At the polls
End of an Era
Area election results; Fryeburg keeps its PD; Water District stays ‘active’
Inside News
For the first time in five years, the Raiders will not play for a title; Coach Fred Apt retires
Page 5A
Page 7C
Calendar . . . 3B, 4B, 6B Classifieds . . . . . 4D, 5D Country Living . . . 3B-8B Directory . . . . . . . . . . 3D Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 6D Opinions 1D-3D, 5D, 7D-8D Police/Court . . . . . . . . 5A Sports . . . . . . . . . 7C-8C Student News . . . 1C-6C Games . . . . . . . . . . . . 5C
Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 144, No. 24
32 PAGES - 4 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
June 13, 2013
(USPS 065-020)
Weather . . . . . . . . . . . 5D
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Depot Street to get a makeover By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Depot Street will finally be getting proper sidewalks, curbing and streetlights this summer. Anne Krieg, Director of Planning, Economic and Community Development, was granted permission by Selectmen Tuesday to allocate an unexpected extra $30,000 in Community Development Block Grant
funding to Depot Street improvements. The windfall boosts the total budget to nearly $100,000, with $67,677 coming from this year’s CDBG allocation and $30,000 in reprogrammed funds. The money will pay for new paving, granite curbing, a concrete sidewalk, grading, drainage, streetlights and even benches, if the budget permits.
Selectmen also told Krieg that if the budget runs over, she might be able to use a portion of the $80,000 that’s been set aside from a previous year for the Main Street sewer line. They agreed with her that it would be important to have the project completed during this calendar year. Krieg said she had planned on only receiving $160,000– $174,000 from the county’s
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — A set of rules can allow the town to govern the mobile businesses — such as push carts and temporary kiosks — that seek spaces in Naples. A set of rules can permit town officials to get ahead of the inevitable — seasonal vendors descending on the Causeway and other public rights-of-way to sell their wares or cater to the hunger of passers-by. Naples business owners wanted to have a voice in the matter before throwing their
support behind the new ordinance. In the course of an hour, business people expressed their concerns about the proposed public land use ordinance. Many stated their worries that the Causeway would become cluttered, or that the seasonal vendors would not have the same pride about the space that year-round residents do. Some gave advice — changes that could be made to the 14page ordinance. After everything was said, the new ordinance passed. During Naples Town Meeting on June 5, citizens
overwhelmingly voted in favor of adopting the ordinance. Of the sixty-six residents present at the Town Meeting, less than a half-dozen voted against it. The adopted item is called the Town of Naples Ordinance Regulating Street Vendors and Occupancy of Streets and Publically-Owned Lands. One note that was stressed by moderator Pen Worcester: Changes could not be made to the ordinance that evening. It must be approved or denied as is, he said. However, the ordinance could be amended, and the changes adopted by VENDING, Page A
annual allocation of CDBG money to Bridgton. But two weeks ago she learned the final number was a little over $191,000. Of that amount, a total of $137,677 has been earmarked for construction. In addition to the Depot Street project, $20,000 was
awarded to the Bridgton Community Center for new windows; $30,000 will pay for historic façade restoration work at the Rufus Porter Museum’s Gallinari House; and another $20,000 will be spent renovating the historic Moses House on Main Hill.
Of the balance of this year’s CDBG allocation, $38,355 will pay Krieg’s salary and $15,500 will be spread in amounts from $2,000 to $5,000 among the following public services: food pantry, emergency fuel MAKEOVER, Page A
Rules set for vendors working the Causeway
TIPS FOR THE FUTURE — U.S. Senator Angus King was the guest speaker at the Lake Region High School Graduation on Sunday. He offered 10 helpful tips to the Class of 2013. (Rivet Photo)
‘10 things I wish someone told me’
By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer Sydney Hancock remembers the first time she met Angus King. Her parents were hosting a reception at their Casco home and needed to erect a tent in the backyard. To gain the needed space, Sydney’s swing set had to be moved. She wondered, “Who this King fella was.” On Sunday, as Honor Essayist for the Lake Region Class of 2013, Sydney had the honor of introducing former Maine governor and current United States Senator Angus King as the guest speaker at her graduation ceremony. Senator King kept the attention of graduates and those tightly squeezed into Nutting Gymnasium (school officials said graduation was moved indoors because when workers attempted to place staging and chairs on the field hockey and football fields, the metal legs
sank into the ground, due to heavy rains over the past few days) by mixing words of wisdom with a dash of comedy. Here’s Senator King’s address: What I am going to share with you is a list of 10 things I wish someone had told me when I was 18. 1. Take more risks. You need to try to do things that you don’t think you can do. I am convinced that what holds us back more in life than anything else is this little man that sits on our shoulder and says, “You can’t do that.” You can do that. David Ortiz, one of the great hitters in the Major Leagues, makes an out two out of every three times he goes to bat. It is okay to make mistakes. There is a multi-million dollar industry in this country that puts erasers on pencils. See. It means it is okay to make mistakes…Wayne Gretzky, the great philosopher SPEECH, Page A
Naples in the giving mood
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — Perhaps, generosity sums it up. Judging by the voting pattern for the 2013–14 budget, Naples residents did not mind applying tax money toward nonprofits that may or may not benefit the town. However, the passage of those 12 warrant articles did have its opposition. One budget committee member would have liked to dedicate more money toward the Western Maine Veterans’ Hospital. During the annual Naples town meeting on June 5, residents passed the budget for fiscal year 2013–14. At first, warrant Articles 30 through 42 were combined as one block. Then, a second motion was made to separate the line item for the Veterans’ Hospital. An audience member asked why the amount was so low. Town Manager Derik Goodine said that during a budget committee meeting, the hospital’s representatives asked for only $180. James Robson, a Naples GIVING, Page A
SET FOR A CROSS COUNTRY TREK — Melissa Panter of Casco will begin a cross-country bike ride as part of the Bike & Build trek. During the ride, she will help build affordable homes, as well spread the message that the country needs more affordable housing.
Cyclist to peddle housing message By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer CASCO — Melissa Panter hopes to make the American dream a reality for some families as she pedals across the country this summer. As a new college graduate, Melissa fully understands that owning a home is no longer guaranteed, especially when one faces student loan debt and an uncertain economy. “While I was in school (at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst), I worked on some local projects and found that people are really struggling to find affordable housing,” the 22-year-old from Casco said. An environmental design major, Melissa studied regional planning and developing sustainable agriculture. She discovered that affordable housing issues remain unanswered across the country. So, she plans to create awareness about the problem and help others build their future homes.
Starting this Sunday, June 16, Melissa will join 29 other cyclists as part of a team of riders taking part in the “Bike & Build” trek. Bike & Build was founded in 2002 by Marc Bush, a former leader of the Habitat Bicycle Challenge. In the summer of 2003, two treks were launched with the goal of raising money to assist affordable housing organizations to serve more constituents and to raise public awareness regarding housing issues. Each rider must apply for the trek, and if selected, must raise $4,500 or more. By 2009, Bike & Build expanded to eight treks (see map). To date, over 1,600 participants cycled across the country, raising over $3.3 million. Melissa first caught wind of the Bike & Build effort when she was a freshman in college from a former Girl Scout friend. Logging onto the Bike & Build website, Melissa charted her friend’s excursion, reading her blog entries detailing various CYCLIST, Page A
SAD 61 summer vacation delayed
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer Some parents may have thought their school children’s math skills were declining. Several weeks ago, students began reciting the official countdown to the last day of school, but they were adding more days than had been listed on the district’s calendar. Their mathematic calculations were not in error. The start of summer vacation has been delayed by a week for students in the School Administrative
District (SAD) 61. The last day of school is Tuesday; and it is an early release day, according to Andy Madura, the director of Transportation, Facilities and Food Services for SAD 61. During the 2012-13 school year, a total of six days of school were cancelled because of inclement weather. Students have already made up one of those snow days on a Monday in April that would have been a teachers’ workshop day, Madura said.
“So, we had five days we had to make up,” he said. Tacking on days to the end of the school year is not a totally uncommon occurrence, Madura said. However, it has not hap-
pened for a few years, he said. “The year before last, we used one day,” he said. The State Department of Education requires that VACATION, Page A
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