May 1980

South Portland’s George Mitchell was sworn in last week as a new member of the U. S. Senate. The office space he was given in the Senate Office Building turns out to be the same offices where his wife, Sally, worked in the 1950s as a secretary to New Hampshire’s Senator Styles Bridges, now deceased. George and Sally have a daughter, Andrea, now in the ninth-grade in South Portland’s Mahoney Junior High School.

In Westbrook’s Memorial Day address, Mayor William O’Gara said America “is not just a land but an idea. It is not just a task but a crusade.”

Profenno’s Fine Foods, Westbrook is announcing a new “delicatessen style” menu.

Westbrook school students can buy accident insurance next year through Lawrence E. Smith & Associates, by vote of the School Committee. The Smith bid was the lowest of four. It’s the fifth year of this arrangement. The schools pay for coverage of football players.

Lorraine A. Cameron retired from the S. D. Warren Finishing Department after 36 and a half years.

The Gorham Playhouse, State Street, will be converted from office space to five condominium apartments.

Gorham teachers’ pay will go up 9.5 percent in the two-year contract just signed.

Evan Richert, South Portland city planner, proposes exempting buildings from the property tax and increasing the tax on land. He also would tax personal property. The tax on buildings discourages investment in them and encourages idle land, he argues. The present tax system encourages sprawl, he said. His ideas are given in his report, “Land Value Taxation, an Alternative for the Eighties.” One section introduces tax increment financing, “already possible under state law.”

Scarborough’s Fire Department has chosen American LaFrance fire engines to replace Engines 7, 1 and 4. Engines 1 and 4 are old and worn; 7 was wrecked March 8 in a collision with Ladder 1 at Coal Kiln corner.

Joseph W. Lessard Jr., Windham’s assessor five years, is moving to the assessor’s job in Salem, N.H.

Conrad Metivier has been reelected president of the Holy Name Society of St. Hyacinth Parish, Westbrook.

J. Robert Carrier, Westbrook Democrat, is seeking his seventh term in the Maine House of Representatives.

Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Wood, Larry Jr. and Randy, Standish, camped two weeks at Fort Wilderness, Disney World, Orlando, Fla.

May 1990

Besides new stores in Gorham and Windham, Hannaford Brothers Co. will build a new supermarket in Standish.

R. J. Grondin and Sons, Gorham general contractor, paid $1,426,000 to buy 331 acres in back of the Windham rubbish transfer station from the S. D. Warren Co. Grondin plans to expand its gravel pit.

Westbrook will hold its 11th annual Westbrook Together Day on Saturday, with a 10 a.m. parade, entertainment events from noon to 7:30 p.m., specials for kids and a bean supper ($2.50).

Windham will celebrate too, holding Maine Street ’90.

The Maine Civil Liberties Union is suing Colby College to block the college’s penalties against students who join a fraternity or sorority.

When Stanley Marzul got home from the hospital, he found that a thief had broken into his apartment at 951 Main St., Westbrook, and stolen things.

Someone telephoned a bomb threat to Shaw Junior High School, Gorham, Tuesday and the school was evacuated for the day. A bomb threat was phoned to Gorham High School at 7:30 a.m. the next day; after a building check, classes were held.

The Steep Falls Village Improvement Society held its annual village Cleanup Day and collected a large truckload of trash.

Jacky Herbert Travel is advertising eight nights in a Venezuela hotel in February for $774.

Gail Jones Wilkerson, a 1982 graduate of Bonny Eagle High School, is this year’s valedictorian at St. Joseph’s College.

An editorial asks for the word “ADDICTIVE” on every pack of cigarettes world-wide to save lives.