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www.bridgton.com Vol. 143, No. 42
Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. 28 PAGES - 4 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
October 18, 2012
(USPS 065-020)
SIXTY CENTS
Community Dental not negotiating with Avesta
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Community Dental is not negotiating with Avesta Housing, Inc. to lease ground floor space in Avesta’s proposed elderly and disabled apartment complex on Bridgton’s Main Street. Community Dental operates five clinics in Maine for lowincome residents,
Dr. Donald Dennison DDS, who has a practice at 28 Church Street, told the Bridgton Board of Selectmen last Tuesday that any plans by Community Dental to locate a sixth clinic in Bridgton fell apart when the Maine Legislature cut MaineCare in the past session, as directed by Gov. Paul LePage. Those MaineCare cuts — only a portion of the amount LePage had wanted —
along with LePage’s decision to eliminate $400,000 in promised bond funding for Community Dental, brought to an abrupt halt this summer any further consideration of the Bridgton satellite office, Dennison said. The project stalled at about the same time Avesta and Community Dental Director Lisa Cavanaugh were holding telephone conversations back
and forth in around June, he said. “Avesta wanted Community Dental to make a commitment,” he said, but the nonprofit was unable to do so because of the funding uncertainty, which will likely not be resolved, if at all, unless a new governor is sworn into office in January of 2014. Dr. Dennison said in a Wednesday telephone interview that he would not say that Avesta
Avesta. He said he told the board he and Cavanaugh joked about whether he had any more space in his home office on Church Street. Community Dental had originally eyed office spaces at the Bridgton Hospital’s Physician’s Group building, he said, but those talks as well, for different reasons, did not work out.
CEO: Casco has reached threshold
Formal approach to open access
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer The Bridgton Municipal Complex is the place to go and the people of Bridgton have the right to know, when it comes to requests for public information about local government under the state’s Freedom of Access Act. And yet in the past, Bridgton, like many towns, has not always been sure just how to honor those requests — especially those requiring a fair amount of staff time. Until now. Among the most recent amendments to the Freedom of Access Law made by the 2012 Legislature was the funding and hiring Sept. 1 of a new public access ombudsman in the Attorney General’s Office. The $88,000 position, being filled by the AG’s Public Information Officer Brenda Kielty, was created in 2007 but had never been filled. Kielty’s job will be to help any person, resident or non-resident, who has trouble getting information from any state government agency.
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — Following a recent shoreland zoning violation and other small infractions, Casco Code Enforcement Officer Don Murphy invited a state official to town. “There are a number of recreation vehicles without tires that are in the shoreland zone, and shouldn’t be,” Murphy told the Casco Board of Selectmen on Tuesday. “Docks are another issue. Docks are restricted to a sixfoot width. We have Tiki docks. We have 20x20-foot docks that have sprung up,” he said. “How you want to proceed with enforcement is up to you,” Murphy said. “I am thinking of tonight as education for the selectmen,” he said. Then, Murphy turned the microphone over to Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) Regional Shoreland Zoning Coordinator Mike Morris. Shoreland zoning violations have “reached the threshold that the town could use some enforcement,” Morris said. “For Casco, this is kind of new ground we are treading on here,” he said. “I work for the DEP. I am not a tree hugger, although tree cutting is the largest violation in the region,” he said. Selectman Tracy Kimball asked if the contractor who removes more than the allotted amount of trees should be liable or does the responsibility fall only on the landowner? According to Morris, a new piece of legislation that goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2013 will require any contractor — excluding the public works department — who disturbs the soil in the contract zone to have THRESHOLD, Page A
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — In late September, Casco Code Enforcement Officer Don Murphy brought to the attention of the elected public officials a recent shoreland zoning violation. The violation occurred on a piece of property off Parsons Point Road, a parcel located on the shores of Thompson Lake. According to Casco Town Manager Dave Morton, shoreland zoning violations do happen now and then, and they are usually resolved between the town and landowners. This is the first time in several years that the issue has come before the Casco Board of Selectmen, he said. The property owners who live on Parsons Point Road “cut trees they should not have. They limbed trees further up than they should have, and they made landscaping improvements too close to the set back from the water,” Morton said. According to the shoreland zoning laws, trees and shrubbery cannot be removed within 100 feet of the high water mark of a body of water. The landowners “had an existing dwelling which they rebuilt, and there were no issues there,” Morton said. The problem was “removing vegetation and pruning trees too high,” he said.
“The property owner, at this junction, seems to be cooperating very well,” Morton said. “They are submitting a plan to correct the problems including a planting schedule and some changes in the ground to reverse landscaping that was done,” Morton said. CEO Murphy said the property owners had submitted a $25,000 re-planting plan. “I have notified the owner that it would be on the agenda on Oct. 23,” he said. On Tuesday night, the Casco Board of Selectmen received a copy of the consent agreement — a legal document in which the property owners outline a plan for repairing the damage done to the shoreland and a fine is set by the town. According to Murphy, he used a template provided by the Department of Environmental Protection — which also assisted the landowners — and received a final read-over and okay from the town’s contracted attorney. “Obviously, there will be a fine,” he said, adding, “As far as fine levels, I checked with Natalie (Burns, Casco’s attorney) and the DEP. The attorney said fixing the problem environmentally is more of the focus than the fine, according to the courts.” “This individual (the property owner) has been cooperative up to date,” Murphy said.
Shoreland zoning violator obliging
ACCESS, Page A
BN wins six MPA awards
The Bridgton News captured six Maine Press Association’s 2012 Better Newspaper Contest awards. The awards were presented Saturday at the MPA annual conference held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport. Winning entries in the Weekly 2 category (Maine’s larger weekly publications) were: Opinion Columnist: BN Columnist S. Peter Lewis won first place for his “Views from the Uppermost House.” “Lovely stories about family, community and the human condition,” said judge Meg Heckman, online editor at the Concord Monitor. Feature Story: Staff Writer Wayne E. Rivet earned a first place award for, “Hope for Closure,” a story about the Torres family’s hope to some day learn what happened to their missing son. “Clear, concise view into a mother’s loss. I’m glad you included the police, but without focusing on them and the procedure of crime and missing persons cases. The emotions moved the story,” wrote judge Sarah Palermo of the Concord Monitor. Education: Staff Writer Wayne E. Rivet received a AWARDS, Page A
was mischaracterizing the relationship; he simply wanted the board to know that no negotiations are taking place. He said Cavanaugh and local residents interested in the dental project are currently brainstorming about ways to make some services available “on a much smaller scale,” but those talks are in the “very, very preliminary stage” and do not involve
PETER MORTENSON of Bridgton left his job as a middle school principal, and when he failed to find another job in education that seemed enticing, he decided to pursue organic farming, something always wanted to try. (Rivet Photo)
Career change
Former principal finds organic farming a healthy endeavor By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer When Peter Mortenson was a classroom teacher, he taught students about both plant and animal sciences. Today, he is using that knowledge to pursue a new career. When Mortenson decided to resign as principal at Lake Region Middle School, he searched the educational landscape for a new job, but really didn’t find a position that was enticing. So, he considered another option — a fascination he has had for a long time — organic farming. “I’ve always been involved in agriculture. That is what I taught when I was in the classroom, and I grew up around farms in a rural area,” he said. “It’s something that I’ve always wanted to try. So, the opportunity presented itself, and
I spent the winter looking around for land.” Owning a home in South Bridgto,n where he raises pigs, chickens and turkeys, Mortenson scoured the countryside in search of farming land he could lease. “Finding land was a big challenge. Most people look at open spaces as hay ground. I was able to get property in Naples because the person who was haying it no longer wanted to do it. They weren’t getting enough hay off it,” he said. “I spent time with soil conservation maps, Google maps and drove around, talking to people. I finally got lucky, finding some space in North Bridgton. Things rolled on from there.” While Mortenson is leasing about 25 acres, he is searching for more open space. “I’d like to find another 20 acres
because what I really would like to focus on are pick-your-own strawberries, grains and fall crops — winter squash, pumpkins, wheat, barley and oats,” he said. Once he made the decision to lose the necktie and leave behind the school setting in favor of jeans and a straw hat, Mortenson devised an ambitious business plan, which met the approval of a bank. “One of the things I decided to do was to try just about everything. I have sheep, cows, pigs, chicken and turkeys. I put in wheat, oats, grain for flour, all kinds of vegetables from artichokes to zucchinis. I always knew I wanted to focus on strawberries and fall crops. The grains have come along,” he said. “For me, this has been a real experimental year. It has been a wonderful experience for me — a chance
FARMING, Page A
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