People watch Deanna Wilson is Hobbs Library new director, 5A; Laker Pride honorees, 7A Inside front Section
Brighter picture
Inside News
Better days ahead as hikers return to group outings, excitement builds for golf
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 2B Country Living . . . 5A, 8B Directory . . . . . . . . . . 4B Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 5B
Page 6A
Opinions . . . . . . . 1B-4B Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4A Sports . . . . . . . . . 6A-8A Student News . . . 7A-8A Games . . . . . . . . . . . . 4B Legal Notices . . . . . . . 3B
Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 150, No. 13
14 PAGES - 2 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
April 1, 2021
www.bridgton.com
(USPS 065-020)
95¢
Steady flow of vaccinations at BH To keep readers up to date regarding Covid-19 vaccinations and issues regarding the pandemic, The News holds a Tuesday morning conversation with Bridgton Hospital President Peter Wright. The following is this week’s Q/A session with Mr. Wright: By the Numbers. For the period of March 22-27, there There is good were 560 vaccinations. information out there • 49.9% of all vaccines for the most part. There given by Central Maine last is still bad information, week were between the ages 50 to 59 too. • 34.16% were between the 60 to 69 — Peter Wright •ages 7.71% were between BH President the ages 70 to 79
• 59.76% of the people vaccinated so far have received their second shot • Bridgton Hospital is only using the Moderna vaccine. “Our process is already pretty complicated, so the last thing we wanted to do was to introduce another vaccine if we didn’t have to. So, the Medical Center has been largely doing Pfizer, while Bridgton and Rumford have been using Moderna just for the sake of logistics,” Bridgton Hospital President Peter Wright reported during Tuesday’s weekly briefing with The News. The high volume Covid-19 vaccination clinic run by Central
Time for a Change
48
LOVELY GESTURE — There were plenty of good luck wishes and momentos presented to Carol Miller last week as she closed out her Food Service career at Bridgton and Rumford Hospitals. recalled. “I’ve gone through 10 administrators over the years. First one was Louise Hooper. She was a retired Army nurse. Boy did she run a tight ship. If the females wore their dress uniforms
too short, she made sure she called them on it.” 48 years. Plenty of changes. Plenty of new faces. But, the same great memories — wonderCAROL, Page 3A
40
Tom’s Homestead anchored Main Hill By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer Tom Doviak always had a quiet way about how he went about his business. Focused, yet never one to draw a lot of attention to himself. Quality always mattered the most, especially when he was in the kitchen. Family involvement was also an important ingredient, which mixed with his interest in cooking resulted
ALWAYS PUSHING AHEAD — Even when he was on crutches, Tom Doviak was busy with chores around the Homestead and in the kitchen. in four decades of operating Tom’s Homestead, just beyond Main Hill. Tom sold the business to Nick Ergo, who operates a catering business, and will offer special events at the
homestead under the new title, Stella’s on the Square. The Covid-19 pandemic and a need for a change pushed Tom to change direction. “Not knowing what TOM’S, Page 2A
21
Chris Pond to pass leadership baton By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — Naples Fire Chief Chris Pond started off at his hometown’s fire station when he was still in high school. “There were quite a few classmates who were in the junior fire department so I
Hospital? Wright: Our issues all along hasn’t been supply. We have always had plenty of vaccine. Our issues have been about logistics. The way the state decided to approach this put us in a situation. Around here, we don’t say labor pool, we say labor puddle. The availability of staff is just not there. We’re using people already assigned in our organization and using weekend people who might want to pick up some extra time during the week. It’s always been about staffing, which is why we have been doing clinics on Saturday. The state did make a good move to help with
FYREBURG — Do you have an interest in aviation? Eastern Slope Aviation Academy could open some doors to careers in aviation. The Board of Directors of the Eastern Slope Aviation Academy (ESAA), located at the Eastern Slope Airport in Fryeburg, plan to open membership in the academy to the general public on July 1, 2021. Public membership will help fulfill ESAA’s mission to provide an intro-
duction to careers in aviation to people of the Mount Washington Valley and western Maine. Offering membership to the general public is a way of reaching more potential aviation students, who might be further along in their career aspirations or those who simply want to take flight. ESAA has a Cessna 172 that will be available for training, its training fleet as funding and the academy is planning is secured. Instruction will to add additional aircraft to FLIGHT, Page 8A
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — Residents will decide whether or not Naples should switch to a public works department. This year’s town meeting voters will have two budgets from which to choose: One with a public works department (PWD) and one with a town maintenance department plus a roads and highway budget. The proposed public works budget, Warrant Article 56, comes recommended by the elected officials and by the volunteers who helped to craft the budget. On March 22, both the Naples Board of Selectmen and the Naples Budget Committee unanimously recommended the budget containing the formation of a public works department instead of the status quo of the maintenance budget. The selectmen agreed that the public works component of the 2021-22 budget will be explained to residents on the night of annual town meeting. The town manager “is going to make the presentation. We still need to have a discussion. We might want to send something out explaining it to the public. It would be important to do that prior to the meeting,” Naples Chairman Jim Grattelo said. The town is proceeding with the possibility that the public might choose town maintenance over public works, he said. “We have covered all our bases, and we’re going down two parallel paths to make sure town is taken care of,” he said. Naples Town Manager John Hawley explained the reasoning behind the proposed public works department. It is mostly about savings in the long run, he
said. However, there is the upfront investment of equipment in order to do the jobs in-house instead of contracting out, he said. “It would be a better use
our logistics by adding a preregistration to the sign-up website. Up until last week, we had to fully register the patient here. That was just a lead anchor on the process. Getting the shot is 10 seconds, roll up your sleeve, we wipe your arm clean and give the injection — done. A minute at the most. Then, there is the 15-minute wait observation, but we can pool those people. One person watching 25 to 30 people isn’t a problem. By having people pre-register, it speeds up the vaccination process and enables us to serve more people within that time frame. COVID-19, Page 3A
Chance to take flight
Carol’s cure: Good food & lots of smiles By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer Carol Miller says food service was her destiny. “I always said I was destined to work here (Bridgton Hospital). At the time I was born, Stephens Memorial was under renovation. My brothers and sister were born at Stephens. I was the only one born here (Bridgton Hospital), on Main Hill. Yes, I tell people the hospital was on Main Hill before it moved to its current location,” Carol
Maine Healthcare at the Auburn Mall is using both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Q. Has Bridgton Hospital received calls from elderly patients who are unable to get to the vaccine clinic? Wright: “The predominant situation with people who have transportation issues is you see folks coming together as a community and through social networks, they are getting here somehow. That said, not everyone has a social network or some people have some mobility issues. So, we continue to work with Androscoggin Home Health, who is a strategic partner of ours, to get into homes. They are handling the home care part, because that’s what they do.” Q. As vaccinations open to those 16 and older in the coming weeks, how will this shift affect Bridgton
NAPLES FIRE CHIEF Chris Pond dons his firefighting gear at the Naples fire station on Tuesday. decided to go up and see junior fire department.” what it was all about,” Pond That was beginning of a said. “I started out in the POND, Page 2A
Board backs PW budget
of money. For the cost that we pay for plowing and winter maintenance for a season, we could pay for a public works department PW BUDGET, Page 3A
Voters okay TIF, rezoning
A proposed memory care facility took a major step forward Tuesday when voters agreed to create a Tax Increment Financing District and adopted the Woodlands Senior Living Municipal Development. A special election was held at the Town Hall, with voting booths placed to create six-foot distancing, as well as only one section of each booth available to be used. Question 1 regarding Woodlands passed by an 82-47 margin. One ballot was blank. Question 2 regarding the rezoning of 2 Cottage Street from Downtown Village Neighborhood to Downtown Village Business I district passed by a 90-37 margin. Three ballots were blank. — WER
Fireworks on horizon in July
NAPLES — Kaboom! Nothing says July like fireworks. Many summer-time festivals and annual gatherings are still cancelled because of COVID-19 restrictions. But, the Town of Naples has decided to forge ahead with holding its Independence Day fireworks display in 2021. Naples Town Manager John Hawley revealed that he had signed a contract with the town’s fireworks supplier. He explained his logic to the Naples Board of Selectmen during a meeting on March 15. The event will take place outdoors so people can spread, can socially distance, he said. Many people might be vaccinated by the time July 4 rolls around. It’s a morale booster for the community and for some of the local businesses. Plus, Hawley took advantage of a bargain for the town. “We pre-paid and by doing so, we got $2,000 more worth of free fireworks,” he said. — DD
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