Aug. 24, 1994

It’s the only one of its kind in the state of Maine. It serves the fastest-growing sport in the United States. It’s Westbrook’s new floodlighted, four-season hockey and skating rink on Lincoln Street, a $35,000 gift from the Cornelia Warren Association. The association president, William Currier, told the friendly group that gathered for its dedication that the association “hopes the city will properly maintain and staff it so that it can be utilized to the fullest.” It will be used outside of the freezing season for the popular sport of roller-blade skating and hockey.

Westbrook Community Hospital is asking for the community’s help in raising the money it needs to fund a $1.3 million planned expansion. Administrator Joel Rogers says $300,000 has been raised so far. More than $120,000 has come from hospital employees, its board and its medical staff. The rest has come from businesses and community members, including $25,000 from S.D. Warren. The structural steel for the expansion has been ordered, said Rogers, but $650,000 has to be raised in order for construction to start.

The Westbrook Eagles Club is making major renovations in its building at 96 Bridge St. Renovations include a complete facelift to the main room (which has put a temporary halt to most functions), central heating and air conditioning, new heat sensors, an emergency lighting system, exit signs and carpeting. The main goal of the project is to make the building more attractive for fundraising activities.

Starting on Sept. 6, North Gorham Pond will start shrinking, and by Sept. 12, the 128-acre pond will be reduced to a mere rivulet. Central Maine Power will undertake a $50,000 dam repair project that requires the pond to be drained 18 feet. That will allow workers to replace and repair parts of the dam’s head gate, a major part of the dam. The work is expected to be done by early October and refilling the pond will probably start around Oct. 7.

Richard Casey Sr., Mosher Road, Gorham, was given a retirement party July 23 by his wife, Rita, and family at their home. He recently retired after 42 years with Weyerhaeuser Corp., Westbrook. It was a pool party with buffet, games, horseshoe tournament and disc jockey. He received cards, gifts, money and a special gift – a trip in September with his wife to Las Vegas, with limo service to Logan Airport.

Aug. 25, 2004

Julie Berry, 23, of Gorham, will compete in the ninth edition of “Survivor,” the CBS television reality show. Berry is a member of the Gorham High School class of 1999. She played softball and soccer and participated in any sport she could, including neighborhood games of ice hockey with local boys. She graduated from Eastern Carolina University with a degree in family and community development.

By day, Paul Boudreau directs the Westbrook Public Services department. In his off hours, he dons a big red nose, floppy shoes and a tear and becomes a clown called “Dusty.” Boudreau has been clowning since 1990, when he became a member of the Kora Shrine Temple in Lewiston. He and other Shriner clowns visit hospitals several times each year to entertain the young patients and their families. Boudreau designed his own makeup for his character and always applies it himself. “My job is very serious, it comes with a lot of responsibilities,” he said. “Clowning is something I can do and there’s a lot of fun in it. It’s rewarding, as well.”

Despite a massacre on Aug. 13 that claimed the lives of at least 163 ethnic Tutsis in a refugee camp in Burundi, a Westbrook man is still in Central Africa in an effort to bring peace to a region on the brink of war. The Rev. Mutima Peter, who is from the same band of Tutsis who were slaughtered, toured the refugee camp the day after the killings, which sparked anger in Central Africa and could lead to war. Peter’s friends and family in Maine now fear for his safety. But he told them he plans to stay and continue trying to bring peace to the troubled region.

Westbrook’s Al Hawkes will be featured with Sean Mencher and his Swing Combo in performances Aug. 28 during the 66th National Folk Festival, being held in Bangor this year. Hawkes will be featured with his acoustic mandolin singing and playing some of his most requested numbers such as “Rocky Road Blues” and “Nine Pound Hammer,” in addition to his new CD, “Keep on Smiling.”

Two Gorham High School graduates have been appointed to student leadership posts at Springfield College. Jennifer Durgin, a movement and sports studies major, has been named a resident assistant, and will be responsible for helping to create and keep a safe and positive environment in the Senior Suite dormitory. Meghann Foley is a student leader for the new student orientation that runs Sept. 3-6. Foley is a sports biology major.

On Aug. 13, James Frank Waters received his Westbrook High School diploma, 53 years after the rest of his graduating class. Waters, 71, left school at 17 after finishing his junior year in 1950 to join the Navy to fight in the Korean War. He was eligible for a diploma due to a Maine law that allows high schools to award them to students who left school to fight in World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Waters said he earned his GED in the military, but was extremely happy to finally get his diploma. Waters retired from the Navy in September 1969, then returned to Westbrook, where he worked for the paper mill for 25 years before retiring.