In the spirit of this all-star week – the 68th Major League All-Star Game is now in the books and young baseball players all over the country are currently battling to get their teams a dream berth in the Little League World Series – I pose the following… Read More
ALBANY, N.Y. – Rain postponed the second game of the Bangor-Albany doubleheader, though the Blue Ox are probably wishing that the rain had come a little sooner, as they dropped the first game to the Diamond Dogs 8-0 in Northeast League play Tuesday. Poor defense… Read More
BRUNSWICK – In golf, signature holes are a dime a dozen. There are the pretty. The amusing. 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++) {… Read More
Hole-in-one CHRIS REYNOLDS HERMON – Chris Reynolds hit a hole-in-one Tuesday on the 140-yard third hole at Hermon Meadow Golf Club. Reynolds used a pitching wedge, and his shot was witnessed by Ray Charloux, Larry Charloux, and Craig Charloux. Read More
Brewer, Holbrook, Millinocket, and Hampden all earned victories Tuesday in the 11- to 12-year-old division of the District 3 Little League playoffs. Brewer eliminated Orono-Veazie 5-3, Holbrook blanked Machias 10-0, Millinocket beat Eastport 15-5, and Hampden topped Border 12-8. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
SKOWHEGAN – Tom Waterman and Joel Perry both sent home run shots soaring to help lead Bangor over Skowhegan 10-5 in American Legion baseball action Tuesday. Perry also hit a double for Bangor, and Waterman singled. Tom Carey provided a pair of singles. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
Cherryfield’s Andy Santerre, who finished second in the Busch Grand National North Series points race a year ago, is currently fourth in the points race and is looking for better things from himself beginning with Saturday’s Pennzoil 125 at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, N.H. Read More
KINGSPORT, Tenn. – The Maine Windjammers lost to the Florida Gold Oceola Magic 74-56 in the 15 and under AAU National Basketball Championship Tuesday. Top scorers for Maine were Derek Rodgerson of Hampden with 18 points, Chris Gray of Hermon with 12, Hampden’s Jesse McCue… Read More
WASHINGTON — The curtain went up Tuesday on the summer’s biggest political extravaganza, and Sen. Susan Collins found the hype of the investigation into illegal fund raising a bit more than she expected. “It is an overwhelming experience,” the Maine Republican said during a 10-minute… Read More
GREENVILLE — Maine’s own race driver Ricky Craven will make a guest appearance in Greenville today. Craven is expected to sign autographs at Indian Hill Trading Post and be grand marshal for the annual Charles A. Dean Hospital Auxiliary parade. Craven, who is building a… Read More
ROCKLAND — A $5 million middle school can be built now that the Department of Environmental Protection granted several exemptions to a building moratorium imposed last week. The moratorium, which halts any new additions to the city sewer lines, was imposed after the City Council… Read More
AUGUSTA — A plan that would change the way Maine evaluates criminals suspected of being mentally ill has won tentative approval from state officials. Under Dr. Ulrich Jacobsohn’s proposal, the State Forensic Service would expand its consultations with outside psychiatrists and psychologists to broaden its… Read More
WALTHAM, Vt. — An Appleton, Maine, woman has died after falling off her bicycle and fracturing her skull, a replay of an accident she suffered last year. Tama Sommo, 46, suffered a severe head injury when she fell off her bike in Crown Point, N.Y.,… Read More
TOWNSHIP 7 RANGE 9 — A teen-age girl who fell Monday and injured her knee while hiking the Appalachian Trail in Piscataquis County was rescued Tuesday. Bridget Libby, 14, of Falmouth was hiking the trail in the West Chairback Pond area with a group from… Read More
HOULTON — Registrations are being accepted for a camp road maintenance and erosion control workshop in Linneus on July 29. The workshop is offered by the Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District to help camp owners, lake association members and others protect and improve… Read More
NORTHPORT — The search for a missing Piper Cherokee that crashed off Flat Island last week will move to deeper water . The decision to widen the search was made late Tuesday after state divers using a side-scanning sonar device were unable to locate the… Read More
BANGOR — At 77 years old, Nathan Kobritz stood before a judge Tuesday and said he was scared to go home by himself at night and still heard the sound of brass knuckles “ringing in his ears” as he slept. Kobritz, owner of the Oronoka… Read More
SACO — A Saco woman charged with murdering her 2-week-old daughter had no history of mental illness, her longtime boyfriend says. The arraignment of Jody L. Johnson, 38, was put on hold pending completion of a mental competency examination. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
AUGUSTA — A lawyer for a Kennebec County Jail officer plans to challenge a federal appeals court’s decision upholding a $1 award for a former inmate who claimed he was taunted by the guard. Ernest O’Connor Jr. was in jail on charges of being a… Read More
BANGOR — Don’t lose heart, all you fans of stunt cars. Joie Chitwood’s Chevy Thunder Show will be back at the Bangor State Fair on Sunday, Aug. 3, the final day of the 10-day event at Bass Park. Other transportation buffs may want to take… Read More
AUGUSTA — As Justice Caroline Glassman prepares to step down from the bench, she says she hopes her status as the only woman to serve on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court is short-lived. “I would hope to take my place that the governor is considering… Read More
BIDDEFORD — Two young seals rescued from southern shores have made it to Maine, where they will be released today from Granite Point. The seals were rescued by the National Aquarium in Baltimore’s Marine Animal Rescue Program and have been nursed back to health. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
EASTPORT — Kevin D. Clark will be installed as the city’s new postmaster at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 7, at the Eastport Youth Center. The oath of office will be administered by Barbara A. Patterson, district manager, customer service and sales, for the U.S. Postal Service, District of… Read More
PITTSFIELD — The Lee-Doncet Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxillary No. 9955 is sponsoring a cancer awareness program for women in Pittsfield and the surrounding area. The featured speaker will be Penny DeRaps, who is affiliated with the Pittsfield Health Care Center on Somerset Avenue, Pittsfield. Read More
DOVER-FOXCROFT — Four new members were selected to fill vacancies on the Thompson Free Library Association at its recent annual meeting. The members include: Kevin Stitham, Deborah Davis, Joseph Veno and Nancy Grant. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes… Read More
BURNHAM — The contractor for waste disposal in Burnham is still undecided. A controversial rebidding of the town’s waste disposal contract was met with unanswered questions, according to Administrative Assistant Caroline Hamel. The bids received Monday night were each less than a June bid, but… Read More
BUCKSPORT — A 169 percent overall water rate increase has been approved by the Maine Public Utilities Commission. The new rates became effective July 1 for the 625 customers of the Bucksport division of Consumers Maine Water Co. The company requested the rate increase in… Read More
BANGOR — Brad Johnston, 24, formerly a police officer in Veazie, has been hired as a Bangor police officer. Johnston has more than six years’ experience in law enforcement in eastern Maine, including two years as a part-time deputy with the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department… Read More
BANGOR — Members of the municipal operations committee decided Tuesday it was time to do away with the economic development advisory commission. Councilors Don Soucy, Michael Aube and James Tyler voted to recommend that action to the full council at a meeting later this month. Read More
The ferry from Mount Desert Island to Frenchboro is a modest affair. It has a deck broad enough for the dozen or so cars on board, a passenger cabin with a few rows of benches and it chugs along at a pace more suited to sightseeing than commuting. Read More
DOVER-FOXCROFT — A Dover-Foxcroft physician has filed a lawsuit against another physician over problems that resulted from an alleged partnership between the pair. Dr. Donald L. Sawyer recently filed a nine-count complaint in Piscataquis County Superior Court against Dr. Richard Cabot. The complaint claims breach… Read More
The route between tax relief and general prosperity has always been full of sharp turns, dangerous intersections and unexpected drop-offs. Road maps in the form of tax cuts presented recently by Republicans and the president contain the added travel feature of public-relations roundabouts designed to entrap taxpayers who… Read More
He wasn’t an NBA millionaire, or even a college athlete. He didn’t have a shoe contract, an agent, or even an arrest record. What he had was an attitude, and he was 11 years old. He hadn’t pitched for his little league team, and he didn’t like it. Read More
Books come in categories from science fiction to arts to classics. Jean Hay’s book, “Proud to be a Card-Carrying, Flag-Waving, Patriotic American Liberal,” comes under the category “surplus campaign assets.” While the title could come under the designation “too long,” it tells you just what you need to… Read More
Hey wait a minute. On June 13, the Bangor Daily News criticized me in an editorial for failing to compromise with the Democrats on a plan to hike the cigarette tax and provide health care coverage for uninsured children. Then on June 24, after the Legislature passed and… Read More
A decision by the U.S. Department of Commerce to investigate dumping by Chilean salmon producers is an important, penultimate obstacle cleared in Maine aquaculture’s race to survive and perhaps to thrive. Commerce last week found reasonable grounds in allegations by a coalition of Maine and… Read More
As usual, Dick Hill’s column, “Natural gas’ role in the next century” (BDN, July 4), is illuminating, particularly the point about needing nukes after fossil fuels are depleted. Then the United States will not have engineering expertise or the industry to produce components for nuclear generation. Read More
ROCKLAND — As a majority of the City Council sees it, the formation of a committee to help solve sewage treatment problems represents the pinnacle of civic duty. To Mayor Robert Peabody, however, it’s a bonehead idea good for promoting future council candidates and little else. Read More
BREWER — Marden’s, the discount nirvana that thrives on natural disaster, has brought good fortune to Brewer — in more ways than one. There’s the obvious draw, the big-time bargains that attract customers to the store from as far away as Aroostook County and Canada. Read More
Consumers are confident in Maine, so much so they are bordering on exuberant. That’s the story being told by statisticians. And numbers compiled by the state on the retail trade sector back up the statisticians’ prognosis. Retail sales bounced back in Maine after the recession… Read More
A report issued Tuesday by groups pushing for affordable, accessible health care concludes Maine people may not be getting their money’s worth from tax breaks given to nonprofit hospitals. Maine’s seven nonprofit, acute-care hospitals from Portland to Bangor each received more money in tax breaks… Read More
ROCKLAND — Although swapping the city-owned Museum Street parking lot for the privately owned Coffin’s lot is being described as “a win-win situation,” it will cost the city $5,000 a year in lost tax revenue. The swap is being proposed as a way to expand… Read More
I’d like to publicly thank all the teen lifeguards at the local swimming pools for their dedication and hard work. I’ve gone to the pools on numerous occasions to accompany my son, and it is rare to see more than one or two other parents there, even when… Read More
The headline read, “July 4 a time to reflect on dead heroes” . Maybe it is time for this nation to reflect and respond or react to the Supreme Court’s decision that burning our flag is permissible. George Chebba Hampden… Read More
The op-ed piece by Leon Friedman in your July 3 edition mandates a response. Professor Friedman has apparently forgotten the basic scheme of our federal government, that is, that it is divided into three branches in order to prevent a “tyranny of the majority.” Friedman criticizes the Supreme… Read More
Lightning struck two neighboring Winterport homes Monday evening, causing more than $1,000 in damage to one of the homes. Winterport Fire Chief Stan Bowden said that at 21 Elm St., lightning blew a 3-square-foot hole in an interior wall, shattered a ceiling light and fractured… Read More
I would like to respond to Andrew Brownstein’s June 25 Bangor Daily News item, “Clifton decides against audit of tax errors.” In the interest of brevity, it will suffice to make these following points: Maine State Auditor Gail Chase’s recommendations to the citizens of Clifton… Read More
I write to express my deep appreciation to Roxanne Saucier for her gentle article on my beloved wife, Mary Kate . Her words have been a great source of comfort to us, her family, and to Kate’s many colleagues, friends, and, most importantly, the parents of the infants… Read More
BANGOR — The prospects of about 450 workers in Maine may brighten as a result of a recent grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. The grant of up to $3.5 million will be used to assist workers dislocated by the harvesting restrictions imposed on… Read More
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Chrysler Corp. said it’s recalling about 1.8 million vehicles to repair a number of problems, including some that have caused minor injuries, in the biggest recall by a U.S. automaker this year. The Chrysler recall includes 960,000 1994 to 1997 Dodge… Read More
AUGUSTA — Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Maine is seeking an average increase of 7.3 percent for two of its nongroup health insurance products. Maine’s largest health insurer wants to hike rates paid by its HealthChoice subscribers and by its nongroup health maintenance organization subscribers. The… Read More
PORTLAND — A homeless man who was cited under Portland’s panhandling ordinance filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday, challenging the constitutionality of the law. Ronald Rudolph, 52, was cited by a police officer on May 30 while standing on a sidewalk on State Street… Read More
Ashland Community High School Fourth quarter honor roll Seniors, highest honors: Dane Despres, Bethann Hummel; high honors: Stacie Beaulieu, Danica Caron, Monica Fuller, Mark Howes, Jake Kinnear, Alison Libby, Sheryl Lilley, Kenneth Stevens; honors: Jennifer Carney, Michael MacDonald. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
Stearns High School Millinocket Fourth quarter honor roll Seniors, high honors: Sandra Illingworth and Amy Leet; honors: Donna Abele, April Baker, Justin Birt, Rachel Boutaugh, Amber Byron, Jessica Crosby, Catherine Dinsmore, Melissa Elliott, Lindsay Fanjoy, Kelly Gagnon, Janna Garvin, Sara Grunthaler, Westley Hartley, Jason Inman,… Read More
WASHINGTON — Bell Atlantic Corp.’s $25 billion acquisition of NYNEX Corp. is undergoing close scrutiny by federal regulators, who are working with company lawyers to ensure the deal doesn’t thwart competition, Federal Communications Commission and company officials said. The merger, which will create a telecommunications… Read More
CARIBOU — An Aroostook County Superior Court jury is hearing testimony this week on what caused the fire in August 1993 that destroyed the Maine Potato Growers Inc. main office building in Presque Isle, causing $1 million in damage. The jury has to decide whether… Read More
AUGUSTA — Maine’s two largest electric utilities are at odds over a conservation program designed to reduce airborne pollutants from oil-fired power stations. In an approach endorsed by Gov. Angus S. King, Central Maine Power Co. is encouraging a voluntary reduction in home and business… Read More
BAR HARBOR — This community — and its name recognition — has far greater potential to draw convention groups than nearby Ellsworth, according to a market research group hired to study where a convention center should be built to bolster Hancock County’s tourism-dependent economy. In… Read More
University of Maine’s Franco-American Centre director Yvon Labbe will head a Maine-based committee that will work with a similar group from Quebec to plan projects focusing on the Route 201 corridor. Beginning in August, the committee will begin identifying, planning and researching projects that will… Read More
HARTLAND — There was no surprise in Hartland this week when a formal announcement was made concerning a rate increase from the Hartland division of Consumers Maine Water Co. Rates will nearly double for most water customers and more than double for industrial customers. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
AUBURN — One of two Auburn men accused of fatally beating their landlord in a Lewiston motel room pleaded innocent Tuesday to charges of murder, robbery and theft. Leroy Tomah, 27, was returned to the Androscoggin County Jail after his arraignment in Superior Court. Justice… Read More
EASTPORT — Maine salmon farmers, as well as those in New Hampshire and the state of Washington, are hoping the federal government can halt the Chilean dumping of salmon that threatens to sink the U.S. industry. The U.S. Department of Commerce has indicated it will… Read More
Bangor District Court Rhonda Michaels, 20, Old Town, violation bail condition, $150; criminal mischief, $75, criminal trespass, $75. 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++)… Read More
ASHLAND — The following seniors at Ashland Community High School received scholarships during graduation ceremonies recently: Sarah Bartlett — Fraser Federal Credit Union, Town of Portage scholarships. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false;… Read More
YORK — Susan Remy fears the day may come when she is no longer permitted to stroll along the Cliff Walk, admiring ocean views from a sheer 75-foot precipice. The walkway has been open to the public for years. But now summer residents who own… Read More
Three talented veteran musicians raised their voices in song Tuesday night. And the people danced. Crosby, Stills and Nash, bringing their musical catalog of nearly 30 years, drew an enthusiastic crowd to the Bangor Auditorium, the first of two Maine stops for the trio. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
BREWER — Just a week away from completing the 1997-98 municipal budget, councilors remain undecided on whether to raise taxes. The possibility of leaving the tax rate alone was strengthened after former assistant to the city manager Kenny Rankin helped discover $1.8 million that was… Read More
ROCHESTER, Minn. — A combination of diet drugs known as “fen-phen” that is taken by millions of Americans may cause serious heart and lung damage, the Mayo Clinic and the government warned Tuesday. The Food and Drug Administration began sending letters to thousands of doctors… Read More
BANGOR — A Medway man accused of shooting his son on Interstate 95 in Bangor seven years ago pleaded not guilty to murder Tuesday in Penobscot County Superior Court. George Lizotte, who must use a wheelchair and has limited speech ability, entered his plea and… Read More
DEXTER — A family’s custody fight over an 11-year-old girl turned into an all-out brawl Tuesday evening that involved nearly a dozen people, some wielding baseball bats and crowbars, according to police. Four people were arrested and charges are pending against others involved in the… Read More
Anyone with any connection to Bangor knows that, among our residents, the most fiercely proud and loyal alumni are those who graduated from John Bapst High School. Now known by its nonparochial name of John Bapst Memorial High School, the once private Catholic school featured… Read More