January 1982

Phillip Audet has told the Westbrook City Council that a succession of rulings, warnings and orders from Westbrook’s code enforcement officer, Thomas Wakefield, was threatening his business career. Mayor William O’Gara acknowledged that he personally knew of “every instance” cited by Audet “from day one” and defended them as what the ordinances require.

The Westbrook police have arrested a man for stealing a woman’s handbag and theft of $30, and her husband for beating him up for the theft. The theft charge is against Andrew Michaud, 19, of 88 Bracket St. The assault charge is against Brian Leconte, 24, of 23 Brown St. The $30 has not been recovered

A Westbrook ordinance that forbids lunch vans from making sales on city streets went unenforced for a least six years, until last week. Westbrook police issued a summons against John Couture, Biddeford, for selling sandwiches on Quimby Avenue Thursday. They decided not to push the case, however, when Couture said it was the first time he had been told it was wrong since he began doing it six years ago.

William and Nancy Billings, owners of Sweets ‘N’ Eats take-out food on Route 202, Little Falls, Gorham, have bought the former Graffam’s Restaurant on Route 25, Gorham, and will open it soon as another Sweets ‘N’ Eats, serving homemade ice cream, a full line of sandwiches and a full line of seafood, including fried clams.

Trinity Lutheran Church, 612 Main St., Westbrook, organized November 1882, plans various events during 1982 to celebrate its 100th anniversary. The annual meeting will be held in the vestry to be followed by a potluck dinner and the kickoff of the celebration.

State Rep. Ada K Brown of Gorham is one of three Maine delegates to the annual conference sponsored by the Center of the American Woman in Politics, to be held June 17-20 on Cape Cod. The center is part of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. Brown was selected by the Democratic women in the House.

In appreciation of senior citizens’ past services to the town, the Gorham School Committee decided to issue free passes to school events to Gorham residents who are 65 years or older or who are retired. “It’s a good public relations thing,” said Judy Benson, school committee chairwoman.

January 1992

The Westbrook Marching Band and Boosters raised a whopping $2,500 in one day through a bottle drive in Westbrook, Portland, Gorham, Windham and Raymond. Despite the cold and rain, the band members brought back heartwarming stories and lots of bottles and cans. For example, one woman in Raymond was sorry she didn’t have many cans for the drive. She handed $10 to a band member and said she hoped to see the band come again.

It would fewer math and social studies courses to gradate from Westbrook High School under a proposal of the school faculty, which is being taken up by the school committee. Three “Carnegie units” (full year’s) of work in math and social studies now are required for graduation. The proposal would drop to two units.

Former Westbrook Housing Authority Commissioner Dottie Chaisson-McGuirk has announced she will try to win the Republican nomination to run against U.S Rep. Tom Andrews in Maine’s 1st District. She made the announcement from Larrabee Woods, a senior housing facility she helped to fund and build during her 10-year tenure on the WHA.

Coach Roland Thibault led the Westbrook girls indoor track team to its fifth straight win of the season, defeating Windham and McAuley.

Ami DeRienzo, an 18-year-old who chose to be schooled at home rather than attend her senior year at Gorham High School, has taken out nomination papers to run for a seat on the school committee. DeRienzo prompted headlines in November 1990 when she and others publicly questioned the use of a sexual orientation questionnaire at Gorham High School. DeRienzo circulated copies of the questionnaire and other materials in use in the Gorham school system to hundreds of town residents. Use of the questionnaire was discontinued after the attention.

David Farrar, son of John and Barbara Farrar, 78 Gray Road, Gorham, ranks with six other Americans who are qualified to judge international World Cup skiing events. A skier since age 4 or 5 in a family of skiers, David travels throughout North America and Europe to judge skiers at the highest level of amateur competition.