Purse snatcher
Clinchers
Sheriff’s Office seeks public’s help to catch alleged thief who struck in Naples parking lot
Inside News Calendar . . . . . . . 4B-5B
Fryeburg advances in field hockey; girls’ soccer teams headed to the postseason
Page 7A
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 4D Country Living . . . 3B-8B
Page 1A
Directory . . . . . . . . . . 5C Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 6D Opinions 1D-3D, 5D, 7D Police/Court . . . . . 7A, 6B Sports . . . . . . . . . 1C-7C Student News . . . . . . 8C Games . . . . . . . . . . . . 5C
Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 145, No. 43
32 PAGES - 4 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
October 23, 2014
(USPS 065-020)
Weather . . . . . . . . . . . 5D
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Election ’14 Morning Dew store closing
Phyllis Ginzler Republican
Lisa Villa Democrat
House 69 District Makeup: In Cumberland County, the municipalities of Bridgton and Harrison; and in Oxford County, the municipality of Denmark. Candidates: D-Lisa Villa, R-Phyllis Ginzler Background/Political experience: Ginzler: Resident of Bridgton (my husband and I have owned a home and paid taxes here for 34 years); I am a retired sales executive with Hewlett Packard; for over 20 years, I held a succession of regional, national and international sales management positions in the computer industry; I also taught in a public middle school for eight years; I hold an MBA in Finance from Babson College; volunteer patient advocate at Bridgton Hospital’s Patient Assistance Program; president of the Bridgton Hospital Guild; serve on the Board of Directors of Bridgton Hospital; board member of the Bridgton Community Center, chaired the Funding and Future Direction committees; this is my first political campaign. Villa: Resident of Harrison, incumbent; Lake Region Transportation Coalition; Lake Region Development Council; CDBG Municipal Oversight Committee, vicechairman; GPCOG, Executive Committee; Cumberland County Finance Committee chairman; Cumberland County Charter Commission, co-chairman; Town of Harrison selectman 2006–2012, vice-chairman; U.S. Airways Flight Attendant, 1988–Present; Leading Women for Shared Parenting, member. Q. Why did you become interested in seeking political office? HOUSE 69, Page A
John Nostin Republican
Christine Powers Democrat
House 68 District Makeup: In Cumberland County, the municipalities of Baldwin, Naples and Sebago; and in York County, the municipality of Cornish; and part of the municipality of Parsonsfield east and north of a line described as follows: Beginning at the point where Federal Road intersects with the Parsonsfield-Porter boundary; then southeast along the centerline of Federal Road until it intersects with Elm Street; then southwest and then south along the centerline of Elm Street until it intersects with Pendexter Road; then northeast along the centerline of Pendexter Road until it intersects with Orchard Road; then southeast along the centerline of Orchard Road until it intersects with the northwestern boundary of Block 2053 of Tract 022500; then southeast along the boundary of Block 2053 of Tract 022500 until it intersects with Road Between the Ponds; then southeast along the centerline of Road Between the Ponds until it intersects with Joe Berry Road; then south along the centerline of Joe Berry Road until it intersects with the Parsonsfield-Cornish boundary. Candidates: D-Christine Powers, R-John Nostin Background/Political experience: Nostin: Resident of Naples; member of Republican Party for over 40 years. Powers: Resident of Naples; incumbent; Maine State Representative 2012 to present; member of Naples Board of Selectmen June 2002 to May 2014; worked in the Technology Department of SAD 61; volunteered in SAD 61 from 1994–2007; Children’s Librarian at the Naples Public Library from 1999 to 2008 and Director from 2011 to present; secretary and board member, Lakes Environmental Association, 2005–2009, secretary of the board from 2006–2008; member, Association of Computer Technology Educators of Maine, Augusta; member, Comprehensive Plan Committee, Naples, 2005– HOUSE 68, Page A
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer After 18 years of business, Bridgton’s only natural foods store, Morning Dew, is closing its doors — an ironic victim of the huge popularity in natural foods. The final day will be Friday, Oct. 31 for the Sandy Creek Road store, which began in smaller space on Portland Road and has enjoyed a loyal customer base throughout its history. Victoria Berry has owned the store for nine years, and began working there three months after it first opened. “I’m really sad, because I love this business, and I love my customers,” Berry said Tuesday. For several years she’s tried many different strategies to keep the doors open, including seeking other buyers. But with another long winter looming, she said, “I just couldn’t do it anymore.” Berry said she has tried to keep her pricing in line, and has been pretty successful in that regard. But with the popularity
CLOSING FOR GOOD — Morning Dew Natural Foods will be closing its doors for good on Friday, Oct. 31, after 18 years in business in Bridgton. of naturals and organics, there are many more places to shop these days than when Morning Dew opened its doors. “Unfortunately, it’s the small folks that really helped
start the (natural foods) movement and have been there to offer one-on-one service, that seem to be hurt the most,” she said. Additionally, in this case there are many factors working
together that make staying in business an unrealistic choice for Berry. Berry employs six people part-time, and rents the Sandy Creek building.
Milone & MacBroom, told the board. Roma and Bridgton Director of Planning, Economic and Community Development Anne Krieg outlined the list of project reductions as follows: • Eliminate all sidewalk and curbing improvements between Main Street and the first entrance to the municipal parking lot — $18,200. This work would be done in the next fiscal year by the town’s Public Works Department. • Eliminate the proposed pump station building and leave the fenced enclosure near the Elegance building — $7,000. • Replace the proposed Thermoplastic pavement markings with paint — $18,000. This will make the pavement markings look the same as with all other crosswalks in downtown. • Do not install the benches, trash receptacles or the
concrete pads for the furniture — $11,000. This work could be completed as a separate project under future Community Development Block Grant funding, TIF funding or another source, Krieg said. • Leave the existing flagpole and base in its current condition — $10,000. The concrete wall around the flagpole would be replaced with circular granite curbing, however. A new flagpole could be a fundraising project by the Bridgton Community Center, Krieg said. • Reduce the materials testing allowance down to $1,000 — $2,000. • Remove the surface pavement line item from the project (9.5 mm hot mix asphalt) — $25,625. This work would be completed by the Public Works Department through their paving contract and funded in the next fiscal year in the road budget. • Remove the pavement
markings line item from the contract price — $1,080. The Public Works Department would contract this work directly after finish paving is completed. Krieg said the town would be looking to raise funds privately for such items as benches and the flagpole area. She said it is “imperative” that CDBG funds be spent this fall, and that Public Works Director Jim Kidder has agreed to complete the top coat of the pavement as well as the sidewalk work. “This option allows us to complete a base project between this fall and next spring that will be usable and aesthetically-pleasing in time for the Fourth of July festivities,” Krieg said. Although the project revisions will require additional funding next year from public works, those costs will be greatly reduced by having the work done in-house.
Depot Street scope shrinks
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Gone are the fancy Thermoplastic crosswalks, to be replaced by simple paint. Gone, too, are the benches and trash bins, and the fancy improvements around the flagpole. The Depot Street Streetscape project has been scaled back by nearly $100,000 — but it’s hoped that many of the design extras can be done at a future date. Bridgton Selectmen voted Oct. 14 to award the bid to Pratt Construction for $333,608, which finally puts the cost in line with the spending approved by voters at Town Meeting. Pratt’s original contract bid price was $426,513, but the contractors negotiated with town officials on a list of reductions to make the project affordable for the town. Initial prep work should begin soon, Dustin Roma, lead project engineer for
Bus to Portland gains traction
A dozen collaborative and ready-to-work citizens turned out for the first meeting to get the Lake Region Bus (LRB) extended from Naples to Bridgton early next year. “I want to catch the bus from downtown Bridgton to visit my daughter in Westbrook,” said one attendee. “I’ve got a grandchild I haven’t seen yet.” Sally Chappell reminded everyone that there used to be a regular group concerned about the lack of local transportation. “Not only did we consider a bus to Portland, we also noted the lack of a taxi service within Bridgton,” she said. At a meeting with Dan Goodman in Portland last week, local organizer George Bradt was told the annual cost of extending the LRB to Bridgton would cost $10,000 – a $5,000 discount from Dan’s first quote. Decisions made In just 90 minutes, attendees decided to raise the $10,000 by Dec. 31, 2014 insuring that the Bridgton-to-Portland connection could begin as early as Monday, Jan. 5, 2015. A name for the Bridgton LRB advocacy group was
BRIDGTON AREA RESIDENTS might be able to commute from Bridgton to Portland early next year if $10,000 can be raised. (Bradt Photo) debated. Skipping over the Samuels, Vice President George Bradt. Why take the Bus Squeaky Wheels, the group Wanda Lembo, Treasurer settled on the Bridgton Dina Rogers and Secretary BUS, Page A Transportation Authority — BTA. “That doesn’t sound like much fun,” said one particiEstablished 1870 pant. “Sounds like the ETF. P.O. Box 244, 118 Main St. How about the Bridgton Bridgton, ME 04009 Bus Buddies?” 207-647-2851 A volunteer execuFax: 207-647-5001 tive board was agreed upon: President Catherine bnews@roadrunner.com
The Bridgton News