Aug. 23, 1995

No later than Oct. 20, most Westbrook city offices will have to move out of City Hall, unless aldermen change their minds by Monday. On Monday, the council voted on first reading to sell City Hall to Maine Bank and Trust for $235,000. Mayor Kenneth Lefebvre, who brought the sale to the council, said City Hall is inadequate and the city is lucky to find someone to buy it. He said he wants to keep city offices downtown.

Ron Edgecomb and his wife Jacqueline bought the place next door to put it back on its feet. With one addition after another, they have turned the Ponderosa Golf Land into the Westerly Winds Family Fun Center, 771 Cumberland St., Westbrook. This year’s additions are a swimming pool, basketball and volleyball courts and four tennis courts. A 35-foot-diameter gazebo is coming next month to house big gatherings. The Edgecombs both have a background in education.

The eagerly anticipated $11 million addition to Gorham High School will be up and running for school opening Sept. 5, creating new opportunities for students and the community. Beyond the seven new science labs and 16 new classrooms are an impressive new auditorium and a new track field.

Gov. Angus King paid a visit to Artel Inc. in Westbrook’s Five Star Industrial Park Thursday. He toured the company as part of the Greater Portland Chamber of Commerce’s Business Visitation Program. Artel manufactures advanced technological equipment for the health care industry, as well as environmental testing and quality control in the life sciences industry.

Aug. 24, 2005

A citizens’ petition in Gorham has forced a town vote on whether to keep dispatching services in Gorham. Town Clerk Christina Silberman confirmed Tuesday that the petition had enough signatures to force a referendum on the issue. The service has already consolidated with Cumberland County following a Town Council vote Aug. 2.

The third time’s a charm for the Westbrook boys playing in the Little League World Series last week in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Westbrook team lost its first game, 3-2, to a team from Louisiana. It lost its second game, 7-3, to a California team. But the team won its last game in the tournament beating Kentucky, 3-2. The last time a Maine team made it to the Little League World Series was 30 years ago. “It will be a season Westbrook will remember. We will remember the summer a group of 12-year-olds reminded us all of the glory of baseball, this community and youth with the swing of their bats,” said the American Journal in an editorial.

A long-standing tradition in Westbrook will be silent this fall. The high school will not field a competitive marching band after only 12 students signed up for it. The band will still perform at community events and parades, but there were not enough students to field a marching band to travel to competitions. The school’s concert band and wind ensemble will be performing as usual.

Some 56 people participated in a one-hour peace vigil Aug. 17 on Main Street in Gorham in front of the Municipal Center. Several held political signs and many lit candles. The vigil was in support of Gold Star families, who have lost loved ones in the war in Iraq.

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