Dec. 1, 1993

Westbrook School Superintendent Edward Connolly expects to enter a three-year employment contract with the Westbrook School Committee tonight worth $213,202.50 over the three years, plus benefits. Connolly, 61, who makes $65,500 yearly, has been offered a 5 percent raise for the year that began July 1 and 5 percent more the next July 1. He gets about $6,000 worth of insurance benefits and a car allowance of $2,400 a year.

School Superintendent Edward Connolly will ask the Westbrook School Committee tonight for $10,895,000 in building improvements over the next five years. He said the proposals have been developed by his administration. Twelve building projects are proposed, and the priority is for $2,300,000 at the junior high school to convert to open classrooms to standard single classrooms. The work includes ventilation for the new rooms, restructuring the office area, rebuilding the cafeteria, eliminating portable classrooms and expanding parking.

The Kiwanis Club of Westbrook has chosen Cumberland Hall, the triangular building in Cumberland Mills, as the picture on its seventh annual Christmas tree ornament. The ornaments, $6 each, are available and both Walker and Warren libraries and at several retail businesses. Proceeds support Westbrook youth programs.

David O. Cole, the new Gorham town manager, and the town of Gorham entered into a contract on Nov. 23 worth over $56,000. Chosen from a field of some 70 applicants, Cole, 41, replaces Paul Weston, who resigned in July. Cole, married with two children, said he is looking forward to returning to Gorham, where he attended the University of Southern Maine. He plans on moving his family from Old Town, where he had been city manager, to Gorham as soon as he buys a home.

The Gorham campus of the University of Southern Maine is busy this season. Four concerts are coming to Corthell Hall this month, one featuring three jazz combos, one with the USM Concert Band and one with the new Southern Maine Youth Chorale.

A surprise 90th birthday party was given Nov. 15 for Mrs. Laura Landry, King Street, Westbrook. The party was planned by her daughter, Gloria Chaisson, Westbrook, and her son, Robert Landry, of Florida. Mrs. Landry, the former Laura Gagnon, was born Nov. 28, 1903, in St. Eugene, Canada. She moved to Westbrook as a young girl, and married Alexander E. Landry on Sept. 2, 1929. They had four children.

Dec. 3, 2003

The Westbrook City Council voted Monday to hold a second referendum on the Scarborough Downs racino – if the first one passes – that would take place after councilors and developers work out financial agreements and find a location for the track and slot machines. Last week, councilors voted to hold a racino referendum Dec. 30. But that date was seen as coming too quickly for voters to get all the information they needed. Councilor Brendan Rielly proposed Monday a solution he felt would allow for more details about the proposal to be revealed – a second referendum if the first one is approved. Scarborough Downs still hasn’t announced a proposed location for the racino.

Maribeth, an 8-year-old sheep and pet belonging to the Thuotte family of Barstow Road in Gorham, was found wounded by neighbors Thanksgiving afternoon, the victim of three gunshots. She later had to be put down because of the injury. Game wardens suspect that Maribeth, who was not penned, was shot by a high-powered rifle in what is believed to be a drive-by shooting. Heidi Thuotte said her 12-year-old daughter has been especially saddened by the killing and fears for her two oxen. A reward has been established for the successful arrest and conviction of Maribeth’s killer.

Faith Lutheran Church will present “Christmas in the Barn” on Sunday, Dec. 14, in the Hartwells’ barn on Route 237 in Gorham. The Christmas story will be re-enacted in the barn, where animals will be grazing. There will be carols sung and refreshments served.

Westbrook’s annual tree lighting will be held this Sunday, Dec. 7, in Riverbank Park. Organized by the Westbrook Chamber of Commerce, the tree lighting will begin at 5 p.m. with hot chocolate and caroling. At 6, Mayor Don Esty will light the tree.

A Westbrook firefighter has filed suit against the city and two of its employees in federal court alleging the city discriminated against her because she is a woman. The Maine Human Rights Commission ruled in August in favor of Kathy Reynolds, a 13-year veteran of the Westbrook Fire Department, in her claim that she had been discriminated against. She also won a similar ruling against the city from the commission in the early 1990s. The suit names the city, the fire department, Teamster Union Local 340, Chief Gary Littlefield and Tina Crellin, human resources director, as defendants. Reynolds’ lawyer, Rebecca Webber, declined to comment on the specifics of the case.

This photo was taken just before these buildings were cleared to make way for Rite-Aid at Main Street and Harnois Avenue. 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.