April 27, 1994

An empty safe stolen from a Gorham home that had contained $75,000 in cash, plus gold, silver and several land deeds, was recovered from the Presumpscot River on April 16 by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department, according to Gorham police records. The safe was stolen from the home of Dr. Ronald Brooks, 206 South St., on either Jan. 1 or 2. Brooks, a Gorham dentist, is the owner of Haunted Hayrides. The burglars broke in and went directly into the master bedroom where the safe had been in a large closet. The family was not at home. Police suspect at least three people were involved in the heist.

Westbrook has a new fire chief, Byron E. Rogers Jr. Acting Mayor Kenneth Lefebvre appointed him Monday and the City Council unanimously confirmed it. He will be paid $38,469 a year plus benefits, starting May 2. Chief James Rulman went on sick leave after a heart problem last summer and Rogers has been acting chief since then. Rulman is expected to retire Aug. 5.

The width and strength of Bill Clarke’s popularity in Westbrook were demonstrated in a dinner party Friday in his honor. Clarke, still weak from a hospital stay, was at home but was represented by his wife Jackie, their daughter Lisa Randall and other family members. Local Democrats and Republicans were on hand to praise and reminisce about Clarke, re-elected every two years as city clerk for 38 years.

April 28, 2004

Army Sgt. Lawrence A. Roukey, 33, of Westbrook, was killed in Iraq Monday, leaving a wife and two children. Roukey was a member of the 3rd Battalion, 304th Regiment, based in Lewiston. Roukey was mobilized in February. A friend of Roukey’s, who asked not to be identified, said he worked with Roukey for the U.S. Postal Service in Portland, and that Roukey had called home on Sunday. The friend said Roukey was a dedicated family man and had a 2-year-old son and a 15-year-old stepdaughter. Mayor Bruce Chuluda ordered Westbrook’s flags lowered to half-staff on Tuesday. Flags will be flown at half-staff statewide on the day of the funeral.

Throughout his 19-year career as Westbrook High School music director, George Bookataub touched the lives of scores of local students. The current group, most of whom had not been born when Bookataub came to Westbrook in 1984, will be his last – Bookataub has announced he will retire at the end of the school year. Bookataub, 60, said that a heart scare in 2000 forced him to look at his priorities in life. “It’s an issue of quality of life and being able to do some of the things that I want to do while I’m still able to do them,” he said.

Coming to the city to congratulate Mission Possible on its move to a new building, Gov. John Baldacci used the occasion to discuss tax reform to an audience of local business people. Speaking at a Westbrook Chamber of Commerce luncheon April 22, Baldacci said he is looking to ease Maine’s tax burden with a program that would streamline state government and change spending practices. He said he’s proposed a tax reform mechanism that looks to save money my changing the structure of state government.

Gorham Town Manager David Cole has proposed increasing the municipal budget by 6.3 percent, to $9.4 million for the coming fiscal year. Although the total budget would increase, Cole said the tax rate would actually decrease because of new revenue. He anticipates an increase in building permit and excise tax revenue.

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