(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 July 18, 2002

The town of Scarborough may begin taking homes and properties from owners who have failed to pay back taxes.

“The problem here is that the town has basically had a policy of not selling any property,” said Town Manager Ron Owens. “In some cases, that’s gone on longer than anyone has envisioned.”

The town has more than $421,000 in back taxes to collect from people who, in some cases, haven’t paid a tax bill in years. (That total does not include people who have filed for bankruptcy.) The $421,000 is 1.5 percent of all the taxes the town collected last year ($28.4 million).

One taxpayer owes the town more than $103,000 in back taxes, interest and lien costs. The resident hasn’t paid a bill since 1992.

Bette’s Lunch and Breakfast hides along the edge of Route 1 in Scarborough, right next to the fire station. It’s behind a tree and doesn’t have a very obvious sign, but Betty Pennell doesn’t mind.

Entering the diner can be an act of faith, if the “Open” sign isn’t in the front window. The place can be quiet enough on a weekday lunch hour to cause doubt about whether the griddle is on inside.

But more than likely, Betty’s inside wielding a spatula, cooking up burgers. In the mornings, it’s mostly ham and eggs, though she also makes pancakes. It’s the same place she has been for nearly 53 years.

The place has an old-time family feel. The prices on the board haven’t changed for years: A hamburger is listed at 40 cents. There’s not even a cash register – just a drawer next to the griddle, and Betty’s mind keeps track of the bill.

On the anniversary of Tot Harriman’s disappearance, friends an family of the woman many Cape Elizabeth residents referred to as “mom” remembered her cooking, generosity and, most of all, her smile.

“All of us who grew up in the neighborhood referred to her as ‘mom.’ No matter what (her son) Minh and I did or were up to, she’d find out,” said Will Armitage. But he said that what he remembered more than anything else was “her smile, her laugh and how important her family was to her. ”

About 100 people filled the pews at the Spurwink Church Friday, leaving a few standing at the back, to remember the life of Harriman, who disappeared in Texas last y e a r. As a cool breeze blew in from the windows, friends and family told stories about her that brought laughter and tears.

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani came to the Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth Sunday to raise money for U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ campaign.

The event raised $50,000 for Collins, who is running against Democrat Chellie Pingree. Supporters paid $150 to attend the speech and $500 for a private reception and photograph.

The Scarborough Town Council was expected to approve a change in the town’s parking laws at its meeting Wednesday after the Current’s deadline, which would limit parking on Spurwink Road by beachgoers headed to Higgins Beach. The new law would follow a no-parking emergency ban put in place by the Police Department over the Fourth of July weekend.

Cape Elizabeth town councilors are encouraging people to paint on “The Rock” on Route 77 during daylight hours, and to be respectful of neighboring residents at all times.

Dennis and Ann Flavin, whose driveway is directly opposite the rock, have complained to the town about nighttime noise, including yelling and squealing tires, as well as littering, harassment and trespassing by people involved in painting the rock. They have threatened to sue the town if something is not done.

The town’s proposed remedy includes having the police ask all people observed painting the rock to “move along,” and informally encouraging students to paint on the rock during the day, and without making noise or leaving litter behind.

Cape Elizabeth High School music students will have a new teacher come the fall, following the retirement of Norm Richardson, who had taught music at CEHS for eight years in the last phase of a long teaching career.

Tom Lizotte of Biddeford has been chosen to replace Richardson, and high school Principal Jeff Shedd said Lizotte is well qualified to fill the big shoes Richardson leaves behind.

The neighborhood meeting held in West Scarborough Tuesday topped the attendance record for the town’ s ongoing visioning meetings, with 50 plus residents showing up to give their opinions.

The meetings are meant to give residents in different areas of Scarborough a chance to let the town know what is important to them and what they would like the future of Scarborough to be.

The crowd Tuesday met at the Beech Ridge Farm on Beech Ridge Road and made clear early on that the reason they live in the part of town west of the turnpike is because they like the rural character. They don’t want to see their neighbor’s house from the backyard.

“A lot of us who live out here aren’t in a specified neighborhood and don’t want to be,” one resident said. “I don’t think the people who put the comprehensive plan together in 1994 would have wanted the town to be like it is now,” another resident said.

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The residents of North Scarborough hope their neighborhood will be spared from higher taxes and more traffic and development.

About 30 residents attended a public “visioning” meeting at the South Coast Community Church last week. Residents outlined their hopes and fears for their neighborhood and the town and described the places that make North Scarborough unique.

North Scarborough is the rural section of town that straddles Route 114 and borders South Portland and Westbrook. While North Scarborough has been spared much of the development that has sprung up on the other side of the Turnpike, Gorham Road (Route 114) has become a popular route for commuters traveling from towns west of Scarborough.

“Route 114 is as bad as Route 1,” said Blanche Reynolds, a resident of North Scarborough. “It is very dangerous.”

Residents said they hoped the number of cars coming through North Scarborough would level off.

They criticized the intersection of Route 114 and Route 22. Some residents asked for sidewalks or a biking trail along Route 114 to make it safe for pedestrians.

“I used to let my kids walk out there,” said Betty Huff, a resident of North Scarborough. “But not anymore. It’s not safe.”