Summer Scene
Good kids
Review of ‘Gypsy,’ one more weekend to see it, 7B; preview to Chamber Music
Inside News
SAD 61 recognizes the good in local kids; Jen Perry earns gold award; college notes
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Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 144, No. 26
32 PAGES - 4 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
June 27, 2013
(USPS 065-020)
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Fees: ‘Way out of whack’ Salmon Pt. Campground hike eyed
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer As owner of a local campground, Jerry Doucette feels Bridgton is seriously undercharging campers at Salmon Point — and doing so at the expense of taxpayers. Highlighting Tuesday’s board of selectmen’s meeting was discussion about the next steps to take at the Salmon Point Campground, now that voters have rejected any notion of selling the 40-acre property on Long Lake. Doucette, owner of Lakeside Pines Campground, said the town is not charging seasonal campers nearly enough, with seasonal rates, on average, that are around 60 to 65% of what he charges at his 185-site Long Lake campground. “I’m sorry, but that is way out of whack,” Doucette said. “And you and I,
as taxpayers, are picking up the slack.” Doucette charges $3,200 for a waterfront site, while at Salmon Point, the fee is $2,623 a season. The same pattern of significantly lower rates also holds true for campsites on the lagoon and nonwaterfront sites. “It needs to be brought up to date,” Doucette said. “It isn’t being run right.” Doucette said he has been in the campground business for 50 years, and offered to help the town come up with a plan to manage the campground more like a business. “I’m here from May until October,” he said. Both Selectmen and members of the Community Development Committee were eager to take Doucette up on his offer of help. Ted Sawyer, the town’s Parks and Cemeteries Director, is now
serving as campground manager. In years past, however, dating back to when the town purchased the campground in 1987, the campground was essentially managed by the campers themselves, and management by the town was minimal, according to a report prepared by the CDC. The report contains a list of specific recommendations for upgrading the campground’s operational and fee structure. When Selectmen told the CDC on Tuesday to work with Doucette and prepare an update of those recommendations for the board, several CDC members took exception to the request. Chuck Renneker said Selectmen have had the report since last August. “This board almost literally ignored the fee recommendations in the report,” he FEE, Page A
Bridgton: Need to market itself
SUMMER IS HERE! — Sunday’s sun definitely brought out the summer in all. Watermelon, swimming in lakes or pools and barbecues are just a the few things many enjoy here in the Lake Region, including Kirby Vaugh, age 4, who tackles a slice of watermelon. (Photo by Alexa Hathaway)
Lake Region 4th of July events BRIDGTON • July 3 — Spaghetti Feast, 5 to 7 p.m., Stevens Brook Elementary School; Band Concert to follow; fireworks at dusk. • July 4 — 4 on the Fourth Road Race, starts 8 a.m., Main Street near Food City, finishes at Bridgton Memorial School; Hot dog stand, 9 a.m. to noon, Oberg Insurance; Great Bridgton Duck Race, 11:30 a.m., Stevens Brook Bridge; 4th of July Parade, noon, Main Street. DENMARK • July 4 — 4th of July Parade, starts 10 a.m. Denmark Fire Station, ends at Town Hall; Lobster Roll Luncheon to follow at Denmark Municipal Building. FRYEBURG • July 4 — 4th of July Children’s Parade, begins 10 a.m., Main Building, Fryeburg Academy, ends Bradley Park; free entertainment to follow in park. LOVELL • July 4 — Lovell Lions Club Breakfast, 7 to 10 a.m., North Lovell Grange Hall; Flea Market & Cookie Sale, 8 a.m. to noon, Lewis Dana Hill Memorial Library, North Lovell. NAPLES • July 4 — 4th of July Parade, 2 p.m., starts Tony’s Foodland; Fireworks at dusk, around 9:30 p.m. (rain date July 5), best viewing from Causeway area. FMI: 6936364. SWEDEN • July 4 — Ice Cream Social, 1:30 p.m., Town Meeting House, Bridgton Road, Sweden; entertainment by musicians from Camp Encore/Coda. Sugar maple tree dedicated, aerial prints raffled. WATERFORD • July 4 — 4th of July Parade, 11 a.m., Waterford Flat.
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Bridgton has so very much to offer both its residents and those “from away,” but it does a pretty poor job promoting itself. That was the general theme arising from a forum held Monday under the big screen at the Magic Lantern Theater’s Tannery Pub. The 18 people who attended the Comprehensive Plan Committee’s forum were of one mind — what Bridgton needs to focus on above all
is summed up with a single word: Marketing. Marketing. Marketing. When the town website proudly proclaims, “100 things to do in Bridgton,” and the link, once clicked, says “Coming Soon,” the message is given that Bridgton has a laissez-faire attitude about promoting itself. CPC Vice Chairman Greg Watkins got a few laughs when he used that example, but he prompted several people to stress the need to market what Bridgton has to offer.
“Where is the big banner, to let everyone know what is going on?” asked CPC member Dick Danis. “Because we have very, very, very many things to do here. How do we exploit that?” Julie Whelchel, former coowner of the Noble House Inn with her husband Rick, said one of Bridgton’s best assets is the walkability of its downtown. There’s a view of a lake from Main Street — not many downtowns can say that, she said. “I would say, continue
to utilize the resources we have, but improve on them,” Whelchel said. She and Rick are doing just that, by renovating a historic building on Main Hill that once housed an antique shop. More could be done, for example, to improve the amenities available to the public at Highland Lake Beach, she said. Watkins told those gathered that the committee needs their feedback as it finalizes the all-important goals and strategies chapter in the draft MARKET, Page A
Recalling life of Princess Goldenrod
SHARING STORIES — Penobscot Indian Princess Goldenrod, listens to longtime residents share stories about her mother at the Raymond-Casco Historical Society Museum on Saturday. (De Busk Photo) ABOUT THE MUSEUM The Raymond-Casco Historical Society’s Museum is open from 1 to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. The exhibit of Princess Goldenrod has been expanded with new donations of her articles from her daughter, Betty Djerf. In addition to the museum building, a large garage houses about 30 vintage vehicles. The museum is located off Route 302 near the Casco-Naples line. Also, check out the historical society and museum on Facebook.
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — Mention the name “Princess Goldenrod” to any longtime area resident, and likely, he or she will have a story to tell. Or, at least the person will recall the teepee gift shop on Meadow Road (Route 121) that moved to Route 302, and later was relocated to its original spot. Who better to talk about Princess Goldenrod than her daughter, Betty Djerf? “She was a pioneer. She was a woman’s libber, before we even knew what that meant,” Djerf said. “She loved the limelight. She never missed an opportunity to meet the most famous person that might be around,” she said, listing some of those celebrities including Princess Grace. “As a young girl, she was in a movie. She was interviewed on the radio at every city where she had an exhib-
it,” she said. “If television had been around at the time, she would have been on that, too.” Djerf spoke to a crowd of about 60 people at the Raymond-Casco Historical Society’s Museum on Saturday. She donated some of her mother’s articles to the museum to be displayed with the other artifacts of Princess Goldenrod’s life in Raymond. The new additions to the display include the bell from the teepee, a walking stick, a painted war club, and a bracelet and a necklace. “I am amazed at how many people remember her. I wasn’t expecting that many people to show up and share their stories with me,” Djerf said. Djerf’s talk focused mostly on the cottage industry her mother operated with husband Fred Wayne from the 1930s through the 1960s. “It was unusual for a PRINCESS, Page A
Big fines: Lakeside tree removal proves costly By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer RAYMOND — The Town of Raymond delivered a strong message to companies doing tree removal in the Shoreland Zone. For the first time ever, the town fined the contractor as well as the property owner for a violation of the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance. According to the Raymond Code Enforcement Officer Chris Hanson, Marston’s Tree Service, Inc. paid the $15,000 fine in full on June 1. The property owners, Donald and Victoria “Vickie” Matthews, were fined $10,000, which was also paid to the town earlier this month. In addition, the Matthews contractually agreed to complete $17,000 worth of land-
scaping to mitigate the limbcutting that occurred last summer. According to the consent agreement, at least 80% of the shrubbery and small trees that are planted must remain viable through June 2016. “I don’t know if the Matthews knew about the shoreland violation or not; but, they hired Marston’s, which has certified licensed arborists who do know the rules,” Hanson said. According to John Marston, who has owned Marston’s Tree Service since 1998, his company has never been fined before. He stressed that his employees did not remove any trees on the property. Instead, limbs were removed and the trees left standing. The over-pruning was a misinterpretation of the
There was public concern that people shouldn’t be able to get away with this type of behavior, — Chris Hanson, Raymond Code Enforcement Officer Shoreland Zoning rules, he said. “The guy in charge that day miscommunicated to the crew. He misunderstood the shoreland rules. It was a human error, and that individual no longer works for me,” Marston said. “I paid the fine. I am taking the brunt for stuff I didn’t do,” he said. “The trees were overpruned. We took responsibility for our actions,” Marston said.
Additionally, he said that the company has changed its protocol, and now double-checks with the code enforcement officer in the town where the work is being done. “I paid the fine. I stand behind my company’s work; and, we have never received a violation before,” Marston said. According to Hanson, the fine was not intended to bring money into the town’s coffers.
“It is never the town’s goal to do enforcement and fines for any economic gain. It was strictly to deter this behavior in the future. The selectmen wanted to send a message that Shoreland Zoning Ordinances are taken very seriously, and they will back up the code enforcement officer,” Hanson said. “We will conserve these lakes that are the gems of Raymond,” he said, adding that the town’s boundaries have 65 miles of shoreline
including Sebago Lake, Crescent Lake, Panther Pond, Thomas Pond, and Notched Pond. According to Hanson, the Matthews applied for the appropriate building permit to construct a new two-story home. The couple also received a tree removal permit, which included in the paperwork a bulleted list of Shoreland Zoning laws, he said. The tree removal permit was for LIMBED, Page A
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P.O. Box 244, 118 Main St. Bridgton, ME 04009 207-647-2851 Fax: 207-647-5001 bnews@roadrunner.com