From Staff Reports

The year was marked by development, a high-profile murder trial and many changes throughout York County’s communities. For a look at the top stories covered by Journal Tribune reporters in 2010, read on:

ARUNDEL

Many parents were upset with the Regional School Unit 21 school board’s decision in late June to end the town’s contract with Thornton Academy Middle School. Negotiations with the Saco school continued until early August, when it was decided that some Arundel students would be allowed to attend Middle School of the Kennebunks in 2010 and all Arundel students can choose either school from then on. Voters will be asked in 2011 if they favor a $1.1 million buyout of the TAMS contract, which will save the district money in the long run, but the process has several Arundel residents calling for the town to pull out of the RSU.

• A veterans memorial was erected in 2010, the town’s first ever, thanks to residents’ donations and the efforts of the newly formed Arundel Historical Society.
• Bentley’s Saloon ended its long-running dispute with the town over its occupancy levels, with a November vote heavily in favor of allowing land use ordinance changes for the business.
• Selectman Byron Kindley was arrested in June, and charged with receiving stolen property and trafficking in scheduled drugs, following a police sting at his Valero gas station on Route 111. Kindley has pleaded not guilty to the charges, while police allege he operated a burglary/resale operation and paid off his cohorts in drugs.

BIDDEFORD

In November, Biddeford voters approved a controversial proposal to build a harness racing track with associated slot machines and a hotel and entertainment complex in the city. Scarborough Downs and Ocean Properties LLC are developing the racino. No specific site has been confirmed, but developers said they are looking at an 88-acre site owned by the city on the Andrews Road. Despite local approval at the ballot box, the racino is still not a done deal. State statute changes are needed, successful negotiations with the city and receipt of necessary regulatory permissions must be secured before the racino can be built.

•  The murder trial of Rory Holland ended in a guilty verdict. The shooting deaths of two brothers on the streets of Biddeford, on June 30, 2009 shocked local residents. After a several hour stand-off with state and local police, Rory Holland, 56, of Biddeford, was arrested at his South Street home. On Nov. 10, Holland was found guilty of murder at the Penobscot Superior Court in Bangor. Holland, who made an unsuccessful bid for mayor in 2001 and had a lengthy police record, is in York County Jail in Alfred awaiting sentencing.

DAYTON/LYMAN

Voters decided in June to approve a changeover for the Goodwins Mills Fire Department, making it a shared municipal department instead of a corporation. The hiring of a full-time fire chief and another full-time firefighter was also OK’d, but little progress on the interlocal agreement between the towns was made until December. In the process, some hard feelings were created as the agreement was repeatedly revised and communication broke down between Fire Commission members and selectmen. Ultimately, the agreement was signed by selectmen in both towns in late December. Meanwhile, the fire department held a groundbreaking in July for a major expansion at the station that will add sleeping quarters and improve the facility overall, thanks to a federal grant.

KENNEBUNK

In 2010, town officials struggled with what to do with the now-defunct Mobil gas station lot located on outer Main Street. The town’s decision to purchase the lot was controversial, with residents like Ed Kayrtko bemoaning what they saw as the municipality entering “the real estate business.” Town Manager Barry Tibbetts replied that the town’s purchase ultimately facilitated a federal brownfields grant for the purpose of environmental cleanup of the site. The cleanup, said Tibbetts, would make it more likely that an outside entity would purchase the property, although to date, no plans for the lot have yet been made public.

• In an issue affecting residents in both Kennebunk and Kennebunkport, officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency gathered in September to address community concerns regarding changes made to the region’s flood maps, which determine, among other things, whether residents in select areas are required to purchase flood insurance for their homes. The changes, which were originally slated to begin in 2011, will not take place thanks to the efforts of residents and lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, who lobbied FEMA to withdraw the plans. FEMA agreed in October.
• Ongoing complaints about air quality issues at Middle School of the Kennebunks came to a head in December when staff showed up in force to demand that the Regional School Unit 21 board take remedial action. Earlier in the year, about 60 staff members signed a petition to the same effect, with little response except for the removal of some carpeting in classrooms. Voters will have a chance to approve a loan/grant of $1 million for the renovations this spring, and the board is hoping a new roof and some other work on the 2002 building will finally fix the problems.

KENNEBUNKPORT

The ongoing lawsuit regarding public access to Goose Rocks Beach took a major step forward this year, when on July 21, Justice G. Arthur Brennan of the Maine Superior Court ruled the State of Maine could act as an intervenor in the case on the side of the Town of Kennebunkport. The suit, filed in 2009 by 24 beachfront property owners, seeks to require the town to recognize that landowners own their property to the low-water mark. The Town counters that the beach has been used by the public for at least the last 100 years, and they have rights to the beach as well. Town Manager Larry Mead said since the July decision, Brennan has also decided that every waterfront or beachfront property owner must be considered a party in the lawsuit and will be bound by whatever decision is reached. “It broadens the significance of the lawsuit,” Mead said this week.

OLD ORCHARD BEACH

Three people were sent to prison for the 2008 murder of Winston George. In October, former Old Orchard Beach resident Darlene George was sentenced to 40 years for the murder of her husband. Her brother, Jeffrey Williams, formerly of New York, was sentenced to life. Darlene’s lover, Rennie Cassimy, was sentenced to eight years in prison in July for conspiracy to commit murder ”“ an earlier charge of murder was dropped in a plea deal. The three plotted a staged home invasion at the George residence in 2008 and Williams and Cassimy came from New York to Old Orchard Beach to carry out the plan. Darlene and her son, Giovanni Whiteman, then 13 years old, were tied up in a bedroom as Winston George was attacked, tied up and strangled. Winston was found dead of asphyxiation on June 20, 2008 in the basement of his home.

• In October, the town signed a contract with the Lowell Americans for the team to play at The Ballpark. In November, the team was officially named the Raging Tides. The Ballpark was built in the 1980s and was home to the Maine Guides for three years. From 1989 to 1991, The Ballpark was used to hold concerts, but it lay vacant and had deteriorated when community volunteers began working on the facility in 2008. They brought it back to life in time to be used to host a collegiate tournament in the spring.

SACO

In February, a developer who had proposed a CVS Pharmacy on Elm Street backed out. The proposal garnered some opposition from historical preservation enthusiasts who claimed one of the buildings slated for demolition had historical significance. In January, the Planning Board reversed an earlier decision and deemed developer John Grammas’ application incomplete. The board told Grammas in January that he had to get a determination of historical significance for all structures on or adjacent to the site.

• In March, a contract zone was approved to allow a housing development on the site of the former Bay View Convent. The contract zone would allow Estates at Bay View, to create 14 housing lots on a parcel that would otherwise support 11 or 12 lots. As part of the contract zone, the developer agreed to give the city $100,000 toward the construction of a sidewalk on Bay View Road, rights to the beach and a 3.6-acre parcel of resource protection land. Demolition of the convent has been thwarted by a pending lawsuit from some abutters against the developer and the city.
• Thornton Academy completed its first year of its boarding school program and broke ground on a second dorm in the spring. This fall, the school introduced a homestay program, giving foreign students the option to reside with local families. The school has 51 boarding students.
• In February, residents voted to build a new central fire station on North Street. The present Central Fire Station was built in the late 1930s and officials cited numerous issues with the building, which was not accessible to the disabled, had garage bays that were not big enough for new fire engines, and used inadequate electrical and pluming systems. Ground was broken in June and the new building is expected to be completed by April.

SANFORD

Voters in November decisively dumped an ordinance that had required them to use special garbage bags to dispose of trash. The Town Council last spring approved pay-as-you-throw fee system, with a starting date of July 12. But even before the new system began, a committee formed to overthrow it. Early next year, the council will decide what changes must be made to the current year budget to make up the expected $700,000 shortfall.

• In June, Alfred Rescue responded to a report of a propane leak on Avery Road, and was met by homeowner Robert Infante, who allegedly told them he had injured his finger with a butane lighter. Authorities allegedly discovered that Infante had been building pipe bombs and growing marijuana at his home. He is charged with possession of a destructive device in connection with a marijuana-growing operation; possession of a firearm by a felon; manufacturing marijuana; and possession of a firearm in connection with drug trafficking. A state police bomb squad detonated five pipe bombs found in the trunk of a car registered to him in the parking lot of Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford and several at his rental home in Alfred. Infante claims he is innocent and a trial is set for Jan. 31 at U.S. District Court in Portland.

WELLS

In late November, town officials filed the application seeking permission to dredge Wells Harbor. The process has taken about three years to complete so far, due mainly to requirements to allow more extensive protection for endangered species like piping plovers because beach nourishment ”“ more sand for the town’s beaches ”“ is involved. The dredge will not likely happen before the 2012 season, but it is on its way.

• The Maine Department of Transportation finished work on the intersection of Route 109 and Route 1 this fall. As the $1 million project was wrapping up, officials announced another $12-14 million of work on Route 109 in the next two years. The project will rebuild more than four miles of the roadway and hopefully increase sight distance and safety.
• After Town Meeting approved nearly half a million for the purchase of conservation lands in June, the Conservation Commission announced recently it is ready to close two deals. If the purchases are successful, the town will own more than 400 acres of conservation land next year including the 130-acre Tilton parcel and the 288-acre Granite State parcel.