County supports road miles

PARIS — The Oxford County Commission approved a resolution Tuesday in support of the proposed Oxford casino.

Commissioners said they favor a road miles interpretation of a Maine gambling statute requiring 100 miles between two casinos. Interpreting the statute in straight-line miles would make a casino in the town of Oxford illegal.

Commissioners David Duguay and Steven Merrill voted in favor of the resolution. Commissioner Caldwell Jackson abstained from the vote.

When contacted, Black Bear officials were predictably pleased with the ruling.

"We're very happy about it," said Peter Martin, a representative of Black Bear who was in Augusta this week for a hearing on the matter. "We're happy that they've decided to give us their unqualified support."

The resolution itself does not carry any legal weight, but is simply a statement from the commissioners in favor of Black Bear's view on existing gambling statutes.

A competing casino project has disputed such an interpretation, favoring instead the use of radial miles in determining distance, which would prevent Black Bear from building a casino at their intended location on Route 26 in Oxford.

On Wednesday, the Legislature's Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee examined a bill to amend the gaming statute to specify road miles as the measurement of distance between casinos or slot machine facilities.

Martin was in Augusta on Wednesday to represent Black Bear in the matter.