Inside news Tasty treat while hiking; Paddle Battle concludes; Young gun rules course Section A
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Inside News
Rotary speaker leadership facilitator ‘Bowtie’ Jenkins; Another artist at work
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 6B Country Living . . . 1B-2B Directory . . . . . . . . . . 6A Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 3B
Section B
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Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 150, No. 32
16 PAGES - 2 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
August 6, 2020
NXT WK — Quirky project
www.bridgton.com
(USPS 065-020)
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Decision time nears — remote or in-person?
By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer As the calendar flipped to August, the talk of “Back to School” is in the air. But, what will school look like? Parents will soon be facing a critical decision whether to send their children for “in-person” instruction or return to “remote” learning, which had mixed results when enacted in late March due to the COVID19 epidemic. SAD 61 leadership provided snapshots during a
virtual school board meeting Monday night of how the district plans to reopen and protocols that will be in place to provide a “safe environment” for students and staff. A record 99 people were in virtual attendance as principals opened the meeting outlining key components of The Plan. Some key points: • Directors pushed the start of school to Sept. 14. • Informational material in the form of letters and “What to Expect” videos posted on the SAD 61
website will address a wide range of topics from proper hygiene, screening children for symptoms before sending them to the bus stop or to school and emphasizing the importance of social distancing. Most common symptoms of COVID-19: cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever (100.4 or greater, regardless of measurement location — oral or temporal). Other symptoms: chills, muscle pain, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell. Less com-
mon symptoms: nausea or vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea, fatigue, headache, rash, swelling or redness of hands/feet, red eyes/eye drainage, congestion/runny nose. Any person showing symptoms must report their symptoms and must not be present at school. Stay home with any yes response to: do you feel sick with any of the most common symptoms? Have you been in close contact with a person who has COVID-19? Have you traveled outside
• Face coverings — either a mask or face shield — must be worn by all in school facilities, other than when it is time to eat lunch. Temperature checks will be taken before students enter facilities and information logged. Bottle refill stations will replace water fountains. Bathrooms that have three sinks, the middle one will be taped off (not for use) to meet social distancing requirements. Signage and tape will be used to remind students about proper sixREOPENING, Page 4B
Next manager:
New approach to ‘living well’ By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer Growing up, Eric Gerchman watched his dad practice family medicine. He was intrigued by the science. He learned from his dad the importance of listening, understanding and caring for people. He saw that building relationships was a key component to effectively treating patients, in the moment and long-term. Eric’s dream was to follow in his father’s footstep. He reached his goal in 1995. “Watching my dad as a family physician is why I chose to be one. He taught me what it is to be a family physician,” Eric said. Today’s version of the family physician, however, hardly resembles what Eric strived to be. “I’ve been in corporate healthcare systems for most of my career — all but two years. I think the focus of primary care (for lots of reasons) became for doctors to see more patients just to make ends meet and keep the doors open,” he said. “Over the years, I’ve sadly watched the scope of what family physicians used to do dwindle away because you have 10 minutes (with a patient); you didn’t have time to take off a lesion or fix that fracture, which I used to do. The electronic record was a bad introduction for primary care. It
of the state in the past 14 days? Stay home if you experience two or more of the “other” or “less common” symptoms. “We will be working with students and families on the CDC self-check protocol prior to coming to school. We are also going to provide an app that students and parents can access from their phones that they fill in the self-checklist then it can be checked daily,” SAD 61 Superintendent Al Smith said.
What to look for
FRESH START — Dr. Eric Gerchman looks to return to his medical roots by opening a new practice in Bridgton and following a direct primary care model.
is a glorified cash register. The more buttons you click, the more money you make the system. That’s where the focus came in. It was no longer a form of communication between physicians and patients… It’s a major stress point on a lot of physicians.” Feeling frustrated and unfulfilled, Dr. Gerchman plans to try a new approach — direct primary care. He is starting a new practice — Living Well Family Medicine — beginning Oct. 1 in Bridgton. Direct Primary Care (DPC) is an innovative alternative payment model improving access to high functioning DOCTOR, Page 2A
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — One longtime resident and local businessman stated that it is going to be a difficult task to find a town manager who can satisfy all the needs of the Town of Casco. “So I think a new town manager should bring business savvy” to the position. The town needs “someone who has the ability to manage the town office, and the ability to manage employees,” Jim Willey said. The new town manager should possess “the ability to communicate with the people of the town, to push stuff aside, talk straight, to be a straight shooter, and to treat every person as though their concerns mean something,” he said.
Willey was one of the people who shared his opinions about what he thought should be considered when hiring a new town manager. Four people made comments and a fifth person asked questions during a public input meeting held at the Casco Community Center on Thursday night. Willey said that living in Casco and dedicating 24 hours a day to the community was not a necessity. “I am not so tied to someone beholden to the Town of Casco because people have lives beyond work,” he said. It is important that the candidate have some community concept, he said. However, the people hiring the new town manager QUALITIES, Page 3A
Owner given to Aug. 31 to remedy violations
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — A landowner who in February went before the Casco Planning Board and received a checklist to remedy land-use violations was given until June 30, 2020, to complete the work. The checklist is actually a list of conditions, which the planning board required when it approved an afterthe-fact site plan for Ward’s property. The violations, which include bringing in too
much fill without a permit, were first brought to the town’s attention last summer. A Notice of Violation was issued in July 2019. A few weeks ago, Wayne Ward appeared before the Casco Board of Selectmen, explaining why work had not been done by June 30, and telling the board what he was going to do to control erosion issues. On Tuesday, the property located at 200 Roosevelt Trail, was on the selectmen’s agenda again.
This time, the selectmen have set another date at the end of this month for the conditions to be met. Legal action could be the consequence for the status quo. This time, Ward sounded hopeful. Some headway had been made on that day, he said. He was convinced the work would be done in two or three weeks. “I am very happy with the progress right now,” Ward said. “The front parking lot is
done. The only thing I need to do is get two signs for handicapped parking,” Ward said. Bark mulch and other material has been placed down for erosion control, he said. Steps are being taken to replace the leach field that was damaged, he said. When the trucks were hauling in the gravel, one of the trucks rolled over and crushed the septic system, Ward said. Now, the contractor is fixing that. Once
Worth A Browse
Writing unlocks a mind By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer Fascinated by books, Michael Goodwin has been a voracious reader since he was a child. “Every story allows the author to share their imagination with the world,” he said. So, Michael decided to share his imagination when he started writing in the seventh grade. Michael’s writing career started in 2008 when he began writing an online blog under a pseudonym. He wrote there for several years, and its rising popularity lead him to publish articles on such sites as GoodMenProject. com and TheFatherLife.
AUTHOR Michael Goodwin poses with his first novel, The Liberty Key. He is a former resident of Harrison and Bridgton, now residing in Windsor. com. These articles gained enough interest on their own to land an interview with the Chicago Tribune. He published a collection of short stories in 2011. Earlier this year, Goodwin published his first novel, The Liberty Key. Although Goodwin resides in Windsor, he has a strong connection to Harrison. “Bridgton and Harrison
have had a place in my heart ever since I was a child,” he said. “My grandfather had a camp on Crystal Lake in Harrison, and my great-grandparents owned a house not far from Long Lake in Harrison. I always looked forward to going into Bridgton to visit the shops on Main Street.” As an adult, Goodwin lived in Bridgton and
Harrison between 2007 and 2009. “My parents purchased my great-grandparent’s house after they passed, and I often helped them with their home-based bakery, White Wulff Farm, which was known around town for their delicious pies,” he said. As part of its continuing GOODWIN, Page 3A
the code enforcement officer approves the leach field, the contracted crew will do the loam, he said. “Basically, in two or three weeks, I’ll have it done,” Ward said. “I am feeling optimistic about getting it done. You want it done. You aren’t the only one.” On Tuesday night, Casco Town Manager Courtney O’Donnell said that she watched the video of the meeting on July 21. At that time, the board decided to direct Ward and his contrac-
tor to meet with the town’s assistant code enforcement officer to go over plans. O’Donnell recommended that the board also attach a deadline to the request. At the end of the discussion, the board voted to give Ward until Aug. 31 to complete the planning board’s conditions and to get the CEO’s approval. The selectmen will revisit the issue during their Sept. 1 meeting to see if the landuse violations have been REMEDY, Page 4A
Dolly Pawton national finalist
Dolly Pawton is a finalist for the nation’s American Hero Dog of the Year, but she needs your vote to win the title. America has spoken and following nearly a million votes cast by animal lovers across the country and a celebrity panel of dog lovers and experts, seven remarkable canines — including Dolly who resides in Naples — have been named finalists in the 2020 American Humane Hero Dog Awards®, broadcast nationally on Hallmark Channel. The two-hour special, now in its 10th year, will be aired this fall in conjunction with the network’s pet adoption advocacy initiative, Hallmark Channel’s Adoption Ever After, which aims to empty shelters and end this country’s epidemic of pet homelessness. “The American Humane Hero Dog Awards celebrate the tremendously important roles dogs play in our lives,” said Dr. Robin Ganzert, American Humane president and CEO. “The American public now has an extraordinarily tough task ahead of it in determining who our top dog will be because all are worthy winners.” All seven finalists took top honors in their individual categories from an initial field of 408 nominees and will take part in the star-studded, nationally broadcast Hero DOLLY, Page 4A
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