April 4, 1990

There are no Maine Shop ‘n Save supermarkets as modern or as large as the one Hannaford Brothers plans for its Gorham Raceway land, Art Aleshire, the company’s director of real estate, said last week. The new story on the drawing boards would cover 63,000 square feet of space, more than double the present Gorham Shop ‘n Save’s 29,010-square-feet area. Hannaford representatives will meet with the Gorham Town Council about the plans in an informal workshop April 24. The former racetrack site on Narragansett Street at Cressey Road totals 75 acres of relatively flat land.

Susan Cummings-Lawrence, an employee of the Maine Bureau of Health, gave condoms to 36 Shaw Junior High School eighth-graders March 21. Gorham school authorities say they got eight calls of protest from parents and Shaw Principal Dick Klain has sent a letter of apology to the parents of all 120 students in the eighth grade. Superintendent Constance Goldman has written in protest to the agency that brought Cummings-Lawrence, the Cumberland County Child Abuse and Neglect Council.

Most of the money Joe Fluett left to Westbrook’s Walker Memorial Library is in municipal bonds – $591,555 worth of them at last accounting. The City Council gave first-reading approval Monday to set up the Gerald C. Fluett Trust Fund Account to receive his money when the estate is settled soon. It expects about $881,073.

Westbrook’s licensing rules should put higher fees on transient sellers, some businessmen complained Monday. The City Council agreed to listen to them in committee. Martin Pizzo, proprietor of Marty’s Variety, listed a number of businesses that sell foods in Westbrook factories as examples of those who make money in Westbrook but pay no more for their licenses than those who pay property taxes, too.

Arthur and Carol Quint, Stroudwater Place, Westbrook, recently returned from a two-week vacation in Arizona. They spent several days in Tucson, visiting the Pima Air Museum and the Arizona-Sonoma Desert Museum. They had supper at a ranch restaurant where 800 people were served buffet style in 30 minutes, and the famous Sons of the Pioneers performed. Arthur retired last August after 33 years of government service, 23 with the U.S. Postal Service in Westbrook.

The Westbook High School language department has continued its exchange program this year. From Feb. 6-24, 15 students from Vernon, France, were hosted by families of Westbrook High School students. The Vernon students attended classes with their host students and became temporary “family members.” The other half of the exchange program consists of a three-week stay by WHS students with host families in Vernon. The group leaves March 28, returning April 18.

April 5, 2000

The Hamlet Tenants Association and Hamlet mobile home park owner Richard Kellam have reached a settlement, reportedly a long-term agreement to keep mobile home land rents at a set level, with some sweetener (maybe $60,000 a year) stirred into the pot by the city. Westbrook will take over rubbish collection, as well as street lighting, and will agree to take ownership of the sewer line in Saco Street, originally build by the park and never accepted by the city. What the rent agreement will be, and how long it is for, wasn’t announced.

Westbrook voters will be asked in the June primary if they approve issuing bonds of up to $8.3 million to build a new combined fire, police and rescue headquarters, the City Council decided Monday. The matter was discussed at a finance committee meeting that night, then added to the council agenda. Any result will be nonbinding.

“The Fire Service Leaders of Tomorrow in Action Today” – that is the motto of Explorer Post 50, which meets a Westbrook’s central fire station and is led by David Hopkins, executive adviser. Hopkins is a lieutenant in the Westbrook Fire Department and he has ambitious plans for the group. They would like more young adults to sign up, ages 14-18, male and female. The group has 10 members and would like to double in size. Members don’t actually go inside burning buildings but they learn all about the fire and emergency medical services and get to help out at fire scenes.

The Gorham Community Ballet Company will hold a performance April 8 in South Portland High School to benefit the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital. The group will perform again April 15 at Gorham High School. The Gorham Ballet Company has 40 dancers ages 3-adult. “The children aren’t charged for anything,” said Dottie Melanson, a parent and volunteer.

Area residents are invited to visit the new Westbrook Regional Vocational Center, next to Westbrook High School at 125 Stroudwater St., at an open house Sunday, April 9. Visitors can tour the shops and classrooms, see the new equipment and learn about the variety of programs offered at the school. Mayor Don Esty and School Committee Chairwoman Carleen Cook will speak, followed by a ribbon cutting at 1:30 p.m.

If you think you’d be interested in seeing a calf born, you have an invitation from Llewlyn Randall, 591 Stroudwater St. in Westbrook. About 100 of his Herefords will be giving birth in his field beside the street this month. He asks that people stay out of the fenced field. For one reason, two bulls are also in the field. You’re welcome to bring your camera and park alongside the street.

A night photo of the Esso Service Station, once located on Main Street at Stroudwater Street. Cumberland Farms now occupies this site. To see more historical photos and artifacts, visit the Westbrook Historical Society at the Fred C. Wescott Building, 426 Bridge St. It is open Tuesdays and Saturdays, 9 a.m.-noon, and the first Wednesday of each month at 1:30 p.m., September-June. Inquiries can be emailed to westhistorical@myfairpoint.net. The website is www.westbrookhistoricalsociety.org. Photo and research courtesy of Mike Sanphy