PHOTO OF THE WEEK  

A pair of pileated woodpeckers in Springvale, wondering why the suet has run out.  Photo:  Michelle McCarthy 

Mainers Baseball: Local Fun, National Notice 

Sanford Mainers players of the 2025 season line up on the third baseline prior to an NECBL playoff game.  Photo: Abby Harris  By Dave Ouellette  As the Sanford Mainers baseball team enters its 25th season at Goodall Park, it’s a good time to recap the impact this organization has had locally.   The team’s home, Goodall Park, was built after a devastating fire in 1997 destroyed the original 1915-era grandstand. Using insurance money and successful fundraising, the city rebuilt the beautiful venue we have today. The Sanford Parks and Recreation Department, under the leadership of Marcel Blouin, looked…

City Puts Brakes on Some Online Commentary 

Sample posts in response to a recent parking ban  Source: City of Sanford Facebook page  By Lee Burnett  On the City of Sanford’s Facebook page, even an upbeat post on the most routine topic is sure to get snarky remarks.  Take the Nov. 12, 2025, post headlined “Be Part of the Holly Daze Parade!” accompanied by an overhead night-time shot of Central Park lit up by a Christmas tree.  “Lol what a great park now that 70 people sleep there but we can't walk our dogs there,” shot…

Advocate: Woman Detained by ICE Here Legally 

A cell phone image shows an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainment Thursday morning on the southbound shoulder of Route 4 near the intersection of Alumni Drive and Jagger Mill Road.  Photo: Courtesy of Marsha Garnecky  By Lee Burnett  A mother of two was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Route 4 in Sanford on Thursday morning.  The woman’s identity was verified by Marsha Garnecky, a trained verifier with Mainers for Humane Immigration, who said she obtained a photo of the detainment from a Facebook group and spoke with the woman’s husband.  An advocate who…

City to Stop Plowing Lefrancois Lane 

Lefrancois Lane runs along the Mousam River next to the former Lavalley Lumber mill.   Photo: Sanford GIS  By Zendelle Bouchard  Sanford city officials have taken the next step in their plan to reduce unlawful use of taxpayer funds to maintain private roads with official recognition at the Jan. 20 meeting of the City Council that Lefrancois Lane is a private road. Residents of the road protested that the city has been plowing it for many years and should continue.  Lefrancois Lane, off New Dam Road, is…

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