PORTLAND

Diverse coalition supports dental clinic ballot question

A coalition of Maine dentists, patients, health care providers and business organizations is pushing for voter approval of a $5 million bond issue to help build dental clinics throughout the state.

Question 2 on the Nov. 2 ballot seeks approval of bonds to create a community-based teaching dental clinic and upgrade community-based health and dental care clinics.

At a news conference Tuesday, dentist Jeffrey Doss said Maine has a dental care crisis and it’s getting worse. Doss said passage of the bond issue will increase Mainers’ access to patients and address the crisis.

Question 3 on the ballot is also a bond issue. It seeks $9.7 million in long-term borrowing for land conservation and preservation of working waterfronts and state parks.

CASCO

Group effort worked: DEP says lake now free of milfoil

Environmental officials are declaring once-infested Pleasant Lake in Casco free of variable-leaf milfoil.

Andrew Fisk of the Department of Environmental Protection said Wednesday that removing Pleasant Lake from the state’s list of infested water bodies shows how committed volunteers, supported by a state-run effort, can outgun one of the most persistent aquatic plants to infest Maine lakes.

Fisk said the Pleasant Lake-Parker Pond Association undertook a multiyear, methodical program of hand-pulling plants and laying barriers along the pond’s bottom to get rid of the milfoil, which had plagued the lake since 2001.

Thirty-three lakes in Maine remain on the list of water bodies infested with invasive plants.

GORHAM

Town officials approve offer for seized fraternity house

The Town Council has accepted an offer for a fraternity house it seized on Preble Street.

The council voted 6-0 Tuesday night to approve the offer from Peter Wentworth of 17 Elm St., who bid $81,100 for the property at 27 Preble St.

The Phi Kappa Sigma house was seized by town officials in June for tax delinquency and 140 code violations, ranging from a chair blocking a doorway to sewage in the basement.

Wentworth, who lives across the street from the property, wants to move his embroidery business into the house, said Town Manager David Cole.

BATH

Newest Aegis warship carries name of decorated Marine

A Navy destroyer named for Medal of Honor recipient Jason Dunham has departed from Bath Iron Works.

The 510-foot warship sailed down the Kennebec River and into the Atlantic on Wednesday, en route to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where it will be commissioned next month.

The Aegis destroyer bears the name of the Marine from Scio, N.Y., who died after covering an exploding grenade in 2004 to protect his comrades in Iraq. The young corporal, who threw his Kevlar helmet and his body onto the grenade, became the first Marine since the Vietnam War to receive the Medal of Honor.

WESTBROOK

Councilors deny licenses to applicant who was fined

A resident who wants to open a restaurant on Elmwood Avenue was denied his request for a liquor and food service license.

The City Council voted 6-2 Monday to deny Shai Patel’s request for a liquor license. He proposed opening a restaurant that would offer Middle Eastern, Indian and American cuisine. In a separate vote, the council voted 6-2 to deny Patel’s request for a food service license.

Westbrook police recommended that councilors deny the license because Patel was convicted of selling and using drug paraphernalia in April. He paid a $300 fine.

Councilor Michael Foley asked Patel if saw the question on the license application that asked if he had ever been convicted of a crime. “I put ‘no’ because I was under the impression that I didn’t have that on my record,” Patel told the councilors.

Councilor Brendan Rielly said he would not support Patel’s request because he felt Patel was not truthful in his application. He referred to an ordinance that says giving a false statement is grounds for denial of a license. “It’s difficult to understand how someone can be mistaken about their conviction, especially when it was as recent as earlier this year,” Rielly said.

BIDDEFORD

Bicyclists of all ages invited to three-day celebration

Bikes will fill the streets of Biddeford during the Community Bicycle Center’s 5th anniversary celebration.

Today, the Pike Street Hill-Climb Challenge will begin at 4 p.m. Cyclists in a range of categories will compete to crest the hill first. Loaner bikes will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

On Friday, everyone is invited to the organization’s headquarters at 284 Hill St. from 3 to 5 p.m. to see a talent show, try “Bike Parts” ice cream made by the Arundel Ice Cream Shop, and sample milkshakes blended on the back of a bike.

The event will wrap up on Saturday with a bicycle rodeo at the JFK Primary School from 9:30 a.m. to noon; rides for road, mountain and cyclocross bikes (times and routes vary); and a barbecue at the Community Bicycle Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. All events are free. For more information, visit www.communitybike.net.

AUGUSTA

Glitch delays benefits to thousands of unemployed

The Maine Department of Labor says a software glitch delayed payments this week for thousands of recipients of unemployment benefits.

Officials say the problem, detected Monday, caused error messages for many people filing their weekly unemployment claims online or through an automated phone system.

Labor department spokesman Adam Fisher said 4,600 people filed claims without an error message, but those didn’t process correctly. It’s unknown how many people got the error message and gave up.

The problem affected only people who filed weekly claims on Sunday or Monday morning and who are collecting benefits under the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Tier 1 or Tier 2 extensions. Payments are being reprocessed and checks should be deposited on Friday or Monday.

 

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