(Posted Aug. 19)

The South Portland Police issued a press release today announcing that the department just won a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Harley-Davidson has a long and vaulted history of outfitting police departments with their motorcycles, dating back to 1908. Today more than 3,200 police agencies use Harleys. Police value the bikes for their design and durability. They also have a high resale value and they are a good PR tool since the motorcycles are popular with the public.

Here is the press release: “The South Portland Police Department has won a 2009 Harley Davidson motorcycle. Lt. Todd Bernard and Officer Peter MacVane were participating in the 8th Annual America’s 911 Foundation Ride this past week. This ride acts as a tribute to the victims of 9/11 and a fundraiser for scholarships for the children of first responders. Approximately 80 police officers escorted between 800 and 1000 motorcycles as they visited all three crash sites from the September 11, 2001 attacks.

To show appreciation for the agencies allowing officers to escort the ride, a drawing was held for a Harley Davidson police motorcycle to be given to a participating agency. Lt. Bernard and Officer MacVane were present in New York City when the department was drawn for the grand prize. The motorcycle will be delivered in mid September and formally presented to the department at that time.

After being outfitted with emergency equipment and city council approval the bike will be placed into service in the department’s motor unit.

More information about America’s 911 ride and the foundation can be found at www.americas911foundation.org

Attorney may run in District 1 race

(Posted Aug. 16)

Attorney Thomas Coward – a 30-year lawyer, real estate agent and long-time resident – has taken out papers to enter the District 1 City Council race.

If the candidate gets the required 100 signatures from registered voters in order to run, he is likely to face incumbent Claude Morgan, who said he will seek a second term. At this early stage in the Council campaigns, it appears that there will be competition for all three open seats this fall – in Districts 1, 2 and 5.

Coward is a self-employed attorney who focuses on estate planning, real estate and small-business planning. He also works as a real-estate agent with his wife, Deborah, at Keller Williams in Portland. The couple makes up the Tru Brit team at Keller Williams. “We do mostly residential real estate,” Coward said.

The Cowards, who own a house on Woodbury Street, have lived in South Portland for 25 years and have three grown children who graduated from South Portland schools.

Coward, 53, has never before run for city office. But he has served on the Board of Appeals for 11 years.

Coward said he feels the city is at a crossroads, which prompted him to run.

“South Portland needs more forward planning. I get the sense the city does not have a vision of where it is going,” Coward said. “I thought that now is the time to run. I can keep sitting on the fence or jump in and try to do something. We may be in danger of drifting, if we don’t seize the opportunities we have at the moment with an eye to the future.”

Ferry Village president complains of communication lapse

(Posted Aug. 14)

David Jacobs, who heads the Ferry Village Neighborhood Association, is complaining that the city failed to inform his group of a spill Tuesday morning on Preble and Henley streets from a blown-out hydraulic hose on a city bus.

Public Works spread sand on the road and Clean Harbors was called in to clean up the chemical mess, which extended for about eight city blocks.

A two-vehicle accident involving a pickup and passenger car occurred Tuesday night at the site, and early indications from police are that sand in the road may have contributed to the crash, said Jacobs, who is looking into the matter.

As of Thursday morning, it still appeared that the street had not been swept of the sand, even though rain had washed some of it away.

The city has no obligation to contact neighborhood associations with news. But Jacobs says he thinks these volunteer groups can play a vital role in getting information out to alert residents of problems that affect the neighborhoods.

With the large number of tanker-trucks that travel Ferry Village roads, better communication is essential, Jacobs said.

“We want the city to use us as a resource to help them do their job,” said Jacobs, a former city councilor. Jacobs has an e-mail list of 150 people in the Ferry Village area. He said those contacts could have been encouraged to let their friends and neighbors know.

“If residents were informed that there was fluid and sand on the road, they could have avoided that street,” Jacobs said.