April 25, 1990

Westbrook Mayor Fred Wescott’s veto won out last week, and the developers of Woodbury Estates housing on Mill Brook now will take their plans to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and also back to the city Planning Board. At issue was 11.2 acres of Mill Brook valley land the developers wanted to give the city. They own 30 acres and anything over 20 acres is reviewed by the DEP.

With six years of college education, Bob Cuffori found himself out of work for the third time. Caught in the tech industry downturn, he decided to gamble that a hobby he started with his son, Tony, 10, would begin to pay off. He threw in all his cards –baseball cards, that is – and opened a shop at 776 Main St. in Westbrook. The shop is located in the former waiting room of dentist Dr. Norman Valliere, which is now packed with sports cards and memorabilia, including photos of stars of the past from old magazines.

Gorham Town Planner Will Johnston has submitted his resignation to Town Manager John Marcarelli, effective as soon a replacement is hired and begins work. He was hired in April 1989. “I want to make it clear that it’s a unilateral decision reached after a lot of soul searching,” Johnston said in an interview with the American Journal. “This job has been wonderful, but I arrived in Gorham already with a level of burnout in the planning area.” Johnston previously worked as a planner for four years with the Greater Portland Council of Governments.

Arthur Aleshire, real estate director for Hannaford Bros., said Monday that the plans for the firm’s new Gorham shopping center include an anticipated department store as tenant, along with other satellite stores. Hannaford was to make the plan public for the first time at a Town Council presentation last night.

Westbrook High School students didn’t move into the new science wing when they retuned from April vacation this week as originally planned. According to school Superintendent Edward F. Connolly, the preparations will take 10 days or more longer than anticipated. The science wing is one of four projects under way at the school with a total price of $6.5 million. A new cafeteria and cooking kitchen are also under construction, as is a new foyer in the gym. The fourth phase is a new locker room.

Exciting new twists are in the planning stage for Celebrate Gorham 1990, tying it to the statewide “Maine Street ‘90” community pride promotion. Tentative plans for the doings, to be held July 14, a Saturday, include sports events, a float competition and a flea market a Shaw Junior High School – all newcomers to the annual event, which is sponsored by the Gorham Arts Council.

April 26, 2000

Edward A. Taber III has given a $100,000 trust fund to the Gorham Woman’s Club that will pay for a $4,000 scholarship every year for a Gorham High School girl, in memory of his father, Edward A. Taber Jr., who died Feb. 27, 1999. His grandmother, Margaret Taber, was a 50-year member of the Woman’s Club.

The Friends of Westbrook Rescue will hold a benefit basketball game, retiring former New England Patriots against members of Westbrook Rescue, on May 5. Former Patriots who will play are Roland James, Paul Lewis, Dave Bavaro, Jack Peavey, Steve DeOssie and Derrick Beasley. Proceeds will help buy CPR and training mannequins, automatic blood pressure cuffs and a positive pressure ventilation device for each ambulance.

Westbrook schools have 470 computers for classroom use and should be investing $1.5 million in additional computer equipment over the next three years, a committee reports. Nowhere on the report does the word “laptop” appear. Of the total proposed spending, $18,000 would be for central office equipment, the rest for schools, but $205,000 would be for salaries of teachers and technicians.

Hans Hansen wants to open a farmers market in Gorham on the County Road across from the end of South Street. He will ask the Board of Appeals this week to overrule Code Enforcement Officer Clint Cushman’s ruling that his plans are subject to site review. Hansen thinks they deserve an agricultural exemption. It would be under cover and might operate daily year-round like a collection of roadside stands, each to be rented to others. Hansen also plans to grow produce to be sold at the market.

Kevin McPhee, deputy director of the Westbrook Recreation Department, has secured a new scoreboard for the Foster Street Rec Center gym with the help of John Hagar, Pepsi Cola. Gary Sanborn volunteered the wiring work and his brother Dana helped install it.

Advertisement: Fresh coffee. Fresh bakery items. Fresh paint. Dunkin’ Donuts grand reopening, 24 Bridgton Road, Westbrook, 24 Main St., Westbrook (next to Bradlees).

This shows the back of the Scates Building as it was being demolished in 1978. It was the last to be razed under the Westbrook Urban Renewal Project. There was strong public support to save this building, which once served as Westbrook City Hall, Municipal Court and the urban renewal offices. The location remained a vacant lot for many years and a large pine tree was located there to serve as the Municipal Christmas Tree for several years. CVS eventually purchased the land for a pharmacy and parking lot. 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