The air waves have had days and days of the gruesome reporting of the “massacre” at Virginia Tech. Every few hours such gruesome massacres occur in Iraq. What’s the difference? Americans seem to feel that “they are used to it, we aren’t.” It works for… Read More
    The Legislature’s Appropriations Committee has the near-impossible job of making the state budget balance while meeting the many obligations Maine has imposed on itself. The committee is wondering whether the state’s publicly funded gubernatorial campaign, approved by voters through referendum, really needs the money allocated to it. That… Read More
    As members of the Legislature’s Criminal Justice Committee turn their attention to the perennial issue of dealing with sex offenders, they should define the scope of the problem and decide what solutions work and are available in Maine before voting for tougher sentences or housing restrictions that could… Read More
    Democrats who are insisting on leaving Iraq are guilty of the same error that they claim Bush made. They have no plan for what to do after they achieve their goal. If we quit Iraq, we will see huge rallies of radical Muslims who claim… Read More
    Like anyone, I am appalled by the deaths of 32 Virginia Tech University students. However, I am even more appalled by the reaction from certain activists in the aftermath. Immediately following this tragedy, we began to hear constant cries from the gun abolitionists, blaming firearms… Read More
    Now Bangor is one of the best cities in the country in which to live. The appointment of Ron Gastia as police chief is positively brilliant. His professional and personal integrity are of the highest degree. He has many years of law enforcement experience and… Read More
    With all the publicity about veterans’ health care, you would think that the VA Hospital at Togus would make more of an effort from its pharmacy to fill and mail prescriptions. Call the VA pharmacy like I did April 9 and you will get a message that your… Read More
    As an owner of a 150-year-old manufacturing company in Eddington, I have seen firsthand the impact legislation can have on my business and the well-being of my customers. Bills in the Legislature to limit the use, the sale and the installation of wood boilers in… Read More
    Rural Maine, from Oxford County in the west, north to Aroostook and “down east” to Washington County, faces several economic challenges. Incomes are lower and unemployment and poverty rates higher than in prosperous southern Maine. These gaps have perpetuated a decades-long exodus of rural youth, leaving behind a… Read More
    Those who profess to know about such things claim that the kinds of jokes a person laughs at and the way he or she laughs at them can tell you about all you need to know about that person – whether loosely wound or habitually all drove up,… Read More
    Dear Chick, You and your teammate Henny Penny are stirring things up quite a bit lately. Ever since you quit screaming about the sky falling and switched to global warming, we now have children crying themselves to sleep over the fate of drowning polar bears,… Read More
    . Vi-Jon Inc. is recalling 28-fluid-ounce bottles of Alpine Xtreme Evergreen Forest Body Wash after samples showed the presence of a bacteria, Enterobacter gergoviae. This could increase the risk of more serious infections to individuals with cuts, rashes or other compromised skin conditions or weakened or suppressed immune… Read More
    CAMDEN – IntriCon Corp., a designer, developer, manufacturer and distributor of miniature and micro-miniature medical and electronics products, has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets (other than real estate) of privately held Tibbetts Industries Inc., a Camden designer and manufacturer of components used in hearing aids… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Officials of the University of Maine System and the state’s community colleges were peppered with questions by members of the Legislature’s Criminal Justice Committee on Friday as the panel considers legislation to clarify the ability of the campuses to set gun policies. “We… Read More
    Awhile back I wrote about the surge of energy behind the annual Hike for the Homeless that is scheduled for Saturday, May 5. In that column I promised to be among walkers converging on the Bangor Waterfront to raise funds and education about the plight of the homeless… Read More
    BANGOR – For the first time in 10 years, Chopstix was not among the clowns who turned out this weekend for the annual visit of the Anah Shrine Circus. That’s because the second-generation Shrine clown is in the middle of a four-month deployment to Iraq,… Read More
    BREWER – At his self-declared “coming out party” Friday morning, the soon-to-be chancellor of the University of Maine System encouraged members of the local business community to remember that higher education is an important sector of the Bangor economy. “Higher education is a good business… Read More
    ELLSWORTH – The Hancock County Branch of the American Association of University Women will hold its Spring Yard Sale from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 19, at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Bucksport Road. Household goods, linens, furniture, costume jewelry, puzzles, books, snacks,… Read More
    GREENVILLE – It was no small feat but Greenville school officials have proposed a 2007-08 budget that essentially requires the same amount from taxation for education as this year. The $3,415,851 total budget came as a result of several changes. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
    SANGERVILLE – A local man charged Wednesday with domestic assault will face additional charges after police found marijuana in the home he shares with his mother. Sheriff John Goggin said a woman called the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday and reported that James Spears,… Read More
    SKOWHEGAN – Maine has many advantages over other areas in the country when it comes to recruiting new businesses, including Yankee ingenuity and a remarkable work force. But without cutting-edge information technology, economic development simply will not flourish, a top state official told community leaders Friday. Read More
    At least $10,000 worth of multiconductor electric wiring was cut from the Penobscot River’s heavy portable docks, which were stored on the Bangor Waterfront during the winter, according to police reports. An employee of the Electrical Division of Bangor Public Works reported the theft at… Read More
    PITTSFIELD – A Unity man who tried to enter a Fairview Street home Thursday night led police on a short chase at Sebasticook Valley Hospital property before he was wrestled to the ground and arrested. Dwayne A. Shaw, 36, was charged with operating after suspension,… Read More
    MACHIAS – The 32nd Machias Wild Blueberry Festival is scheduled for the weekend of Aug. 17-19. The banner contest will be held the week before. Children, adults, families, organizations and businesses are welcome to participate. The banner should feature blueberries or other symbols of Washington… Read More
    MACHIAS – The University of Maine at Machias will welcome Micah Pawling, a University of Maine doctoral candidate in ethnohistory on Tuesday, May 1. His presentation is titled “The Reconfiguration of Passamaquoddy Homeland: The Origins of Native Petitions to Maine and New Brunswick 1794-1879.” The… Read More
    BENEDICTA – Three years ago, when the state Department of Education threatened to close the Benedicta Elementary School, approximately 50 residents showed up at a public hearing to fight for, and eventually save, the school from being shuttered. Now, an ominous cloud of closure is… Read More
    HOULTON – Most people go about the annual spring cleaning of their homes and yards to beautify the space for themselves and for any guests who might visit. Over the next four months, Houlton is expecting a lot of company to drop by, and the… Read More
    MOUNT DESERT – A local police officer is doing OK after allegedly having been head butted in the face by a man he pulled over on suspicion of speeding, according to Police Chief James Willis. Officer Dan Owens received treatment for minor injuries at a… Read More
    Ten-year-old Tony is a funny, inquisitive boy who loves to make others laugh. He likes to help clean house, especially vacuuming. He enjoys participating in activities and is good with his hands. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes =… Read More
    Aroostook County Superior Court, Caribou Cases Jan. 1-31, 2007 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
    CARIBOU – The Caribou Choral Society will present its annual spring concerts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 5, at the Caribou Performing Arts Center, and 3 p.m. Sunday, May 6, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Presque Isle. The event is open to the public. Read More
    FORT FAIRFIELD – Tri-Community Recycling and Sanitary Landfill has received a $12 million loan from USDA Rural Development to fund improvements and expansion. TCL will use the funding to install a barrier over two old cells and an active gas extraction and dispersal system for… Read More
    PRESQUE ISLE – A candle-lantern ceremony to recognize cancer victims will be held during the American Cancer Society Relay for Life of Aroostook County on Friday, June 1, at Northern Maine Community College. To purchase a candle lantern, or luminaria, call (800) 227-2345. For more… Read More
    PRESQUE ISLE – A free pediatric orthopedic screening clinic will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 12, at Horizons Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Center at A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital. The clinic is meant for children under age 18 who have bone,… Read More
    MILLINOCKET – A Millinocket Middle School pupil will be charged with terrorizing and criminal mischief for writing an oblique threat on a restroom wall that forced his school and adjoining Stearns High School into lockdown, police said Friday. The lockdowns occurred late Wednesday and Thursday. Read More
    SKOWHEGAN – A Canaan man already jailed in the slayings of his estranged wife and a roommate was indicted Friday by the Somerset County grand jury. Shannon Atwood, 37, is accused of the murders of Shirley Moon Atwood, 35, and a roommate, Cheryl Murdoch, 37,… Read More
    Madawaska High School Third quarter honor roll 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
    Waldo County Superior Court Cases April 19-23, 2007 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… Read More
    Blue Hill Memorial Hospital has named Helen Burnett, health education coordinator, as the first-quarter winner of the Gold Standards Employee of the Quarter at Blue Hill Memorial Hospital. Burnett has worked at BHMH since 2005. She coordinates patient activities and organizes health and wellness programs,… Read More
    PITTSFIELD – Town councilors will have to delete some roads from the 2007 planned paving list as bids for the projects came in too high. According to Town Manager Kathryn Ruth, the budget for the 2007 plan was $92,000, and the lowest bid came in… Read More
    AUGUSTA – The Maine Emergency Management Agency is asking home and business owners whose property sustained uninsured damage during the Patriot’s Day storm to report that damage if they haven’t done so already. The state is assessing damage to report to the Federal Emergency Management… Read More
    What fun awaits all who participate in the 10th annual Spring-O-Rama 10 a.m.-2 p.m. today, rain or shine, at Sprague’s Nursery, outer Union Street in Bangor. Admission is $2, and food, sun catchers, tickets for raffles and Ducks in the Pond can be purchased. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
    To help recoup a recent blood donor deficit, the Portland Red Cross will be open for donations 8 a.m.-2 p.m. today at 524 Forest Ave. in Portland. During the week, normal Portland donor center hours are noon-7 p.m. Thursday, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, and 8… Read More
    AUGUSTA – A new report by the state ethics commission gives Maine’s Clean Election Act generally high marks while pointing to a few troublesome areas and proposing a variety of technical and more substantial changes. Overall, according to the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election… Read More
    BANGOR – A statewide lawyers group is teaming up with the Maine Campaign to Impeach in an effort to oust President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for their handling of the war in Iraq. Maine Lawyers for Democracy, which has 65 members, has reviewed… Read More
    MECHANIC FALLS – The eighth annual Pine Tree State Country Music Association Award Show will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 20, at the Silver Spur, Route 121. Admission is $10 for adults, $3 for children under 12, $6 for competitors. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
    AUGUSTA – George Richardson, CPA of Austin Associates, will give a presentation about estate planning at a workshop hosted by the Maine Farm Bureau Women’s Agricultural Education Committee, 6-9 p.m. Tuesday, May 15, at the Maine Farm Bureau Office, 4 Gabriel Drive in Augusta. Registration… Read More
    Youth from two Belfast churches participated last week in a 30-hour “famine,” or series of events designed to raise awareness of hunger problems. Youth from First Baptist Church, High Street, began to fast after a meal together at noon April 20 and completed their fast at 6 p.m. Read More
    Orrington Center Church will hold an installation service for its new pastor, the Rev. Daniel Packer, at 6 p.m. Sunday, May 6. After spending 12 years managing credit unions in Michigan and New York, Packer felt called to pastoral ministry. He has served as pastor of churches in… Read More
    Brooksville artist Robert Shetterly will be among the participants in a May 5 benefit called Voices for Peace. Shetterly is the creator of the Americans Who Tell the Truth series of paintings. He will join the Voices for Peace choir and others in an event at 7 p.m. Read More
    Have you heard any stories about the “old country”? Why did your family come to the Rockland-Camden area? What was it like growing up Jewish in this area? If you are intrigued by any of these questions, you are invited to participate in a meeting at 7 p.m. Read More
    According to the anthropological timeline, we did the hunter-gatherer thing long before we did the agriculture thing. Those old hunter-gatherers lived awful, violent, short lives. They were what we call simple people. They didn’t have huge, complex economic systems with paper money and stocks and… Read More
    The position has only been advertised for a week, but already the University of Maine is compiling an impressive list of candidates for its women’s basketball head coaching job. Candidates will need to demonstrate a commitment to the academic excellence of the student-athletes, put them… Read More
    BANGOR – While most of the other Penobscot Valley Conference track and field teams opened their seasons in beautiful, spring-like conditions this week, the weather gods were not nice to the Bangor High School teams Friday. “It wasn’t that bad, it was just really cold,”… Read More
    CAPE ELIZABETH – Registration for the 10th annual TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K road race is now closed. More than 4,700 runners signed up online in the first 10 days of registration and the field is set at 5,500 runners. The race is scheduled… Read More
    HIGH SCHOOL At Bangor Indoor Tennis 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
    HIGH SCHOOL Bangor boys 197, Nokomis 62, Hermon 15, Bangor Christian 1 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
    HOLE-IN-ONE Colt Kwiatkowsky 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
    MAINE vs. ALBANY Time, site: Saturday (2), noon, Sunday, noon; Kessock Field, 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… Read More
    LIMESTONE – Matt Enman walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring Danny Cote, to lift the Limestone Community School/Maine School or Science and Mathematics past Fort Kent 10-9 in baseball action Friday. Chris Parent doubled twice and added an… Read More
    CALAIS – Senior righthander Stephanie Perry allowed two runs on three hits and four walks while striking out 17 to lead the Calais Blue Devils to a 12-2 high school softball victory over the Woodland Dragons Friday. Lindsey Mingo hit a double and two singles… Read More
    When Tara MacDonald of Corinth first heard about the job of grand marshal at Bangor Raceway, she thought it was a paid position. After checking into it, she found out it not only wasn’t a paid position, it didn’t even technically exist. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
    CASTINE – Maine Maritime Academy scored six runs in the fifth inning to defeat Lesley University 10-9 in softball action Friday. Nicole Poland had four hits and scored three runs for the 4-13 Lady Mariners. Kristen Gaylord also scored three times. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
    ALBANY, N.Y. – John Naples fashioned a four-hit shutout Friday afternoon as the University at Albany opened its America East baseball series against UMaine with a 7-0 victory at in a scheduled nine-inning game at Varsity Field. Naples, a senior righthander, struck out four, walked… Read More
    Throughout the years, on many occasions I’ve either overheard or been among a group of sportsmen when the subject of fly fishing vs. worm fishing has come front and center. Often there is a general consensus that selecting the correct pattern, precision casting, and presenting a fly with… Read More
    BREWER – Bill Krohn, author and professor of wildlife ecology at the University of Maine, will give a slide presentation about Manly Hardy during the meeting of the Brewer Historical Society at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Brewer Auditorium. Krohn, a resident of Brewer like… Read More
    AUGUSTA – The moose hunt is coming to southern Maine. The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department’s Advisory Council on Thursday approved an experimental hunt featuring a limited number of permits for two seasons, starting in the fall of next year. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
    “Wife Swap” wants to come to Maine and the show’s casting producer is looking for local families to feature on upcoming episodes of the ABC hit. Each week, two families with very different values are chosen to take part in a two-week long challenge in… Read More
    The buttercup squashes that we grew last summer kept awfully well this winter, no soft spots and their flavor was still very good until last week when I used the last of them in a casserole that we love. Now if you don’t happen to have buttercups (a… Read More
    There are people, very special people, who can transform a neighborhood by their very presence. Susan Drawbridge was one of those. She died at age 74 on April 9 at her Searsmont home. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes… Read More
    “D?j? Vu” DVD and Blu-ray: From director Tony Scott and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, this silly, high-concept thriller begins with an impressive display of pyrotechnics aboard a New Orleans ferry, which blows up and kills 543 people after a terrorist attack before its script sinks along with them. It’s… Read More