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Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 145, No. 11
22 PAGES - 2 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
March 13, 2014
(USPS 065-020)
Weather . . . . . . . . . . . 9B
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Bridgton may see $632,000 school hike By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Bridgton’s share of the SAD 61 School District budget is projected to increase by around $450,000 in the next fiscal year, and another $182,000 increase would result in a total $632,000 school share increase if the School Board decides to reopen Crooked River Elementary School as a Grade 4–5 school. Bridgton Selectmen received the news at their Tuesday meeting, during
which the Budget Committee recommended cutting around $245,000 from the municipal budget for Fiscal Year 20142015. Selectman Paul Hoyt said it was frustrating to have Bridgton get hit with such an increase in the school share while noting how carefully the Budget Committee has tried to reduce municipal spending in every possible area. “We do so much there comes a point where we can’t take more” from the
municipal budget without affecting basic services, he said. “People need to go (to the school board) and voice their opinion. The taxpayers of Bridgton need to know that the biggest chunk of the increase is going to be on the school.” The School Board has taken a preliminary vote to reopen the Crooked River School, but that vote is not yet final, SAD 61 Board member Karen Eller told Selectmen. If it becomes final, the school reopening would add anoth-
er $500,000 to the school budget, of which Bridgton’s $182,000 share is equivalent to an 18-cent increase in the tax rate. A $632,000 increase in the town’s share of school spending would result in a 63-cent increase in the tax rate, increasing the mil rate to around $14.26 per thousand of valuation. Budget cuts The Budget Committee, comprised of Steve Stevens, chair, Venessa Jones, Greg Jones and Bill Vincent, has
recommended the following cuts/changes to Selectmen, who will begin their review March 24 in preparation for an April 22 public hearing: • Fire Department — The budget for the West Bridgton Fire Station was cut from $33,000 to $20,000, because committee members said they didn’t receive enough evidence to justify pursuing an expansion at this time. Replacement of a fire engine was cut by $57,500, from $132,500 to $75,000, with the recommendation that the
department seek out grants and use a short-term loan in FY 2016 to pay for the balance. The committee also recommended that training and call pay be increased by $1 per hour, not the $2 increase requested. Chairman Steve Stevens said the committee thinks the department should base call pay on a volunteer’s level of certification and not on a flat rate across the board. The committee also cut a $1,600 request to fund the fire department’s BUDGET, Page 12A
Battle wages on to keep tar sands out By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — Casco resident Peg Dilley has a pipeline running through her backyard. The crude oil pipeline is
buried underground about 850 feet from her property, she said. For years, she has been concerned about the aged pipeline being used for the
PROTEST — In 2012, Casco resident Peg Dilley prepares for a tar sands protest at Raymond Public Boat Launch on Big Sebago Lake. Her concerns about tar sands being transported in Maine have increased considerably, after hearing that on Friday the National Energy Board of Canada approved both the reversal of the flow and an increased flow of crude oil, including tar sands, for the pipeline that spans between Ontario and Quebec. (De Busk Photo)
Chamber hires office manager The Greater Bridgton Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce the hiring of their new Office Manager, Rée Gonzalez. Rée is a resident of Naples and brings with her experience working within the nonprofit sector at the Maine Civil Liberties Union in Portland, in administration, and at the LGBT Community Center in New York City in events management. Her background is also in accounting and real estate. Rée Gonzalez She is a Big Sister for the Big Brother/Sister Organization, a former co-chair and host family for the Fresh Air Fund organization and an animal activist. Rée is excited to join a dynamic office team headed by Executive Director Sue Mercer and alongside all the chamber volunteers. She encourages folks to stop by, say hello and introduce themselves.
transportation of tar sands oil by its owner, the Portland Pipe Line Company. Her concerns have kept her busy: Attending rallies and seminars, sharing information with her town’s residents, and writing letters to influential politicians. However, her worries escalated when, on Friday, the National Energy Board of Canada (NEBC) gave its nod of approval for the company Enbridge to reverse the flow of oil. The section of pipeline affected by the board’s decision is referred to as “Line Nine,” which runs between Sarnia, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec. According to press releases from both the Natural Resource Council of Maine (NRCM) and Sen. Angus King’s Washington, D.C., office, not only did NEBC okay the reversal, but it also approved an increase in the flow of crude oil, including tar sands oil, also known as diluted bitumen. “The next step is Maine,” Dilley said. “Yes, it is personal, because of what is going on in my town and what is going on in my state,” she said. Quick to respond to Friday’s development, U.S. Sen. King (I-Maine) sought the ear of Secretary of State John Kerry and requested an Environmental Impact Study (EIS). “My constituents have consistently expressed concern at the lack of any environmental review of a project of this nature, given that there appears to be no substantive state review process that would be triggered,” Sen. King wrote. “Yet, this pipeline runs through very important — and ecologically fragile — parts of Maine, including Sebago Lake, the drinking water supply for the greater Portland area,” he said. “Piping diluted bitumen southward would be a significant alteration in function for this decades-old line and it would present unknown environmental risk,” he said. “The people of northern New England deserve a full assessment of that risk and the likelihood of a spill if the pipeline is reversed to convey tar sands oil to South Portland,” he said in Friday’s press release. Knowing that King has been doing what he can to protect the Lake Region from a potential disaster should a spill occur, Dilley turned her attention to Rep. Susan Collins. She crafted a few letters to Collins, and sent those via e-mail. When the first one did not illicit the response she had hoped for, Dilley wrote a second e-mail. Collins responded, thanking Dilley for taking the time to write and express her conBATTLE, Page 12A
DEMOLISHED — A brick wall remains standing around the debris that was once the Casco Memorial School on Tuesday evening. (De Busk Photo)
School era ends
Sections of CM salvaged
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — During the last few hours of daylight on Tuesday, a Casco resident was pulling concrete blocks from a pile of debris that was once the Memorial School. Looking up from his labor, the man recalled going to school in the building when he was in third, fourth, and fifth grade. He planned to use the cement bricks to design an herb and flower garden for his mother. If there were any cinder blocks left over from that project, he intended to build a fire pit in his own yard. “They were just going to bury the bricks, so I stopped by the town office and asked if I could have them,” he said. The man said he knew that the Casco Memorial School was scheduled for demolition, but the haste with which it happened took him by surprise. “One day, it was there; the next day I drove by, and it was gone,” he said. According to Casco Town Manager Dave Morton, the demolition began on Monday. Likely, Wednesday’s snowstorm will expedite the demolition work that is happening off Route 11, he said. The contractor “might be wound up today because of the storm. He may be scrambling to get as much debris out of there before it gets covered with snow,” Morton said during a phone interview
on Wednesday. On Feb. 5, the Casco Board of Selectmen awarded the bid for the demolition job to Naples-based Borsetti Construction. The board had voted, 3–2, to demolish the entire building including the concrete slab on which the structure sat. Also included in that vote was the decision to revitalize the recreational space. The board members who voted in opposition simply favored saving the concrete slab for the town’s future needs. The cost of the demolition job is $30,000. The payment will be made once the demolition project is wrapped up. The job includes hauling off debris, backfilling the hole, and planting grass in the bare space. According to Morton, there is no set timeline for completion of the job. “We didn’t hold him to a timeline,” he said. Although portions of the aged building were not suitable for the town’s needs, some of the materials will be recycled throughout the region, Morton said. “There was a lot of material that was salvaged out of
the building,” he said. “Some of the windows that were taken out will be used for an athletic project that is going on,” he said. Larry Carter, the president of the Sebago-Long Lake Cal Ripken Baseball League, will find a use for the Memorial School’s windows that once supported the daydreams of students distracted from their studies. Those windows will be used for the league’s concession stands. So, those windows are being repurposed, Morton said. Also, a “local scrapper” was able to remove the metals. Prior to the demolition started, that businessman removed the mercury light bulbs and thermostats from the building. As the demolition continues, the construction debris will be headed to a landfill in the Bangor or Old Town area, Morton said. Other miscellaneous materials fell into the hands of local recyclers. In the future the townowned property will become sports fields. But that timeframe is not set in concrete, Morton said. “There is no immediSCHOOL, Page 12A
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