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Comeback complete Little Mountain Store in West Bridgton reopens after 2011 fire severely damaged the building Page 2A

Miracle run

Inside News

After an 0-8 start, the Fryeburg Academy boys’ basketball team is knocking on the playoff door

Calendar . . . . . . . 8A-9A

Page 7B

Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 5B Country Living . . . 7A-8A Directory . . . . . . . . . . 4B Obituaries . . . . . . 5A-6A Opinions . . . . . . . 1B-4B Police/Court . . . . . . . . 4A Sports . . . . . . . . 7B-10B Student News . . . . . . . . Towns . . . . . . . . . 7A-8A Weather . . . . . . . . . . . 6B

www.bridgton.com Vol. 143, No. 6

Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. 20 PAGES - 2 Sections

Bridgton, Maine

February 9, 2012

(USPS 065-020)

SIXTY CENTS

Mc-decision by April?

To build a Bridgton restaurant, or not

By Lisa Williams Ackley Staff Writer McDonald’s corporate officials are “still evaluating” whether or not they will construct a McDonald’s restaurant on Portland Road in Bridgton on property owned by local developer Mark Lopez, according to a statement obtained by The Bridgton News late Tuesday afternoon. “We are still evaluating the potential for a McDonald’s in Bridgton and anticipate having a final decision by April,” said Michael Kuronen, development director for McDonald’s Boston Region Feb. 7. Reached by phone Wednesday morning, Lopez said he had last heard from McDonald’s offi-

cials just two weeks ago. Lopez said he is still working with McDonald’s to bring a restaurant here, and he doesn’t know and has not heard of Michael Kuronen of McDonald’s Boston Region office located in Westwood, Mass. “As far as I know, the last news I got was they had taken a look at the numbers and determined they could work with the rent number (amount) that would make the project viable,” said Lopez Feb. 8. “I’m dealing with a broker out of Atlanta (Georgia).” The matter of having a McDonald’s and other fast food chain restaurants, as well as “big box” stores in Bridgton, became a divisive issue here,

but in the end, voters defeated articles at the ballot box on March 1, 2011 that would have prohibited both. So, many citizens assumed, at that time, that because the project had already received the Bridgton Planning Board’s approval, the McDonald’s restaurant would be up and running by the spring of 2012. DEP impact fee an issue Lopez said one issue that has complicated matters is the $30,000 wetland impact fee imposed by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection upon the McDonald’s project. “The DEP wouldn’t waive the $30,000 arbitrary fee imposed by them as part of wet-

Derby still on, carnival canceled

By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — Wintertime fishermen will not be disappointed. People can still vie for the brag of hauling the heaviest fish out of Long Lake. With the cancellation of the Sebago Lake Rotary Club’s icefishing derby on Big Sebago Lake, rumors have been circulating that the daylong derby on Long Lake would be canned as well. No such can of worms is being opened. To silence the rumor, the 4th Annual Hannaford Ice Fishing Derby, to benefit the United Way and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, is still on, according to carnival committee chairman Dan Allen. The ice-fishing derby will run Saturday during the daylight hours as planned, he said. With the exception of the derby, “everything else on the ice is cancelled,” Allen said, citing safety as the primary issue. Typically, organizers can count on at least one-and-ahalf-feet-thick ice forming on Long Lake in February, he DERBY, Page 10A

Mushers: Still a go

By Lisa Williams Ackley Staff Writer Mush! Mush! Mush! Anticipation is steadily mounting, as the second part of the Mushers’ Bowl Winter Carnival will take place at Five Fields Farm in South Bridgton on Feb. 18 and 19. One of the largest contingents of sled dog teams ever to participate in the Mushers’ Bowl races will be on hand to urge their canines on to the finish, as spectators line the course. Jim Mains, executive director of the Greater Bridgton Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce said Tuesday, “The race portion of the Winter Carnival is a go!” The sled dog races were postponed until Feb. 18 and 19, due to poor racing conditions on the MUSHERS, Page 10A

land mitigation, even though we conserved eight acres — their letter said, ‘It didn’t meet the spirit’ of their regulations,” Lopez stated. “Quite honestly, the $30,000 impact fee compromised the economics of the project.” Separate matter On the other hand, Lopez said he is currently in the process of seeing how to arrange drainage in order to mitigate any wetland impact on an adjacent property just east of the site that McDonald’s would use, in anticipation of any future development there. However, he said that drainage work is separate from and not related to the development of the proposed DECISION, Page A

Jan West Schrock receives a group hug from the children of the Denmark Congregational Church. The children collected $15,000 and donated it to Heifer International to send animals to needy families around the world. See story on Page 2A. (Photo by Allen Crabtree)

FIREFIGHTER OF THE YEAR — Justin Cox, 20, a graduate of Lake Region High School, has been named the Naples Firefighter of the Year. During the annual banquet in January, his girlfriend accepted the award while he and other volunteers responded to a house fire in Harrison. (De Busk Photo)

Firefighting: It’s all about safety

By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — Twenty-year-old volunteer Justin Cox recently attended the annual banquet for the Naples Fire and Rescue Department. But, he missed the part where he was named Firefighter of the Year. That’s because earlier in the evening, a house fire erupted in Harrison. When the Harrison Fire Department asked for assistance from Naples, Cox was among those who geared up. “I was actually not there when the award was announced. I was out on a structure fire. My girlfriend was there; and she received it for me,” Cox explained. “It was definitely an honor” to get the title of firefighter of the year for 2012, he said. Justin’s name was lit up in lights — on the message board in the Naples Fire Station parking lot. Cox said he was humbled, but isn’t letting it go to his head. Firefighting is more about safety than being heroic, he said. “I don’t try to be like a big hero. I am looking at it from a safety standpoint. For everyone’s safety, I don’t want to go into a structure fire like a bull into a china shop,” he said. “You always have to think about what would happen — every move you make. You don’t want to hurt the person that you are rescuing, and you don’t want to put your safety or the safety of other firefighters at risk. We all want to go home at night.” Cox said the same stay-safe attitude applies to driving emergency vehicles to any call-out — whether it is a structure fire or TOP FIREMAN, Page 10A

Cart before horse? Rezoning debate heats up By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Emotions ran high at Tuesday’s Planning Board meeting over continuing concerns that the recent rezoning of downtown shoreland in Bridgton was rushed through to benefit one developer — Avesta Housing, Inc. — and that as a result, voters are now left with rules they never approved that could overburden the sewer system. The discussion arose during a review of legal opinions on the Department of Environmental

Don Murphy New Casco CEO

Protection’s conditional order, issued a month after a Dec. 13 referendum reducing minimum lot sizes in the General Development II District to 1,000 square feet per bedroom. The DEP conditional order amended the language from “per bedroom” to “per residential dwelling unit,” and set minimum lot sizes at 5,000

square feet, agreeing in its final order to drop it to 4,000 square feet after Town Manager Mitch Berkowitz appealed to the agency that Avesta’s plans couldn’t go forward at anything over 4,100 square feet. Of particular concern was a Nov. 22 letter from the DEP, which is charged with ensuring that all local shoreland

ordinances meet state shoreland zoning standards. That letter, from Shoreland Zoning Coordinator Michael Morse to Alan Manoian, who was then Bridgton’s Director of Economic and Community Development, made it clear that the DEP would not approve the amendments as scheduled to go before voters on Dec. 13.

After member Fred Packard read from the letter, Board Chairman Steve Collins said, “Let the record show this is the first time I’ve seen this document.” Collins later said, “I feel personally quite blindsided by not being aware” that the DEP had told the town beforehand it wouldn’t approve the REZONING, Page 10A

By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — After almost two decades as the sole captain at the helm of the Casco Code Enforcement department, Elwin Thorpe will be navigating through his retirement years. Thorpe will finish his last day as Code Enforcement Officer (CEO) on Friday. Already, newly-hired CEO Don Murphy has been learning the ropes and readying to take the wheel. On Tuesday, Murphy was introduced to the Casco Board of Selectmen and residents in the audience. “We look forward to having Don on board. He is a quick study,” Town Manager Dave Morton said. “Don comes to us with all the certifications. He has experience

with building and plumbing. He has experience working with wetlands. He knows GIS equipment and mapping,” he said. The Bethel resident announced he was excited to serve the Town of Casco in the capacity of code enforcement officer. “I am trying to coordinate what time is best to be in the office. My work will require me to be out in the field. I know I will be available during the latter hours on Tuesday,” Murphy said. “I am going to make it quite easy to find me,” he said. Murphy said he was a big believer in the public education component. He wants to use the town’s website to inform community members about code enforcement issues. The new CEO said he wasn’t tied to residing in Bethel and

plans to “get a small place, a bungalow, in the area to be close to work.” “I am really excited to be in this region,” Murphy said. Meanwhile, his predecessor, Thorpe, will scarcely have two weeks to get comfortable with his retirement routine before his “send-off party.” Actually, the town will throw a retirement reception for Thorpe on Sunday, Feb. 26 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Casco Community Center.

“The public is invited. So, people can come by and congratulate Elwin on his retirement,” Town Manager Morton said. “If people cannot make it and would like to send a card, they can mail it to the town office,” he said. The address is: Elwin Thorpe, c/o Town of Casco, P.O. Box 60, Casco, ME 04015. “We have been fortunate. Elwin has done a great job,” Morton said.

Casco CEO retires; hello new hire

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


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