Jan. 11, 1989

About 60 Gorham residents showed up at the Planning Board meeting Monday to take their first look at plans for a new Shop ‘n Save at the old raceway property. It was the first chance people had to see the plan for a plaza with almost 200,000 square feet of floor space. The overwhelming concern of residents was the effect on traffic in the Cressey Road and Narragansett Street area.

The state Board of Education is scheduled to vote today to approve the state portion – $1,086,480 – of a proposed $1.8 million package of additions and renovations to the Saccarappa School in Westbrook. And in May, if the Westbrook School Committee and City Council approve, Westbrook voters will be asked to chip in another $800,000 to cover the city’s share. School Superintendent Edward Connolly said Monday he expects to get the state “concept approval” today.

Mayor Philip Spiller showed Westbrook’s Warren parsonage Sunday to Marie Rackley, and he she is seriously considering moving it in three pieces to land off the Methodist Road. He said he believes her plans are workable, and can be the hoped-for way to avoid tearing down the historic house. The City Council voted Monday to set Jan. 23 for a public hearing on the “disposition or demolition” of the parsonage.

The bid by retired Secretary of State and former Gorham resident Rodney Quinn to get the Gorham Town Council to pay into the Maine State Retirement System for his council service was defeated by a 3-3 tie at a Jan. 3 meeting. Quinn hoped to convince councilors to pay $100.56 for one year of his six years on the Gorham Town Council, which would enable him to buy back four years of military service and increase his annual pension by $3,000. Quinn said he would reimburse the town for that sum, as well as pay annual subsequent payments of $3 or $4. Some councilors felt that council service should not be considered employment, similar to full-time paid employees.

Charleyne Gilbert, a Westbrook High School business teacher for the past 10 years, was selected as the 1988-89 Maine Business Educator of the Year. The award was granted at the annual convention of the Business Education Association of Maine.

Gorham Fire Chief Robert Lefebvre said Monday that an electrical short circuit in the ceiling of a second-story apartment caused the three-alarm fire at 48 Main St. Friday that left 14 people homeless. No one was injured in the blaze, but Lefebvre estimated damage at $150,000 or more.

Jan. 13, 1999

A draft of a proposed new policy detailing when Westbrook will sell property it holds a tax lien against was presented to the City Council’s Finance Committee Monday, and a further draft by administrative assistant Jim Bennett will likely be presented to the council for enactment. Matured tax liens give the city a clear title and the right to sell and keep all the proceeds, Bennett said. The city is scheduled to foreclose Jan. 14 on 85 pieces of property owning a total of $71,000 for unpaid 1997 taxes, plus interest.

Assistant School Superintendent Michael Kane presented to the Westbrook City Council’s Committee of the Whole Monday the case for expanding Canal School. The plans go before the state Board of Education today to see if it will agree to state funding for a share of the $2.68 million project. The school department will go to the state with the council committee’s blessing, given in a 4-2 vote. The Canal School Building Committee and architect Stephen Blatt had first proposed at $3.26 million expansion of the grade 3-5 school, with a separate Grade 3 wing, but the committee felt that this would be too great a burden on the taxpayers.

A test boring to see how long to make pilings to support the new Westbrook vocational school went down 95 feet in pure marine clay without hitting bedrock. At that point, drilling was stopped and plans for piling shelved. The school will instead be built with a broad spread footing, Assistant Superintendent of Schools Michael Kane told the City Council’s Committee of the Whole.

The extension of public water to Brackett and Black Brook roads has gained another step forward as the Gorham Town Council voted Jan. 5 to move the proposal to its Capital Improvements Committee for further reviews.

Gorham may require new developments to set aside recreational land or else pay a fee, the Town Council decided this week. The proposed fee of $500 generated a number of complaints at a public hearing. Opponents stressed the unfairness of the fees, seeing them as impact fees that will hinder development. Putting the recreational needs of the rest of the town on the shoulders of new development is wrong, Susan Duchaine, a Gorham real estate developer, told the council. “If the town has a problem with recreation, then it is time to look at its funding,” she said.

The Annie Louise Carey Club will meet Jan. 21 in the home of Barbara Farrar, assisted by Cindy Smith, Pearl Douglas and Patricia Ahlquist. Jane Beever and Lynn Silcox will perform the hymn, “Come, Sing with Joy to God.”

For years Raymond Rowe operated his garage, machine shop and Ford dealership out of this building at 609 Main St. Rowe also sold Tydol Gasoline from curbside pumps located on Main Street. In later years, the building was occupied by E. G. Olesen Saw Technology. E. G. Olesen relocated and the building was vacant before being purchased by Steve Corey, who extensively renovated the building. Mr. Bagel presently occupies the front of the building with Corey Electric Co. in the rear. 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.