November 1981
Fat City! Westbrook took in $3,516,453.16 as of Monday, Nov. 2, the last day for payment of real estate taxes without penalty.
Bill Says No No, Council Goes along. Mayor William B. O’Gara vetoes a Westbrook zone change that would allow a downtown high-rise for apartments for the elderly. Four aldermen (Louis P. Blanchette, Norman Conley, Beverly Morin and Charles Roma) voted to override the veto, but it takes five.
North Windham Booms. The Postal Service plans a new post office with more room and more boxes.
Taking Our Pulse. John Ryan, Gorham, is one of 12,000 employees of the A. C. Nielsen Co., which measures buying habits. It is known for its rating of TV programs.
Cat is Film Fan. A tiger cat turned up in the seating area at the Cinema, Westbrook. Animal Control Officer Gagne showed it the door.
Too Flat to Flow. At Webster Avenue and Colonial Road, Westbrook, water won’t drain away. The city is laying a pipe across land of Mr. and Mrs. John F. Flaherty, Webster Avenue, to fix the problem.
Fire Trucks Get Fast Fix. Westbrook has a rule that expenses over $1,000 need city council OK. But when it’s fixing a fire engine – that rule is out. Twice recently, the fixing came first.
Maine Savings Bank is giving $500 in groceries to introduce its new office at Pine Tree Shopping Center.
Raised Money, Won bike. Tim Towle, 61 New Gorham Road, Westbrook, won a bicycle for raising the most money for St. Jude’s. Research Hospital in a contest sponsored by the Papermakers’ union at S. D. Warren.
Father and Son in Oil. Donald Metivier, 61 Bernadette St., Westbrook, who has been in the heating and plumbing business since World War II, and his son Stephen T., age 20, have opened a heating oil business.
Stones Sell Fast. It took only a few hours to sell out at the Sears Roebuck Ticketron the available tickets ($15) for next week’s Rolling Stones concert in Hartford, Conn.
The new Dramatics Club at Gorham High School plans shows throughout the school year, in addition to the annual spring musical.
Get Your Nickels Back. The Portland Redemption Center at Nason’s Corner advertises “No minimum or maximum” on returnable bottles and cans under Maine’s still-new anti-littering program.
Odyssey Family Amusement Center is Windham’s new pinball-video business.
Muscle-building Machine. Lions Club, Rotary Club and student fundraisers have bought a $3,400 weight machine for conditioning Scarborough High School athletes.
November 1991
Dark Clouds in Warren Sky. Westbrook employees of Scott Paper Co. were called to the Portland Exposition building to hear that Scott plans a gradual shrinking of its S. D. Warren operating.
Auditors See Holes. For the third year, Windham’s accountants report needing facts on equipment, vehicles, property and budget itself.
An editorial calls for a vote against widening the Maine Turnpike, in Tuesday’s state referendum. Among reasons given is a national need for more mass transit.
Bad Call. A man told Westbrook Police that he answered a ringing pay telephone and heard a young man say, “Is she dead yet?”
Hush Hush. Nobody would say what they would, or did, talk about before and after a closed-door meeting of the Westbrook City Council and Mayor Fred Wescott with City Solicitor Michael Cooper, city staff lawyer Richard Sullivan, and insurance agents Wayne Pratt and Alexander Pratt.
With bow and arrow, Nick Dimastrantonio of Scarborough brought down a 10-point, 208-pound buck in West Scarborough woods, his first success in seven seasons of trying. It’s one of this year’s Biggest Bucks, and may be an all-time record for bow hunting.
TIF for Town Hall. Maine law now forbids using Tax Increment Financing District funds for municipal buildings, but Scarborough will use them because it set up this TIF before the law was changed.
New Eagles in Gorham. Peter Lord and Joshua Taton are new Eagle Scouts in Gorham’s Boy Scout Troop 817.
Saying Farewell to Highland Lake. After 44 years of coming to Highland Lake from Florida each summer, Monica Patenaude is selling her cottage, writes Pat McDermott.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
