MILLINOCKET – Now that the town has certified him a monogamist, Ben Clark is married to one woman and plans to stay that way, his father said Thursday. A 29-year-old Peace Corps volunteer from Farmington, Clark exchanged vows with his bride on Saturday in the… Read More
BELMONT- It was a cool, rainy Friday morning in May of this year when 69-year-old Charles Springer walked away from his home on a back road in this sparsely settled rural community in Waldo County. “Chuck would walk these roads all the time, visiting people. Read More
So you’ve watched in frustration for months as more of your paycheck disappears down the gas tank. While fuel prices have dropped somewhat, for many Mainers any sense of relief is quickly squashed by the thought of the thirsty heating oil tank in the basement… Read More
While I do not condone cosmetic testing, I ask those who condemn all animal testing what their suggestion is for medical research. Should we condemn all those afflicted with deadly but curable or manageable diseases – such as diabetes – to a slow or quick… Read More
With school back in full swing, educational leaders must refocus on consolidating administrative units so the twin goals of efficiency and excellence in education can be achieved. Gov. John Baldacci’s consolidation effort continues to have its critics, but the numbers reiterate the need for reducing… Read More
As important as the news that the state will recoup all of a $20 million investment that quickly became almost worthless are the changes the state has made to its investment policies to ensure more independent oversight. This allows the state to gain the benefits of investment income… Read More
A recent letter to the editor claimed that AARP asked questions of Sens. McCain and Obama, and that Sen. Obama answered every question but Sen. McCain chose not to answer any of the same questions. This is not true. The Sept-Oct 2008 issue of the… Read More
There are few things in life that are perfect. In baseball, Cal Ripken Jr. broke the long-standing record of Iron Man Lou Gehrig. Ripken’s present record stands as a monument to sports. However, there is a far more important record that has been established by Sen. Susan Collins… Read More
Who would have guessed that billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens and Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope would ever see eye to eye? That seems to be what happened last week in Denver, when these strange bedfellows agreed that the Pickens Plan for energy development… Read More
I read with interest Emily Cain’s op-ed “Increasing Maine wages key to future” (BDN, Aug. 28). I basically agree with her analysis but would suggest that more than increasing the minimum wage is necessary to successfully increase Maine’s average wage in a meaningful way. In… Read More
What a breath of fresh air! So many have waited to see someone like Sarah Palin elevated to the highest political stature of any woman in American history. It was not an office that she coveted as much as the office was so desperately in… Read More
I read with interest the recent articles regarding two important issues put before the Bangor City Council. In reference to the limitations on methadone clinics: Kudos to the councilors who voted for it and shame on those against it! One would have to live in… Read More
On Aug. 6 the world took pause. Sixty-three years ago the United States became the first, and – so far – only country in history to detonate an atomic bomb in anger. The bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima and another on Nagasaki a couple days… Read More
When the governor of Hawaii delivered her agonizingly slow-paced speech in support of Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin at the Republican national convention Wednesday evening, the delegates in the St. Paul convention hall literally cheered her every sentence. “I once attended a conference with Gov. Read More
The recent one-year anniversary of the tragic bridge collapse in Minnesota once again brought attention to the inability of many states to keep up with the cost of maintaining their roads and bridges. This becomes an even more serious problem in many parts of northern and eastern Maine,… Read More
BANGOR – Three Massachusetts men are facing charges in U.S. District Court that they conspired to buy guns illegally at a downtown pawnshop. Levar Carey, 26, of Brockton, Mass., and James Damon, 22, of North Easton, Mass., pleaded not guilty Thursday to conspiring to make… Read More
HERMON – Carol Miller, who has worked at Robert J. Bennett Wholesale Florist for the last 20 years, closed and locked the Odlin Street business’s doors at 3:30 p.m. Friday and left for the day. Within an hour, she got a call that the building… Read More
Yesterday I talked to a woman named Cinnamon Sweets. She was hesitant about letting me print her name, but agreed since it was also the name of her escort service and since she did nothing illegal and she had been running this respectable business in the Bangor area… Read More
BREWER – Todd Penny never recovered from the injuries he suffered Thursday evening when he lost control of his motorcycle and struck a telephone pole. Penny, 28, is the 17th person in Maine to die this year from motorcycle-related injuries and the second in the… Read More
DOVER-FOXCROFT – The plight of a Dover-Foxcroft man who was academically suspended for a semester from the University of Maine last year because he said extenuating circumstances distracted him from his studies, caught the attention of a Houlton man who has offered his help. Stan… Read More
AUGUSTA – The former finance administrator of Gardiner has pleaded guilty to stealing $195,000 from the city’s coffers over a six-year period. Patricia Coty, 55, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Kennebec County Superior Court. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes… Read More
BATH – A U.S. postal clerk in Maine stands accused of swiping money from birthday cards and other mail. Prosecutors said this week that 52-year-old Alan Schoppee of Portland worked at the Bath Post Office for 10 years and has been charged with theft by… Read More
Eric is a young boy, born in 1995, with a big heart and a great smile. Eric is fun to be around. He does great impersonations that will surely get you laughing. On top of that, Eric is incredibly caring. He will go out of… Read More
BELFAST – The Unity Foundation has awarded a $250,000 challenge grant to the Waldo County YMCA that will match new contributions dollar for dollar. Unity also is encouraging participation through in-kind donations from Whitecap Builders, Cianbro Corp. and Viking Lumber that will account for $100,000… Read More
ROCKPORT – The Maine Public Utilities Commission has approved a 6.62 percent overall increase in water rates for Aqua Maine’s Camden and Rockland Division, effective Sept. 1. The increase is the first for Aqua Maine’s 7,700-customer division since June 2006 and is driven primarily by… Read More
MACHIAS – Students are headed back to school and the Washington County Sheriff’s Department wants people to know that quality education lowers the crime rate. “The cold, hard truth is that high school dropouts are more likely to turn to crime,” Sheriff Donnie Smith said… Read More
MILO – A tattered Union Jack, the flag that was flown on the U.S.S. Chicopee in Tokyo Bay in September 1945, which now is displayed on a wall of the Joseph P. Chaisson American Legion Post 41, serves as a reminder that freedom is not free. Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – With the start of the fall semester, the University of Maine at Presque Isle has scheduled a full weekend of homecoming activities for the campus and community Sept. 12-14. Activities open with a “State of the University” address by UMPI President Don… Read More
MACHIAS – The Washington County commissioners Thursday gave their approval to The River of God church to hold a prayer service to remember victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Rev. Ralph Ackley of the Machias church appeared before the commissioners Thursday to… Read More
BELFAST – Three more men have been arrested in connection with a family feud that escalated into a gun, club and knife-wielding brawl in Stockton Springs in July. Ricky K. Pomeroy Sr., 46, of Belfast, Thadeous E. Macleod, 21, of Stockton Springs and Derek A. Read More
PORTLAND – There was no extortion. No lavish vacations. No gambling debts. No drug addiction. Instead, a former partner in a major Maine law firm stole more than $300,000 simply because he felt he needed greater savings, his lawyer said. Addressing a federal judge on… Read More
ROCKLAND – The Pen Bay Healthcare Diabetes and Nutritional Care Center has received the American Diabetes Association Education Recognition Certificate for its diabetes self-management education program, the facility announced. The program, housed at the Kno-Wal-Lin Home Care and Hospice offices at 170 Pleasant St., received… Read More
AUGUSTA – The Board of Corrections met Thursday for an orientation meeting that included presentations about the operation of the Department of Corrections and county jails. Waldo County Sheriff Scott Story, a member of the board, said it was an introductory meeting of the functions… Read More
LIMESTONE – The Limestone United Methodist Church Finance Committee will welcome Tina Luce in concert at 7 tonight at the church on Main Street. Luce is a spiritual and inspirational singer and pianist from Salem, Mass. She has been blind since birth and composes much… Read More
SURRY – Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe will discuss the importance of early childhood education in a presentation titled “Invest Early: Making the Connection” at the meeting of the Surry Community Improvement Association at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8, at Surry Elementary School. Rowe holds… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – The University of Maine at Presque Isle will hold a Club & Community Fair from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, in the Multipurpose Room, Campus Center. This is the 30th year that business and community organizations have been invited to showcase their… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – University of Maine at Presque Isle President Don Zillman and historian John Zaborney will offer a joint lecture to celebrate Constitution Day from 1 to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17, in the Multipurpose Room at the UMPI Campus Center. The lecture, an annual event at… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE -Intellectually curious adults age 50 and older are invited to preview fall course offerings at a Students Achieving Greater Education kickoff to be held starting at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17, in the University of Maine at Presque Isle Campus Center. Registered students… Read More
ROCKPORT – The importance of doctors and patients understanding one another was the focus of Friday’s opening of the Maine Medical Association’s three-day symposium at the Samoset Resort. “Communication skills are important in the patient-physician relationship for both understanding and trust,” said J. Gregory Carroll… Read More
BOSTON – A Coast Guard helicopter airlifted an injured Maine fisherman from a vessel 34 miles off the coast of Nantucket and flew him to a Boston hospital early Friday. The Coast Guard received a radio call around 2 a.m. from the Portland-based Harmony, which… Read More
BIDDEFORD – Authorities have released the identity of a man whose body was found near Ram Island off the Biddeford-Saco coast. Trevor Guilbault, 47, of Portland disappeared Thursday while swimming off Hills Beach with friends. A sport fisherman spotted his body Thursday. Read More
BUCKFIELD – Two Maine performers who gained international attention with their geysers created from Diet Coke and Mentos candies have spent more than a year working on their next act: Cascading waterfalls and spinning wheels using nothing but sticky-note pads. In their quest to explore… Read More
Tuesday Forum vice president and membership chair Melissa Huston extends an invitation to area working women to “Meet Us for Lunch,” at noon Tuesday, Sept. 9, at the Muddy Rudder Restaurant in Brewer. “Tuesday Forum is a women’s networking organization designed to provide professional and… Read More
AUGUSTA – Four people were arrested this week in two separate drug investigations that police said have shone a spotlight on opiate addiction in central Maine. Deputies from the Kennebec County Drug Task Force first searched the home of Paul E. Lavalle, 48, on Marston… Read More
PORTLAND – The Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence Foundation again will distribute free gun locks throughout the state. The organization has given away more than 23,000 locks statewide since the inception of the program in 2001. Lack of funding interrupted the program for more than… Read More
MONTPELIER, Vt. – A Vermont firefighters union on Friday demanded an investigation of FairPoint Communications two days after the phone company was blamed for a nearly two-hour outage of the 911 emergency calling system serving northern Vermont. Wednesday’s outage left at least one Chittenden County… Read More
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins announced Friday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $3,198,986 in funding to health organizations and institutions across Maine. The funding is distributed as follows: googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Avenue of States, showcasing the best of each New England state, is one of the most popular attractions at the Eastern State Exposition, the Big E. The Maine Building offers fair-goers the opportunity to tour the state’s finest destinations, sample… Read More
KITTERY – A coalition of first responders is throwing its support behind Republican Sen. Susan Collins in her campaign against U.S. Rep. Tom Allen in November’s election. On Friday, Collins received endorsements from the Professional Firefighters of Maine, the Maine Fire Chiefs Association, the Maine… Read More
Don’t believe T. Boone Pickens when he claims his wind farm will supply 20 percent of U.S. electricity in 2030. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that in 2030 the United States will need 1 billion kilowatts of electric generation capacity to provide about 5,000 billion kilowatt-hours of… Read More
Beginning next month, Bangor Savings Bank no longer will work with car dealerships that connect customers with lenders. Bangor Savings will continue to offer auto loans to customers who come to bank branches. But senior vice president Yellow Light Breen said that, effective Oct. 1,… Read More
WARNING: Do not read this article while gobbling down a hamburger or enjoying a thick steak. That is, unless the meat comes from farmers you know, local farmers such as Karina Lewis and Kirk Stanley of Harmony. High on a ridge overlooking Great Moose Lake… Read More
This whole high-cost energy thing happened before, back in the 1970s when my wife and I rented a home in Stockton Springs after I got out of college. Oil was skyrocketing to 28 cents a gallon and we were all frantic. Back then, there was… Read More
There is a funny, scary movie of a few years back that’s making the underground rounds these days. It’s titled “Idiocracy,” and though it’s a satire set some 500 years in the future, today that future seems right around the corner. (Warning: If you are put off by… Read More
My timing couldn’t be worse. Blame it on the weather – and why not? I’ve been blaming everything from my lack of exercise to my horrendous tomato plants on that rainy spell we had a few weeks back. But my yen for autumn trends started… Read More
HBO keeps coming back to its tried-and-true creators, with uneven results. David Simon went from the criminally underappreciated “The Wire” to the generally positive reviews of “Generation Kill.” David Milch moved from the acclaimed Western “Deadwood” to the bizarre mysticism of “John From Cincinnati.” googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
Main and Limerock. My friends are an undependable lot, prone to being fashionably late or, in the case of Jefferson Phil, not showing up at all. So I arrange to meet them, when I must, at bars and restaurants where, truth be told, I don’t… Read More
Has summer’s end got you down? Is romance waning, too? Does a hard look at your budget make you quake? Does a new enterprise scare you? Do you feel like a loser at the game of life? Your challenges may be real – and really… Read More
“Baby Mama” DVD, Blu-ray: Goes down like a tall bottle of warm Similac – and that’s a good thing. Tina Fey is Kate Holbrook, a successful, 37-year-old businesswoman living the high life with a barren womb. Since she can’t have children, she goes to an agency that specializes… Read More
You all have been very generous with your zucchini bread and cake recipes. It is an interesting lot. I heard from 11 of you and have six unique recipes, since one of those was repeated four times. I plan to do two weeks of recipes because as it… Read More
Cornell horticulture professor Mark Bridgen has a list of 87 plant species that he will guarantee deer will not eat. His list, published in American Nurseryman (Aug. 15, 2008), is based not on scientific research but on 22 years of gardening in Connecticut and New York. Read More
Husson College of Bangor and Maine Maritime Academy of Castine open their respective seasons today, while the University of Maine plays its second game of the young college football season. Along with their opponents, those teams may need to contend with the remnants of tropical… Read More
BREWER – If there’s one thing the Skowhegan and Brewer football teams have in common, its their smashmouth style of play. The Indians’ run game worked slightly better than the Witches, as they compiled 318 yards on the ground and raced out to a 24-0… Read More
OAKLAND – Though most football followers assume that Bangor High School simply reloads after enduring significant graduation losses, there was an air of mystery about how this newest generation of Rams would fare in their 2008 season debut Friday night. Just three starters are back… Read More
HIGH SCHOOL At Bangor 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 At Houlton CC, par 36 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
KENDUSKEAG – The Bradford-Corinth-Hudson Knights will open their first season in the Northern Eight-Man Football League when it hosts Howland at 1 p.m. today at Galen Cole Field. The league is for high school-age athletes, and there is no admission charge to the game. Those… Read More
ROCKLAND – Marc Laliberte scored off a Daniel McBrien assist with 8:06 left in the first to lead the Medomak Valley Panthers to a 2-0 schoolboy soccer win over the Rockland Tigers Friday. Dale Winchenbach added an insurance goal off a Brian Sweeny assist with… Read More
EASTPORT – Molly White scored twice in the first half to lead the Woodland Dragons to a 3-0 schoolgirl soccer victory over the Shead Tigers Friday. Chasity Beach added a first-half goal for the 1-0 Dragons. Taylor Cochran blocked three of four shots. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
Points championships will be up for grabs in two of the five classes when Hermon’s Speedway 95 hosts its final Saturday night race card tonight beginning at 7. Dixmont’s Lewis Batchelder has just an 11-point lead over Old Town’s Jason Trundy in the Sport-Four division… Read More
ORONO – The University of Maine’s Kelsey Wilson and Christine LeBelle scored goals as the Black Bears earned a 2-2, double-overtime tie against Temple University. Nicki Conn scored two goals in less than a minute to give 0-2-1 Temple a 2-0 lead in the first… Read More
DEXTER – Jess Mason scored a goal and provided assists on three others to lead the Dexter Tigers to a 5-2 high school field hockey victory over the Central Red Devils Saturday. Claire Wyman had a goal and an assist for the 1-0 Tigers. Katie… Read More
DOVER-FOXCROFT – Greg Hand scored a fourth-quarter touchdown on a 10-yard run to rally the Mattanawcook Academy Lynx past the Foxcroft Academy Ponies 14-12 in a mutual high school football opener Friday night. Josh Pelkey completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Derek Gardner in the… Read More
Like many bird hunters who receive senior citizen discounts, I’ve noticed that my dog’s bell doesn’t ring as clearly as it did back along. Allowing that I had become a bit tone deaf, I took the advice of another hearing-impaired bird hunter and bought a couple of dog… Read More
In the middle of last week, I stopped by a local tagging station to find out how the area’s bear hunters had been faring during the first week of the bait-hunting season. Not so well, I heard. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
The fourth annual Penobscot River Unified Atlantic Salmon banquet will be held at the Bangor Banquet and Conference Center on Oct. 18. The club is a joint effort of the Eddington, Veazie and Penobscot salmon clubs. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes =… Read More
Every hike teaches me a lesson. Sometimes I learn something about myself and my limits, while other times it’s more about the hike or the mountain I’ve chosen to climb. My most recent hike taught me a few things. First, I learned that I’ll travel… Read More
Maine Maritime Academy has put together three straight winning seasons in the always-tough New England Football Conference. The way coach Chris McKenney sees it, the Mariners from Castine probably could have accomplished even more if they had only done a few of the little things… Read More