in Claremont, N.H. Highlyregarded for his service-oriented leadership and ability to create connections with communities of all sizes, Wright also demonstrates outstanding knowledge and understanding of the unique nature of rural healthcare. His entire career has been spent in northern New England. “Peter Wright rose to the top of our extensive, nationwide search,” said CMH
EVP David Tupponce, MD. “He’s proven highly-successful instilling a strong clinical culture and prioritizes heightened communication, transparency and accountability. He understands the importance of rural hospitals to the communities they serve.” During his time at Valley Regional Healthcare, which is the only Four-Star critical access hospital in New Hampshire’s upper valley and a strategic partner of the renowned DartmouthHitchcock healthcare system, Wright led two strategic planning processes to prepare the organization for healthcare and payment reform, engineering an operating margin turnaround while elevating empowerment-based decision-making at all levels. Through Kate Carlisle, CMH’s director of Public Relations and Community Affairs, The News posed the following questions to BH’s new president, who will assume leadership responsi-
bilities in mid-March: BN. What were the lures to accept the Bridgton Hospital president/CEO position? Wright: Professionally, I have admired both hospitals for a very long time as highvalue healthcare providers. Being part of a regional team allows the local community to have access to the right care, in the right place at the right time. I have spent my career making sure “community” is at the center of how a community hospital operates. I want to make sure patients and families get the care they need in the best setting. I plan to ensure that open, honest, transparent communication and leadership is at the core of how Bridgton Hospital connects and serves the region. Personally, I have always enjoyed and admired this part of Maine. I love the outdoors and all four seasons. Whether it’s on the mountain snowboarding and snowmobiling in the winter, or playing on the lake and
hiking/biking in the summer, I have spent my life appreciating the outdoors. I enjoy visiting local restaurants (I’m a bit of a foodie) and being a part of northern New England life. Our two oldest children (Kayle – 28, married to Nick — 28 and Jonathon – 25) live in Portland and it will be nice to see them and our new granddaughter (Kenley). BN. What do you see as the major challenges you face and what skill set do you bring to the position to take on those issues? Wright: It is no secret that there has been some unrest with system leadership in the recent past. One of my top priorities is to ensure there is an ongoing open, honest and transparent dialog to strengthen the connection with all of leadership, not just me. There is also a great need to add providers and services locally and I believe there is a very strong commitment from the Central Maine Healthcare WRIGHT, Page 2A
I have spent my career making sure ‘community’ is at the center of how a community hospital operates, — Peter J. Wright, new BH president
Casco town manager search put on ice
Two suspects in the BB gun vandalism case were arrested Tuesday night and put on juvenile conditions of release. “Officers Josh Muise, Sophia Swiatek and Sergeant Phil Jones worked hard to resolve this case and put an end to the senseless destruction of property in Bridgton,” Bridgton Chief of Police Richard Stillman said. Last Thursday, police were called to what initially was called a “drive-by
shooting” involving a gray 2016 Volvo parked in front of the Magic Lantern on Main Street. Windows on the driver’s side were broken and there were four dents with chipped paint where projectiles had hit the car, police reported. Later, police received a report that a vehicle parked behind the Volvo had also sustained damage. “It appears the perpetrators targeted this specific vehicle, as no others were damaged. It happened
between 7 and 8:30 p.m.,” Chief Stillman reported. No one was injured. Police checked “hours” of surveillance video and posted on its Facebook page seeking the public’s help to develop a lead in the criminal mischief case. On Tuesday morning, police met with Lake Region High School Assistant Principal Maggie Thornton regarding “several tips” and “two suspects names” in connection with the Main Street incident.
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — The freezing rain last week put on ice plans to advertise the opening for a town manager position. The Casco Board of Selectmen had on its agenda for last Tuesday a discussion with Dave Barrett, the person it contracted to assist with the hiring of a new town manager. However, freezing rain and sleet caused the cancellation of that meeting on Jan. 8. “We had hoped to start advertising in January. This puts us two weeks off the original schedule,” Casco Chairman Holly Hancock said. Every cloud has a silver lining. Barrett, the director of personnel services and labor relations for the Maine Municipal Association (MMA) has arranged to meet with the Casco selectmen at its next meeting, which is this coming Tuesday. “At that meeting, we will finalize the job description,” Hancock said. “Then, they will begin the advertising process with the hopes that, in March, we will have some resumes to look at,” she said. “Hopefully, in April, we’ll do some interviews,” she said, adding that April is the timeline because “if the person that we want to hire, if they are working
After nearly two decades and hundreds of thousands of dollars raised, Shawnee Peak in Bridgton has decided to cancel its annual charity ski race, Mary’s Firemen for a Cure, organizers said Wednesday. This would have been the 16th year the beloved event would have been held at the mountain on Saturday, March 2. Organizers of Mary’s Firemen were told by Shawnee Peak’s General Manager that the owner, Chet Homer, had decided in early January, less than two months before the event,
that large events would no longer be held at Shawnee Peak on Saturdays in March. Mary’s Firemen and another charity ski race would be affected by this mandate. However, Homer had decided that this change would only impact Mary’s Firemen and not the other charity event, organizers said. Mary’s Firemen had been negotiating other issues with Shawnee Peak for months, but when Homer issued his mandate and was unwilling to negotiate further, it became clear that Shawnee Peak was not interested in hosting the event any longer,
organizers added. For the previous 15 years, Mary’s Firemen has raised over $200,000 for breast cancer patients in Maine through donations to Komen New England. Mary’s Firemen was Komen New England’s largest thirdparty fundraiser in Maine, and women across the state and beyond have benefited because of this event. Hundreds of firefighters from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts have participated in the race over the years, which had become a staple of the local community and local economy. On
the weekend of the event, attendees rent out homes and stay in nearby hotels, dine at local restaurants and shop at local stores. “Considering that Mary’s Firemen is a charity event and the additional business we brought to Shawnee Peak every year, it is a surprising decision for Mr. Homer to make. Even more surprising is the fact that Mr. Homer refused to speak directly with us. This is very unfortunate given our long history and partnership with Shawnee Peak. We deserved better,” said Mary’s son, Ryan Soutter.
UNDER FIRE — A car parked on Main Street, in front of the Magic Lantern Theater, was the target of vandals, who broke the driver’s side front and passenger windows by using a pellet gun. Police arrested two subjects.
Arrests made in shooting
the special town meeting because we needed to sign the warrants and advertise the meeting,” Hancock said.
somewhere else, they can give their notice.” “That is roughly the time schedule,” she said. Current Casco Town Manager Dave Morton publically announced his plan to retire in 2019 during the 2018 town meeting. Ideally, Morton would like to retire in June. On Nov. 13, 2018, the board hired Barrett to help hire a new town manager. The two-week delay is unfortunate but it was out of everyone’s control, Hancock said. “It’s Maine. It’s the weather. It was freezing rain in Augusta when Dave [Morton] talked to him that afternoon. That is not ideal. We didn’t want to put people’s lives at risk,” Hancock said. Morton made the decision to close the town office early and cancel the selectmen’s meeting. On Tuesdays, the town hall hours are 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Jan. 8, the town hall closed its door at 4 p.m. so that staff could make it home safetly. Also, that night’s meeting was postponed “because of deteriorating weather conditions,” according to Morton’s e-mail. The cancellation had a ripple effect. The Casco Special Town Meeting scheduled for Jan. 22 will not take place until Feb. 12. “We have to put off
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — While the peeling stain on the Causeway boardwalk is hidden under a layer of ice and snow, it has become one of the hot topics that Naples residents have been discussing. “I guess the hottest issue in town seems to be the peeling stain that was put down this fall on the Causeway sidewalk,” Naples Town Manager John Hawley said on Monday. “Although there are many theories as to why the product is peeling up, both the product manufacturer and the contractor have committed to correcting the issue and making sure that whatever we end up with for a finished product will be the proper finish,” Hawley said. The contractor is Caretake America, which has the contract with the FIX, Page 3A
In 2004, Mary and Wayne Allen started “Firemen for a Cure” to give firefighters the opportunity to raise awareness about breast cancer. Mary was a long-time employee at Shawnee Peak and had been fighting breast cancer for nearly 10 years. Wayne is a volunteer fire-
fighter in North Bridgton. Unfortunately, Mary lost her courageous battle in 2005, but Wayne and her three adult-children, continued the race, renaming it, “Mary’s Firemen for a Cure” in 2006. “I can’t believe Shawnee MARY’S, Page 3A
‘Fix’ set for spring
Resort cancels Mary’s Firemen for Cure event
The Bridgton News Established 1870
P.O. Box 244, 118 Main St. Bridgton, ME 04009 207-647-2851 Fax: 207-647-5001 bnews@roadrunner.com