Westbrook Musicians Putting Old Rivalries Aside to Play Show

PPH:

It started with The Beatles' 1964 appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Tom
Dyhrberg, who was a preteen in Westbrook at the time, remembers watching the
performance on television. "The music was great. The hall was full of screaming
girls. I looked at the screen and said, 'I want to do that,'" Dyhrberg said.
Soon, rock bands started cropping up at high schools around Greater Portland,
and Westbrook seemed to be the epicenter of it all. With a strong music program
in the school district, the city was "a hotbed" of talent, said Tony Boffa, a
locally renowned musician who grew up in Portland around the same time. Members
of three former Westbrook High School cover bands, who once competed for gigs,
are putting their old rivalries aside. On Saturday, they will play hits from the
1960s and early '70s at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland.

- John C.L. Morgan

Wall Street Journal Looks to Local Chef for Franco Picnic

WSJ:

Enjoy a French-style picnic avec Creton (traditional French-Canadian pork
spread) from James Tranchemontagne of The Frog and Turtle in Westbrook, Me.

- John C.L. Morgan

Pike Begins Blasting Amid Letters of Protest

PPH:

Pike Industries set off its first blast Thursday for the construction of an
access road at its Spring Street quarry, despite a last-minute demand from
neighboring businesses that the city halt the activity. A letter from Artel Inc.
was hand-delivered Thursday morning to Westbrook Code Enforcement Officer Rick
Gouzie asking him not to allow the scheduled blasting to proceed. Smiling Hill
Farm and television stations WPXT/WPME also sent letters to Gouzie opposing the
blasting.

- John C.L. Morgan

Council Gives Final Approval to Budgets

AJ:

The municipal expense budget is now finalized at $24,292,628, an increase of
$19,675 over the 2010-2011 budget. To make up for revenue losses, the city will
have to raise a total of $477,106 more from taxpayers next year. That translates
into a 26-cent increase in the tax rate for 2012, or a $49.01 annual increase on
a $190,000 home, according to Chief Financial Officer Dawn Ouellette. The
council’s vote also approves the school budget, which now goes to a public
referendum on June 7. If approved by voters, the 2011-2012 budget will be
$30,855,304, which is about $2.4 million smaller than the current 2010-2011
budget. If approved by voters, 42 positions will be lost throughout the
district, including teachers, staff, and administration personnel.

- John C.L. Morgan

Plans Afoot to Reopen Daycare

PPH:

A new plan has emerged for reopening a day-care facility in Westbrook that
closed abruptly in February, leaving parents scrambling to find child care. Less
than a day after Lollipop Lane Educare shut down Feb. 11, the state issued a
temporary license to Norma Wolf, the parent of a boy at the center. Wolf wanted
to reopen the facility immediately, but said Wednesday that the plan "didn't
move forward." She declined to comment further. Now Mindy Brigham, a single
mother with a background in education, has applied to the state for a license to
operate a child care center at 18 Patrick Drive in one of the two buildings
previously occupied by Lollipop Lane.

- John C.L. Morgan

City Extends Trespass Order Against Former Finance Chief

PPH:

The city's former finance director has been banned from City Hall for another
year. Westbrook police served Susan Rossignol with a trespass notice Saturday at
the request of Mayor Colleen Hilton and City Administrator Jerre Bryant, said
police Capt. Tom Roth. Rossignol, who was Westbrook's finance director for 32
years, was served a one-year trespass notice in March 2010, two months after
Hilton announced at her inauguration that she was not reappointing Rossignol.

- John C.L. Morgan

Walker Memorial Library Participating in 'Food Not Fines Week'

Beginning today and ending Saturday, May 14, the Walker Memorial Library is participating in the "Food Not Fines Week" initiative organized by the Maine State Library. As a result, library patrons can have their late fees wiped clean this week, as long as they return an overdue item and donate a non-perishable food item to the library.

The donated food will be re-distributed to the Westbrook Food Pantry.

- John C.L. Morgan

City Approves Pike's Plans

PPH:

Pike Industries' plan to build an access road and buffers at its quarry in
Westbrook, as ordered by a judge in November, was approved by the city Thursday.
When it finishes the construction, Pike will be able to resume blasting rock at
its quarry off Spring Street. Work at the quarry has been on hold as Pike's
neighbors, including Idexx Laboratories, have challenged the company's right to
blast rock there. After years of debate before local boards and in court, a
Maine Business Court justice in November approved a consent agreement among
Pike, Idexx and the city that allows Pike to blast with certain conditions,
including the new access road and buffers.

- John C.L. Morgan

Public Safety Overtime Costs Aggravate Councilors

AJ:

Tempers ran high at the city’s Finance Committee meeting on April 25, as the
committee, made up of city councilors, voted to slash overtime for fire and
police officers by 10 percent. The move came after some councilors grilled
Pardue, over a total overtime budget of about $350,000. "I’ve been here for 12
years, and I’ve been hammering on this issue," said Councilor John O’Hara,
jabbing his forefinger at Pardue for emphasis. "The hemorrhaging is just
incredible."

- John C.L. Morgan

Pulse Hosts 7th Annual WMPG Fashion Show

The Spring Street dance studio hosted the event last Saturday (April 30).

- John C.L. Morgan

WHS Alums Stars for Keene State Lacrosse

PPH:

From the moment Lauren Sawyer first picked up a
lacrosse stick, she knew she found her athletic calling. "I just felt
comfortable from the minute I tried it," she said, of her freshman year at
Westbrook High. Eight years later, it's obvious that Sawyer was meant to play
lacrosse. A senior at Keene (N.H.) State, she will lead the second-ranked Owls
into the Little East Conference semifinals today against the University of
Southern Maine. Sawyer is the school's all-time leading scorer, with 102 goals
and a record 193 assists, giving her a total of 295 points.

- John C.L. Morgan

City Council Gives Initial Approval to Budgets

PPH:

The Westbrook City Council gave initial approval Monday to the operating budgets
of the city and the school department, totaling $55.1 million. Next Monday, the
council will hold a public hearing and a final vote on the budgets. Together,
the 2011-12 budgets would raise property taxes by 4.2 percent, which is the same
as 70 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value or $132 for the owner of
$190,000 home. Residents will vote June 14 on the school budget, which is
slightly less than $30.9 million and accounts for 44 cents of the tax rate
increase.

- John C.L. Morgan

City Council Replenishes Pool Funding, Though Pool Personnel Remains Unclear

AJ:

In a close decision, the City Council Finance Committee voted 4-3 Monday night
to restore funds saved by laying off Lisa Wohl, the former manager of the Davan
Pool at the Fred C. Wescott Building--but whether this leads to Wohl’s
reinstatement remains to be seen. Mayor Colleen Hilton has the ultimate
authority to hire or fire employees, regardless of the committee’s vote. After
the decision by the committee, which is made up of the entire City Council, she
said she stood by the layoff, but that she would re-examine the situation in
light of testimony from the public supporting Wohl and other details that
emerged during discussion of the issue.

- John C.L. Morgan

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