Gov. LePage to Host Town Hall Meeting in WPAC

AJ:

He will be at the Performing Arts Center at
Westbrook Middle School on Stroudwater Street from 6-7:30 p.m. Friday for a town
hall-style meeting. The public is invited to attend to ask questions of LePage.

- John C.L. Morgan

Audit of City Finances 'Not a Good Report Card'

AJ:

An independent audit of Westbrook's finances
for the previous fiscal year has uncovered many key deficiencies that officials
say left the door open for malfeasance. Audit problems also caused a delay in
the city’s ability to borrow for several high-profile capital projects,
including the Walker Memorial Library and community center repairs.

- John C.L. Morgan

Remember the Maine...By Drinking a Remember the Maine

Frontier Psychologist has the recipe for the drink that reminds us of the consequential sinking of the USS Maine in Havana harbor on this date in 1898.

- John C.L. Morgan

Related: 'Czar' Reed and the Spanish-American War (April 28, 2010)

Westbrook Business Owner Likes Gov. LePage's Tax Proposal

BDN:

Duane Gushee, president of D&G Machine Products
in Westbrook, said the [reduction of the top income tax bracket from 8.5% to
7.95%] would encourage investments by companies like his. "This initiative
makes it more affordable to do business in Maine and allows us to be more
competitive," he said.

- John C.L. Morgan

Closing of Lollipop Lane Captivates Local Media

Owner Ann-Marie Hebert's announcement on Thursday that her child-care center, Lollipop Lane Educare, would be closing yesterday attracted the attention of most of the local media:

AJ: Here

PPH: Here

WCSH: Here, here

WMTW: Here

WGME: Here

With news of a possible new owner of the business swirling around, we might be hearing more about Lollipop Lane in the coming days.

(Update: The quick turnaround of the prospective new owner's application for licensing has some competitors crying foul.)

- John C.L. Morgan

'Westbrook Idol' Auditions to be Held Today

AJ:

That means the competition begins with open
auditions, set for Saturday, Feb. 12 at 10 a.m. at the Performing Arts Center at
Westbrook Middle School. Ray said local channel 2 is filming the auditions,
which are open to anyone age 12 and up. Everyone from kids to adults who live or
work in Westbrook is welcome to give it a shot, he said.

- John C.L. Morgan

Snowmobiles Killed the Skiing Star

AP:

Suzy Anderson recalls the days when everyone skied
in Aroostook County. She and her friends skied to school. They wore their ski
boots in class, and skied after school. They competed in winter carnivals and
raced each other on weekends. Then Anderson left northern Maine to go to
college. When she returned in 1974, the skis had disappeared. They'd been
replaced by gas-powered snowmobiles. "None of the kids were skiing. There was no
skiing whatsoever. It was because of the snowmobiles," Anderson recalled.
"Skiing was essentially over."

- John C.L. Morgan

Westbrook Student En Route to MIT

AJ:

[Massachusetts Insitutue of Technology] admissions had informed early applicants
the exact date and time decisions would be available online: Dec. 16 at 9 p.m.
That night, I was very nervous and fully expecting to see a deferral letter on
the screen. When at 9:01 I pulled up the screen and read the words, "it is my
pleasure to offer you admission" I was completely in shock. I had to read it
several times before I told my parents. Once it actually sank in, I was beyond
excited and definitely relieved. Still, there are times, even now, when I have
to convince myself that I actually got in.

- John C.L. Morgan

A Look at Paul's Shoe Repair

PPH:

Rowland's job is all about the small details that make a shoe or boot or handbag
look like new. Many of those details, like tiny threads on a narrow band of
material at the bottom of a shoe, are not really noticeable to us non-cobblers.
But to Rowland, who has been doing it for 25 years, getting the details right is
a big part of his job satisfaction.

- John C.L. Morgan

A Family Tradition of Reffing

AJ:

It’s not often that history is made at a middle school basketball game. But that
is exactly what happened last week when Katelyn Benson of Westbrook stepped on
the court to officiate a Westbrook Middle School basketball home game. It was
the 18-year-old’s first official game, making her the youngest female basketball
referee in Maine history, a moment she shared closely with the game’s other two
refs: her father Bob Benson Sr., and her brother, Robert Jr.

- John C.L. Morgan

A Look at Haven's Past, Present, and Future

PPH:

A dedication to what works, even if it's old-fashioned, has helped the [Haven's
Candies] deliver profits nearly 100 years after it was founded, according to
owner Andy Charles. "What I love about Haven's is that we are 96 years old, and
although we have expanded our size and scope, and adopted some technology, we
still make candy by hand," Charles said. "We are sticking to our roots. That's
the soul of the company."

- John C.L. Morgan

Chief Baker, Police Department Look Forward

AJ:

[Bill] Baker’s new post is a full-time job [with the FBI], so he is not truly
"retiring," though he is stepping away from full-time law enforcement after a
36-year career. "It’s a pretty significant change. It’s a new phase, and maybe
the final phase, of my career," he said.

AJ:

Those within the Westbrook Police Department say it will be business as usual
come Monday, despite the absence of Chief Bill Baker. Baker announced his
retirement the first week of January. Since then, the city has announced fire
Chief Mike Pardue would step in on an interim basis to lead both police and fire
departments.

- John C.L. Morgan

More on WHS School for Success

PPH:

Last week, Alex Howe got a perfect score on his mid-term math exam. Last year,
he might have skipped school and missed the exam. "I got the highest grade in
the class," Howe said proudly. Howe is succeeding in a new program at Westbrook
High School that supports freshmen who are at risk of dropping out. He's one of
16 students in the School for Success, a program that school officials hope to
expand to include sophomores next year.

- John C.L. Morgan

Related: Westbrook High Provides Support for Struggling Students (January 14, 2011)

Roof Repairs at Community Center Trickier Than Expected

AJ:

The roof at the Westbrook Community Center is proving to be a pesky problem for
construction crews. Replacing the 35-year-old roof at the former Wescott Junior
High was initially expected to be a $750,000 endeavor. But City Administrator
Jerre Bryant said recently the project would cost more and run longer than hoped
due to a leaky skylight that is proving more problematic than originally
thought. There is no estimate of cost overruns yet.

- John C.L. Morgan

Related: Warren Foundation Gift to Help Fund Renovation of Community Center (October 18, 2010)

School Board Wrestles with Laptop Costs

AJ:

Jeff Mao, the state’s learning technology policy
director, said a warranty and a buffer pool cover the state-provided laptops.
The buffer pool provides a limited number of replacements per district for
certain types of damage. "It's not an endless well of computers," Mao said.

- John C.L. Morgan

On "Re:turn"

PPH:

[Artist Aaron] Stephan's project required nine months of hard labor. He grew a
tree in the atrium of the Westbrook Middle School. It's a gorgeous, leafless,
canopied representation of a tree from an old-growth forest. Stephan used lumber
reclaimed from the bowels of Moosehead Lake to make his tree, which measures
about 25 feet high and 16 feet wide, branch to branch.

- John C.L. Morgan

Related: Creator of Middle School's Public Art Among Maine's 'Most Exciting Artists' (July 26, 2010)

Westbrook Almanac: January 23- January 29, 2011

Week-to-Date:
High: 34F (January 27, 28, 29)
Low: -13F (January 24)
Precipitation: 0.26 inches
Snowfall: 2.9 inches
Previous Sunrise: 7:02a
Previous Sunset: 4:47p

Month-to-Date:
High: 50F (January 1)
Low: -13F (January 24)
Precipitation: 2.39 inches
Snowfall: 29.1 inches

Year-to-Date:
High: 50F (January 1)
Low: -13F (January 24)
Precipitation: 2.39 inches
Snowfall: 29.1 inches

Source: National Weather Service

- John C.L. Morgan

Maine is...Candlepin Country

Is the fact that a roller with the name Morgan bowled in the candlepin national championships the year I was born mere coincidence?

Well, if you asked those who saw me bowl an average of 71 yesterday at the first night of the Paper City Junto (PCJ) candlepin bowling league, the answer would probably be a resounding, Yes!

Anyway, the league's still accepting two teams of 3 players to join our current crop of four, 3-player teams through February 10. See the PCJ Web site for more details and feel free to e-mail me at owner@papercityjunto.org.

- John C.L. Morgan

Snowmobilers May Lose Trails Due to Railroad Construction

AJ:

All the snow in recent weeks should be a dream come true for local snowmobilers.
Instead, they find themselves in a nightmarish battle with the state over the
preservation of their trail running from Westbrook to Windham.

- John C.L. Morgan

Charter Commission May Address Partisan Elections

AJ:

But does it even matter what party local officials
are affiliated with? Now that the charter commission is reviewing all aspects of
city government, said [Republican School Board Chairman Ed] Symbol, why not ask
them to look closely at the issue? "I don’t think party matters anymore," Symbol
said Tuesday. "The more I was on the City Council and the school board, the more
I realized it didn’t matter and I got labeled a lot."

- John C.L. Morgan