04/01/2008
from the Kennebec Journal
Finding shelter for those who serve their nation
Immigrant recalls her special greeting
State gains $85M in Homeland Security funds
Man arrested after swerve toward cop
School unit in limbo
Rain? What rain?
LEE LATCHES ON WITH THOMAS
Modern camping equipment takes it to the extreme
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Kennebec Journal
from the Morning Sentinel
Civil War-era flag finds honored position
Residents wonder if the rain will ever go away
FAIRFIELD Sewage plant rejection irks man
Winslow's fireworks guy doesn't mind the obscurity
At holiday derby, the fun is catching
Vets' champion 'very passionate' about her work
Hersom deals with change
Sandals work for outdoor types
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Morning Sentinel
Now, if the garage needs maintenance, only a mouse could be assigned the job. There's no way a human could slide into the gap between the fence and the garage.
It all started with an argument between the couple and the state about who owned what part of the 19-foot strip of land between their property and nearby state-owned railroad tracks. That escalated into a court battle that is still alive. The most recent judgment was won by the state, which had filed a trespass and nuisance lawsuit against the couple. The couple has appealed that decision.
State officials say they offered a deal to Lapointe and Barden to allow them access to the disputed property for fuel deliveries, maintenance and other occasional uses, but the couple had refused the offer. So the Department of Transportation erected the fence in the course of one December day.
Lapointe and her husband have labeled the structure a "spite fence." We hope it's not that and, instead, the fence is simply a manifestation of an agency moving ahead bureaucratically without exercising good sense. Even though erecting the fence may have been the legal thing to do, we're not sure it was the right thing to do.




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