Garden Scene
Upset bid
Bountiful gardens and beautiful landscapes; how to improve your lawn
Inside News Calendar . . . . . . . . . 13A
Laker rally falls short; track teams lining up state qualifiers; Five Miler times
Page 1B
Classifieds . . . . 10B-11B
Page 7B
Opinions . . 7A-10A, 12A Directory . . . . . . . . . 12B Obituaries . . . . . . . . 11A Police/Court . . . . . 4A-5A Sports . 7B-9B, 12B-14B Student News . . . . . 14B Games . . . . . . . . . . . 11B
Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 145, No. 21
28 PAGES - 2 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
May 22, 2014
(USPS 065-020)
Weather . . . . . . . . . . 11B
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Board orders tower site study By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer The Bridgton Planning Board has ordered an independent analysis of a site evaluation study done by American Towers to back up its contention that an AT&T cell tower needs to be sited on Hio Ridge Road in order to fill a gap in its coverage. “To me, this is the nub issue of the whole application,” Board Chairman Steve Collins said at Tuesday’s two-and-a-half-hour public hearing on the controversial tower application, which drew around 30 residents living nearby the proposed site at 214 Hio Ridge Road. The board backed his view, and voted to continue the public
hearing to its next meeting. The decision to require an independent analysis followed comments by tower opponent Paul Veit of 246 Hio Ridge Road, who vigorously challenged the site evaluation’s methodology and thoroughness, and accused AT&T and American Towers of having a legal partnership agreement stipulating that American Towers “will never co-locate with U.S. Cellular.” The closest tower, at 119 Sam Ingalls Road, is owned by U.S. Cellular and is the only carrier on the tower. Veit’s comments about a partnership agreement prompted a strong denial from Barry Hobbins, a lawyer from Saco representing
the applicants. “That is incorrect,” Hobbins said. “We are not going to compromise our FCC license” by refusing to co-locate with U.S. Cellular, he said. Collins said an independent analysis was warranted in this case because “It has been suggested that there might be less than total objectivity” in the site evaluation study. Another factor, pointed out by resident Lega Metcalf, is that Craig Cody, the person who conducted the study, works for American Towers. Hobbins indicted he would consider asking the applicant to site the tower further back from Hio Ridge Road, as
additional acreage is owned by the lessee, John Harmon. He said the tower was sited closer to Hio Ridge Road in order to be closer to telephone and power lines. Veit said pushing it back another couple of hundred feet would make a big difference to the closest abutter, George Gula, who just built a new home on Hio Ridge Road that is located very close to the tower’s fall zone. Metcalf said she was speaking on behalf of residents living closest to the tower site in her belief that this tower proposal would indeed have an adverse impact on the Hio Ridge neighborhood, and therefore violated the town’s TOWER, Page 14A
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — Some things tend to get re-hashed. Last year, members of the Naples Budget Committee and Naples Town Manager Derik Goodine delved not only into the hard numbers of the portion of the budget that supports nonprofit groups, but also discussed the philosophy of supporting charities with public dollars. This year as part of the budget preparation, the committee and town manager “agreed to disagree” and forego two hours of discussion, Goodine said. The town spends about $55,000 on local community groups such as the snow-
mobile club, milfoil prevention programs, softball and baseball leagues, Naples Main Street, and a food pantry transportation program. Meanwhile, $17,000 is budgeted for nonprofit agencies that are headquartered outside of Naples, but benefit residents of the town. During Monday’s Naples Board of Selectmen meeting, Selectman Christine Powers suggested that the board vote in support of the budget items titled Outside Agencies. The budget committee vote in favor of that section was split, 2–2. Powers said historically the selectmen have backed the expenditure of funds in that area.
Robert Caron II explained the other side of the coin: Allowing residents to decide which nonprofits they would like to support; and giving people the option to remove or lower that cost from the town’s budget. Both Powers and Caron expressed their opinions with a level of passion in their voices. However, the discussion was tempered. When it came to a vote to recommend the $17,080 expenditure, one board member was momentarily undecided, still mentally digesting the brief debate. However, the board voted, 5–0, to recommend the amount listed during Town Meeting on June 4. When Powers first sug-
gested the board vote on the matter, Caron responded. “We tell the budget committee” to create a fiscallysound, prudent budget, he said. Yet, the selectmen recommend a higher number after the budget committee has trimmed line items as requested. “There is a balancing act,” Caron said. The budget committee looks at what is an absolute necessity and what can be removed from taxpayers’ shoulders. “It is $18,000 that could be used somewhere else,” he said. Powers said, “I am not against the budget committee. I don’t consider it against the $18,000, Page A
Selectmen chaw over $18,000
SAD 61 budget passes in all towns By a 505 to 245 vote, the SAD 61 school budget passed the four-town validation vote Tuesday. The measure, which included a $10,000 addition made at the district budget meeting aimed to assist “pay-to-play” sports at the middle and high school levels, passed muster in each town. The vote on the $28.5 million budget, which represents about a 2.3% increase, went as follows: Bridgton — 133 Yes, 67 No Casco — 73 Yes, 34 No Naples — 216 Yes, 99 No Sebago — 83 Yes, 45 No Voters also agreed to allow SAD 61 to seek up to a $135,824 loan through the Maine Drinking Water Program to add storage capacity and a water treatment system at Songo Locks Elementary School. The vote went as follows: Bridgton — 150 Yes, 50 No Casco — 81 Yes, 28 No Naples — 229 Yes, 89 No Sebago — 80 Yes, 49 No Total — 540 Yes, 216 No
Memorial Day The following ceremonies to honor our veterans will take place on Memorial Day, May 26, at the times and locations listed: Bridgton: 9:15 a.m. ceremony at Post Office Square, led by American Legion Post #67. Casco: 9 a.m. ceremony at Hancock Park, led by Casco/ Naples/Raymond American Legion Post #155, Naples. Fryeburg: 1 p.m. parade at American Legion follows 11 a.m. ceremony in Lovell Village by Fryeburg/Lovell VFW #6783. Harrison: 9:30 a.m. parade starts at United Parish Congregational Church with music by Bridgton Community Band, service to follow at church with Rear Admiral James D. Cossey of Bridgton. Lovell” 11 a.m. ceremony in Lovell Village by Fryeburg/ Lovell VFW #6783. Naples: 10:30 a.m., Village Green, parade to follow, led by Casco/Naples/Raymond American Legion Post #155, Naples. Sebago: 11:30 a.m., Veteran’s Park, corner Rtes. 114 and 11, by Sebago Lions Club.
PLAYING IN A PUDDLE WITH A POOCH — After the downpour on Saturday morning, eastbound vehicles could not avoid the mud puddle that was covering half of Route 121 in Casco Village. However, by late afternoon, drivers were able to edge around the water, which nonetheless attracted a couple of young residents and their dog. (De Busk Photo)
Town, BCC to partner up?
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Town Manager Mitch Berkowitz asked selectmen and board members of the Bridgton Community Center Tuesday to consider teaming
up to build a larger complex on the Center’s Depot Street property. A public-private partnership, he said, might be the solution for meeting both the social service and recreational needs of residents in one cen-
tral location. Berkowitz’s proposal came in a joint meeting called to discuss the Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, between the town and the independent Center’s board. He
said teaming up would potentially make a wider range of funding available for expansion, since each entity can apply to funding sources not available to the other. BCC, Page A
RETIRING — Songo Locks School Principal June Conley will soon be following the yellow brick road to retirement. (De Busk Photo)
June’s joy
34 years of inspiring children
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — Kissing a cow and dressing up as Dorothy from the “Wizard of Oz” might not sound like the typical duties of a school principal. Yet, those are a smidgen of the memories that Principal June Conley will take away from her time at Songo Locks School. After 34 years as both an instructor and an administrator in two different school districts, Conley will retire next month from the job she has had for the past 12 years. In fact, Lake Region High School’s 2014 graduating class is comprised of students who were in kindergarten when Conley stepped into her role as principal at Songo Locks. “It’s all about the children. I have always enjoyed the children, working with children,” she said. “I was a Girl Scout leader for years and years. It is always rewarding to work with children — in whatever capacity, inside of school, outside of school,” she said. On Monday morning, Conley was momentarily sitting in her office. Her attire was stately yet simple — a black and white floral dress accessorized by her staff ID which was worn like a necklace. Later in the day, she would don the outfit of Dorothy — right down to the ruby red slippers, and join other employees dressed as characters from the “Wizard of Oz” during a themed lunch to celebrate Pride in School Day. On one of the walls in Conley’s office, a few drawings done by young children are displayed. Written in crayon are the words, “You are my best principal ever.” Over the years, one of her biggest joys has been witnessing the children who walk through the elementary school’s doors as kindergarteners starting out their educational journey. “The most rewarding thing is watching our kindergarteners come in. Then, watching them grow and learn and mature and change,” she said. “The change is vast. They learn to read. They learn all of those preskills that they need to be successful in school,” she said. “As fifth-graders, they share their writings with me, and they get involved in community service projects. They come to the realization that there is a lot more out there than them,” she said. “It’s rewarding to be able to have the conversation with them, ‘I remember when you were in kindergarten,’ ” Conley said. “The nice part about my job is that I do have former students from Naples Elementary and Crooked River Elementary who are parents now with kids in this school, and part of that community,” Conley said. “It’s a great area, a great community. I have had the opportunities to go to other places; and, I haven’t because I feel a connection here,” she said. JUNE’S JOY, Page A
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