April 24, 1991

An unemployed father of six living in Westbrook bought a Megabucks ticket 10 minutes before the deadline Saturday and became the sole winner of a $3.3 million jackpot. William Cuddy, 28, laid off last September from his window-installing job at Nu-Pro in Boston, said he feels blessed. “If it had been $1,000, I’d still be just as excited,” he said. David Long, of the Maine Lottery Commission, said Cuddy was the most “pleasantly appreciative” recipient of lottery winnings that he’d ever dealt with. Cuddy and his wife, the former Cheryl Webster of Windham, have been married three years. She has a part-time job with Emery Worldwide. The Cuddys have promised their children a trip in a camper to Disney World. A college trust fund is in store for each child, and they’ll probably buy a new house, they said.

Officials at AMF Reece Inc., formerly Reece Corp., have confirmed that the company, one of Gorham’s major taxpayers, intends to leave its 17-year-old home in the Gorham Industrial Park and consolidate its U.S. operations in Richmond, Va. The merger of Reece Corp. and AMF Sewn Products Systems was finalized Friday morning. The 220 Gorham employees were informed of the planned move later in the day. Business will continue as usual at the Gorham plant for about six months.

Maine Department of Transportation Commissioner Dana Connors told an audience in Gorham Saturday that a bypass that would solve the town’s traffic problems is “alternative of last resort, and not the first resort.” He said, “We can all agree that a bypass is necessary, and that it will affect people adversely. It is incumbent upon us to do everything we can with the existing system.” He addressed a gathering of about 60 people at the invitation of state Reps. Anne Larrivee, Elden McKeen and state Sen. Donald Esty Jr.

Westbrook’s new city budget cuts back sharply on the money to be spent out of surplus, a move that will serve to help fortify the city treasury against whatever bad times are coming. Taking less from surplus has a price, however. It is a factor in pushing the tax rate for city services to an estimated level of $15.61, up 94 cents from the present $14.67, or 6.4 percent. In a budget of $12.5 million, city-side spending will increase only $38,000, the City Council was told as it started work on the budget Monday.

Jordan’s Lobster House, the first Westbrook restaurant to specialize in seafood, opens April 24 at 202 Larrabee Road. A retail fish market is part of the operation. Jordan’s is occupying space that until recently was Michel’s Restaurant. Michel’s will continue to serve banquets in a part of the premises. Robert Jordan of Portland is the president and manager of the new restaurant. He is joined by brothers Gary and Dean, sister Sally and their parents, Bud and Anne. Among them they have 130 years experience in the restaurant business, always specializing in seafood.

Gorham Town Manager Paul Weston is really into bicycling. He road his 17-speed touring bike about 1,000 miles last season. He is getting to know Gorham better by biking around the area.

April 25, 2001

There was no fanfare and no discussion Monday as Westbrook’s City Council received the petitions that call for a referendum vote on the sale of the old high school to Westbrook Housing Authority for $1. Councilors followed the city charter requirement that they set a public hearing on the petitions within 21 days, putting it at the May 7 council meeting, though it seems there will be a council meeting next Monday to receive the new city budget. If there’s an inclination by councilors or the administration to challenge the petitions’ validity, it might come at the May 7 hearing or the meeting after that, where the charter calls for the council to take steps to submit the question to the voters.

Boys lacrosse would be a varsity sport in Westbrook High School in 2003, under plans that will go before the School Committee at its meeting tonight. Matt Nelson, athletic director, said it is starting as a club sport this spring with 15 boys committed to daily practice and eight other are also taking part. Next spring, he suggests, it would be a sanctioned junior varsity sport and the following year, full varsity.

A unique blend of good old-fashioned American food with healthy Middle Eastern cooking has arrived at one of Westbrook’s most out-of-the-ordinary businesses, Abbas and Marianne Al Hamdany’s Friendly Discount store at 922 Main St. It’s the Westbrook Café, located at one end of the store, with sit-down dining at several tables, as well as a counter, where the pharmacy once was when the store was occupied by CVS a few years ago. The café opened April 12. The Eastern menu includes shish kebab patties of spiced ground lamb, falafel, Arabic-style rice, hummus, kibbeh, gyros sandwiches and pita bread, stuffed grape leaves and a variety of salads. The American menu includes pizza, burgers, steak and cheese sandwiches, roast beef subs, chicken tenders and more.

Rescue teams from five communities searched for, but never found, someone believed to have been calling for help from the Little River in Gorham on Friday the 13th of April. Children first reported the calls and told a man who said he heard them, too, and called Gorham Public Safety. Gorham Fire Chief Robert LeFebvre said that Gorham launched a rescue boat into the river, a Presumpscot River tributary, near the picnic area on Mosher Road. They searched the river three times, canvassed the shore and went house to house in the neighborhood. There were no reports of anyone missing. Windham, Westbrook, Portland and South Portland sent men to assist.

The public is invited to hear and talk about Department of Transportation plans to rebuild two Gorham roads, in separate meetings April 26 and April 30. The first meeting will focus on plans to improve a mile of Libby Avenue from Route 25 to Route 202. The right of way will be widened to 66 feet, requiring some property to be purchased. The other meeting will focus on work planned for one mile on Mosher Road (Route 237) from the Little River bridge to Canal Street.

This is Main Street looking east from Mill Lane. Buildings on the right are Profenno’s Restaurant, at 920 Main, which was destroyed by fire in 2004. Next is Guidi’s Restaurant and the building located on MainStreet at Mechanic Street with RC’s Beauty Salon on the first floor and apartments on the second floor. Hub Furniture can be seen in the background. To see more historical photos and artifacts, visit the Westbrook Historical Society at the Fred C. Wescott Building, 426 Bridge St. It is open Tuesdays and Saturdays, 9 a.m.-noon, and the first Wednesday of each month at 1:30 p.m., September-June. Inquiries can be emailed to [email protected]. The website is www.westbrookhistoricalsociety.org. Photo and research courtesy of Mike Sanphy