HOULTON – Without the scoreboard lit up and the concessions stand open, Monday evening’s preseason soccer game between the Houlton girls and a 15-and-under team from Grand Falls, New Brunswick, looked like a scrimmage. But there was a vocal group of about 50 spectators under… Read More
In talking with a baseball player who wants to go to the broadcast booth in the future, we ended up discussing “homerism” in the booth. He said since most of the people who watch a local broadcast are fans of the team, it was all right to be… Read More
WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Mary Wollstadt threw a one-hitter, striking out five and walking three, to lead the Old Town Senior League softball all-stars (ages 15-16) to an 11-0 victory over the team from Connecticut Tuesday in the regional Senior League tournament. Jamie Higgins knocked… Read More
Many Maine golf pros work and play in two states, Maine and Florida. Pennsylvania is a state to be flown over or driven through in journeying from one to the other. For Falmouth’s Ed Flowerdew, Pennsylvania is now his home base, specifically Brookside Country Club… Read More
Kyle Gallo and John Connelly, who had to go an extra hole before Gallo won last year’s Wendy’s Maine Open Golf Championship, head a field of 156 pros and amateurs who will vie in the 82nd Maine Open starting today. Gallo, from Berlin, Conn., and… Read More
Bangor District Court Lewis Lachance, 31, Corinna, criminal trespass, $100; refusing to submit to arrest or detention, dismissed. 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
BAR HARBOR — After a more than a year of delays, Bar Harbor’s village green should be open to visitors by the weekend. “The grass is growing and it’s pretty peaceful,” Dana Reed, Bar Harbor town manager, said Tuesday. “It should be open any day… Read More
ROCKLAND — No one ever will accuse Ron Huber of being too subtle. Huber, a one-man environmental activist organization who operates the Coastal Waters Project and Penobscot Bay Watch out of rented offices in Rockland, has drawn flak for his latest slap at credit card… Read More
Karen Rice, 38, of Bangor is being held on aggravated assault charges after she allegedly stabbed her fiance with a steak knife during a domestic dispute about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. George Logan, 43, also of Bangor, suffered a puncture wound on the back of his… Read More
BELFAST — The Waldo County grand jury indicted a Frankfort man Tuesday who is accused of terrorizing residents and police during a June outburst. Robert Bacon, 38, of Frankfort was indicted on five counts of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, aggravated criminal mischief, possession… Read More
BREWER — Tuesday evening was bittersweet for city officials for reasons that had little to do with the City Council’s meeting agenda. The evening began with a surprise celebration marking the city solicitor’s 20th year of service to city councilors, staff and residents. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
ELLSWORTH — A Hancock County grand jury Tuesday indicted Malia Lowry, the woman who said she shot her boyfriend to death as part of a suicide pact, on a single charge of murder. Lowry, 45, has been held without bail since her arrest July 7. Read More
MEDWAY — By a six-vote margin, residents turned down a middle-school renovation project but approved a $174,600 plan to improve the school’s air quality during a special referendum vote Tuesday. Election officials said turnout for the special vote was higher than it was for the… Read More
BANGOR — The Florida owner of the River Dog — the cruise boat operated on the Penobscot River during 1998 and 1999 — has written city officials a letter outlining conditions under which he will take back the vessel. If Bangor doesn’t meet those conditions,… Read More
ROCKLAND — Spreadsheets and calculators were in heavy use Tuesday as Knox County commissioners worked toward developing a formula to spread the cost of a new Enhanced-911 call center among county towns. The Knox Regional Communications Center, which will handle all 911 calls made in… Read More
WINTERPORT — It’s official: A newly finished property revaluation has increased the worth of Waldo County’s second-largest town by 25 percent. The reduction means that a homeowner who paid $3,750 last year on a house valued at $150,000 will pay just $2,460 this year. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
ROCKLAND — SAD 5 is seeking a Knox County Superior Court ruling that would deny arbitration in a matter involving a district teacher who was not picked for two coaching jobs. The civil action was filed in court Monday by SAD 5 against the SAD… Read More
DOVER-FOXCROFT — An estimated 30,000 people lined the streets of town over the weekend to witness the 125-unit parade during the town’s Homecoming 2000 celebration. The daylong celebration Saturday was marked by civil war re-enactors, a firefighters’ muster, craft fair, bands, military tributes, a street… Read More
The smoothly sliding trombones might sound just a bit more mellow than usual to those who attend the 15th annual “Mostly for Fun” Trombone Concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, at the Elm Street Congregational Church in Bucksport. That is because this concert will… Read More
WORCESTER, Mass. — Attorneys for a homeless couple accused of starting a fire that killed six Worcester firefighters argued Tuesday that manslaughter charges against their clients should be dismissed. Thomas Levesque and Julie Barnes are accused of starting the fire at a vacant Worcester warehouse… Read More
CARIBOU — An Oakfield teen-ager, charged with attempting to run over another young man with a Chevrolet Blazer at a high school last March, pleaded guilty Tuesday to lesser offenses in exchange for dismissal of an attempted murder charge. Jody R. Boutilier, 18, appearing in… Read More
BANGOR — A local teen-ager accused in a gang-related stabbing in June denied the charge against her Tuesday in 3rd District Court. Christine Hernandez, 17, formerly of Winterport, tearfully entered the equivalent of a not-guilty plea to a sole charge of aggravated assault stemming from… Read More
NEWPORT — With a failed septic system and a contaminated water supply lapping at their heels, 13 tenants at the Pine Hill Motel Apartment complex on Route 2 are scrambling to find new homes after an eviction notice served by the town. Town officials have… Read More
PORTLAND — A Portland man stopped for a traffic violation died after swallowing a plastic bag that may have been filled with drugs, state police said. Police pulled over Travis Barnett, 29, on Interstate 295 near the Franklin Arterial in Portland on Friday at about… Read More
WISCASSET — The staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is no longer trying to deny intervenor status to a local watchdog group that wants to be involved in the decommissioning of the Maine Yankee nuclear power plant. The reversal paves the way for Friends… Read More
BANGOR — A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted a Cardville man on drug possession and drug dealing charges stemming from a July arrest. Darren J. Hawkins, alias Darren Wood, or Darren Allen, 29, faces one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in… Read More
AUGUSTA — Rather than equipping Maine schoolchildren with powerful laptop computers, it may be preferable to provide them with less complicated “thin client” portable devices, according to Gov. Angus King. King has talked about the possibility of providing students with these simpler machines as an… Read More
PARIS — A former police chief who pleaded no contest to using town money to repair his car also wrote checks to himself and another officer from an account set up for donations for a Boy Scout-affiliated program, according to an investigation for the state Attorney General’s Office. Read More
PORTLAND — The lawyers for a woman accused of setting fire to her dormitory want to suppress statements she made to authorities. Lawyers for Lisa Carbonneau told a Cumberland County Superior Court justice Monday that she was detained by a sheriff’s deputy and was not… Read More
BANGOR — Two weeks after the Penobscot County commissioners suspended G. Stephen Watson with pay, the panel Tuesday accepted the resignation of the county’s longtime roads and mapping manager and Emergency Management Agency director. Watson submitted a brief letter of resignation Monday, one day shy… Read More
BAR HARBOR — Arthur Caplan unabashedly calls himself a prophet. As head of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, Caplan has learned how to drag scientifically complex, ethically thorny issues such as gene therapy and cloning out of the laboratory and into… Read More
A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds no clear evidence that the Brady handgun law has reduced gun deaths. The National Rifle Association seems very pleased with this, asserting that “schemes like the Brady waiting period have nothing to do with reducing… Read More
There were two errors in Friday’s Style Page feature about toothpick artist Paul Bruce Jalbert. Jalbert’s last lighthouse raised $5,000 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, not College of the Atlantic. His current model of Mount Desert Rock is intended for COA. Also, his toothpicks are supplied by Forster’s… Read More
BANGOR – The lease has been signed, and it’s official. Wal-Mart is planning to relocate its Bangor store to a 224,000-square-foot Supercenter off Stillwater Avenue behind Circuit City. The 24-hour facility would include a grocery store, tire and lubrication department and garden center, and would… Read More
BANGOR – Carmen Montez got scared when she first heard reports that the Firestone tires on her 2000 Ford Expedition could be unsafe. On Tuesday night she breathed a sigh of relief when she learned Firestone was planning to issue a recall. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
Top Maine politicians are reacting to Al Gore’s selection of Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., as his vice presidential running mate with a mixture of happiness and regret. “We bring to the Democratic ticket, someone who is very well-rounded, well-regarded, and has good ethics,” said U.S. Read More
BANGOR – More small-business owners are seeking assistance in exporting their products than larger companies, even though the process of getting their goods overseas can be cumbersome, according to a national export specialist. Dan Renbrg, a member of the board of directors of the U.S. Read More
PORTLAND – A lawsuit filed against L.L. Bean claims the retailer overcharged sales tax to customers who used coupons issued through a credit card program. R.F. Flippo of Cambridge, Mass., initiated the class action suit filed in Cumberland County Superior Court. In the suit, Flippo… Read More
FORT FAIRFIELD – The Frontier Heritage Fort Fairfield Historical Society will sponsor a home and garden tour Saturday afternoon to raise funds to restore a Quaker church that was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Completed in 1860, the Friends Church is one of the… Read More
I was excited by Diana Graettinger’s article (BDN, Aug. 4) about Eastport’s potential as a cruise ship destination. With all the money to develop the new Eastport docking facility, the time is ripe for some aggressive community action to use it to the city’s advantage. Read More
Not much goes down better than the Maine wild blueberry. Correction: berries. No one ever eats one. Bananas and apples and other nutritional good guys take a nose dive in popularity from late July into mid-August as 50,000 acres of blueberry barrens in Down East… Read More
Who will the alliance choose to pick off next? When will Richard stop bragging about the fish he’s caught? And, what did go on between Greg and Colleen? Unless you’ve been living on your own desert island this past month, you’ve either watched or at… Read More
My family and I went to the Bangor State Fair last Saturday night. What a great time we had. We saw the truck pulls, all the kids having a blast on the rides and we ate all the good stuff that’s so bad for you. Read More
SOMESVILLE – A roomful of girls ages 4 to 12 sipped sweet, creamy tea and giggled while Betty Reiff pounded out Beethoven on her piano and summer visitor Naomi Gordon-Loebl played a Victorian parlor game called Magic Music. They could have rolled their eyes, mortified… Read More
The sex offender program concerns me. It is reported that participants are being “forced” to confess openly in group sessions what they did for a crime and they are expected to confess to even more, though they say it won’t go any farther than behind closed doors. This… Read More
With reference to Matthew Miller’s column of Aug. 2, “GOP: Let them eat rhetoric,” I was pleased to read this and see that someone has the intelligence to see past the GOP rhetoric and tell it like it is. How I wish this were required reading for all… Read More
Associated Press correspondent Pete Yost (BDN, July 29-30) should go back and read the accounts of the activities of Anthony Marceca. He should not be referred to as “a White House aide.” He was an employee from the Deptartment of Defense about to be retired who came to… Read More
NEWRY – The number of people killed in workplace accidents in Maine increased between 1995 and 1998, according to a report released by the Maine Department of Labor. In 1995, there were 18 work-related deaths in Maine, and in 1998, there were 26. A total… Read More
I checked the July 29-30 Maine Weekend before trying to break the silence of the press, our political incumbents and the low fixed-income silent majority of Maine’s Medicare clientele being dumped by Maine’s only Medicare HMO. We elderly expendables have been informed of Aetna’s abandonment and the media… Read More
The Olympic movement suffered two embarrassing moments Monday. One is being written off as a harmless prank; the other, anything but. The first incident occurred during the cross-Australia Olympic torch relay that will conclude in Sydney when the Summer Games begin on Sept. 15. As… Read More
ST. AGATHA — Summer is turnover time, with teachers going to other school departments or retiring, and school officials advertising for new personnel. In-house, it’s a time to get coaches lined up, and a time to appoint co-curricular advisers. It’s getting to be crunch time,… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE — Local officials want to get rid of about 20 units of former military housing and wonder if there are any takers out there. The Presque Isle City Council voted Monday night to run newspaper advertising soliciting proposals on the removal of 20… Read More
MADAWASKA — Some residents may disagree that municipal officials are always on the lookout for ways to save tax dollars, but it does happen. It took Madawaska selectmen very little time and discussion to agree to save $1,115 last week after they received a proposal… Read More
HOULTON — The SAD 29 board unanimously approved a recommendation at its meeting Monday to delay the opening of school for students by three days. Because of time needed to clean up from renovation work at Houlton High School, Superintendent David Wiggin recommended that all… Read More
JACKMAN — About 350 spectators on Sunday attended the fifth annual local car show, held on the runway at the Newton Airport. A total of 100 cars and trucks of various ages, colors and sizes from Maine, New Hampshire and Canada were entered in the… Read More
PORT CLYDE — A building contractor faces $4,200 in fines after the death of one of its workers from a fall on a Camden construction site July 19. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued two citations against Harbor Builders of Port Clyde,… Read More
MACHIAS — A 32-year-old New Brunswick man who ignored a judge’s order that he report to jail after pleading guilty to a bad-checks charge was indicted Tuesday by a Washington County grand jury. Norman Brown of Campobello Island was indicted for failure to report to… Read More
BRIDGEWATER — A Packard Road family was left homeless Monday after a fire ripped through their home. Harlan Hersey, his wife and a child “lost everything,” Bridgewater Fire Chief John Barker said Tuesday. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes… Read More
SEBEC — A new selectman was elected at the annual town meeting Monday, completing the trio of residents whose duties include leading town meetings and organizing town affairs. Glenn Fariel of Sebec was elected by the approximately 40 town residents in attendance to serve a… Read More
CLINTON — The Clinton charter commission wants to hear people’s ideas for the future of town government. To that end, the board is holding a public forum at 7 tonight in the town office. The meeting will give townspeople the chance to share their views… Read More
BAILEYVILLE — Voters will have a second opportunity to decide if they want to use town funds for a private broadcasting company. The Baileyville Town Council on Monday night voted to refer the question of funding St. Croix Video Productions to another town vote Monday,… Read More
WILLIMANTIC — Town residents voted against an article authorizing the building of a town office at the annual town meeting Aug. 7. The 50 voters in attendance at Monday’s meeting voted 37-13 to hold off construction of the new office, mainly because they were not… Read More