State Police to increase patrol in Livermore area for concert

LIVERMORE — Maine State Police will step up patrols in the area this weekend: Thousands of people are expected to attend the Heroes of Woodstock concert Sunday at the Barnyard All Terrain park on Route 108.

Initially heralded as bringing in about 20,000 people, concert organizer Mike Shea said Thursday he expects between 5,000 and 8,000. The unknown is how many tickets will be sold at the gate.

Maine Police State Lt. Walter Grzyb said he has been working with Shea's estimate, but it's an uncertainty. Organizers didn't expect a half-million people to show up on a field in New York for Woodstock 40 years ago, he said.

"I think we are as ready as we can be," Grzyb said.

Representatives of the Maine State Police, Androscoggin County Sheriff's Department, Livermore Fire Department, Office of the Maine State Fire Marshal and others have met during the summer about the concert. State Police will handle calls in the northern part of Androscoggin County; the Sheriff's Department is scheduled to handle the lower part as part of the normal call-sharing agreement. Androscoggin County Sheriff Guy Desjardins said he had added one deputy to patrol for his zone in case they are needed in Livermore.

Shea has a private security firm to keep order inside the gates, Grzyb said. It's the same firm that handles security at the Loudon racetrack in New Hampshire, Shea said.

Firefighters will staff a special detail to handle emergency management on site, and there will be an ambulance there.

Shea has hired state police to control traffic at the intersection of Routes 108 and 4 and Routes 108 and 219, Grzyb said. There will also be a couple of cruisers near the gate.

"Route 4 is our biggest concern," Grzyb said. "We're going to try and make it as safe as possible." 

There will be parking at the Barnyard lot and in a farm field off River Road, across from the park. Parking and camping are being handled by park and field owners, the Lovewell family, Shea said.

Sunday's concert is being promoted as Jammin' for the Homeless, with a portion of each ticket and a percentage of proceeds from the beer tent going to benefit the Hope Haven Gospel Mission on Lincoln Street in Lewiston, he said.

dperry@sunjournal.com