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Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 148, No. 49
24 PAGES - 4 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
December 7, 2017
(USPS 065-020)
Weather . . . . . . . . . . . 5D
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Future of golf course uncertain By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — The future of the Naples Golf and Country Club, Inc., is swinging in the balance. The company’s Board of Directors meeting on Monday night will have some bearing on the next step for the local recreational business. “Where we are at right now is we have a shareholder’s meeting set for Monday, where all of this will be discussed and decided,” said Allen Faraday, who is the president of the board of directors. “Right now, there isn’t anything concrete happening.” “The only thing that is out there is that we have sent a letter to the shareholders about this meeting, where we are at, and what is on the table. It’s still up in the air,” Faraday added. The future of the course is going to be discussed, according to the letter which
WILL THERE BE PLAY AT THE COURSE IN 2018? Naples Golf and Country Club Inc. shareholders will meet on Monday to discuss the future of the course, located on Route 114 in Naples. stockholders received, Faraday confirmed. The letter cited a decrease in golf revenues, and a national trend toward that and a desire for shareholders to
recoup their investments. “In 2017 at the end of the season, golf play revenue showed a decline…from the previous year, [following] a national trend in the golf
industry,” the letter said. Apparently, people who have received this letter have shared the contents with people in the comCOURSE, Page 2A
Towns take ‘interim’ approach By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer REGION — Some people end up volunteering or working part-time after retirement. It seems such a work arrangement can be beneficial to both retiree and the
company or the agency doing the hiring. In the case of government, there is a job-networking service that provides the resumes of people willing to serve as interim town managers, typically someone retired from a town manage-
ment position. Across the State of Maine, a handful of town managers came of retirement age or resigned during the same time period — leaving a bit of a candidate shortage. The networking service is provided by Maine Town City
WORLD WAR II VETERAN Larry Balboni recalls hearing about the attack on Pearl Harbor. He had just turned 17 years old the month before Dec. 7, 1941.
WWII vet recalls Pearl Harbor attack, VE Day By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — Larry Balboni had just exited a movie theater in Massachusetts when he heard the news about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He cannot remember the title of the movie although that might come to mind later. However, like so many Americans, Balboni can recall details of the day that he learned the American Army and Navy Base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was attacked by the Imperial Japanese. “I turned 17 that November. The next month, in December, I was at the movies. We came out of the movie and there were news boys on the corner, shouting ‘Japan bombed Pearl Harbor,’ ” he said. “Everyone was incredulous. Little Japan went to war with the United States. Nobody could believe it,” he said. “All the way through the war, people were incredulous that the Japanese were doing what they were doing,” he said. America officially entered into World War II on Dec. 8, 1941. Balboni did not arrive in Europe until the autumn of 1944. The longtime Naples resident was involved in some of the famous military operations like Operation Market Garden
In December 1941, the holiday spirit was very quiet. The country was aware of the war. Everyone was concerned about young men going to fight, enemy invasion, and the German submarines on the coast. and Battle of the Bulge that have since been made into movies. From his wartime experiences, Balboni earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. “Bronze: it is for service above and beyond the ordinary. The Purple Heart is given to anyone who is wounded in combat. You don’t have to be smart to earn the Purple Heart. It means you didn’t get out of the way. If you were lucky, you didn’t get one,” Balboni said. He was still recovering in a hospital when WWII ended and that is a date he prefers to remember. “When the war was over in Europe, there were big celebrations all over the U.S. We celebrated in Atlantic City, N.J. We danced VET RECALLS, Page 3A
and Country Management Association (MTCMA). It was started in 2016. A year later, this municipal job bank has proven fruitful. Burt Kendall, who served as Denmark’s first town manager from 2006 to 2008, was sworn in as interim town manager of Denmark on Tuesday. His contract goes from Dec. 5 to June 2, which will allow him to attend the annual town meeting, he said. MTCMA “is not a union, but a trade association. We look out for the professional interest of managers,” according to Kendall, who serves as MTCMA senior advisor. “The association has 240 members including Bridgton, Fryeburg and Denmark, Naples,” he said. The job banked started after Dave Barrett, with Maine Municipal Association, mentioned something like that was needed. It came in handy when the Town of Denmark needed a town manager to fill in while the elected officials decided what to do. When the Denmark Board of Selectmen “needed an interim they didn’t know where to find one,” Kendall said. The town turned to the system that stores the resumes of potential interims, he said. “I was called by the selectmen. I knew Chris [Loughlin] was going to leave, but I had no clue what they were doing. I was interviewed and I start today,” Kendall said. Prior to Loughlin’s start date as town manager, the position remained vacant for about six months. “In the meanwhile, the Town of Denmark will do a charter study,” Kendall said. The Denmark “Charter Study Committee has been elected. There are about seven or eight members. The chairman is one of the selectmen. The charge is to examine the town charter and come up with a recommendation, regarding a town manager,” he said. “They wanted me to stay until the town meeting and also if I can offer assistance to the charter study,” he said. For Kendall, the job is an opportunity to stay employed but only part-time and for the MANAGER, Page 2A
FIGHTING THE FLAMES — Area fire departments put out a garage fire at a property off Route 11, also known as Poland Springs Road, around 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 30. The fire was contained to the garage, and the incident closed down Route 11 for about three hours. (Photo courtesy of Casco Fire & Rescue Department Facebook)
Fire engulfs garage, shuts down Rte. 11
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — Less than two weeks after his garage burned to the ground, the former chief of the Casco Fire Department said he has nothing but high praise for the area fire departments. Norman Judkins is thankful, too, that the weather
played a part in the garage fire not spreading to homes nearby. “Couldn’t have any better luck. There was no wind that night, no wind heading toward my house or my neighbor’s house,” Judkins said Wednesday morning. “You couldn’t ask for betFIRE, Page 3A
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