Phyllis Graber Jensen Published on March 10, 2021
The email went out at 10:07 a.m. on Friday, March 13, 2020, from President Clayton Spencer.
Due to the surging pandemic, Spencer announced, Bates would immediately suspend in-person classes, asking all 1,700 students except those granted waivers through petition to move off campus in preparation for remote learning to begin in 10 days.
“My heart goes out to all of our students,” Spencer said. But, “we are at a pivotal moment with respect to both the spread of the COVID-19 virus and our ability as a college to take proactive, rather than reactive, steps.”
Thus began a year filled to the brim with reactions, proactions, and a lot of Bates teamwork, culminating in a return to campus in August and a successful so far in-person academic year.
Jim DeGrandpre named Freeport’s 2020 Citizen of the Year
DeGrandpre first moved to Freeport in 1968 and currently works at Wolfe s Neck Center.
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Jim DeGrandpre, Freeport’s 2020 Citizen of the Year, standing on a picnic table and waving to cars who drove past in celebration of his accolade.
Courtesy of Wolfe’s Neck Center
Jim DeGrandpre, admittedly, was only “half paying attention” at Freeport’s Town Council meeting on Feb. 23.
It was 6:30 p.m. on a Tuesday and DeGrandpre was quietly waiting to speak, after being led to believe his attendance was needed for a project related to one of the boards he serves on in Freeport.
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Sifting History’s Sands: Desert of Maine owner seeks to separate truth from myth at Freeport landmark
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Mela Heestand, co-owner of the Desert of Maine in Freeport, shows off several old newspaper clippings and photos she has found in recent research.
Alex Lear / The Forecaster
FREEPORT Legend has it that William Tuttle settled the farmland that is now the Desert of Maine in the late 18th century.
Mela Heestand, co-owner of the Desert Road landmark since December 2018, doubts he ever existed.
The Desert of Maine, which opens again next May, consists of a 20-30-acre “desert” of very fine grains of sand – not silt, as some once thought – that in the 18th century functioned as a successful farm. It offers tours in warmer months, and visitors can take free self-guided walks along the dunes and surrounding trails during the offseason.
The former Frosty’s Donuts in Freeport is literally on the move. Its former site, in a freestanding building just off Freeport’s Main Street, not far from the L.L.Bean flagship store, has been moved off its foundation. A new foundation has been laid, and related work is being handled by
Curtis Custom Carpentry of Durham.
The building is owned by the Freeport Historical Society, which is renovating the building as part of a larger makeover of the historic Harriman house and grounds. Well before it was a doughnut shop, the building served as the stable for the Harriman family and is known as the barn. Keith McBride, economic development director for the town of Freeport, calls the historical society’s site a “jewel on Main Street.”