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Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 148, No. 22
32 PAGES - 4 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
June 1, 2017
(USPS 065-020)
Weather . . . . . . . . . . . 5D
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Woman dies in Saco River boating accident Responder listed as ‘critical’
Jennifer Bousquet
FRYEBURG — Maine Game Wardens recovered the body of a South Berwick woman, whose canoe capsized Saturday afternoon, from the Saco River shortly after noon Tuesday. Divers recovered the body of 38-year-old Jennifer Bousquet, whose body was located about 350 yards downstream from where it is believed she entered the water. Her body was located in about eight feet of water by a game warden diver. With the recent rains, river levels were high and conditions were dangerous for divers. Several factors made search and recovery efforts both dangerous and time-consuming. High water levels, poor visibility, cold
water temperatures and considerable river debris challenged divers during this four-day search and recovery effort. Additional search equipment such as remote cameras was used underwater to search hard-to-reach and dangerous areas containing debris. A search has been ongoing since 4 p.m. last Saturday when game wardens were first notified that Bousquet went missing in the river. She and her boyfriend, Brian Day, 54, also from South Berwick, along with Wayne Demers, 62 of Somerworth, N.H., were paddling the Saco River when their canoe overturned. Day was able to make it to safety. CANOE, Page 6A
SEARCH CAME TO AN END TUESDAY when Game Warden divers found the body of Jennifer Bousquet of South Berwick, whose canoe overturned on the Saco River in Fryeburg last Saturday. Warden Service Chaplain Kate Braestrup, shown in red coat, as well as Warden Service airboat with diver occupants.
Officials present ‘flat, responsible’ budget By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — Naples, not unlike other towns in the area, is bracing for its school budget by presenting a tight
municipal budget and finding methods of covering costs instead of raising the mil rate. Typically, towns use sources of revenue or unspent money in surplus accounts
to shift the weight of the school and county taxes off the shoulders of property taxpayers. “No specific items were cut just to offset the school
Voters back newcomers By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — A longtime incumbent did not keep his selectman’s seat as he has for decades. Instead, on Tuesday, Naples voters favored a newcomer to Naples politics. In fact, they favored two new faces. This year, there was an added race for selectmen seats. There was one year remaining on a seat left vacant by one selectman’s resignation in April. So, when Naples residents went to the polls, they got to
vote for one of three candidates to serve a one-year term. In that race Jim Turpin — also a newcomer to Naples’ politics — won. Although, Turpin has sat on the Naples Budget Committee for the past two years. Grattelo has put in two years on the budget committee as well. This spring election season, Turpin and Grattelo joined forces to campaign for two of the seats being offered. It appears to have paid off. When the ballots were tallied, Grattelo netted 353 votes
with Kevin Rogers bringing in 308, and Dana Watson trailing with 245 votes. Grattelo led by 50 votes to win one of the two open threeyear seats. Current Selectman Rogers had enough votes to secure another three-year term. Incumbent Rogers has been a selectman for only one term; however, he held a seat on the Naples Planning Board for a number of years immediately prior to his run for the Board of Selectmen in 2014. Longtime Selectman Dana Watson was unseated. Watson NEWCOMERS, Page 3A
budget. However, the town will likely be able to cover or offset about half that increase from the school budget with overlay adjustments and additional use of unassigned balances” also known as surplus, Naples Town Manager Ephrem Paraschak said. “The municipal budget was held roughly flat to bring in a responsible budget and also to help keep taxes down while still providing core services,” he said. In order to keep the mil rate down, “$1,698,145 is proposed from municipal revenue,” Paraschak said. “This includes everything
from building permit fees to motor vehicle excise tax. The town has traditionally used unassigned funds (surplus) to help keep taxes down.” “This year I have recommended an additional $60,000 in surplus funds be used to help offset the school district increase,” he said. At the Naples Town Meeting this Wednesday, residents will have the opportunity to discuss and vote on the proposed municipal budget. The town meeting begins at 7 p.m., Wednesday, in the town gymnasium. A PDF of the 2017 Town Meeting warrant articles
can be found on the home page of the town’s website, w w w. t o w n o f n a p l e s . o rg . Additionally, copies of a detailed budget spreadsheet are available at the Town Clerk’s Office. Paraschak discussed some the highlights of the budget, both the ups and the downs. “There was a substantial increase in workers’ comp insurance in Fire and Rescue,” he said. “There is a 3% COLA [cost of living adjustment] proposed for all regular, regular part-time and per diem town employees. There was PREVIEW, Page 3A
Cemetery care paramount for Memorial Day events
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — An image often associated with May is that of a family walking the path between rows of headstones and bringing flowers to a loved one’s grave. Families around New England often set aside some part of Memorial Day weekend to go to the cemetery. Much thought and labor goes into readying a cemetery for Memorial Day, when people will take part in the tradition of getting together and visiting the final resting place of loved ones, when people will whisper words to their departed, when humans will stop and pay homage to ancestors they never knew. There’s a woman in Naples who, every spring, places flags on the gravestones of the area’s cemeteries. Of course, the American Legion Post 155 also makes certain that flags are placed for fallen veterans under tombstones sometimes dating back to the 1800s. It is an annual ritual of reverence — the process of getting graveyards ready for the national holiday in May. In each municipality, town officials know the importance that people place on keeping cemeteries presentable. During a selectmen’s meeting a few weeks ago, Harrison Town Manager George “Bud” Finch expressed his concerns that the weather might not cooperate with the required PREPARED FOR THE MOMENT — This young scout covers his ears in anticipation cemetery upkeep. “We know that of a gun salute during Harrison’s Memorial Day services. The News has photos from Memorial Day is a few Memorial Day moments across the area inside this week’s edition — Harrison 7B; Naples 7D; Bridgton 8D; and Sebago 3B,8B. (Rivet Photo) weeks away,” Finch said.
“We cannot get into the graveyards because it’s too soft for the mower. And, if we don’t have those plots cleaned by Memorial Day, you can bet that we are going to get phone calls from the public.” Since then, Harrison has had fair weather. “We had a great spell of good weather. So, we did mow the grass in the cemeteries. We pulled all the stops. Unless the grass grows really fast, the cemeteries will be set and ready
to go,” Finch said. “I tell people, as town manager, there is one thing you really learn, and I know from growing up in a rural Maine community, from being in Cub Scouts, and from being in my high school’s band — I know how important it is to get flags out and have the cemeteries ready for Memorial Day,” he said. The finishing touch — placing American flags and symbolic flowers on CEMETERY, Page 3A
DEP funds to help rid of tires
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — A tire pile that has been long ago abandoned but not forgotten will be removed as soon as the weather is agreeable. The town will not have to foot the bill for getting rid of those old, rubber sneakers that were too worn to hit the road anymore. The money to pay for the tire removal is specifically geared toward protection and preservation of groundwater in the Town of Casco. “Large tire piles are considered to be a problem to groundwater,” Casco Town Manager Dave Morton said. “We have okay from the landowner and a place to send the tires,” Morton said. The town will be using some of the money from the Tenney Hill Waste-Oil Disposal Site Reparation Funds it received more than five years ago. The money was awarded by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). “We are using some of the Tenney Hill reparation funds to clean up large tire piles,” Morton said. “Those funds are TIRE CLEANUP, Page 3A
The Bridgton News Established 1870
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