On Nov. 4 voters passed an education and libraries bond issue that provided $1 million in construction grant money to the Maine State Library. As someone who voted for the bond issue and who is also on the board of trustees for my local library, I was thrilled… Read More
    After professing his company’s commitment to Maine and its horsemen, Shawn Scott has sold his interest in Bangor’s horse racing track during contentious hearings about his capability to run the track and to install slot machines there. Mr. Scott has proven that he is a shrewd, if not… Read More
    With the cost of prescription drugs rising another 15 percent last year, it is no wonder state government, which has considerably less health care money than it has demand, would try to reduce costs wherever possible. One of the several areas it chose was the amount it paid… Read More
    For the first time since 1992, when I retired, the Social Security Administration has failed to tell me what my benefits would be for the next year, 2004, by Jan. 1. Apprehensively, I went to the SSA room in the federal building in Bangor to determine my status. Read More
    I don’t smoke. I never did, but I worry about the freedoms we’re losing. The law banning smoking in Maine bars should be dissected. Is it going to save a lot of lives or is it taking someone’s rights away from him or her? What… Read More
    Beurmond Banville should have used a different choice of words in his article, “Loggers, truckers vote to strike Irving; Planned work stoppage to protest compensation terms in new contract” (BDN, Jan. 5), when commenting on the work stoppage by logging contractors and truckers in the St. John Valley. Read More
    I am opposed to the racino and casino. However, the bill submitted that requires the slot operators, through “impact fees,” to subsidize losses incurred by other gambling outlets, including the Maine State Lottery and the state’s off-track betting parlors, is outrageous. It is just another example of Maine… Read More
    I read the column by Stephen Law, “Bush decision will not devastate nation’s rain forest” (BDN, Jan. 5), rebutting a previous column written by Matthew Davis, “Bush decision will devastate America’s rain forest” (BDN, Dec. 31). Both of the columns were about the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. Read More
    This apparently was Ohio’s week for true confessions of a nonsurprising nature. First, former major league baseball player Pete Rose, with an eye toward gaining admittance to baseball’s Hall of Fame before his eligibility runs out, admitted – after 14 years of denial – that he had bet… Read More
    The methods and madnesses by which government agencies work often confound me, Maine’s Department of Human Services’ most of all. This is a flaw I bear heavily, so when 10 psychologists, two legislators and a foster parent met for lunch the other day to discuss their impressions of… Read More
    Yet another column (BDN, Jan. 7) by Maggie Gallagher about the evils to come from legalization of same-sex marriage provokes me to express thoughts that have been on my mind during this whole long debate. Gallagher again emphasizes the fertility reason for marriage, the importance… Read More
    BANGOR – A Massachusetts boat designer has been dropped as a defendant in a federal lawsuit involving a Mount Desert Island boatyard, an attorney for the plaintiff said Friday. Designer Geoff Dickes of Oak Bluffs, Mass., was initially named in the complaint, filed in late… Read More
    AUGUSTA – School units that consolidate into a regional district or service center should receive more state money in grants, subsidies and construction debt reimbursement, according to recommendations approved Friday by a governor’s advisory committee. The task force, composed of seven educational and financial experts,… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Gov. John Baldacci’s final Cabinet nominee is headed for a Senate vote, with confirmation assumed. Brig. Gen. John Libby of Waterville was endorsed 9-0 Friday by the Legislature’s Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]];… Read More
    As someone who makes his living with words, I’m grateful to the people at Lake Superior State University in Michigan for alerting me each year to those words and phrases that have gone beyond their expiration date and need to be scrapped. The school has… Read More
    AUGUSTA – An executive director who will serve for $1 has been chosen for Maine’s fledgling universal health care program. The appointment of Thomas Dunne of Cape Elizabeth was announced Friday by Gov. John Baldacci and Dr. Robert McAfee, who is the chairman of the… Read More
    BANGOR – MaineStream Finance, a subsidiary of Penquis Community Action Program, will offer a Home Buyer Education course 5-8 p.m. Jan. 12-16, at Penquis CAP Child Care, 120 Cleveland St. The course is designed to help potential home buyers make prudent home-purchasing decisions by using… Read More
    ALTON – The town of Alton will offer a low-cost rabies clinic for Alton and Argyle pet owners 1-2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31, at the Alton Municipal Building. Pets must be on a leash or in a carrier, at least 12 weeks old and not… Read More
    BANGOR – Shaw’s Supermarket reopened its pharmacy Friday in a temporary location in the store’s Main Street parking lot as the company continued to assess the damage from Tuesday’s fire. The pharmacy will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week… Read More
    EDDINGTON – Child Development Services of Penobscot county will hold a free developmental screening for all area 3- and 4-year-old children, as well as 5-year-olds not yet eligible for kindergarten. The screening will be held 9-11:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 12, at the Eddington Elementary School. Read More
    BANGOR – The Maine Educational Opportunity Center, a federally funded program that helps qualified adults make the transition toward a college education, will offer two sessions of MEOC 101: The Essentials of College Planning in January. MEOC 101 is the starting point for all MEOC… Read More
    DOVER-FOXCROFT – Compassionate Friends, a support group for parents who have lost a child to death, will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 12, at Mayo Regional Hospital, Sebec room. For information call Stosh at 997-2914. Read More
    HAMPDEN – The Maine Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society will present the first session of a two-part program about journaling as a way to reduce stress for people with MS. “Write-On: A Tool for Emotional Health,” will be held 11 a.m.-noon Monday, Jan. Read More
    MILLINOCKET – The U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration, or EDA, will soon hold a regional economic development forum and training session focusing on the region’s economic growth and job creation effort. “Building Momentum for Economic Growth and Job Creation in Maine and Beyond” will… Read More
    Calais District Court Cases Dec. 12, 2003-Jan. 1, 2004 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] googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
    BANGOR – A prisoner at Charleston Correctional Facility is suing the state Department of Corrections commissioner, administrators and numerous employees in federal court for opening his “privileged” mail outside his presence. Daniel J. Donovan, 40, who is serving a 20-year sentence with all but 15… Read More
    MACHIAS – A Child Development-Community Policing team from North Carolina recently met with law enforcement officials in Washington and Hancock counties to talk about the effects of children witnessing violent events. The purpose of the visit from the North Carolina Chatham County CD-CP, which took… Read More
    ELLSWORTH – Maine Coast Memorial Hospital will offer a flu shot clinic 4-6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 12, at Hannaford, 225 High St. Cost is $12. Seniors are advised to bring their Medicare or Medicaid card for billing purposes. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
    ELLSWORTH – Faculty at the local middle school are getting help in monitoring pupil behavior with a little electronic help, according to a school official. Jack Turcotte, superintendent of Ellsworth schools, said Friday that Ellsworth Middle School Principal Jim Newett has installed a video camera… Read More
    ST. GEORGE – An unattended wood stove is the likely cause of a fire on Thursday that destroyed a fisherman’s workshop at his Glenmere Road home, Fire Chief Tim Polky said Friday. There were no injuries from the fire at Brian York’s property, Polky said. Read More
    PRESQUE ISLE – Two northern Maine loggers pleaded guilty this week to cutting trees without the landowner’s permission. Michael Avery, 42, and Rene J. Morrow, 28, both of Ashland, entered the pleas Wednesday in 2nd District Court in Presque Isle, according to the Maine Forest… Read More
    PALMYRA – The Palmyra Park Boosters will offer a rabies clinic 2-3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Palmyra Town Hall. Fees are $9 for rabies shots; $17 for distemper shots; $17 for Lyme disease shots for dogs; $12 for all other inoculations. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
    GREENVILLE – The need for an arrivals building at busy Greenville Municipal Airport has been documented, but no federal, state or local funds are available for such a structure, say town officials. So the Greenville Airport advisory committee Friday agreed to take matters into its… Read More
    Bangor police arrested a man on several charges after he allegedly kicked holes in a motel wall Thursday morning. Officer Paul Colley reported that at about 7:15 a.m. he was called to the Holiday Inn on Main Street, where a man was damaging inn property. Read More
    MATTAWAMKEAG – Only a few months after the town’s fire-rescue squad dwindled to a handful of personnel, the volunteer crew is back on solid ground, according to Mattawamkeag Fire Department Chief Robert Powers. During October last year, Chief Frank Hammond, Assistant Chief Hans Miller and… Read More
    DEXTER – Issues regarding the future management of Wassookeag Dam were discussed Thursday by the Town Council. Town Manager Robert Simpson said the Utility District Board and the district superintendent expressed concerns to him at a recent meeting about the district’s ability to manage the… Read More
    MILBRIDGE – Steven Pagels of Cherryfield will speak on “The Age of Sail Down East” for the January meeting of the Milbridge Historical Society. Pagels will speak at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 13, at the historical society’s museum on Main Street. He owns a company… Read More
    EAST MILLINOCKET – Creating school curriculums that teach entrepreneurship and make higher education more affordable were high priorities in a recent report by a task force aimed at curbing the state’s out-migration of young people. Speaking about the report to a group of students Friday… Read More
    CUSHING – A Thomaston woman was ejected from her car on Thursday after losing control of her vehicle on a curve due to excessive speed and striking a utility pole. Amanda Auclair, 20, was taken by the Cushing Rescue Squad to Penobscot Bay Medical Center… Read More
    ROCKLAND – A Rockland man was arrested on Thursday and charged with trafficking in OxyContin. Rockland Police Chief Alfred Ockenfels reported Friday that officers searched the Lake Avenue home of Randy Heald, 23, on Thursday and seized 14, 80-milligram OxyContin pills. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
    ELLSWORTH – The city has received a grant that will make sure a road widening project does more than just funnel more vehicles along Ellsworth’s major commercial thoroughfare, according to a city official. The grant also will make High Street a nicer place to be… Read More
    DOVER-FOXCROFT – Atkinson Road parents who petitioned SAD 68 directors to change the location of a school bus stop got their wish Wednesday. Directors agreed to discontinue the stop near a curve on busy Route 15 and move it onto Atkinson Road. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
    Although most people probably aren’t singing “let it snow, let it snow, let it snow” during this especially frigid weather, I suspect that some are. Take members of five area snowmobile clubs, for example, along with anyone associated with Pine Tree Camp for Handicapped Children… Read More
    DOVER-FOXCROFT – Two men have been summoned to 13th District Court for their involvement in a boating accident last August on the Sebec River that killed Shirley Carrier of Dover-Foxcroft. Warden Michael Eaton confirmed Friday that he had summoned Joseph Warren, 47, of Sebec for… Read More
    BANGOR – A Caribou man is expected to go on trial this spring for violation of privacy after the Maine Supreme Judicial Court reversed Friday a lower court’s decision to suppress evidence seized at the home of William Wilcox. Wilcox, 46, is accused of secretly… Read More
    ROCKLAND – An Augusta teen was killed Friday morning in a Route 17 rollover in Washington. Michael Brooks, 19, was dead at the scene of the accident, according to a press release from the Knox County Sheriff’s Department. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
    BANGOR – A former Augusta man was sentenced Friday to nine months in federal prison for sending threatening, flour-laced letters to his former bosses. Darren Ellis, 38, now living in Pittston with a brother, sent the letters just 10 months after Sept. 11, 2001, while… Read More
    BANGOR – A Brewer man suspected of assaulting his girlfriend and leaving her in a ditch New Year’s Eve turned himself in Friday morning at the Penobscot County Jail, where he remains held without bail. On Thursday night, authorities sought James “Butch” Boutilier, 37, in… Read More
    PORTLAND – Mainers, some of whom won’t see the temperature break the zero mark until Sunday, have something to look forward next week: the possibility of even colder weather. The big chill is expected to give way to temperatures in the single digits and teens… Read More
    Editor’s note: Voices is a weekly commentary by a panel of Maine columnists who explore issues affecting spirituality and religious life. Years ago, on a Sunday morning, I rose early to savor the quiet city dawn of Cambridge, Mass. At 7:50 a.m. I was unaware… Read More
    It’s not really the “new” Unitarian Universalist church in Belfast anymore. Ten years after a handful of Waldo County residents started meeting in a tiny building near the Belfast library, the congregation has grown to 90 members and has a permanent home in a former… Read More
    ELLSWORTH – Freshman Demitrios Katsiaficas displayed a veteran’s composure in the final seconds here Friday night, and because of it the Ellsworth High boys basketball team remains unbeaten. Katsiaficas, a 6-foot-1 guard, hit a game-winning 3-pointer from the left baseline with 1.3 seconds left as… Read More
    Momentum and consistency. The University of Maine men’s hockey team will be looking to continue both against Sacred Heart University (Conn.) of the Atlantic Hockey league on Saturday night at 7 at Alfond Arena. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var… Read More
    Each winter for the past three years, a group of brave, civic-minded (and perhaps somewhat foolish) souls has decided it would be a good idea to hop into the Atlantic Ocean on a balmy January day. I’m happy to report that NEWS editor and columnist… Read More
    PORTLAND – The Portland Sea Dogs, Double-A affiliate to the Boston Red Sox, have set their coaching staff for the 2004 season. Ron Johnson is returning as the Sea Dogs’ manager. Pitching coach Bob Kipper is also returning and Russ Morman will replace Mark Budaska as the hitting… Read More
    HIGH SCHOOL At MDI 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] googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
    HIGH SCHOOL At UMaine, Orono 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
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    EAST MILLINOCKET – Devin Perkins scored 24 points to help the Penquis Patriots hold off the Schenck Wolverines 47-41 in schoolboy basketball action Friday night. Justin Allen added eight points for the Patriots of Milo as they notched their seventh victory. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
    ROCKPORT – Jamey Davis scored 17 points as the Camden Hills Windjammers avenged their only loss with a 66-57 boys basketball victory over Maranacook Friday night. Camden Hills pulled out to an 11-point halftime lead and kept the Black Bears of Readfield at bay the… Read More
    The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s Becoming an Outdoors Woman program has scheduled the first two of many exciting outdoors programs for 2004. For women who want to become more comfortable in Maine’s cold-weather woodlands, the Winter Skills Workshop will provide instructional and field… Read More
    Mary Nevin makes Santa look like an amateur. Nevin had the winning bid in the Presque Isle Rotary Club’s auction of a ShopGirl shopping spree -the Bangor Daily News donated my bargain-hunting services, and First Citizens Bank donated $250. But Nevin didn’t keep the spree,… Read More
    The Patriots play the Tennessee Titans Saturday night on the Pats’ march to the Super Bowl. It would be an insult to watch the game on my puny 26-inch screen. The only question now before the Cobb Manor board is just how big to go and how, in… Read More
    The early morning phone call was thoroughly unexpected: “You’ll be happy to know,” the voice said, dripping with sarcasm, “the deer have eaten my yew down to stubs.” Some of you will be shocked to learn that I – for no reason in particular –… Read More