City: Messrs. Elowitch, Tear Down Those Walls

PPH:

Westbrook received a $125,000 Community Development Block Grant last week to
help pay for demolishing the blighted 27,000-square-foot building, which has
been used for storage since Maine Rubber moved out in the late 1990s. The
building's owners, brothers David and Jim Elowitch, are meeting with city
officials next week to discuss what to do with the property, which is bordered
by Main Street, Saco Street and William Clarke Drive. The city will only use the
grant money if the Elowitches cover the rest of the cost of the
demolition--roughly another $50,000.

- John C.L. Morgan

Owner of Pizza Time Looks to Expand Charitable Giving

AJ:

Called "Piece of the Pie," the program happens at [owner Steve] Orr’s shop on
the last Thursday of the month, which this month will be April 28. The shop will
donate 10 percent of all pizzas sold on the last Thursday of the month to a
specific charity. "We want it to get to the point where people are looking for
it every month," he said.

- John C.L. Morgan

Mass. Man Wanted in Stabbing Death

PPH:

Police are seeking a Massachusetts man in connection with a fatal stabbing
Thursday night that may have been drug-related. Police identified Tareek S.
Hendricks, 30, of Worcester, Mass., from photographs found on a cellphone that
he left behind when he fled 73 Central St. after the stabbing, said Maine State
Police Lt. Brian McDonough. The state Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Friday
afternoon that Robert Stubbs, 40, died of multiple stab wounds he sustained at
his home about 10:30 p.m. Thursday, McDonough said.

- John C.L. Morgan

'Half-Pint' Scouts Clean Riverbank Park

WCSH:

The Westbrook Daisy Troop #574 descended on Riverbank Park Friday in full force.
Their mission: to clean it up all in the name of Earth Day. Daisy scouts are
pre-Brownies... which are pre-Girl Scouts. But don't let their half-pint
appearance fool you. When it comes to Earth Day, these girls are smart cookies.

- John C.L. Morgan

Westbrook Parents Participate in International Diaper Changing Challenge

WLBZ:

The Great Cloth Diaper Change happened in Westbrook, Camden, Bangor, and four
hundred other locations in twenty- three different countries. The goal is to set
a Guiness World Record for the most babies changed into cloth diapers at the
same time. Cloth diaper advocates hope the event raises awareness about the
benefits of cloth diapers.

- John C.L. Morgan

WPAC to Host Earth Day Showing of 'Earth'

The Westbrook Performing Arts Center (WPAC) will be hosting a screening of Earth (see above) this Friday, April 22 to commemorate Earth Day.

The screening begins at 6:30p, and a discussion on what can be done to make Westbrook a more environmentally-conscious city will follow. Admission is free, though donations are welcome.

- John C.L. Morgan

Federal Funds to Save Some School Jobs

PPH:

The Westbrook School Department learned this week it will receive nearly
$600,000 in federal stimulus money, allowing the department to save 17 jobs that
had been targeted for elimination. Interim Superintendent Marc Gousse
recommended using the money to retain positions including four elementary school
teachers, four middle school teachers and a math and science teacher at the high
school. There are still 47 full- and part-time school employees who stand to
lose their jobs, Gousse said Thursday.

- John C.L. Morgan

The Full Circuit Clouters Return

After a one-year break, the guys at The Full Circuit Clout have returned to their typewriters to document the 2011 edition of the Boston Red Sox. Even better than their clever writing is their ability to almost always unearth a perfectly apropos vintage image (see: April 3, 2011).

- John C.L. Morgan

Westbrook Printing Press Driving Force for Maine Poetry

PPH:

Alice Persons tied a pretty purple bow around the book of poetry and dropped it
in the mail. She assumed the chapbook would end up among a stack of others that
Garrison Keillor receives and never reads. Lo and behold, not only did Keillor
pay attention to the book, he read one of the poems as part of his syndicated
radio and online program, "The Writers Almanac." Ever since, Keillor has
returned again and again to the poems published by Persons and her tiny
Westbrook-based Moon Pie Press. In recent years, he's read 24 poems published by
Moon Pie on his radio show, and included four Moon Pie poems in his third
published anthology, "Good Poems, American Places," which came out last week.

- John C.L. Morgan

Westbrook Baseball 'Team to Watch'

PPH:

The Blue Blazes have seven returning starters from a team that was Western Class
A runner-up. The team is led by last season's Telegram League MVP, Scott Heath,
a pitcher-outfielder, and all-league second baseman Zach Collett. If Sean
Murphy's right shoulder is healthy, the team will have a very deep pitching
staff. Murphy and Matt Weimer, both right-handers, are capable of beating any
team. Murphy also was the second-team DH on the league's all-star team.

The team also has three players to watch, not to mention the focus of the PPH's pre-season feature, the twin brothers Jake and Zach Gardiner.

- John C.L. Morgan