BH town manager seeks to muzzle Leonard Leo protester even as police stay neutral
Other news: citizens want hospital to return Leo's donation; SWH voters head to third vote on Main Street project
BAR HARBOR, Aug. 28, 2020 - Town Manager Kevin Sutherland wants to shut down the Leonard Leo graffiti protester who countered that the police chief and captain in both Bar Harbor and Mount Desert have told her she has the right to exercise free speech.
How an unassuming 73-year-old retiree who calls herself a “hermit” became a notorious figure with the local authorities may be the story of the summer on MDI. It certainly is the strangest.
Annlinn Kruger seems to be engaging in parallel but contradictory conversations with the police brass in both towns and with actual patrolmen on the street and the town manager.
In a letter Thursday to the Town Council, Kruger stated, “I am writing to you in regards to threats by Bar Harbor Town Manager Kevin Sutherland.
“I expected to hear from Sutherland eventually. I did not expect him, today, to threaten me with arrest for Criminal Mischief and to bill me for the time the crew has spent on removing the graffiti and for the supplies they purchased.”
Sutherland escalated the issue at the same time the police chief and most senior officers in Bar Harbor were taking a more measured approach. Police in both towns report to Chief Jim Willis. Under him, Capt. David Kerns heads the BH department.
They do not report to Sutherland.
In an email Thursday to Kruger, Sutherland wrote, “After I took a walk to see the graffiti and talk to staff, what you put down is far from temporary … your effort of intentionally ‘tampering with the property of others’ is clearly defined as Criminal mischief, a class D crime. (Title 17-A Section 806 of the Maine Criminal Code).
“Please cease from using these semi-permanent / permanent concoctions to deface the town’s right of way or I will be forced to file a complaint with the police department.
“I have asked staff to track time and the cost of material to remove the graffiti and will be sending you the bill.”
Sutherland did not reply to the QSJ’s email for comments. He never answers my questions unless I invoke the Freedom of Access Act.
Sutherland is neither a lawyer nor a policeman. But he’s slinging the criminal code as if he is one.
State Rep. Lynne Williams of Bar Harbor, a lawyer who has represented many protesters, stated, “The description of what constitutes criminal mischief does not include a definition that includes graffiti in the street.”
“I have had a number of cases of protestors thrown out because the DA didn’t quite understand that First Amendment rights trump annoyances to the elite, with a few exceptions.
“The police are another situation. I believe they do understand it but are of the opinion that they have the right to do whatever they want.”
Kruger is a career activist and protester. Sutherland and the bullying by patrolmen and others only seemed to fuel her intensity as various confrontations are now becoming an everyday occurrence.
Yesterday, Kruger said a woman driving a local taxi tried to hit her as she was assessing some old graffiti at the sidewalk near the Catholic church on Shannon Way and Mount Desert Street.
“She tried once and when I jumped out of her way, she backed up, and drove at me again slowly, then pulled away into the intersection with Mount Desert where she nearly hit an oncoming car,” Krugar stated in an email.
“The priest was very angry. And had a lot to say. Up in my face as it were. Finished with ‘you don't respect the man.’ When I said I respect Jesus he said, ‘You don't respect Mr. Leo.’ The lady in the cab pulled up. They had some very uncharitable things to say about me and the police because they won't arrest me.
“I went to the Police Station. I met with Lieutenant Kevin Edgecomb. He was very courteous and helpful. We discussed my Leonard Leo graffiti project at length. I provided him with photos of my old chalk paint graffiti and how my new chalk paint graffiti is more soluble. I showed him photos of a test I did removing the old graffiti with 'simple green' which I had with me.
“Lieut. Edgecomb took the report on the woman who tried to hit me with her car.”
On Thursday, Kruger was “tagging” her work in downtown when she said she was confronted by an irate and taunting officer who told her, "I bet you'd just love to get arrested."
The officer, Timothy Bland, was told by Kruger to call Captain Kerns. “He couldn't reach him, and so he left.
“Officer Bland returned and poured some water over the graffiti, declared the paint intact, and decided it constitutes damage. A man drew his cane over the wet spot and demonstrated that the paint had dissolved,” Kruger wrote in an email
Did Bland and Sutherland have a bilateral conversation about Kruger out of the line of communications with Chief Willis and Capt. Kerns?
Why is the town manager threatening a resident with a criminal violation when the police weren’t even willing to go that far?
Shouldn’t Sutherland leave policing to the police?
Bland could not be reached for comment.
Kruger asked council members “for your consideration of Town Manager Sutherland's actions and perhaps discover some context in which they seem reasonable and lawful?
Kruger was first threatened with arrest in Northeast Harbor on Aug. 22 by Sgt. Soren Sundberg of the Mount Desert Police. Kruger wrote that Sundberg gave her the option of removing the chalk painting or being served to appear before the court on charges. “He informed me that he had already consulted with the DA and they are ready to serve me.
“Before protesting and 'tagging' I consulted with the Bar Harbor Police to find out the rules. I was told that using chalk paint on public property is allowed.
“Sgt. Sundberg said he had hosed the road and it did not remove the chalk paint. He said he did that because it is part of the police's job to protect public property.
“As a Paper Conservator at the Library of Congress, I spent decades assessing materials for damage. (The closest I got to assessing tarmac was a section of wall from a Navy facility with graffiti written by sailors embarking for Vietnam.) In my opinion, my chalk paint graffiti did not damage the tarmac materially or hinder normal use of the road. But Sgt. Sundberg told me my opinion does not matter. So there we are.”
Kruger said she regrets that her protest is taking over the headlines, instead of Leonard Leo’s deeds.
“Of course, it is Leonard Leo's weaponizing big money and religious sentiment to pervert justice and deny us our civil rights, which I am protesting. Most immediately and locally, Leo's vicious instigation of the arrest of a young neighbor by Mount Desert Police and the Hancock County DA by an unusual if not unique application of the Disorderly Conduct law. A merciless miscarriage of justice, which jump started my graffiti project.”
She was referring to the arrest in late July of Eli Durand-McDonnell, 21, of Bar Harbor, for disorderly conduct in Northeast Harbor, after Leo complained the young man yelled obscenities at him from a passing car while her was with his daughter.
In a letter she sent to the Islander for next week’s publication, Kruger said, “I want to get the spotlight back on Leo's national machinations which harm us all. Much as I appreciate their humor and goodwill, I don't want people offering to bake me files in cakes or other help. I want everyone to ‘google Leonard Leo = Corrupt Courts.’ "
‘I will continue my Leonard Leo graffiti project (with less flamboyant and more discrete messaging and with more temporary chalk paint, still getting the art and science of that) in consultation with Chief Willis and Capt. Kerns. On my part, this is intended as a one time project of limited duration in response to Leonard Leo's uniquely malign and disproportionate impact on life in America, and now, on MDI.”
Leonard Leo is the Federalist Society operative who has raised billions in dark money to support right-wing judges as they matriculate though the justice system. Protesters have appeared in front of his house at 46 South Shore Road all summer.
Group wants hospital to reject Leo’s donation
A group calling itself Concerned Citizens of Mount Desert Island is seeking signatures for a letter to the MDI Hospital board asking it reject donations from Leonard Leo.
The letter stated in part:
“If we look solely at Leo's impact on two relevant issues, climate and healthcare, we can clearly see that the results of Leo's efforts have had a decidedly negative impact on human health and well-being and, therefore, that Mr. Leo's efforts, indeed his all-consuming passion to thwart the will of the people of this country in deference to his own agenda is antithetical to the stated mission of MDI Hospital.”
Hospital board chair and CEO responded to a similar letter from resident Caroline Pryor:
“Regarding Donor Gifts and Accepting Gifts, by policy and practice MDI Hospital endeavors to protect and provide access to care for all people. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and an independent Critical Access Hospital, we rely on charitable donations to realize our mission to provide compassionate care and strengthen the health of our community. We gratefully accept all donations that align with our stated needs and meet the requirements of our gift acceptance policies. Our Board of Trustees supports the Hospital's policy and practice.
“We hope you can appreciate that we must remain apolitical as a healthcare facility and a nonprofit. Our peers agree that it sets a dangerous precedent to reject gifts/donors based on political views. The consequences of not doing so would impact all our donors should we begin to discriminate amongst them based on public opinion on this and other topics.
“Paramount among our concerns is the health and well-being of all who come to us for care. We will continue to safeguard patient choice, autonomy, and respect patients' personal and sometimes very difficult decisions made in private with their care teams.”
Regards,
Chrissi Maguire President/CEO
Regards, Patricia Hand (board chair)
Footnote: The QSJ is reminded of all the times he held his nose and attended performances at the David Koch Theater in Lincoln Center.
SWH seeks voter approval again for Main Street project
SOUTHWEST HARBOR - For the third time in three years, the town will seek citizens approval Thursday at a special town meeting on the most important road project on the western side of MDI in decades.
If rejected, the town must return $189,000 from the American Recovery Act for already completed easement work, Select chair Carolyn Ball said Tuesday. Another $600,000 would be in jeopardy.
The negotiated easements may desolve and would have to be renegotiated if the town at some future date decides to revisit the project.
That .3 mile of Rt. 102 is a critical choke point on the Quietside as the major entry to Tremont and parts of Acadia National Park. Over the last 10 years, it has degraded as poor drainage has created massive undulations in winter which created potholes and cracks.
It’s also extremely dangerous as many residents of the condos at the road’s southern tip have said they no longer will walk to town. The project calls for the construction of sidewalks for the first time. Also, important water and sewer upgrades are on tap.
In May, voters at the annual town meeting added $800,000 to the already approved $1 million from 2019. The belief was that the town’s portion of $1.8 million and grants from the state and federal governments of $800,000 were more than enough.
The town’s consulting engineer, Annaleis Hafford then estimated the project could be done for $2,157,000.
But in July the lower bid from R.F. Jordan & Sons was for $2,959,769.
The select board conducted a public hearing Aug. 23 to air the third request for funding from voters - $802,769 - even though only $400,000 is needed to meet the Jordan bid because of a technical requirement by the federal government and the state to cover their grants if needed.
In 2018, the cost was estimated at $842,000, and the select board expected the project to have started that fall.
But the same challenges which delayed the Main Street project in Northeast Harbor by two years - negotiations for easements with abutting homeowners, utility companies and the state which owns the road - slowed the project considerably. The town also had a new town manager at the time who was managing multiple capital projects.
Ever the contrarian, select member George Jellison said Tuesday the project “will not fix that section of the road,” sowing confusion. But he was countered by well-regarded speakers who talked about the necessity to construct proper drainage to prevent frost heaves which have plagued that section. The public works director said a second stage of drainage work is planned for Woods Road once this section is completed.
Under Jellison, who has served as member and chair for 10 years, the town’s public works projects have come to a virtual standstill. His naysaying is getting to be costly, though, as the town missed an opportunity to seek grants to upgrade its skating pond, and the boat launch area in Manset.
Select Board chair Carolyn Ball gave an excellent overview of the project which you may listen to here: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/XQamGclAjWzqmjSBW831dvaTcffwVRkNUef8MqJ_0mZrgev7v-6xpviYZm4HoWDmKp495Fhdco8WddHv.p48IAuQlvHJRvmPl?startTime=1661290882000&_x_zm_rtaid=vtoNu2bFS2e_NUdJYuMEkw.1661635610145.fce71f2ff0ea26e3bad885c639f3a7cb&_x_zm_rhtaid=116
TRIBUTE: ALBERT L. HAMOR
NORTHEAST HARBOR/BAR HARBOR -Albert L. Hamor, 76, from Northeast Harbor and Bar Harbor and Tucson, Ariz., went to be with the Lord on April 22, 2022. Albert fought a brief, but courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. He was born as the third son of Richard N. and Rhoda (Murphy) Hamor.
He is survived by his beloved wife and soulmate, Carol (Wallace) Hamor; children, Wendy and Christopher Loucks, Dawn Gagner and Douglas Wallace and James White and Lisa Alley; and brothers and wives, Richard and Helga Hamor and Steven and Patricia Hamor. Albert also leaves much loved grandchildren, Zachary Mitchell, Shaun and Kayla Crockett, Devin Sprague and Jack White, and six great-grandchildren. He is also survived by an aunt, nephews, nieces and cousins and many friends all over the world. He was predeceased by his Murphy and Hamor grandparents, his parents and a daughter, Tammy White, who also passed from cancer.
After serving in the Army, Albert returned to Maine and worked in construction for a time before he went to work for the town of Mount Desert as a dispatcher. There he found his great passion in the Northeast Harbor Ambulance Service. He and Carol worked side by side volunteering for the service in many capacities for a combined total of 65 years.
When he left the town, he began his 26 years with the Asticou Inn as maintenance and grounds supervisor, retiring in 2014. After spending many summers camping at Hadley’s Point Campground, Albert and Carol made a move to begin a retirement life in Tucson, Ariz. They made many new friends there but continued to return to Maine and the campground in the summer, to see family and friends.
A graveside service will be held on Sept. 10 at 1:30 p.m. at the Forest Hills Cemetery in Northeast Harbor. As there is no seating, please feel free to bring a chair.
TRIBUTE: MICHELE CROAN
SEAL HARBOR - Michele Croan, 60, died Aug. 20, 2022, from cancer at her home surrounded by her loving husband and friends. She was born May 31, 1962, in Palm Beach, Fla., to Arthur and Hortense Abbott.
As an infant she moved to Seal Harbor and graduated from MDI High School in 1980. After graduation she worked in the restaurant and hospitality area, where she was best known for her Margaritas at Miguel’s restaurant in Bar Harbor. She eventually owned and operated Nature’s Way Café in Bar Harbor. Next, she purchased her mother’s business, First Express, and operated it for many years. She then sold that business and teamed up with her husband, Charlie, to open a doggie day care in their home called Acadia Pet Services. At this time, she joined the board of directors at the Hancock County SPCA. There she worked tirelessly for the animals in its care. Personally, Michele was a very talented crafter who enjoyed felting, knitting, sewing and doing all sorts of projects. She also enjoyed traveling and camping.
Michele is survived by her beloved husband of 21 years, Charlie Croan, of Seal Harbor; her son Chuck Croan and his wife, Christy, of Surry; her aunts Susan Grindle and Jan Collucci of Seal Harbor; her brother Jack Cunningham and his wife, Beth, of Bar Harbor; her five grandchildren Devon Roberts and partner Morgan of Westerly, R.I., Kody Croan and his fiancée Paige of Unity, Rachel, Kailyn and Emma Croan of Surry and two great-grandchildren, Atlas and Asher, of Westerly.
There will be no service, however, a celebration of life for Michele will take place on a date that will be announced later. In memory of Michele, please do one act of kindness every day.
Arrangements by Acadia Burial & Cremation Direct, 248 State St., Ellsworth.
Condolences may be expressed at www.acadiacremation.com.
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