Local students beat state averages on the Maine Educational Assessment tests, but still many are not meeting the standards set by the state.

The scores, released last week, have changed little from last year’s results. Since then, student scores in grades four, eight and 11 have held steady, landing predominantly in the “partially meets” standard in each of the seven testing areas: reading, writing, math, science, social studies, health, and visual and performing arts.

Locally, Cape Elizabeth 11th grade students led the way in every area of testing, with Scarborough and South Portland landing within just a few points, in most areas.

Arguing that it was not the council’s job to accommodate developers of a proposed Great American Neighborhood in Dunstan, four councilors last week called for John and Elliott Chamberlain to provide the town with a $1 million offset fund to move the project forward.

The money would be used to take developable land off the market in exchange for allowing the Chamberlains to build their project – 441 housing units on 150 acres – at a much higher density than current zoning allows.

“Our job is not to accommodate the developers but to do the best for the community,” Scarborough Town Councilor Suzanne Foley-Ferguson said at a workshop meeting of the council held before the regular meeting on Oct. 16

Nearly complete on the outside, but utterly abandoned, a new version of an historic house sits on Shore Road behind orange fencing and signs warning against trespassing.

Its view is a commanding one of the ocean, but from the road it looks lost and alone.

Work has stopped on the house, after nearly a year of demolition and reconstruction, because the owners are taking care of family business out of state, according to project architect and builder Marcel Nadeau of Anastos and Nadeau of Yarmouth.

Nadeau said the owners, Darrell and Patricia Mayeux of South Portland, did not tell him if or when work would resume, and added that he thought they might try to sell the home.

The house was not a John Calvin Stevens house, as some in town had thought, but was designed by another prominent Portland-area architect in the late 1890s and early 1900s, and was almost entirely original as recently as 1998.

The house, at 878 Shore Road, was designed by Austin W. Pease and built by Mrs. George F. Thurston sometime before 1910, according to Earle G. Shettleworth Jr., director of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.

The town of Scarborough will now demand that people owing back taxes make some attempt at payment or face eviction under a new foreclosure policy adopted by the Town Council last week.

Questions came in fast and furious from a group of about 40 seniors, who got a chance last week to tell Superintendent William Michaud and Council Chairman Jeff Messer what they thought about the $26.8 million high school renovation project.

Many in the group, known as Senior Voices, were questioning the cost of the project. Several wondered if the project was approved, whether the school expansion would end up costing more than the $26.8 million being asked for. Michaud assured those present that the referendum on the school bond going before voters Nov. 5 is a “do not exceed” number, meaning the high school project cannot cost anymore than the bonded amount.

“Hujambo Esther,” said the sign welcoming Esther Ndungwa Musau to the house in Cape Elizabeth where 10 of her pen pals were gathering for a meeting and a meal.

Inside, Musau was the center of a pod of girls moving from room to room throughout the house.

“These girls are good,” said the soft-spoken, 19-year-old from Mbooli, near Machakos, southeast of the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

The girls had spent a lot of time with Musau, who is living with a number of families during her three-week stay.

Troop member Bridget Carver said the group had begun writing to Musau after starting a sponsorship through Save the Children.

The troop sends roughly $300 a year to fund Musau’s education.

Jack Kazenski picked up a saxophone several years ago, after not playing for close to 35 years, and now he plays in eight local bands, including two that he directs himself.

Not only does he play the sax, but the clarinet as well. His two bands are very different, one is a big band with a swing sound and the other is called the 60+ Band, which is known as a sweet band, like those directed by Guy Lombardo or Sammy Kaye.

Two years after Scarborough voters overwhelmingly approved spending $1.5 million to preserve undeveloped open space, the To w n Council is now finalizing the process to start purchasing properties and easements.

The council last year created the Parks and Conservation Land Board and is now considering an ordinance to establish a fund for open space money. The town would keep donations and grants for open space preservation in this account, which would be used along with the $1.5 million in bonding authority to purchase desirable property.

Asmall fire started in a light fixture in a corner of the laundry at the Black Point Inn, sending guests out the door and firefighters racing down to Prouts Neck just after 6 p.m. Tuesday evening.

The historic inn, which had a new sprinkler and alarm system installed throughout the building during a renovation four years ago, had about 45 guests, as well as 65 staff members, all of whom had to be evacuated, according to Scarborough Fire Chief Michael Thurlow.

Firefighters hooked up their hoses to feed the inn’s sprinkler system, which took care of most of the fire. Fire crews took care of the rest quickly.

Firefighters spent several hours on the scene after the fire was out, cleaning out burned areas to make sure the fire was completely extinguished, and clearing smoke from the building.

“It’s a big building and it takes a while to get the smoke out,” Thurlow said.

Guests and staff were kept out of the inn’s main building for a while, but were able to keep warm in some of the inn’s cottages and outbuildings, according to innkeeper Dick Schwalbenberg .

No one was in the laundry at the time of the fire, and no one was hurt in the evacuation or in fighting the fire. Damage to the building was not extensive, and Schwalbenberg said he expected the laundry to be back in service by the end of the day We d n e sda y.

The small size of the fire was a relief to Schwalbenberg and Thurlow. “It’s the kind of building you worry about,” Thurlow said, referring to the inn’s wood-frame structure.

Troop 1402 of Cape Elizabeth welcome Esther Ndungwa Musau of Kenya in this file photo from Oct. 24, 2002. Pictured are front row, from left, Meredith Sills. Second row, Nicole Alves, Esther Ndungwa Musau, Hillary Sills, Ariana Kneeland. Back row, Katie Takach, Rosie Hewitt, Grace Stack, Paige St. Germaine.