July 26, 1995

An unnamed tipster who was stopped at Church and Main streets in Westbrook saw three men running from behind Peoples Heritage Bank after it was robbed of $16,430 on July 17. Then, on Bridge Street, the tipster saw the same three running into the park at Saccarappa Falls. He saw two of them toss a bag into the river and get into the water themselves. A third man was seen running down Brown Street toward North Street. On Sunday, two suspects were arrested and a third suspect was arrested yesterday.

The Route 25 Gorham bypass issue is coming around again this year, with officials saying a proposed commuter train from Portland to Standish could be one alternative to the expensive project. The state is negotiating to purchase the Mountain Division rail line from Portland to Fryeburg.

Matt Randall, 22, of Westbrook, is going to New Zealand to learn some techniques from its dairy farmers. Randall has just graduated from the University of Vermont’s College of Agriculture with a double major in animal science and dairy food science. He is in the latest generation of a family that has been farming on Stroudwater Street since 1915. He is a grandson of Llewelyn Randall, who turned from dairy cattle to beef cattle years ago largely because of the confining life of a dairy farmer.

Gorham residents are busy hosting summer visitors. Donald and Robin Mercier are enjoying a summer-long visit from her godson, Andrew Jordan. Royce and Sal O’Donal are entertaining three grandchildren from Columbia, South Carolina, and their mom, Susan Sweeney, has also arrived for a visit. James and Cynthia Verrill entertained his parents, Tom and Dot Verrill, of Zephyrhills, Florida, who were in the area for three weeks.

July 27, 2005

The EastPointe Christian Church, which now holds services at the Marriott in South Portland, is planning to build a community center on 34 acres in Buxton. The church envisions a campus with soccer fields, basketball courts and a gym on its land at 502 Portland Road, at the intersection of Route 22. The church uses the existing farmhouse on the property as an office and hopes to build within three years. “We want to do something to contribute to the community,” the Rev. Scott Taube said.

Walker Memorial Library in Westbrook will be the only library in Maine able to boast of a copy of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” signed by the author, J.K. Rowling. Children’s librarian Pat Larrabee said the library was told last week that it had won the coveted book through a contest by Scholastic, the American publisher of the “Harry Potter” series. The book, which will be arriving soon, will be kept in a special display case.

Westbrook officials are holding up the sale of the former police station to the Children’s Theatre of Maine because the owners failed to fulfill a contract obligating them to convert it into a commercial property. Paul Gore and Joe Mazzone bought the building from the city last year for $450,000, saying they’d move their Port City Graphics business there and also operate a small business incubator. Gore said he thought the sale to Children’s Theatre would be good for the city.

Chris Sanborn, a 16-year veteran police officer, was sworn in Monday as the Gorham Police Department’s new lieutenant. Sanborn, 36, will serve as second in command to Chief Ron Shepard.

Dana Redmond is the new executive director of the Gorham Business and Civic Exchange, replacing Virginia Wilder Cross, director of the past five years. Redmond, her husband Bill and daughter Mary, live in Gorham.