Nov. 29, 1995

The City Council voted Monday to change 35 Westbrook street names and renumber some of them and others. However, final action won’t come until a special meeting next month. Aldermen agreed to send notice of name changes to those affected. They didn’t want a final vote until citizens have a chance to state their views.

It’s time to talk traffic again in Gorham, with a public hearing on the results of a recent traffic study scheduled for Dec. 5. John Murphy, a consultant for Eaton Engineering, will give a summary of the study and the Town Council will then hold the hearing for comments. The Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation Study funded the study of traffic conditions in the village and areas surrounding the high school and Shaw Middle School.

He thought at first that they were wolves, but Alderman Don Richards now believes the five were coyote-dogs he saw early Thanksgiving morning running in a pack near the S-curves on Westbrook Arterial. He thinks they are a threat to small children and wants game wardens to remove them.

Marc Herrick, a Gorham High School senior and son of Bonnie Hawkes, has received a Steve Lebreque Memorial Award, three of which are given each year to Western Maine high school soccer players for skill, sportsmanship, leadership and positive attitude. Marc has been co-captain three years and was named MVP this year. He hopes to pursue a career in architecture.

Nov. 30, 2005

With a blanket of snow on the ground, a large gathering of children and adults braved freezing weather at the Gorham Municipal Center Sunday to watch the Christmas tree lighting, sing carols and visit with Santa. Many children had their requests for Santa ready. Jillian Nichols, 3, was there with her dad, Curt Nichols. “I want a doll,” she said, with her dad adding, “and a baby brother or sister.”

Westbrook has rejected a request by a new company for $200,000 from the city’s revolving loan fund to open a plant that would fill the void left last year by the closure of the Sanmina plant. City Administrator Jerre Bryant said administration felt the company, NPL Systems Inc., did not have enough start-up money to successfully get off the ground. Like Sanmina, NPL was going to manufacture enclosures for electronic components.

More than 40 decorated trees will be on display during the fifth annual Festival of Trees, Dec. 1-12 at Westbrook-Warren Congregational Church, Main Street. The festival, which is free except for meals, has raised more than $20,000 in donations in the past four years to give back to the community through local organizations and charities. This year’s festival will benefit Westbrook Together Days 2006, the Westbrook Food Pantry, Mission Possible Teen Center and Healthy Families Partnership/Youth Alternatives. The festival features entertainment almost every evening.

Haven’s Candies of Westbrook will be featured in a segment of NBC’s “Today Show,” Friday morning. Andy Charles, Haven’s president, said he put correspondent Jeff Yeager to work making candy canes. The crew was joined by a number of children who were at the factory that day last week. Charles said Yeager does segments for the show spotlighting activities that families can do for free or close to it.

Jason Brown ran track and cross country until he graduated from Gorham High School in 2001. Now, nearing his graduation from Villanova, Brown, 22, is applying to the Augustinian order to become a priest, where he hopes to match his spiritual side with his desire to be of service to the people around him. He credits growing up in Gorham with making him who he is. “It’s a very supportive community. Everyone knows you and they care about you,” he said.