Look back in time Farragut Memorial Park on North High Street will be the first stop of the 2011 Historic Walking Tour Page 4A
Record setter
Inside News
Senior Doe Leckie breaks the Lake Region hurdle record, and could rewrite the mark again
Calendar. . . . . . . .2B-3B
Page 1C
Classifieds . . . . . 4D-5D Country Living . . .5B-8B Directory . . . . . . . . . . 3D Obituaries . . . . . . 6D-7D Opinions . . . . 1D-3D, 5D Police/Court . . . . .6A-7A Sports . . . . . . . . . 1C-8C Student News . . 8C-10C Towns . . . . . . . . . .3B-4B Weather . . . . . . . . . . 5D
www.bridgton.com Vol. 142, No. 21
Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. 36 PAGES - 4 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
May 26, 2011
(USPS 065-020)
SIXTY CENTS
News briefs
SAD 61 budget rejected 473-380
For the first time in three years since the Maine Department of Education instituted a budget validation process, SAD 61’s proposed $26.1 million budget was rejected. The proposed 2011-12 budget, which was 3.6 percent higher than the current budget, failed in all four district towns. Here’s the breakdown from Tuesday’s vote: Bridgton: 153-147 Casco: 112-73 Naples: 94-87 Sebago: 114-73. “I guess it’s back to the District Budget Meeting to respond to this negative vote at the polls. One of the unusual characteristics of this two-step process is that we only know that the budget was not approved by the voters, but we have no real indication on what aspects of the budget were unacceptable,” SAD 61 Superintendent of Schools Patrick R. Phillips said. “The next step will be for the board to engage in a discussion with participants at another District Budget Meeting and determine the next amount to bring to a follow-up referendum. Cutting more dollars from the budget will definitely involve staff and possibly program reductions, as our budget so far is pretty much bare bones.” Under the rejected proposed budget, 11.5 positions had been eliminated.
Principal named Tonya Arnold will be the next Lake Region Middle School principal. Arnold will succeed Peter Mortenson, who has resigned. The SAD 61 School Board unanimously approved Arnold during a special meeting held at the Crooked River Adult and Community Education Building on Monday night. Arnold is presently the principal at the K-12 Stratford Public School in Stratford, N.H. She was hired there July 1, 2010. Previously, Arnold was acting principal at Molly Ockett Middle School, and served as assistant principal and athletic director at the Fryeburg school from October 2007 to June 2010. Arnold received her certificate of advanced study in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern Maine in May 2008. She earned her master’s degree in education, Extended Teacher Education Program, in August 2001. She received her bachelor of science in Business Economics from USM in January 1991. There were 20 applicants for the LRMS principal’s job, and a search committee interviewed seven. The committee narrowed the list to three finalists.
Political statement?
CASCO — Mike London understands there will be people who cast their vote for him to be elected as a Casco selectman. He also understands there will be people who won’t support his candidacy. London, however, would like certain members of the public to respect his decision to serve his community as a municipal officer. Last week, someone stole 10 of London’s political signs along Point Sebago Road and Route 11. “It really irritates me. I’ve tried to put out a nice looking sign (at a cost of $15 each), and someone steals it,” he said. “It’s not right.” Bernie King of Bridgton can relate. Last year, King ran for selectman, and saw several of his signs stolen. One, King found tossed a few feet from where it was planted along North High Street. He reset the sign, and the next day it was gone — gone for good. King is again running for the Bridgton Board of Selectmen, and hopes this time around, his signs will be left in place.
Who is on ballot?
CORRECTION: Last week’s edition of The Bridgton News incorrectly reported that Barry Gilman is a candidate for the Bridgton Planning Board and Brian Thomas is running for a seat on the Bridgton Water District. In fact, Gilman is seeking the term on the Bridgton Water District and Thomas is a candidate for the planning board. The specimen ballots, from which The Bridgton News obtained its information, had the two candidates’ names mixed up on the printed ballot. The error has since been corrected and the ballots reprinted, according to Bridgton Town Clerk Laurie Chadbourne.
Firefighting incentives
By Lisa Williams Ackley Staff Writer When a house or business is burning in the town of Bridgton, firefighters show up and risk their lives to save lives and put the fire out. Yet, it is becoming more and more difficult, particularly in a downturn economy, for those same dedicated firefighters to be willing or able to leave their well-paying daytime jobs paying $12 or $15 or $20 an hour, in order to spend several hours battling a blaze at a stipend rate of only $9 per hour, Assistant INCENTIVES, Page 10A
MAGNIFICENT TREASURE — The stunning 270-degree view from atop Hacker’s Hill, and it’s easy accessibility by
car, are reasons the state places a high value on the property as a “turnkey state park,” said owner Jeff Hall.
Treasure protected
Loon Echo to buy Hacker’s Hill property
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer CASCO — Hacker’s Hill, a panoramic picnic spot of unparalleled beauty, will be preserved from development under a long-anticipated deal announced Monday between its owners and the Loon Echo Land Trust. “We’ve always hoped this
day would come,” said LELT Executive Director Carrie Walia, in announcing the trust’s successful negotiation with owners Conrad and Jeff Hall to buy 27 acres of fields at the top of the hill on Quaker Ridge Road for $700,000. “Now that it has, we have a lot of work ahead of us.” The deal, over a decade in
the making, hinges on fundraising — but with a track record of raising $3 million to protect Pleasant Mountain, and knowing how treasured the hill has become over the years to so many people, LELT is confident of waging a successful capital campaign, which starts in July. LELT also has high hopes it will win all or most of the
$350,000 in grant funding it requested in April from the state’s Land For Maine’s Future Board for the purchase. Jeff Hall said state officials visited Hacker’s Hill last summer, and “they were really interested, because it’s one of the few sites in the state where it’s a turnkey state park,” meaning it HACKER’S, Page 10A
By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer Pam Melville says baseball is a “lifeline” for her autistic son. “The sport connects him with other children, and is the only ‘normal’ environment he has a chance to be part of,” she said. “Now, he has lost that. He’s crushed. It’s not fair. It makes me so angry.” The 9-year-old has been suspended for the remainder of the Cal Ripken minor league baseball season as the result of bat and helmet throwing incidents last week. Melville agrees that “maybe now isn’t the right time for him to be swinging a bat, but there has to be a way that he can still be included as a member of the team — something that really means a lot to him,” she said. “We’re not ignorant people. We understand the importance of safety. We know what he did was wrong. We know he can be disruptive, without any really warning. But, I would have thought people would have shown a little more understanding and tolerance, and would TRAINING EXERCISE — Photographer Brad Bradstreet of have worked harder at finding Bridgton snapped this photo Sunday at the training exercise a solution rather than just kickrun by the Naples Fire Department as they worked on a small ing my son off the team.” Because Rec Director Tom building at Kent’s Landing.
Tash was unavailable due to a family illness, Bridgton Town Manager Mitch Berkowitz fielded a complaint made by a parent, investigated what transpired regarding the “outburst” by speaking with the boy’s coach and game umpire, and later reviewed the situation with baseball league officials. Pam Melville was excluded from the correspondences. “We knew this was a very sensitive situation,” Berkowitz said. “It is imperative to understand that our decision was not based on the child’s ‘underlying medical condition,’ but about safety. We can no longer guarantee the safety of the child, other children or spectators.” When the boy struck out during a minor league baseball game, he threw the bat, out of frustration, over the backstop. Previously, the child had thrown a helmet inside the dugout. A parent filed a complaint, and threatened to remove his son from the program, citing safety concerns, if no action was taken, Berkowitz said. Although the child has participated in other organized sports, such as soccer and basketball, Berkowitz said baseSUSPENSION, Page 5A
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — The evicted tenants who were living on town-owned Kent’s Landing have hauled their trailer off the property. Now, the Naples Board of Selectmen must decide what to do with the remaining structures: an older mobile home, a little log cabin near the water, and a structure with possible historical value. The third building was Helen Dingley’s former home. A fourth building was used
ture, and people who’ve looked at it have decided it wasn’t worth the effort to try to relocate it. Paraschak threw out the idea LANDING, Page 2A
Mom questions boy’s suspension
Tenants’ departure opens beach area during a recent firefighters’ burn training, Selectman Rick Paraschak said during Monday’s board meeting. People in the community have approached town officials and asked about using Helen’s house. The configuration of the inside of the building creates small rooms, and not much opportunity for community use. More importantly, maintaining the building would cost the town money, Paraschak said. “I’d like to shut off the service for Helen’s House,” he
said, adding he would be meeting with Central Maine Power (CMP) officials early next week and could make that request. There hasn’t been much interest in purchasing the struc-
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