LIVERMORE — Andy Witham, who co-owns Livermore Plaza with his wife, Marlene Witham, learned some interesting facts at last week’s meeting of selectpersons.

While Witham was on vacation in Portland, he received a call from Northeast Security Systems in Wiscasset that security had been breached at the Plaza, he said.

He expressed his frustration over being told a Maine State Police trooper was not available to respond.

State police and the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office alternate coverage every month, said Selectperson Timothy Kachnovich, a patrol supervisor with the Sheriff’s Office.

Speaking on behalf of the Sheriff’s Office, he said their procedure is to check the property first as a safety precaution and if it’s secure, the key holder is asked to let officers inside.

Kachnovich said the state police and the Sheriff’s Office don’t always know what is happening at each other’s agency.

State Police Lt. Walter F. Grzyb, commander for Troop B in Gray, said later in an email, “Business and residential alarms are a common call for service. Almost all alarms we respond to are false alarms.”

He said alarms may be tripped by a faulty alarm system, accidental triggering, animals, environmental factors or other events.

False alarms are a concern for state police and other law enforcement agencies, he said, because they tie up limited resources. This is especially true for areas that do not have a dedicated police agency such as Livermore.

Grzyb said a trooper assigned to patrol Livermore is also covering calls for several other towns, thereby dictating how long it will take for them to respond. Calls that are more serious in nature will be answered first, he said.

Witham said he will have a plan in place the next time he is out of town.

pharnden@sunmediagroup.net

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