ORONO – Saddled with debt and in “very bad” disrepair, the Treats Falls House for mentally retarded adults will close within 12 to 18 months, an official from the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services said Friday. The agency’s 18 residents… Read More
    In a Page One story on Wednesday about government credit card usage, The Associated Press erroneously reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission had more than twice as many active credit cards as employees. The agency had 3,128 active credit cards on June 30, according to the General… Read More
    ROCKPORT – At Down East, talk of a sluggish economy and a mediawide slump in advertising revenues isn’t heard. The monthly magazine about Maine that was first published in 1954 set a record when its July issue weighed in at 196 pages. The record was… Read More
    PORTLAND – A startup date for passenger rail service between Portland and Boston has not been set, but the fact Amtrak has posted fares puts the service one step closer to reality. One-way tickets from Portland to Boston will cost $21, and same-day, round-trip service… Read More
    BAILEYVILLE – The County’s only pulp and paper mill has its first female general manager, Roger H. Brear, Domtar Industry Inc.’s senior vice president U.S. Pulp and Paper Manufacturing Group said Friday. Debby Feck, who had been appointed interim general manager in June, to replace… Read More
    Since 1970, when Maine granted the first marine lease for aquaculture, a minority of shore land owners have challenged fish farming primarily on environmental grounds. Opponents have focused on the environment because state laws and regulations don’t allow lease applications to be denied simply because… Read More
    I am totally confused with the laws as they are right now. Abortion, the killing of a live fetus, is completely legal in this country. But to take stem cells that have been altered so as to not produce a viable fetus, but cells that self replicate continually… Read More
    I agree with Mr. Dow’s letter of Aug. 13 in regard to the disappointing lack of marching bands at the recent Dover Foxcroft Homecoming Parade. My disappointment was with the lack of marching bands at Dexter’s Bicentennial Parade. The parade was over an hour long… Read More
    Recent articles by Wayne O’Leary and Margaret Cruikshank remind me of politicians’ faith in our faulty memories. After ignoring FICA “welfare for the wealthy” for decades, the Senate’s patron saint of Social Security is again “Robin Hood in Reverse” on the Commission to Strengthen Social Security. Believers of… Read More
    With so much dissension over the new YMCA and its location near Lily Pond, the community is missing the real travesty that is planned by the Almar development company for the present Y site in the village on lower Chestnut St. in Camden. People think… Read More
    It’s a rare thing when opportunity snubbed makes a return visit. It’s rarer still for it to pound on the door with both fists. The snub in question occurred some three years ago, when the Maritimes & Northeast natural gas pipeline was being laid across… Read More
    Apparently believing that aggression is the best defense, Big Tobacco recently responded to complaints that it broke its agreement and still targets its advertising at teen-centered magazines by saying, in effect, “Tough.” Small wonder then that the most effective anti-smoking advertising takes on a similar edge. And good… Read More
    Before long we’ll be knee-deep in the throes of another campaign season here in Maine, in the course of which we can expect to hear from just about all candidates that they support business expansion and economic development. I should hope so. Several recent national… Read More
    Most places in Maine, the construction of the Maritimes & Northeast natural gas pipeline is a dim and fading memory. Something about how three summers ago there was a lot of digging going on and how the result was a pipeline that entered Maine from New Brunswick at… Read More
    I do not pretend to speak for you, of course. But I would suspect that most Mainers would sooner give up their first-born than hear television hostess Martha Stewart irritatingly sound the `h’ in “herbs” when she does her gourmet cooking shtick. Oh, I know,… Read More
    PORTLAND – A federal operation that shut down a major child porn operation in Texas has led to the arrest of a former guard at the Cumberland County Jail. Harry Blake, 40, of Westbrook, pleaded innocent in U.S. District Court to a felony charge of… Read More
    CASTINE – The Maine Maritime Academy on Friday adopted an $18.7 million budget for the 2002 fiscal year as the academy prepares to welcome the largest student body in the school’s 60-year history. The new budget of $18,788,000 represents about a 5 percent increase from… Read More
    AUGUSTA – An anonymous donor has given the Maine State Museum $1 million, the largest private gift received by the institution. “It’s wonderful. We were first contacted by an out-of-state lawyer, and after we answered a number of questions, we were then contacted by the… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Preliminary reports show that state government accumulated an unanticipated $5.2 million in revenue during the first month of the new fiscal year, but tax officials believe special factors account for much of that amount. Tentative July figures put individual income taxes above projection… Read More
    OAKFIELD – Compromise was the order of the day Thursday as residents at a special town meeting decided to retain their existing town office building but put it on a foundation and build a vault there. The office is 20 years old and lacks a… Read More
    HOULTON – Roy Bagley of Gray is the new director of Maine Applied Technology Region Two, which serves students from five school districts in southern Aroostook County and parts of northern Penobscot and Washington Counties. A graduate of Lowell Technical College in Lowell, Mass., and… Read More
    BAR HARBOR – Development of the downtown Golden Anchor Inn property sparked renewed public debate this week when representatives of developer Thomas Walsh proposed a zoning change that would allow their new building to rise twice as tall in exchange for providing ocean views from West Street. Read More
    Arch allies when it comes to facing emergencies and saving lives, Bangor police officers and firefighters will be squaring off against each other Sunday in a charity Guns & Hoses softball game. Held at the Union Street softball complex starting at 4 p.m., the game… Read More
    A pickup truck struck a sport utility vehicle Friday on South Main Street in Old Town, sending the SUV off the road and into a porch. No injuries were reported, although the SUV was totaled and the porch received substantial damage, according to the police… Read More
    MACHIASPORT – The Aug. 27 meeting of the Machiasport Historical Society will feature a presentation on the water contamination problem from the former U.S. Air Force radar station on Howard’s Mountain. The speaker will be Phil Rose, chairman of the Restoration Advisory Board, a group… Read More
    BROOKSVILLE – The Brooksville Historical Society will hold its annual meeting beginning at 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 26, at the Brooksville Elementary School on Route 175. The guest speaker will be Linda Greenlaw, author of the best-selling book “The Hungry Ocean,” and one of the… Read More
    MACHIAS – The coffers of the Maine Blackfly Breeders Association have grown to the point that the organization has been able to make a $200 donation to seven causes. The Machias Food Pantry, the Ark Animal Shelter, Porter Memorial Library, the Down East Community Hospital… Read More
    EAST MILLINOCKET – Members of four area school boards will meet next month to determine whether there is interest for studying some form of school consolidation or sharing services. The special joint meeting of the East Millinocket, Medway, Millinocket and Woodville school boards will be… Read More
    ROCKLAND – A Hurricane Island Outward Bound student experiencing a “solo” will be featured Wednesday on ABC’s “20/20 Downtown,” which spent four days on Hurricane Island in Maine taping the segment. The episode will air at 10 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 22, on WVII-TV, Channel 7. Read More
    ROCKLAND – In preparation for its 2002 area visitors’ guide and business directory and in planning publicity, the Rockland-Thomaston Area Chamber of Commerce would like to review photos or slides of scenic places, the different seasons and area activities. The chamber would also like to… Read More
    WARREN – Calvary Baptist Church will hold a Deaf Family Bible Conference Aug. 19-24. The featured speaker is John Clark, one of the country’s best-known deaf evangelists. For 29 years, Clark has preached to deaf and hearing people around the world. Clark and his wife,… Read More
    CAMDEN – A glimpse of life during the Civil War is the theme when the Camden-Rockport Historical Society holds its annual meeting Aug. 22. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Society’s Old Conway Homestead-Cramer Museum complex off U.S. Route 1 at the Camden-Rockport… Read More
    Belfast District Court Kurt D. Aldinger, 23, Belfast, operating after suspension, $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 (isMobileDevice()) { if (slot_sizes[i][0]… Read More
    DOVER-FOXCROFT – Gov. Angus King gave a needed nudge about three years ago to a group of local officials who were concerned that Piscataquis County’s economic outlook was like a sinking ship. King essentially told the group of municipal, county and business leaders that they… Read More
    MONSON – A seasonal resident of the Wyman Road in Monson was arrested Wednesday in connection with marijuana cultivation and trafficking in drugs. Douglas Robinson, 46, was arrested and charged with felony drug trafficking, marijuana cultivation and possession of cocaine in Piscataquis County. He also… Read More
    CALAIS – The underwater life in waters off Eastport and Deer Island is the subject of a talk at this month’s meeting of the Schoodic Chapter of the Maine Audubon Society. The presentation will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 21, in the recreation… Read More
    EASTPORT – Eastern Lodge 7 is celebrating its 200th anniversary today at the tenting area. Established in 1801, members of the Masonic group and their guests will feast on barbecue chicken. They also will participate in a tour of Raye’s Mustard Mill and go on… Read More
    BARING – For the second time this month, a 19-year-old East Machias man was arrested and charged with attempting to smuggle prescription drugs into the country. Brett Reid was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Bangor Friday on a charge of importing a controlled substance,… Read More
    OLD LYME, Conn. – An ambulance from Old Lyme has gone on a 450-mile call to rescue a small town in Maine. The Old Lyme Volunteer Ambulance Association was set to donate its 6-year-old ambulance Friday to Lubec, Maine, a village left without ambulance service… Read More
    The Maine Department of Transportation will host a series of public meetings on dredging issues in Milbridge, Rockport and Portland. The sessions will be of particular interest to pier owners, lobstermen, conservationists, marine biologists and municipal officials, according to the department. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
    PITTSFIELD – A Somerset County deputy who was suspended Aug. 3 after his teen-age son filed an assault complaint against him has been reinstated after being cleared by an investigation conducted by the state Attorney General’s Office. Sgt. Pierre “Pete” Boucher was back on the… Read More
    Preparations are under way for the grand opening of the “new” year-round Abbe Museum next month in downtown Bar Harbor. Sharon Broom, the museum’s development director, said the expansion of the 73-year-old seasonal museum into a year-round facility brings with it a “great need for… Read More
    SANFORD – Trustees are studying how many acres to set aside for southern Maine’s first veterans cemetery following the federal government’s approval of more than $9 million for the project. The new cemetery will be in Riverside Cemetery in Springvale. Officials expect to begin designing… Read More
    STARKS – Maine State Police plan to have troopers on hand at this weekend’s Hempstock festival to monitor compliance with mass-gathering laws. Officials obtained search warrants Thursday that allow troopers to be present at the rock concert and to use a thermal imaging camera from… Read More
    Evelyn McKenney of Parkman is a patient at Eastern Maine Medical Center, Room 518, 489 State St., Bangor. A shower of cards would be welcome. For more information, call Pauline Nichols at 487-6679. A giant family reunion will be held at noon Sunday, Aug. 19,… Read More
    RAYMOND – A Raymond woman died Friday in a one-car accident on Route 85, authorities said. Theresa Murphy, 68, was headed south at around 6:30 a.m. when she lost control of the car, which veered across the opposite lane and rolled over twice, the Cumberland… Read More
    BROOKLYN, Mich. – Ricky Craven, the final driver to make an attempt, knocked sentimental favorite Bill Elliott off the pole Friday in qualifying for the Pepsi 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Craven gave second-year Winston Cup owner Cal Wells his first pole with a lap… Read More
    University of Maine hockey coach Shawn Walsh, who is fighting a form of kidney cancer known as renal cell carcinoma, returned to his Veazie home on Friday after spending several days at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. Walsh, who was the recipient… Read More
    SACO – Maine Energy’s Saco Bay Criterium will be held in Saco for the third year in a row on August 25. The Criterium, which is a bicycle sprinting race, is the state’s largest bike race. This year, the promoters have included a second day… Read More
    HIGH SCHOOL At Limestone CC 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
    The University of Maine’s women’s soccer team has never qualified for the America East playoffs. They will have a 50-50 chance to do so this season because six of the 12 teams will qualify. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var… Read More
    HODGDON – Pearl Ryder notched an unassisted goal with nine minutes left to help the Limestone Eagles edge the Hodgdon Hawks 2-1 in schoolgirl soccer action Friday. It was Limestone’s opener. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = [];… Read More
    Dean Treworgy leaned over the coin-operated snack dispenser, trying to figure out how to put it back together after reloading it with feed for the petting zoo at the Treworgy Family Orchard. Behind him was the fenced-in zoo and behind that, an apple orchard, pumpkin patch and a… Read More