BN52-122420

What’s inside

Index

Special delivery

Classifieds . . . . . . . . 10A

Food City, local Rotarians team up to deliver 80 bags of healthy food to pantry

Donations to good causes; Profiling Master’s Touch; ‘Light’ Christmas memory Pages 2A, 3A, 4A

Country Living . . . . . . 5A Directory . . . . . . . . . 10A Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 9A

Page 5A

Opinions . . . . . . 7A-10A Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4A Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Student News . . . . . . . .

Games . . . . . . . . . . . . 8A Legal Notices . . . . . . . 8A

Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870.

Vol. 150, No. 52

12 PAGES - 1 Section

Bridgton, Maine

December 24, 2020

www.bridgton.com

(USPS 065-020)

95¢

TIF for memory care project clears a hurdle

By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer A TIF (tax increment financing) is a giveand-take proposition.

Linda LaCroix sees construction of a proposed $6 million memory care facility a “win” for Bridgton, as well as residents of the region.

However, Woodland Senior Living managing member Matthew Walters has crunched the numbers and while the Waterville-based company really likes Bridgton as the location of a 48-bed facility, a TIF is needed — at the tune of 85% of proceeds going to the developer and 15% to the town in the early years of the TIF agreement to help with construction costs. Bridgton’s share ramps up in later years of the TIF agreement.

“This is a win-win situation for Bridgton. It serves our primary priorities to be mindful of tax burdens while providing the opportunity for private development of essential services so important to residents. This assisted living facility is critical to all of us as an extraordinary opportunity to have a best-in-class facility local to residents; one that builds Maine Care into the business model and thus is inclusive to all,” wrote LaCroix, the town’s Community Development Director, to the Bridgton Selectboard prior to Tuesday’s Zoom meeting. “TIFs are beneficial to the town not only as a mechanism to enable critical projects and development, but especially in this case as a path to bringing important good-paying

full-time jobs to 30 people, people who will engage in our community businesses, pay taxes for those who live here and indeed attract new residents from elsewhere. These jobs are critical, and the facility itself adds a tremendous health care asset complimenting existing services provided by the hospital.”

LaCroix noted voter support for the project when they overwhelmingly approved a change in the zoning district on North High Street to enable development of the memory care facility.

“The TIF is essential to this happening,” LaCroix added. “These monies will provide important funding for future wastewater, streetscape and other infrastructure projects benefitting the town in addition to the critical primary healthcare service. Rather than increase the tax burden, this TIF as with others leads to greatly enhanced infrastructure assets that do not add to the tax bill. We all win. For these reasons, I urge the board to approve this framework.”

Early discussions between the board and Walters centered mainly on finding a middle ground regarding what tax mix was reasonable for each side.

Walters did provide selectmen with a spreadsheet of a TIF Woodland Senior Living reached with the town of Rockport, showing what money stayed with the developer and when, and what money went to the FACILITY, Page 3A

VACCINATED — Sheri Montgomery, RN, (left) and Florence Ward, RN, were the first two Bridgton Hospital nurses to receive their Covid-19 vaccinations Tuesday.

Both care for Covid-19 patients. Bridgton Hospital vaccinated 50 of its team members Tuesday, the first day of vaccination clinics for its healthcare workers. Central Maine Healthcare received a shipment of the Moderna vaccine the previous day and began offering it to team members at its three hospitals — Bridgton Hospital, Rumford Hospital and Central Maine Medical Center – on Tuesday. “It’s a wonderful day for us here at Bridgton Hospital,” said Peter J. Wright, FACHE, president, Bridgton Hospital, Rumford Hospital and CMH’s Long-Term Care Division. “This is a ray of hope for our team members who have worked so heroically to provide care to our communities throughout the pandemic.”

In-person plan set, but SAD 61 stays course

By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer The blueprint on how SAD 61 returns to full-time in-person instruction is in place, but when the plan is enacted is anyone’s guess right now.

The target date was Jan. 11, but after SAD 61 had to shift to 100% remote instruction last week due to Covid19 cases, Superintendent Al Smith informed directors

Monday night that he would not recommend full in-person “at this time.”

“Given everything that has taken place, seeing 2 to 3 to 400 cases per day (in the state), I would not recommend it (in-person) at this time,” Smith said. “It’s not safe time to do this.

We are prepared, should we have the opportunity, which I am still optimistic that before the end of the

school happens, the kids will have a chance to come back full-time.”

Instead, SAD 61 will move into 2021 using the same hybrid and 100% remote models when the school year resumes on Jan. 4.

After Bridgton Director Karla Swanson-Murphy recognized the efforts of administrators and staff to craft a return-to-school

plan, Bridgton Director Pam Brucker commended district officials for how they’ve approached creating a safe environment during this pandemic, while also bringing a degree of instruction consistency during these unpredictable times.

“What we’ve done well, compared to other districts, is our kids started either hybrid or 100% remote. They’ve stayed that way. This was the

first time we had to change to 100% remote. It’s been good for the kids. For them to move from hybrid to remote to hybrid is not good for them. I think it disrupts their education,” she said. “I just would like to say, and I know you will, monitor the numbers very carefully to see where we are before we reopen.”

Casco Director Stan Buchanan favors SAD 61

staying remote as Maine’s virus numbers continue to surge post holidays.

Smith has spoken to CDC officials, as well as other school administrators, regarding how they are proceeding.

“We are monitoring the situation,” he said.

“Everyone is planning — with the exception couple of schools — to come BLUEPRINT, Page 6A

Naples cemeteries open to foot traffic ‘only’

NEW LEADER — Artistic and Executive Director Gail Phaneuf outside of the historic Deertrees Theatre, celebrating its 85th anniversary in 2021.

(Photo courtesy of Michelle McGrath)

Phaneuf checked all of the DT director boxes HARRISON — Gail Phaneuf, playwright, educator, composer, actor and director and a 40-year summer resident of Harrison, has been named the artistic and executive director of the historic Deertrees Theatre, providing performing arts entertainment to the Greater Maine region since 1936.

Phaneuf recently relocated permanently to Harrison from Boston, where she will now live year-round and has already begun her new position.

“The Board of Directors determined that Gail Phaneuf was the person who checked all of the boxes for the position of Executive and Artistic Director. Our vision for Deertrees is to expand the production genres, incorporate new technology and facilitate an exciting cultural hub for western Maine. We feel that Gail will make Deertrees a destination for all ages for years to come,” said Deertrees’ Board

of Directors President Cheryl McLaughlin.

Boston native Gail Phaneuf has devoted her entire career to theatre. As a playwright and composer, Phaneuf has penned three full musicals and 16 plays, performed at venues around the world. Her awardwinning “MONSTERS! A Midlife Musical Meltdown, premiered in Boston, and subsequently produced at Deertrees, amongst other theaters. Her play Breakfast with Mary” premiered at Deertrees in 2011. Her teen musical, The Love Note,” was produced Off-Broadway in 2014 and continues to be produced across the globe. Other works include Memorize You, a song-cycle, and the dramatic one-woman imagining Kippy, Pray for the Dead and Fight like Hell for the Living, on activist and social justice hero Kip Tiernan.

Phaneuf is also the founder of G.P. Technologies/Productions in Boston, Mass., NEW DIRECTOR, Page 2A

By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — All the townowned cemeteries in Naples will be closed to vehicular traffic this winter.

However, these cemeteries will still be open to the public. Pathways will be created with a snowblower so that residents can continue to visit gravesites year round.

The Naples Board of Selectmen unanimously adopted the Naples Cemetery Policy, which states that the

cemeteries will be visibly closed to vehicles during the wintertime. The new policy places the responsibility of snow removal on the Town of Naples.

It was actually snowremoval done by a volunteer that prompted town officials to close the cemetery gates to vehicles while providing people an opportunity to visit gravesites any time of year.

During a Zoom meeting on Monday night, Naples Town Manager John Hawley

brought up the recent, accidental damage to one of the town’s graveyards.

“While we understand and respect that many people need to have the ability to access a loved one’s grave site year-round, those [who] feel the need to plow the roads in the winter are creating issues. We recognize the kindness of their efforts, but we spent quite a bit of time, money and effort improving the roads in the cemeteries

By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — The Town of Naples submitted to the Maine Superior Court on Dec. 16 the legal paperwork against Maine Capital Group in order to get the funds needed to complete the infrastructure for the Brandy Pond Crossing subdivision.

This is the second time in two years that the town has tried unsuccessfully to access the letter of credit.

Now, it is headed to court.

“We have now formally entered into the court process to get those funds,” Naples Town Manager John Hawley said.

He added that because of Covid-19 restrictions, the courts are backed up. When town’s attorney filed the motion, it put a bookmark

in the order that cases will be heard. The case might not be on the docket yet but it’s in line to get a court date in 2021, Hawley said.

In 2019, the Naples Planning Board approved Brandy Pond Crossing subdivision. Developer Paul Hollis, the owner of Front Nine Homes LLC, was in charge of putting in the approved infrastructure.

However, the project missed several deadlines in 2019 and again in 2020.

This fall, the attorneys for the town and for

Front Nine Homes met and entered into an agreement.

In October 2020, the creditor Coastal Realty Capital DBA Maine Capital Group issued a letter of credit for $248,600. A deadline of Nov. 23 was decided upon for all the remaining work to be done.

“As stated in the Letter of Credit (LOC) issued by Maine Capital, if work was not completed at the development by Nov. 23, the town could place a demand on the remaining balance MOTION, Page 4A

CEMETERIES, Page 11A

Motion filed to get Front Nine Home funds

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

Page 2A, The Bridgton News, December 24, 2020

Area news

Business profile: Master’s Touch Company: MASTER’S TOUCH, LLC Location: Medical Building, 55 Main Street Bridgton Owner/Operator: Barb Friscia, MA, LMT, ATC, CAFS Services offered: Myofascial Release & Therapeutic Massage; services to maximize soft tissue health and integrity Q. Why did you decide to open your business?

Barb Friscia: Due to Covid-19 and my previous employer changing its work model, my position as

Barb Friscia, MA, LMT, ATC, CAFS

a physical therapist assistant was terminated. I took a leap of faith this past September to open up my Myofasical Release practice to continue as a healthcare provider using my expertise in soft tissue health. Although new models of practicing massage therapy have been defined due to Covid-19, I have found there is still a great need to continue providing this service to our community.

Improving function for daily activities, reducing stress and pain, relieving areas of restriction and better breathing patterns

are some of my goals for my clients.

Q. Background information?

Barb Friscia: I have practiced as a licensed Massage Therapist for 30 years, specializing in Myofascial Release. I also am a board-certified Athletic Trainer (35 years) with a Master’s Degree in Sports Medicine and a licensed Physical Therapist Assistant (20 years) specializing in orthopaedic manual therapy. I have developed my massage therapy techniques TOUCH, Page 3A

Casco on track with revenue

By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — When it came to the budget planning process last spring, officials with the Town of Casco decided not to count on 100 percent of the predicted income from vehicle sales or state revenue sharing.

After all, the municipal budget was being put together during the state’s shutdown at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Down-playing that revenue has put Casco in a good spot financially because those numbers might come

out higher than anticipated.

Last Tuesday, Interim Town Manager Don Gerrish updated the Casco Board of Selectmen on the financials for November.

“On the revenue side we continue to be in good shape.

We budgeted the same amount for excise tax as we got last year, $760,000; and through November, we are $50,000 ahead of where we were last year at the same time,” Gerrish said. “We budgeted $125,000 for state revenue sharing and we have received $137,700 through November. I reviewed the

State of Maine’s projection for what Casco will receive for this year, which was $280,000 and I think we will be close to that number, which would give us an additional $155,000 we had not planned on.”

He said that the expenditures side of the budget is faring well, too.

“The one area we will need to monitor is road work.

We budgeted $100,000 in this account and we have spent $28,000 through November,” he said.

There are still seven more months left before the fiscal

year ends on June 30, 2021.

“We should be okay in this [Roads] account, but winter and spring may have an impact on it,” Gerrish said.

In fact, the ice and snowstorm that happened earlier this month put a toll on the town’s budget.

“This most recent storm had extra expenses,” Gerrish said.

Trees had fallen across some roads. The town hired Q-Team Tree Service, out of Naples, to remove trees that were blocking roadways, he said.

By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — The Town of Naples is reporting a sizable reduction of the revenue usually brought in from interest earnings.

This is calculated as a loss of about $10,000.

So far, the revenue has been $3,000 while the typical income from interest earnings is between $13,000 and $15,000, according to Naples Town Manager John Hawley.

The budget update was provided during the Naples

Board of Selectmen meeting that was held via Zoom on Monday.

Hawley addressed the interest earnings during his manager’s report.

“What will come as no surprise to anyone is that the interest earnings on our bank accounts have tanked,” Hawley said.

He recapped past events, which was putting out to bid the banking services when the Town of Naples chose PeoplesChoice Credit Union.

“One of the saving graces

was that when we switched banks more than a year ago, our new bank offered us a really generous interest rate of 2%. So, prior to the pandemic, we over exceeded our estimated revenues on the interest and took in over $25,000 more than we anticipated,” Hawley said.

“But I felt I should make you aware that when the bottom dropped out of the banks back in March, it did not take long for our earnings to bottom out as well,” he said.

“At this point of this year,

we have collected less than $3,000. Unless something changes, that revenue line is going to be significantly lower. I was shooting for $27,000 and I’ll be surprised if we hit $10,000,” he said.

The Naples Budget Committee provided a safety net in the budget, which was added in March after the pandemic began and economic problems were being forecasted. In the event of a revenue shortfall that causes a financial emergency, the selectmen can re-allocate up

Naples sees 10K loss in earnings

INTEREST, Page 3A

Deertrees Theatre’s new Artistic and Executive Director Gail Phaneuf

New DT director (Continued from Page 1A) and former president of Boston’s Playwrights’ Platform. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild and earned a master’s degree in Theatre Education from Emerson College. Phaneuf also holds a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering.

As an educator, she served as the Playwright in Residence, Senior Lecturer, sound designer and theatre director for a decade at Curry College.

“I am excited to begin this new chapter at Deertrees, the gorgeous destination that has brought me great enjoyment and inspiration over my years in Maine. I saw one of my first plays here and have always remembered the experience,” Phaneuf said. “I now have the opportunity to produce a series of shows, concerts, comedy and events for patrons of all ages and interests.”

Phaneuf’s family has long owned a home on Crystal Lake in Harrison. She recently purchased a home in the downtown district to live year-round, all within a few miles of Deertrees Theatre.

Summer 2021 is Deertrees’ much-anticipated 85th anniversary season. The artistic team and Board are planning an eclectic variety of entertainment for all ages on Deertrees’ quintessential stage and its beautiful Maine campus. Anticipated productions include plays, musicals, concerts, comedy, readings, cabaret and film festivals. An anniversary season kickoff fundraiser will include a psychic fair, details to be announced.

Founded in 1936 originally as an opera house by prominent opera singer/director Enrica Clay Dillon, Deertrees Theatre has been home Broadway stars and local actors, world-acclaimed musicians and aspiring students. Nestled in the beautiful foothills of southern Maine’s Lake Region in the town of Harrison, historically serving as a secluded retreat for artists. The acoustically perfect theatre is set in one of the nation’s most idyllic locations, boasting a rose hemlock wood structure harvested DIRECTOR, Page 3A

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Christmas & New Year’s

The Celebration Tree At the Rufus Porter Museum of Art and Ingenuity

at

~ The 2020 Celebration Tree is lit in honor of: ~

The Bridgton News

RMP and PFP; Herb and Marney Chalmers; Ken and Abby MacPherson; Ralph and Gloira Hitz; Michael J. Bradshaw; Jeff Hitz; Signa MacPhail; Sue Denny; David Lamb; Jackie Quayle; Edwin R. Rolfe, Jr.; Elizabeth and Walton Corbett; Henry A. Hudson Jr.; John Crowe; Eleanor Norton and Pat Norton; Laurie and Bruce Chalmers and Family; Tom and Debi Chalmers; Carleton R. Warren; Phyllis M. Warren; George E. Leavitt; Leona M. Leavitt; Irene Snyder; Bill Snyder; Isabel Gray; Ada McGrath; Wyn McGrath; Dashiell Cummins; Beckett Cummins; Paige Rockwell; Elliott Rockwell; Grady Rockwell; Phil Douglass; Edith Bennett; Don Bennett; John Bundschuh; Dorothy Bundschuh; Carmelo Rivera; Tomasa Rivera; Haley Southwick; Will Southwick; Caitlin Southwick; Chloe Robertson; Jack Robertson; Volunteers at the RPM Gift Shop; 9 Grandchildren and 5 Great-grandchildren; Tom Bush; Rita Bush; Holly Graham; Aaron Walker; James Larsson; Will Larsson; Shelby Larsson; Mike Larsson; Beth Cossey; Julie Lindberg; Robert and Catherine Lindsey; Andy and Dotti Sanborn; Rob Varricchio Jr.; Sophie Dionne; Edith M. Varricchio; Margaret C. Hudson; Betsy Johnsen; Robert Fitts; Henry A. Hudson (H1); Judy Genesio; Harold and Beryle Fitts; Catherine and Grace Guiley; Mark and Martha Cossey; Albert Johnson Family, John Roach Family, David Leddy, Andrew Busa.

A time to relax and be with family.

To that end The News will only print one edition on Thursday, December 24th.* The next edition will be Thursday, January 7, 2021

We wish everyone joyous holidays and a better New Year. *All subscribers will have their subscription extended.

To our Advertisers

Please plan ahead. Deadline for the final issue of the year is

4 P.M. THURSDAY, DEC. 17th 207-647-2851

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Thank you to Henry’s Concrete, Joe Barth, Phil Kenney, and Al Perry for donating their time to installing the Celebration Tree outside of the museum.

Area news

Facility (Continued from Page 1A) town, early on and later in the agreement.

Selectman Paul Tworog chartered what the numbers would look like in Bridgton under the 85-15 model — which Walters says Woodlands needs to make the project happen. Tworog developed the model based on the estimated worth of the project at $6 million and the current mill rate. His conclusion: “It seems to be a reasonable place in my mind to end up,” he said. “This is a very high value project; $6 million valuation, big project for Bridgton; creates 30 jobs; service that is certainly good for town. We need be careful with our focus. 15% — $13,455 taxes — this project generates a significant number. There is only 55 individual properties in Bridgton that pay that amount or more in taxes; even at a reduction, the project is still paying what town receives from Paris Farmers Union; Howell Labs at $19,000. Contributions remain significant the first 10 years at 15%.”

Tworog added that another piece officials should keep in mind is that the TIF works to shield property value from the state formula as it pertains to distribution of aid. If there is no TIF, the town collects full tax assessed value, but Bridgton would lose $53,000

Director (Continued from Page 2A) from the property, featuring hand-carved beams, doors, trim and light fixtures. The building, in stages of restoration since 1990, is now listed on Maine’s State Register of Historic Landmarks and on the National Registry of Historic Places. The facility also features the Backstage Art Gallery and Salt Lick Café, and is home to SebagoLong Lake Chamber Music Festival.

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in state aid because its overall property value is higher.

TIF allows a municipality to “shelter” new value resulting from certain development projects from the computation of its state subsidies and county taxes. The sheltering allows the municipality to retain all or a portion of those new tax revenues that would otherwise be passed on to the county and state. The designation freezes the value of taxable property within the district with respect to the state and county for the term of the TIF district.

Selectwoman Carmen Lone felt the 85-15% model is “reasonable.”

“It is an important business to bring to Bridgton, providing jobs, good industry and benefit people utilizing services,” Lone said.

Officials wondered what would happen if the facility were to be sold during the TIF agreement?

Town Manager Bob Peabody said typically, the TIF “flows to the new owner” but he would recommend that legal counsel review the matter. That issue recently surfaced with the Magic Lantern, which was developed with a TIF agreement, being on the for-sale block.

Peabody admitted the TIF concept is not always easy for folks to grasp. Like LaCroix, he pointed out that by “sheltering” the addition of $6 million to the town’s property valuation number via the TIF, the town would not see reduction in general purpose aid to education or an increase in county tax.

Bridgton currently has two “active” TIFs, and money from those agreements has been used to pare down existing bonds (wastewater project) or could be used to address other infrastructure improvements — ultimately, not asking taxpayers to ante up.

Some question whether it is fair to cut one business a significant tax break, and not others.

North High Street resident Mary P. Shorey questioned the idea of granting a TIF to Woodland Senior Living in a letter to the board.

“I was concerned that the proposed TIF agreement for Woodlands Senior Living could be a hardship for the town businesses and property owners. Other businesses and property owners will have to absorb the tax burden that will not be shared by this new business. Due to the virus restrictions, many businesses and households are struggling financially. A 100% or 85% agreement over 10 or 15 years seems wrong under the circumstances,” Shorey wrote.

“This winter, some residents told me that they were likely to vote for the assisted living ordinance change because

this new business would share the local tax burden. Instead, Bridgton taxpayers will pay more. Since this business seems to be able to expand in these difficult times, the business seems better off and capable of finding other ways to improve its financial situation. Also, the selectmen need to consider what costs this new facility will add to the town budget because of accessing town services.”

Board Chairman Lee Eastman likes the idea of bringing memory care services to the area, but has a hard time giving up 85% over a 10-year period to a for-profit company.

“I struggle with it,” he said.

“If I’m a business owner, how do I feel?”

Tworog sees the possible $6 million project as a “huge” plus for the town, and reiterated that even with the town receiving 15% of tax dollars in the first 10 years of the agreement, it is “still a very significant tax contribution.”

When Eastman wondered if the town was opening a Pandora’s box that others might also come seeking a TIF, Tworog countered that it might be a good problem for Bridgton to have if companies are looking to make that sizable investment here, especially if those companies bring “desirable services” such as Woodland Senior Living is proposing.

Peabody, noted that there is a limit to the number of TIFs a municipality can have, but Bridgton is “nowhere close to it.”

Selectboard approved the proposal by a 4-1 vote, Eastman against. Ultimately, voters will need to approve the agreement. The timeline would be: • Absentee ballots available, Feb. 28-March 1 • Public hearing on referendum questions, March 9 • Special town meeting, election, March 30. Estimated cost for special election, $2,500, which would be paid by the developer.

Before moving onto other agenda items, Selectman Bear Zaidman wondered if Woodland Senior Living might in fact shelve the project based on comments Walters made in a Dec. 9 e-mail to LaCroix and Peabody.

Walters wrote, ““Once again, not the reception we expected last night..Our bottom line is 85% for, at mini-

December 24, 2020 The Bridgton News, Page 3A

IN THE SPIRIT OF GIVING — Hayes True Value recently held a flyer sale, with a percentage of the sales to be donated back to the community. Last Thursday, Hayes True Value owners Al Hayes (left) and Kerry Hayes presented Bridgton Community Center executive director Carmen Lone with checks for $1,000 each to help the food pantry and fuel collaborative.

(Rivet Photo) mum, the first 10 years. After the first 10-year period, the split is much less important.

We could do 50% or 25%... it matters much less after year 20…Given the continued push back from the selectboard thus far, and even if they eventually agree to the reasonably proposed TIF allocation (which appears far from a sure thing), it creates a great deal of uncertainty and a lack of confidence that the people of Bridgton would ultimately support the concept at the special town meeting.”

LaCroix admitted Walters was both “frustrated” and “disappointed” following the early December Zoom conference with the selectboard. However, the company remains commited to the project.

“I have been all for this. It would be a great addition to town,” Zaidman said. “But, it is up to the selectboard to go through all information, parties and finances, pushing it down the road, yeah beating it up. It’s a big step for the town of Bridgton. If we present this package to voters, we want to assure them that they have numbers, and not just slide something through.

That letter put sour grapes in my mouth.”

LaCroix responded, “Be clear, they didn’t understand this kind of deliberation process. In other towns, they

Interest earnings

(Continued from Page 2A) to $20,000 from the Undesignated Fund Balance without going to Special Town Meeting. This clause was passed as part of the budget at Naples Annual Town Meeting in June.

“I wouldn’t classify a $10,000 or $15,000 loss as an emergency,” Hawley said. “But, we are not going to hit our marks with our interest earnings this year.”

Selectman Jim Turpin said, “Bravo for the forward thinking.”

work with town managers; it’s not the way we operate here. I wouldn’t take it to heart. I’ve had conversations with him (Walters) that this board is very thorough; he accepted it. They very much want to be here. I have every confidence they very much want to do this; they love the site; it is appropriate for the

region.”

Eastman feels Woodlands is “asking for a lot out of the gate.”

“I hope it doesn’t cloud what’s being offered — a chance to have services here,” LaCroix said. “Their institutions are highly rated.”

Ultimately, voters will decide.

TLR — Going strong

By Hilary Harper-Wilcoxen Team Long Run We’ve been busy here at Team Long Run! Our mission is to use running and reading to help kids, so that’s what we’ve been doing!

We’ve added some new sponsors this year. Hancock Lumber has come on as a corporate sponsor, and is funding our reading and active play program Barclay’s Books. We distribute Barclay’s Book Bags through local food banks, and Head Start food pantries to kids who might not have many of their own books at home. We are reaching over 20 locations to date (that’s over 450 kids), and are very grateful to Hancock Lumber for their partnership and to all our wonderful Head Start and food bank partners for all they do to make kids’ lives better!

The Carol and David Hancock Charitable Trust has just joined us as a sponsor and is jumping in to help with our Brown Bag Books program. This program gets books into kids’ homes through their classroom teachers. The teachers choose the books they want to read with their class, we buy them, and the kids keep them! We buy the books exclusively through Bridgton Books, our partners in getting great books to kids! It’s a great team effort and we’re so glad to be working with Stevens Brook Elementary and Rumford Elementary this school year!

Speaking of team efforts, Olympic Track and Field hopeful, Kate Hall of Casco, has come on board to support our work with getting kids moving and reading. Check out her video with our founder, Chuck Wilcoxen, on our new website, coming soon!

We sure love having Kate on the team!

We’ve been expanding and reaching more kids every month, and we’re so thrilled to be able to go virtual with all of our programs. Now, anyone can go on our website and YouTube channel, for no charge, and find fun things to do with their kids at home, get ideas about how to read to their kids, or start their own running practice with our Getting Started Running in Forty Days series. Teachers can also find lots of free programs we’ve designed and offer to schools, free of charge. If you’re looking for an in class active break for your kids that’s fun and sustainable (Sizzle & Pop!), or a longer term “Recess Run Club” program that combines an active run/walk course; real-life math work; geography and history components in order to get kids moving and thinking, visit our site at www.teamlongrun.org.

For any questions about our programs, or if you would like to be involved or donate, please contact Hilary HarperWilcoxen at hilary@teamlongrun.

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Area news

Page 4A, The Bridgton News, December 24, 2020

Naples reval set for ’22

By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — The Naples selectmen would prefer to update the property values every couple years.

This might be a low-cost alternative to a complete revaluation. But, in order to do these property value updates, an entire revaluation must take place first. As any town knows, it’s a costly process. The estimated cost of a revaluation is less than $250,000.

A few months ago, the Town of Naples put the revaluation out to bid and it received one bid from John E. O’Donnell & Associates in the amount of $244,000 for the year 2023, according to Naples Town Manager John Hawley.

Now, the town is planning to do the revaluation a year earlier.

The Naples Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to accept the revaluation cost and also the

Motion filed

(Continued from Page 1A) and utilize the funds to complete outstanding work. That LOC clearly identifies where to deliver the demand letter placed on those funds and this had to be done by Dec. 18 or the LOC would expire,” Hawley said.

“On Nov. 24, our attorney’s office made an attempt to hand deliver the demand letter to the location specified in the LOC. Upon arrival the doors were locked, and delivery was unsuccessful,” Hawley said. “A couple days later, as second attempt was tried and once again, the offices were dark and the doors were locked.”

Then, the attorneys for the two parties touched base again.

“Our attorney then reached out to the attorney representing Maine Capital and was informed of our attempt to deliver the demand notice. Their attorney said he would try to contact them but claimed that they had not returned his attempts,” Hawley said. “In order to ensure that our delivery attempt could not be shrugged off, I had our attorney file a motion with the court to confirm the attempt of service with the complaint that Maine Capital has refused to make payment. We have run out of options. We cannot spend any more time on this.”

schedule of 2022.

The property-owners in Naples would see the property value change in the tax bill that would come out in September 2022, Hawley said.

He provided the board with a quick re-cap during its regular meeting via Zoom on Monday night.

Since the revaluation bid came back, the selectmen have had “a couple of workshops with O’Donnell Associates to address the concerns around selling prices versus assessed values after the sales,” he said.

“If I am understanding the outcome of that discussion, Naples moving forward will take the approach that we will conduct ‘rolling evaluations’ every couple of years instead of the historic as needed — every ten or so years — approach. In preparation for that however, we will still need a full revaluation conducted as our starting point and a bid award needs to be made for budget planning purposes,” Hawley said.

Chairman Jim Grattelo clarified that the town was able to get in line sooner to have the revaluation done in 2022 instead of 2023.

Grattelo said that O’Donnell contacted one of the towns that was fine with putting

MAKING CHRISTMAS MERRIER — Behind their Covid-19 protective masks are Bridgton Lions Club president John Schuettinger (right) presenting a symbolic $3,100 check to Stevens Brook Elementary School Academic Leader Liz Shane. The check represents the value of 62 $50 food vouchers donated by the Lions personally for distribution among food insecure families of students at the Bridgton school. The generosity of the owner of Food City added an additional $150 to the total, bringing the number of gift cards to 65. The pandemic necessitated a change in the usual Christmas project, according to Lions Project chairman Carl Talbot. School official felt that the distribution of the usual winter clothing might spread Covid-19 and they believed food availability was a larger issue for the families involved. This is the fourth year the Lions and SBES have partnered to make Christmas a bit merrier for students. By the time this issue of The News is in your hands, 24 families will have received $100 worth of food vouchers and 16 other families will have been given $50 cards to supplement their usual $50 of “Back Pack” grant voucher provided by the school. The Lions extend to all sincere greetings for a Merry Christmas and a hope filled New Year.

(Rivet Photo) off its revaluation for another year so that Naples could have its reval done earlier.

Hawley did express concerns about budgeting for the revaluation since it was going to take place sooner. That will result in

Bridgton Police Department

These items appeared on the Bridgton Police Department blotter (this is a partial listing): Monday, December 14 11:48 a.m. An anonymous caller reported individuals failing to wear face coverings at a Bridgton location. Police received a similar call at 3:28 p.m.

4:11 p.m. Officer Regis served a criminal trespass notice to a subject at a South High Street location.

7:05 p.m. Police received a report of a male, wearing a red and black checkered shirt, kneeling on the side of the road just past Lakeside Pines Campground.

Officers checked the area, but were unable to locate the individual.

Tuesday, December 15 5:49 a.m. Mental health event (female screaming) at Ward Acres.

7:27 a.m. Suspicious subject on Kansas Road.

7:56 a.m. Mental health event on North High Street.

9:15 a.m. Report of a male “passed out” behind the wheel of a parked vehicle at the Big Apple on Main Street. Officer Smolinsky located subject inside the store, and was told the subject had been

awake all night.

10:31 a.m. Motor vehicle crash at intersection of Portland Road and Smith Avenue.

4:07 p.m. Caller sought police help in trying to install a new mailbox.

Caller said cars were speeding on South High Street, creating a dangerous situation as he tried to install the new mailbox.

4:29 p.m. Police attempted to locate a vehicle reportedly “all over the road” on Route 117.

5:02 p.m. Caller reported possible fraud in trying to purchase a PlayStation 5 via an Internet app.

6:37 p.m. Police attempted to locate a pick-up truck after steel fell out of the truck bed and smashed another motorist’s windshield near the monument on Main Hill.

11:24 p.m. Suspicious person report at intersection of Sandy Creek Road and Home Run Road.

Wednesday, December 16 8:35 a.m. Speeding complaint on Kansas Road. An officer checked the area, but witnessed no speeding vehicles.

4:44 p.m. Suspicious person report (male claimed to have been hired by an

insurance company to take house and property measurements) on Church Street.

Thursday, December 17 1:07 a.m. Resident reported subjects left a vehicle idling and fumes were filling her Kansas Road property.

8:17 a.m. Tractor trailer off the road on South High Street. Driver attached chains to the wheels and was able to drive out of the ditch.

8:52 a.m. Tractor trailer jackknifed on South Bridgton Road.

1:06 p.m. Motor vehicle crash on Portland Road.

1:21 p.m. Motor vehicle crash on Portland Road.

1:56 p.m. Welfare check on South High Street.

6:05 p.m. Assist medical personnel with unconscious subject at Westwood Cottage Drive residence.

Friday, December 18 9:24 a.m. Caller had questions regarding his farm animals being attacked by wild animals; caller referred to Warden Service.

10 a.m. Summons served to subject in BPD lobby.

12:50 p.m. Motor vehi-

cle crash on Main Street.

4:12 p.m. Welfare check on Cross Street.

5:01 p.m. Citizen assist (vehicle struck in a yard sometime Thursday) on South High Street.

5:25 p.m. Suspicious activity at intersection of Reynolds and Highland Roads.

10 p.m. Two vehicle crash on Main Street.

Saturday, December 19 12:47 a.m. Welfare check on North High Street.

3:01 a.m. Request for assistance by Fryeburg Police, bringing subject to Bridgton Hospital.

7:08 p.m. Structure fire reported on Reynolds Road; fire fighters found no fire, all units cleared, no action necessary.

10:39 p.m. Welfare check on South High Street.

Sunday, December 20 1:12 p.m. Report of subjects shooting in the wooded area off Buswell Road; Officer Hammond unable to locate individuals.

2:12 p.m. Fraud complaint filed by Salmon Point Road individual.

7:07 p.m. Mental health event on Briar Road.

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By Allen Crabtree Guest Writer The moon was bright and full that night, and its light falling on the blanket of snow covering the woods made it almost as bright as day.

My Boy Scouts and I were enjoying a winter camp in Germany with our brother German Phadfinder troop of Scouts. It was just before Christmas.

One of the German Scoutmasters led us in a long line through the winter woods. The trees were heavy with snow and snow was deep on the path. He led us to a small clearing in the spruce and fir forest. I followed with the Scouts from my troop. The snow underfoot muffled our steps, and the normally boisterous and noisy Scouts, both American and German, were quiet as they walked along.

MEMORY, Page 5A

THE BRIDGTON NEWS (BRIDGTON NEWS CORPORATION) Established 1870

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Production......................................................Lorena Plourd The Bridgton News (USPS 065-020) is published Thursdays at 118 Main Street, Bridgton, Maine. Periodicals class postage at Bridgton, Maine. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Bridgton News, P.O. Box 244, Bridgton, ME 04009

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for much higher than market price.

“They would do a review of sales, and make some readjustments now. We aren’t going to wait until 2022” to make those property value changes, Grattelo said.

general email: bnews@roadrunner.com editor email: bnewseditor@roadrunner.com display advertising email: bnewsads@roadrunner.com website: bridgton.com

BUILDING 40+ YEARS IN THE LAKES REGION AREA

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bigger payments, dividing $244,000 by two instead of breaking it into three payments, Hawley said.

Chairman Grattelo said his concern was addressed — not losing out on the tax for property that is selling

6 MOS. $18.99 (incl. tax) in state $19 out of state 1 YEAR $32.71 (incl. tax) in state $33 out of state 2 YEAR $62.25 (incl. tax) in state $61 out of state Call or send check

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Country Living

December 24, 2020 The Bridgton News, Page 5A

Rotary partners with Food City for delivery Food City of Bridgton partnered with the Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club in the delivery of 80 bags of healthy food for the Southwest Oxford County Nutrition program, formerly the Brownfield Food Pantry.

Previously, Food City had been instrumental in the Rotary Club being able to deliver 800 3.12 quarts of laundry detergent, enough for each of the food pantries’ clients in the immediate district, including Bridgton, St. Joseph’s, Naples, Sweden and Harrison food pantries. Food City ordered more than their normal delivery spaced out over a month so that Rotary would have product to deliver in time for pantry days, explained Rotarian Carol Madsen who oversees the Rotary Club’s work with food pantries.

“We have a grant from the Rotary District that we’re part of, made up of clubs in southern Maine and coastal New Hampshire,” she said, “which provides support for distribution of Health & Wellness packets to local food pantries. The Brownfield pantry, which is part of our district because of its service area, doesn’t accept non-food items. But, we were committed to helping them in some way.

That’s why we went back to Food City.”

Food City manager Jen Morin was able to identify, price at cost or below, from a series of possibilities Rotary identified. Because the food pantry in Brownfield is only open one day a month, timing was critical and Rotary wanted to deliver this year. So, identified in the end was a whole winter squash, a bag of apples, a rustic bread, butter, chocolate

chip cookie mix and cranberry sauce. Those items, packed in a handsome reusable shopping bag from Key Bank-Bridgton, a holiday greeting and support on “Washing Hands, Wearing Masks, and Watching Distances,” which Rotary has been sharing with other pantries, made up the Healthy Food bag.

Pantry day was to be Thursday, Dec. 17, but a snowstorm ensued and a Snow Day was called, pushing the event off to Friday, Dec. 18. Nonetheless, Food City’s crew had the bags packed and were ready to help Rotarian Mike Daley load his pick-up truck at 8 a.m. last Friday morning. Staff not only assisted but configured the setup so that the 80 bags were safely packed into a truck, which more optimally would hold 40 bags.

The Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club thank Food City for coming through even when order changes were made and then pick-up day changed, as well.

Rotarian president Julie Forbes took the opportunity to thank so many who have been supporting the club’s work with the food pantries, hosting of Community Kettles and distribution of winter clothes and sleds to area children through Songo Locks School in Naples, Stevens Brook Elementary Schools and Bridge Crossing in Bridgton.

Rotary is honored to be able to help and frankly couldn’t do it without the support of the community at large, Friends of Rotary, Rotary District 7780 and fellow Rotarians who have helped with the generous donation THUMBS UP, READY TO ROLL — Food City-Bridgton crew members (left to of time and money. A huge thank you, thank right) Shawn Pride, Karen Noonan, Lynne Barboza and Lucas Perham react after you. And a Happy Holiday Season. filling 80 Healthy Food Bags for Rotary.

Glass Cook dishes best decorations FRYEBURG — The Fryeburg Business Association congratulates The Glass Cook for placing first in the Business Division of Fryeburg’s Holiday Decorating Contest.

Driving past their location at 295 Bridgton Road, it is easy to see they are in the spirit to make Fryeburg full of holiday cheer. Drive

by some evening, The Glass Cook is open until 7 p.m., check out their lights and stop in to the store to learn more about medical cannabis.

As a licensed caregiver, The Glass Cooks can sell medical marijuana to those with medical cannabis cards. The storefront is also a certified home kitchen,

which means they can make edibles for treatment use.

The Glass Chef is passionate about helping people. This includes educating the public about medical marijuana. The Glass Cook also aims to see results when helping people manage their pain.

Thomas Fuller, of The Glass Cook, donat-

ed his $100 prize back to the Fryeburg Business Association (FBA). The FBA would like to thank The Glass Cook for sharing its holiday cheer with everyone and for supporting the Fryeburg Business Association.

For a list of local Fryeburg businesses and to learn more about Fryeburg Business Association, please visit www.finditinfryeburg. BEST DECORATED, The Glass Cook. com

Allen’s Christmas memory story in German and then in English. Then, we sang Silent Night, with the young voices in German joining those in English. It was a simple and moving experience.

Every time I light the candles on our Christmas tree at home, or join with others singing Silent Night, I remember the simple forest observance from 55 years ago as vividly as

(Continued from Page 4A) As we got further into the winter woods, a bright glow appeared from the darkness. It was a small fir tree bedecked with candles, each one burning brightly. It was magic! One of the German Scout leaders had come to the woods earlier, while we ate our supper around the campfire, and clipped dozens of candles to a small fir tree.

In awe at the sight, we gathered in a circle around CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS in Naples event was a huge success and so much fun!

Naples Recreation Committee volunteers appreciate the support of the community the tree and were respectand the town. Pictured left to right are Kim Thompson, Kathy Keinath, Connie fully silent while two of the leaders read the Christmas Madura and Deb Dean.

NOW OPEN! Homemade Fudge • Hand-Dipped Chocolates Needhams • Caramels • Truffles & Turtles, and lots more!

BPL Calendar for January Register at bridgtonlibrary. beanstack.com, keep track using a printed log, or sign up for Adult Simple Registration. Please call BPL for more information.

Meetings and Book Groups Jan. 12, Friends of Bridgton Library meeting, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. (Zoom) Jan. 13, Nonfiction Book

Enjoy the winter, strap on snowshoes

Please present coupon upon checkout Mon. – Sat. 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. • Sun. Noon to 5 p.m.

Donation recommended.

If you can’t make a donation, bring in your registration form and BPL will make a donation on your behalf.

Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance Workshops Online Jan. 21, Electrify Your Fiction Jan. 30, Short Takes: A Workshop on Brief Personal Essays BPL has partnered with MWPA to offer online workshops at member prices. Can’t afford the member prices? Please contact the library for information on its scholarship program.

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Bridgton Rec has a new exciting program for the whole family this winter, even grandparents can join in on the fun! Bridgton Rec is starting a winter version of its run club, called Snowshoe Club!

Burn up to 1,000 calories per hour! Low impact muscle-building! No experience needed! Great family activity! Join Rec for a great time through Pondicherry Park every week this winter. Rec has snowshoes for all ages!

K-5 will meet rec staff after school and middle school, high school and adults will meet rec staff at the entrance of Pondicherry Park on Depot Street.

“This is a great way to get some low impact exercise, be with friends at a safe distance, and be outside with nature!” Bridgton Rec Director Gary Colello said. “We have snowshoes you can use during our group meets or rent them out at just $10 per day on other days.”

• Starting Tuesday, Jan. 12: Middle school and high school, 3 to 4:15 p.m., meet at Depot Street park entrance.

• Kindergarten through Grade 5, Cohort A on Wednesdays from 3 to 4:15 p.m.; Cohort B on Thursdays from 3 to 4:15 p.m., meet at school, dismissal.

• Adults — day and time to be announced based on interest.

Register online at bridgtonmaine.org under the recreation page!

Volunteers needed! Maine CDC guidelines will be followed

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(Zoom) Jan. 19, Board of Trustees meeting, 7 to 8 p.m. (Zoom) Jan. 27, Bookies Book Group, 3 to 4 p.m. (Zoom) Special Events Jan. 1, New Year’s Day, Closed UMaine Extension/4-H Workshops Online Jan. 12, Cooking with the Maine Harvest Jan. 26, Cooking with the Maine Harvest Jan. 13 to Feb. 10, Livestock Nutrition Webinar Series

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Events planned at the Bridgton Public Library for January include: All Month Kids Culture, STEAM, and Storytime Craft To-Go Adult Cooking To-Go: Cocoa & Puzzles Adult Craft To-Go: Etched Glass Winter Read 2021: All ages can participate.

if it had just happened.

Christmas truly is a magical time of year. As we light the candles on our tree, watching their reflected light, we’ll reflect on all our blessings. Enjoy the magic spirit of Christmas even though we are not with our family during these Pandemic times. I want to wish all of my readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Page 6A, The Bridgton News, December 24, 2020

Area news

In-person return blueprint ready (Continued from Page 1A) back. I don’t know what the cards will have for us, no one knows. Obviously, we made the decision to go fully remote, when enough cases came to surface all at once.”

Smith reported that there were “no major events in the schools,” but since some cases had surfaced, SAD 61 officials felt it was in the best interest to go remote, for now.

“The CDC gave us compliments, noting that this was a community spread, not a school spread,” Smith said.

“The schools have been safe.

I can’t say enough about nurses and contact tracing that has been done. I

wouldn’t bring kids back unless I feel it’s safe to do so. I am comfortable that our schools are in a good place.”

While the news that SAD 61 will hold off on full-time in-person was disappointing for some parents, “they understood it was the right decision,” Smith added.

Smith said the bulk of Covid cases involve maintenance staff and bus drivers, less than 25% involve students.

“Everyone is concerned about after Christmas because of the spike we saw from the Thanksgiving break. I anticipate, unfortunately, another surge a couple of weeks after Christmas,” Smith added.

“This is a horrible event. I cross my fingers every day.

Every time I turn around, something changes.”

Bridgton Director Lee Bearse asked if SAD 61 is using the 15-minute Covid tests, that has been used successfully at other Maine schools. Smith said that since SAD 61 has not experienced significant delays in receiving test results, the district has not looked into the quick tests at this point.

“It might be a tool for our tool box,” Bearse said.

School leader reports • Lake Region High School Principal Maggie Thornton said her school has been fortunate that some

Festive DAR Chapter meeting

The recently revitalized Molly Ockett Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) of Bridgton enjoyed Christmas cheer as it met virtually via Zoom for the first time on Saturday, Dec. 12.

Eighteen ladies attended, including chapter members, associate members from across the country, and prospective members. Attendees enjoyed social time before the formal meeting commenced. The meeting featured Dr. Jane Amelon, who took members on a virtual tour of the period rooms of the DAR Museum in Washington, D.C., with a PowerPoint presentation on Christmas traditions in America from Colonial times to the 1960s. Members were particularly interested in the Maine period room, which featured a 1960s Christmas, including an aluminum tree, wrapped gifts and toys that many members remembered from their childhoods!

The chapter meets on the second Saturday of the month. It welcomes women ages 18 years or more, regardless of race, religion

CHRISTMAS in the Maine Room of DAR Museum, Washington, D.C., (Copyright National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution). or creed, who can prove descent from an individual who rendered patriotic service during the American Revolution. The chapter assists prospective members

with the application process.

Interested women are invited to contact the chapter via e-mail at DARinBridgton@ gmail.com or call 925-1076 for more information.

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism. Its members are descended from the patriots who won American independence during the Revolutionary War. With more than 185,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide, DAR is one of the world’s largest and most active service organizations.

Since March 21, 2020, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, DAR members have made and donated over 800,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) items to organizations and individuals in need. Recipients include medical patients, Native Americans, veterans, military personnel, migrant workers, students, teachers and others.

To learn more about the work of today’s DAR, please visit www.DAR.org

teachers with smaller class sizes have been meeting with students five days each week (in-person and remotely) if the students are able — “that’s been a nice bonus for those kids.”

“The monumental task will be looking at the Semester 2 schedule. It is dependent upon how many kids decide to stay remote and how many want to come back hybrid or five days,” she said.

She impressed upon parents to keep checking their student’s Schoology pages once a week to see where kids stand and if they have any missing assignments.

“That is really the gateway into a teacher’s grade book to see how your kid is doing,” Thornton said.

Thornton feels LRHS in a very good position for whatever the future holds, and “teachers are really being troopers and being flexible with whatever comes their way.”

• Lake Region Vocational Director David Morse spoke on how certifications stu-

dents earn through various programs place them at greater advantage when applying for jobs, either right out of school or while in college.

“Students that have these certifications, when they go apply for a job, and other students from other schools apply for the same job, this gives them an advantage on their resume. It stands out. Employers take notice.

We’ve seen that over and over,” Morse said.

One example Morse used was the story of a culinary arts student, who applied for a job last spring at a new restaurant that had opened in the area.

“She applied, and when they saw her ServSafe certification on her resume, they just didn’t hire her for the position she applied for, they made her a shift supervisor.

That benefited her right out of the gate, and she was still a high school student at the time,” Morse said. “We’ve seen it work for other students, as well.”

Morse said other students enroll in vocational programs as a pathway to other careers. Two years ago, a student took the automotive

A reminder to the communities Lake Region and Fryeburg Area Adult Education serve — there will NOT be a print catalog mailed to you in January! You can review the new catalog on the front page of the Adult Ed website in January: Lakeregion-fryeburg.maineadulted.org Be sure to check it out! Note: When the PDF copy of the catalog is ready, it will be attached to future reminders!

Please call the Adult Ed office if you have any questions! Remember academic programming is ongoing, rolling admission, and fun enrichment classes will begin in late February!

Other program reminders: Two upcoming medical training classes starting in February! Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) class begins Feb. 6 and Certified Clinical Medical Assisting (CCMA) class is scheduled to begin on Feb. 27.

Please call for registration information: 627-4291.

program because he wanted a background in mechanical information.

“He wanted to get some experience with mechanical things because he was going to UMO for engineering, that’s where he is right now,” Morse said. “Another student took construction for SAD 61, Page 12A

V O C A T I O N A L STUDENT OF THE MONTH — The Lake Region Vocational Center’s Masons’ Student of the Month is Omar Elalam. Omar is a senior in the Advanced Technologies II program.

Omar is a respectful and conscientious student who is fully dedicated to his course of study. He always makes sure his work is submitted on time and that it is of the highest quality. Omar encourages his classmates to complete their work, and he is always willing to assist them with struggles they encounter with it. Omar held the office of secretary for the school’s chapter of SkillsUSA this past year.

Omar recently achieved almost a perfect score on the ASVAB test, and has enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard as a Petty Officer Third Class in Information Technology. He plans to pursue a college degree in the IT field, as well. Omar is the son of Abdenbi Elalam of Bridgton.

Congratulations, Omar!

Tree of Love and Peace

WATERFORD — Again this year, the North Waterford Church will provide the Tree of Love and Peace, for which you can “purchase” a light in honor or in memory of a loved one.

As lights are purchased, the colored bulbs on the tree in front of the church will be replaced with white ones, and the tree will become snowy white.

All proceeds from this project will be used to assist local families in need of food or heating assistance. To participate, please send a check for $5 per bulb,

made out to Oxford County United Parish, to Milly Millett, 346 Bisbeetown Road, Waterford ME 04088.

Puzzle Lending Library For all those wondering what on earth to do at home during the pandemic, the North Waterford Church is providing a jigsaw puzzle lending library, with hundreds of colorful puzzles (of all sizes) to choose among. The dining area of the church (which is located on Route 35, opposite Melby’s Eatery) will be open every Monday from 1 to 3 p.m. All are welcome!

Bridgton Dental Associates

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Harrison – Spacious colonial with 3BR, 2BA, remodeled kitchen, dining room, lg. living room w/wood floors and pellet stove, large covered deck, oversized master bedroom, 24x24 detached garage. $249,900

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Opinion & Comment

December 24, 2020 The Bridgton News, Page 7A

Bird Watch

by Jean Preis BN Columnist

Winter gift of Grosbeaks

If you were to ask me what gift I would like at this time of year, I would probably say “Evening Grosbeaks at our feeder.”

We have been hearing reports that these large, stocky, brightly colored members of the Finch family have visited feeders not too far from us, and we would like to see them, too. The female is pale gray, with subtle gold highlights, and a large patch of white in her black wings. Her large, pale, conical bill is impossible to miss. The male is bright yellow with a wide, bright yellow stripe above the eye, handsome brown on the upper parts of the head, upper back and breast, and a very large yellowish bill. Like the female, he has a bold white patch in his black wings.

Snow has been falling steadily all day, and our bird feeders have been busier than usual. Tufted Titmice, Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches come and go so quickly it is impossible to keep track of them. A Downy Woodpecker clings to the suet cage, two well-upholstered Mourning Doves crowd onto the narrow shelf of the plastic milk bottle feeder, and when a Red-breasted Nuthatch lands on the far side of the tube feeder all I can see is its short tail sticking out from the far side of the feeder. We have been seeing Red-breasted Nuthatches more frequently this year, and are hoping they may signal an irruption of birds that is expected to come down from northern and eastern Canada.

Members of the Finch family, including Purple Finch, Red Crossbill, White-winged Crossbill, Pine Grosbeak, Redpoll, Pine Siskin and Evening Grosbeak are seed eaters who feast on the seeds of conifer cones. The northern cone crop is cyclical, so in winters when the crop is poor many birds move south in what birders call an irruption, in search of food. Increased numbers of other birds, such as Blue Jays, Chickadees and Bohemian Waxwings may also show up. An irruption of northern Finches typically occurs every two years, and since the last one was the winter of 2018-2019 we are right on schedule for the return of many interesting and beautiful northern species. Already, this fall, we have seen a small flock of Bohemian Waxwings, an irruptive species, and have heard reports of members of the Finch family that we do not always see around here.

Historically, Evening Grosbeaks were western birds, not seen east of the Rocky Mountains until the mid-to-late 1900s.

According to Ralph S. Palmer, author of Maine Birds, they were first reported in Maine in the winter of 1889-1890.

Their diet includes tree buds and seeds, and they can crack hard nuts and seeds that other birds cannot eat. In the west, a favorite food was the seeds of box elder trees, so when those trees became popular and were planted in the east the Grosbeaks may have followed that food source. They also eat invertebrates, so when eastern forests experienced severe spruce budworm infestations the Grosbeaks showed up there, too. Evening Grosbeaks were abundant in Maine from the late 1960s until the early 1990s, but have been very scarce since then. Christmas Bird Counts provide a snapshot of winter bird populations in a particular area, and some years Evening Grosbeaks have not appeared at all on our local CBC, or were seen in very small numbers. The last significant count of these birds was in December 1991, when we tallied 613. In 2018, we saw only three.

The bird feeders that hang from our porch roof are popular these days, and we love seeing all the birds who come here for something to eat. Each one is a gift, but we would be very happy to welcome Evening Grosbeaks and other northern Finches.

MAKING A REQUEST — This Cardinal is likely saying, “Excuse me, but could you please fill the empty bird feeder?” (Photo by Suzanne Richard)

Letters Death of Expertise

To The Editor:

Woe to the death of expertise in our world.

I am pretty good at a lot of things. Jack of many trades actually. I have successfully wired a home, but I will not attempt to do commercial 3-phase wiring. I have installed plumbing, but I don’t know how to design a leach field.

I have built computers from off the shelf available components, but I sure don’t know how to design a computer CPU chip de novo.

I follow politics, but I have no formal training in either law

or political science. Do I have opinions? Of course. Am I the go-to source for sage political advice? No more so than any other bloke on the street.

Watching MSNBC or Fox News or CNN, reading blogs or conspiracy theories online does not an expert make.

Malcolm Gladwell studied what it takes to make someone an expert in any given enterprise. His data showed that it takes about 10,000 hours of diligent, focused effort/practice to develop expertise. Like I said, I am pretty good at a lot of things, but, for example, I’m an expert only in two rather diverse subjects: medicine and guitar.

After 11 years of training post-high school to earn my MD degree and about 64,000 hours of medical “practice” (32 years), if I’m not an expert, then I’m a moron.

In my post-Beatles youth,

SHAWNEE PEAK AT SUNSET — From the scenic turnout on Route 117 in Bridgton, there is a stunning view of Pleasant Mountain, where the ski resort Shawnee Peak is located. This sunset occurred on Dec. 11, ten days before Winter Solstice.

(De Busk Photo)

But we all called her ‘Ma’

She was called Mary. So was her mother. It was a common name for girls a hundred years ago when people venerated the Holy Family and named their children accordingly.

Mary Elizabeth Haggerty, was born the youngest of four in September, 1924 with three older brothers, one named Joseph.

They were protective of her. That’s what boys did in those days. They’ve all passed on and now so has Mary. Few have ever touched as many people as meaningfully, as profoundly, as she did over her 96-year lifetime.

She became Mary McLaughlin in 1942. Her boyfriend, Mac, came back to Boston briefly on leave from the U.S. Navy. She said later that she didn’t really want to elope with him, but he was persistent and she gave in. Mac recognized what a gem Mary Haggerty was and he didn’t want to lose her.

She was exceedingly pretty and he knew other men would do their best to win her.

Elopements like Mary’s were common during World War II, and Mac sailed off a day later. As Mrs. McLaughlin, she moved several times to various port cities on the east and west coasts — wherever Mac’s ship was sent. She’d find a secretarial job and a room. When his ship was deployed to England she waited for him. After D-Day when his ship was deployed to the Pacific, she waited for him in San Francisco. She had her first child in 1946 and seven more until 1963. It was the baby boom.

Mary had been a single girl for 18 years. She was a wife for 35 years before Mac died in 1977. She was a widow for 43

Front Row Seat

by Tom McLaughlin BN Columnist

years. She was a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother for 54 years. Her eight children called her “Ma.” Her 29 grandchildren called her “Ma” and so did all their spouses. Her 42 great-grandchildren called her “Ma,” and eventually that’s how she thought of herself: as Ma. As Ma went into hospice at 96, her extended family opened a forum on WhatsApp where her many offspring posted remembrances of what she left them: her love and her faith in God, both of which she lived out seamlessly. One said: “Ma, we owe everything we have to you, the way we conduct ourselves, treat other human beings and our belief in God is all owed to you. Through your pure kindness, hard work and patience you’ve made us all good human beings who will teach our kids and grandkids forever after you meet God.” Another said: “As a kid, when I asked you why you moved to Maine, you spoke of making memories for your grandchilCALLED HER MA, Page 8A

A crazy planet at the tipping point

“A crazy planet full of crazy people is somersaulting all around the sky. And every time it turns another somersault, another day goes by.” That’s verse one of the song, “There’s no way to stop it,” from Rogers and Hammerstein’s final musical, The Sound of Music. It was omitted from the movie version, which is sad because it forms the tipping point in the original stage play. Capt.

Georg von Trapp realizes he cannot marry his rich fiancée Elsa unless he accepts her Nazi ideology. He refuses to abandon his beliefs, and instead turns toward young Maria, who soon becomes his wife and stepmother to his children.

Tipping points are critical concepts in science — points of no return for ecosystems and climatic eras. Once we pass them, we never can go back to our previous condition. “While somersaulting at a cockeyed angle, we make a cockeyed circle round the Sun. And when we circle back to where we started from, another year has run.” That’s verse two, and it includes a common misconception of how the universe works. We never circle back to where we started. The universe is in constant motion. The Sun careens through the cosmos at about a half-million miles per hour, dragging our solar system along for the ride.

I easily spent four to 12 hours daily practicing guitar (at least 8-10,000 hours). I performed four-hour gigs six to seven nights per week for 10 years in the 70s (12,000-plus hours). I have recorded and mixed hundreds of musicians over the last 26 years of operating a commercial recording studio.

Medicine and music. That is the end of my list. If you are over 30, you are likely also an “expert” in, well, something.

My partner in the clinic has a great coffee mug that he keeps in a very conspicuous place on his desk for patients to see. It says, “Please don’t confuse your Google search with my medical degree.”

Since Covid-19 burst on the scene with a mission to reinvent our ways of living, I have been mystified by how many new, self-proclaimed “experts” have been spawned online. Please, I beseech you to stop listening to the barber (if you can find one currently working) for the latest and most accurate Covid-19 advice. Here’s the rub: non-experts DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY DON’T KNOW. When an untrained person reads a medical opinion piece, they lack the foundational knowledge upon which to make discerning judgements as to the veracity of the claims within.

Further, cramming one’s unfounded opinions down the throats of your (soon to be ex-

?) friends is not helpful for the world at large and may be sowing seeds of dissension and division even within your inner circle of friends. How about we all just stick to our individual areas of true expertise.

When that check engine light comes on, I’m taking my car to an automotive expert.

Alan Bean, MD Harrison

It’s not over yet

To The Editor:

Considerable comments have been made recently about this presidential election, with the assertion that former vice president is the “president-elect.” Technically, he is not; it is a fiction promoted by the MSM (Main Street media), and gobbled up by wishful thinkers.

On Dec. 14, 2020, each state met to allocate their electoral votes, which were then sealed, and sent to the U.S. Congress where, on Jan. 6, 2021, they will be in session, with Vice President Pence presiding. The sealed electoral votes from the states will be opened and counted, and objections may then be entertained. At the end of the process and only then, if former Vice President Joe Biden receives 270 electoral votes will he be president-elect!

Earth Notes

by Rev. Robert Plaisted Guest Columnist Whenever we return to last year’s point in our solar orbit, we are very far away from where we started.

We’ve already passed several tipping points, and now we’re approaching several more. Some are obvious, like the tipping of 2020 into 2021. This outgoing year has been a beast, especially because of the pandemic. We hope the incoming year will be better, but we get no guarantees.

The only thing we know for sure is that next year will be different from last year.

Some are downright scary. Next month, our government will tip from four years of madness and tyranny into a period of renewal, reason and the rule of law, (hopeCRAZY PLANET, Page 8A In the contested 2000 Bush vs. Gore election, it was not finally decided until Dec. 12, 2000, with the U.S. Supreme Court decision giving the presidency to George Bush, with Al Gore conceding shortly after. If Donald Trump had conceded, then it would be Presidentelect Joe Biden. But, he hasn’t.

So, let’s cool our jets, shall we?

Robert Casimiro Bridgton

Deserves respect

To The Editor:

After a serious fall in my house on Nov. 23 left me with a broken arm and leg, I was taken to Bridgton Hospital by some very competent and caring EMTs. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a hospital that some have told me is not up to par, but I had no choice given my obvious broken arm and intense pain.

I am happy to say that the care I received from everyone was exceptional — professional, personalized and enthusiastic. My care was coordinated across all disciplines and everyone was focused on helping me safely accomplish my treatment goals.

We are fortunate to have such a valuable resource in our community. I say this as someone who has had sev-

eral in-patient experiences in “Boston’s best” and who has been a senior executive at a large Boston healthcare system. Whatever may have happened at Bridgton Hospital in the past, based on my experience, I think it deserves our respect now.

Joanne Cohn Bridgton

America needs true patriots

To The Editor:

If you are wondering why America was “blessed” with the Trump presidency, wonder no more. His rise was precipitated by nationalism.

If you further wonder if “all will be well” when he is gone from office the answer is no — at least not right away. What swept him into office still remains, and it is something that needs to be addressed by the Biden administration.

Climate change may indeed be the world’s number one existential threat. But, nationalism is America’s immediate existential threat. Nationalism is not patriotism. It is rather, a perversion of patriotism.

Nationalism sees inclusion and diversity as weaknesses, while patriotism views these ideals as a way to lift each other up and

LETTERS Page 8A

Opinion

Page 8A, The Bridgton News, December 24, 2020

A crazy planet at the tipping point

(Continued from Page 7A) fully). By the grace of God, we may again have leaders who care about ordinary people, not just billionaires, grifters and con artists. Our nation may continue to be a constitutional republic, but only if our government honestly fulfills its oath of office.

The 900-pound gorilla of tipping points we face, of course, is the irreversible change into a new era of climate instability — one that will be much less hospitable to human life than the last 12,000 years have been. It’s possible that we’ve already passed that point. If we haven’t, we probably won’t realize we’ve passed it until we’re well on the other side. We’re out of time to prepare ourselves for the transition. We can’t afford to pretend that our destabilized climate is a “hoax” or that the bizarre changes we’re seeing will “just go back the way things were.” The latest United Nations climate report says that human activity is now the greatest risk to human survival. In the immortal words of Pogo, “We have met the enemy, and they is us.”

So, we face another year with hope based in reality, not childish fantasies. We yet may be able to save ourselves from our own folly, but it cannot be pretty. As with Covid19, things must get much worse before they can start to get better. We’ve wasted precious time and resources on foolish self-indulgence, and now the bill is due and payable. A blessed New Year to all, and may it be a happy one.

Rev. Robert Plaisted is a retired United Methodist clergyman, formerly of Bridgton, now residing in Bath.

Beginning in January, Bob will succeed Sally Chappell in scheduling Earth Notes columns. Kudos to Sally for her years of great work on this task, and thanks to the Bridgton News for continuing this vital column with several new writers.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Town of Waterford NOMINATION PAPERS Nomination Papers are available for SelectmanAssessor- Overseer of Poor for a three year term.

Papers need to be returned by January 4, 2021.

2T51

Public Notice

TOWN OF NAPLES Office Closed

The Naples Town Office will be closed on the following dates: • Thursday, December 24, 2020 • Friday, December 25, 2020 • Saturday, December 26, 2020 • Friday, January 1, 2021 • Saturday, January 2, 2021

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TOWN OF BRIDGTON 3 CHASE STREET, SUITE 1 BRIDGTON, MAINE 04009

The REAL attempt to steal the election has failed.

Jon Chappell Bridgton The REAL attempt to steal the election has failed.

Jon Chappell Bridgton

Letters

unify us.

Embracing our diversity is the source of our nation’s strength. “We the people” does indeed mean “All the People.”

America must unify.

America needs true patriots.

Michael Corthell Bridgton

This holiday season, let’s refuse to subsidize such wanton cruelty. Let’s choose from the large variety of plant-based meats, cheeses, ice creams and milks that abound in every supermarket, along with nutritious fresh fruits and greens.

This year, let’s have a truly compassionate Christmas holiday, just as the Prince of Peace would counsel.

Brandon Newcomb Bridgton

Have compassion

Heroes among us

(Continued from Page 7A)

To The Editor:

The long-anticipated Christmas holiday is nearly upon us. It conjures visions of happy families gathered by a warm fireplace, opening presents, sharing their love, and feasting on ham and turkey. It’s the happiest time of the year, but not for the animals.

The 222 million turkeys killed in the United States this year were raised in crowded sheds filled with toxic fumes.

At the tender age of 16 weeks, workers cut their throats and dumped them into boiling water to remove their feathers.

Mother pigs are crammed for life in tight metal crates.

Their babies are torn away, mutilated without anesthesia, stuck into crowded pens for six months, then slaughtered for Christmas ham.

Consumers pay a heavy price too. Animal flesh is laced with saturated fats, cholesterol, hormones, pathogens and antibiotics that elevate risk of chronic killer diseases.

To The Editor:

What a wonderful and thoughtful surprise to have a turkey, potato, carrot and stuffing dinner hand delivered to my door amid a hectic snowstorm. I commend the Community Center, the Rotary Club and all the volunteers who made this possible. We are all grateful and thankful to those hard-working volunteer workers who challenged the storm and brightened our day.

They are the ones Bridgton can be proud of.

Sue Parent Bridgton

Word find

To The Editor:

I would like to express sincere appreciation to Mr. Corthell for helping me find a word that accurately describes what the Left did to Trump for the last four years — gaslighting.

By the way, does anyone

HEARING ON THE HOTEL BRIDGTON The Appeals Board for the Town of Bridgton will hold a Virtual ONLY Meeting at 5 p.m. on Thursday, January 7, 2021 for an Administrative Appeal of a Planning Board decision on the Hotel Bridgton.

Agenda and instructions for Virtual Public Hearing will be posted at a later date.

Please direct any questions or make an appointment with Erin O’Connor, Administrative Assistant at eoconnor@bridgtonmaine.org or 207-803-9952, Thank you.

2T51

(Continued from Page 7A) dren similar to your own childhood — of a grandmother in the woods. I think you achieved that goal and more. You certainly made an imprint on all of us, Ma. While I wish those woods were a little closer to Massachusetts, I’ll never forget all the time spent with you up there! Though I’m on the tail end of the grandkid lineup (somewhere in the 30s I believe), I felt no less special. I think you made everyone feel that way. You have a unique gift to draw others in and make them feel genuinely loved. Your sincere love for others, simple joy, and obvious faith are what I’ll always admire most about you.”

All the grandchildren commented on the refrigerator in Ma’s kitchen which was completely covered on two sides with wallet-sized, school pictures of them and their many cousins.

One grandchild said: “I still think of you when I smell bacon, as that’s usually the smell that woke me up in the morning in the Blue Room. I remember drinking orange juice from your recycled juice glasses and making sandwiches to take to Kezar [Lake] made out of bread that was in your freezer (probably) longer than I’d been alive. I, too, remember crawling into your bed and praying along to the radio rosary. I’ll admit I thought the rosary was painfully boring, but I loved snuggling in close with you in your warm bed. And now, many of my daily rosaries are offered for you!”

All who loved Ma worried that, during Covid, she might have to die alone. Her daughters looked for a hospice that would allow loved ones to visit, and finally found one nine days before she passed. As the testimonies poured in on WhatsApp, they were read to her. She heard the above tributes and many others like them. Two of her daughters were holding CALLED HER MA, Page 11A find it ironic that the source of more gaslighting and vitriol than anyone else in the Bridgton area in the last four years (The Rev), now is a meek, mild supplicant for us to all join hands and love another?

He hasn’t totally become a diplomat, however, as he curiously assumes an author of a letter disagreeing with him would be embarrassed to be identified.

Can you say continuing intolerant hubris?

Some things never change!

Don Vose Naples

The Conceited Don’t Concede

To The Editor:

LEGAL NOTICE

CASCO SELF STORAGE Pursuant to the rental agreement between Casco Self Storage and the parties named below, their personal property shall become the property of Casco Self Storage on December 31, 2020, in order to satisfy all liens brought on by default of payment.

Ben Sewell, Casco Maine 2T51

PUBLIC NOTICE

APPEALS BOARD

But we all called her ‘Ma’

Public Notice

TOWN OF NAPLES Budget Committee Meeting

The Town of Naples will conduct its first Budget Committee meeting for the 2021-2022 fiscal year on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. The meeting format/ location has not yet been determined due to restrictions related to COVID-19. For details, please visit townofnaples.org or call 207-693-6364, ext. 109, beginning Jan. 4, 2021. Thank you.

1T52,1

I’m quoting Bridgton’s Jon Chappell’s one-line letter to the editor in The Bridgton News on Dec. 10. In contrast to the veracity of Jon’s sound adage, another contributor from Bridgton, Robert Casimiro, descends into the now all too familiar rabbit hole of conspiracy about the election of Joe Biden with an elaborate yarn about voting irregularities that he claims to have seen in televised vote counting and presumably some recounts. Georgia, among them, he says, which was won three times more by Biden each time by a bigger margin. The integrity of this election is not in doubt as Mr. Casimiro alleges, and although I admire his tenacity and civic mindfulness by way of his participating in monitoring these broadcasts, whatever and wherever he was watching this stuff — no fraud has been alleged in more than 50 courtrooms (including oral arguments before the Supreme Court) by Trump’s own attorneys! I quote

the great political commentator H.L. Mencken, who 120 years ago foresaw what might befall this country — and did four years ago come to fruition — “On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”

Jon St. Laurent North Bridgton

Freedom Is Not Extinct

To The Editor:

Ronald Framarin, in his impassioned letter to the editor on Dec. 17, quotes his no doubt revered by him, (and every other garden variety Republican), the late actor — President Ronald Reagan, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” I wholeheartedly agree not only with the late president’s assertion, but as well with Mr. Framarin, although our respective view on how any of this is in any way germane to the done, finished, sorry boys, it’s all over, get over it, you lost, we won, cookoo election and its aftermath he seeks to — without one scintilla of real evidentiary basis cited in his letter claim was rigged by the following actors: The [sic] “massive fraudulent voting machine and its criminal ring-leaders.” Let me take a wild stab here to whom he refers: Could it perhaps in some part be a percentage of either women disgusted by the president’s behavior, people of color, or people with a college degree who reside and voted in greater than ever numbers in places like Detroit, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Philadelphia? Zombies raised from their graves with an intent

LETTERS, Page 11A

This week’s puzzle theme:

Board Games

ACROSS 1. Dealer’s hand, in cribbage 5. Wade’s opponent 8. Galsworthy’s “The Forsyte ____” 12. Nevada city 13. Prima donna 14. Weasel’s cousin 15. Makes collar for RBG 16. Between the id and super-ego, pl.

17. Can be hot or cold, meteorologically speaking 18. *Real estate-related board game 20. Elvis Presley’s “____ and Fortune” 21. Preface, e.g.

22. *A top one is a game piece in #18 Across 23. Open carriage 26. Having a malignant influence 30. “Wheel of Fortune” request 31. Stay clear of 34. Knife wound 35. Touch of color 37. Computer network acronym 38. Awaken 39. Wet nurse 40. Castrated man 42. Yale-____ College, Singapore 43. Aircraft’s additional equipment holder

45. They’re denoted in red 47. Eric Stonestreet on “Modern Family” 48. Allergic reaction to bee sting 50. Amusing 52. *Word game 55. Don McLean: “Drove my chevy to the ____” 56. Joie de vivre 57. Charlie Parker’s nickname 59. Bake an egg 60. Knocks on the door, e.g.

61. 1970s hairdo 62. Milk ____, candy 63. Swallowed 64. Reason to cram DOWN 1. Tube in old TV 2. Paper unit 3. “He’s Just Not That ____ You” 4. Herzegovina’s partner 5. Excessive sternness 6. Convex molding 7. *Candy Land difficulty level 8. *Napoleon-themed game of strategy 9. Niels Bohr’s study object 10. Autry or Wilder 11. Simon’s former partner 13. Performed comprehensively or in-____, pl.

14. Butcher’s refuse 19. Beginning of sickness 22. TV classic “Hee ___”

23. *Board game island ready for settlers 24. True inner self 25. Linear particle accelerator, for short 26. Take-out handout 27. Half human-half goat, pl.

28. February “People,” e.g.

29. *Game with rooks 32. *Game involving Mr. Boddy’s murderer 33. Chewbacca’s sidekick 36. *a.k.a. draughts 38. Type of parallelogram 40. Liberty Tree, e.g.

41. Vacuums, e.g.

44. Extra shirt, e.g.

46. Sabbath, alt. sp.

48. Audienceís approval 49. Window treatment 50. Bloody king of Israel 51. “Metamorphoses” poet

52. Serum, pl.

53. *The Game of ____ 54. Makes mistakes 55. Acid drug 58. Part of URL

Solutions on Page 11A

Obituaries

December 24, 2020 The Bridgton News, Page 9A

Obituaries

Florence G. Cooper

NAPLES — Florence Gray Cooper, 86, took her last breath on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020, in the company of loved ones, at her home in Naples.

Daughter of Beatrice Gray and Laurence Gray, she was born Jan. 31, 1934, at her childhood home on Lower Main Street in Bridgton. She met her husband George at Bridgton High School, graduated in 1952 and married in 1954.

She worked many jobs over the years, beginning with years at Allen’s Drugstore in Bridgton, when she would walk to work with her father when he worked for The Bridgton News. She later had summer jobs in Naples, and then followed George to the University of Maine at Orono, working at the Bear’s Den on campus while George got his degree. They lived briefly in Massachusetts, where she gave birth to their daughter, Cynthia. The young family shortly moved to New Hampshire, then Bath, before heading back home to Bridgton, where they owned and operated a bowling alley for many years, among other things.

Her last job was one of her favorites, working as a CNA at Bridgton Healthcare Center until she stopped working due to osteoporosis.

She attended the Bridgton Congregational Church and sang in choir for 49 years, and was also a longtime soprano with the Promise Singers. She acted in many plays and musicals with the local community theater. She took years of violin lessons beginning at age 9, and also played piano very well, learning from her family. She played fiddle in the Fiddle-icious orchestra with her granddaughters for many years, and attended Maine Fiddle Camp.

She enjoyed many years of downhill skiing, and hiking. She was a watercolor artist, painting with a group at the Naples Library, painting for enjoyment and selling her work at summer outdoor festivals.

She leaves behind her husband, George Cooper; daughter, Cynthia Scott; two granddaughters; brother, David; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

In consideration of Covid-19 safety, a service may be held in Bridgton in the spring.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Bridgton First Congregational Church Choir.

Joseph A. Cleaves Jr. Joseph Anthony Cleaves Jr., 32, passed way due to a tragic auto accident Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020.

Joey was a loving father, son, grandson, brother and friend. He is survived by his mother Kelly Villeneuve of Bridgton and father (in name only) Joseph A. Cleaves Sr. of Harrison; four children, Lyric and Remi Cleaves, Ari Cleaves and eight-month old Killian; grandparents Reuben and Pamela Bartlett of Maine; brother, Anthony Cleaves; and sister, Charlie Cleaves.

He was predeceased by his grandparents, William and Veronica Deluca of Massachusetts; and uncles, Anthony and Charles Cleaves of Yarmouth.

Battling his demons and winning was one of his greatest accomplishments. Joey completed his GED in Portland, but has always attended “The School of Hard Knocks.” Joey was very creative and found his love for art at a young age. As an adult, he was able to use his passion to become a tattoo artist.

Joey was a hard worker and a master of many crafts including his own tile and construction business. He enjoyed working with his hands and took pride in his ability to complete custom requests.

In his free time, you could find Joey with his closest family and friends. He enjoyed riding his motorcycle and looking for new adventures. Its undeniable he had a way with women, though it sometimes got him into trouble. Joey had a gypsy soul and the ability to make a friend anywhere and with anyone. He was thoughtful with a kind heart and would give you the shirt off his back to anyone. He is loved and will be missed by many. Goodbyes are not forever nor are the end, it simply means I’ll miss you, until we meet again.

Missing Penny at Christmas I miss our long walks in the new falling snow, I miss holding your hand as we quietly strolled. I miss you in my arms as we kiss, your beautiful face all aglow.

Merry Christmas and happy birthday my love,

Jimmy

Mary E. McLaughlin LOVELL — Mary E. (Haggerty) McLaughlin, 96, of Lovell, formerly of Medford and Tewksbury, Mass., passed away on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020.

She was the beloved wife of the late Eugene J. McLaughlin.

Born and raised in Medford, Mary attended St. Joseph Elementary School and graduated from Medford High School. She married her high school sweetheart in the middle of WWII on June 28, 1942. After the war, they resided in temporary military housing on the grounds of Oak Grove Cemetery in Medford and began to raise a family. In 1955, Gene and Mary moved to Tewksbury, Mass., where they raised eight children. Mary followed her sons and moved to Lovell in 1983, six years after her husband’s death. Her desire was to create lasting memories for her children and grandchildren of “visiting a grandmother in the woods,” memories she cherished from her own childhood with her own grandmother.

Mary went on to have many happy years of hosting children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and friends at her old farmhouse on Foxboro Road. Her Catholic faith was the center of her life. As such, Mary was actively involved in her church community. She was on the Building Committee for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Fryeburg, working with the architect and helping with funding. She was so happy to be part of the project and was glad that the Catholic community could have its own church after many years using borrowed space. She volunteered for many years at “Dinner Bell,” a free meal provided weekly by the Elizabeth Ann Seton parish, and worked as secretary of the Parish Council. She loved her work at the Lighthouse Pregnancy Crisis Center, whose mission was to provide compassionate, practical, life-affirming alternatives to abortion. She was part of RCIA in her parish, taught CCD in her home, was a Eucharistic Minister at church and took the Eucharist to many shut-ins in the community, and was a member of the Seton Society.

Through her work, through her life, and by her faith, Mary became a grandmother to many in the community beyond her direct descendants. When not out working in the community, she could often be found having tea around her kitchen table with friends and family alike, “gabbing” and discussing “what makes people tick.” In Mary’s life, no one was a stranger. Each person she encountered was treated like part of the family. She often told her loved ones “I miss your face,” and Mary treated every face she encountered as beloved, as the face of Christ. Mary will be most remembered for her sincere love of family, her commitment to her faith, and her unwavering support of the dignity of life from conception to natural death. After 32 years and at the age of 91, she decided living alone in the woods in Maine was no longer feasible and she moved into assisted living in Quincy, Mass. to be near her daughters.

Mary’s deep commitment to Pro-Life issues and membership in “STOP Planned Parenthood” was known to anyone who spoke with her. She was often quoted as saying “We have to promote the dignity of the human person and the Sanctity of Human Life.” She was part of Maine Right to Life, MA Citizens for Life, National Right to Life and actively called voters and got petitions signed to promote Pro-life/ Pro-Family agendas.

Mrs. McLaughlin was the loving mother of Eugene McLaughlin of Fryeburg, Kathy Lind of Quincy, Mass., Elaine Callahan of Dracut, Mass., Tom McLaughlin of Lovell, Mary Ann McLaughlin of Bethlehem, Conn., Jane Richard of North Andover, Mass. and Paul McLaughlin of Lovell. Mary was the cherished grandmother of 29 and greatgrandmother of 43.

She was predeceased by her son, Dan McLaughlin; brothers Henry DeAngelis, John Haggerty and Joseph Haggerty.

Visitation was held on Monday, Dec. 21, at the Costello Funeral Home, 177 Washington Street, Winchester. A Funeral Mass was held on Tuesday, Dec. 22, at St. Raphael Church, in Medford, Mass. Burial followed in Oak Grove Cemetery, Medford.

In lieu of flowers, Mary wished for any donations in her memory be made to EWTN https://sd.ewtn.com/love-andunderstanding-of-god/ or Maine Right to Life (https://www. mainerighttolife.com/donate).

Dec 1, 1953 – Dec. 7, 1973

Warren’s Florist

December jogs my memory of my daughter in God’s rest Those who think of her these days are those who love her best

39 Depot Street, Bridgton, ME 04009

The flowers we place upon her grave Will wither or fade away But the love for who lies beneath Will never fade away

Frances R. Rolfe

SOUTH PARIS — Frances Ripley Rolfe, 92, of South Paris, died December 15, 2020, at Market Square Memory Care, South Paris.

She was born Nov. 17, 1928, in South Paris, the daughter of Charles and Ethel (Young) Ripley.

Thanks to her great-aunt Lida Fletcher, she earned her 12-year pin for perfect attendance from South Paris Congregational Church.

She graduated from South Paris High School class of 1947, with honors, class historian. She was active in basketball earning her State Letter, cheerleader, class officer, DAR Pilgrim and officer of Girl’s Athletic Association. She was given the nickname, “RIP.” She was crowned Snow Queen. She was accepted to Farmington State Teacher’s College.

In 1947 she married Richard W. Corbett and had a daughter Brenda Corbett. She later married Edwin R. Rolfe Jr. She was employed by Francine and Auerbach Shoe. She enjoyed her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, spending time with family, gardening, bowling and reading. She looked forward to the annual “Ripley Clan” every summer.

She was a 50-year member of the Harrison VFW Auxiliary.

She was predeceased by her parents; sisters Janice Durrell and Shirley Riddle, husbands Richard W. Corbett and Edwin R. Rolfe, Jr., companion Robert Caron. She is survived by her sister Irene Krabisch of Essex Junction, Vt.; brother Richard K. Ripley of South Paris; daughter Brenda C. Hudson (Evan Varney) of Harrison; grandson, Henry A. Hudson, III (Jamie); granddaughter KariLynn Wright (Chris) of Mooresville, N.C.; great-granddaughters Margaret Hudson of Harrison, Elizabeth Caron and Mikayla Wright of Mooresville, N.C.; sisters-in-law Joyce Colby of South Paris and Jill Ripley of New Hampshire and brother-in-law Rodney Rolfe of Norway.

In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the First Congregational Church, 17 E. Main Street, South Paris, ME 04281 or Responsible Pet Care, P.O. Box 82, Norway, ME 04268.

A graveside service will be held at a later date. Arrangements are under the care of Chandler Funeral Home and Cremation Service, 45 Main Street, South Paris. Online condolences may be shared with her family at www.chandlerfunerals.com j234567890-=\][poiuytrewqa

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~ In Memorium ~

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I Miss My Mother Gloria Gene Chaplin

~ Always Fabulous Florals ~ ~ Fruit & Gift Baskets ~ ~ Ganz Plush Animals ~ Balloons ~

207-647-8441 • 800-834-8407

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Always Improving We just completed a major renovation to be more comfortable and up-to-date for today’s families. And Chandler Funeral Homes is constantly advancing and offering more services than any other funeral homes in the area.

Mom, Barbara Chaplin Dalgaard brother, Glen Chaplin family and Steve

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AUBURN — David Leddy, 71, of Bridgton passed away on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020, at Androscoggin Hospice House.

He was born on June 12, 1949, to Thomas and Dorothy Kirk Leddy in Springfield, Mass. He attended Cathedral High School in Springfield, Mass., and took some college courses at University of Southern Maine. He faithfully served our country in the United States Army. He married Geraldine Kraus on Feb. 16, 2003 David was a carpenter and taught construction at Lake Region Vocational Center for 19 years before retiring. He was very proud to have built his own home, he loved using his hands to build, construct and finish things, and he was always busy. He enjoyed riding his motorcycle, spending time with his beloved dog Obie, spending time at the ocean, but most importantly he loved spending time with his grandchildren.

He is survived by his wife; his two stepchildren, Rebecca Engelmann and Ruth Joyce; his two sisters, Beth Bukaviskas and Barbara Goglin; three brothers, Tim Leddy, Kevin Leddy and Chris Leddy; as well as many nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his sister, Mary Kathleen Ellis.

Arrangements are under the care of Chandler Funeral Home and Cremation Service, 8 Elm Street, Bridgton. Online condolences may be shared with his family at www.chandlerfunerals.com In lieu of flowers, The Dave Leddy scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding senior(s) in Construction Technology at Lake Region Vocational Center. This scholarship will be used for helping with post-secondary tuition costs, or be used for purchasing tools for those who may go directly into the trade. Donations for this scholarship can be made to: LRVC, with D. Leddy scholarship in the memo line.

Please send the donations to LRVC, 1879 Roosevelt Trail, Naples, ME 04055.

Bernie Nielsen, 71, previously of Thomas Lake Shores, son of Victor and Edna Nielsen from Walnut, Iowa, passed away peacefully in Trinity, Fla., on Dec. 14, 2020, surrounded by his loving family.

They lived on Thompson Lake in Casco for many years before moving to Florida.

He is survived by his wife Cindy, his two children Heath Nielsen, and Carrie Riel along with her husband Joe Riel; his siblings Rogene Terrian, Vicki Aughe, and Jay Nielsen; his grandchildren Eric Nielsen and Joey Riel.

Bernie had a combined fifty years of service working as a computer engineer for Honeywell, Honeywell Bull, Getronics, and Compucom.

Services will be delayed until next year when the family can reunite in celebration of his life. In lieu of flowers, the family wishes memorial contributions be made to Moffitt Cancer Center in memory of our courageous loved one through one of the following options: Charitable giving website: www.moffitt.org/giving; by Phone: 813-745-1403; by mail: Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation, MBC-Found, 12092 Magnolia Dr., Tampa, FL 33612. Please include memorial name Bernie Nielsen when making your donation.

There can be no greater wish to fulfill than to have a researcher be inspired to find a cure for one or all cancers. No matter the size of the contribution, small or great, it will help save other courageous lives.

c

David Leddy

Bernie Nielsen

The loss of your mother no matter how old you are, changes your life forever.

Your mother is your first & forever friend.

You never really get over the loss, but, you learn to live with it.

She is always in your heart.

At this time of year, she especially is with us — Judy Macdonald and Nancy Hanson

May you be happy.

May you be well.

May you be safe and sound.

May you be peaceful and at ease.

May you feel forever loved.

Wishing you the most peaceful of holidays with love.

Family and friends attending services now have a stunning reception area to share a meal after the service. Also, our casket selection is now online for your convenience.

Improvements all done with our families in mind to give quality service above and beyond the rest at affordable prices.

While we are adding more, we are still committed to keeping our prices fair. That’s one important reason we are the most preferred funeral home and we won’t ever forget that.

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Greenleaf Chapel 37 Vernon St. • Bethel (207) 824-2100

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Oxford Hills Funeral Svc. 1037 Main St. • Oxford (207) 743-0270

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Wood Funeral Home 9 Warren St. • Fryeburg (207) 935-2325

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Page 10A, The Bridgton News, December 24, 2020

Opinion

Republic, if you can keep it

In October of 1964, Ronald Reagan gave his landmark speech generally known as the “A Time for Choosing” speech.

In that speech, Reagan famously stated: “This is the issue of this election: Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American Revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.”

This question was posed to an already divided nation that was being run at the time with an increasingly intrusive heavy hand from a far-distant Washington, D.C. Reagan could clearly see the divide between the competing philosophies of government within the Republic. Reagan also saw the results of the Fabian Socialists in the 1960s, as well

as how these competing views would affect the people of this nation. It was a big question, would a growing nanny state, in a remote capital, creeping toward socialism, be the choice of government of the people? Or would the people retain the liberties and individual control of their lives that the Founding Fathers had established in the Republic?

We, now living at the end of 2020, have the benefit of looking back over the last 55 plus years of history to see the extraordinary prescience of Ronald Reagan’s words. Having gone for most of the last half of a century down the ballooning government path that Reagan warned us about, we can track a growing government intrusion into our lives, and in every area of government involvement, a dismantling of rights. Time and

The Right Angle

by Richard Cebra Maine State Representative word count limit my ability to list here the many areas that display this, but if you the reader have been paying attention at all in the last few decades, you can simply pick the first example that comes to your mind as an illustration. I am thinking about things from a growing federal government perspective, such REPUBLIC, Page 11A

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12-ACRE LOT — for sale. Milbrook Rd., Bridgton. Rock walls. A town road. 647-2047.

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JESUS IS LORD — new and used auto parts. National locator.

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Baseball, Football, Basketball Hockey Cards prior to 1980

Call Rick 603-494-1327

If you love the outdoors and care about the future of Maine’s lakes and ponds, this job might be right for you! You will work on Kezar Lake and the surrounding ponds in the Kezar Lake watershed and fulfill a critical role in keeping the watershed free of invasive plants. Training will be provided.

Pick up applications store Must beinside 18 years old Spring hours Sun-Sat 7 a.m. -8 p.m. Summer hours Sun-Sat 7 a.m.-9 p.m.

DUTIES 25-35 hours per week, May – September. Additional hours to attend monthly meetings will be required year-round. The coordinator will be a town employee and a member of the Lovell Invasive Plant Prevention Committee.

Chandel Associates Accounting, Taxes Audits, Full Service Payroll 3 Elm St., Bridgton Office 647-5711

BUSINESS DIRECTORY

CLEANING SERVICES

DENTAL SERVICES

GARAGE DOORS Roberts Overhead Doors Commercial/residential – free estimates Now offering Master Card & Visa 207-595-2311

HEATING Bass Heating Oil Burner Service Sales and Installations Waterford (207) 595-8829

Servicemaster Prof. Carpet Cleaning – Home/Office Fire/Smoke Damage Restoration 1-800-244-7630 207-539-4452

The Ballroom Thurlow’s Carpet & Home Center Dance - Exercise - Yoga - Aikido Main St., Harrison, Maine Carpet and Flooring 207-583-6964 Sales and Installation 21 Sandy Creek Rd., Bridgton 647-5562 800-310-5563 DENTAL SERVICES

The Clean Sweep LLC Chimney Cleaning Service Supaflu and Stainless Steel Chimney lining and relining Dana Richardson 935-2501

Bridgton Dental Associates Dr. Paul Cloutier Complete dental care 138 Harrison Rd., Bridgton www.bridgtondental.com 207-647-8052

E-mail: Ricklewis2011@hotmail.com Cell: 207-415-4476

DENMARK SELF-STORAGE 10' x 10' Unit – $75/mo.

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FLOORING Bolsters Decorating Center Carpet – vinyl – ceramic Always free decorating consulting bolsters@megalink.net 9 Market Sq., So. Paris 207-743-9202

FOUNDATIONS Henry’s Concrete Construction Foundations, Slabs, Floors Harrison Tel. 583-4896

OIL DEALERS Dead River Co. Range & Fuel Oil Oil Burner Service Tel. 647-2882, Bridgton

PAINTING CONTRACTORS Redo Properties.com Interior/Exterior painting & repairs Local, experienced & professional Call/text 207-693-4663 (Home) (5320x)

PAINTING CONTRACTORS Webber Painting & Restoration Interior/exterior painting & repairs Waterfront specialists – Free estimates Fully insured – References 207-831-8354

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SURVEYORS

F. Jonathan Bliss, P.L.S. Bliss & Associates PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Surveying, Land Planning 693 Main St., Lovell 207-925-1468 Clement Bros. Lawn and Landscape blissinc@fairpoint.net Organic lawn & garden maintenance Maine Survey Consultants, Inc. Shoreline restoration Creative stonework, property watch Land info services – Surveys Boundary/Topographic/Flood elevation Snowplowing & sanding PO Box 485, Harrison, Maine 207-693-6646 www.clementbros.com Off: 583-6159 D. A. Maxfield Jr. PLS REAL ESTATE Over 10,000 surveys on file

DEC 2020

CARPETING

SERVICES

Storm Damage • Security Heat • Lights • Plants Home Check

Order online at westernmainetimberlands.com or call 207-925-1138

Bridgton Dental Hygiene Care, PA INSURANCE Family & Periodontal Dental Hygiene Svcs.

Infants, Toddlers, Teens and Adults InNetwork; N.E. Delta Dental & MaineCare Chalmers Ins. Agency 100 Main St., Bridgton 207-647-4125 bdhc@myfairpoint.net Tel. 647-3311 TLC Home Maintenance Co. Jones & Matthews, PA Professional Cleaning and Mountain View Dentistry Certified Public Accountants Oberg Insurance Property Management Dr. Shilo Annis, DMD Accounting and taxes Cosmetic/restorative & Family Dentistry Auto, Home, Business, Life Housekeeping and much more Roosevelt Trail Prof. Bldg.

132 Main St., Bridgton 207-647-3628 583-4314 Route 302, Bridgton Tel. 647-5551, 888-400-9858 MountainViewDentistryMaine.com 647-3668 cpas@maine.com COMPUTERS Southern Maine Retirement Services Medicare Supplements & Prescription Plans ATTORNEYS ELECTRICIANS Life and Senior Dental Insurance Grammy Geek Shelley P. Carter, Attorney 150 Main St., Bridgton 207-647-2900 Tech support for seniors (jr.’s too) D. M. Electric Inc. & Sons Law Office of Shelley P. Carter, PA 1-1 support at your home Dennis McIver, Electrical Contractor 110 Portland St., Fryeburg, ME 04037 Malware & virus removal/PC repair Residential/Commercial/Industrial INTERIOR DESIGN 935-1950 www.spcarterlaw.com Free pick-up & delivery 207-310-0289 Licensed in Maine & New Hampshire Universal Designz Bridgton 207-647-5012 Michael G. Friedman, Esq., PA Naples Computer Services Consulting – Design 132 Main St. PC repair/upgrades – on-site service J.P. Gallinari Electric Co. Decorating – Aging in Place P.O. Box 10, Bridgton, ME 04009 Virus and spy-ware removal Residential - Commercial - Industrial www.UniversalDesignzMaine.com 647-8360 207-754-0730 Home and business networking Aerial - Auger - Lifting Service Hastings Malia, PA Video security systems Bridgton 647-9435 376 Main Street – PO Box 290 71 Harrison Rd., Naples 207-693-3746 THIS SPACE CAN BE YOURS Fryeburg, ME 04037 McIver Electric Call 647-2851 for 935-2061 www.hastingsmalia.com “Your on time every time electricians” CONTRACTORS details or e-mail 221 Portland Rd., Bridgton bnews@roadrunner.com CARPENTRY 647-3664 Quality Custom Carpentry www.mciverelectric.net (5320x) From start to finish and INVESTMENT MANAGERS Robert E. Guy from old to new General Carpentry – Additions R.W. Merrill Electrical Contractor Jeff Juneau Naples Daniels D’Amelio Group Repairs – Remodeling 24 hour Emergency Service 207-655-5903 Donald M. Daniels 207-803-8389 www.bobguy@myfairpoint.net Residential & Commercial Donald Daniels Jr. 561-427-5857 Harrison 743-5120 239-4804 (cell) Harrison 583-2986 Fax 583-4882 DANCE INSTRUCTION www.ddimg.org (5320x)

CHIMNEY LINING

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Minimum two cords for delivery.

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2 cord minimum

Green Firewood $225 per Cord

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HIRING PROCESS Applicants should submit a cover letter and resume to the Town of Lovell, P.O. Box 125, Center Lovell, Maine 04016.

Please note “CBI” on the lower left corner of the envelope.

DENMARK HOUSE PAINTING — Since 1980. Interior and exterior painting. Free estimates. Call John Mathews 452-2781. tf40x

639 Roosevelt Trail, Naples Maine

PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES Recruit, schedule, train and supervise paid and volunteer inspectors to provide daily boat inspection coverage on several boat launches in the watershed.

THE BRIDGTON NEWS

GREEN: $200/cord SEMI-SEASONED:

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The Umbrella Factory Supermarket in Naples, Maine is looking for these positions.

• Grocery Manager • Full Time Meat Cutter Full-time Produce Manager • Part Time General Help • Pizza Maker* *- *Day * * *or* *Night ******* • Bakery or Deli Part Time Nights Part-time Pizza Maker • Cashiers - Nights One yearorexperience preferred • Produce - Day Night

The Town of Lovell Maine is hiring a Courtesy Boat Inspection Coordinator

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE?

PREMIUM HARDWOOD MIX

s

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Help Wanted!

HELP WANTED

NEED A

BUSINESS SERVICES

SNOWPLOWING — Bridgton/ Denmark areas. Call 207-4001040.

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When You’re Away

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– WANTED –

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FOR SALE

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ARE YOU LOOKING — for a fun place to work? Do you want to be more involved in your community? The MSAD 72 School District in Fryeburg, Maine, has a variety of anticipated and current positions available! We are an E.O.E. See our website www.msad72.org for specifics and to learn how to apply.

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FOR SALE

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Chalmers Real Estate 100 Main St., Bridgton Tel. 647-3311 Kezar Realty Homes, Land & Vacation Rentals Lovell Village 207-925-1500 KezarRealty.com Oberg Agency Residential, Business, Lake Shore Property 132 Main St., Bridgton Tel. 647-5551, 888-400-9858

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Area news

December 24, 2020 The Bridgton News, Page 11A

We called her ‘Ma’ Cemeteries open to foot traffic only

(Continued from Page 8A) her hands and praying with her as she passed on to eternal life. For that, we’re all grateful.

For decades she was active with the Pro-Life Movement at many levels. Born a Boston-Irish-Catholic-Democrat, she had to leave the Democrat Party when it became the party of abortion. She became a Reagan Democrat, and eventually a Republican. The Party had changed, not her.

For years, she haunted pro-abortion Democrats like congressman, then senator, then presidential candidate, Paul Tsongas. Then, she haunted his counterparts in Maine. Ma never relented in her fight against abortion.

Nearly all families are touched by alcoholism, but especially the Irish. All her ancestors came from there and so did Mac’s. She understood what damage alcoholism did to families and she became active in Al Anon, a program for anyone who loves an alcoholic. She sponsored many in both Massachusetts and Maine and started an Alateen program in Fryeburg. Through these organizations, she touched hundreds of others in whatever community she lived.

In the year 2000, Ma invited her children to accompany her on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land led by her parish priest. It was a life changing experience for all of them to walk the paths Jesus himself walked 2,000 years before.

And one of the prayers her daughter said with Ma during her last days included a quote from 17th century scientist and mathematician Blaise Pascal: “Reflect on death in Jesus Christ, not without Him. Without Jesus Christ death would be dreadful, alarming, a terror of nature. In Jesus Christ it is fair and lovely, it is good and holy, it is the joy of the saints.”

Editor’s Note: Our condolences to Tom on the passing of his mother. See Mary McLaughlin’s obituary on Page 9A.

(Continued from Page 1A) this summer only to have one of the roads in the Crooked River Cemetery significantly damaged when someone plowed after the first storm,” Hawley said.

“Naturally, the ground had not frozen and all of the new work was dug up and the gravel pushed away. This gravel was also pushed up onto other grave sites and folks are not happy about that,” Hawley said.

The town will chain off cemeteries during the winter

months. This puts the town in the position to provide that snow-removal service.

Luckily, the town recently purchased a snowblower.

The roads are too narrow for a plow truck. The tight space makes the snowblower better for snow removal.

“Once all the priority snow clearing is completed, we will go in and create walking paths with the snow blower,” Hawley said.

Hawley said the town would prefer to take on the snow-removal service rather

than having a well-meaning volunteer do it incorrectly.

“Some of the gravesites have been driven over. Some people are wound up over this,” he told the board.

He talked for a bit about the policy versus an ordinance. Prior to drafting a policy, Hawley looked for a policy or an ordinance governing cemeteries. There was none to be found. If an existing policy or ordinance is discovered, the policy adopted by the selectmen would come up

again as an amendment to the policy.

Then, the selectmen discussed specific cemeteries. It was suggested that the town maintenance department clear snow on the shoulder of the nearest road so that people could safely park.

Selectman Ted Shane commented before the vote.

“There aren’t a whole lot of towns that allow access to cemeteries during the winter,” Shane said. “But, I will support this if the town manager recommends it.”

By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — Talk about giving the people what they want!

For decades, citizens have been coming before the elected officials asking about removing snow from the sidewalks for people who walk year-round.

Finally, this summer, the Town of Naples purchased a snow blower to fulfill the

many requests to clear the sidewalks of snow.

The 60-inch Erskine 620FM snow blower was purchased for $9,200 from M.B. Tractor & Equipment in August.

During the most recent December snowstorms, the maintenance department was chomping at the bit to use the snow blower, especially on the new sidewalks that were put in along Route

302 near the Route 35 junction. Maybe, the employees were a little too enthusiastic because the snow was removed from the sidewalks before it even stopped snowing. The town had to step back, and let the Department of Transportation (DOT) crews remove snow from the state-owned road first, according to Naples Town Manager John Hawley.

“We do plan to move more of the snow and open up the sidewalks, but we will be making sure that the DOT has completed all their efforts before we start on ours,” Hawley said. “We

only ask that people give us a couple of days. Maybe more if a snow storm falls on a weekend. We don’t want people getting false expectations that the sidewalks will be done as soon as a storm is over.”

During the Naples Board of Selectmen meeting — which was held via Zoom on Monday — the town manager summarized the new task of removing snow from sidewalks.

“So, we have had our first attempt at plowing the sidewalks from Lambs Mills Road to the intersection of SIDEWALKS, Page 12A

New snow blower frees up sidewalks

Republic, if you can keep it

Letters (Continued from Page 8A)

to vote for the aforementioned machine? Disclaimer: I’ve visited Haiti and seen real dug up from the grave “zombies” and believe me, they would never pass a GOP “poll test” nor possess the necessary voter identification.

SCOTUS! How dare they not stage a coup d’etat at the behest of the loser of the popular and electoral vote and disenfranchise 20 million or more votes in a half-dozen states, some of which were for the loser?

After all, he and the Federalist Society vetted, nominated and paid for their nominations and

This week’s game solutions

confirmations and as well the election of a preponderance of GOP senators to ramrod their confirmations through; Amy Coney Barrett’s just before the election in breakneck speed just in case she was needed.

The second amendment and how “They” are coming to take away our sacred guns. Who is this “They?” Just wondering as that invariably enters into the discourse and is inevitably invoked, as does Mr. Framarin with no surprises.

I quote Mitch McConnell last week post-SCOTUS decision to not dignify delusional entreaties by the loser, “It is time to put this election behind us and welcome the incoming administration.”

Jon St. Laurent North Bridgton

but are now generally accepted as the norm.

The Canadian author and philosopher B.W. Powe wrote: “We become slaves the moment we hand the keys to the definition of reality entirely over to someone else, whether it is a business, an economic theory, a political party, the White House, Newsworld or CNN.” This warning needs to become ingrained in the American conscious in these “post truth” times. We need to literally question and verify everything we are being told in the media. The official Progressive Socialist narrative does not allow the entire story to be told by the media they control. As a result, we must look toward other sources for the truth that puts the mainstream or official media presented narrative into perspective. If we do that, our opinions and decisions can be formed on fact and not their narrative.

The second question is, what happens when the American public begins to truly resist the professional political narrative?

We can presently see the stirrings of resistance in the social media world with an increasing rejection of the big social media manipulators like Facebook and Twitter, and the advent of more free platforms like MeWe and Parler. This may be the beginning of the shift in how the public interacts within social media, however at this date, that is yet to be seen. What is going to be required for this shift to truly take hold is for these sites to grow to a sufficient size to have a critical mass that attracts people to them while leaving the old social media sites behind. I personally have made the shift to Parler and I am now checking my Parler feed first before checking my Facebook feed. It’s a start.

The other area that resistance can be applied is in personal video media habits. I now subscribe to The Daily Wire and The Blaze, both of which have great informative content. I have left the cable TV world behind, and because of its totally skewed state news coverage, local Maine TV news coverage, as well. Whatever our sources, we should be verifying each one’s claims.

Fighting for our Republic and her founding principles has never been easy, a familiar well-known story tells of a group of citizens who asked Benjamin Franklin, as he was leaving the Constitutional Convention: “What sort of government have you given us sir?” Franklin’s reply was, “A Republic, if you can keep it.” This short seven-word answer should be our clarion call. While a Democratic Republic is formed upon “the Consent of the Governed” it will only survive with the active, well informed, morally grounded activism of its citizens holding fast to our founding principles. It is time for Americans to pick up the torch and make the choice. As Ronald Reagan stated in that same 1964 speech: “We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness.”

Now is truly a time for choosing.

All the best, Rich Cebra

LJG PAYROLL

LIFETIME LICENSE — Bob Chapin, president of Sebago Lake Anglers’ Association (SLAA) in Naples, presents a certificate announcing the award of a Maine State Youth Lifetime Fishing License to Aria Nydam, granddaughter of Phyllis and David Kent. The award is one of six to be awarded by SLAA this year to area youths. Aria will be able to fish free in Maine fresh waters for the remainder of her natural life regardless of her place of residency or her age. The purpose of the program is to encourage youth to participate in the sport of fishing and to get them outdoors and off the couch. SLAA has been funding these awards for many years and holds the state record for the greatest number of awards funded from a single club. The Club also sponsors one winner per year and their parents to the Sportsman Alliance of Maine’s Annual Awards Dinner held in Augusta in September. Information on the Club can be obtained by calling Bob Chapin at 571-217-1700 or 655-1028.

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(Continued from Page 10A) as the creation of the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Energy, as well as the intrusions into our Constitutional liberties post 9/11 for our “safety,” the list is very long.

There are two questions that need to be addressed considering these existing intrusions, as well as the growing list of usurpations promised by the coming Biden administration.

First, how has the Left been able to have so many successes in advancing Socialism in a nation that was founded on the advancement of individual freedom and liberty, which is the opposite of Socialism? We can look back historically and learn from our observations. I believe the single most important observable element in this effort has been the extent to which the Left has been able to carefully create and control the narrative. A narrative that has been an historically enormous deception presented to the public, and then is doubled down on repeatedly until the desired result is achieved.

There are two major aspects of the Left’s narrative. First, the overarching narrative that presents some groups of people as victims, while at the same time it portrays other groups as evil and responsible for the victim’s victimhood. This media driven “blame game” is not based on fact, its purpose is to build the greater narrative. Blame and division have been used with surgical skill to leverage political advancement and policy gains, and at the same time almost always presents larger, more intrusive government as the solution to these struggles.

Secondly, the Left uses individual examples presented in the media to humanize and build upon the narrative in an effort to slowly shift the public’s attitudes and opinions. These are often presented as factual, when in many cases they are opinion or outright fabrication made out of whole cloth. This is where the heavy lifting has taken place slowly changing hearts and minds. One need only look at any number of social issues that 15 or 20 years ago would have been laughed out of the room

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Page 12A, The Bridgton News, December 24, 2020

SAD 61 notes

Continuations

(Continued from Page 6A) two years. He wanted to go to CMCC (Central Maine Community College) for a two-year program in architecture. That’s what he did.

Right now, he is working from his home as an architect for a company, somewhere.

He’s making good money.”

• Lake Region Middle

School Principal Matt Lokken received positive feedback from parents following parent-teacher conferences Dec. 2 and Dec. 10. Teachers had a chance to discuss issues or concerns regarding remote learning.

Those talks came in handy when SAD 61 went fully remote last week.

“After six days of 100% remote, I heard from just one parent with a question, so it supports parents were aware of what to expect with remote learning. They knew where to access information.

Teachers have done a great job preparing students for it,” Lokken said.

To bring some holiday cheer, health teacher Steve Mercer put together a holiday video that included a compilation of clips of poet-

(Continued from Page 11A) 302/35. If went fairly well as we still need to work out our procedure a little bit. But it wasn’t a bad first run,” Hawley said. “What we have learned however is that snow removal efforts by private property owners, especially up by the intersection create larger snowbanks than what our snow blower can handle. We are going to have to do snow removal with the backhoe just because nobody has any place to put snow in that

intersection. Luckily for us, we leased that backhoe.”

One of the selectmen suggested that town officials communicate with the property owners to make sure everyone knows they are trying to cooperate with snow removal.

“It’s going to be a learning curve. Some of these places didn’t have sidewalks before,” Hawley said.

Chairman Jim Grattelo brought up an issue passed onto him by a citizen.

“Someone asked why

didn’t do all the sidewalk on the Causeway. They wanted to know why we didn’t plow underneath the bridge and around,” Grattelo said.

Hawley answered.

“There is no place to put the snow. We are not allowed to blow snow into the water. Going across the top of the bridge, we are blowing snow into the one-ton and hauling it off because there’s no place to put it,” he said.

Chairman Grattelo spoke, cracking a joke.

ry, storytelling, songs and music. Meanwhile, band and chorus teacher Jennifer Chaloult created a virtual performance with her chorus kids in Grades 6, 7 and 8.

“Kids sang various tracks of a song and she put them together to make a virtual choral experience,” Lokken said. The video will be posted on the LRMS website.

If LRMS returns to fulltime in-person, a few changes will occur. For one, to

“The state is allowed to do it. And we are not allowed to,” he quipped.

Hawley took the floor “DOT has privileges that local towns do not,” Grattelo shared the information that a local business is willing to remove snow on some of the new sidewalks east of the Umbrella Factory Supermarket.

“Moose Landing offered to snow-blow the sidewalk from Moose Landing all the way to Gary’s Olde Town Tavern,” he said.

New snow blower frees up sidewalks

accommodate bigger numbers and 3-feet social distancing in classrooms, LRMS will need to expand to four cohorts. Also, instead of letting kids eat in classrooms — to meet 6-foot distancing — kids will eat in the gym, cafeteria and library.

“It also helps us with staff coverage,” Lokken said.

• Adult Education Director Madelyn Litz has seen a definite “uptick” in enrollment during the pandemic. Since she last reported to the school board, Adult Ed has enrolled nine new students.

“We are 15% beyond last year, 75 students right now, which is ahead of where we were last year at this time.

We believe the whole Covid pandemic is really reflective in that uptick in enrollment,” she said.

Ten of the college transition (program) students have successfully completed their first semester in college, another positive sign. Litz said Adult Ed tracks “transition” students through the first semester.

• Using Covid-19 funds,

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SAD 61 has installed new ionization systems at Stevens Brook and Songo Locks Schools. The systems are about 85% completed at the high school and middle school. HVAC work has started in the high school auditorium with about 30% completed.

• Food Service staff continues to operate mobile sites at numerous locations with students attending schools every other day.

• A few requests have been made by outside groups to use school facilities, but those requests have either been denied or not processed at this time due to ongoing Covid-19 concerns.

• Delores Lyons was approved as a permanent substitute (part-time, three days per week) at Stevens Brook Elementary School.

• Athletic stipends were approved: Doug Banks as JV girls’ basketball coach ($3,915); Kurt Berger as Alpine Ski Co-Coach ($3,883.50); Scott Davis as Alpine Ski Co-Coach ($3,883.50); Chris Jordan as 8th Grade girls’ basketball coach ($2,715).

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