(Lamoine) — By the time young Anna Ashmore hits high school, she might be an expert on red tape. Anna and her folks have started a take-out stand at their property across the street from Lamoine State Park. Before they could operate, though, they sought the proper permits. That created a bit of a dilemma for the Planning Board, as mobile vending carts are not dealt with in Lamoine’s Ordinances.

A fair number of communities in Maine do have provisions for regulating such activities, and the Planning Board found some standards from the Town of Freeport that were to their liking, and to the Ashmores. The commercial permit application was prepared and the Freeport criteria were compared with the application.

The Planning Board approved the application on a one-year trial basis, and Anna opened her take-out in June, just as visitation to the park started to take off. Lamoine was not the only stop. The Department of Human Services also has to issue a permit to ensure proper sanitation, and the permit was received at about the same time the local permit came through.