The start of the summer harness racing season in eastern Maine kicks off at Bangor Raceway on Saturday, May 31. For 27 days, Bangor’s live extended meet racing will showcase some of the best Maine and Canadian horses competiting for more than $500,000 in purse money on Bangor’s… Read More
Unity Raceway owner Ralph Nason, saying it seemed like a “good investment,” has bought the Caribou Motor Speedway. And the first race will be a Northeast Pro Stock Association 150 on June 1. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes… Read More
ORONO – Ashley Stinson drew a bases-loaded walk to cap a seven-run sixth inning that provided Orono with a 12-11 high school softball win over Dexter Thursday. Lorie Mehuren scored the game-winning run. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes… Read More
EAST CORINTH – Relief pitcher Kristen Bean entered the game and immediately ended a rally with a game-ending groundout as Mattanawcook Academy edged Central 11-10 in high school softball action Thursday. Bean came on with the tying run at third base and the winning run… Read More
FORT KENT – Freshman A.J. Slavinsky drove in Eric Berube on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the ninth inning as Fort Kent tripped Fort Fairfield 7-6 in schoolboy baseball action Thursday. Hunter Pelletier led off the ninth with a double and scored on… Read More
WATERVILLE – Thomas College ended a 15-game losing skein and won their first games since baseball was reinstated at the school this season after a 10-year absence. Thomas topped UM-Presque Isle 5-3 and 8-7 in colleyear absence. Thomas topped UM-Presque Isle 5-3 and 8-7 in college baseball action… Read More
After fighting through a nagging calf injury and illness, University of Maine track All-American Dereck Treadwell decided earlier this spring to sit out this season and run next year instead. The Milford senior has used up his eligibility in indoor track but can run both… Read More
High school AT ORONO John Bapst boys (2-0) 3, Brewer (0-4) 2 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()) { if (slot_sizes[i][0]… Read More
High school AT VAN BUREN Van Buren girls (1-0) 5, Fort Kent (0-2) 0 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
BANGOR – Judging from the way Darren Stover handled the continuous rain showers and drizzle Thursday night, Bangor coach Bob Kelley may want to have someone stand by with a hose in case his next game day is sunny. The Rams’ righthander pitched his first… Read More
ORONO – Angelo Ciminiello returned to Providence College last August to discover baseball coach Paul Kostacopoulos had left to take the University of Maine job. So, when Ciminiello and the Friars played Maine at Mahaney Diamond Thursday night, there was no mistaking their intensity. The… Read More
College EMILY BURRILL Husson senior Emily Burrill of Brewer had 15 hits in 27 at bats and was named the Maine Athletic Conference player of the week. The Braves first basemen also had eight doubles and 11 RBIs. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
The World Professional Gymnastics Championships this weekend in Portland will be a unique event for the Cumberland County Civic Center – and for the nation. This will be the first gymnastics competition produced at the 20-year-old Civic Center. It also will be the first gymnastics… Read More
The University of Maine softball team goes into the America East Tournament this weekend with its first game against Vermont. But many Bears are distracted by what could lie ahead. The No. 4-ranked Bears (20-17, 6-6 in America East) face No. 5 seed Vermont (14-17,… Read More
Thomas sweeps UMPI (First Game) UM-Presque Isle 101 001 0 – 3 6 2 Thomas 202 030 x – 5 10 0 googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0;… Read More
BANGOR – Melanie Deyone put up a brutally cold and efficient pitching performance to freeze up Brewer. Bangor backed her up with an aggressive offense as the Rams took a whack at everything crossing the plate to batter Brewer 14-0 in schoolgirl softball action at… Read More
Dick Barstow’s long rumored move from Presque Isle to Katahdin turned into fact Thursday afternoon. The Wildcats’ 10-year coach signed an agreement in principle to coach at Katahdin of Sherman Station girls basketball team next winter. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes =… Read More
High school BASEBALL Wednesday’s Results Bangor 9, Old Town 3 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()) { if (slot_sizes[i][0] googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
AUGUSTA — Maine Attorney General Andrew Ketterer has filed a complaint in Superior Court against an Augusta high school student for allegedly violating the Maine Civil Rights Act. Ketterer’s office alleges that the student assaulted and threatened another student in December 1996, based on a… Read More
BAR HARBOR — The Acadia National Park entrance station on Park Loop Road has opened and passes may be bought at the station, said Superintendent Paul Haertel. An Acadia annual pass costs $20. The Golden Eagle pass, offering admission to any national park, monument, historic… Read More
PORTLAND — Maine’s highest court on Thursday denied an appeal by a former Benton man serving a life prison sentence for murdering a Waterville woman during a botched burglary at her home nearly three years ago. Robert W. Lonardo contended his statements to officers should… Read More
Maine Forest Service rangers are asking the public for help in finding out who was responsible for deliberately setting two fires Wednesday in Township 19, north of Columbia Falls in Washington County. The Department of Conservation is asking that anyone with any information that may… Read More
CALAIS — Kayak and canoe fans can explore waters from Calais to Red Beach on Sunday, May 18, in the first St. Croix River kayak and canoe rally, part of a campaign by local groups to increase use of the Calais Waterfront Park and lower St. Croix River… Read More
PORTLAND — A Bath man became the first defendant in Maine to be charged with the newly enacted federal statute making it a crime for a person previously convicted of domestic violence to possess guns or ammunition. A Portland grand jury brought back an indictment… Read More
ROCKLAND — Picking up where their Portland-area counterparts left off the day before, a sea of midcoast lobstermen swamped a public hearing here Thursday to blast a proposed federal plan they say won’t protect endangered right whales but will destroy their industry and their communities. Read More
BANGOR — The Cole Land Transportation Museum needs 11 historic vehicles to complete its collection of Maine transportation. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, including Sundays and holidays. Needed are a U.S. Mail vehicle, a small camper such as an… Read More
AUGUSTA — Legislators debating the finer points of electric industry restructuring got a visit from some unexpected guests Thursday: about 100 utility employees worried their jobs could be short-circuited. The Central Maine Power workers sported yellow hard hats as they sought to argue a proposal… Read More
BELFAST — The endangered northern right whale is serving as a recruiting poster for the Maine Militia. Mack Page, founder and coordinator of the statewide militia group, said the proposed federal regulations to protect the right whale have been a boon to attracting new members. Read More
BANGOR — A Bangor man carrying 17 bags of heroin was arrested while stepping off a bus at the Concord Trailways terminal Wednesday. John L. Tracy, 38, made an initial appearance in federal court Thursday and was ordered jailed pending trial on one count of possession with intent… Read More
MADAWASKA — Two employees of the Madawaska water district were examined by emergency medical personnel at the plant Thursday afternoon after chlorine leaked from a container. Superintendent Donald Chasse and office clerk Steve Bechard were not injured, according to Fire Chief Norman Cyr. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
AUGUSTA — Gov. Angus King is likely to veto a bill enacted in the Senate on Thursday that would allow high-stakes beano games on more weekends than the law now allows. The bill that won the Senate’s final approval would allow the high-stakes games on… Read More
AUGUSTA — Citing six cases in 18 months, Attorney General Andrew Ketterer on Thursday spoke in favor of a bill prohibiting police officers from engaging in relationships with victims of domestic assault. Ketterer described a scenario for members of the Legislature’s Criminal Justice Committee in… Read More
SKOWHEGAN — The Margaret Chase Smith Library will hold a public policy program on campaign finance reform today at the library. Speakers will include former U.S. Rep. Thomas H. Andrews and Edward S. Cabot, chairman of Common Cause. The program is by invitation only. For… Read More
DYER BROOK — Faced with a shortfall of almost $180,000 next year, members of the Southern Aroostook Community School District board took out the budget ax Tuesday night and lopped off eight staff positions. No one group was targeted, as positions from secretaries and janitors… Read More
AUGUSTA — In an attempt to move Maine down the road to restorative justice, corrections officials are seeking to adopt measures that would place victims and community members in the role of dishing out justice. Members of the Criminal Justice Committee heard testimony Thursday supporting… Read More
This is the second of a two-part series on the Human Genome Project. The first part appeared in the Bangor Daily News on April 25. There are two points of view taken with regard to sequencing the human genome that are raising profound ethical and legal questions about… Read More
As the Legislature hurries toward ending its current session by May 30, it is racing through work sessions on bills, sometimes rescheduling or dropping them altogether until the next session. This late in the year, it is difficult even for lobbyists to keep the hearing schedule straight, and… Read More
WASHINGTON — The Senate approved a bill Thursday that would protect volunteers from some liability claims stemming from their efforts. The measure, if passed by the House and signed by President Clinton, will serve as “a protective buffer, a shield for the well-meaning volunteer,” said… Read More
A Maine musician is now playing with one of the legends he listened to while growing up. Exeter native Perley Curtis plays steel guitar and dobro for “Country Music’s First Lady,” Loretta Lynn, having toured with her since early March. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
WASHINGTON — Reviving one of the more contentious issues of the last Congress, a Senate panel on Thursday approved a bill that would limit damage awards in lawsuits over faulty products. The bill, advanced by the Senate Commerce Committee on an 11-9 vote, is similar… Read More
Mimi Stern is planning her daughter’s coming-out party. She has invited more than 150 friends, family, former teachers and acquaintances to toast her daughter’s new career. On Saturday afternoon, they will raise a glass and toast Mameve Medwed, published novelist. “Mail” ($23), published last month… Read More
Secretary of Defense William Cohen will undertake his largest challenge to date in the next few months as he shapes the U.S military for perhaps the next decade. A frozen budget will make his choices difficult, but his career in the Senate offers guidance on where he is… Read More
An article published in the April 26-27 edition of the NEWS concerning the fire that destroyed the Rainbow Cove Restaurant near Madawaska Lake incorrectly referred to the American Dream Lodge, owned by Stanley and Elmira Pelletier of St. Francis, as being “bankrupt.” In fact, as the article correctly… Read More
The baby boy charmed everyone in the clinic from doctor to fellow patients with his dark-haired, blue-eyed, apple-cheeked good looks, his bright alertness and ability to tell mommy from the rest of the world, and his good-natured tolerance for a medical examination. The too bright-red spot on one… Read More
The changing face of the health care delivery system in Maine is commanding increasing public attention. Much of this attention is the result of the growth of managed care and the epxanding role of HMOs. Maine people are questioning whether these news approaches and the promise of better… Read More
It takes a few calls to figure out just what it means to orbit the earth. We know John Glenn orbited the earth, and that before him a Russian orbited the earth, and sometime before him some poor monkey was sent up to circle the globe. But not… Read More
DEXTER — To bond or not to bond nearly $375,000 for capital improvement projects was the question debated Wednesday by SAD 46 directors. Actually, the question was settled at a previous board meeting when directors voted to include the funds in the proposed 1997-98 budget,… Read More
WESTON — Harris Hill Road, often the one less traveled because of its condition, will get a face lift thanks to a grant from the state. Town Manager Ardis Brown said Wednesday that the town has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the state Office… Read More
BELFAST — Although Superior Court Justice Andrew Mead has ruled in favor of the $4.5 million Cedar Ridge apartment complex, the lawyer for its opponents claims the decision was based on a “gross factual error.” Attorney Clifford Goodall said Justice Mead was wrong in viewing… Read More
HAMPDEN — The Hampden Children’s Day Committee will hold a craft fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Reeds Brook Middle School. The fair will benefit the Children’s Day celebration. For information, call 862-4721 or 862-6262. Read More
WINTERPORT — After just one year as Winterport town manager — but nearly 20 years in town government — Bill Terry has resigned. “It was just more job than I anticipated,” he said Thursday. “I’m seeking something less stressful.” googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
SKOWHEGAN — A community CPR course will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on June 2 and 9 at Redington-Fairview General Hospital. The course is for adult and child CPR. Information is available at 474-5121, Ext. 321. Read More
SKOWHEGAN — Redington-Fairview General Hospital will hold a baby-sitting course from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. daily May 19-23 for children in fifth grade and older. Speakers will include police and fire department members, nurses, teachers and other professionals. For information, call the hospital’s education department… Read More
MADISON — The final event in a yearlong program, “Celebrating Our Native American Heritage,” will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Madison Junior High School. Barry Dana of the Penobscot Nation will perform Penobscot and intertribal songs. Student work that includes dream catchers and… Read More
HANCOCK — Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts will hold a bottle drive from 9 a.m. to noon here Saturday. Scouts also will hold a public baked bean and casserole supper from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Union Congregational Church. To arrange for bottle pickup,… Read More
BELFAST — Women Entrepreneurs of Belfast will present neuromuscular therapist Deborah Cook 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, May 7, at the Belfast Free Library. Cook will discuss posture and physical stress. Cook runs the Center for Neuromuscular Therapy at Oakland Commons, Glen Cove, and is on the… Read More
CAMDEN — The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine has announced that it does not use telephone solicitation to raise funds, although several Maine people have claimed to have received telephone calls from the organization. “Make-A-Wish does not conduct telephone or door-to-door solicitation. However, we are often… Read More
ELLSWORTH — The Hancock County Sheriff’s Department will resume random road checks searching for drunken drivers, Sheriff William F. Clark announced. All vehicles going through a checkpoint will be stopped and drivers will be given cards explaining why they are being stopped. Only those who… Read More
DEXTER — SAD 46 directors gave their approval Wednesday for the high school to sponsor a high-adventure Explorer post through the Katahdin Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. Only Director Melvin Johnson opposed the proposal, saying the organization excludes people of different sexual orientations and… Read More
A Monroe man who apparently felt he was short-changed at Barnaby’s lounge in Bangor may be finding he has a much larger tab to pay after his arrest by Bangor police Wednesday. Kirk A. Mitchell, 23, was charged with criminal mischief and disorderly conduct after… Read More
A small amount of jet fuel leaked from a transfer line near Bangor International Airport Wednesday morning. Workers were still busy Thursday attempting to find the source of the leak. Airport workers and members of the Department of Environmental Protection searched the 4,000-foot fuel line… Read More
BAILEYVILLE — The commissioner of the state Department of Transportation has asked members of the Route 9 Advisory Committee to write their congressmen and senators and urge them to help free up federal dollars to complete the reconstruction of Route 9 on three sections in the Amherst and… Read More
ORONO — The University of Maine will leave 170 acres of forest on highly developed Pushaw Lake unharvested for use in research and education. The forest, which includes trees from ash and aspen to hemlock and balsam fir, is nestled between the lake and Caribou… Read More
BANGOR — “Good job” has been the comment from many quarters since the Shaw’s supermarket opened on Main Street last November. The National League of Cities has gone a step further, issuing the city and Shaw’s not only a national Neighborhood Partnership Award for the… Read More
HARTLAND — A proposal to hire a professional tax assessor to assist the selectmen, who double as local assessors, in maintaining an up-to-date and equitable tax base went down to defeat in Hartland Thursday night, 134-20. Selectmen were looking for an appropriation of $12,000 for… Read More
Possibly electric utility restructuring is a good idea but I believe the ratepayers, shareholders and taxpayers should all be protected as much as possible. Many of the shareholders are retired and not wealthy but depend on dividends for part of their income. Their investments have… Read More
I can empathize with John Trask and his family for what they’ll go through because of the serious mistake Trask made concerning his OUI conviction. However, I, too, made the same serious mistake not long ago. I lost a full-time position, served time in jail (because it was… Read More
There are more than 30 Workers’ Compensation bills being heard by the Labor Committee and will be considered by the entire Legislature that will significantly roll back the successes of the workers’ comp Blue Ribbon reforms of 1992. At Katahdin Forest Products, we employ an… Read More
I read the Bangor Daily News’ endorsement of LD 1742 (expansion of the sales tax) which appeared in the paper on April 12, and just shook my head. I can’t remember one person in the services industry writing to give his or her opinion of the proposed legislation. Read More
Industry spokesmen are offering up myths, not reality, when they assert that chlorine-free paper is inferior to traditional paper products. That was the message of several printers and paper salespeople who gathered Thursday at the Bangor City Council chambers to debunk recent statements by representatives… Read More
AUGUSTA — A bill that would require every carton of eggs sold in Maine to bear the name of the company that packed them has emerged from a legislative committee with a slim margin of support. The Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee voted 7-6 in… Read More
CARIBOU — As an Aroostoook County probation officer in the early 1990s, Francis Witts claimed Thursday he never stole any money during his four-year tenure supervising defendants. Witts, 46, of Stockholm, is charged with taking $8,921 that 16 probationers paid as restitution when they reported… Read More
SKOWHEGAN — Madison’s former town clerk and treasurer, Lisa Paine, pleaded guilty Thursday morning in Somerset County Superior Court to embezzling $255,000 from town taxpayers. With Madison’s population of 5,000, the embezzled money is equivalent to taking $51 from each and every resident. The money… Read More
PORTLAND — A former Maine judge and prosecutor who was disbarred for dishonesty in a 1980s real estate deal has regained the right to practice law. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court accepted the recommendation of the grievance commission of the Board of Overseers of the… Read More
MADAWASKA — Industrial safety has become an issue of paramount importance at Fraser Papers Inc. over the years, and the company has been proud of the safety records its employees have garnered. The company has gone nearly six months without a lost-time accident. Before that,… Read More
SORRENTO — Growing market demand for premium blue mussels across the nation has prompted Maine’s leading mussel exporter — Great Eastern Mussel Farms — to cultivate the mollusk in a growing number of prime spots along the Maine coast instead of harvesting them in the wild. Read More
AUGUSTA — Hospitals in Waterville and Augusta that are merging will get a new name: MaineGeneral Health. The merger of Kennebec Valley Medical Center in Augusta and Waterville’s Mid-Maine Medical Center awaits regulatory approval. But no glitches are expected and the merger should become official… Read More
FREDERICTON, New Brunswick — A lawyer for a rival Quebec-based pipeline company says the Maritimes will miss out if Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline is allowed to pump Sable Island natural gas directly to the United States. “The sole purpose of their application is to sell… Read More
Wrapped in a long blue feather boa, a small concrete gargoyle perches on a windowsill, leering out the window at the traffic passing through the intersection on the Brewer side of the Joshua Chamberlain Bridge. Call it a harbinger of a new era for the… Read More
With college officials and industry notables assembled in its new $650,000 Richard E. Dyke Center for Family Business, Husson College introduced Michael Carney Thursday as its choice as director for the college’s new Hospitality Management Institute. The college will begin accepting students this fall into… Read More
I agree wholeheartedly with Alicia Anstead’s review of Midori Gotos’ violin recital on April 18. This was indeed a phenomenal performance by two outstanding artists. What she did not mention, however, was the large number of empty seats in the hall. Since I had expected that this concert… Read More
PORTLAND — Expressing remorse and accepting responsibility, the driver of a pickup truck blamed for a deadly crash at a Maine Turnpike toll plaza pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of manslaughter and 11 other felony counts. As he began his series of pleas in… Read More
ROCKLAND — Harold M. Clarke Jr., 34, has been in jail since December 1995 and he has yet to be convicted of any crime. Now Clarke will probably remain in jail until at least September. Clarke is charged with manslaughter in the Nov. 7, 1994,… Read More
LEWISTON — Murder warrants were issued Thursday for two men wanted in the fatal beating of a Lewiston man in a motel room on Lisbon Street. Brad Chesnel, 24, of Lewiston and Leroy Tomah, 27, of Houlton initially were sought for questioning and were not… Read More
AUGUSTA — Senate Democrats were convinced Thursday that their blitzkrieg approach to passing a majority budget and holding daily legislative sessions has made the 118th Legislature one of the most efficient ever. State House Republicans, on the other hand, maintained Democratic claims of progress were… Read More
AUGUSTA — The Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services voted 11-1 Tuesday in favor of LD 1059, a measure that would essentially protect people with cancer, AIDS or glaucoma from being prosecuted for possessing up to 1 1/4 ounces of marijuana. The revised… Read More
SKOWHEGAN — A Bangor man with a lengthy criminal record had his probation revoked this week in Somerset County Superior Court after he was charged with stabbing his girlfriend. Mark Mitchell, 30, will serve out the remaining four years and 10 months of a 1992… Read More
MACHIASPORT — Parents attending a public hearing Wednesday night made it clear they oppose SAD 77’s proposed cost-cutting reorganization of the school system into early elementary, middle elementary and junior high sites at three of the district’s schools. One of the most controversial elements of… Read More
AUGUSTA — Mainers are being warned to be wary of post cards and e-mail notices saying they may be entitled to unclaimed property. State Treasurer Dale McCormick said that in most cases, people are not entitled to unclaimed assets. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
WASHINGTON — Fewer teen-age girls are having sex, and those who do are more likely to have partners who use condoms, the government reported Thursday. It’s the first time teen sex rates have dropped in 25 years, and it helps explain declining teen pregnancy rates. Read More
AUGUSTA — Lawmakers on the Taxation Committee unanimously killed a tax restructuring proposal Thursday that would have saved the typical homeowner an estimated $400 in property taxes. Committee members voted 11-0 to kill the bill in favor of producing their own tax reform package that… Read More