March 23, 1983

In the first 18 days of March, Gorham police made 18 arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol. “They do their drinking in the bars of Portland or Westbrook, or some place, and then try to make it home,” explained Gorham Police Chief Edmund Hagan “We do get a lot of them, especially along Routes 25 and 114.” The March rush of one a day was not the result of any special campaign by Gorham police against drunk driving. Several of the arrests followed accidents and the others came in the normal course of police work.

Westbrook will ask bids on three new police cruisers several months earlier than it did in 1982. Alderman Norman Conley, whose motion to approve the bid request passed 7-0, told the City Council that the city waited too late in the model year last year and had to take what was left, rather than getting manufacturers to bid on building cars to Westbrook’s specifications.

Construction of a new store where Fruitland burned in Cumberland Mills will start Monday. George P. Zaimes, Portland, who owned the business, bought the land a week ago from Richard McCarthy, Westbrook, the former proprietor. McCarthy still owned the real estate.

No one has been hurt yet by someone using nunchucks in Westbrook, but Deputy Police Chief Wayne Syphers fears it’s only a matter of time “Last year we’d see them occasionally,” he said. “In the past six months they’ve become an ‘in thing’ for some kids, and we’re seeing them almost daily.” Police consider nunchucks to be dangerous, even deadly, weapons, but they are not illegal in Maine at this time unless concealed on the person or in a car.

The Westbrook Seals Swim Club, sponsored by the Westbrook Recreation Department, won the McDonald’s Junior Olympics Maine Swimming Age Group Championships, sanction by USA Swimming Inc.

March 24, 1993

Philip E. Curran, 222 Duck Pond Road, Westbrook, was named president of Westbrook Community Hospital. He succeeds Bruce Chuluda. Curran is a retired executive of Casco Northern Bank in Portland.

A Westbrook sixth-grade girls basketball travel team was organized in September, joined the Portland Boys and Girls Club League and the Windham League and has played a total of 32 games to date. The girls were runners-up in the Portland League championship, and fourth in the Windham championship.

Westbrook aldermen voted to write off one business loan even as they began to talk about extending a new loan to another business. PaulLeConte warned his colleagues that they should think about taking the city out of the development loan business when the next request comes along soon He didn’t say what business would be seeking a loan.

Ninety-three percent of the 518 people who signed a poll at Nicely’s Market want House Speaker John Martin out. Felgar Nicely says he placed two manila folders on the counter of the Gorham market at noon last Friday. One was headlined: “Remove from office . . .John Martin.” The other said: “Remain in office . . . John Martin.” Nicely said he intended to collect 500 signatures, but while he was talking on the phone around 10 a.m. Monday the total crept to 518.

The Rev. and Mrs. Joseph Mills, 12 Lawn Ave., Gorham, spent their regular quiet winter vacation at Osprey, Fla., but when it was time to leave, the Blizzard of ’93 made their trip home one to remember. Because of the storm warnings, they left by auto on Thursday, March 11, and thought they would get ahead of the storm. In Florida it was cold and raining heavily. It was slushy, snowy and slippery through the Carolinas and even heavier snow in Richmond, Va., where the blizzard finally caught up with them. They had to stop, and acquired the last motel room in the area. Every road was closed. They had never seen anything like the road conditions. By Thursday they were finally able to hit the road again at 5 a.m. but many of the roads were still barely passable. The highways were strewn with at least 120 abandoned cars and rolled-over trailer trucks along the way. After 15 straight hours on the road, they finally arrived in Gorham, safe and sound with memories of a storm they would never forget.