ASHLAND – Eric Ayotte converted a pass from Chanel Wright with 16 seconds left in the second half to lift Van Buren to a 2-1 victory over Ashland in schoolboy soccer action Friday. Wright and Ayotte also hooked up earlier in the second half for… Read More
ORONO – Joanne Palombo-McCallie likes the looks of things these days in and around the University of Maine’s Memorial Gym. While the Black Bears’ practice court is still “The Pit,” the brand-new hardwood floor and the brightly painted, complete with UMaine and America East logos,… Read More
One week before the high school soccer season is set to open, Greg Sponberg has decided to pass up on coaching the Bangor varsity boys soccer team and take a full-time teaching position at Edward Little High School in Auburn. Sponberg told the team Friday… Read More
Last June, the trade that sent Cindy Blodgett from the Cleveland Rockers to the Sacramento Monarchs was supposed to signal a fresh start for Blodgett in the WNBA, with more playing time than she got in her rookie season. But with the Monarchs, Blodgett saw… Read More
It used to be an unwritten law of sport: You’ve gotta have a program to identify the players. Now things are so out of hand you need another program just to tell what your stadium’s called. Everybody’s bidding for “naming rights,” and it’s big business. Read More
Several high school teams prepared for the regular season Friday night with preseason exhibition games around the region. The Mt. Blue Cougars defeated the Bangor Rams at Farmington 26-21 in a Pine Tree Conference clash. In LTC action, the Mattanawcook Academy Lynx of Lincoln defeated… Read More
Hole-in-One PAM TOWNSEND MARS HILL – Pam Townsend of Blaine used a 5-iron to ace the 130-yard fourth hole at Mars Hill CC on Monday. Betty Mahan, Matt Townsend and Derek Townsend witnessed her first hole-in-one. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes =… Read More
ORONO – “Let’s go Hole!” It’s a cry that can be heard often as the University of Maine football team goes through a practice session. “Hole” is a reference to black hole, a hypothetical celestial object that has a gravitational field so strong nothing –… Read More
Former longtime University of Maine baseball assistant coach Mike Coutts said he is still “extremely disappointed” that he wasn’t named to succeed John Winkin at Maine three years ago. Coutts, who spent 11 years as an assistant, was one of five finalists but lost out… Read More
Let’s begin by saying the two striped bass anglers who arrived on the shores of the Penobscot River a few days ago weren’t planning to fish the full-moon tides. Instead, Pat Keliher of Yarmouth and Dick Anderson of Freeport were making exploratory casts with regard to organizing a… Read More
MOUNT DESERT — A blazing fire early Friday morning leveled the main residence on a Northeast Harbor estate designed by renowned architect Wallace K. Harrison. Harrison was instrumental in the construction of the Rockefeller Center, the United Nations headquarters, and the Lincoln Center in New York City, among… Read More
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — In this area’s latest PCB worry, federal regulators warned Friday that ducks along the Housatonic River carry so much of those chemicals within their bodies that they could be dangerous to eat. The regulators were also warning all the states along the… Read More
Several years ago, after writing a rather lengthy profile of a truly remarkable woman for this newspaper, I got a call from a magazine in New York. The editor had read my story about Paige Barton, a woman of average intelligence who was misdiagnosed with… Read More
KITTERY — The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has notified the Environmental Protection Agency of erosion of lead-contaminated soil from a Superfund site into the Piscataqua River. The Seacoast Anti-Pollution League said it is concerned because soil samples taken in the area of erosion show lead content… Read More
AUGUSTA — The Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine has created an educational program to assist landowners in wood lot management. SWOAM recently hired Paul Miller, a professional licensed forester, to head the program. Miller, a graduate of the University of Maine with nearly 30… Read More
CONCORD, N.H. — Anthem Inc. officials said Thursday they may cut up to 300 jobs in the state if their acquisition of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Hampshire is approved. The figure is a worst-case scenario that assumes no growth in customers, officials… Read More
Editor’s Note: Charges listed below against Lena Minervino were later dropped, according to information provided by the Associated Press, via the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, in July 2016.  PORTLAND — A three-month undercover investigation has led to the arrests of six people charged with drug trafficking. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
PORTLAND — High-quality printers and other new technology are making printing fake money a lot easier for counterfeiters. But as three Augusta teens learned earlier this week, the technology also is making it easier for police to catch them. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
Web worms have begun to decorate hardwood trees across Maine with large white webs, but experts say the impact of the native caterpillars is purely aesthetic. “There isn’t a term better than `ugly’ for them,” said Dick Bradbury, a forest entomologist for the state. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
BRUNSWICK — The commander of the Brunswick Naval Air Station said Friday he was happy to see heavy investment in the base as he stepped down after three years in the post. Capt. Fred Carter noted that it was just eight years ago that the… Read More
OLD TOWN — A 20-member crew composed of Maine Forest Service rangers and trained firefighters from throughout the state is scheduled to leave for Northern California this morning to help battle a spate of woodland fires there. The Maine crew will focus its attention on… Read More
The worst teacher shortage in Maine in decades was expected, but it has appeared a few years earlier and it’s more severe than projected, say school officials. Even declining student enrollment in northern and eastern Maine hasn’t taken the sting out of a problem that is affecting the… Read More
AUGUSTA — The Public Utilities Commission this week denied approval of a proposed merger between Bell Atlantic and GTE Corp., primarily because of service problems Bell Atlantic customers in Maine have experienced over the past year. “If Bell Atlantic presents a reasonable approach to addressing… Read More
PORTLAND — The chairman of the Maine Public Utilities Commission has taken umbrage at a national advocacy group’s report that says Maine lacks a key component of Internet infrastructure and is one of the states in the “disconnected dozen.” “To me, it smacks of a… Read More
HALLOWELL — Early Christians saw the devil in its eyes. Fairy tales paint it as a cunning, bloodthirsty bully. Some sportsmen regard it as competition. Most ranchers simply hate it. The eastern timber wolf, or gray wolf, is surrounded by myths both good and bad… Read More
Each year, noted local sculptor Forest “Toby” Hart has donated a bronze piece to be auctioned at the annual Fall Festival Auction and Awards Night sponsored by Rape Response Services. This year’s third annual event is no exception, as Hart has donated a small bronze… Read More
It is no great surprise that U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver found that Cleveland’s taxpayer-financed voucher program for private schools might violate the Constitution’s establishment clause. The wall between church and state is moveable and the courts — federal and state — have a long history of remodeling. Read More
STOCKHOLM — Temperatures may be soaring in the 80s now, but thoughts in at least two Aroostook County towns are on that first 6 inches of snowfall this winter. In anticipation of potential World Cup and Olympic cross-country ski and biathlon training, this small community… Read More
BANGOR — A Bangor man who filed a federal suit last fall claiming he lost his long-term disability benefits because of discrimination over his mental illness filed an objection on Friday to a magistrate judge’s recommendation for dismissal of the case earlier this month. The objection is buttressed… Read More
After dozens of American Airlines ramp workers and contract employees had been busted Wednesday for smuggling dope and weapons into various U.S. cities, the local CBS television affiliate switched to a network babe for the details. Summing up, she told viewers that American Airlines had… Read More
A hallmark of Gov. Angus King’s administration has been its ability to attract top-quality people, particularly at the level of department commissioner. A group concerned with the future of mental health care in Maine recently offered the administration some useful advice on maintaining that record as it looks… Read More
A recent article in the Bangor Daily News quoted a departing downtown business owner who said the proposed children’s museum in Freese’s building would not be a “savior for downtown.” As strong supporters of the children’s museum, we agree. The children’s museum project team has explicitly avoided making… Read More
I was present at state Rep. Michael Saxl’s Aug. 18 Augusta pulp and paper meeting. I also read with interest the BDN report on the Democrats-only meeting (Aug. 20) and Rep. Saxl’s follow-up (Aug. 21-22) guest column, “Pulp and paper’s future.” No Republicans were invited, not even Reps. Read More
Orono — Roman Catholic Masses: St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Sunday, 8:30 a.m.; The Newman Center-Our Lady of Wisdom Parish, Sunday, 10 a.m. and 6:15 p.m. beginning Sept. 5. Call 866-2155. Read More
Bangor — Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Service, Congregation Beth Abraham, 145 York St.: 10 p.m. Slichos services, preceded by Melave Malka at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 4; evening services, 6:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 10; morning services, 8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 11; Mincha, 6:30 p.m. Sept. 11; morning… Read More
It was one of those vaguely noteworthy events that sometimes inspire the very best news stories. Early one morning, a Bangor public works crew arrived at the corner of Main Street and Farm Road to perform a sad bit of euthanasia. The last big elm… Read More
FORT KENT — He’s 90 years old, but the Rev. Alphee Marquis puts aside his own impairments for the often difficult task of visiting the sick and needy at the Northern Maine Medical Center, where he is chaplain. Marquis had just returned from Montreal, where… Read More
Phlox kindle a flame in my heart. One whiff of their subtle fragrance and I drift back to hazy summer memories of my grandmother’s garden and then on to the sweet clump of pink-eyed phlox that grew beneath my old bedroom window. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
Bald Porcupine Island is enveloped in fog. A lobsterman hauls his traps close to the rocky shore bound by fragrant banks of pink and white rosa rugosa. A fog horn blasts in the distance. American landscape gardener Beatrix Farrand must have delighted at that sight… Read More
BANGOR — A survey of Revolutionary War artifacts at the bottom of the Penobscot River will be the focus of an informal public meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at Miller’s Restaurant on Main Street. The meeting is a result of a legislative resolve sponsored by… Read More
PATTEN — People Helping People, a support group for those coping with their own and others’ serious health concerns, will host guest speaker Dana Jones of Houlton Regional Hospital to discuss cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and asthma. The session is at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, at… Read More
DAMARISCOTTA — Typically, police use dogs to search for people. This time it’s police who are searching high and low for a dog. It’s no ordinary dog. Zoe, a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois, is a fully trained bomb-detection dog who has been used by the Maine… Read More
JONESPORT — A Washington County clinic is home to some of the most up-to-date dental technology in Maine, thanks to a California couple’s decision to swing through Jonesport on their way back from Canada last fall. When Harvey Holste and his wife, Marjorie, learned in… Read More
A 17-year-old led a Hampden police officer on a 16-mile car chase that ended when the car’s engine died on Littlefield Road in Newburgh early Friday morning. The chase lasted about 16 minutes and reached speeds of 70 mph, crossing mostly back roads, reported Officer… Read More
VEAZIE — The Veazie Garden Club will hold its first meeting of the 1999-2000 year at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 7, for its members and those interested in becoming a member. All are invited to a Progressive Dinner and New Member Mingler at the club. Read More
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK — A 62-year-old man was airlifted off Beehive Mountain Friday afternoon after he collapsed, apparently from heat exhaustion. The man, whose name was not immediately available, was hiking the popular mountain when he became disoriented, according to Bill Townsend, the dispatcher at… Read More
KENNEBUNKPORT — Tour buses that want to unload passengers in this coastal community face the prospect of being forced to pay for the privilege beginning next season. The $10 fee is intended to help residents, not just merchants, reap the benefits of tourism. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
THOMASTON — Beechwood Street residents concerned about traffic safety on their street were right when they figured more than 5 acres of the D.L. Overlock gravel pit were in use. About 20 to 25 acres of the pit are being worked, according to Department of… Read More
BREMEN — The 12th annual conference of the Maine Island Trail Association is planned from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, at Hog Island. Cost is $35 for adults, $15 for children ages 2 to 12, and free for children under 2. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
In response to [the article about] Jym St. Pierre (BDN, Aug. 21-22), could he please send the Bangor Daily News the list of the 75 businesses that support his proposed Maine Woods National Park, so my 20,000-plus friends in northern Maine and I can take our business elsewhere?… Read More
I am appalled at the attempt to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. If anything we should toughen our drug laws, not relax them. It is also disgusting to read the court news and see people convicted of OUI get jail terms while people convicted of possessing marijuana get… Read More
In the article, “Snowe faults tax plan” (BDN, Aug. 11), I learned that Olympia Snowe was in Bangor condemning the Republican tax cut and the way it was pushed through Congress. Sen. Snowe is no doubt right that the partnership that has consumed Congress this year is not… Read More
Have you ever taken any amount of returnable cans and bottles to a redemption center without counting them first? I no longer do. You may think I am being petty, but if I don’t know how many I have, how do I know if I… Read More
As Kenneth Starr continues to investigate the private life of the president, Texas Gov. George W. Bush scolds the press for digging into his past. Where was the “compassionate” conservative Bush when the so-called “independent” counsel was using the legal force of a grand jury to expose Bill… Read More
Teachers and staff are busily preparing for another year in the schools of SAD 22. As with most years, there are changes … new faces, excited voices, expectant expressions. Despite the busy preparation and joyful faces, we realize that one face will not be there as usual to… Read More
I have the perfect use for Gov. King’s “Rainy Day Fund.” It is the construction of the Maine Home for the Indigent Retired Teachers. It is unconscionable that the governor and Legislature can talk about a surplus when they have repeatedly raided the state teachers’… Read More
Copyright The Bangor Daily News, 1999 BANGOR — Author Stephen King, recovering from injuries he suffered when hit by a van more than two months ago, has a body filled with pain and a heart carrying many emotions. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
According to Commissioner Ron Lavaglio, the Allagash Wilderness Waterway is not a wilderness because it has rangers to help people in trouble and a dam system that’s been in place since 1846. Does that mean that Alaska’s Denali National Park or the Tongass are not… Read More
John Stiles, principal at The Brooklin School, recently became president-elect of Science Education for Students with Disabilities, a post he will assume in 2001. The national organization teams educators and scientists to reduce barriers in science classrooms for students with disabilities. Stiles, from Penobscot, has been a member… Read More
BANGOR — Due to educational purposes, the Rangeley Cafe at Eastern Maine Technical College in Bangor won’t open for lunch until the spring semester. This will enable students to develop the necessary skills before they are placed in a simulated work environment. On Aug. 31,… Read More
PITTSFIELD — The Alfond Foundation-United Way Leadership Challenge recently awarded $700 to Sebasticook Valley Hospital to assist its “Tar Wars” program, according to the hospital. The program, which is presented to fourth-graders in the area by SVH health educators, promotes healthy lifestyles without tobacco use. Read More
Judith (Anderson) Espling celebrated her 97th birthday Aug. 14 at the home of her niece, Lynn (Espling) Wilcox, P.O. Box 1, West Buxton 04093, where she lives. She was born in New Sweden and was a lifelong resident of Caribou. The 12th reunion of descendants… Read More
SKOWHEGAN — The University of Maine Cooperative Extension will host a canning workshop from 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 7, at the Somerset County Extension Office. Topics will be proper preservation methods, and recipes to make and preserve. Registration is required. For information, call… Read More
Calais District Court Charles E. Atterbury, 28, Fort Worth, Texas, operating motor vehicle without license, $150. 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… Read More
WATERVILLE — The United Way of Mid-Maine recently received a grant for more than $30,000, according to Kevin Joseph, the group’s chairman. The grant, aided by a challenge from local businessman Harold Alfond to match increased donations up to $500,000, was one of 15 given… Read More
Fort Kent District Court Wayne G. Damboise, 46, Connor Township, violating fishing rules, $50. 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
PATTEN — People Helping People, a support group for those coping with their own and others’ serious health concerns, will host guest speaker Dana Jones of Houlton Regional Hospital to discuss cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and asthma. The session is at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, at… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE — The HIV Prevention Phoneline will offer a training course for volunteers from 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 21 and 22, and Monday and Wednesday, Sept. 27 and 29, at the Aroostook County Action Program office, 771 Main St. The… Read More
What happened to the experimental corn crop harmed not just the university and/or Maine farmers, but everyone who does or hopes to make a living by working the land. So sad, after so many forward strides being taken in this century, to observe a new groundswell of hysterical… Read More
Bangor District Court Roger J. Violette, 39, Van Buren, causing operation of commercial vehicle in violation of 10-hour rule, $250. 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
AUGUSTA — Maine’s upcoming referendum which seeks to ban so-called partial-birth abortions is expected to generate a costly campaign prior to the November balloting. But thus far, the opposing camps have remained tight-lipped about their campaign plans, especially in regard to how they intend to… Read More
ROCKPORT — What was expected to be a routine reappointment has instead revealed a rift between a majority of selectmen and the town’s code enforcement officer. On Monday night at their regular meeting, selectmen were scheduled to take up reappointing Code Enforcement Officer Mary Jane… Read More
CAMDEN — The now-dormant Apollo Tanning Inc. faces an Oct. 9 deadline to decide whether it will attempt to stay in the business of curing animal hides or close down. The plant, just outside of Camden’s downtown, has been idle since early May when a… Read More
SANGERVILLE — The best use of a 43-acre parcel of town-owned land would be as a residential subdivision, Sangerville selectmen learned Thursday evening. The recommendation for the use of the land, which initially had been eyed for industrial development, was presented to the board by… Read More
FAIRFIELD — A fraud audit of the Police Department’s finances will begin next week and take a couple of days, the Town Council chairman said Friday. Town councilors ordered the special audit four days ago, after suspending Police Chief Jean Pouliot for two weeks for… Read More
Barnes ready to lead SAD 12 > Superintendent to apply business principles to running school district
JACKMAN — It looks as if the teachers and students at Forest Hills Consolidated School are in for a lot of ice cream this year. The new SAD 12 superintendent said he wants to combine his education and business experience in the task of running… Read More
BELFAST — City Manager Terry St. Peter thinks it’s high time the city got out of the business of collecting taxes for school expenses. In a recent article in the Maine Townsman, St. Peter suggested that the “only way” to create direct accountability between schools… Read More
THOMASTON — The Down East Singers, midcoast’s largest community chorus, will begin rehearsals for the fall season Sept. 7 at Thomaston Baptist Church. Registration begins at 6:30 p.m., downstairs at the church. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes =… Read More