Westbrook is losing its history.
It’s not crumbling or decaying; it’s being toppled, cracked, kicked over and destroyed – in a word, vandalized.
Once again, vandals have hit Saccarappa Cemetery – one of the city’s oldest and most beautiful cemeteries. The city estimates the damage at $8,000 to $10,000, an amount that wouldn’t even cover all of the repairs. The city is required by law to repair only the graves of veterans. The descendents of those buried there are responsible for paying for damage done to other stones, although in some cases there are no remaining family members to pay for them.
The city and the families who have relatives there have to figure out a way to protect this cemetery. Otherwise, the city will continually be forced to pay out money to repair it. And, if it continues to take a beating, the cemetery, and the history it contains, will eventually be lost to disrepair.
This isn’t the first time the cemetery has been seriously damaged by vandalism. Just last year, vandals toppled 80 stones. It was also vandalized in 1994 and 1972.
Anyone who has visited the cemetery knows why it might be such an attractive target. The trees and bushes that have grown up around the cemetery and have make it a peaceful place for an afternoon walk have also made it a secluded spot where kids can hang out.
As Westbrook police officer Peter Youland put it, “It’s a thrill because you can watch the cops drive by.”
The city has to figure out some way to make it more secure or less secluded. The city could erect a fence around it, similar to the one that surrounds the Eastern Cemetery, one of the oldest cemeteries in Portland. That fence remains locked, and one of the neighboring storeowners keeps a key. It would be a shame to have to cut back some of the growth around the cemetery, but it would be even more of a shame to lose the history it hides.
Old MacWestbrook
The Westbrook City Council was right to put a halt to the citations being handed out to owners of farm animals and other non-traditional pets.
The planning board and city council will now consider the question of whether the city should allow these animals in its most densely populated residential zoning district.
The city should allow people to keep these animals in reasonable numbers and conditions. Both pet owners that were cited recently by the city would meet those criteria. Bob Ledoux has kept eight or nine chickens in his yard for the past 10 years, and Mark Leclair has kept honeybees in his yard for the past nine years.
The chickens and honeybees are no more of a nuisance than a barking dog. As long as they’re safe and sanitary, the city should allow these men to keep their pets. And, so far, no one has offered any evidence to the contrary.
The board and councilors should simply come up with some reasonable guidelines. Obviously, people can’t be allowed to keep 20 or 30 chickens in their apartments on Main Street. However, if homeowners have some land, they should be able to keep a reasonable amount of chickens, rabbits, pigs or horses on it.
E-I-E-I-O
-Brendan Moran, editor
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