Biddeford Dog Park opens

The Biddeford Dog Park officially opened Sunday with a celebration for dogs and their owners.

The park, located near the entrance of Rotary Park, is now open from dawn to dusk.

Dog Committee Chairman Joe McKenney said opening was almost exactly two years after the first public meeting was held to gauge interest about establishing the park. The committee will install a permanent sign and hopes to build a storage shed, he said.

 “It’s great to have it open,” McKenney said. “Everyone has worked so hard for the past two years.”

The fenced park is on city-owned land but is privately funded, said City Council President Bob Mills. A $10,000 gift from Biddeford Animal Hospital, donated labor from Home Depot and individual donations helped make the park a reality, McKenney said.

Cindy Nadeau, who recently moved to Biddeford from Canada, said she has met more people at the dog park than anywhere else in the city. Her dogs Abby and Beau enjoy running around and socializing with other dogs, she said.

Judy Shuffleburg of Biddeford said she is glad the park is open so her dog, Sasha, has space to run around. They recently moved to an apartment with a small yard and Shuffleburg said they will be at the dog park every day.

 “This way she can run and has other dogs to play with,” she said. “It’s just awesome.”

Voters OK dental school bond

The University of New England continues to raise money after voters statewide approved a bond to establish a dental school in Maine.

The $5 million bond approved Nov. 2 allocates $3.5 million to establish the dental school’s community-based teaching clinic and $1.5 million to expand or create dental clinics across the state. The University of New England is applying for the $3.5 million to establish a dental school.

The university plans to establish the College of Dental Medicine to address both access to care and the need for more dentists across the state. The board of trustees in 2008 approved the academic program for the doctor of dental medicine degree and charged the university with securing money necessary to launch the college.

If the university is awarded the bond money, it must raise additional funds to create the school. Northeast Delta Dental earlier this year donated $2.3 million to UNE’s fundraising campaign. The university has secured a total of $6.5 million toward the $20 million needed to open the college by fall 2012.

 “On Nov. 2, Maine voters affirmed the need for dental access in our state and expressed hope for a solution. By moving forward with our plans to open Maine’s first dental school, UNE will continue its leadership role to educate students for the health sciences in the 21^st century, while simultaneously addressing the state’s most pressing health care work force needs,” university President Danielle Ripich said in a prepared statement.  

Funds will go to bus, shelters

The Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System announced Biddeford will receive bus shelters and a bus as part of $20 million in transportation projects in southern Maine.

Funding also will be provided for preservation paving in Saco, including $225,000 for Old Orchard Road and $584,455 for North and Buxton roads. Biddeford-Saco-OOB Shuttlebus will receive $200,000 for a University of New England downtown bus and $100,000 for bus shelters.

The projects will be done between October 2011 and September 2013.

The authorization is the result of two years of regional analysis and priority setting by officials from 15 PACTS communities and seven public transportation systems. A total of 30 projects were approved to be completed in the next three years. 

Scout builds observation deck

The Saco RiverWalk Committee will dedicate its new observation deck this weekend.

The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday at the observation deck on the section of RiverWalk trail behind the Saco Water Treatment Plant at the end of Front Street.

The structure was built by Eagle Scout Zach Nason and made possible by financial sponsorships from York County Audubon, Biddeford Savings, Correct Building Products and Deering Lumber.

Parking is available at the public boat launch parking lot on Front Street. The rain date is Sunday.

New trees planted downtown

The Biddeford Project Canopy Committee planted nine maple trees along Main Street and has received a grant to conduct a street tree inventory.

The red maples were planted with assistance from the public works department. The fast-growing trees will grow to heights of 50 to 60 feet and have silver-gray bark and colorful foliage in the fall.

The committee recently received a $4,000 grant from the Maine Forest Service to create a street tree inventory in Biddeford. The $8,000 project will create a management tool documenting tree species, location, condition and maintenance needs of the trees.

Project Canopy also needs more volunteers. For more information, call Ron at 283-3734.

Police probe park vandalism

Old Orchard Beach police are asking residents to report any suspicious activity in Memorial Park.

There have been several acts of vandalism in the park recently, including spray painting on the veterans’ memorial and cutting of flowers, according to Detective Sgt. David Hemingway.

Hemingway said anyone who sees suspicious activity in the park should call 911 immediately. Witnesses should not confront anyone suspected of an illegal act, but instead make observation about the suspect, surroundings and any vehicles involved.

Anyone with information about those responsible for damage to the park should call 934-4911.

Man hurt in Saco home fire

A fire in Saco that destroyed a home was caused by a person smoking while on oxygen.

The two-unit home at 18 Boothby Lane was destroyed by fire at 3:30 a.m. Nov. 4 after David MacDonald, 64, lit a cigarette while in bed, said Steve McCausland, spokesman for Maine Department of Public Safety.

MacDonald was taken by rescue crews to Maine Medical Center in Portland. Five other people escaped the home without injury. McCausland said fire marshals and health care providers warn of the danger of smoking around oxygen because the gas increases the speed with which fire burns and often creates a fireball. Oxygen also can saturate clothing, increasing the risk of injury, he said.

Two people died in separate fires in 2008 while smoking on oxygen.

– Compiled by Staff  Writer

 Gillian Graham