May 31, 1995

Westbrook School Superintendent Edward F. Connolly has been on medical leave since January and is expected to continue so until his retirement is official on July 22. His place has been taken by Assistant Superintendent Robert Hall, who has been named interim superintendent for the 1995-96 school year. Hall said Connolly had inner ear surgery and hasn’t been able to fully recover and return to work.

Westbrook’s 16th annual Together Days are coming Friday and Saturday, June 2-3, at Riverbank Park. Superintendent Edward F. Connolly is grand marshal of the parade that kicks off the festivities. The event features more than a dozen food booths, plus arts and crafts booths, musical entertainment, an auction and a bean supper.

The Gorham Ecumenical Commission is organizing a summer clothing drive for children of Haiti, ages 6-13. Haitian girls do not wear shorts or slacks, so they are asking for skirts, tops and sundresses, and shorts and tops for boys. All the children need underwear, socks and footwear.

The Westbrook High School Marching Band needs to raise $120,000 by October to send 130 students to the Citrus Bowl Parade in Orlando, Florida, during Christmas-New Year’s week. A number of fundraising events, including a yard sale, bottle drive and raffle, are scheduled.

The rising problem of drug use by students at Gorham High School has prompted Principal Steve Rogers to declare “war on drugs” for the next school year. This comes as a Shaw Junior High School student was recently suspended for the rest of the school year after being caught dealing marijuana on school grounds. A survey of the senior class showed that over half admitted trying marijuana at least once and many admitted to trying it more. Rogers has taken his preliminary “war on drugs” idea to his staff, but said that it still needs further planning.

June 1, 2005

Long-delayed plans to construct a business park off Saco Street have gained new life, as Westbrook has reached an agreement with the Boivin family to buy their 40-acre parcel for $550,000. The deal still has to be approved by City Council. The Boivin family has been attempting to develop the land into the Westbrook Heights Business Park for the past three years. Because of high development costs, the family shelved the project and offered to sell to the city.

Cora Fernald and Jeanette Daly of Westbrook are great-grandparents of Barker Alec Maski, who was born May 18 in Sacramento, California. Former Westbrook residents Edward and Susan Fernald of New Hampshire are grandparents, as are John and Barbara Barker of Virginia.

Westbrook High School’s top 12 students in the class of 2005 have been announced, as well as their future plans. They are: Karla Schultz, valedictorian, Reed College; Marcus Ziemann, salutatorian, Bowdoin College; Tyler Johnson, honor essayist, Tufts University; Andrew Cutter, Stonehill College; Christopher Dahms, Wheaton College; Gretchen Carroll, University of Hartford; Nathaniel Foster, Aldephi University; Marcia Wescott, Daniel Webster College; Michelle Testa, Massachusetts College of Art; Katelyn Chapman, University of Tampa; Michelle Olney, Brandeis University; Kara Taliento, University of Connecticut.

Gorham and Windham will celebrate the opening of a new pedestrian bridge over the Presumpscot River at Gambo on June 4. Cindy Hazelton, Gorham recreation direction, said the bridge built by the Maine Department of Transportation completes the Presumpscot River loop trail section of the Mountain Division Trail. The original Gambo Bridge, built 85 years ago, has been closed to traffic since 1990.

The 26th annual Together Days kicks off in Westbrook with a chicken barbecue and music in Riverbank Park Friday night. Most of the festivities are on Saturday at the park. The American Journal will take to the main stage at 1 p.m. to pay tribute to its former editor and publisher, Harry Foote. This is the 40th anniversary of the year Foote purchased two weekly papers and merged them into the American Journal.