New race to lineup
Adding to beach fun
Inside News
George Vooris will unveil a new race this Sunday, the Naples Causeway 5K
With the help of a donation and a vision, Woods Pond has a new playground
Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 4B
Page 1C
Classifieds . . . . . . 4D-5D Country Living . . . 1B-7B
Page 2A
Directory . . . . . . . . . . 3D Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 6D Opinions . 1D-3D, 6D-8D Police/Court . . . . . . 4A-5! Sports . . . . . . . . . 1C-7C Student News . . . . . . 8C Games . . . . . . . . . . . . 5C
Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 146, No. 35
32 PAGES - 4 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
August 27, 2015
(USPS 065-020)
Weather . . . . . . . . . . . 5D
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Naples’ cuts keep mil stable
HOW MANY HOOPS CAN YOU KEEP MOVING? was the challenge a group of girls took on Saturday afternoon at the Village Folk Festival held on Depot Street in Bridgton. Despite some bad weather Friday night, there was plenty of entertainment, food, racing and specialty booths on the Bridgton Community Center grounds. More photos on Page 8B. (Rivet Photo)
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — Naples residents should be pleased that the property tax rate will stay the same as last year. However, the less pleasing news is that the tax bills will be in the mail by early to mid-September. The Naples tax rate has been set at $13.55. On Monday, the Naples Board of Selectmen unanimously approved that amount, which was recommended by the town manager. It would have been a different scenario and a higher tax rate if, at the Town Meeting on June 1, the residents had voted via written ballot to exceed the tax levy limit set by state legislation. But, the voting public said no to that prospect. As a result, a series of budget meetings were held
with the goal of cutting at least $215,000 from the budget. During this process, Town Manager Ephrem Paraschak highlighted for the Naples Budget Committee areas where the budget could be reduced. On July 15, Naples voters backed those budget cuts at a Special Town Meeting. On Monday, as a flatlined tax rate was set, it seemed that the hard work of the budget committee and town officials had paid off, and property owners will pay less. “I was pleased that it (the tax rate) didn’t go up,” Budget Committee Chairman Jim Turpin said. “The bottom line is: That was what we strived for this year,” Turpin said. “Due to the state mandated LD1 spending limits, Naples was required to reduce its municipal budget STABLE, Page 8A
Fryeburg weighs Red Brick building options By Emily Butterfield Contributing Writer FRYEBURG — Options for alternative storage for items contained in the Old Brick Building on Main Street were discussed at the last Selectmen’s meeting on August 20. Town voters approved the sale of the building to the Historical Society for $1.00 back in June at the Annual Town Meeting. Before the town is able to complete the sale, they must
find another place to store all of the vital town records that must be kept forever, and also confidential records, many of which are currently in the locked vault in the Old Brick Building. Since many of the original items are very old, humidity, temperature control, and an area where a fireproof vault can be kept, must all be considered before moving the documents and completion of the sale. In addition to the docu-
ments, there are miscellaneous items such as chairs, desks, a copier machine and other small items, according to Town Manager Sharon Jackson. “It may not make some people happy with what I’m saying, but I do not feel that we should have a hardship due to having to sell this building,” She stated. The option put forth was to use the current room that selectmen hold meetings in as storage space, and to
move all future meetings to the American Legion Hall. Town Manager Jackson said that this would still create an issue because all the equipment used to record the meetings would either have to be boxed up and moved to the Legion Hall and then moved back to the Town Office, or permanently kept at the Legion Hall, which is often rented out to anyone who wants to use it for an event. “We would have to ‘cage in’
Dogs on dock ok at Salmon Pt.
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Bridgton Selectmen approved a policy change Tuesday that will allow campers with dogs at the Salmon Point Campground to bring their dogs to the dock to be loaded onto boats. The town-owned campground’s rules had stated that no dogs are allowed on the public beach area or in the water. But that rule had become fuzzy, since the dock used by non-waterfront campers to access their boats is adjacent to the beach. Town Manager Bob Peabody said it became apparent this summer that the rules needed to be clarified or changed. He said he met with Campground
Manager Steve Gudschinsky “on a particular incident with a dog,” providing no further details. The issue became moot when the camper purchased a pontoon boat, but the need remained to clarify whether dogs would be allowed on the dock when being transferred to their boats by nonwaterfront campers. Selectman Chairman Bernie King was dubious about banning camper’s dogs from the dock, saying the dogs might pose a barking problem if they’re left behind at a campsite while their owners went boating. Selectman Bob McHatton said he didn’t see a problem with allowing dogs on the dock “as long as (the owners) have total control of the SNIPPETS, Page 7A
the equipment so that nobody could touch it.” All Planning Board meetings and committee meetings would also have to be held at the Legion Hall. Town Manager Jackson says the town is much too large now for the space its offices occupy. “We have outgrown, by a long shot, the spaces that we have. We have a lot of empty spaces all over town but a lot of them are not conducive to working together,” she said.
Not all of the space in the town office could be used for storage, however. Some space would have to be dedicated to meetings with clients and staff meetings, since there is no other area designated for that. All of this would hinge, said Town Manager Jackson, on the vault of the Brick Building remaining there permanently. It would not be shared with the Historical BUILDING, Page 8A
Empty Bowl: Hunger whispers to guest speaker
MARY CELESTE PHILLIPS, 70, of Lovell, will speak on the challenges of eating on a limited food budget at the Empty Bowl Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser, which will be held at the Lake Region Vocational Technology School in September. (Photo courtesy of Mary Phillips)
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer LOVELL — Mary Phillips and her husband cannot afford to eat meat very often. That source of protein is not always included in the budget. “We get meat every two weeks. This month, I bought a big package of ground beef and one slab of fish. I made as many hamburger patties as I could, and I froze them. I cut the fish into serving sizes,” she said. “Every night, it is hamburger and something else, hamburger and, hamburger and,” she said. The couple cannot afford to eat pork chops one night and chicken breast on another evening like they did when they were employed and bringing home a paycheck. In fact, it is difficult to afford to regularly restock baking necessities like eggs, oil, flour, sugar, baking soda or baking powder. Mary and her husband Tom were both born in 1945 and turned 70 years old this year. Their combined sources of gross income prohibit them from receiving any assistance from the state — not food stamps, not heating assistance. EMPTY BOWL, Page 8A
Complex needs help with fields, concessions By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Bridgton Selectmen agreed Tuesday to allow the Bridgton Recreation Advancement Group to use $30,000 in budgeted set-aside funds to improve the Kendal and Anna Ham Recreation Complex. The money will be used to improve the complex’s ballfields and help construct a concession building with restrooms and a press box. The BRAG request for release of funding sparked a discussion of what more needs to be done at the complex before the town will be willing to take over ownership. Selectman Bob
McHatton said he believes it is time for the town “to become more of a working partner” with BRAG, in particular to provide support for maintenance of the fields. “We should take over those fields now,” McHatton said. “It would free them up” to focus on construction projects such as the concession building, he said, adding that the town’s Public Works Department could provide the proper equipment needed for field maintenance and growing a proper grass cover. McHatton said that only by providing field maintenance support can the town realistically expect to be getting a “turnkey operation”
when the official transfer of ownership takes place. He added later that the takeover “may not be for another year or so.” Town Manager Bob Peabody said he, McHatton and Hoyt have met with BRAG officials about drawing up a Memorandum of Understanding that would clearly define how any funds provided by the town would be used. “We would become the owner in fee,” Peabody said. “The fields are (the project asset) that we have to make sure of,” added Hoyt, who said BRAG’s efforts to build a town-wide recreation complex in town date back
17 years. A big question yet to be answered is whether the town is willing to pay the added costs, in both equipment and staffing, to bring the fields up to tournament-level play. The Ham Complex served as the host site this spring for the New England Regional Cal Ripken Baseball Tournament, and has played host to Challenger Sports to bring a world-class soccer camp to Bridgton for the third year in a row. In an Aug. 23 letter to the board, BRAG President Bill Macdonald said keeping up with maintenance costs “has put a damper on our ability to continue with con-
struction.” The $30,000 will be used to fertilize, repair irrigation lines, seed, aerate, repair fencing and help construct the concession building, Macdonald said. Peabody said the town would need to hire at least one full-time person and perhaps a second person parttime to take care of summer field maintenance.
“If we do it, we will be in a far better position, five or 10 years down the road,” Peabody said. Public Works Director Jim Kidder said there are areas of uneven ground on the fields that need to be addressed. “If we go after tournaments, they expect a different level of maintenance and field COMPLEX, Page 3A
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