“Being at the New Englands this year was like coming home,” said University of Maine swimming coach Alan Switzer, reflecting on his team’s participation in the recent New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Championship. Maine last participated in the New Englands in 1978, a year… Read More
    With three starters returning and an infusion of talented young players expected, University of Maine head coach Rudy Keeling thinks his men’s basketball program will be a “legitimate challenger” for the North Atlantic Conference title as early as next season. “I think we’re on the… Read More
    AUGUSTA — Maine Human Services Commissioner H. Rollin Ives said Wednesday that increased welfare costs have created a new departmental budget shortfall of between $2.7 million and $4.5 million. The disclosure at an Appropriations Committee work session prompted Democratic panel members to complain anew that… Read More
    ON THE ICE There is a saying that goes, `You play how you practice.’ googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) {… Read More
    Maine will receive more than $2.6 million in federal funds to help reduce drug trafficking, U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburgh announced Tuesday. “This grant money is part of the Bush administration’s effort to assist communities to attack the problem at the local level,” Thornburgh said… Read More
    MARCH 31 At Searsmont, 12th St. George River Race, 6 miles, contact James Richards Jr. or Dale Cross, 338-4598 APRIL 7 googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i… Read More
    Two high schools in Maine reported one case each of measles this week. About 200 students at Houlton High School were immunized against measles Wednesday, while plans were being made at Nokomis Regional High School in Newport to immunize students there. Houlton Principal A. Andrew… Read More
    Past tourney history is just that for University of Maine Coach Trish Roberts and her women’s basketball team – the past. Maine’s 3-5 tourney record over the last five seasons and first-round loss to Northeastern University last season are not putting extra pressure on the… Read More
    AUGUSTA — A Superior Court judge set June 4 as the trial date for a Gardiner man accused of abducting a mother and her two children and then killing the woman. Byron N. Raynes, 21, an apprentice electrician, is charged with murdering Margaret Shaw, 34,… Read More
    OCOEE, Fla. – Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis and St. Joseph’s University of Philadelphia each defeated the University of Maine here Wednesday in women’s softball action. In the second game, Kelly Binko hit a solo home run in the third inning to help lead St. Read More
    AUGUSTA — A McKernan administration plan to boost licensing fees charged by the Department of Environmental Protection snagged immediately after the bill was brought before a legislative committee Wednesday, but officials said it would be revived. The bill, which the DEP says could raise $2.4… Read More
    AUGUSTA — A former Lewiston man who is charged with murdering a West Gardiner woman more than 16 years ago pleaded innocent to the charge Tuesday in Superior Court. Michael Boucher, 38, is accused of killing Debra Ann Dill, 18, whose badly beaten body was… Read More
    MARCH 10 At Ellsworth, 3.5-mile Frostbite Road Race, noon, begins and ends at Ellsworth High, race-day registration, 11 a.m., $6, benefit for Down East Family YMCA Building Fund, contact YMCA office, 667-3086. MARCH 18 googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var… Read More
    JAY — A farmhouse fire that killed two young girls was accidentally started by a child in a downstairs closet, according to a Department of Public Safety spokesman who refused to identify the child or elaborate on the circumstances. “Investigators have a very good idea,… Read More
    WATERVILLE – College basketball is alive and well and screaming its head off at the Wadsworth Gym, where the Colby College White Mules find themselves one game away from winning their first-ever ECAC New England Tournament crown. Playing in front of a raucous, packed house… Read More
    DOWD COLUMN Two years into the Rudy Keeling era, the men’s basketball program at the University of Maine looks pretty much like it did three, four or five years ago. In fact, this year’s team finished with the identical 11-17 record the 1984-85 Black Bears… Read More
    DOVER-FOXCROFT — The director of the Mayo Regional Hospital Ambulance Service voluntarily surrendered his license for one year and received a $500 fine for violating the Maine Emergency Medical Services System Rules. Through an investigation prompted by two complaints, the Maine Board of Emergency Medical… Read More
    A proposal to reduce Medicare reimbursement to hospitals by $4.3 billion in the 1991 fiscal year would ignite the already volatile financial situation at most Maine hospitals, according to Maine’s Roundtable on Health Care Costs. The round table is a coalition of health-care providers, business… Read More
    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Husson College baseball team opened its season here Wednesday by sweeping a doubleheader from Geneva College of Beaver Falls, Penn.. Husson defeated Geneva 8-5 in the opener and 7-1 in the second game. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
    JONI AVERILL COLUMN The NCAA Division III Northeast Regional women’s basketball champion University of Southern Maine Huskies fly out of Portland Thursday morning for Ohio and a 7:30 p.m. Friday quarterfinal date with Heidelberg College of Tiffin. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
    The past, for Meaghan Lane, is just that. Gone. History. Nothing but memories. For Lane, as well as her teammates on the Cony Rams schoolgirl basketball team, the past has been full of many good memories. Sixty-one consecutive regular season victories and three Eastern Maine… Read More
    HONOLULU – Sophomore pitcher Mike D’Andrea, pinch-hitting for Chad White, grounded a run-producing fielder’s choice to shortstop in the ninth inning to give the University of Maine to a 2-1 nine-inning victory over the University of Hawaii Pacific here. The second game of the scheduled… Read More
    PORTLAND — Striking Greyhound Lines Inc. drivers yelled and jeered Wednesday afternoon as the bus company resumed partial service in Maine, then the pickets cheered loudly when a replacement driver pulled his bus onto the street and sideswiped a motionless Jeep Cherokee. The vehicle was… Read More
    Representatives of four Maine companies came to Orono Wednesday to tell the Governor’s Economic Development Conference about their experiences selling in the European market. William G. Keene, president of Spirometrics Inc. of Auburn, employed a European intermediary to help sell his pulmonary-function testing equipment. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
    If, as Disraeli insisted, a university should be a place of light, liberty, and of learning, then it must embrace a wide spectrum of philosophies. The Peace Studies Program at the University of Maine offers students a unique chance to view the world through a doctrine of non-violence… Read More
    Industry lobbyists are screaming about its costs, environmentalists are lamenting its compromises, but Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell is smiling because last week he accomplished what for 15 years no one had been able to do: forge an agreement between the Senate and the White House for a… Read More
    BAILEYVILLE — Conflict over the size of the Baileyville school budget has attracted public attention, but Union 107 Superintendent Robert W. Fifield said he believed that Baileyville’s “Report Card” from the Department of Educational and Cultural Services showed the schools were doing a good job. Read More
    Hidden away in a tiny shop deep in the heartland of Maine’s wild lowbush blueberry country, a team of workers are racing to manufacture hundreds of Tabbut blueberry rakes for the 1990 Maine berry harvest. While some people may wonder what Mainers do to avoid… Read More
    ORLAND — After a joining of hands, a brief prayer and some less than hushed remarks about the bone-chilling cold, the new chapel at the H.O.M.E. Co-op began to take form Wednesday beneath the steady cadence of a dozen hammers. Less than two months ago,… Read More
    FRANKLIN — About 75 Franklin residents would like to arrange regular calling hours for their tax collector, excise tax collector and town clerk, and the town’s selectmen have agreed to pursue the question on the annual town meeting slated for Saturday, March 24. Ben Obermann,… Read More
    GUILFORD — The Board of Selectmen appointed a committee Tuesday to plan the 175th anniversary celebration for Guilford in 1991. Appointed to the committee were John McKusick, Bill Hume, Linwood Flanders, David Cookson, Don Davis, Tony Davis and Debbie Davis. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
    LAKE VIEW PLANTATION — Residents of Lake View, on the south shore of Schoodic Lake in Piscataquis County, will hold their annual meeting at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 10, to vote on the 35-article warrant. The first 10 articles will elect and establish compensation for… Read More
    STETSON — The Stetson Parks and Recreation Department will sponsor a roller skating party from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, March 11, at Happy Wheels in Bangor. The cost will be $1 for Stetson residents, including rentals. The department will sponsor swimming at the Bangor-Brewer… Read More
    NEWPORT — Water District Superintendent Donald Brawn has issued a letter of rebuttal to charges made on the floor of the annual town meeting last Saturday. When residents questioned $52,000 in hydrant rental fees, one resident amended the article to appropriate only $1 to the… Read More
    FORT KENT — The University of Maine at Fort Kent Healthracs program will have a Boost Your Body Image Workshop from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 8, in Room 118-120 in the UMFK physical education building. Participating in the $2, two-hour session will be Ruth Roy of… Read More
    ROCKLAND — SAD 5 will have four teams vying for honors in the Regional Odyssey of the Mind Tournament, to begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 10, at Rockland District High School. Teams will be from Owls Head, South School, Junior High school, and a combined North-McLain school… Read More
    ROCKLAND — In recognition of “Music In Our Schools Month,” the SAD 5 Music Department will present a concert featuring more than 350 young musicians, at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 15, in the RDHS gymnasium. The concert will showcase students in the fourth- and fifth-grade… Read More
    MILBRIDGE — Three students from SAD 37 schools were among the prize winners, and two other local students won honorable mention in the 1990 poster-essay contest sponsored by the Maine Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Starley Moffitt, a fourth-grader at Milbridge Elementary School, won… Read More
    NEWPORT — Annette Houston, coordinator of the program for the gifted and talented in SAD 48, has been working with other staff members to set up a massive conference for young authors, artists and storytellers. The conference, intended for children in grades three to eight, is being sponsored… Read More
    ROCKLAND — By a 10-0 vote Wednesday night, the board of directors of the Maine Lobster Festival voted to reinstate the annual attraction. On Feb. 27, the board had voted 6-5 to cancel the 43-year-old event, because of a perceived lack of volunteers and money. Read More
    PRESQUE ISLE — A board comprising representatives of federal, state and local agencies continued Wednesday to fine-tune plans for a 10-year project to demonstrate the benefits of water- and soil-management practices on agricultural land. The board has been conducting research on irrigation and croplands. “Water… Read More
    ROCKLAND — The Knox-Lincoln County Extension Association has announced that it is receiving applications for membership on the Executive Committee for three-year terms. This association is the sponsoring agency for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
    NEWPORT — More than 250 high school students are participating in a new physical education program at Nokomis Regional High School. Julie Richards, girls physical education teacher, offered cross-country skiing as part of the curriculum last fall and was amazed when 250 students showed up — two-thirds of… Read More
    ROCKPORT — Marge Dodge, head librarian at the Rockport Public Library, has announced an exhibit featuring Montpelier, the home of Gen. Henry Knox. The Friends of Montpelier in Thomaston have lent this display to the library for March; it can be seen in the “Maine” Room of the… Read More
    Wayne Davis of TrainRiders/Northeast will address the Maine Traffic Club at a dinner meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 14, at the Holiday Inn, Main Street, Bangor. Davis is chairman of the organization which is seeking to restore passenger train service in Maine. For reservations call 773-5019 in… Read More
    MILBRIDGE — A 1990 municipal budget of $490,827 was approved Monday by voters at the annual town meeting. Town Manager William H. Treworgy said the local taxpayers’ share of the municipal budget would be $224,566, representing an increase of about 8 percent over the 1989 figure. Read More
    LINCOLN — The Lincoln Economic Development Committee plans to ask the Town Council to consider a proposal to contract for some economic development services. Chairman George Rich said the committee recommended that the council consider either funding for a full-time economic development position, or consider… Read More
    PORTLAND — Costs of attending Maine’s three elite private colleges will rise by about 8 percent this fall — about twice the rate of inflation. But because of the state’s fiscal problems, students in the University of Maine System face the prospect of tuition hikes… Read More
    VAN BUREN — Kim Desjardins won the 1990 Miss Greater Van Buren crown while competing in a field of six contestants in the scholarship pageant held Saturday night at Van Buren District Secondary School. She was crowned by Debra Learnard, who held the Greater Miss… Read More
    PENOBSCOT — A state fire investigator said a fire at an abandoned building in Penobscot Tuesday night was arson. John Morse, an investigator for the state Fire Marshal’s Office, is currently investigating the fire that was reported by a neighbor on the County Road in… Read More
    GLEN COVE — The Mid-Coast Genealogy Group invites members and guests to bring old photos to its meeting to be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 28, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Old County Road, Glen Cove. David Mishkin of… Read More
    EAST MACHIAS — Craig Seeley, a senior at Washington Academy, has been selected to participate in the annual McDonald’s East-West All Star team. The game will be played at 1:45 p.m. Saturday, March 24, in the Augusta Civic Center. Seeley, who is the son of… Read More
    FARMINGTON — The Franklin County Commissioners have agreed, pending legislative approval, to accept a 4-acre parcel in Coburn Gore. The parcel, owned by the Coburn Gore Partnership, is the site of the Coburn Gore dump. “We want to take one step back (from legal responsibility… Read More
    PITTSFIELD — It’s carnival week at Maine Central Institute in Pittfield. The annual transformation of the campus from a snow-covered center for education to an icy art gallery of snow sculptures begins Thursday. Students got a head start on the merriment with a cabaret Wednesday… Read More
    CALAIS — The Child Development Services will hold a kindergarten readiness workshop from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, in the cafeteria at Calais High School. The workshop is open to parents, teachers, preschool personnel, special educators, and anyone interested in learning more about kindergarten. Read More
    WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday sustained President Bush’s veto of a bill to have the government intervene in the year-old Eastern Airlines dispute, dealing a blow to organized labor and Democratic leaders. The vote of 261-160 to override the president’s veto was short of… Read More
    CARIBOU — The United Baptist Church in Caribou will present a concert at 6 p.m. Sunday, March 18, by David and Marcy Alves. With seven albums to their credit, the couple perform concerts on the East Coast and in parts of the Midwest. The Alves… Read More
    NEWPORT — The Newport Board of Selectmen unanimously rejected another offer by local businessman Goodwin Gilman to relocate the town offices to the former Key Bank building on Main Street. At the March 3 annual town meeting, voters rejected offering $100,000 for the purchase of the Main Street… Read More
    A Bureau of Intergovernmental Drug Enforcement (BIDE) narcotics detail arrested three Bucksport residents and a 21-year-old Bangor man late Tuesday evening. Wayne Mishou, 28, of Bucksport and Stewart MacLeod of Bangor were arraigned Wednesday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Edward H. Keith in the U.S. District… Read More
    Few people would expect to fight about swamps, bogs and the spongy ground where red maples grow, but a battle is under way over how to regulate Maine’s wetlands. About a third of the state is wetlands, according to state environmental regulators. Since last summer,… Read More
    Nearly 20 years ago, 20 million Americans participated in Earth Day 1970. It was the largest event of the environmental movement and its impact was felt around the world. Today, we hear more about the environment than ever before. But unfortunately, the news isn’t good. Read More
    BOSTON — Contrary to popular wisdom, women who put off starting their families until late in their child-bearing years face little extra risk of having premature or unhealthy babies, a study concludes. The number of women delaying their first pregnancies until their mid-30s or beyond… Read More
    HAMPDEN — Members of the SAD 22 board of directors received pointers from a state assistant attorney general Wednesday night on their policy for searching and cleaning out student lockers. The suggestions and clarifications came from Greg Motta who also gave the board a historical… Read More
    PORTLAND — Best-selling author Stephen King may be the master of the macabre, but he’s pretty adept with the one-liner as well. “People want to know why I do this, why I write such gross stuff,” says King. “I like to tell them I have… Read More
    ATLANTA — Georgia-Pacific Corp. said Wednesday it has completed its tender offer for Great Northern Nekoosa Corp. and plans to begin buying the 53.8 million outstanding shares of the Connecticut paper products maker this week. The $65.75-a-share tender offer expired at midnight Tuesday, and Atlanta-based… Read More
    WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell and Republican Senate leader Robert Dole of Kansas unveiled Wednesday the recommendations of a bipartisan task force that has been working on a plan to limit the amount of money that can be spent in political campaigns. Composed… Read More
    PORTLAND — In a ruling hailed as a victory for home rule and the environment, the Maine supreme court Tuesday upheld a Lebanon town ordinance that blocked a utility from spraying herbicides along its transmission line corridors to control weeds and brush. In its unanimous… Read More
    ROCKLAND Judge Michael N. Westcott heard the following cases Wednesday in 6th District Court: googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) {… Read More
    A story on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Wednesday’s paper gave an incorrect telephone number for the National Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Association. The NCFSA’s number is (913) 321-2278. Read More
    A story Wednesday incorrectly reported that Frank Hammond, 38, of Penobscot, received concurrent sentences in Penobscot County Superior Court of five years, with all but five years suspended upon conviction of rape and gross sexual misconduct. In fact, Hammond was sentenced to 12 years with all but five… Read More
    AUGUSTA — The Maine Women’s Lobby and its legislative allies opened a drive Tuesday to win passage of a bill requiring coverage of breast cancer screening tests in all health insurance policies. Proponents told the Legislature’s Banking and Insurance Committee that early diagnosis and treatment… Read More
    Downeast Big Brothers and Big Sisters will hold its annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake Bowlathon from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 10, at the Family Fun Lanes on Hildreth Street in Bangor. Businesses bowling for children will include Fleet Bank, Training and Development… Read More
    In a meeting marked with talk of personal threats, the Bangor City Council voted to start talks with Bass Park Associates, a group headed by Larry K. Mahaney that wants to operate the complex. The vote Wednesday afternooon culminates a process started in earnest last… Read More
    BIDDEFORD — A young black man detained by police at gunpoint expressed anger Wednesday that he was questioned about a killing merely because witnesses falsely said the crime had been committed by a black. “If it was a white man with blond hair, would they… Read More
    Eastport police have charged Michael Gebo, 23, of Byrd Street with the theft of gasoline from a vehicle in Quoddy Village. A total of 40 gallons of fuel were taken from a dump truck owned by Bamar Inc. in several incidents between Feb 8 and 24. Gebo was… Read More