Oct. 13, 1982

The Westbrook School Committee was apparently taken by surprise when Carl F. Knowlton, superintendent of schools, who had been under fire in recent weeks and twice denied a pay raise, made it known that he was out the door and on his way to Orange, Mass., with a five-year contract under his belt and an $8,000-a-year increase in pay over what he was making in Westbrook. Knowlton was picked from among 22 applicants. Clifford J. Fournier, chairman of the school committee in

Orange, told the Greenfield, Mass., Recorder, ” He seemed to be sensitive to our needs. He gave everybody clear-cut indications about why he wants to move, why our district is attractive to him at this time. The committee feels very good about him. He understands our situation.” Last week, reports had it that the Westbrook School Committee had decided to focus its discontent on Knowlton and give an

8 percent raise to Russell Fearon, Knowlton’s administrative assistant.

David Phalen, 25, of Trailer No. 5 in the Spring Street trailer

park, was taking a shower when he got an electrical shock that knocked him out of the shower stall onto his knees. His wife called police, and the Rescue Unit took him to the Maine Medical Center, where he was checked over and released. The city electrical inspector convinced the Phalens to move in with relatives until all electrical hazards in their home were remedied.

Three teachers in the Westbrook school system decided they had had enough and quit. Francine O’Donnell Wilfert resigned with the explanation that she had been given five different assignments since March 1978, only one of which she requested. Elementary Curriculum Director Edward Connolly said one such change was due to “a reduction in force.” In that change, she was shifted to Grade 4. Last year she was listed for Grade 1 in the Pride’s Corner School. This year she was to be a kindergarten teacher. Deanne Burr, a teacher of 10 years at Forest Street School, as well as Julie K. Marion, who, after being transferred from full-time art teacher in Westbrook Junior High to two-fifths time art teacher in the elementary schools, both also left.

Westbrook High School’s field hockey team moved a step closer to post-season tourney qualification last week, splitting a pair of matches with SMAA opponents that left the Blazes fourth in the Heal ratings. Coach Roxanne Wheeler’s crew got a pair of goals from Michelle Lambert and one from Marge Harvey, on an assist from Lambert, to post a 3-1 victory over Edward Little.

Oct. 14, 1992

Edwin “Bill” Robertson’s love affair with trains began in his back yard in Cumberland Mills, when as a preschooler he scaled the fence to gaze at smoke-belching locomotives as they raced past his home. The 71-year-old Gorham native took his first photograph of a train with the family box camera when he was in high school That picture appears on page 48 of his eighth book on trains and their surroundings, entitled “The Grand Trunk Railway Photo Album.” Robertson puts the

books together himself from beginning to end. “It’s really a book for railroad buffs to a point,” he says, but the book will also appeal to those who enjoy looking at photos of a bygone era.

The Westbrook-Windham Reds defeated the Portland Cobras, 14-1, earlier this month to win the first Southern Maine Semi-pro Baseball League championship. Dwayne Welch led the Reds in the title contest by pitching a complete game, five-hitter with 10 strikeouts.

From the police log: Gorham police assisted the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department on Blake Road in Standish, where an extremely intoxicated individual was prowling around, turning doorknobs and attempting to gain entrance. The suspect had done the same thing a week earlier. The 7-Eleven reported that a group of intoxicated, mostly female college students were raising Cain and trying to tip over the hotdog stand. Earlier the same morning, a student was drag racing in the 7-Eleven parking lot. Police spoke to passengers at the scene, but nobody knew who was driving the vehicle. They said the driver escaped on foot. All were intoxicated.

Phil LaViolet has to be one of the busiest men in Westbrook, and skip the senior citizen bit. A bouncy 68-year-old, he looks 10 years younger. Phil belongs to the Stephen W. Manchester Post, No. 62, American Legion. He’s a member of the Veterans Memorial Association, which cares for veterans’ graves and is the man in charge of the annual city-wide roll call service on Memorial Day, when he and the incumbent mayor read the names of veterans and also more recently, all Westbrook-born and long-term residents who have died during the

previous 12 months. He is on the board of the Westbrook Senior Citizens Club where, says wife, Connie, he’s very popular with the women, because he’s “a hugger.”

Rosa Peterson, 310 Longfellow Place, Westbrook, and friend Joyce Hutchison Warren, took a 10-day trip to Las Vegas, staying at Circus Circus, taking in “Viva Las Vegas” at Bally’s, visiting old Las Vegas and an Indian reservation, and going by bus through the Mojave Desert to the Colorado River, passing Lake Mead, the water supply for Los Angeles.