News Notes: January 23, 2022
You might assume Portland International Jetport is the busiest airport in Maine, but it’s actually our own Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport (SFM). With 38,515 takeoffs and landings in 2020, SFM has more takeoff and landings than any other airport in the state.
Help support the Sanford-Springvale YMCA Titans Swim Team Scholarship Fund! This online fundraiser through Meadow Farms has something for everyone – chocolates, wrapping paper, plants, candles, home decor and so much more! Click this link to help make the Y swim team accessible to all children in our community: https://shop.meadowfarms.com/index.asp?PID=3083520.
Hours at the York County Vaccination Clinic at the Center For Shopping in South Sanford have changed. The new hours are 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday, and 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Vaccines for people age 5 and up, as well as booster shots, are available on a walk-in basis during those hours, no appointment needed.
On January 19, the Planning Board gave conditional approval to the Major Site Plan application for the Pepin gravel pit on Bernier Rd. If all conditions are met, the pit’s hours of operation will be 6:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with screening starting at 7:00 a.m. and crushing at 8:00 a.m. Trucks will be accessing the pit through the Gorham Sand and Gravel property off Route 4. Extraction is expected to start within a year or two and be completed within five years.
At the January 19 Planning Board meeting, a public hearing on proposed zoning amendments to allow retail sales of adult-use (i.e. recreational) marijuana didn’t lead to any recommendations for changes from the Board. All members of the Board who were present were in favor of allowing just one retail license on each of the five properties that are proposed to be zoned for retail adult-use sales. Only two members of the public spoke. One, identified only as Katherine, threatened legal action if the City did not include social equity provisions in the amendments. [According to the National Association of Cannabis Businesses, the goal of social equity laws is to ensure that people from communities disproportionately harmed by marijuana prohibition and discriminatory law enforcement are included in the new legal marijuana industry.] The other member of the public who spoke, Justin, operates a medical cannabis operation, and asked for consideration for medical providers to be able to transition to retail sales. The proposed amendments will go back to the City Council, which will consider licensing and fees.
The Sanford Fire Department has released its year-end totals of responses for 2021. The calls are broken down as follows:
- Fires (including mutual aid) – 105
- Overpressure, rupture, explosion, overheat (no fire) – 8
- Rescue and Emergency Medical Service – 3,018
- Hazardous Condition (no fire) – 125
- Service call – 339
- Good intent call – 253
- False alarm and false call – 256
- Severe weather and natural disaster – 14
- Special incident type – 10
The Secret Gourmet is a new Facebook page offering reviews of Maine restaurants. Check out their first review of the Welcome Home Diner.
The Sanford School Department periodically destroys special education records. If you attended Sanford schools and received Special Education, and were born prior to December 31, 1995, or your custodial child did, and you would like to have these records, please contact the Special Education office at Sanford High School, 100 Alumni Blvd, Sanford Maine or by phone at 457-1413 prior to February 18, 2022. Records not claimed by March 4, 2022 will be destroyed.
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