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Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 146, No. 4
20 PAGES - 2 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
January 22, 2015
(USPS 065-020)
Weather . . . . . . . . . . . 2B
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
‘Genuinely nice people’ Couple killed in crash remembered
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer With their warm, open and generous spirits, and the beautiful lamps they sold from their Main Street, Bridgton, home, it could never be said that Carol and Dale Honaberger hid their light under a bushel basket. They were, each in their own unassuming way, actively involved in community life, sharing of their time and talents and loves. “They were our friends, and the friends of many,” said Bob Ryan, president of the Bridgton Community Band, where Dale was a longtime member and past president. They even shared Holly, their Golden Retriever therapy dog, with children in a reading program at the Bridgton Public Library; and shared Holly’s predecessor, Brooke, in the same way before that. No wonder, then, that so many
who knew them were stunned when they heard the news that they both Carol, 70, and Dale, 81, died within hours of one another Jan. 15 in a two-car crash on Route 302 in Casco. Police are still investigating what caused Carol, who was driving their 2000 Dodge Caravan west at Watkins Flat, to lose control and cross the centerline, colliding with a 2014 Chevy Equinox driven by Allen Estes, 66, of Standish. No wonder, as well, at the outpouring of concern from so many over the fate of Holly, who was in the minivan with the Honabergers when the crash happened at 1:50 p.m. Holly suffered a broken leg, and is now recovering from surgery at Norway Veterinary Hospital (see sidebar, this page). The Honabergers operated the Lamp and Shade Shop for over 25 years from a converted garage of their 209 Main Street home. Dale
did the wiring, and Carol crafted the meticulous and elegantly decorated shades for which the shop was known. Many people in the greater Bridgton area own one or several lamps made by the Honabergers, said Bridgton Library Director Holly Hancock, who owns several and has given others as gifts. “Their lamp and shade shop was just a work of art,” Hancock said. “Both Carole and Dale were just genuinely nice people. And talented.” Hancock said Carol approached her in 2007 with the idea of starting the therapy reading program with Brooke, their fourth Golden Retriever, who received her training working in a nursing home. When the program began, it was the first therapy reading dog program in the region. “She would just sit, and occasionREMEMBERED, Page 10A
Carol and Dale Honaberger
They were our friends, and the friends of many,
— Bob Ryan, president Bridgton Community Band
Towns step up on state rev cuts
FIGHTING BACK — Geoff Herman, lobbyist for the Maine Municipal Association, addressed a meeting Tuesday about the revenue sharing crisis hosted by Bridgton Selectmen that drew selectmen from a half dozen neighboring towns and three legislators.
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer The upcoming battle this year over big changes looming in Maine’s revenue sharing program began in an unlikely place Tuesday — not in Augusta, but in Bridgton. They began not with members of the Maine Municipal Association’s Policy Committee, where lobbying strategies are usually crafted each year in response to the governor’s budget, but with selectmen from around a halfdozen western Maine towns. The usual question was the same, however: how much should we compromise, and how much should we fight
back? When the state’s Revenue Sharing Program was established by law in 1972 as a way to reduce local property tax rates, it was a true sharing program, said Geoff Herman, an MMA lobbyist who spoke at the meeting organized by Bridgton Selectmen. State sales and income taxes were shared 95%-5% between state and local government for nearly 20 years “until the first raid began” in 1991 under former Gov. John McKernan, Herman said. The “raids” had become routine, and growing, by 2006, and haven’t stopped since. In fact, in this year’s
proposed state budget, Gov. Paul LePage is proposing the elimination altogether of the current system of state revenue sharing by the 2016 budget year. Instead, a bold new statemunicipal partnership plan is being proposed, one that would allow towns to share a portion of revenues from taxexempt properties along with other changes. The consensus of most selectmen who turned out on Tuesday was that towns would end up getting less help that way, even under a best-case scenario, than the already-drastically-reduced portions of revenue funding
they are getting now. Herman listened attentively to the local voices, saying he would be bringing the concerns to the MMA’s Policy Committee meeting on Thursday. Next week: the problem in detail.
Help?!
A measure introduced by Rep. Christine Powers, DNaples, would help ease pressure on local budgets and property taxpayers by requiring the state to honor its funding comPOWERS, Page A
High-tech sensors help understanding of lakes
CASCO RESIDENT Lynne Potter holds a three-month-old alligator while taking a swamp boat ride during her visit to Louisiana in October. (Photo courtesy of Lynne Potter)
Around the United States in 81 days By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — Although still a big fan of the cruise ship excursion, Casco resident Lynne Potter decided to skip the high seas when planning her 2014 vacation. Instead, she drove 18,000 miles for the sake of exploring American soil. Before embarking on their nine-week getaway across the United States, Potter and roommate Linda Mosello spent about a year in the preparation stages. They put a map of the U.S. on their wall, and began to mark places they had always wanted to see. They researched destination spots
using AAA magazines — sometimes adding, sometimes subtracting a desired locale — until it was all mapped out. They departed from Maine on Aug. 17, and returned 81 days later in October. When Potter returned home, she could boast of holding an alligator, although the toothy reptile was only three months old. She could describe the awe-inspiring geological formations throughout Utah. She had stood outside the Corn Palace in South Dakota, and was wowed by the colored kernels creating the mosaics, even as a few birds mistook the art for IN 81 DAYS, Page A
Using small, digital temperature loggers called HOBO sensors, the Lakes Environmental Association has been busy collecting high-resolution temperature data from many of the lakes and ponds within the area. Although collecting lake temperature data might not seem novel or particularly high-tech, this new method of sampling is opening up the door to another level of understanding of our lake systems, according to Colin Holme, assistant director of the LEA. While the LEA has been collecting temperature data on most of the lakes and ponds in this area twice a month from May through September for decades, these new in-lake sensors allow for near continuous monitoring and a greatly extended field season. According to Holme, LEA’s standard lake monitoring requires staff to go out on the lake and slowly lower a probe down through the water column to get temperature readings. With in-lake sensors, LEA simply installs a string of them in the spring and retrieves the sensors in the fall. Every 15 minutes, temperature data is recorded by these small waterproof devices and by attaching these loggers every other meter to a buoyed line, a complete picture of the waterbody’s internal structure can be put together. Because sending staff out in the field is expensive, the LEA was previously only able to attain eight temperature profiles of a lake dur-
ing a season. This new setup attains 96 of these profiles every day. “The best part is that we can continue our sampling very late into the year to see exactly when and how the lake’s summer layering breaks down. We were never able to do this before because many of the deeper lakes
don’t ‘turnover’ until late October or November, when our seasonal help is gone and many of our volunteers have pulled their boats,” Holme said. In the summer, most of Maine’s deeper lakes stratify into three distinct layers. There is a warm, well-oxySENSORS, Page A
Police investigate rash of burglaries By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer BROWNFIELD — Oxford County Sheriff’s Department Deputies are investigating several burglaries that have occurred in homes in the Brownfield area over the last couple of weeks. On Tuesday, Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Halacy was being tight-lipped about the investigation. “I’m not going to get into specifics because I don’t want to tip off whoever is responsible for this,” he said. Halacy said the burglaries have occurred in homes on Pig Street, a street of about a half-mile in length, and in other locations in town. He declined to give numbers, dates or describe what, if any, items were taken. He did say the times of the break-ins varied, and in some cases have taken place while their owners were away or on vacation. Sheriff’s deputies are actively pursuing leads in their investigation, and have interviewed numerous residents in town as they work to zone in on the person or persons responsible for the crimes. Halacy declined to say whether any suspects have been identified. “It’s an ongoing investigation and we’re very aware of it,” he said.
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