RUMFORD – Rumford Hospital will join more than 20 other Maine hospitals by becoming smoke-free next month.

The change will take place Nov. 20, the date of the Great American Smokeout.

Deb Gorham, clinical coordinator at the hospital, said the ban on smoking for employees, visitors and patients applies to the parking lots, vehicles and outdoor areas of the hospital, Swift River Healthcare, the Rumford Veterans Clinic, and the Elsemore/Dixfield Clinic. Rumford Community Home, which is also associated with the hospital, will not go smokefree at this time because it serves as home for its residents.

The decision to go smoke-free was made by the hospital’s Wellness Committee, which determined that a smoking prohibition was the No. 1 priority.

Smoking was banned inside the hospital about 15 years ago.

Androscoggin budget up $423,255

AUBURN – The Androscoggin County Commission recommended a budget of $9.4 million for 2004, an increase of $423,255 from this year.

There is very little in the new budget that is not from fixed expenses, said County Commission Chairman Elmer Berry. “The commission has held the line on salaries and wages, and recommended to the Budget Committee a cost of living increase for all employees.”

Berry said the commissioners have spent many hours preparing their proposed budget. He said they have held the line and not approved new positions, opting for authorized overtime instead, that could be eliminated when no longer justified by the workload.

He added that the county is expecting to receive between $25,000 and $30,000 from other counties for boarding prisoners next year. “The OUI programs are now profitable. They haven’t been in the past. Deed revenues are up,” Berry said.

Androscoggin to get court upgrade

AUBURN – The County Commission authorized a transfer of $50,000 to pay for security upgrades at the Androscoggin County Courthouse Wednesday.

County Treasurer Robert Poulin requested that the $50,000 be transferred from the undedicated reserve account to the building repairs account. Transfers between accounts require commission approval. The vote was unanimous.

Poulin said after the meeting that the funding is needed to pay for a security door and other security upgrades at the courthouse.

In other business, the commission authorized the expenditure of $8,550 to Simpson and Sons Paving for repairs to the parking lot at the jail and the inner courtyard. The commission also approved the spending of $1,050 to Simpson and Sons for repairs to a drain.

Turner junkyard problem lingers

TURNER – In the spring, when Gene Jordan did not comply with the town’s latest cleanup order for his junkyard on the banks of the Nezinscot River, the town instituted court proceedings. The court ordered the cleanup to be largely completed by Nov. 30.

According to officials and neighbors, that may not happen and a contempt order would be lodged if it does not.

“You can still see at least 20 junk cars” when driving by, Town Manager Jim Catlin told selectmen.

Officials have discussed options with the town’s attorney and may consider condemnation proceedings. The town has more than $80,000 in liens against the property.

Apartment building sold to city

LEWISTON – The city will buy a 23-unit Canal Street apartment building to make way for part of the lower Lisbon Street redevelopment.

Councilors inked a deal to purchase the apartment building at 480-482 Canal St. from owner Ray Frechette Jr. for $735,000 plus another $108,000 in heating and relocation expenses and incentives to help current tenants move.

Frechette called the deal traumatic. The building has been in his family for 30 years and he would prefer not to sell.

“But the threat of eminent domain is very real, and I don’t want to go through that,” Frechette said. “I don’t want to sell it, but you do what you have to do when you don’t have a choice.”

Frechette said he currently has 18 tenants.

The sale is part of a plan to revitalize the block of buildings surrounded by Lisbon, Maple and Canal streets. The first phase began last month, with crews tearing down the old FHP Engine Building to make way for Oxford Networks headquarters.

The apartment building would come down as part of the next phase for a parking lot.

Treatment plant fix-up under budget

WILTON – Two major pieces of equipment have been replaced at the town’s Waste Treatment Plant in nearly half the time projected, said the plant superintendent. Preliminary figures show that the project is about 10 percent under budget.

Plant Superintendent Russ Mathers said two rotating biological contractors were installed in 8.25 days rather than the 15 days that had been estimated.

The project was to replace old equipment with two new 22-foot shafts and media, a plastic material where microorganisms are housed to treat wastewater. Preliminary calculations, Mathers said, show that the project cost about $15,000 less than the $150,000 projected.

Each of the shafts weighs 3.5 tons, he said, and full of the plastic media and microorganisms, it weighs about 10 tons. Once the plastic is installed on the shafts, the wheel is about 10-feet in diameter.

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