Making strides
Good for some...
Be prepared for some delays as paving commences along the Naples Causeway
Inside News
The high school spring sports season is underway with some local teams getting off to good starts
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www.bridgton.com Vol. 143, No. 17
Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. 24 PAGES - 2 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
April 26, 2012
(USPS 065-020)
SIXTY CENTS
Time of transition
Bridgton Hospital follows trend by adding hospitalist program; recruiting doctors By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer When David Frum was a child, his family doctor was always there to treat whatever ill or injury ailed him. “Back then, doctors hung their shingle and spent their entire career in one place,” said Frum, president of Bridgton Hospital said. “That is not the nature of health care these days.” Today, many primary care physicians are employed by hospitals, foregoing setting up private practices. Like any employee in today’s workforce, doctors frequently move on to other job opportunities — sometimes to seek greater challenges presented at larger facilities, better pay or due to lifestyle needs. To address “balance of life” issues and “consistency of care” matters, hospitals across the country have implemented hospitalists programs. A hospitalist
Dr. Alan Verrill
Dr. Deanna Carty
Dr. Stephen Ward
is a physician, most commonly an internal medicine doctor, who focuses his/her time, energy and practice on patients admitted to the hospital. Meanwhile, primary care physicians can concentrate on their own outside practices, and not be forced to reschedule or make patients wait for long
periods of time due to an emergency call at the hospital. “The trend nationally is that fewer and fewer primary care physicians are choosing to follow their patients into the hospital. They want to focus on their practices in an outpatient setting,” Frum said. “The reality around the nation is that the
marketplace is pushing us to go to a hospitalist program. Of all the internal medicine candidates coming out of their training, more than 50% are choosing to become hospitalists.” Frum sees two major advantages to this approach. One is consistency of care. HOSPITALIST, Page 12A
ipal side only). This is before all other exemptions, adjustments and surplus discussions though I have used $25,000 of surplus to help reduce taxes.” Berkowitz also addressed the status of the Undesignated Fund Balance, saying the town’s auditor had determined that as of June 30, 2011 Bridgton’s Surplus was $2,405,557 and was on target to generally accepted accounting principles. “My rough estimates are that we will need to increase that balance by about $300,000 to maintain the balance in the next fiscal year. Further, I am estimating that we will end up with a net expenditure surplus after carry forwards of about
$400,000 and a revenue surplus of about $25,000. Deducting the $300,000 leaves some $100,000 for your discretion, since I have already applied $25,000. If you were to use $50,000 for the revaluation reserve, you would decrease the local side of the tax rate by $.05 to $4.04 which would be a 1% town side tax rate increase. This would be less than the impact to the total budget with the school’s increase showing about 2.8% for Bridgton. Please note that the school increase I am using has been confirmed by School Administrative District 61.” The estimated tax rate on the total budget of $15,005,910 would be $13.11, prior to
Tuesday’s meeting. The town manager said that he is recommending “that only $50,000 of additional surplus be used and that should be used to establish the revaluation reserve leaving $50,000 more in surplus should it be needed in the FY 2014 budget development process.” Following this approach, Berkowitz said, the board of selectmen “has minimized the impact of the town side of the tax rate, maintained a stable undesignated fund balance or surplus and established a funding plan to meet your future revaluation of the town so as not to spike the tax rate in the future while continuing BUDGET, Page 12A
Budget finalized, ready for voters
By Lisa Williams Ackley SHE IS NOT LITTLE BO PEEP — She is Ellie River Staff Writer Winslow, age two, who was very interested in a very cute pair The Bridgton Board of of black lambs in a pen at the Denmark Sheepfest Saturday in Selectmen spent Tuesday night Denmark Village. (Ackley Photo) putting the finishing touches on the proposed budget that will go before voters at the annual town meeting in mid-June. Closed warrant They also decided April 24, by a 4-1 vote, to have a closed warrant at the June 13 annual town meeting — meaning By Gail Geraghty doling out money for General voters may accept or reduce Staff Writer Assistance. The fact is, the budget requests, but they canThe movie Hunger Games is study shows that good, work- not increase any budget item. playing at the Magic Lantern this ing people, who never needed Selectman Paul Hoyt cast the week. But for many Bridgton help before, are now struggling dissenting vote, saying he residents, hunger is no game. It to put food on the table — and believes voters should be able is a day-to-day reality. the problem isn’t going away to make adjustments — up or A new, first-of-its-kind study anytime soon. down — to the proposed budof hunger in Bridgton has given get. Consider these facts: voice to that reality. The cold, Bridgton Town Manager • Bridgton has the highest hard statistics it contains paint proportion of total residents, Mitch Berkowitz said in his a picture of a town in the grips 15.3%, living in poverty in memo to the board, prior to the of systemic poverty, where the Cumberland County. The rate beginning of Tuesday night’s gap between the wealthy and is 10.4%. The town also rates meeting, that if he had captured working poor (they comprise a higher than the county for food all of the key points the selectfifth of the total population) has stamp usage, single mother men made at their prior budget widened, and where many in households, and usage rates workshop on April 17, “then the middle class have become for pregnant women who get the impact of your changes the new poor. Women Infants and Children would increase the town side of The study’s authors, a task (WIC) assistance. the budget by $14,211, bringforce of the Lake Region Non• 36% of Bridgton’s families ing the amount to be raised profit Team, hope the study will do not make a living wage. In by taxes for the town side (not redefine the face of poverty and Cumberland County, the living including assessments from the help to smash old stereotypes wage means making $9.87 an school district or county) to — the kind that make town hour for one person, or $36,000 $4,046,120 with an estimated meeting voters grumble when tax rate of $4.09 (again, municHUNGER, Page A
Hunger is no game in Bridgton
Raffling a place in history
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — Is it possible to raffle off a historic moment? Sure, it is. At least in Naples, where people can buy raffle tickets to be the last person to drive over the old bridge, or to be selected to be the first driver over the new bridge when the torch is passed. On May 18, the Naples’ Swing Bridge, built in 1954, will end its lifecycle. On the third Friday of May 2012, civilian traffic will begin driving over the Bay of Naples Bridge — the fixed concrete-arch bridge, which was designed to create a more streamlined traffic flow for the region. To celebrate the event, residents have planned an elaborate ribbon-cutting ceremony, which includes a parade on the
Causeway and a gathering at the Village Green. There are still plenty of chances to drive into history. Plus, the locations of where to buy those once-in-a-lifetime raffle tickets will be expanding, according to Causeway Committee Chairman Bob Neault. The tickets cost $5 apiece. At first, the only place to pick up a raffle ticket was at the town office, where 68 tickets have been purchased. The tickets are still available there. However, after a recent meeting of the Naples Main Street group, everyone concurred that there should be more opportunities for people to acquire raffle tickets for this historic occasion. “People were disappointed the only place to get the tickets
was the town office. So, we will look into distributing it wider,” Neault said. Additional venues for raffle ticket purchases will be at local businesses in Naples, he added. Already, Nancy Hanson, a NMS member and owner of Coldwell Banker Lakes Region Properties, has sold more than 40 raffle tickets. She admitted she purchased 20 of those for herself, and would be “absolutely excited” if her number was drawn. This week, she picked up another 40 tickets. Hanson drove around to local businesses and public buildings to hang 50 posters about the raffle. She said she was trying to spread the word about the offering. “That money is going toward the continuation of HISTORY, Page A
EARNING THEIR FEATHERS — (Front row, left to right) James Lone, age 5, and Cub Scout Corbyn Hatch, 8, hold a handful of feathers, along with members of Troop 149. Also pictured are (back row, left to right) Tim Moore, 10, John Horne, 12, and Devyn Hatch, 10. Bridgtonbased Troop 149 and Cub Scout Pack 149 joined forces with other community members to clean up Stevens Brook in Pondicherry Park on Earth Day. The boys said the heaviest thing they pulled out of Established 1870 the brook was a tire; and, P.O. Box 244, 118 Main St. they also found bird feathers Bridgton, ME 04009 that were stained with blood, 207-647-2851 which they said was really Fax: 207-647-5001 cool. bnews@roadrunner.com (De Busk Photo)
The Bridgton News