What’s happening?
Up for the challenge
Summer may be winding down, but the entertainment scene remains quite busy
Inside News
Bill Reilly of Brownfield and Linda Christensen of Sebago put their minds and bodies to the test
Page 1B
Page 1C
Calendar . . . . . . . 5A-6A Classifieds . . . . . . 4D-5D Country Living . . . 4B-6B Directory . . . . . . . . . . 3D Obituaries . . . . . . 6D-7D Opinions . 1D-5D, 7D-8D Police/Court . . . . . . . . 6A Sports . . . . . . . . . 1C-8C Student News . . . . . . 8C Entertainment . . . 1B-3B, 7B-8B
www.bridgton.com Vol. 143, No. 32
Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. 32 PAGES - 4 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
August 9, 2012
(USPS 065-020)
Business boom...
Reval: Tell me more
Hayes True Value expands
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer The employees at Hayes True Value were very busy Tuesday, restocking shelves and moving stock, while a subcontractor’s crew began erecting new racks and pegboards. If all goes well, by the time Fryeburg Fair rolls around on Columbus Day weekend, the 204 Portland Road, Bridgton hardware store will be finished with a 25% expansion, offering many more choices of merchandise and a much larger rental section moving to the rear of the store. The project is adding 3,400 square feet to the current
11,000 square feet of retail space, a 34-by-34 foot garage for extra storage and a retention pond to handle increased stormwater runoff to Willett Brook. The project was under the threshold of requiring local site plan approval, but required various department approvals and has received all pertinent permits. “Even though the economy is flat, people need to fix up their homes,” said Allen Hayes, who owns the franchise cooperative with his brother Kerry. The brothers have had their eye on expanding and upgrading the store for years, and began construction three
weeks ago, with financing of the interior from True Value and private building financing through Norway Savings Bank. “We wanted to remodel the store so that it will give a more open shopping experience,” said Hayes. “We’ll be adding more lines to our store merchandise and upgrading the shopping experience.” The Hayes brothers’ parents, Al and Betty, opened a Western Auto franchise in downtown Bridgton in 1965, and the brothers grew up in the business. The business became a True Value store in 1980 and HAYES, Page A
...or business bust? Brewery project withdrawn
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer In what Bridgton Planning Board Chairman Steve Collins called an “unparalled development,” developers of a brewery have submitted, and then withdrawn three separate applications to locate in Bridgton. Mount Henry Brewing Co. developers Robert Prindall and Angela Roux informed the board July 26 “with great regret” that they would not be pursuing the 48 Portland Road location as a site for their brewery. They did not offer a reason,
but said they knew “that the board has not only been patient but also enthusiastic as we try to progress with the microbrewery.” On Tuesday, the board simply noted that the application had been withdrawn, and moved on. The board had held several meetings since March with the developers reviewing the 48 Portland Road site, which initially sparked some neighborhood opposition. The board had asked Prindall and Roux to return with more informa-
tion on how they would handle stormwater runoff from the 1,600-square-foot brew house they wanted to build behind the former Curtain Shop building. Mount Henry Brewing Company plans were to manufacture their specialty beer and also open a 32-seat “Taproom” open to the public. Prindall has worked as the head brewmaster at Bray’s Brew Pub in Naples. The business partners originally looked at a site on Home Run Road, then eyed the Big Kahuna building in
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer During the series of planning board battles that erupted two and a half years ago in Bridgton over plans to house an auto brokerage/repair business at 3 Fowler Street, Henry Hudson kept returning to the same question. What about the three apartments that had already been illegally created there? “You ought to straighten out one problem before you create another one,” Hudson told the board at their Jan. 5, 2010 meeting, when they formally denied plans by Khalid Adem for the auto brokerage business, and
similarly rejected a new plan by Adem to operate an auto repair shop there. Referring to the town’s review requirements for creation of more than two apartments, Hudson asked, “Did the town just miss it, and let it slide by?” It appears that the answer to that question is yes. “It’s an illegal subdivision,” Code Enforcement Officer Robbie Baker said, one of “very few” he has uncovered and brought enforcement action against since becoming CEO eight years ago. Baker took the first step toward redressing the matter last week, when he and Executive Assistant Georgiann
Fleck inspected the barn and one apartment at the 3 Fowler Street address. Baker had sent the owners, Anthony and Betty Numberg, a certified letter July 6 ordering them to evict the tenants and remove a fourth apartment that had been added over the winter on the first floor of the large old Victorian home. He gave them 30 days, even though the Numbergs had requested 60 days in order to give the tenant, who only recently moved in, more time to relocate. Baker said the Numbergs did not apply to the town as required for either a building permit or a plumbing permit
PLANNING, Page A
Illegal conversion addressed
CONVERSION, Page A
SIXTY CENTS
A HIGHER VIEW of Scribner’s Mill, in background, was afforded this man who mastered the art of walking on stilts during Back to the Past in Harrison. More photos on Page 8D. (Photo by Gail Geraghty)
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO – The word “revaluation” often scares property owners. Yet, it can be a good thing, too. According to the Casco Town Manager, an informational meeting on the revaluation process brought a small crowd and some smart queries. “There were some excellent questions, probably eight or ten questions,” said Town Manager Dave Morton, who estimated about 25 people attended. “It was clear that the folks who were there understood what was going on, and asked questions that were applicable,” Morton said. On Wednesday, Aug. 1, Paul McKenney with Vision Government Solutions provided a Power Point presentation and a question-and-answer session for interested residents. Specific questions included those about the revaluation process, and about the standards for calculating home and property values, Morton said. “One person asked, ‘Hey, I live out of state. What do I do if I miss the person who comes out to the house?’” he said. Morton explained that property owners who desire to work with the assessors, but are presented with time/scheduling conflicts, will have opportunities to contact Vision and make arrangements. According to Vision’s presentation, on the other hand, people do have the right to refuse entry to assessors. “What happens when people say, ‘No, you cannot come into REVAL, Page A
New tower atop Pleasant Mtn. In 2011, the Maine Office of Information Technology and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection gained approval from the Town of Denmark to construct a new safety communications tower on Pleasant Mountain. Before final approval was granted, Denmark residents voted to amend the zoning ordinance to exempt State or federally owned or operated public safety communications facilities from certain standards required for wireless communication facilities.
The new tower, erected this past Monday, is part of a $55 million project to consolidate outdated state and local public safety communications infrastructure and to eliminate spotty radio coverage giving each state agency better control and coverage, not requiring dispatcher intervention. The statewide public safety radio communications network includes 43 towers spanning from Madawaska to York for United States and Canadian bor-
der protection and all State public safety entities such as Maine State Police, Warden Service and Forest Service. Pleasant Mountain was deemed a critical location and link in the network due to its high elevation. Initially, the state intended to locate the tower at the mountain’s 22-acre main summit owned by the Maine Forest Service, but there would have been a great deal of site disturbance in order to bring power and
Love of wood
TOWER, Page A
Antique Boat Show full of tales
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — Every boat tells a story. Or at least, the guys aboard the classic wooden boat had a tale or two about its history. Such was the case during the 19th annual Antique and Classic Boat Show, which was sponsored by the Mountainview Woodies Classic Boat Club of Maine. The trio of men who found shade aboard a 1937 Elco had plenty of facts about the journey of the boat before it found a happy home on Sebago Lake. Although the boats in the stories seemed to be cherished as much as a woman on whose finger a man might place a ring, one boat lover A group of classic boat enthusiasts finds shade and conversation aboard a 1937 Elco dur- made it very clear that a boat is ing the Antique and Classic Boat Show on Saturday. (De Busk Photo) simply an inanimate object.
While a boat is not capable of experiencing joy, the people involved in the antique show and a week’s worth of boating activities were happy to share their knowledge about vintage boats. Planned events — like Friday night’s parade and boat race — were moments highlighted in the men’s minds. Jeff Murdock, who is the caretaker of a 1959 Lyman, said the bigger thrill is to watch (and listen
to) the boat race, rather than operate one of the wooden vintage vessels. “The best part of the parade is when everyone does two circles in front of the Causeway. Then, the flag is dropped and everyone races. The engines make a nice noise,” he said. “Inboards make a nice throaty sound,” said Murdock, who held the flag that indicated the beginning of the friendly race.
BOAT, Page A
The Bridgton News Established 1870
P.O. Box 244, 118 Main St. Bridgton, ME 04009 207-647-2851 Fax: 207-647-5001 bnews@roadrunner.com