Bangor Daily News

Burning Body Found Near Bangor Bridge Investigators Seek Identity of Deceased

BANGOR - Police and firefighters investigating a report of a fire along a Harlow Street bridge early Tuesday evening made a gruesome discovery - a body lying facedown on the embankment being consumed by flames. "The person is deceased, and now it is a crime scene until determined further" by the Criminal Investigation Division, said Bangor police Sgt. Donald Gagner, among the first to arrive at the bridge that crosses Kenduskeag Stream between Mill and Nelson streets.

86 Heading to Iraq for Security Detail

As conflict in Iraq continues with no signs of slowing down, 86 more members of the Maine Army National Guard will be deployed overseas in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Guard received its latest mobilization orders Saturday, and troops spent the weekend attending to personnel matters and undergoing medical screenings, Maj. Gen. John W. Libby, adjutant general of the Maine Guard, announced Tuesday.

Service Held for Maine Soldier Appleton Man Killed in Iraq Remembered As 'Really Nice Guy'

BELFAST - Spc. Joshua Humble, the soldier who was killed a week ago in Iraq by a roadside bomb, was remembered as a true patriot who loved his family, his God, his country and his mission. As a waxing moon rose in the Tuesday evening sky, family and friends of the Appleton man, along with scores of men and women in uniform, gathered at a local funeral home to pay their respects to the fallen soldier who served with the Army's 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, N.Y.

Plum Creek to Present Project Revisions New Concept Plan Result of Public Meetings

SANGERVILLE - The Land Use Regulation Commission can expect Plum Creek Timber Co. to submit a "new" concept plan soon for the proposed development and conservation of land in the Moosehead Lake region. The new concept plan still calls for development of two resorts and about 1,000 house lots in Unorganized Territory, but the locations for some have changed and follow recommendations made by the public at meetings and state-sponsored scoping sessions, Luke Muzzy, Plum Creek's senior land asset...

Newport Farmer Nominated to Lead Agriculture Department

NEWPORT - A potato farmer from Newport who has been active in local politics for decades was nominated Tuesday by Gov. John Baldacci as commissioner of the Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources Department. Seth Bradstreet III "displays a deep desire to promote all aspects of Maine agriculture," Baldacci said Tuesday. "His knowledge of agriculture and his passion for it make him a superb candidate, and I am pleased that he is willing to take on this important leadership position."

Higher Wage Bill On Path to State Ok

AUGUSTA - The economic outlook for the state's lowest-paid workers appeared to brighten Tuesday when the Maine Senate gave preliminary approval to a measure that would increase the minimum hourly wage from $6.50 to $7 by Oct. 1, 2007. After nearly an hour of vigorous debate, the Senate approved LD 235 in a 19-16 vote that fell largely along party lines. After a second procedural vote in the Senate that could be taken as soon as Thursday, the bill will return to the House for a final vote.

Irving Tannery Poised to Grow Partnership Pulls Hartland Firm From Brink of Bankruptcy

HARTLAND - The country's largest side leather producer, on the verge of bankruptcy a year ago, is poised today for a major expansion that likely will bring 100 new jobs to this small Somerset County community. Richard Larochelle of Irving Tanning Co. revealed Tuesday that his firm has partnered with an Oklahoma company, Sensible Solutions Inc., to create a new product that binds leather scraps into a useable leather "fabric." The scraps, hundreds of tons of them trimmed from the edges of tann...

Webber Energy Co-Owner Witham Dies at 63

BANGOR - A local woman, who was a principal owner of a prominent oil business founded by her grandfather and who served on the boards of many eastern Maine organizations, has passed away at a Rockport hospital. Louise "Jackie" Witham died March 4 at Penobscot Bay Medical Center at the age of 68.

Purchase Sparks Hope of Energy Plant's Revival

CHESTER - A long-dormant power plant off Route 116 might be revitalized with the purchase of the plant, its land and equipment for about $750,000, town officials said Tuesday. Evergreen Energy Co. apparently purchased the former Beaver Wood Joint Venture, or Beaver Chester plant sometime late last week, also paying off taxes due on the land over the last three years, First Selectman Temple Ireland said.

Business in Brief Bangor: China Harbor Opens On Main Street

Business in Brief Bangor: Puc Chairman to Speak at Chamber Breakfast

Fish Failings

As federal regulators and regional fisheries managers continue to debate how much time commercial fishermen can spend fishing, the need for a different approach becomes more obvious. That approach should include a strict overall catch limit coupled with a quota system to divide up that catch. This would let fishermen get back on the water when it was economical and safe. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration last week proposed emergency rule to further limit days at sea, the tim...

Emergency Preparation

A legislative group studying Maine's security has come up with many ways to better prepare the state for an emergency. Most of their suggestions don't carry large price tags, making it easier for lawmakers to adopt them. The task force, chaired by Sen. Ethan Strimling, a Portland Democrat, and Rep. Stan Gerzofsky, a Democrat from Brunswick, should be commended for not calling for purchases of anti-terrorism equipment for police and fire departments around the state. Instead, their recommendat...

Duplessie's Accusations

The Bangor Daily News has performed a valuable public service by giving space to the closely reasoned and carefully researched work on Maine's fiscal sufferings by Reps. David Trahan and Jon McKane. The response by Rep. Robert Duplessie (BDN, Feb. 22) was also valuable, although for far different reasons. The assistant House majority leader's op-ed reveals a great deal about the quality of the party that has run our Legislature for 30 years. Confronted with a series of factually supported cha...

U.S. Trashing the Earth

The climate is changing in Maine and all over the world. Photos of the polar ice cap in 1979, and in 2004, show a huge decrease in ice. A recent Nature article said that in the past 25 years storms have gotten 50 percent larger and 5 percent stronger. Last summer total sea ice was about 25 percent less than normal, and a frozen area double the size of Texas unexpectedly turned to water. We can only expect it to worsen.

Life's Largest Purchase

I recently inspected a home built by a contractor and was appalled with the quality of work being done. In my background for many years as an inspector for old and new homes, I have seen good and bad and the results of carpentry. Carpenters and inspectors like myself should hold a certificate from the state of Maine being qualified to do the work asked which in Maine isn't yet required .

Support Vanidestine

For 20 years I worked with Steve Vanidestine, Bangor school athletic director, as a school administrator. I believe I know Steve as well as anyone, and I refuse to believe that he would intentionally hurt any student. This man lived for his students as much as he does his own family. He was like a father to his athletes, making sure they were safe at all times.