Tribute to local vets
Split decision
A special remembrance ceremony held at Bradley Park; kick off to Wreath drive
Lake Region girls’ tenacious press downs Raiders; FA boys put forth spirited effort
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Inside News Calendar . . . . . . 5D, 7D Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 4D Country Living . . . 2B-5B, 7B-8B
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Directory . . . . . . . . . . 3D Obituaries . . . . . . 6B-7B Opinions . 1D-4D, 6D-8D Police/Court . . . . . . . . 5A Sports . . . . . . . . . 1C-7C Student News . . . 7C-8C
Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 144, No. 50
32 PAGES - 4 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
December 12, 2013
(USPS 065-020)
Games . . . . . . . . . . . . 5C
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Fuel fund broke as cold arrives
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Bridgton’s emergency fuel fund has gone dry already, and the cold weather is only getting started. The Bridgton Community Center Fuel Collaborative had just over $7,000 going into the season, thanks in no small part to the Bridgton Board of Selectmen’s decision to give the fund $5,000 from Community Development Block Grant Funds. But all of the money has been used up since Dec. 1, in helping 24 families with one-time assistance of 100 gallons of oil, K-1 or propane. More and more, people are treating the fund as a line of first defense instead of last resort, said Carmen Lone, executive director of the Bridgton Community Center. That’s
Citizen wages ‘sands’ battle
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — A Casco resident, who was involved in the collection of signatures to put an anti-tar-sands resolution before the citizens in her town, has focused her energy on what is happening in South Portland. During the November elections, Peg Dilley volunteered at the headquarters for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). She said she assisted by phoning eligible voters on Election Day. “We were up that night calling until the last person could vote,” she said. “This was a hard-fought campaign in Portland,” Dilley said. At stake was a measure to keep tar sands out of South Portland by stopping the expansion of smoke stacks on property owned by Portland Pipe Line Company (PPL). The measure, referred to as the Waterfront Protection Ordinance, was rejected by the majority of Portland voters. But, that does not mean the battle is over, Dilley said. Lately, she has been attending South Portland City Council meetings, closely following a proposed moratorium to delay for six months the construction of additional smoke stacks at the city’s port. According to the NRCM, putting in the smoke stack infrastructure will be integral to off-loading tar sands oil, also called diluted bitumen, from the pipeline to awaiting tankers. On the other hand, representatives of PPL have repeatedly stated that there are no immediate plans to utilize the pipeline for the transport of diluted bitumen. According to Dilley, if residents do not get involved and speak out before the city council votes, it will diminish all the efforts of the small rural towns along the Crooked River and Big Sebago Lake. “We will be flushing everything down the toilet,” she said. The Towns of Casco, Waterford, Bethel, Raymond, and Harrison, were among those towns that passed resolutions opposing the transport of tar sands oil. The resolutions are not legally binding, but officially state each town’s opposition to diluted bitumen being transported via pipeline. The resolution in Casco also asks state and federal lawmakers to explore alternative sources SANDS, Page A
because, for several years now, the federal LIHEAP Program doesn’t provide heating assistance to its clients until around February or even March — often three or four months after the application has been submitted. “The LIHEAP process is not in line with the heating season,” Lone said. “And year after year it gets worse.” The result is that working families and those on fixed incomes or disability literally can’t afford to wait for the LIHEAP funds to come through. Most of the 24 families served to date are repeating clients who usually wait until later in the season to ask for help from the emergency fuel fund. Exacerbating the crisis for the fuel collaborative is a markedly slow pace of donations this year. Mike Tarantino, who reviews
the applications, said he’s talked to friends in other nonprofit organizations across the country, and, “For some reason, donations are coming in very, very slow. This year, all of a sudden, (donations) are slower than heck.” Larger nonprofits typically have other resources they can turn to in such cases, but not the BCC Fuel Collaborative. Had the town not helped out this year with the $5,000 in CDBG funds, most of the 24 families that have come forward to date would have been turned away, Lone said. With the emergency fuel fund temporarily out of money, and funding delayed by LIHEAP, those in need can still go to the town’s General Assistance Program. But the GA income requirements are so low — a
single person’s income can’t exceed $600 a month — that many people in need of heat in Bridgton don’t qualify for town help. Most churches have some kind of fuel assistance fund available, but such funds are typically very limited, Lone said. Some charitable organizations, like the Bridgton Food Pantry, have taken to giving out Salvation Army vouchers for around $50 that allow needy people to fill a couple of five-gallon containers with K-1, or kerosene, to keep oil tanks from going completely dry and possibly ruining their furnaces. The fuel collaborative was created seven years ago to help working families who were falling through the cracks, said Lone. Around $20,000 is raised each year, mostly through FUEL FUND, Page A
Accurate or not?
Residents dispute recent changes in FEMA maps
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Several residents of Beaver Pond in Bridgton are disputing recent changes in Federal Emergency Management Agency flood plain maps, but the town is taking a wait-andsee attitude before becoming involved. “The onus is on the property owner,” said Town Manager Mitch Berkowitz on Tuesday, in updating selectmen on tentative changes in the FEMA flood zone maps published Nov. 5. He encouraged any homeowner living near a water body to come into the town office soon to see whether their property now lies below FEMA’s established Base Flooding Elevations. If so, it could sharply raise their insurance costs or restrict their right to develop or expand their property. The clock is ticking, Berkowitz indicated; FEMA is giving individuals, businesses and municiPROUD OF HER CREATION — Kaylee Fragale, 5, was palities 90 days to appeal the proud of her work at the arts and craft workshop held on revised Flood Insurance Rate Saturday at Songo Locks School. (De Busk Photo) Maps, which are scheduled
to take effect in the summer of 2015, after appeals and final reviews. The issue arose after Beaver Pond resident Bill Clark discovered that his home and three of the other four homes in his North High Street development were in the flood plain. Clark asked for the town’s help, and after looking into the matter, Code Enforcement Officer Robbie Baker agreed that the properties should not have been placed in the flood zone. “I urge you to take a look at those maps, because what may not have affected you in the past, may now do so. And there’s a responsibility on the part of the property owner to refute this,” Berkowitz said. Representatives from the town will be attending a FEMA meeting in January to go over the new FIRM boundaries and will then decide whether to become involved. “At this point, the town is not a lead appellant in any appeal, but will continue to monitor this issue and how it impacts our property own-
ers,” Berkowitz said. Of particular concern to the town would be any changes to the flood zone in the downtown area. “We might want to fight that with our own engineering surveys,” he said. In a letter to Berkowitz, Clark said he could find no record of prior appeals around Beaver Pond, so no Base Flooding Elevations had been established. But prior appeals on file for Moose Pond showed a BFE of 421.9 feet above sea level. With geographic maps showing Beaver Pond at 478 feet, and Beaver Pond emptying into Moose Pond, said Clark, “Moose Pond would need to rise some 56 feet before Beaver Pond would begin to flood.” Then, Beaver Pond would need to rise around 15 feet to reach the lowest homes in his development, said Clark. He said the revised map appears to have been produced using satellite imagery, and that after consulting with a FEMA official, that official agreed the map MAPS, Page A
Crescent Lake beach gets a facelift By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — People who frequent the public beach on Crescent Lake may have noticed the buildup of sand in the swimming area. For families with toddlers, the shallow water can be viewed as a big plus. For residents desiring an unencumbered swim, the walk alone to deeper water can be a workout. To anyone who has spent time at the beach, the pros and cons are obvious. But, one would have to be a botanist to notice how the plants and trees around the shoreline are struggling — with roots exposed by the displacement of sand and soil. According to Casco Code Enforcement Officer Don Murphy, that is the main reason the town has been allowed to restore its beach. The removal of sand from under the water is permissible through the permitby-rule regulation from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). A permit-by-rule sidesteps the paperwork and application process, allowing work to begin once a notification is filed with the DEP, Murphy said. “The reason we moved so quickly is that the lake was at a historic low,” he said. “We wanted to get the sand out of the water to restore the shoreline,” he said.
Also, on the right side of the beach, riprap was placed to keep erosion at bay. In recent weeks, an excavator has been parked at the town beach on Crescent Lake. Gary Drew, who owns Drew Excavation based in Otisfield, was hired for the job. Drew is Shoreland Zone certified. According to Murphy, the excavator is allowed to park on the spit of sand, while the arm scoops up bucket-loads of sand. The machine itself cannot enter the water; and, the operator must be vigilant in watching for any oil leaks, Murphy said. Only sand can be removed, and re-used for the beach restoration, he said. Any muck or mud dug up from the lake bottom must be removed from the site, he said. Also, if aquatic plants are present, those plants cannot be disturbed. Luckily, for the Town of Casco, there are no aquatic plants growing in the swimming area — either because of the water currents or because of the foot traffic over the years, Murphy said. It is not permissible to import sand to an area for a beach restoration project, he said. Imported sand might have a different pH-balance than sand that was part of the terrain around the lake, he said. Years ago, there had been some flooding that occurred
REHAB WORK — Friday, this mound of sand had been removed from Crescent Lake, and will be used to restore the town’s public beach. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved the project via a permit-by-rule. (De Busk Photo) before the town fixed the culvert, which runs under Edwards Road. The sand that washed away during the flood event had exposed the roots of the trees. The water undermined the roots of the bushes and vegetation growing along the shoreline. The problems stemming from this year’s low water levels simultaneously offered some opportunities to fix them, Murphy said. The low water exposed a spit of sand from which
an excavator could work, he said. For the benefit of the public, Town Manager Dave Morton mentioned the undertaking during a recent Casco
Board of Selectmen meeting. “If folks see an excavator adjacent to the beach, don’t be alarmed. It is a townapproved project,” Morton said.
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