Gallery Oasis
Fresh starts
A haven for aspiring area artists opens at Hawthorne’s Attic
High school sports teams are optimistic about what might unfold this winter
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Inside News Calendar . . . . . . . 4B-5B Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 6D Country Living . . . 1B-8B Directory . . . . . . . . . . 7D
Page 1C
Obituaries . . . . . . 4D-5D Opinions . . . . . . . 1D-8D Police/Court . . . . . . . . 6A Sports . . . . . . . . . 1C-6C Student News . . . 7C-8C Games . . . . . . . . . . . . 5C
Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 145, No. 49
32 PAGES - 4 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
December 4, 2014
(USPS 065-020)
Weather . . . . . . . . . . . 6D
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Antennas to be added to Ingalls tower By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer It was short and sweet, by comparison, when the Bridgton Planning Board on Tuesday took up another cell phone tower request, this time by U.S. Cellular, to add three antennas to its existing tower at 142 Sam Ingalls Road. The ease of the review, compared to the board’s
five-month wrangle before approving AT&T’s tower on Hio Ridge Road, was due to two factors: • U.S. Cellular was not asking for a new tower; and • The additional antennas had been included when U.S. Cellular originally applied to erect the 148-foot-tall Sam Ingalls tower around 2008. Furthermore, the new
antennas will be placed lower on the tower than the antennae that is there now, at the 145-foot tallest point. Bob Gashlin, agent for U.S. Cellular, said future antennas “were contemplated in the original application,” and are now needed to meet the needs of today’s smart phone users. Board Alternate Phyllis
Roth asked if the additional antennas were needed to improve U.S. Cellular’s coverage for cell phone communications. Gashlin said no, and said, in fact, that was why the telecommunications company did not need to go any higher with its antennas, but could go lower. “This is not going to
improve coverage at all,” he said. “With the use of smart phones, pictures, that type of use gobbles up so much band width, that the density is being compromised,” Gashlin said. “It will free up the band width so the quality (of the signal) will be significantly enhanced.” Board member Mike Figoli noted that a structural analy-
sis of the tower was done as part of the application, and suggested the board consider making such an analysis a requirement from now on as part of its Tower Ordinance. The rest of the board agreed. “It’s good that due diligence has been done (by U.S. Cellular) without our even asking for it,” Figoli said. INGALLS, Page A
Senior citizens upset over rec registrations
CRITERION DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS Justin McIver, left, and Mark Lopez stand at the entrance to the 600-square-foot mini home on Portland Road that served as the test model for the 60-unit Cottages on Willett Brook, on South High Street in Bridgton. (Geraghty Photos)
Living smaller
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — More than a half-dozen senior citizens brought forward to their local elected officials complaints about online registrations for the Naples Recreation Department’s programs. Most residents said the change that upset them most was being required to register solely by using a computer. Not everyone owns a computer, and some senior citizens don’t understand how to navigate through the website. The town of Naples online registration information does include a sentence inviting people to call or stop by the Town Office if they need assistance. Some people were disappointed in the $2 fee attached to the registration process for all programs. That bump in price made it slightly more costly for Naples residents versus Casco residents who sign up for the very same program. Another issue expressed by residents was the financial safety of punching in their credit card numbers to pay for programs. The worry was whether or not that information was secure.
Since Oct. 1 of this year, the Naples Recreation Department has offered online registration for its programs, starting with the Youth Football League. During this two-month period, some seniors have signed up for exercise classes held at the town gymnasium. But, things came to a head at the end of November — the registration deadline for the seniors’ bus trip to Portland to shop at the Maine Mall and see a presentation of The Magic of Christmas. Longtime Naples resident Marian Merrill said she hadn’t really counted on becoming the spokesperson for senior citizens who were not pleased with the change. “I felt bad because I was the only one complaining,” Merrill told the Naples Board of Selectmen on Monday. She said many of her contemporaries do not own a reliable computer and others were stumped by the online registration. While registering online might work well for young parents with smart phones, it can be frustrating for the older generation, Merrill said. REGISTRATIONS, Page A
DENMARK — Jamie Hook’s holiday wish list is to gain public support leading to the purchase of a property that could help expand Denmark Arts Center programming. Letters and e-mails went out last week as Hook, executive director of the Denmark Arts Center, announced a major capital campaign. Starting this month, the Denmark Arts Center is seeking to raise $150,000 in two installments of $75,000 each. The purpose is to raise funds to support the proposed purchase of the property at 49 West Main Street — the Keller House (pictured above) — and currently for sale across the street from the DAC. “The Keller House presents an essential
opportunity for our future that we cannot let slip away. It is a necessary one, too: Last summer, the DAC brought more than 50 artists to town to present more than 25 public programs to a combined audience of over 3,000. In the process, we helped to pump over $50,000 into the local economy,” Hook said. “And we did it all without an office or a residence of any kind. If we hope to continue to grow our audience, extend our calendar, and increase our impact, we will need a place that can help us bring the world to Denmark, and show Denmark to the world. The Keller House can be that place.” Upon purchase, this wonderful, historic CAMPAIGN, Page A
Cottages at Willett Brook Denmark Arts Center downsize one’s lifestyle looks to buy property
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer So many empty nesters can see the wisdom and necessity of simplifying and downsizing their lives — but they can’t see the way. Reorganizing the architecture of life at middle age is especially challenging for those who aren’t wealthy, yet want to find a smaller place that’s easy to heat and close to the home they’ve always known. So it was a compelling curiosity to many local folks, when the tiny model home, offering simplified living in new construction, went up last summer on the side of Portland Road. So much so, that when development partners Justin McIver and Mark Lopez held an open house there over Memorial Day Weekend, people were literally standing in line waiting to get inside. “When you have 150 people come through in two days, you know you’re onto something,” said Lopez, who said nearly everyone was amazed at how much bigger the home seemed once inside. “So many people came in, and the first thing they said was it’s about time someone did something like this.” More than 600 prospects toured the model in the first six months. Around 40% of them were from Bridgton, with 25% from out of state and 35% from surrounding towns. Just 16-feet-wide and 40feet-long, the little cottage from the outside appear to be, well…a little too small. Yet with its highly-efficient use of space and cathedral ceilings, the one-bedroom cottage with spare room or den, a full kitchen and cozy
SPACIOUS FOR THE SIZE — Cathedral ceilings give a sense of spaciousness to the full-size kitchen inside the cottage.
JUSTIN MCIVER shows off a fold-up coffee table inside the cottage, just one of many space-efficient aspects of living small. living room offers a space for every comfort an older single person or couple might need. “This simplifies your life by getting rid of all of the clutter,” Lopez said.
Like kids in a candy store, they showed off all the space-saving features, such as a fold-up coffee table, behind-the-door bathroom cabinets and side-sliding SMALLER, Page A
Casco Library job was paradise
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — As a young girl Carolyn Paradise adored the words in books — words that could transport her to fantasy lands or teach her how famous people lived. “I have always loved library books. I used to read a lot. It was my escape. I have four brothers,” she said. “Libraries have always been havens for me and I can still recall the layout, the smell and the energy of every one I’ve been in. In Florida, there was even a pet-lending library,” said Paradise, who grew up in the south. For the past 18 years, her office has been a library. Her second family has been the staff and volunteers and board of directors of the Casco Public Library. And, the residents who walk through the doors of library in the village — they, too, have become like family. LIBRARIAN, Page A
DURING HER FAREWELL PARTY on Sunday, Casco Public Library Director Carolyn Paradise poses with her dog Millie. Paradise is resigning from her position at the library and moving to Rhode Island to help her working daughter and son-in-law with their infant, Paradise’s new grandson. (De Busk Photo)
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