Aug. 24, 1988
Westbrook aldermen found themselves voting money in chunks Monday as they authorized school work, road work, library work, school buses, fire equipment, computers and some personnel expenses. Among the approvals: They voted for bonds to pay $118,395 toward the total cost of $177,592 for six new school buses (the rest had been included in the approved school budget). Also approved was $296,300 for ground work at the Prides Corner School, paving of Brook Street and parts of Wayside Drive and expanding the Col. Westbrook Executive Park sewage pumping station. They also voted $250,000 for removing asbestos from the high school auditorium and $350,000 for pitched roofs at the Saccarappa and Prides Corner schools.
The Westbrook School Committee has agreed to provide bus transportation for students attending and afterschool day care program run by the Prides Corner Congregational Church. The program is for students in grades 1-5. The school system will provide buses from Prides Corner School, Congin School, Saccarappa School and Canal School.
Westbrook Police Detectives Charlotte Adams and Kirk Malloy used a canoe to search the Presumpscot River last week for a body, but found none, and Chief Ronald Allanach said police now regard rumors of a body in the river as unfounded. “There’s nothing to it,” he said. “We also heard that S.D. Warren had found a body and was keeping it from us. Not true at all. There are no missing people and no bodies.”
The new Gorham Village sewer system is ready to make its debut. Town Manager Donald Gerrish has announced that village property owners will be able to connect to the newly constructed system starting Sept. 1. In an Aug. 15 letter to all Gorham Village property owners, Gerrish outlined the anticipated fees that will be charged to sewer users, and the process they should use to hook up. The user fee will be $60 per quarter for 1,200 cubic feet of volume or less, and $4.76 per hundred cubic feet of water used over that amount. People will get their first bill in October for usage during September. They will then be billed quarterly.
Judy and Ervin Morin, Mitchell Hill Road, Gorham, have returned from a two-week vacation at the family cottage at South Freeport. Also back home in Gorham is the family of Clark and Ellie Neily, North Road, who have returned from a rafting trip in the Greenville area.
Aug. 26, 1998
Jim Smith, executive director of the Westbrook Housing Authority more than 20 years, has been on paid administrative leave since Aug. 15 and is expected to resign. In an unusual announcement Friday, Pauline Holloway, administrative assistant at the authority, said members of the authority will hold a special meeting Aug. 27. Susan Eldridge, acting executive director, said it will be on “finances” and not about Smith.
Shooters Pub, Bridge Street, Westbrook, may have violated the city’s ordinances Thursday night by hosting a male “dance revue,” where male dancers stripped off most of their clothing. City officials must now decide if they should be punished. To host musical events and the like, bars and restaurants need an entertainment license. For dancing, a special entertainment license is needed. Shooters didn’t have one.
Cafe?Net, 2 Westbrook Common (across from CVS), will open Aug. 29. Co-owner Ray Richardson said it will be “a completely unique addition to the area.” It will offer Internet access, gourmet coffee service, pastries from Amato’s Bakery and Haven’s Candies fudge. “It will be a great place for people to gather and enjoy fine coffee while they surf the net,” said Richardson. CafeNet will join four other related businesses in the same building, making up Sands and Richardson Business Enterprises. They are Nothing But Net Internet Services, offering web design and consulting; Full Court Press, a commercial print shop; Sands Business Management, a financial management and accounting firm; and Brass Business Bulletins, direct-mailed business promotional material.
The Westbrook School Committee that voted 5-2 last week not to buy 435 books for the high school library voted 6-1 this week to buy them all. The only whisper of opposition was a quiet no vote by Chairwoman Deborah Frank. No committee members received any calls about the books, but committee member Carleen Cook’s comments appeared to reflect some adverse public reaction. “I don’t think this committee in any way, shape or form wanted to censor your selections,” she told librarian Deborah Locke. “We were questioning process and just wanted to know how you arrived at this process.”
Widespread damage was reported after a severe thunderstorm cut a devastating path through the area earlier this week. Gusts from the storm were recorded as high as 70 mph at the Jetport in Portland. Officials from Gorham and Westbrook say that damage may prove to be worse than from January’s ice storm. “Gorham’s devastated,” said Town Clerk Brenda Caldwell. “The damage was quite extensive,” said CMP’s Gail Rice. About 70 two-person CMP repair crews worked throught Monday night and into Tuesday restoring power. Poles and trees were felled in dozens of locations in the area.
The building housing Rowe Motors used-car facility was located in the 800 block of Main Street, across from the present-day Family Dollar Store and an antique shop. Tydol Gasoline and Veedol Oil were also sold here. The Rowe Motors main facility was located at 611 Main St., in a building that now houses by Mr. Bagel. The used-car building is long gone and the site is now a parking lot adjacent the Bridge Street spur. To see more historical photos and artifacts, visit the Westbrook Historical Society at the Fred C. Wescott Building, 426 Bridge St. Inquiries can be emailed to westhistorical@myfairpoint.net. The website is www.westbrookhistoricalsociety.org.
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