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Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 150, No. 32
28 PAGES - 4 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
August 8, 2019
(USPS 065-020)
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www.bridgton.com
95¢
Loon Echo purchase protects 252 acres After a major fundraising effort, Loon Echo Land Trust (LELT) has purchased and protected 252 acres of forestland surrounding Bridgton Historical Society’s Narramissic Farm in South Bridgton. “We received incredible support from the community for this conservation project,” says Matt Markot, LELT’s executive director. “The site of a once prosperous and well-known family farm in South Bridgton, this land has great cultural, historical and ecological significance. We’ve chosen to call this land ‘Peabody-Fitch Woods’ in honor of the families who settled and farmed here. Now protected, this land will continue to benefit our community forever.”
The forest was originally part of the historic PeabodyFitch Farm (now called Narramissic), which was established in 1797, just three years after Bridgton was incorporated. The farm buildings and fields were left to the Bridgton Historical Society in 1986 by Margaret Monroe, who purchased the property in 1938. Monroe’s daughter, Margaret “Peg” Normann, spent many of her summers at Narramissic, and owned the 252 forested acres surrounding the farmstead. Peg passed away on June 11, 2019. “Loon Echo’s permanent conservation of this land is a fitting tribute to her love for the farm that she knew
for so much of her life,” said the Bridgton Historical Society in a statement. “We are thrilled to see the dreams that our mother and grandmother had — to make Narramissic and the surrounding land a place for others to enjoy — coming to fruition,” said Kristin (Normann) Mudge, daughter of Peg Monroe and granddaughter of Margaret Monroe. “They would be so pleased! My siblings and I are excited and grateful that Loon Echo Land Trust and the Bridgton Historical Society are greeting this new venture with such energy and enthusiasm, and that our family’s beloved farm will forever remain intact.” The Normann family’s 252 ACRES, Page 3A
Hearing postponed; tavern owner states case
RESTORED — After an extensive process, the Cleaves Soldier Monument on Main Hill in Bridgton has been restored to its original stately look thanks to the efforts of Pro Point Restoration and Anthony Tafuri (pictured).
Union soldier — Don’t I look sharp! By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer As two women looked up at the Union soldier statute as it glistened in the morning sunlight, one remarked, “I didn’t know he has a mustache.” The finer details were lost over the years as weather and environmental factors tarnished the bronze statue, leaving it tired-looking due to shades of black and green. Anthony Tafuri brought the soldier back to life. For the past few weeks, the local sculpture and artist climbed up several levels of scaffolding and used a variety of techniques to “restore” the statue to its once grand condition. “We were very lucky to get this work done,” Bridgton Town Manager Bob Peabody said. “Everything came together.” The monument — known as the Cleaves Soldiers Monument — was created by Hallowell Granite Company and erected in 1910. It was presented to the town by Henry B. and Nathan Cleaves, and dedicated on July 21 to Bridgton’s Sons, who defended the Union in 1861– 1865. Lester Baker, formerly of Harrison and owner of Pro Point Restoration of Pittsfield, N.H., approached the town in the spring about restoring the granite monument at no cost. “We figured it was a good time to get the rest of the monument done. It was the perfect time, especially with all the work coming up to improve Main Street,” Peabody added. “We are grateful for Pro Point’s generous donation.” Peabody budgeted $16,000 for monument restoration, covering the costs of scaffolding, a porta-pottie and Tafuri’s expenses. A graduate of Portland School of Art and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (master’s degree in Fine Art), Tafuri started the project by snapping photographs of the monument’s condition before “restoration,” as well as after. “You can see that it was really corroded. The black color especially is a bad sign. Once that starts, the surface can start to become very pitted,” Tafuri said. The first step was to sandblast the
whole sculpture to bring the bronze right down to bare metal. “Luckily, I did not have to do any welding. Sometimes, water condensing and freezing inside the bronze can start to form cracks, particularly where the individual bronze castings were fastened together,” he said. “This sculpture consists of at least nine pieces. What was interesting to see was the old foundry’s methods. You could see where sections were riveted together, evidence of the casting process where there were minor defects fixed, etc.” After sandblasting, Tafuri and his son, Davin, buffed the whole sculpture to bring a sheen back to the metal. “This step is important because the patina (a thin layer that forms on the surface of copper, bronze and similar metals — tarnish produced by oxidation or other chemical processes or change of a surface through age and exposure) in the next step would look dull if it was not shiny. The patina is transparent, so the metal reflects light from underneath,” Tafuri explained. “The patina itself was comprised of two different types of acids — ferric nitrate and cupric nitrate. The metal is warmed with a torch, then the patinas are painted on. Ferric gives a STATUE, Page 2A
PROJECT HELPER — Local sculptor and artist Anthony Tafuri (right) was assisted by son, Davon.
By Wayne E. Rivet and Dawn De Busk Staff Writers NAPLES — Since he bought the business over two years ago, Gary Skellet has worked diligently to “do the right things.” He made improvements to the popular “tavern” — previously Bray’s Brewpub. He has worked diligently with his staff regarding not overserving alcohol to patrons. The result, he says, has been no fights breaking out for the past two years. He went through the proper channels to secure permits to bring in live entertainment for patrons to enjoy inside and outside. Skellett, however, finds himself in a fight to keep his entertainment permit after some noise complaints “reached the ear of one of the selectmen.” A public hearing to consider revocation by selectmen of Gary’s Olde Towne Tavern’s special amusement
permit was scheduled for Wednesday, but the town “indefinitely postponed” the meeting Monday. Naples Town Manager John Hawley said an effort was made to schedule the hearing before Skellett was to leave for National Guard training. “We did it in haste. We shortened up the time we do public notice. The advertisement in last week’s Bridgton News would have met reasonable notification. After the announcement was made, some people who wanted to be able to participate were not able to attend. Because of the number of complaints about the short notice of the public hearing, we decided to postpone,” Hawley said. “I was away on vacation last week, so word never got back to the selectboard that I wasn’t going to be here for it. The reason is Aug. 7 doesn’t work is I will be attending the Maine Town and City Manager Annual
Conference.” Skellett was very disappointed that the hearing was postponed because many supporters of Gary’s Olde Towne Tavern planned to attend the meeting, including several from out-of-state. “We had several people who rearranged their schedules just so they could come to the meeting,” Skellett said. “Yes, I’m disappointed it’s been postponed. I was all set to go.” Skellett received unanimous selectboard approval in April for a special amusement permit allowing outdoor entertainment until 9 p.m. Naples also has an outdoor entertainment permit, which allows (if approved) a business to have music beyond 9 p.m. Skellett received approval from the Planning Board in early May allowing five events to extend to midnight. “I like to stop the enterNOISE, Page 4A
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — There will be no middle-of-the-road stance for Casco’s selectmen when it comes to not providing plowing services for public easements that aren’t up to snuff. They’ll be drawing a line in the snow. For any public easement to continue to be on the plowing list, the road must adhere to the requirements of the 1972 road standards, must receive a waiver from the selectmen if such standards cannot be met, and must have more than half the road’s occupants agree to allow the road to be a public easement. When the snow flies, roads that don’t have the proper public easement agreement on file won’t see a plow truck this winter. The deadline is Oct. 31 to have that paperwork on file with the town. This policy has been in the works for more than two years. Casco Town Manager Courtney O’Donnell has identified what has confused people living along such roads and she has cre-
ated paperwork, a form to document the status of the roads on a yearly basis as well as recording the specific waivers. She updated the board during the July 30 meeting. One important point is that O’Donnell is trying to get a contact number of a representative for each public easement in town. Some only have mailing addresses. Additionally, O’Donnell is getting some help with the roads situation. She hired former town manager Dave Morton as a part-time road consultant on an hourly wage. “I worked out a proposal with Dave Morton. He is working as a consultant for me. Last week, we went out and looked at four or five roads,” she said. O’Donnell went over the confusion that residents
have brought to her attention during this road-standard process. “There has been some confusion to the three parts of this thing,” she said. “In order for plowing to occur, they are to meet ’72 standards. Part of it is the regular maintenance of the road — that is being confusing for some folks. We have said they are complying with standards, and then we say they need to grade, and they say we complied to the standards.” O’Donnell stressed that continued maintenance of the road during the summer season is a necessity and is something the town does not do. The town plows and sands during the wintertime only. “The other thing is the public easement must be on file. The plowing will RULES, Page 7A
Casco rules for plow service to get stricter
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