(Editor’s note: Looking Back is a weekly column including news items reported 10 years ago in The Current, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in September 2011.)

Issue of April 18, 2002

The initially warm reception to a proposed six-story condominium project off Pine Point Road turned cooler Tuesday at a joint meeting between the Town Council and Planning Board, and questions were raised about whether Scarborough is allowing too many exceptions to its zoning rules.

Developer Dale Blackie is asking for a contract zone to build a 91-foot, 32-unit condominium building on Blue Point ridge. The biggest concerns raised were the height of the building, the density of the project and the effect construction will have on the neighborhood.

The meeting was intended to give Blackie feedback about the proposal, however at one point the discussion centered around the concept of contract zoning itself. Contract zones allow developers to do things outside of zoning regulations, if their project is seen to be of benefit to the town. Planning Board members raised concerns about the number of contract zone proposals that have been brought forward recently. These include a proposal for a new Mercedes Benz dealership and a Great American Neighborhood in Dunstan village.

Planning board member Susan Auglis requested that a workshop between the council and the board be set up to discuss contract zoning, including a proposal from Planning Board member Cindy Taylor that the town look at changing overall zones, instead of granting contract zone projects one by one.

Two men walked into the Sunoco station on Route 1 in Scarborough at about 12:30 p.m., Wednesday, carrying a note that said they had a bomb and demanding money.

The men pushed the clerk out of the way and escaped with an undisclosed sum of money, cigarettes and other items, police said. They fled on foot into the area behind the building, north of Route 1. They later escaped the area in a “tan, older model car,” according to police.

Police are taking a report of a black bear spotted off Pleasant Hill Road seriously, even though the creature was gone when they arrived.

“It’s not that far-fetched,” said Detective Don Blatchford. In the past, he said, officers, including himself, have been called to bear sightings in town.

The Maine Warden Service said there are a lot of bears in Southern Maine, mainly because of the amount of food available to them. People leave trash outside, and have bird feeders or other food items outdoors.

“If you have a bird feeder, it’s going to attract a bear,” said a spokeswoman for the Warden Service.

While anecdotal evidence and a two-year-old survey confirm that Cape teens are keeping up with national statistics when it comes to drug and alcohol abuse, local police, counselors and educators says it’s tough to get parents concerned about the problem.

“The kids like to party, just like they do in other communities,” said police Detective Paul Fenton.

He has no hard data, but senses that half of the students at the high school have used marijuana or alcohol.

He gets his numbers from anecdotes and interviews of teens he catches with drugs or alcohol.

But kids don’t talk much. “They don’t want to rat their friends out,” Fenton said.

He said marijuana is used more than alcohol, because it is easier to get. And, he said, in the past six months the town has seen a “huge influx” of other drugs, including OxyContin, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and abuse of Ritalin.

Dustin Perreault, a senior at Scarborough High School, wants to be a diesel engine technician. He already has a job waiting for him after graduation in June and credits the auto body program at the Portland Arts and Technology High School (PATHS) for getting him ready.

Perreault is among 26 Scarborough students and nine Cape Elizabeth students attending PATHS this year. These students are learning trades from video production to fashion merchandising to commercial art. Other programs include dance and music, horticulture and masonry.

The American Cafe and Lounge plans to have music and dancing in its newly renovated lounge, after getting approval from the Scarborough Town Council.

The lounge with entertainment is one of the changes that has taken place at the restaurant since Alan Hyman took full ownership. Hyman opened the restaurant with Roger Bintliff, a well-known restaurant owner.

Hyman said he has been hearing from Scarborough residents who are looking for a place to relax in the evening, listen to music and drink cocktails. He is hoping to draw local bands to play jazz and oldies.

James Mullen is a retired post office letter carrier who now resides at the Maine Veterans Home in Scarborough.

When Mullen joined the United States Postal Service in 1948, there were only three mail routes in the town of Scarborough where he carried mail; now, there are 27.

As a Million Mile Club member, Mullen was the recipient of a National Safety Council Award for having attained one million miles of safe driving for the USPS. To become a member of the Million Mile Club, drivers have to drive for 30 years, or a million miles, without having a preventable accident.

When Mullen moved into the Maine Veterans Home, his treasured Million Mile Club plaque somehow got lost in the move. Having carried mail for the USPS for 44 years, Mullen was devastated by the loss.

Richard Esposito, a rural letter carrier and a member of the executive committee of the Maine Rural Letter Carriers Association, heard about Mullen’s upset and worked with the USPS to get a replacement plaque for Mullen.

“I worked with Jim for six years before he retired in 1992,” said Esposito, “and he is an inspiration to many of us. We’re proud to do this for him after the lifetime of service he gave our organization.”

Before becoming a resident of the Maine Veterans Home, Mullen was a lifelong resident of Old Orchard Beach where he lived with his wife, Joanne, two sons and a daughter.