Distracted Driving Awareness Month

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and Westbrook police officers are watching.

“We will be utilizing grant funding to have extra patrols on, dedicated to distracted driving enforcement,” the department posted on Facebook.

There are three types of distracted driving, and texting involves all three. They are visual (taking your eyes off the road), manual (taking your hands off the wheel) and cognitive (taking your mind off driving).

The Maine Department of Transportation reports, “Distracted driving comes in all shapes and sizes. Texting at the wheel is one of the worst offenders, as your vision, attention and hands are all focused elsewhere.”

Khmer New Year celebration

A Khmer New Year 2023 festival and parade is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 15, at Riverbank Park, 677 Main St., in Westbrook. The event is free.

Khmer New Year is a widely celebrated holiday among the Cambodian population and marks the end of the traditional harvest season. In Cambodia, it is a time of rest and leisure for farmers who return to their home communities to celebrate with relatives.

50 Years Ago

The American Journal reported on April 4, 1973, that Paula Murray, a junior at the University of Maine at Farmington, had spent a week’s vacation with her parents on Falmouth Street. She was on the dean’s list for the fall semester.