Looking Back: Oct. 15 - Portland Press Herald - pressherald.com

Oct. 18, 1995

A squirrel died and took out electric power for 2,400 Westbrook and Gorham customers at about 11:15 a.m. Sunday. The squirrel was scurrying across wires in the Saccarappa substation on Mill Street when it bridged two live ones. Debra Hebert, working on a yard sale in the recently close Hebert’s Market across the street, looked up when the lights went out in time to see the squirrel’s pyrotechnics – a shower of sparks and a cloud of smoke. And she heard the boom. Power was restored section by section through other substations.

A large group of Fort Hill residents spoke out at a Gorham Planning Board meeting Monday against a proposed winter sludge storage facility to be located on Buck Street, about a mile from Fort Hill Park. The sludge would sit on a concrete pad covered by a canopy roof. The building would not have walls. Residents argued that the sludge would reduce the value of land in the neighborhood and could contaminate groundwater and wetlands.

A white spruce tree planted last week probably will grow to a height of 75 feet in front of Westbrook High School. It was planted Oct. 12, 1995, in honor of Harriet Adams, who taught at the school from 1932-57 and who marked her 100th birthday Sept. 17, 1995. The tree was given in her honor by the Current Events Club of Westbrook, of which Adams was president from 1970-72.

A program, “Sing to Tell the Gospel Story,” will be held in the School Street United Methodist Church, Gorham, Oct. 19, by the School Street choir, directed by Richard G. Brooks, and the Green Memorial AME Zion Church, Portland, directed by Jeff McIllwain. The Rev. Margaret Lawson and Gospel Exposure will also sing.

Oct. 19, 2005

Steven Roberts didn’t win $1 million in the Maine Lottery instant drawing last week, but he was happy to take home $250,000. “I’m still a winner,” said Roberts, of Gorham. He’d already won the $250,000 with a $10 scratch ticket he bought in August at the 7-Eleven in Gorham, qualifying him for the big drawing.

Students and parents at Saccarappa and Canal schools in Westbrook took part in Walk Your Kid to School Day last Thursday. Parents also had a chance to eat breakfast at the schools with their children. Saccarappa Principal Kate Hale said she encourages parents to walk their kids to school as often as they can.

The American Journal has won the Westbrook Chamber of Commerce’s President’s Cup for the fourth quarter of 2005. The paper was cited for its outstanding service and contributions to the city. The American Journal is celebrating its 40th anniversary in Westbrook this year.

Construction transforming the former Shaw School in Gorham into a municipal center began this week, with a groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for later today. The Gorham Town Council awarded the construction bid earlier this year to Arthur Dudley of Standish, with the low bid of $4.7 million. Expected completion is October 2006.

While police and city administrators declined to give details, the three-year contract dispute between Westbrook and its police union could end soon. The union was scheduled to meet this morning to consider a proposal.

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