About Hannah LaClaire
Brunswick works to fill several department head vacancies
BRUNSWICK — A number of vacant positions and a relatively high turnover are putting a strain on several Brunswick departments, requiring some officials to pick up the slack until the jobs are filled. “It’s always hard when senior people are retiring or people are leaving,” town manager John Eldridge said. “It’s a time-consuming process, some of us have had to […]
Brunswick landmark Fat Boy Drive-In to open for season Thursday
BRUNSWICK — Lovers of onion rings and BLTs mark your calendars, Fat Boy Drive-In opens for business on Thursday. “It’s still us, we’re still here,” owner Ken Burton said Monday. “We’re going to try to do the best we can.” The landmark restaurant will reopen for the season despite the fact that it still hasn’t been sold to new owners. […]
Midcoast Humane launches new initiative to find homes for animals within 90 days
BRUNSWICK — Maui the cat has a personality every bit as big as her 20-pound frame. She is sassy, smart, and goes after what she wants (usually food) and according to volunteers at Midcoast Humane. Despite her big personality, which volunteers assure is very sweet, Maui is one of several long-term overlooked pets at the shelter and has been waiting to […]
Doing the impossible: The Island Rover, built in a backyard, sits ready for launch but can’t get to the water
FREEPORT — Everyone involved in the years-long saga of the Island Rover project seems to agree on one thing: The Island Rover, a 80-ton, 113-foot topsail schooner, belongs in the water. But after years of legal battles, nobody seems to agree on the when or the how that might happen. Meanwhile, the vessel is sitting on a landlocked parcel on […]
Trek Across Maine, soccer tournament expected to bring thousands to Brunswick over Father’s Day weekend
BRUNSWICK — Thousands are expected to flood into Brunswick over Father’s Day Weekend this year, making for a potential boon for local businesses but with an unknown impact on traffic. Two thousand bicyclists and spectators will likely head into town for the annual Trek Across Maine June 14-16, and thousands more for the Coastal Summer Challenge soccer tournament June 15-16. While […]
Maine veterinarians see uptick in marijuana poisoning in dogs
BRUNSWICK — Darcy Baggett had just returned from a long winter walk with her fiance and their two dogs, Sherman and Nala, when she noticed the animals weren’t acting quite right. It was meal time, but the dogs weren’t interested in their food – one of them just looked at it and started swaying back and forth. She called her […]
Public hearing over Durham comprehensive plan with focus on preserving small town farming roots
DURHAM — A new Durham comprehensive plan aims to preserve the community’s rural small-town character and its small-town numbers. The town is hosting a public hearing Monday, March 25, to review a draft of the comprehensive plan, which would replace the one adopted in 2002 if approved at the April 6 town meeting. Comprehensive plans are general outlines that serve […]
Town council to set rules for shelters, extends moratorium to May 1
BRUNSWICK — The yearlong push to create a zoning ordinance for homeless shelters in Brunswick may soon draw to a close, but not before a new licensing ordinance regulating “performance standards” raises alarm bells for local shelter officials. A lengthy list of performance standards came before the town council Monday night, but will not be voted on until after a […]
Brunswick Veterans Plaza push has a long hill to climb, with $200,000 still to raise
BRUNSWICK — Tom Farrell is aware that the fundraising timeline for the upcoming Brunswick Veterans Plaza is “very aggressive.” With more than $200,000 of the needed $250,000 still left to raise, he and others in the American Legion and community are hoping to have the plaza open to the public by Veterans Day 2019 — something planners have said is […]
Community forum to talk logistics of upcoming Trek Across Maine
BRUNSWICK — This June, more than 2,000 bicyclists are expected to flock to Brunswick for the 35th annual Trek Across Maine, which will start and end in Brunswick for the first time. The 180-mile route will start at Brunswick Landing and take cyclists through Augusta, Auburn, Bath, Belgrade, Freeport and Lewiston with overnight stops at Bates College in Lewiston and […]
Education foundation grants help fund 20 individual classroom projects across Brunswick
BRUNSWICK — In her 22 years as a teacher in Brunswick, Felicity Beede has had a lot of “highfalutin ideas” for things she would like to bring into her classroom, but it wasn’t until the advent of the Brunswick Community Education Foundation’s grants that she ever thought they might be funded. Beede is one of 20 grant recipients this year, […]
Brunswick High School Players just over half way to fundraising goal with five months until Scotland performance
BRUNSWICK — With just five months to go until a group of Brunswick students fly to Edinburgh to perform in Scotland’s Festival Fringe, it’s starting to feel real. The Brunswick High School Players were tapped to perform an abridged version of “Flowers for Algernon” this August, during what is known as the world’s largest performing arts festival. They are one of […]
Brunswick teen honored for volunteer work, finding homes for more than 100 cats
BRUNSWICK — Before third grade, Blakely Austin was no great animal lover. Sure, she knew some people had pets, but it didn’t appeal to her. That all changed after a visit to Midcoast Humane with her grandparents a few years ago when something “just clicked.” Now, to call Austin, 15, an animal lover would be an understatement. While she still […]
Queens of the craft: Brunswick breweries celebrate women in craft beer
BRUNSWICK — Kate Rydell first entered the craft beer world because, amongst her male friends, she didn’t want to be “the chick who only drinks Bud Light.” The more she learned, the more interested she became, and now she is one of several women in Brunswick and around the state making a living in the business of beer. Rydell works […]
Physics and finesse in Brunswick: Auburn bowler becomes first woman in Maine to bowl 3 nearly perfect games
BRUNSWICK — For Mallory Nutting, bowling is like a second job. She bowls in leagues three times per week and has at least one, but often more, tournaments per weekend. But despite putting in enough hours for a part-time job, to Nutting, it doesn’t feel like “work.” She’s been bowling on and off since she was a child, but in […]
Benefit Friday for Durham man suffering multiple illnesses who always put ‘family, friends or foe’ first
DURHAM — After meeting with a cardiologist in January to discuss his pneumonia diagnosis and treatment, Randy Miller stood up to shake his doctor’s hand. Seconds later he had a massive heart attack. Thus began a long road of health and heart problems for Miller, 67, who has been a member of the Durham community for decades, operating Randy’s Auto Repair […]
Owners of landmark Fat Boy Drive-In plan to reopen this month, despite lack of buyer
BRUNSWICK — Despite the “For Sale” sign hanging on Fat Boy’s exterior since early December, owners Ken and Jeanne Burton are making plans to open the drive-in burger joint for their regular season this month. Community members were surprised and disappointed when the landmark restaurant went up for sale this winter, calling it a “big loss for the town.” Fat Boy […]
Brunswick EMS to start billing patient care facilities for lift assistance
BRUNSWICK — Brunswick Emergency Medical Services can now bill patient-care facilities who call first responders to get help lifting and moving patients or residents — calls that Fire Chief Kenneth Brillant said tie up valuable resources and increase risk of injury to firefighters. As it stands, many long-term care facilities have “no lift” policies, meaning that if a patient falls, […]
Tedford supporters ask Brunswick council to act quickly, vote on shelter moratorium pushed to next meeting
BRUNSWICK — Last week, Giff Jamison was about to go into a meeting when a homeless couple came into his office, looking for a bed at Tedford Shelter. They had been sleeping in a tent, were down to their last propane tank, and the temperature was expected to dip into the single digits. But there was no room at the […]
Author, city planning expert to speak in Brunswick
BRUNSWICK — A local author whose book has become “required reading” in planning and development circles around the country will speak to the Brunswick Planning Board next week about “reclaiming highway strips and strengthening town centers,” according to Matt Panfil, director of planning and development. Randall Arendt, author of “Rural by Design” and a former town planner himself, gives lectures […]
Town council sees new fire station as expensive, necessary project
BRUNSWICK — Plans for a new central fire station in Brunswick would create a “level of debt we haven’t seen,” Town Manager John Eldridge told council members during a workshop Monday night. The roughly $11 million station could mean a 2 percent tax increase the first year, which would hold steady over the next 15, but council members were still […]
Freeport business owner launching initiative to help students manage anxiety
FREEPORT — Whenever David Bidler asks a crowd who among them has experienced anxiety, the answer is almost always the same — everyone. But when he then asks who among them can define anxiety, he is almost always met with silence. This is something he is trying to change with Physiology First, a budding program and soon-to-be national nonprofit aimed […]
Lewiston man arrested for allegedly hitting jogger, leaving the scene
LISBON — Police arrested a Lewiston man Friday after he allegedly struck a 36-year-old Lisbon jogger on Route 196 Friday morning. Aaron Crenshaw, 25, of Lewiston, was arrested following a traffic stop soon after and charged with leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, according to police. The jogger told police a truck veered toward her and struck her […]
Town council to review changes to fire station proposal after $2 million in cuts
BRUNSWICK — After making nearly $2 million dollars worth of cuts, officials are bringing an updated plan for a new central fire station back to the town council. Town officials will review and discuss the approximately $11 million project in a workshop Monday evening. Brunswick’s central fire station turns 100 this year, and fire officials say it’s outlived its usefulness. […]
Strong showing of community support helps Brunswick High School get a new track facility
BRUNSWICK — For Brunswick track athlete Will Shaughnessy, there’s nothing quite like a home meet. With family, friends, teachers and the rest of the community cheering, there’s something “almost electric” in the air, he told the town council on Tuesday. But Shaughnessy and the rest of his teammates haven’t been able to experience that feeling in more than two years […]
Brunswick weighs another homeless shelter rules delay, would push back Tedford project further
BRUNSWICK — As the town council weighs whether to extend its moratorium on homeless shelter development in Brunswick, it may be at least two more winters before Tedford Housing can build its new shelter and resource center it’s been dreaming of for more than a year, said Craig Phillips, executive director of Tedford Housing. Council members scheduled a public hearing […]
Photo Gallery: Area activists protest Trump’s national emergency declaration
BRUNSWICK — More than 100 protesters gathered on the Brunswick Mall on Monday, despite snow and freezing temperatures, to protest Pres. Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to help fund the border wall. Members of Brunswick Area Indivisible were joined by members from the Harspwell, Sagadahoc and Damariscotta chapters to protest what they said was a “fake emergency.” Jackie […]