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www.bridgton.com Vol. 143, No. 38
Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. 28 PAGES - 4 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
September 20, 2012
(USPS 065-020)
SIXTY CENTS
As fall arrives, some boaters call it quits By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES – Maine marinas basked in the boon of boating heaven this summer. According to several marina owners, the fine weather in the Lakes Region during the 2012 boating season had a ripple effect. It brought a higher number of boat rentals, more boats
out during the sunny days, and a small percentage of boaters that pulled out of the water one to two weeks earlier than usual. Typically, the period around Columbus Day is one of the busiest times for the business owners who cater to boaters and their crafts. But, this year, as early as late August, some
boat owners called it quits. According to Jimmy Allen who owns the Naples Marina, his out-of-state customers are citing the reasons for storing their boats earlier. Those include having high-schoolaged children starting fall sports, the price of gasoline, and the comfort of protecting boats that won’t travel again on
the waterways until one of the weekends of the Fryeburg Fair. “The people who come up every weekend or most of the summer – their kids are getting older, more active in high school sports. They are not coming up every weekend in the fall like they did when their kids were younger,” Allen said, of the customers who were put-
ting boats in storage sooner than usual. The weather from late June through late August – which could be summed up as sunny with very little rain – played a factor in boaters’ satisfaction, he said. “They had a beautiful summer. They used the boat all summer long. They aren’t feel-
ing like they need to get it in the water for that one last weekend,” said Jimmy Allen. If the sunshine was synonymous with smiles, the Lakes Region scored a mouth corners up for local marinas. According Long Lake Marina’s Sales and Marketing Director James Davenport, if QUITS, Page A
Close-knit communities become one at wedding
WORK CONTINUES DOWN BY THE WATER — Using an excavator on Sept. 10, the bridge construction crew from Wyman and Simpson Inc. removes from the waterway the wooden piles that once served as bumpers around the old swing bridge. With the bridge demolition done, region drivers can expect brief lane closures on the Causeway in September. (De Busk Photo)
Goodbye to old bridge Lane closures on the horizon
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — Before the morning ended, the final remnants of the Naples Swing Bridge were removed from the waterway. Since late May’s opening of the Bay of Naples Bridge, a handful of construction workers have been focused mostly on the demolition of the old bridge. It has been a process that spanned less than four months. On Sept. 10, a sparse crew —
with the help from a dive team — pulled from the water the 20-plus piles that once guarded the former swing bridge from marine vessel damage. Although this part of the job could have been executed sooner, keeping the piles in place all summer prohibited boats from entering the construction zone, according to W&S Superintendent Jeff Simpson. “The piles kept the boats away from the demo work,” he said.
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — It was an arborist’s dream come true. Arriving by truck there was a shipment of trees – ready to be transplanted on a sunny, almost windless day in September. “Fall is absolutely the best time of the year to plant deciduous trees,” said Kent Cooper, the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) senior landscape architect. “I am totally an advocate for fall planting as are many arborists and horticulturalists,” he said. Cooper — along with members of the Causeway Restoration Committee (CRC) and expert green thumbs — has been involved with the landscaping end of the state-funded three-year project to build the Bay of Naples Bridge and revitalize the Causeway. This week, Cooper was pumped that everything had fallen into place for the transplanting of trees that had been
chosen to grow there by members of the community. “This was very locally driven,” he said. Also, CRC Chairman Bob Neault was ecstatic about both the aesthetic appeal and the town-wide pride the trees would provide. “Seeing the additional landscaping on the Causeway is going to invigorate the community,” Neault said. Cooper commented that not only did the final project require several months of learning and planning on the part of the committee; but also when the trees rolled into town, business owners walked the Causeway and came to an agreement as to where the trees would look the best. “Last Friday, people came down and flagged where the trees would go,” he said. September’s shipment of trees and shrubbery included: American Basswood, Patriots’ Elm, Japanese Lilac (also known TREES, Page A
Tree plantings ‘locally driven’
Last Monday, Simpson manned the controls of the Volvo excavator that lifted up the wooden piles after the diver had cut them with a hydraulic chainsaw. Simpson sat in the driver’s seat for this task not because he wanted to savor the completion of the bridge demolition, but simply to get the job done. “I just didn’t have another operator that day,” he said, adding he steps into the role of OLD BRIDGE, Page A
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer The cancer spread so fast. It started in his esophagus. The pain has been severe. Radiation hasn’t helped. In four months, the cancer had spread to every part of his body and stripped away 150 pounds. It was an unexpected shock to everyone when South Bridgton Fire Department Captain Calvin Nevells learned at the end of May that he had esophageal cancer. Yet at age 37, he believed he could beat the odds and have a complete recovery. His tight-knit brotherhood of firefighters, both active and retired, backed him up all the way. They offered daily support as Calvin, with his partner Terri and their 14-yearold daughter Ashley and other family and friends, began the back and forth, up and down roller-coaster of treatments, transfers, admissions and discharges between Bridgton Hospital and Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. During that two and a half months, Calvin’s positive attitude toward his cancer treatment was witnessed with a growing admiration by some hospital employees, simply because it was so unusual to see. He eased the anxieties of new patients in CMMC’s radiation room, by going right over to them to walk them through the steps. With Calvin, always very loving to his family and friends, anyone new has the chance to be a friend; he isn’t negative about anybody. His fighting spirit is still
UNTIL DEATH DO US PART — Bridgton Fire Department Captain Calvin Nevells II and Terri Sanborn exchanged marriage vows Sunday inside his Bridgton Hospital room, with Bridgton Fire Department Chaplain Philip Reynard, Pastor of the Grace Baptist Church, officiating. Attending the wedding were South Bridgton District Fire Chief and Best Man, Harold Woodman; Bridgton Fire Chief Glen Garland; Terri’s son John Sanborn and his friend Sara Elkin; and Frank Allen and his wife. Most of the hospital staff on duty stood just outside in the hallway. When Terri turned and saw them, she was amazed. “You don’t realize what you have for support until you turn around and see the love.” intact, despite the marked decline that began a month ago. On Sept. 11, while at Bridgton Hospital, his condition deteriorated to the point that doctors decided to transport him by LifeFlight to CMMC for emergency surgery. By Saturday afternoon, he was able to return to Bridgton and be placed on comfort care. There’ll be no more intermittent injections of pain medicine, causing him more often than not to fall asleep and wake up agitated. Now he receives scheduled doses of a powerful pain medication delivered through an DEDICATED — Calvin intravenous pump. On Sunday, the morning Nevells is a 21-year vetafter his return, his family and eran with the Bridgton Fire fellow firefighters had settled Department. He served as in for what they know will be captain at the South Bridgton the final vigil at his bedside. Station. “He was very, very Then, out of the blue, a gift of dedicated,” said Bridgton Fire Chief Glen Garland. “He healing was offered. It wasn’t a cure. Calvin and spent a lot of time on truck Terri had one need left unful- checks, making sure everyfilled, which was why they thing was taken care of at the wanted to return to Bridgton station. When you asked him before the worst could hap- to do something, you knew pen. They wanted to get mar- it was going to get done.” ried so that the needs of their Garland said Calvin’s cancer daughter would be taken care and sudden decline has been of; towards the end, it was hard on the tight-knit department, which is already bracing Calvin’s main concern. But it was a Sunday, the to possibly lose another longtown office was closed, and time Captain, Harry Glover, how would they get a mar- who was diagnosed a year and riage license when Calvin was a half ago and is now battling unable to go with her to the pneumonia at Central Maine Bridgton Municipal Complex Medical Center in Lewiston. to sign for it? Everything was “It’s going to be tough,” Garland said. HONEYMOON, Page A
The Bridgton News Established 1870
GREAT TIME TO PLANT — Employees from the subcontractor Sabra Property Care, transplant an American Basswood in the green space next to the boardwalk on the Naples Causeway recently. (De Busk Photo)
P.O. Box 244, 118 Main St. Bridgton, ME 04009 207-647-2851 Fax: 207-647-5001 bnews@roadrunner.com