Summer Scene Deertrees lives up to its rep; Art blooms Friday, Saturday; Final Music Festival concert Section B
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Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 146, No. 32
32 PAGES - 4 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
August 6, 2015
(USPS 065-020)
Weather . . . . . . . . . . 6D
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Contentious talk about license
A. ERIK GOOD, pictured here in an undated photo at his previous school in Connecticut, was unanimously approved Monday night as LRHS’ new principal.
Principal good fit for LRHS
By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer When Ted Finn announced last month he was leaving Lake Region High School for a principal’s job just a few miles east (Gray), a search for his replacement started immediately. “We had a great candidate pool,” SAD 61 Superintendent Alan Smith told the school board Monday night. Twenty-three candidates applied for the job, and four were interviewed. A. Erik Good made the best impression. Good was unanimously approved as LRHS’ new principal Monday night. Good told directors he “is excited to help” the school work toward a student-based education format, as well as continue revamping the teacher evaluation system. Most of all, he looks forward to “being part of the team.” Good was the “building leader” — principal — of High School in the Community in New Haven, Conn. from 2010 to this past school year. He started at the Grade 9-12 magnet school in 2000 as an English teacher, and later served as an Academic Coordinator before moving into the role of principal. His former students spoke highly of him, saying, “One of the toughest teachers in the school, but that’s good because he makes you do your best work. He’s fun, too.” According to the school’s website, “High School in the Community was founded 40 years ago as a teacherrun school, making it the first small school alternative to New Haven’s large high schools. It is a strong, vibrant community in which students are encouraged to be independent, intrinsically motivated, and willing to play an active role in their own education and in the community. ” Last year, HSC had an enrollment of 241, and a student-teacher ration of 8 to 1. Good earned his bachelor’s of art degree in Theater Studies and German from Yale University in 1994; completed the teacher certification program at Yale in 2000; and earned his master’s of science degree in English from Southern Connecticut State University in 2009. This past May, he earned his certificate of Advanced Study, Educational Leadership from the University of Connecticut. Take care LRHS Ted Finn used the SAD 61 website to reach out to students, parents and the community with weekly updates. Sunday, he posted his final message as LRHS prinSCHOOL, Page 8A
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — Pretentious Pie Co. is operating with a valid liquor license approved by both the Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverage and Lottery Operations and by the Naples Board of Selectmen. That is as long as the consumption of alcohol is confined to the 12-seat bakery, which is the request made by the selectmen when the liquor license was approved
in mid-June. According to Naples Town Manager Ephrem Paraschak, the liquor license is valid, and the town has no qualms with the license. As reported by Renee Bernard, who talked via phone to a representative from the state alcohol board, everything is in order for alcohol to be served at the Pretentious Pie bakery and café, which is located on the corner of Route 35 and Route
302. “The liquor license that (owner) Nicholas (Benoit) has is all in strict accordance to what the state is recommending,” Bernard said. “Nicholas started serving alcohol on Sunday (July 20.) And, he will continue to do so,” she said. Bernard appeared before the Naples Planning Board on July 21. That evening, during public participation time, she expressed griev-
Property purchase meeting set
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — As the concept of Casco’s future town hall takes shape, residents will decide during a Special Town Meeting whether or not to purchase the real estate for sale next to the fire station lot with existing funds. The undeveloped land is owned by James and Mary Jabbusch, and it was discussed during the Casco Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting on Tuesday. It caused a stir in the community a few summers ago
when a sign appeared, saying the lot was the future site of a General Dollar store — even though real estate negotiations never took place. In recent weeks, town officials expressed interest in buying only a strip of land from the Jabbusch family, but the property owners’ offer is for the purchase of one acre with 200 feet of frontage on Route 121, also known as Meadow Road. According to Casco Town Manager Dave Morton, the asking price of $79,000 is a little higher than market
value. If the land purchase pans out, it would not impact the tax rate or require borrowing money, he said. The funds would come from either the Undesignated Fund Balance, which has $1.9 million, or the Open Space Reserve, which has $120,000 for the purpose of land acquisition, Morton said. It is an opportunity that town residents might not want to pass up, Morton said. “If property sells, the opportunity to buy property is lost,” he said.
phyllum) that people thought it was crazy for Lakes Environmental Association to take on the task of eradicating it. If you know LEA’s Executive Director Peter
YUCK — The red stem of a variable leaf milfoil plant.
“Providing a Special Town Meeting to see if voters want to buy the property or not is the most prudent thing to do,” Morton said. Abutters to the parcel will be notified of the impending real estate negotiations, he said. A Special Town Meeting is set for Aug. 18, which is a Tuesday. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m., in the Casco Community Center, following the board’s regular meeting. “The board is confident PROPERTY, Page 3A
Simple living cottage style
QUEEN ON CANVAS — Maine artist Heather Lumb recreates the likeness of the Songo River Queen II using oil paint on canvas. Lumb, whose business card says, “the beauty of the world in art,” set up her easel on the Naples Causeway on Saturday afternoon. Lumb said it is challenging to paint any scene because everything is in motion on Long Lake. (De Busk Photo)
Songo River: Clean-up success story
By Leigh Macmillen Hayes Special to The News The year was 2004 and the Songo River was so infested with the aquatic invasive variable-leaf milfoil (Myriophyllum hetero-
ances with one of the board members and asked for that person to resign from the elected position. The person in question appeared to be Chairman Larry Anton. Bernard said she had received a phone call from a member of the state alcohol board. That employee told her that one planning board member had called the state alcohol board, saying that LICENSE, Page 3A
Lowell, however, you know he welcomes a challenge. Milfoil covered 60% of the river. In some coves and straight-aways, there were enormous infestations. Lowell describes it as looking like “guts in the water.” Variable-leaf milfoil has a thick, reddish stem with whorls of finely-divided leaves. The roots are thin and fragile — think angel hair pasta. This milfoil prefers to grow in relatively calm and shallow (less than 20 feet) waters. Typically, it grows straight up, but in shallower water the stem turns and the plant begins to grow horizontally, thus creating a thick mat. Its main form of reproduction is by fragmentation. Broken shoots are carried downstream by water currents, boats and waterfowl. It only takes a small piece of the plant to begin a new population. Milfoil can negatively impact native species, recreation and even property values around infected water-
bodies. Traveling along the river last week with Adam Perron, LEA’s education director and invasive plants program coordinator, I learned that this summer there’s hardly a plant visible. Our tour included visiting sites where the infestation had been heaviest, such as behind the sandbar at Sebago Lake State Park, by the rope swing along the river’s edge and at the Songo Lock basin. Perron’s crew of interns consists of six to eight strapping young men. This is a skill-based job — learning to identify the plant, lay the barriers, scuba dive, etc. The learning curve is huge, so he appreciates that the team members return year after year. Crew leader Christian Oren has been with the team for nine years, his brother, Tyler, for eight. Derrek Douglass and Thomas Chagrasulis are four-year members. Sullivan Tidd and Lucien Sulloway joined the crew two years ago. Their work base is the SS
Libra, a pontoon boat purchased with grant money from the Libra Foundation. The boat houses a Diver Assisted Suction Harvester. The DASH provides an efficient method to remove milfoil from the water. It has a suction hose that divers carry into large infestations. While underwater, they harvest milfoil by the roots and feed the material into the hose. Aboard the Libra, roots, stems and leaves are then processed in its sluiceway, which bags the plant material. This harvesting technique allows divers to remove large quantities while maintaining underwater visibility. For smaller infestations, SONGO, Page 8A
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer It’s midday on moving day Friday in Bridgton, but far from feeling frantic, Barbara Gunville sits in her screened-in front porch and chats with her son and daughter, Mark Gunville and Pam Jones. She doesn’t have much moving to do, seeing as how her mini eco-cottage came fully-furnished, and she gave all her furniture and most of her belongings to her kids. So when Justin McIver drives around the cul-de-sac to welcome his very first buyer at The Cottages at Willett Brook, Gunville is grateful. “I’ve got to tell him I’ve got a little hole in my screen,” she says, pointing to a tiny spot on the screen door. “You didn’t poke it there, did you?” McIver jokes as he walks in. “I see a thousand tiny little holes.” The Cottages come with optional garage rental, storage space and a large clubhouse with exercise room, full kitchen, living room/ library and gathering space for get-togethers. The energy-efficient homes are designed for active adults age 55-plus who seek a sense of community while maintaining their independence. Mark, an electrical engineer from Yarmouth, takes McIver aside to talk about the landscaping. Gunville said she likes the subtle differences in the greenery fronting each of the 10 detached cottages lining A Street, all completed as the COTTAGE, Page 6A
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P.O. Box 244, 118 Main St. Bridgton, ME 04009 207-647-2851 Fax: 207-647-5001 bnews@roadrunner.com