September 1982
Height, weight, age and good habits, requirements for new police and firefighters, would be taken out of Westbrook’s ordinances in a proposal taken up by the city council. Instead, the city would pledge no discrimination for sex, age, handicaps, race, etc., in hiring police and firefighters. In the new system, the Public Safety Commission would set hiring rules that would have to be accepted then the council. The change is among several proposed for Westbrook’s Public Safety Commission ordinance. The council’s Public Safety Commission
proposed the changes.
Mayor William B. O’Gara expects to announce his choice for a new Westbrook police chief at the upcoming city council meeting. Deputy Chief Carmine Russo, who has been acting chief since the retirement of Leroy Darling, is believed to be still in the running. According to reliable reports, only two persons were interviewed. A third candidate who was invited for final interviews did not appear.
In the early morning, a burglar or burglars broke into
Knowles Industrial Service Corp. on the New Portland Road in
Gorham, stole gas and allegedly forced the owner’s 7 1/2 year-old donkey out of its pen. The animal was hit by a car and had to be killed.
Dennis Wescott’s resignation from the Westbrook Public Safety Commission has been accepted by the commission but rejected by Mayor William O’Gara. Where that leaves Wescott is somewhat unclear. Ronald P. Doak, chairman of the commission, said Wescott attended the commission meeting interviews with police chief candidates. But Doak said the commission has accepted Wescott’s resignation and has written to O’Gara asking that he appoint a new Ward 5 member to succeed Wescott. Wescott called the American Journal
soon after last week’s edition announcing his resignation went to press, and said that he would ask the mayor to reject his resignation. He said his submission was the result of a misunderstanding and wants to continue as a member.
The Gorham School Committee is looking for “a decisive and
constructive leadership style, which respects tradition while responding to today’s educational challenges” as some of the qualities among applicants for any new superintendent. The committee expects to announce a decision in February.
September 1992
Frank Coyne (using the corporate name “Coyne Operated”) bought a couple million dollars’ worth of property across the street from hisvariety store in Cumberland Mills. He wouldn’t say how much he’s paying. The city of Westbrook values the former Paul (Bucky)Holloway properties for taxes at $2,131,400, although that assessment is being appealed. Holloway lost the properties in bankruptcy. Coyne bought them from Casco Northern Bank. The keystone piece is the big old brick Warren block with its Cumberland Hall, formerly for decades a gathering place of Westbrook society.
Westbrook and Windham officials huddled at Westbrook City Hall to go over specific recommendations for traffic lights, connector roads, paved shoulders and other major improvements to the heavily traveled, 8-mile stretch of Route 302 from East Bridge Street in Westbrook to Foster’s Corner in Windham. The $40,000 study, recently completed by Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. for the Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation Committee, contains suggestions for the first major upgrade to the stretch in over 120 years, and is
designed to improve safety ad handle traffic flows until 2015.
Westbrook police have notified about a dozen families that their homes were targeted for burglary. Chief Ronald Allanach said he couldn’t keep the insider information confidential when giving the warning might save a life. Police learned that a Maine State Prison inmate sent a target list surreptitiously to Westbrook-area friends who have burglary habits. It contains not merely names and addresses, but also details on what
kids of valuables are in the homes and what owners’ habits are. A detective and patrolman visited each of the homes with
advice on how best to protect the home and how to react to any emergency.
Everett Paulsen explained to the curious American Journal that the large water pipes sitting in his field off the Methodist Road, Westbrook belong to the Portland Water District. He said they bought the right of way for a water line in 1954 that extends from Portland all the way to Sebago Lake, though only the section from Portland to Rocky Hill is being built now. From early stages, the plans have included the Rocky Hill reservoir now nearing completion. The reinforced concrete pipe is
made in New Jersey and trucked to Westbrook two pieces at a time on flatbed trucks. The pipe is made to order to fit the landscape. Each piece is numbered. Ends of some are slanted to account for changes in the angle of the line due to the ups and downs of the land. The pipe varies in thickness. Where the flow of water changes direction the pipe is thicker because of the extra wear that part will get over the years. The main will be used to fill the new reservoir by gravity from Sebago Lake, then on to water users in much of the Portland area.
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