MILLINOCKET – A police chief, town councilor and school board member who helped found the Millinocket Area Rotary Club, Wayne Scarano died Wednesday at a New Hampshire hospital. He was 63.

Whether as a police officer or civilian, Scarano was described as a man dedicated to serving Millinocket as actively as he could. A 22-year law enforcement veteran, Scarano came to Millinocket to be chief in 1988 after serving in Houlton. He served as chief until he retired in January 1996.

“He was an outstanding individual,” Town Manager Eugene Conlogue said Wednesday. “He was an all-around community-oriented person. He was involved in many things, and he had an impact on many things.

“He was very active in whatever he joined,” Conlogue added. “He wasn’t a back-bencher. He spent his time on the court.”

“He seemed like a really nice guy,” Councilor Jimmy Busque said. “He was a very professional and dedicated individual as a chief and as a councilor.”

“He was a committed and conscientious councilor, and he cared about the town,” Councilor Matthew Polstein said. “He worked hard to express that care in a lot of different ways.”

One of Scarano’s last acts of public service in Millinocket was to champion the creation of a Katahdin region police department using 12 full-time officers and two reserves to serve East Millinocket, Medway and Millinocket.

Scarano chaired the police subcommittee of volunteers who were working toward developing more efficient municipal services in early 2004. Under his plan, the regional police force would include a chief, a full-time detective and 10 patrol officers, including sergeants. The plan was never adopted.

He earned 1,927 votes in getting elected to the council in 2000, more than anyone else that year. He served one three-year term before retiring.

Scarano also served as a temporary police chief in Lincoln in late 1996 and early 1997, succeeding Police Chief Larry C. Merrithew until Edward F. Archer was hired.

RL Bouchard Funeral Home likely will handle funeral arrangements, which will occur in the spring, officials there said.

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