By Gillian Graham
Staff Writer

Biddeford resident Rory Holland remains in jail awaiting trial on two murder charges stemming from a June 30 shooting in front of his South Street home.
Holland is accused of killing brothers Derek and Gage Greene as they walked down South Street with friends. Derek Greene, 21, and Gage Greene, 19, both of Biddeford, died shortly after they were taken to Southern Maine Medical Center.
Holland was arrested following a four-hour standoff with police. Police say Holland and Derek Greene knew each other from the neighborhood and had a previous altercation that was mediated by police.
Derek and Gage Greene were described by friends as fun and loyal. Friend Casey Goldthwait said Derek Greene had a “great sense of humor” and Gage Greene was very down to earth. She said the brothers were close and always looked out for each other.
Following the shootings, friends and relatives of Derek and Gage Greene formed the group Go Greene, which is dedicated to doing good work in the community and finding opportunities for young adults to make changes in their lives. Members cleaned graffiti from downtown buildings and volunteered at numerous community events.

Biddeford Middle School teacher Barbara Fortier was investigated this year for allegedly providing confidential test information to eighth grade science students.
Fortier was investigated by the Department of Education and Biddeford School Department after the school’s science and technology Maine Education Assessment scores were ruled invalid because of irregularities in the way the test was administered in March.
Fortier was part of a group of teachers who reviewed test questions in Augusta before it was administered. Her attorney, Howard Reben, said the teacher did nothing wrong when she developed a study game for students using questions available in science textbooks.
Reben said Fortier was granted an unpaid leave of absence to attend graduate school at the University of New England.
Reben has filed notices of claim against Mayor Joanne Twomey and the Biddeford School Committee alleging Twomey made “false and defamatory statements” that Fortier was suspended and should be dismissed from her job.
A school department investigation into the incident is ongoing.

WestPoint Home in Biddeford closed last summer, bringing to end the city’s manufacturing tradition.
When WestPoint Home shut down its Vellux blanket manufacturing at the historic Pepperell Mill complex 121 people lost their jobs. Many had worked at the mill for most of their adult lives. The company attributed the closure to decreased demand for the blankets.
The industrialization of Biddeford began after textile pioneer Samuel Batchelder arrived by stagecoach from Boston in 1831 and saw the thundering falls of the Saco River. Within years, thousands of people worked in the mills and produced textiles shipped to all corners of the world.
The populations of Biddeford and Saco grew rapidly as immigrants flocked to the cities and looked for work. The histories of many area families are closely tied to the mills, where generations of people went to work in the sprawling mill complex.
With large-scale manufacturing a thing of the past, developers are working to renovate and repurpose mill space for mixed residential and commercial use. Mayor Joanne Twomey said last summer that mill development is crucial to the city’s future and will honor the city’s heritage.
“It is our past and it is our future,” she said.

Biddeford Mayor Joanne Twomey announced in October plans to relocate part of the Maine Energy Recovery Co. outside  the city.
The plan, developed by a task force charged with looking at the trash incinerator’s future, would move trash processing out of Biddeford while providing discount energy to downtown mill buildings and city residents.
According to task force members, the plan will allow for a “greener” downtown because of the elimination of nuisance odors and reduction in truck traffic.
Critics of Maine Energy have long maintained having a trash incinerator in the downtown mill district stands in the way of redeveloping and revitalizing the area.
The announcement came after months of weekly meetings by members of the task force, which was formed under direction from Gov. John Baldacci. Task force members include officials from city and state government as well as representatives from Casella, the Vermont-based parent company of Maine Energy.
The task force and company officials have not said which communities are being considered to host trash handling for Maine Energy.

The final Masses at St. Mary’s Church in Biddeford and Notre Dame de Lourdes Church in Saco were held in December.
The closure of the two historic Catholic churches was announced in August by the Roman Diocese in Portland. Church officials said dwindling numbers of parishioners and high maintenance costs forced the closings.
St. Andre Church in Biddeford is slated to close at the end of 2010. Masses continue to be held at St. Joseph Church in Biddeford and at Most Holy Trinity in Saco.
Msgr. Rene Mathieu of the Good Shepherd Parish said the decision to close the churches was difficult, but parishioners understand that change was needed to strengthen the future of the parish.
St. Mary’s Church was the first Catholic parish in the area. First known as St. Mary of the Assumption, the parish was formed around 1850 to serve Irish immigrants and met on the second floor of a mill building. The current building off Route 1, now behind a Dunkin Donuts, was dedicated in 1926.
Notre Dame de Lourdes was founded to serve the needs of French speaking residents of Saco. The first Mass was celebrated on Easter Sunday in 1929. The building includes a replica of the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in France. Catholics travel from across York County to pray at the grotto.
St. Philip’s in Lyman and St. Margaret Church in Old Orchard Beach are scheduled to join the Good Shepherd Parish on July 1, 2010.
 
School officials implemented spending freezes following a curtailment in state education funding.
State officials announced in November a plan to cut $38 million from state education funding, part of a $63.1 million cut across all state agencies. Gov. John Baldacci said the curtailment was necessary to address a predicted shortfall in the state budget.
The Biddeford School Department lost more than $826,000, which is 2.9 percent of the $28 million school budget. Superintendent Sarah-Jane Poli implemented a “soft freeze” in anticipation of the cuts. School administrators also were asked to look at their budgets and find area to make cuts.
The Saco-Dayton-Old Orchard Beach school district, RSU 23, lost about $866,000 in state funding, or 2.2 percent of the $39 million district education budget. Superintendent Michael Lafortune said he froze the district’s budget and is working closely with school administrators to make cuts.
RSU 23 will host a Jan. 4 meeting with Maine Commissioner of Education Susan Gendron and school boards from across York County to discuss the state’s financial outlook and available resources.

A Brownfield man was convicted in May of trying to rent a 12-year-old Biddeford girl for sex and sentenced to 16 years in federal prison.
Michael Berk, 29, of Brownfield, was accused of contacting a Biddeford man in September 2008 through the Web site craigslist. After Berk offered to rent the man’s daughter for $300 a week, the father immediately called Biddeford police.
With assistance from the state police computers crime unit, a meeting was set up with Berk at a Westbrook coffee shop, where he was arrested by a detective.
During Berk’s three-day trial last spring in federal court in Portland, he said he was role-playing and had no intention of having sex with the girl. He pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge George Z. Singal sentenced Berk to prison and said he must also seek drug and sex offender treatment while in prison.

The second time was a charm when it came to the RSU 23 school budget.
Voters in Saco, Old Orchard Beach and Dayton approved the $41.4 million budget after first rejecting a budget that called for about $1 million more in school spending. The final budget approved by voters Aug. 4 was an increase of about 2 percent over the previous year’s combined budget.
The budget process was the first for the newly-consolidated district, which took effect July 1 under a state school consolidation law. The new budget process requires a regional budget meeting for voters and a referendum.
The budget process is intended to allow voters to have more input on how money is spent within the district.  

Biddeford voters in November approved a $34 million Biddeford High School renovation project.
According to city election results, the final vote was 4,573 people in favor of the project and 2,686 opposed. Construction is expected to begin next summer and be completed by 2012.
School officials said the renovations are desperately needed to make repairs to the 48-year-old school on Maplewood Avenue. Areas of the building are not handicap accessible, windows let heat out and water in, and the front steps are crumbling.
Renovation plans call for the creation of a secure front entrance that is handicap accessible and located next to a larger front office. Classrooms and lab spaces will be updated and a larger library will allow more space for students and community members.
Following the November election, city and school officials celebrated the vote with students. Superintendent Sarah-Jane Poli said she was “extremely pleased” with the vote.
“It proved the people of Biddeford saw a need and wanted to rectify the problems at the high school,” she said.

Volunteers spent countless hours restoring The Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach with hopes of using it for a variety of events.
The Ballpark was built in 1983 for the Triple-A Maine Guides baseball team. The team left town following the 1988 season and the park was leased to the Seashore Performing Arts Center from 1989 to 1991. Concerts at the stadiums included the Pointer Sisters, Aerosmith and James Taylor.
The concerts were halted for a few years because of noise complaints, but were again held from 1994 to 1997. Use of the facility of concerts ended when the shows didn’t attract enough visitors.
The Ballpark began to deteriorate while it sat empty and a 2007 fire ruined some of the park’s skyboxes.
Earlier this year, Linda Jenkins, head of the volunteer Ballpark committee, said the facility will be available for use for local baseball games and other community events. The first event held at the renovated field was Woofstock, a dog show that took place Oct. 25.
Assistant Town Manager Louise Reid said renovation work by volunteers continues at the park in preparation for a baseball tournament next spring.

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.