The vote See how area residents voted on the five state bond questions Page 6A
An electric night
Inside News
Father, son watch the Red Sox claim the World Series title in Game 6 at Fenway Park Page 1C
Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 5B Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 4D Country Living 1B-4B, 6B Directory . . . . . . . . . . 2D Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 4B Opinions . 1D-3D, 5D-6D Police/Court . . . . . . . . 4A Sports . . . . . . . . . 1C-6C Student News . . . 7C-8C Games . . . . . . . . . . . . 5C
Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 144, No. 45
28 PAGES - 4 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
November 7, 2013
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Too low?
Vet cherishes Quilt of Valor By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer HARRISON — Walking into Henry Leino’s home, one senses a great deal of pride in family and service. Henry is one of 15 children — nine brothers and five sisters — of John and Hilda Leino. He and his wife, Miriam, are the proud parents of five children and 13 grandchildren. So, it is no surprise that family photos from several decades adorn the top of a piano, positioned along an inside wall of the living room. Another major chapter in Henry’s life was his days as a tail gunner in World War II. Between the living and dining rooms stands a multi-shelf “memorial,” that includes photos of a strapping young man in uniform, medals and a plaque — a harsh reminder that war carries a heavy price. WWII, Though others have forgotten; We shall never forget our comrades. U.S. casualties, Dec. 7, 1941 to Dec. 31, 1946, 397,316 dead, 670,845 wounded, 78,733 MIAs, 124,079 POWs, 12,653 died in captivity. Like his brothers, Henry served his country, fighting in World War II in the Air Corp. He was awarded a Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, honors for marksmanship and a Presidential Unit Citation. Honorably discharged on Oct. 16, 1945, Henry would eventually dedicate 30 years to the ministry, serving in parishes in Massachusetts, New York, Michigan and Ohio. QUILT OF VALOR group from Missouri made this quilt and sent it to World War II veteran Henry Leino. He returned home to Harrison to retire. At the age of 88, Henry remains sharp of mind and “Our group is now including veterans from the Vietnam appreciative of a full life. This summer, he received a War and anyone touched by war,” Jean said. special gift, which touched his heart. Quilts of Valor is a national movement, and over 87,000 “My daughter, Mary, mentioned to a group that I served in World War II and had received a Purple Heart,” Henry quilts have been presented. Henry is proud of his quilt. He will use it as a prop this said. “I received a call asking if I would accept a quilt in Sunday, Nov. 10, at 9 a.m. when he speaks about his milihonor of my service to my country. I was honored to.” The call came from Quilts of Valor in Warrenton, tary service at Trinity Lutheran Church in South Paris. “For some guys, that was a very difficult period in their Missouri. Two women created the local chapter eight years ago. Each month, the ladies meet at a local church lives and they don’t speak about it too often,” Henry said. fellowship hall or community building and hand quilt. “Everybody deals with difficult moments in their lives difSometimes, over 100 ladies are present. Although quilts ferently. I really don’t mind.” Military Service — A Family Affair vary in pattern, each has one constant element. Somewhere Military service was woven into the fabric of the Leino within the quilt is a red heart. “It is with much love and appreciation for your sacrifice family. Matti was the first brother drafted, getting the call that these quilts are made,” wrote Jean, one of the Quilts of Valor founders. “We thank you from the bottom of our on June 30, 1942 with the Army, attached to the 844th Quartermaster Gas Supply Company. He was shot through hearts.” To date, the Eastern Missouri group has presented over the wrist near the French-Belgium border, and received a 1,100 quilts to 33 different states, as well as Germany and Purple Heart. Arne was drafted on Aug. 28, 1942 at the age of 26. Afghanistan. They have also been given to men and women injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. QUILT OF VALOR, Page A
Casco promotes business friendly image By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — Lately, local elected officials have been promoting the Town of Casco like it is nobody’s business. Rather, it is everybody’s businesses that the Casco Board of Selectmen would like to see the town better promoted. The two-prong goal is: To support existing businesses, and to entice entrepreneurs to locate their businesses in the area. On Tuesday, the Fourth Annual Casco Business Showcase was held in the Casco Community Center gymnasium — while the polling place was open. More than three-dozen area businesses set up booths, and took advantage of the foot traffic from this November’s elections. The showcase was the brainchild of Mary-Veinessa Fernandes and Barbara York three years ago during the state’s gubernatorial election process. One of the objectives was to expose residents to those home-based businesses they might not know about. Now, the board of selectmen is also exploring ways to help new businesses get their foot in the door. During a recent board meeting, selectmen spoke with the heads of two chamBUSINESS, Page A
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Weather . . . . . . . . . . . 5D
Level tied to ‘Lock’ project By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Naples Harbormaster Bill Callahan isn’t sure who to blame, in fielding recent complaints about the drastic drop early this fall of Long Lake’s water level. All he can tell them is that repair work being done now on Songo Lock was a contributing factor. But then again, he’s aware that it has been a dry fall, without much rain. And he’s not sure the cause can be laid entirely at the Lock. Efforts to relicense the Eel Weir Dam by its owner, Sappi Fine Paper, have been delayed for going on eight years, and are now being challenged in court. Eel Weir Dam in Westbrook controls the level of Sebago Lake, and as Sebago Lake
goes, so goes Long Lake. Or at least that’s what many people, including Callahan, assume. “It’s a confusing issue,” said Callahan, as to whether management of water levels at Sebago Lake may have played a role. All he knows is that a new management plan needs to be developed for Sebago Lake, and better procedures need to be put in place to notify the public about what is happening with lake levels, and why. “It’s just a mess. It’s a nightmare. I’ve had people calling, and the Harrison Harbormaster has been getting calls,” he said. The good news, he adds, is that by now, “Ninety-nine percent of the boats are out of the water.” LEVEL, Page A
‘302’ project: third of top 50 By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer A study released Oct. 31 ranked the Route 302 reconstruction project from West Bridgton to Fryeburg third among Maine’s top 50 transportation challenges. The study was conducted for the state Department of Transportation by TRIP, a national transportation research group, which used traffic volume, repair costs and the importance of the road or bridge to the regional economy in its rankings. The report noted that Maine’s population has grown eight percent from 1990 to 2012, from 1.2 million to about 1.3 million. During that same span of years, vehicle travel in the state has increased 20 percent, and is projected to increase another 15 percent by 2030, the report said. The report noted that Maine’s system of 22,874 miles of roads and 2,408 bridges carries 14.2 billion
vehicle miles of travel annually. Because of its lack of proper shoulders and tendency toward “crowning” at the center of the roadway, the stretch of Route 302 from Stack Em Inn Road in Bridgton extending 5.19miles into Fryeburg is seen to have a serious deficiency that the state has estimated can be corrected for $7.4 million — not cheap, but manageable within the state’s current transportation budget. At the same time, the benefit of such improvements in terms of safety and boosting the regional economy is seen as significant. The Route 302 project is one of many that made the list that is already on MDOT’s work plan, and is scheduled to be completed within the next two years. A final public hearing on the project was held earlier this fall. State officials note that the yes vote Tuesday PROJECT, Page A
FRYEBURG — Five burglaries in the past week have spurred the Fryeburg Police Department to increase patrols — both foot and car — in the East Fryeburg area. Sunday night, foot patrol units discovered a residential burglary, which is related to other break-ins and home invasions. Officers Michelle Legare and Steve Witham discovered at 10 p.m. that a Baker Circle residence had been entered using force. Investigators contacted the homeowners in Massachusetts and have spent most of Monday processing the scene and collecting physical evidence.
The seasonal home was unoccupied at the time of the burglary. Residents in the East Fryeburg area are urged to be “hyper vigilant” and report any suspicious foot or vehicular traffic, said Fryeburg PD Detective Sergeant Joshua Potvin. Anyone with information can call police at 935-3323. Reference case number 13-178-OF. Last Thursday, a second home invasion occurred between 3 and 6 a.m. on North Elkins Brook Road in Fryeburg. Police say sometime during Wednesday evening, a suspect(s) entered the victim’s residence and POLICE, Page A
Burglaries put police on alert
COMPLETE FACELIFT is underway at the 181 Portland Road, Bridgton location of Dunkin Donuts. The remodeled building has been extended eight feet to the south side, with extra seating room inside, extra parking and a new location of the drive-thru window at the rear of the building. The owner hopes to have work completed and be reopened by Nov. 16, with a grand opening to follow a week or two later. (Rivet Photo)
Major Dunkin’ makeover
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer When the Bridgton Dunkin’ Donuts opened seven years ago on the Portland Road, someone told owner Brian Fram it was going to turn out to be too small. That somebody was right. “Right off the bat, I outgrew that spot,” said Fram, owner of four other Dunkin’ Donuts franchises in Conway, North Conway, East Conway and Bartlett, N.H. So even though the every10-years renovations required of every franchise owner was still three years away, Fram decided this fall to get busy making his Bridgton franchise more customer-friend-
ly. Work began a few weeks ago by Thompson Building Services of Gardiner on a complete remodel of the interior and exterior of the building, along with an expansion that adds eight feet to the south side of the building. The Gardiner firm is familiar with Dunkin’ Donuts’ requirements, said Fram, so he expects the work to be done within weeks. “If all goes well, I’d like to be open hopefully Nov. 14 or 16,” he said. A grand reopening will be planned a few weeks after that, he added. Fram is especially happy that the remodel will allow him to move his drivethrough window to the rear of
the building, instead of being on the north side as it is now. Having the window in back will allow him to better meet demand during busy times, without having a line of cars backed up near the entrance from Portland Road. The increased footprint will add four more parking spaces, for a total of 21 spaces. There’ll also be a complete remodel on the inside of the restaurant. “It will be totally new,” said Fram, “with a semi-retro, semi-modern look to it, a little bit of a throwback to the old Dunkin’ days, blended in with a modern look.” Fram said his decision DUNKIN’, Page A
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