First the blizzard, now the freeze
Written by David Carkhuff
Glare ice and freezing rain greeted motorists venturing out Monday after a record-setting blizzard dumped over two and a half feet of snow on Portland.
Gorham was the hub for motor vehicle crashes Monday, including a serious two-vehicle collision on Dow Road, Route 112, which required medical transport. This crash occurred around 3:15 p.m. Monday near the intersection of Files Road, when a Nissan Extera and a Suburu crashed, according to dispatch communications. A short time later, a lone vehicle crashed into a pole on Huston Road, a road linking Route 4 and Route 114; part of the road was closed as a result, a Gorham Police dispatcher reported.
Then, around 4 p.m., the Route 112 bypass was closed for a four-vehicle crash, which resulted in an alert from the Gorham Police Department for motorists to seek an alternate route.
Monday night around 7 p.m., a tractor trailer jackknifed on the Interstate 295 north ramp, Exit 1 from the T spur, leading to Main Street in South Portland, dispatch communications indicated. Two tractor trailer trucks were involved; one struck a stranded car, and another slid off the ramp and into the woods, State Police told dispatchers. The ramp was closed while emergency responders sorted out the damage.
Speeds were reduced to 45 mph the entire length of the Maine Turnpike from Kittery mile 2 through Exit 109 in Augusta due to snow and slippery travel conditions. Interstate 295 also was placed under speed restrictions.
In the midst of the meltdown and freeze Monday, crews tried to dig out from the storm. Portland was buried in 31.9 inches of snow from the weekend blizzard, and an 2 additional inches fell on Monday from a separate storm system, the National Weather Service reported. The storm total from Friday and Saturday broke the old record of 27.1 inches set on Jan. 17-18, 1979, making it the greatest snowstorm on record in Portland, the National Weather Service reported. Portland had a peak wind gust of 55 miles per hour at 4:57 a.m. on Saturday.
The Weather Channel reported that five states had locations that recorded 30 inches or more from the weekend storm, including Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and New York. Hamden, Conn. had the top total of 40 inches of snow.
Maine State Police hit the ground running on Friday morning as the weekend blizzard immediately snarled traffic.
Troopers and other responders spent four hours cleaning up a 19-car pileup on Interstate 295 in Cumberland Friday morning. State Police say the chain reaction crash started when a car spun out in the southbound lane in Cumberland, just north of the Falmouth line, and five other vehicles collided with it. In the immediate aftermath, 13 other vehicles were involved, and traffic backed up for miles until a number of wreckers were able to clear the roadway. For most of the time, one lane remained open, but traffic slowed to a crawl. Troopers reported one person was transported to the hospital by ambulance with an injury that was not life threatening.
A number of other crashes took place along the Maine Turnpike from Kennebunk to Biddeford-Saco Friday morning, in what would be a prelude of things to come.
State Police Troop G, which patrols the Turnpike and the Portland area, reported a string of crashes, including a 9 a.m Friday rear-ender on the Turnpike over Riverside Street; a two-vehicle slide-off and crash on the Turnpike at Gray at 11:21 a.m. Friday; a single vehicle into a guardrail on the Turnpike at New Gloucester at 1:50 p.m. Friday; a single-vehicle crash into a guard rail and rollover on the Turnpike at Kennebunk around 3:54 p.m. Friday; and a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of the Turnpike and I-95 NB over Forest Avenue in Portland around 7:32 p.m. Friday.
On Saturday, the operator of a mini-van rear-ended a plow on the Turnpike at mile marker 50 northbound, State Police reported. Two passengers in the mini-van were injured with broken legs and facial lacerations, State Police reported. Portland Fire Department responded to extricate.
A yellow zone parking ban for the city of Portland was declared beginning at 10 p.m. Monday night, Feb. 11, and ending at 6 a.m. Tuesday morning, Feb. 12. Sunday night, city crews were able to clear more than half of the downtown area and were hoping to clear and remove snow from the remaining streets during the night's ban. The Yellow Zone is an area within the downtown business district that is geographically bounded by Commercial Street on the south; Cumberland Avenue on the north; Franklin Street Arterial on the east; and State Street on the west. The parking ban was put in effect within the square area of these four streets.
Vehicles left on the street during a ban will be towed at the owner's expense (tow fee — $70, impound fee — $35, ticket cost — $30 and all outstanding tickets must be paid. Vehicles not claimed within 24 hours will be charged $25 storage fee per day). Owners of towed vehicles should call the city's Parking Division at 874-8443 during normal business hours for tow lot locations (outside of regular business hours, call the Police Department at 874-8575 for assistance).
On Monday, Portland Public Services crews began posting certain streets on the East and West End with emergency "no parking" signs, the city reported. Streets found impassible for emergency vehicles have had the parking on one side restricted. While the emergency "no parking" signs are immediately in effect, vehicles will not be towed until 12 hours have passed from posting the street, the city reported. Crews will then begin removing snow in order to ensure that the street is passable when cars are parked on both sides. The snow removal process is expected to take several days.
A list of streets posted for emergency no parking (odd and even reflect the house numbers on the street) included:
Adams Street (SOUTH): posted at 2:15 p.m.; Atlantic Street from Congress Street to Fore Street (EVEN): posted at 12:30 p.m.; Beckett Street from Congress Street to Mood Street (EVEN): posted at noon; Emerson Street from Congress Street to Melbourne Street (EVEN): posted at noon; Kellogg Street from Congress Street to Adams Street (EVEN): posted at 3:15 p.m.; Layfayette Street from Quebec Street to Congress Street (EVEN): posted at noon; May Street from Spring Street to Danforth Street (ODD): posted at noon; Merrill Street from Congress Street to Melbourne Street (EVEN): posted at noon; Moody Street from Munjoy Street to E. Prom (EVEN): posted at noon; Montreal Street from North Street to E. Prom (EVEN): posted at noon; Monument Street from Ponce Street to Munjoy Street (EVEN): posted at 12:45 p.m.; Morning Street (EVEN): posted at 12:30 p.m.; Munjoy Street from Fore Street to Congress Street (EVEN): posted at noon; Neal Street from Brackett Street to Pine Street (ODD): posted at noon; Newbury Street from Hancock Street to Franklin Street (EVEN): posted at 2 p.m.; O'Brien Street from Fore Street to Wilson Street (EVEN): posted at 3 p.m.; Pine Street from Winter Street to Brackett Street (ODD): posted at noon; Ponce Street (EVEN): posted at 2:30 p.m.; Quebec Street from North Street to E. Prom (EVEN): posted at noon; Sherbrooke Street (SOUTH): posted at 2 p.m.; Sheridan Street from Monument Street to Adams Street (EVEN): posted at 2 p.m.; Somerset Street from Elm Street to Chestnut Street (NORTH): posted at 2 a.m.; Somerset Street from Elm Street to a point 150' East (SOUTH): posted at 2 a.m.; St. Lawrence Street from Congress Street to Fore Street (EVEN): posted at 3 p.m.; Turner Street from E. Prom to Merrill Street (EVEN): posted at noon; Vesper Street from Fore Street to Congress Street (EVEN): posted at 3 p.m.; Waterville Street from Monument Street to Fore Street (EVEN): posted at 2 p.m.; and Wilson Street from Munjoy Street to E. Prom (EVEN): posted at noon.
On Saturday morning, Central Maine Power reported over 9,700 outages including 3,707 outages in Cumberland County, although by 5 p.m. Saturday, CMP reported nearly all had been fixed and power restored to nearly the entire service area.
Gorham was the hub for motor vehicle crashes Monday, including a serious two-vehicle collision on Dow Road, Route 112, which required medical transport. This crash occurred around 3:15 p.m. Monday near the intersection of Files Road, when a Nissan Extera and a Suburu crashed, according to dispatch communications. A short time later, a lone vehicle crashed into a pole on Huston Road, a road linking Route 4 and Route 114; part of the road was closed as a result, a Gorham Police dispatcher reported.
Then, around 4 p.m., the Route 112 bypass was closed for a four-vehicle crash, which resulted in an alert from the Gorham Police Department for motorists to seek an alternate route.
Monday night around 7 p.m., a tractor trailer jackknifed on the Interstate 295 north ramp, Exit 1 from the T spur, leading to Main Street in South Portland, dispatch communications indicated. Two tractor trailer trucks were involved; one struck a stranded car, and another slid off the ramp and into the woods, State Police told dispatchers. The ramp was closed while emergency responders sorted out the damage.
Speeds were reduced to 45 mph the entire length of the Maine Turnpike from Kittery mile 2 through Exit 109 in Augusta due to snow and slippery travel conditions. Interstate 295 also was placed under speed restrictions.
In the midst of the meltdown and freeze Monday, crews tried to dig out from the storm. Portland was buried in 31.9 inches of snow from the weekend blizzard, and an 2 additional inches fell on Monday from a separate storm system, the National Weather Service reported. The storm total from Friday and Saturday broke the old record of 27.1 inches set on Jan. 17-18, 1979, making it the greatest snowstorm on record in Portland, the National Weather Service reported. Portland had a peak wind gust of 55 miles per hour at 4:57 a.m. on Saturday.
The Weather Channel reported that five states had locations that recorded 30 inches or more from the weekend storm, including Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and New York. Hamden, Conn. had the top total of 40 inches of snow.
Maine State Police hit the ground running on Friday morning as the weekend blizzard immediately snarled traffic.
Troopers and other responders spent four hours cleaning up a 19-car pileup on Interstate 295 in Cumberland Friday morning. State Police say the chain reaction crash started when a car spun out in the southbound lane in Cumberland, just north of the Falmouth line, and five other vehicles collided with it. In the immediate aftermath, 13 other vehicles were involved, and traffic backed up for miles until a number of wreckers were able to clear the roadway. For most of the time, one lane remained open, but traffic slowed to a crawl. Troopers reported one person was transported to the hospital by ambulance with an injury that was not life threatening.
A number of other crashes took place along the Maine Turnpike from Kennebunk to Biddeford-Saco Friday morning, in what would be a prelude of things to come.
State Police Troop G, which patrols the Turnpike and the Portland area, reported a string of crashes, including a 9 a.m Friday rear-ender on the Turnpike over Riverside Street; a two-vehicle slide-off and crash on the Turnpike at Gray at 11:21 a.m. Friday; a single vehicle into a guardrail on the Turnpike at New Gloucester at 1:50 p.m. Friday; a single-vehicle crash into a guard rail and rollover on the Turnpike at Kennebunk around 3:54 p.m. Friday; and a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of the Turnpike and I-95 NB over Forest Avenue in Portland around 7:32 p.m. Friday.
On Saturday, the operator of a mini-van rear-ended a plow on the Turnpike at mile marker 50 northbound, State Police reported. Two passengers in the mini-van were injured with broken legs and facial lacerations, State Police reported. Portland Fire Department responded to extricate.
A yellow zone parking ban for the city of Portland was declared beginning at 10 p.m. Monday night, Feb. 11, and ending at 6 a.m. Tuesday morning, Feb. 12. Sunday night, city crews were able to clear more than half of the downtown area and were hoping to clear and remove snow from the remaining streets during the night's ban. The Yellow Zone is an area within the downtown business district that is geographically bounded by Commercial Street on the south; Cumberland Avenue on the north; Franklin Street Arterial on the east; and State Street on the west. The parking ban was put in effect within the square area of these four streets.
Vehicles left on the street during a ban will be towed at the owner's expense (tow fee — $70, impound fee — $35, ticket cost — $30 and all outstanding tickets must be paid. Vehicles not claimed within 24 hours will be charged $25 storage fee per day). Owners of towed vehicles should call the city's Parking Division at 874-8443 during normal business hours for tow lot locations (outside of regular business hours, call the Police Department at 874-8575 for assistance).
On Monday, Portland Public Services crews began posting certain streets on the East and West End with emergency "no parking" signs, the city reported. Streets found impassible for emergency vehicles have had the parking on one side restricted. While the emergency "no parking" signs are immediately in effect, vehicles will not be towed until 12 hours have passed from posting the street, the city reported. Crews will then begin removing snow in order to ensure that the street is passable when cars are parked on both sides. The snow removal process is expected to take several days.
A list of streets posted for emergency no parking (odd and even reflect the house numbers on the street) included:
Adams Street (SOUTH): posted at 2:15 p.m.; Atlantic Street from Congress Street to Fore Street (EVEN): posted at 12:30 p.m.; Beckett Street from Congress Street to Mood Street (EVEN): posted at noon; Emerson Street from Congress Street to Melbourne Street (EVEN): posted at noon; Kellogg Street from Congress Street to Adams Street (EVEN): posted at 3:15 p.m.; Layfayette Street from Quebec Street to Congress Street (EVEN): posted at noon; May Street from Spring Street to Danforth Street (ODD): posted at noon; Merrill Street from Congress Street to Melbourne Street (EVEN): posted at noon; Moody Street from Munjoy Street to E. Prom (EVEN): posted at noon; Montreal Street from North Street to E. Prom (EVEN): posted at noon; Monument Street from Ponce Street to Munjoy Street (EVEN): posted at 12:45 p.m.; Morning Street (EVEN): posted at 12:30 p.m.; Munjoy Street from Fore Street to Congress Street (EVEN): posted at noon; Neal Street from Brackett Street to Pine Street (ODD): posted at noon; Newbury Street from Hancock Street to Franklin Street (EVEN): posted at 2 p.m.; O'Brien Street from Fore Street to Wilson Street (EVEN): posted at 3 p.m.; Pine Street from Winter Street to Brackett Street (ODD): posted at noon; Ponce Street (EVEN): posted at 2:30 p.m.; Quebec Street from North Street to E. Prom (EVEN): posted at noon; Sherbrooke Street (SOUTH): posted at 2 p.m.; Sheridan Street from Monument Street to Adams Street (EVEN): posted at 2 p.m.; Somerset Street from Elm Street to Chestnut Street (NORTH): posted at 2 a.m.; Somerset Street from Elm Street to a point 150' East (SOUTH): posted at 2 a.m.; St. Lawrence Street from Congress Street to Fore Street (EVEN): posted at 3 p.m.; Turner Street from E. Prom to Merrill Street (EVEN): posted at noon; Vesper Street from Fore Street to Congress Street (EVEN): posted at 3 p.m.; Waterville Street from Monument Street to Fore Street (EVEN): posted at 2 p.m.; and Wilson Street from Munjoy Street to E. Prom (EVEN): posted at noon.
On Saturday morning, Central Maine Power reported over 9,700 outages including 3,707 outages in Cumberland County, although by 5 p.m. Saturday, CMP reported nearly all had been fixed and power restored to nearly the entire service area.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 12 February 2013 01:43
Hits: 188
Puppy's death spurs quarantine, protests
Written by David Carkhuff
After the death of a puppy from parvovirus, a quarantine remains in effect at Little Paws pet store at 456 Payne Road, Scarborough, and the state plans to send a veterinarian to the business, possibly Tuesday, to check on precautionary measures taken for animal safety, a state official reported.
"What we've done here has been very cautious and very prudent, we've played it on the side of error and the side of caution," said Jay Finegan, assistant for communications at the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
On Feb. 1, the agency was notified of the death of a Siberian husky puppy purchased by a New Hampshire family from Little Paws, Finegan said. The agency's animal welfare division has notified 12 to 15 people who have bought dogs at the pet store "since the sick dog was there, they've all been notified and advised to take their pets to a veterinarian," he said.
The state didn't shut the pet store down, but the quarantine order required a scrub-down and other measures to remove traces of the virus, Finegan said.
"The owner of the store has been very cooperative in the whole process," he said.
Barbara Cross, owner of Little Paws, said she sees no indications that the store is the origin of the parvovirus — a virus transmitted from dog to dog by oral contact with infected feces. "Parvo" can be carried on a dog's hair and feet, as well as on contaminated crates, shoes and other objects, and the virus can incubate for four to five days, according to Petmedmd.com.
Cross said parvovirus may have been contracted following the sale.
"It's a highly contagious virus, and I would think that some of my dogs would have it at least if it came from my facility," she said.
Cross said she will review her purchasing approach.
"I try to research every single breeder. ... in this particular case with trying to research every single breeder and trying to research every single dog, I got suggested to this person as someone who sells Huskies," Cross said.
Cross said she didn't use her usual safeguards and the experience ended up being a "huge mistake."
But Cross recalled a parvo outbreak in Lewiston in July 2012, and the dog while in the care of its new owners may have been exposed to remnants of that outbreak, she speculated.
"I only know the dog was healthy when I sold it," Cross said.
"It was unfortunate what happened to this person's puppy, I'm not sure that the virus that it caught definitely came from our store," Cross said.
"Since all the other dogs that have been in contact with that dog have not shown to have parvovirus, it just leads me to believe it did not come from our store," she said.
Finegan said the state continues probing the source of the virus, as well as a case of giardia which also was detected when the owners of the puppy brought it to a veterinarian in Fryeburg.
"Part of the investigation is trying to determine where this dog came from and trace that back to wherever it came from, this entire chain of custody," Finegan said.
Gorham resident Lynne Fracassi, and the group she founded, Maine Citizens Against Puppy Mills, contend that it's not such a mystery of how the puppy contacted its fatal disease. The fault lies, she said, with a "puppy mill."
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, "a puppy mill is a large-scale commercial dog breeding operation that places profit over the well-being of its dogs — who are often severely neglected — and acts without regard to responsible breeding practices. ... At any given point in time, there are typically between 2,000 and 3,000 USDA-licensed breeders (commonly referred to as puppy mills) operating in the United States," the ASPCA reports (http://www.aspca.org/Fight-Animal-Cruelty/puppy-mills/puppy-mill-faq).
Fracassi said a well-known breeder, with a lengthy case list before the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was responsible for the Siberian husky puppy sold by Little Paws. Source material on puppy mills is available at http://www.petshoppuppies.org, she noted.
"Usually, by 10 days it's showing up, sometimes it has taken up to 30 days to show up," Fracassi said of parvo, so the origin of the virus could be traced to a puppy mill.
Fracassi and a half dozen other opponents of puppy mills held a vigil and demonstration outside of Little Paws on Sunday.
"This is what we're doing, we educate the public about the link between the pet stores and the puppy mills. We have gone to Augusta to get the USDA reports and the importation veterinary reports that link large-scale breeding facilities with all pet stores in Maine," Fracassi said.
On Saturday, the group plans a protest at Tropic Pets on Route 202 in Waterboro.
For almost two years, the group has fought pet stores with ties to "puppy mills," Fracassi said. At Scarborough Town Meeting, the group tried unsuccessfully to pass an ordinance to ban the sale of puppies and kittens in retail pet stores. Windham has turned down a similar ordinance twice, she said. Fracassi said she has proposed a similar ordinance in Gorham.
Carol Reynolds of Naples, a pet groomer for 24 years who runs Wizard of Paws pet supply store in Bridgton, joined Sunday's demonstration and said there's no room for stores that traffic in puppy mill inventory.
"If you know dog behavior and you know dog development, it really is not appropriate for puppies to be stored in aquarium-like containers during the crucial weeks of development. So, no, I don't think there is room for a pet store (that sells puppy-mill dogs)," Reynolds said. "It's totally unacceptable for the breeding dogs to be living their lives in a wire-bottom cage, never touching grass."
Members of Maine Citizens Against Puppy Mills plan to keep pressure on Little Paws, especially in light of the recent fatality.
"She is open, which concerns me, because the parvovirus is so deadly that the rescues that I work with will not allow a puppy in a home that has had parvovirus, they will not allow them in for seven years," Fracassi said.
"What we've done here has been very cautious and very prudent, we've played it on the side of error and the side of caution," said Jay Finegan, assistant for communications at the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
On Feb. 1, the agency was notified of the death of a Siberian husky puppy purchased by a New Hampshire family from Little Paws, Finegan said. The agency's animal welfare division has notified 12 to 15 people who have bought dogs at the pet store "since the sick dog was there, they've all been notified and advised to take their pets to a veterinarian," he said.
The state didn't shut the pet store down, but the quarantine order required a scrub-down and other measures to remove traces of the virus, Finegan said.
"The owner of the store has been very cooperative in the whole process," he said.
Barbara Cross, owner of Little Paws, said she sees no indications that the store is the origin of the parvovirus — a virus transmitted from dog to dog by oral contact with infected feces. "Parvo" can be carried on a dog's hair and feet, as well as on contaminated crates, shoes and other objects, and the virus can incubate for four to five days, according to Petmedmd.com.
Cross said parvovirus may have been contracted following the sale.
"It's a highly contagious virus, and I would think that some of my dogs would have it at least if it came from my facility," she said.
Cross said she will review her purchasing approach.
"I try to research every single breeder. ... in this particular case with trying to research every single breeder and trying to research every single dog, I got suggested to this person as someone who sells Huskies," Cross said.
Cross said she didn't use her usual safeguards and the experience ended up being a "huge mistake."
But Cross recalled a parvo outbreak in Lewiston in July 2012, and the dog while in the care of its new owners may have been exposed to remnants of that outbreak, she speculated.
"I only know the dog was healthy when I sold it," Cross said.
"It was unfortunate what happened to this person's puppy, I'm not sure that the virus that it caught definitely came from our store," Cross said.
"Since all the other dogs that have been in contact with that dog have not shown to have parvovirus, it just leads me to believe it did not come from our store," she said.
Finegan said the state continues probing the source of the virus, as well as a case of giardia which also was detected when the owners of the puppy brought it to a veterinarian in Fryeburg.
"Part of the investigation is trying to determine where this dog came from and trace that back to wherever it came from, this entire chain of custody," Finegan said.
Gorham resident Lynne Fracassi, and the group she founded, Maine Citizens Against Puppy Mills, contend that it's not such a mystery of how the puppy contacted its fatal disease. The fault lies, she said, with a "puppy mill."
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, "a puppy mill is a large-scale commercial dog breeding operation that places profit over the well-being of its dogs — who are often severely neglected — and acts without regard to responsible breeding practices. ... At any given point in time, there are typically between 2,000 and 3,000 USDA-licensed breeders (commonly referred to as puppy mills) operating in the United States," the ASPCA reports (http://www.aspca.org/Fight-Animal-Cruelty/puppy-mills/puppy-mill-faq).
Fracassi said a well-known breeder, with a lengthy case list before the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was responsible for the Siberian husky puppy sold by Little Paws. Source material on puppy mills is available at http://www.petshoppuppies.org, she noted.
"Usually, by 10 days it's showing up, sometimes it has taken up to 30 days to show up," Fracassi said of parvo, so the origin of the virus could be traced to a puppy mill.
Fracassi and a half dozen other opponents of puppy mills held a vigil and demonstration outside of Little Paws on Sunday.
"This is what we're doing, we educate the public about the link between the pet stores and the puppy mills. We have gone to Augusta to get the USDA reports and the importation veterinary reports that link large-scale breeding facilities with all pet stores in Maine," Fracassi said.
On Saturday, the group plans a protest at Tropic Pets on Route 202 in Waterboro.
For almost two years, the group has fought pet stores with ties to "puppy mills," Fracassi said. At Scarborough Town Meeting, the group tried unsuccessfully to pass an ordinance to ban the sale of puppies and kittens in retail pet stores. Windham has turned down a similar ordinance twice, she said. Fracassi said she has proposed a similar ordinance in Gorham.
Carol Reynolds of Naples, a pet groomer for 24 years who runs Wizard of Paws pet supply store in Bridgton, joined Sunday's demonstration and said there's no room for stores that traffic in puppy mill inventory.
"If you know dog behavior and you know dog development, it really is not appropriate for puppies to be stored in aquarium-like containers during the crucial weeks of development. So, no, I don't think there is room for a pet store (that sells puppy-mill dogs)," Reynolds said. "It's totally unacceptable for the breeding dogs to be living their lives in a wire-bottom cage, never touching grass."
Members of Maine Citizens Against Puppy Mills plan to keep pressure on Little Paws, especially in light of the recent fatality.
"She is open, which concerns me, because the parvovirus is so deadly that the rescues that I work with will not allow a puppy in a home that has had parvovirus, they will not allow them in for seven years," Fracassi said.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 12 February 2013 01:43
Hits: 876
Nemo shatters storm records
Written by David Carkhuff
The blizzard known as Nemo shattered records in Maine and lingered on Saturday, adding to nearly 30-inch snowfall totals.
The major winter storm continued to blow drifting snow across the region Saturday morning, and there was no expectation of a quick end to the storm, the National Weather Service reported.
"It's a storm that is not wanting to move out to sea very quickly," said Mike Kistner, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Gray.
Temperatures stayed in the teens, keeping the snow light and creating near whiteout conditions.
By 8 a.m. Saturday morning, the Portland Jetport reported 29.3 inches of snow, which set a new record for a single snowstorm, Kistner said. The previous record was set back in Jan. 17-18, 1979, when 27.1 inches fell.
"We still have some time left to crush that record pretty good. ... I can see Portland probably is going to come in at 33 or 34 inches," he said.
Other storms were bumped down the list of greatest: The blizzard of 1952, lasting from Feb. 17-18, dumped 25.3 inches; third was the storm of Jan. 23-24, 1935, when 23.3 inches of snow were reported.
By Saturday morning, Nemo had exceeded those totals. South Windham logged 28 inches around 8 a.m., Gorham 26.1 inches of snow around 7 a.m. and Cumberland had 23 inches of snow as of 6 a.m. At Gray, at the National Weather Service station, officials reported 21.4 inches of snow at 7 a.m.
On Friday morning around 8 a.m., as the storm picked up force, a multi-car pile-up closed part of Interstate 295, near the Falmouth spur. Officials said 19 vehicles were involved; no major injuries were reported. By 11 a.m. Saturday, the Maine State Police reported no major incidents for the day.
Heavy snow, along with strong wind gusts, were expected to continue across much of New England early Saturday morning, before beginning to slowly taper off from west to east later in the morning and into the afternoon.
Last Updated on Saturday, 09 February 2013 16:38
Hits: 1175
This year, Fitzpatrick Stadium lights; next year, turf and track?
Written by David Carkhuff
The city moved closer to replacing stadium lights at Fitzpatrick Stadium Thursday, a $400,000 project, by holding a prebid meeting with contractors.
Bids on the project, funded from the city's general fund through Portland's Capital Improvement Program, are due to be opened on Tuesday, Feb. 26.
Fitzpatrick Stadium has seen a fair amount of construction activity. About 18 months ago, the city replaced the stadium bleachers. Next year's CIP request seeks to replace the turf and the track. The current artificial turf dates to 2001.
"After next year, if we get funding for the carpet and the track, hopefully it will be done for a good decade," said Anita R. LaChance, director of recreation and facilities management for the city of Portland.
This year's lighting replacement effort may affect use of the stadium, but the schedule shows installation of the new lights by May 3, so minimal disruption should result, LaChance said.
The existing lights are 28 years old and likely to fail soon, Sally DeLuca, recreation manager, explained in a June 12, 2012 memo in response to questions from the city's finance committee. The new lights will reduce the number of fixtures from 140 to 52 and reduce electricity use by 63 percent from 210,000 to 78,000 kilowatt hours annually, the memo noted. The payback period is 30 years on electricity costs, but also important is the chance to replace lights that are likely to fail "in the not too distant future," the memo stated.
"We're thinking we're going to save at least half the cost in that facility, it's certainly not a quick payback period, but those lights are going to fail," LaChance said.
Memorial Stadium boasts the new lights, which focus the direction of illumination.
"It's going to be much more efficient lighting, which we like. And it will be much more controllable. ... Our staff doesn't actually have to be there to turn off the lights," LaChance said.
"When we did it at Memorial, we realized we had to put additional lighting around the sidewalks. These lights are so focused," she added.
While light won't bleed out into the neighborhood, the new lights will triple the intensity as measured in candles, according to DeLuca's memo.
LaChance said the city may also focus speakers to prevent sound spilling out in the neighborhood as well.
While the lighting replacement moves forward, a host of capital projects — including Fitzpatrick's turf and track replacement — will undergo review by the city's finance committee. On Jan. 24, the committee began its discussion of City Manager Mark Rees' recommended Capital Improvement Program for the next fiscal year as well as the latest draft of the city's proposed five-year plan.
Turf and track replacement at Fitzpatrick Stadium will cost $1.05 million, according to the CIP, but a "project justification" notes that the turf has outlived its life expectancy of 10 years and could pose a safety threat to players. The track, 10 years old and cracking, needs to be fixed or replaced, according to the city's recreation department.
Bids on the project, funded from the city's general fund through Portland's Capital Improvement Program, are due to be opened on Tuesday, Feb. 26.
Fitzpatrick Stadium has seen a fair amount of construction activity. About 18 months ago, the city replaced the stadium bleachers. Next year's CIP request seeks to replace the turf and the track. The current artificial turf dates to 2001.
"After next year, if we get funding for the carpet and the track, hopefully it will be done for a good decade," said Anita R. LaChance, director of recreation and facilities management for the city of Portland.
This year's lighting replacement effort may affect use of the stadium, but the schedule shows installation of the new lights by May 3, so minimal disruption should result, LaChance said.
The existing lights are 28 years old and likely to fail soon, Sally DeLuca, recreation manager, explained in a June 12, 2012 memo in response to questions from the city's finance committee. The new lights will reduce the number of fixtures from 140 to 52 and reduce electricity use by 63 percent from 210,000 to 78,000 kilowatt hours annually, the memo noted. The payback period is 30 years on electricity costs, but also important is the chance to replace lights that are likely to fail "in the not too distant future," the memo stated.
"We're thinking we're going to save at least half the cost in that facility, it's certainly not a quick payback period, but those lights are going to fail," LaChance said.
Memorial Stadium boasts the new lights, which focus the direction of illumination.
"It's going to be much more efficient lighting, which we like. And it will be much more controllable. ... Our staff doesn't actually have to be there to turn off the lights," LaChance said.
"When we did it at Memorial, we realized we had to put additional lighting around the sidewalks. These lights are so focused," she added.
While light won't bleed out into the neighborhood, the new lights will triple the intensity as measured in candles, according to DeLuca's memo.
LaChance said the city may also focus speakers to prevent sound spilling out in the neighborhood as well.
While the lighting replacement moves forward, a host of capital projects — including Fitzpatrick's turf and track replacement — will undergo review by the city's finance committee. On Jan. 24, the committee began its discussion of City Manager Mark Rees' recommended Capital Improvement Program for the next fiscal year as well as the latest draft of the city's proposed five-year plan.
Turf and track replacement at Fitzpatrick Stadium will cost $1.05 million, according to the CIP, but a "project justification" notes that the turf has outlived its life expectancy of 10 years and could pose a safety threat to players. The track, 10 years old and cracking, needs to be fixed or replaced, according to the city's recreation department.
Last Updated on Friday, 08 February 2013 02:15
Hits: 143
Draft plan recommends cutting number of travel lanes on Spring Street
Written by Craig Lyons
The city is in the final stages of preparing a report that would recommend streetscape improvements to the area around the Cumberland County Civic Center, most notably converting Spring Street from four to two travel lanes.
The city's Department of Planning and Urban development is still developing the draft plan created by a task force that made recommendations on how to improve the Spring and Free streets corridor. The plan includes a major redesign of Spring Street from Center to High Street.
A draft version of the Spring and Free streets study was given to the Transportation, Sustainability and Energy Committee on Wednesday.
Senior Planner Rick Knowland said Spring Street would be reduced from four to two vehicle lanes, the center barrier would be removed, a bike lane would be added and parking would increase based on the recommendations.
Around the Civic Center, Knowland said, the sidewalk area would be increased since more foot traffic will be generated by the redesigned entrance to the facility at the corner of Spring and Center streets.
John Peverada, the city's parking manager, said, during the committee meeting, he's concerned about only having one lane of traffic in front of the Spring Street entrance to the parking garage. He said garage staff use the right-handed lane as the queue to enter the garage while the left lane is left for thru-traffic and emergency vehicles.
The same problem would exist when the garage is being emptied after an event at the civic center, said Peverada, and the right lane is used for traffic exiting the parking structure. He said it takes 30 to 40 minutes to empty the garage, and one lane could extend that time even longer.
If it is too difficult for people to get into or out of the garage, Peverada said, they'll find somewhere else to park.
Peverada said the final plan should accommodate a short-term pickup and drop-off zone in front of the Civic Center for customers.
Knowland said the design retains pickup and drop-off zones in front of the Civic Center.
The plan would re-establish pedestrian connections from Spring to Pleasant Street, according to the draft report, and create added green space around the Civic Center.
The recommended design program would also improve pedestrian access on Center, Temple, Spring and Free streets.
The final report is likely to be brought to the Transportation, Sustainability and Energy Committee in March or April.
The city's Department of Planning and Urban development is still developing the draft plan created by a task force that made recommendations on how to improve the Spring and Free streets corridor. The plan includes a major redesign of Spring Street from Center to High Street.
A draft version of the Spring and Free streets study was given to the Transportation, Sustainability and Energy Committee on Wednesday.
Senior Planner Rick Knowland said Spring Street would be reduced from four to two vehicle lanes, the center barrier would be removed, a bike lane would be added and parking would increase based on the recommendations.
Around the Civic Center, Knowland said, the sidewalk area would be increased since more foot traffic will be generated by the redesigned entrance to the facility at the corner of Spring and Center streets.
John Peverada, the city's parking manager, said, during the committee meeting, he's concerned about only having one lane of traffic in front of the Spring Street entrance to the parking garage. He said garage staff use the right-handed lane as the queue to enter the garage while the left lane is left for thru-traffic and emergency vehicles.
The same problem would exist when the garage is being emptied after an event at the civic center, said Peverada, and the right lane is used for traffic exiting the parking structure. He said it takes 30 to 40 minutes to empty the garage, and one lane could extend that time even longer.
If it is too difficult for people to get into or out of the garage, Peverada said, they'll find somewhere else to park.
Peverada said the final plan should accommodate a short-term pickup and drop-off zone in front of the Civic Center for customers.
Knowland said the design retains pickup and drop-off zones in front of the Civic Center.
The plan would re-establish pedestrian connections from Spring to Pleasant Street, according to the draft report, and create added green space around the Civic Center.
The recommended design program would also improve pedestrian access on Center, Temple, Spring and Free streets.
The final report is likely to be brought to the Transportation, Sustainability and Energy Committee in March or April.
Last Updated on Friday, 08 February 2013 02:14
Hits: 158