Hampden council endorses community support project

HAMPDEN – Acknowledging the sacrifices that servicemen and women are making, Hampden town councilors Monday endorsed a local effort to provide support for military families.

Joining councilors in Brewer and Old Town, Hampden became the latest council to back Operation Community Support, a grass-roots effort to provide resources and relief to families of U.S. servicemen and women.

Organized by local entrepreneur and sports figure Thomas “Skip” Chappelle, Operation Community Support intends to offer, among other things, entertainment and recreation opportunities for families to set aside their concerns, at least for a little while. The project so far has allowed some spouses and children of activated Maine soldiers to attend a University of Maine men’s hockey game, some in the comfort of skyboxes.

The importance of providing support to service families was not lost on Hampden Mayor Rick Briggs, who noted how significant the sacrifices have been and how Maine has figured prominently in answering the call of duty. According to published reports, Maine ranks third in the nation for the largest percentage of National Guard and Reserve personnel deployed as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“If this lets them forget things for a couple of hours and puts a smile on their faces, it will all be worth it,” Briggs said after the meeting.

In other action, Hampden councilors approved the final foreclosure and sale of three properties on the Back Winterport Road, the last of 49 properties the town had identified as properties subject to foreclosure four years ago.

Town Manager Sue Lessard said the foreclosures were a last resort for the properties and that the town has worked extensively with property owners to avoid the foreclosures. Two weeks ago there had been nine properties on the foreclosure list, but Lessard said the town reached agreements with six owners to repay the debt over time.

Lessard told councilors that attempts to reach the owner of three Back Winterport Road properties, that include part of a gravel pit, were unsuccessful. Now the town intends to auction the properties off to recoup the owed taxes.

The properties for sale are: Lot 78, which includes 1.15 acres and a building with a minimum bid of $3,800; Lot 79, which includes 52 acres and a minimum bid of $12,000; and lot 80 with 3.5 acres and a minimum bid of $7,000. In two of the properties, owed taxes go back to 2002, while in the third property, taxes date back to 2002.