The Times Record | Brunswick

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Wiscasset and Westport Island wriggle toward RSU withdrawal

Wiscasset and Westport Island are one step closer to wriggling their students out of Regional School Unit 12 after two separate votes Tuesday. 

In both towns, a referendum asking voters whether to petition to leave RSU 12 passed by around 100 votes. 

Westport Island voted in favor of petitioning for withdrawal from the RSU with 152 votes in favor and 70 against; Wiscasset had 397 in favor and 293 against a withdrawal petition. 

Both towns are among around a dozen in the state considering a referendum on withdrawal Tuesday, according to David Connerty-Marin of the state Department of Education, though the outcome of the votes in each of those towns was not immediately available Wednesday. 

The vote keeps in motion a long process toward actually withdrawing from the RSU, which would only occur after the formation of a committee to study the impacts of such a move and approval by a two-thirds vote in each town. 


Gideon takes House 106 Democratic primary race

Freeport Town Councilor Sara Gideon prevailed in a three-way Democratic primary Tuesday and now heads to a run for the state Legislature in November to represent Freeport and Pownal.

Gideon will face Republican Benjamin M. Martin, who was unopposed in the primary, in the general election set for Nov. 6. 

Gideon earned 53 percent of the vote Tuesday against candidates Melanie Sachs and Patrick Norton. 

Check out more in Tuesday’s local elections in today’s edition of The Times Record.


POLIQUIN GREETS BRUNSWICK VOTERS Bruce Poliquin, candidate for U.S. Senate in a six-way Republican primary, was at the polls in Brunswick Tuesday morning greeting voters. 

POLIQUIN GREETS BRUNSWICK VOTERS

Bruce Poliquin, candidate for U.S. Senate in a six-way Republican primary, was at the polls in Brunswick Tuesday morning greeting voters. 


Big Top to raise funds for cancer care

A portion of proceeds from sales Thursday at Big Top Deli on Maine Street will be donated to the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life of Brunswick.

The Relay For Life of Brunswick was held on May 18 and 19 at Brunswick High School’s athletic track. To date, the event has raised more than $130,000 and attracted approximately 1,500 attendees.

Fundraising efforts will continue until Aug. 31 through ongoing efforts such as the Relay For Life Night at Big Top Deli.

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LINK: Despite offer for former TR building, council invites raze bids

From a vacuum of offers for a town-owned building at 6 Industry Road, a potential buyer emerged early Monday. The offer, however, elicited a lukewarm reception from the Town Council.

The council took no action after an executive session added to Monday’s regular meeting agenda, from which Town Manager Gary Brown said it can be inferred that the offer on the former Times Record building, listed for $669,000, was not acceptable.

Read more in today’s edition of The Times Record.


LINK: Harpswell woman forsakes career, cubicle to pursue pilot’s license

Wiscasset pilot Kim PowersTaking to the skies is safe, Kim Powers said, but quitting her job felt like a big risk. 

At age 55, she’s dropped her career to pick up flying and found a new job working at the Wiscasset airport, where she first took to the skies. 

Kim has a great story and was inspiring to talk to. Here are a few reasons why: 

“I’ve worked behind a desk my whole life,” Powers said. “I didn’t take risks — I mean to grab onto something that seemed like sort of a dream, like learning to fly, and saying that I’m going to go with it.”
“Every time I go up, it’s such a feeling of exhilaration,” Power said. “I can look around for miles. It’s not like the highway with lanes of traffic — you can look all around — and it’s the greatest sense of freedom.”

Read more at The Times Record.


A blue heron enjoys the rains Monday as water in the Androscoggin River rises high above its normal banks. At homes along Water Street in Brunswick, a trampoline and smelt shack were partially submersed in the roaring river waters. 

A blue heron enjoys the rains Monday as water in the Androscoggin River rises high above its normal banks. At homes along Water Street in Brunswick, a trampoline and smelt shack were partially submersed in the roaring river waters.