Feb. 15, 1995

David Sparks, who has been Westbrook’s animal control officer the past seven years, has a new business: Sparks’ Ark Animal Emergency Services. If there’s a weasel in your kitchen (last week in Gorham) or a bat in your bedroom, Sparks’ Ark is there to help. He will continue as Westbrook’s animal control officer, as well.

No one would open the bidding at the suggested $180,000, so they took the Dana Warp Mill building off the auction floor Saturday. The city of Westbrook says it’s worth $1,082,000. Auction Properties Inc. said it is negotiating with a possible purchaser who turned up after nobody bid.

The cost of the proposed Baxter Memorial Library expansion could exceed $3.2 million over 20 years, it was revealed at the Gorham Town Council hearing Feb. 7. Library trustees have proposed a $2.1 million project, with $1.6 million to come from a public bond issue if it is approved by voters March 14. The rest of the money would come through a donation campaign. The bond issue is structured at an estimated 6% interest, but interest rates are going higher, which would add to the final cost.

The three daughters of Stephen and Theresa Gagnon of Westbrook are all in college. Julie is a senior at Tufts University. Nicole is a senior at the University of Maine. Both are 1991 graduates of Westbrook High School. Sarah is a freshman at the University of Maine at Farmington. She’s a 1994 Westbrook High grad.

Feb. 16, 2005

Walmart has filed its sketch plan for a proposed Westbrook supercenter on the site of the Saunders Brothers mill. Submitted by Sebago Technics, the plan calls for a 203,000-square-foot superstore with an attached 9,100-square-foot garden center and 1,076-space parking lot. The plan will be presented to the Planning Board March 1. Saunders Brothers President Josh Saunders said he was glad that Wal-Mart finally filed the plan. “I hope it will clarify some of the issues and take away some of the fear of the unknown,” he said. City Administrator Jerre Bryant said he was “pleased that finally there’s something before the city.”

Westbrook Deputy Fire Chief Tim Pellerin resigned yesterday to accept a job as emergency management director of Lincoln County. Pellerin, 42, has been deputy chief since October 2002. His last day is March 14.

Staff Sgt. Harold Freeman of Gorham, recuperating at home after being wounded in a December blast that killed 22 in Iraq, is now walking without crutches. He plans to rejoin his outfit at Fort Drum in New York and return to Maine with his unit in their homecoming. Company B has been deployed to Iraq since last March.

Westbrook native Tom Dyhrberg will be among those performing in concert Feb. 25 at the 27th annual Devonshire/Schooner Fare Reunion Concert. The concert will benefit the Jack McPhillips Memorial Fund which serves the unique needs of the Greater Portland community.

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