Saturday, November 21, 2009 in Lewiston, Maine
BETHEL — The brother and business partner of a man involved in fisticuffs with the town's code enforcement officer at a local restaurant Thursday says the dispute is based on a long-standing issue of town officials favoring some road developers over others.
Ron Savage, the brother of Rick Savage, who was punched in the face by Code Enforcement Officer Robert Folsom at the Crossroads Diner & Deli on Route 2, said his brother did not provoke the attack. Ron Savage said Rick would not talk to the press on the advice of his lawyer.
HARTFORD — People who own property near the old railroad bed and want to cross it to get their timber onto Bartlett Road asked selectmen Thursday to clarify the rules on using the bed.
Michael McCarron said Bartlett Road is a common road that gives him access to his land, and he wanted to know if the town required a bond to cross the railroad bed.
Jo Marston and Jenna Cloutier and their staff did all of the planning and preparation along with their staff, Cloutier, the school nutritionist, said.
Western Regional School District Superintendent Tom Ward welcomed the large group of attendees and declared the event "an embedded tradition."
GREENWOOD — Voters overwhelmingly rejected a new Land Management Standards Ordinance at a special town meeting Wednesday.
The vote was 41-137, Town Manager Kim Sparks said Thursday. "That's the most people we've ever had at a town meeting."
OTISFIELD — Selectmen say they are unable to prohibit weapons from being carried onto municipal property.
The board took up the question Wednesday after a resident with a concealed weapon permit called the Town Office and asked whether he would be able to take the weapon to a selectmen meeting. Chairman Hal Ferguson said the town determined after consulting with the Maine Municipal Association that the town can only restrict its employees from carrying concealed weapons.
NORWAY — Selectmen unanimously agreed Thursday to schedule a special town meeting to determine what action they should take regarding the Opera House, which an engineer said is in imminent danger of collapsing onto Main Street.
PARIS — A wellness group is hoping to begin work to link two trail systems this spring with a 1.25-mile path along the Little Androscoggin River.
Ken Morse, partnership director of Healthy Oxford Hills, said the plan is to connect the trails at the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School with those at the Oxford Hills Middle School.
"The project has been in the works for three years," Morse said. "Most of that time is getting a license of lease from the railroad."
PARIS — Two towns will see a festive start to the holiday season as the 33rd annual Oxford Hills Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade rolls through the streets.
The parade will begin at 2 p.m. Nov. 28 at Moore Park and proceed along a 2-mile route down Main Street in Paris and Norway, ending at Advertiser Square. The procession usually takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes to an hour and a half, and traffic will be rerouted during that time.
The theme this year is "A Musical Christmas."
PARIS — A volunteer firefighter admitted to investigators that he started a blaze that destroyed two vacant houses in the village of Locke Mills in Greenwood early Tuesday when he ignited a pile of dry leaves, according to an affidavit released Wednesday.
Jeffrey A. Tyler, 28, who served on the Greenwood Fire Department, has been charged with two counts of arson. He was taken to Androscoggin County Jail on Wednesday.
BUCKFIELD — The Board of Selectmen will visit the wind farm in Freedom on Sunday, Nov. 22, and Town Manager Glen Holmes said Tuesday night that anyone who wants to join them is asked to call the town office. The bus will leave the Municipal Building at 9 a.m.
The trip is planned to give officials an opportunity to see and hear the wind turbines, and it comes at a time when Buckfield is developing an ordinance to regulate such projects. A special town meeting is scheduled Jan. 9 to vote on a moratorium on wind power development.
"It's our single largest fundraiser to help deserving teens in the Oxford Hills area have Christmas," Jean Delamater said.
Last year the sold-out concert raised more than $4,000 to help 180 economically eligible and homeless teenagers in the Oxford Hills area.
The concert will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are available from chorus members and at Books N Things on Main Street in Norway.
WOODSTOCK — An informal poll at Tuesday night's public hearing on a wind farm project for Spruce Mountain showed 18 in favor, nine against and nine uncertain.
Chuck Blaquiere photo
Firefighters worked to contain a blaze at Jim and Maxine Perkins' home at 158 Mechanic Falls Road (Route 121) in Oxford on Tuesday. A state fire investigator ruled the cause was undetermined, but believes it started around the wood stove, fire Capt. Shawn Cordwell said Tuesday night.
GREENWOOD — A volunteer firefighter was charged with two counts of arson in connection with fires that destroyed two vacant homes on Route 26 early Tuesday morning. There were no injuries.
Jeffrey A. Tyler, 28, of 60 Paris Road in Bethel was arrested at about 3 p.m. by state fire investigators and taken to the Oxford County Jail in Paris, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland said.
