GREENE – Selectmen decided Monday night to meet with the Greene Historical Society on Nov. 17 to discuss the future of the old Town House.

The society has considered using the century-old former municipal building for storage and as a meeting location for several months.

Sally Hebert, who serves as society chairperson and deputy town clerk, said the society recently met at the Town House. She requested that selectmen meet with the society’s board in hopes that details of an agreement for permanent use of the building could be drafted.

“Those of us who were born in Greene or have lived here for some time are proud of its heritage,” Hebert said.

$1.2 million grant for security

LEWISTON – More than $1.2 million in U.S. Department of Homeland Security funding to enhance response and preparedness capabilities is being disbursed to Androscoggin County and several of its cities and towns.

The money is part of $4.4 billion earmarked for police and fire departments around the nation that was put into the fiscal 2003 federal budget.

It will help counties and towns pay for planning, training exercises and other costs associated with increased security measures.

In all, $1,271,041 is going to emergency responders in Androscoggin County via a larger federal grant to the state Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management.

LaBonte’s loved ones appreciative

LEWISTON – For the friends and family of Gerry LaBonte, this autumn has definitely been about rebuilding.

A team of physicians have been repairing the 43-year-old’s shattered bones and internal damage. Meanwhile, a crew of volunteers has been rebuilding the home that LaBonte was working on when the roof rafters came crashing down Oct. 15.

The irony has not escaped LaBonte’s loved ones.

“His life is being rebuilt as the house is rebuilt,” said Karen LaRoche, LaBonte’s fiancé. “It’s beautiful. It’s awesome. We have to thank everyone who has helped us out.”

Special town meeting to discuss TIF

LISBON – Selectman have set Dec. 9 as the date for a special town meeting to consider a proposal to create a tax increment finance district for Enterprise Electric.

A longtime Lisbon Falls business owned by Jim and Claire Kelly, the firm is expanding into a 27,000-square-foot building on Capital Avenue in the industrial park.

The 20-year TIF deal, which has an estimated value of $1.37 million, will allow one-half of the property tax paid to be returned to the firm to be used to help pay for the building.

Donations pay for lift at Titcomb

FARMINGTON – Titcomb Mountain has added a tow lift capable of carrying more than 300 skiers and riders an hour. The purchase was made with $15,000 from private donations.

General Manager Megan Roberts said Titcomb Mountain is about more than building great skiers. Priding itself as “The Friendliest Mountain Around,” Titcomb is run and owned by the Farmington Ski Club. Roberts stressed that etiquette around the mountain “requires ‘pleases’ and ‘thank-you’s’ and most of all, respect.”

The 400 families that make up the club are asked to donate at least eight hours of their time during the season to volunteer either on the hill, the Nordic trails or in the lodge. And a local high school student sits as a voting member on the board.

SAD 15 drops activity fee

NEW GLOUCESTER – An activity fee imposed on all SAD 15 students in grades six through 12 was rescinded by the school board Wednesday by a 9-1 vote.

The board’s action to abolish the policy adopted in June arose from information received recently from the district’s attorneys.

The activity fee was earmarked to support the cost of transportation for extracurricular and athletic activities.

Motocross track gets time to comply

MINOT – The Planning Board’s recommendation that Hemond Moto-X Park be given until July to show it can come into compliance with the town’s noise ordinance didn’t sit well with some of the track’s neighbors.

“It’s too bad you people are allowing this to go on. It’s going to be embarrassing to this town,” said Center Minot Hill Road resident Richard Thayer.

The Planning Board Tuesday night made its recommendation, which selectmen had requested, following Gregory Cunningham’s presentation of Donald and Serae Hemond’s plans.

Cunningham handed board members a letter from Scott Bodwell, engineer for Resource Systems Engineering, which suggested that previous sound studies used a “pausing technique” to record sound levels that would not accurately represent continuous motocross activity for a minute. The pausing technique was used to eliminate traffic noise on Route 119.

Meeting to get towns talking

LEWISTON – Leaders from Androscoggin County cities and towns took a plan for more cooperation back home with them .

Over dinner in the Lewiston Multi-Purpose Center elected leaders from seven communities and the county talked about ways to work together and combine services.

Then, with copies of a resolution pledging more cooperation, they walked across the street to the Central Maine Civic Center and attended a Lewiston Maineiacs hockey game.

Jim Bennett, Lewiston city administrator, said the meeting was designed to get the towns talking about ways to pool their efforts.

“There’s a chance that we could save some money here,” Bennett said.

Three charged in drug arrest

LEWISTON – Police arrested three men at Maine Turnpike Exit 13 night and charged the trio with bringing crack cocaine into the city.

Officers stopped the car the men were riding in after receiving a tip that they had recently purchased crack cocaine in Massachusetts.

Police and drug agents who searched the Chevrolet Prizm said they found crack rocks hidden in various locations inside the car.

The three men were searched, handcuffed and loaded into cruisers, charge with drug trafficking and importation of crack.

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

Fire station eyed for activity center

WOODSTOCK – The Recreation Committee got the go-ahead from selectmen Tuesday to begin converting the town’s old fire station on Railroad Street into a community recreation and activity center.

Recreation Committee Chairman John Fitzmorris presented a breakdown of the costs, which would total approximately $24,000.

“This is only a rough estimate and it’s possible that it will be lower after we get exact quotes on some of the materials. The figures in our plan are only estimates because we’re waiting to hear from several companies with exact quotes on the heating system, chimney, plumbing, electric and septic,” said Fitzmorris, “When those figures are in, we will have a more accurate total.”

SAD 17 addressing fourth-grade gaps

OXFORD – High school students in SAD 17 were much closer to the state average on test scores than fourth-graders in last year’s Maine Educational Assessment testing.

“It looks like our kids do worse in the fourth grade and by the 11th grade they catch up,” SAD 17 board member Mike Brown noted during a report on the 2002-03 scores by Curriculum Director Kathy Elkins.

Elkins confirmed Brown’s observation, and said the district has been busy revising fourth-grade curriculums to meet the challenge.

“They are not overly stellar scores,” Elkins said. When compared with three-year averages, however, the scores for fourth-, eighth- and 11th-graders are essentially the same, she added.

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.

Bates Mill deal discussed

LEWISTON – Jim Bennett’s Bates Mill exit strategy could cost as much as $59.2 million over the next seven years, the city administrator told councilors.

That’s how much existing contracts and agreements with developer Tom Platz will cost the city if nothing changes. Any plan to get the city out of those contracts can’t help but save money, Bennett said.

“That is the amount we are obligated to spend right now, for the next few years,” Bennett said. “But if we can negotiate a deal to even save $1 million of that, that’s a better deal.”

Bennett continues making his case for the city to disentangle itself from the Bates Mill Enterprise Complex. The final deal could be made public by the council’s next meeting on Nov. 18, he said.

Tax bills likely to increase

MINOT – Selectmen set the 2003 Minot property tax rate at 16.5 mills.

The rate is down from last year’s 23.3 mills. That doesn’t mean taxes are going down.

Rather, the new rate reflects a recently completed townwide property revaluation. While the rate is down, valuations rose significantly. Very likely, taxes will be higher.

Selectman Eda Tripp pointed out that in March’s town meeting voters approved a large increase in spending. County tax was up more than $17,000, and $180,000 more was raised for schools.

The town side of the budget was up $71,000, compared with the previous year.

“For anyone who is upset with their tax bill, I offer a personal invitation to them to attend next March town meeting,” said Selectman Dean Campbell.

Principal leaving Harrison Elementary

HARRISON – Two years ago, Walter Wallace became the leader of a school with problems.

Low reading, writing and math test scores had earned Harrison Elementary a spot on the state’s “priority list” for failing to meet standards.

Now the once-failing school is regarded as one of the best in the SAD 17 system. And many people credit Wallace with the change.

Wallace has taken another job. He’s leaving Harrison to head an elementary school in Brunswick.

“That’s disappointing news for us,” said SAD 17 Superintendent Mark Eastman, who oversees Oxford-area schools. “It’s great news for Brunswick. He’s just been a gem.”

Contract set for sludge removal

FARMINGTON – Selectmen voted to enter into a five-year contract for sludge removal from the town’s sewage treatment plant.

The bid was awarded to New England Organics for $44,300 a year. After the first year, the contract price is subject to increases based on the consumer price index.

The board accepted Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent Steve Moore’s recommendation to go with the company. The company transports the bio-solids, also known as sludge to Unity, according to Moore’s memo to selectmen.

They have the option of land spreading on “our sites,” Moore said, or composting at Hawk Ridge Compost Facility.

Although the company’s price is $5 a yard more for land spreading, Moore stated, the cost of composting will offset it.

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