March 2, 1983
Woodbury D. Saunders, whose successor as Gorham school
superintendent will be announced, heads off stage at the age of 52 with thoughts of a part-time job in education or a career in real estate sales ahead of him. “Actually,” said the slim, trim, soft-spoken Saunders in an interview, he’s not thinking very much about what he’ll be doing after July 1, because he doesn’t want such thoughts to clutter up his work on his present job. But he has obtained a real estate license.
At the request of the patrolmen’s union, an arbitrator will decide whether Westbrook was justified when it fired Police Patrolman Peter Blanchette because he was accused of shoplifting. Mayor WilliamO’Gara fired Blanchette in a letter written Feb. 17. The union, theAmerican Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,responded last week with a request for arbitration. O’Gara said he will agree to the request. “The union is unsatisfied with your response to Peter Blanchette’s grievance,” it wrote. “We are requesting to go to arbitration. Blanchette had been under suspension with pay
since the day after his arrest at Shaw’s Supermarket at the Pine Tree Shopping Center Jan. 20.
Rivermeadow Golf Course is for sale, for $325,000. Phil Audet, who owns it with his wife, Peggy, said he first offered it to the city of Westbrook at that price, but Mayor William O’Gara showed no interest. It’s now on the open market. The property consists of 70 acres including a half-mile of Presumpscot River shoreline. Audet said a professional appraisal put its value at $425,000.
Sherman “Red” Gray, 58, is seeking a fourth term on the Gorham Town Council. He said, “The main reason I’m running is, I’m disabled and I think everybody, whether they’re retired or disabled or whatever, if they can make contribution to society, they should do it.”
Area police chiefs called District Attorney Paul Aranson into a
private meeting on marijuana Friday and emerged with his promise to enforce the law against it as it has been in the past. Aronson wrote the police chiefs Feb. 15 that “this office would prefer that possession of marijuana cases not be brought” unless there’s a nuisance of public smoking.
March 3, 1993
Superintendent Edward Connolly asked the Westbrook School Committee for $600,000 more in the 1993-94 budget and gave the members a few words about the value of education. “Retraining of workers at Ford Motor Co. increased productivity more than anything else they had done,” he said. He went on to talk about the higher budget. “That’s your problem; you make those decisions. I couldn’t bring you a budget with
no tax increase without telling you to cut programs or cut staff. I can’t do that without you directing me to,” he said. Connolly’s new budget is for $16,377,114. He expects another $627,500 in federal and state grants and $136,666 for adult education from state ($58,00), city ($66,166) and tuition payments ($12,500)
Peter Foye, owner of Foy & Sons flooring business, Westbrook, said he’ll pay $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the fire that destroyed his building at 29 Dana Court, Westbrook, Oct. 18. He said he hasn’t been able to find out what progress the Westbrook police have made in their investigation except “that I am an arson suspect.” He asked that anyone who has information get in touch with police. The massive brick building was originally built for Dana Warp Mills.
Westbrook police notes: A man, 31 driving on Bridge Street at 1 a.m., was warned not to drive with an open bottle in the car. He had two men with him. Police dumped two cans of beer. The Rescue Unit went to Abby Road to treat a 27-year-old man’s broken hand. He was taken to the Cumberland County Jail on a charge of domestic assault. Someone entered a
Pierce Street woman’s house and stole one of her parrots, she reported at 1 a.m. She called back the next day; the bird had gotten out of its cage and was safe in the house. At 8:20 p.m., a caller asked police to tell Lee Dodge that a wallet had been left in a car that was traded that day. A Main Street man said someone is harassing him by putting a bag of infectious medical wastes in front of his door.
You can’t start an “adult” store in Westbrook before June, if you have a mind to. The City Council, saying someone does, slapped on a moratorium Monday. While the city legal staff works up an ordinance to regulate them, it bans such businesses for 90 days.
Gorham Councilor John Emerson, who stepped down from his post this month, declined Town Manager Paul Weston’s offer of a goodbye party. “I feel we should honor departing council and school board members,” he said. Emerson, a councilor for nine years said, “I would prefer none of that, because to me it could be more uncomfortable than comfortable. I’m sure there are department heads that would just as soon shoot me as have a drink with me.”
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