EVANSTON, Ill. – Despite the absence of three suspended players and second-half foul trouble, the undermanned University of Maine men surprised Northwestern University in the Wildcats’ season-opener with a 69-57 basketball victory Tuesday night. “Before the season started, we put up a big board in… Read More
Help is on the way for the Husson College women’s basketball team, which suffered considerable and unexpected personnel losses prior to this season. Coach Kissy Walker expects to welcome University of Maine transfers Kelly Dow and Erin Weston for the second semester beginning in January. Read More
This year’s version of the Eastern Maine basketball tournament will feature several changes, including the possibility of preliminary games at the Bangor Auditorium, guidelines for halftime cheerleading performances and a facilities makeover at the Auditorium. The possibility of playing prelims at the tournament site and… Read More
Suspensions for four members of the University of Maine men’s basketball team, including two starters, were announced by the university prior to the Black Bears’ game at Northwestern Tuesday night. Starters Fred Meeks and Marcus Wills and backup forward Linnell Marshall were suspended for last… Read More
What do writers, outside of New England, think about Boston’s failure to re-sign Red Sox slugger Mo Vaughn? “That the Red Sox should have reached the point where they are interviewing [Albert] Belle for Mo Vaughn’s job is incomprehensible. They had a year to sign the team’s most… Read More
When the 43-year-old Bangor Auditorium floor was retired to make way for a new one last February, cheers were heard from Madawaska to Waterville: A bright, shiny new floor – and no more dead spots! But 10 months later, the new floor has been more… Read More
BREWER – Nate Nealey sits atop the backrest of a bench, a pensive look on his face. His Maine Heat teammates are in the middle of a dogfight with a strong Canadian team in the World Candlepin Team Tournament Tuesday. And he is sitting the match out. Read More
OLD TOWN _ Kids in grades K-12 across the state have the opportunity to compete in the fifth Federal Junior Duck Stamp Design Contest, where they will create designs featur- ing ducks, swans, or geese in their natural habitat. Designs will be judged in four age categories, with… Read More
Local SPEEDWAY 95 Division Champions Sport-Four: Jim Robichaud; Strictly Street: (co-champions) Paul White and Deane Smart; Super Street: Duane Seekins; Limited Sportsman: Scott Modery; Late Model Sportsman: Peter Melanson Rookie of the Year googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes… Read More
BRUNSWICK _ Senior goaltender Dana Krueger, the sec- ond field hockey player in Bowdoin College history to be named a First Team National All-American, has been invited to the United States Field Hockey camp to try out for Team USA. The tryout will run Dec. Read More
CALAIS — It was a little early for Christmas, and that may be why U.S. Customs officers suspected that a 21-year-old Moncton, New Brunswick, man had something more than slippers and ties wrapped up as holiday gifts in his car. When customs officers opened the… Read More
PORTLAND — U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe has asked Attorney General Janet Reno to review the legality of a federal decision that slashes the amount of money Maine expected to get for repair of damage from last winter’s ice storm. Maine’s congressional delegation characterized the state’s… Read More
AUGUSTA — For the second day in a row, a recount of an election for the Maine House of Representatives upheld a Democratic candidate as the winner and disappointed Republican challengers hoping to whittle away at the Democrats’ 79-71-1 majority in the new House. State… Read More
BANGOR — The city’s school department is so hard up for substitute teachers, it recently sent a letter home to parents asking if they were interested in filling in when a teacher is absent. While other districts in the state have not gone to such… Read More
ELLSWORTH — The Friendly Ice Cream Corp., a Wilbraham, Mass.-based company, opened a new restaurant here Monday. “Friendly’s has retained the old-fashioned ice cream shop heritage and tradition our guests have come to expect from every Friendly’s visit,” said John Cyr, district manager for the… Read More
BANGOR — A Florida-based power company that in January agreed to buy the electrical generating assets of Central Maine Power Co. for $846 million has gone to court to get out of the contract. FPL Group Inc. is claiming that agreements made with CMP were… Read More
PLYMOUTH, Mass. — It’s been more than 20 years since a family’s bicycle outing ended in a bloody attack. On Tuesday, a 71-year-old Maine man was formally charged with the 1977 stabbing death of Ruth Masters as her husband and daughter rode, unaware, through the… Read More
AUGUSTA — The temperature is going down and, oddly enough, so is the price of heating oil in Maine. The State Planning Office reported Tuesday that the average price per gallon fell one penny to 75 cents. That is 17 cents lower than what it… Read More
DIXFIELD — Canadian-owned J.D. Irving Ltd. continued its expansion into Maine’s forest products industry Tuesday with the purchase of Highland Lumber Co. J.D. Irving, based in Saint John, New Brunswick, said it agreed to pay $9.5 million for the assets of the nation’s largest manufacturing… Read More
CALAIS — A Danforth man who has been charged with murder after he allegedly shot and killed his ex-girlfriend’s new lover last week appeared Tuesday in 4th District Court, where his attorney told the judge his client would not seek bail at this time. Randy… Read More
Potatoes for People could well be the name of the agricultural class program conducted by Nokomis Regional High School teacher Buz Buzanoski in Newport. If you, like me, have ever wondered what grows in the fields across from that school, now you know. They’re potato… Read More
Matt Kinney, a 21-year-old former Boston Red Sox draft pick and Bangor High School star athlete, was arrested in Orono Saturday and charged with drunken driving. An Intoxilyzer test was administered at the Penobscot County Jail later that morning, according to police, and Kinney’s blood-alcohol… Read More
BANGOR — Pharmacy giant Rite Aid has dropped plans to develop a store at the corner of Hammond and Union streets in Bangor. In an announcement released this week, the Pennsylvania-based national pharmacy chain blamed rising costs for its decision to scrap development on the… Read More
PORTLAND — A dispute over the speed at which passenger trains can operate between Boston and Portland has threatened to further delay the service, which has already been held up five years. State transportation officials want the trains to go 79 mph so they will… Read More
Living across the street from a middle school, as I have for years now, I’m in an ideal position to observe the restless tides of adolescent fashion. From my seat on the runway, I have witnessed transformations in everything from sneaker styles to clothing to… Read More
NEWBERRY, Fla. — A Maine native who owned a rare white Bengal tiger was killed by her pet six weeks after the animal fatally attacked its trainer. Doris Guay, who moved to Florida from Biddeford, Maine, was leading 3-year-old Jupiter back into its pen Friday… Read More
BANGOR — With fall elections out of the way, U.S. Rep. John Baldacci is gearing up to push several bills dealing with mental health in the coming session. During a forum held at Acadia Hospital in Bangor Tuesday afternoon, Baldacci outlined what he sees as… Read More
BANGOR — A Bangor woman who claims she was physically and sexually assaulted by a jail guard while she was an inmate in the Penobscot County Jail has sent notice to the county, the jail, and the former guard that she intends to file suit at the state… Read More
GARFIELD PLANTATION — On Nov. 18, 1997, while out hunting, Robert Smith of Caribou left his wife at a deer stand in Garfield Plantation with the understanding that he was going to circle around and come back to her. He never returned. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
WASHINGTON — Women who eat beef and bacon cooked until very well-done have a four times greater risk of developing breast cancer than those who eat rare or medium meat, a study says. Yet experts said Tuesday there is still too much uncertainty to recommend… Read More
DOVER-FOXCROFT — A Brunswick man who drew a handgun on a deputy during a traffic stop in January was sentenced Monday to two years in prison with all but 60 days suspended. Ronald Marsh, 63, had pleaded guilty in July in Piscataquis County Superior Court… Read More
CHARLESTON — Eighteen years ago, Charleston residents were worried that their quiet community would be disrupted with the opening of a prison in their midst. Now they’re worried about its planned closing. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes =… Read More
As a lesson in governance, threatening a legal business to pay now to avoid lawsuits by states in the future isn’t going to make it into the Proud Moments in American History textbook. Yet the proposed tobacco-industry settlement is evidence that the industry remains ready to deal to… Read More
This commentary is in response to the escape and subsequent five hours of freedom by a known violent prisoner. As we all are aware now, Michael Chasse escaped on Nov. 6 while being escorted to a court appearance in Dover-Foxcroft, from the nearby jail. Probably… Read More
LUNENBURG, Mass. — About 60 people who drank raw milk from a dairy farm’s rabid cow are at risk of contracting rabies and must be vaccinated, state health officials said Tuesday. It is the second time in six weeks that raw milk has posed a… Read More
Maybe Al Gore really should be the next president. Anything to keep him from pursuing a second career as a diplomat. The vice president was sent to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation annual meeting in Malaysia to announce a joint U.S./Japan $10 billion rebuilding plan… Read More
There’s very little to indicate that some of the best food in Washington County can be found down a dirt road off Route 92 in Machiasport. The neatly lettered sign announcing the Micmac Farm Restaurant and Cabins sits on its side against its post, victim… Read More
America is a land of plenty. This is something we celebrate this time of year. If you doubt it (though why would you), go the supermarket and check out the aisle with the chocolate chips. “Chocolate morsels,” they’re called in the quirky world of marketing. Read More
Picking rocks is an endangered tradition, a ceremony that is disappearing in towns all over Maine as farmland is subdivided by developers. Last spring the field behind my farmhouse in Pittsfield was tilled for the planting of alfalfa. Like generations of Mainers, I dutifully strode… Read More
Don’t be fooled by the name of the White Barn Inn. Yes, it is constructed from a boardinghouse built in 1820. It even has “rustic Yankee ambience,” as proprietor Laurence Bongiorno might say. But the White Barn Inn of Kennebunkport is white-glove all the way. Read More
BANGOR — By 4-1, the planning board voted Tuesday to recommend that the City Council deny a rezoning for 768 Union St. Board members George Burgoyne, Richard Fournier, Mary Ann Bostwick and Fred Costlow voted against rezoning, while Moshe Myerowitz voted for it. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
BANGOR — Installation of about six miles of pipe designed to carry natural gas is under way on the city’s east side, while the same kind of work has been going on in Brewer for months. Bangor Gas construction crews are currently working on the… Read More
CARMEL — Selectmen’s 3-2 vote earlier this month not to rehire 30-year Town Manager Glennis McSorley has left her somewhat bewildered. “I guess they feel I don’t meet their expectations; I don’t know how to put a finger on it,” McSorley said Tuesday. “You come… Read More
VAN BUREN — Water runoff, especially during the spring melt, has been causing waste-water treatment problems at the Van Buren Waste Water Treatment Facility for years. The problems involving the almost daily quadrupling of maximum water levels at the plant during the spring have forced… Read More
BANGOR — Officials at Phillips-Strickland House unveiled plans for a $4 million expansion Tuesday, a project that will provide 30 one- and two-bedroom apartments for active senior citizens. The announcement came five weeks after the facility for senior citizens withdrew an earlier plan that would… Read More
ELLSWORTH — City councilors Monday rejected a proposal to take a small amount of land on the Winkumpaugh Road by eminent domain after residents in the area decried the means by which city officials have proceeded with a bridge project in the rural neighborhood. At… Read More
BANGOR — The Penobscot County commissioners heard a pitch Tuesday for a proposed addition to the county jail staff and fielded an 11th-hour request for an addition to the district attorney’s budget. Jail Administrator Capt. Cheryl Gallant put in her request for a new staff… Read More
A cabdriver told Bangor police Monday evening that a passenger had threatened to kill him. The passenger never brandished a knife, although the driver said the man was concealing something and police later found he had a 7-inch knife. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
ELLSWORTH — While the location of a proposed YMCA teen center drew some skeptical looks from city councilors, a study of such a facility won unanimous approval at Monday night’s meeting. Peter Farragher, chief executive officer of the Down East Family YMCA, said the proposed… Read More
PITTSFIELD — Several town councilors expressed their concern Tuesday night about how a recent planning board meeting was conducted and were critical of the board chairman’s lack of professionalism. Councilor Gary Jordan, who attended the meeting and is a former planning board chairman, said, “All… Read More
BANGOR — City councilors on the municipal operations committee voted Tuesday to increase daily room rates at the Bangor City Nursing Facility by $4 to $8 beginning Jan. 1. The increases will be: googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes… Read More
ROCKLAND — The Rockland Public Library has received a $50,000 grant from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation to be used for the library endowment fund. Library officials said Tuesday that the King grant could stimulate other donations from midcoast area groups. Library President Mike… Read More
CAMDEN — It was the worst-kept secret in the Camden-Rockport area, but there was still plenty of drama as the Camden Area YMCA unveiled plans Tuesday night to build a new facility before a group of about 50 supporters. As expected, the YMCA will move… Read More
I am as relieved as the next person that Saddam Hussein has capitulated, thus avoiding a war. But I am troubled by our country’s role in forcing the compliance. It seems our foreign policy consists of forcing countries that do not have the capacity to… Read More
Veterans Day brings out the best people of yesteryear and of today. The media spoke true when they said the rain tapered off shortly after last week’s Veterans Day parade stepped out. The marchers, however, experienced heavy rain and wind in the staging area. There… Read More
I have been reading with interest the recent letters about the new crossword puzzles. I thought you might like another opinion. Maybe I am in the minority, but I find the new puzzles much easier. Since the new ones have started I have been able… Read More
I am writing to protest the stereotyping of United Bikers of Maine members in anti-social behavior by A. Jay Higgins in BDN (Nov. 7-8). Once again all motorcyclists in Maine have been tarred with the same brush and the thoughts invoked in readers’ minds do not lead them… Read More
I take exception to Kent Ward’s Nov. 14-15 column, “Problem lies not in words.” Unless something has been left out of his piece, he appears to have missed the point. The Connecticut woman who objected to the use of the word “rape” in a Scrabble… Read More
TENANTS HARBOR — Dr. Marcia L. Storch, an innovator in women’s health care, died Nov. 9 at her home in Tenants Harbor. She was 65. The cause was ovarian cancer, her family said. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes… Read More
Despite the impeachment hearings, there’s a sense on Capitol Hill that the newly elected 106th Congress may be inclined to deal with the biggest political issue of the millennia. Which is, of course, saving Social Security. We’ve been through this one before. In 1983, Ronald… Read More
Calais District Court Robert R. Barter, 21, Baileyville, drinking in public, jail 20 days, suspended, probation one year. 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
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Lawyers for Robert Kennedy’s nephew, a suspect in the 1975 murder of a Greenwich teen-ager, called a psychiatrist to testify Tuesday about whether statements Michael Skakel made 20 years ago at a school for troubled teens are protected by confidentiality rules. Prosecutors… Read More
ELLSWORTH — Friends of Ellsworth Public Library will hold a friendship sale 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, in the library’s Riverview Room. The sale will feature gifts and stocking stuffers, and gift wrapping will be available. Proceeds are used to buy books and tapes,… Read More
BANGOR — James Bean will present a spiritual book discussion group on “Spiritual Awakening,” by Darshan Singh, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, at Borders Books, 116 Bangor Mall Blvd. For information, call 368-5866. Read More
ELLSWORTH — The Maine Community Foundation has given Coastal Acadia Development Corp. a grant to fund development of a “Community Career Network.” The network will be a database of occupationally successful business and professional people from Hancock County, and will be available on the World… Read More
SOMESVILLE — Port in a Storm Bookstore will hold a book-signing for Mount Desert Island author Kristen Britain from 3 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22. Her first published novel, “Green Rider,” was released last month by DAW Books and distributed by Penguin USA. Britain,… Read More
BLUE HILL — Hancock County HomeCare will join more than 20,000 home-care providers in the United States in celebration of National Home Care Month in November to honor doctors, nurses, therapists, aides and social workers. The theme of the event is “Home Care: Partners in Caring.”… Read More
ST. ALBANS — The agenda for the Dec. 7 meeting of the St. Albans selectmen could be written in one word — ditto, to most of the items on the Nov. 16 agenda. Few issues on the Monday night agenda were resolved, Town Manager Larry… Read More
SOLON — The Somerset County Republican Committee will hold its November meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19. The meeting will be at the Solon Municipal Building on Route 201, opposite Griswold’s Store and behind the fire station. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
PALMYRA — The rural community of Palmyra is a divided town. Not by politics, as one might expect — but by geography. 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 — Green fees and season permit rates will not go up at Bangor Municipal Golf Course for 1999. City councilors on the municipal operations committee voted Tuesday afternoon to follow the recommendation of parks and recreation staff and keep the fees at the 1998… Read More
DEXTER — Raymond S. Poulin, Maine deputy commissioner of education, has been selected as the next superintendent of schools in SAD 46, which includes Dexter, Exeter, Garland and Ripley. The SAD 46 board of directors voted unanimously Monday night to hire Poulin at a special… Read More
FAIRFIELD — A contract dispute between SAD 49 and its teachers appears headed to a state fact-finding panel, a move that could drag the impasse through the winter. Talks with a state-appointed mediator ended Monday evening when the gap between the two sides remained too… Read More
FAIRFIELD — A Fairfield firefighter who was seriously injured one week ago while on a test run of the town’s new pumper truck remains in satisfactory condition at a Waterville hospital. Capt. Gary Michaud, who was riding in the truck’s front seat when the 15-ton… Read More
DANFORTH — Local officials recently received word that the town has been awarded a $175,000 Community Development Block Grant from the state to complete interior renovations and restoration of Union Hall. The hall was built in 1888 and is listed in the National Register of… Read More
FRENCHVILLE — The maintenance and development of a memorial to the town’s founders and troops who gave their lives in this country’s four major military conflicts will no longer be a burden to taxpayers. A local resident, George Emile Chasse, who died in June, left… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE — A conference titled “Open Hearts, Open Minds: Toward Safer Communities” will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, at the University of Maine at Presque Isle Campus Center. The conference will address issues of HIV prevention, substance abuse… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE — No one had much to say Monday night about the 1999 Presque Isle municipal budget, which includes a 6 percent increase, according to city officials. The $8 million budget includes increases to cover the costs of such projects as paving roads, the… Read More
HOULTON — The Southern Aroostook Tobacco-free Outreach Project, or STOP, will host The Great American Smokescream at 12:20 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, in Houlton’s Monument Park. The Smokescream is an event in which people of all ages gather together to scream out against tobacco use. Read More