Bangor Daily News

Somerset County Dispatchers Named Best Team in the State

SKOWHEGAN - Three dispatchers at the Somerset Communications Center, which provides emergency services for all towns in the county, were selected last week as the 2007 Maine Communications' Team of the Year by the Maine chapter of the National Emergency Number Association. The team consists of supervisor Sharon Carey and dispatchers William Crawford and Tammy Barker.

Allen Takes Collins to Task for Her Record On Iraq

BANGOR - Tom Allen got a prime opportunity Monday to talk publicly about one of the issues he has made central to his U.S. Senate campaign. And in doing so, he again criticized Sen. Susan Collins for her record when she was chairwoman of the Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

'Sportsmen' License Plate Unveiled

AUGUSTA - State officials unveiled a new specialty license plate Monday that will benefit programs popular with lovers of the outdoors. The new "sportsmen" plate, which features images of Mount Katahdin, a moose and a brook trout, is now available statewide for a fee of $20. Proceeds from the sale will be earmarked for fish hatchery maintenance, boat launches, landowner support programs and Maine's endangered and nongame wildlife.

Bill Aims to Rescue Troubled Dirigochoice

AUGUSTA - Flanked by legislative Democrats and other supporters, Gov. John Baldacci on Monday held a Cabinet Room press conference to promote a bill aimed at restoring financial viability to his faltering DirigoChoice health insurance program. The bill has strong support from majority Democrats, but faces an uphill battle against GOP lawmakers, many of whom view the program as a failed experiment.

Two Men Indicted in Robbery Attempt Pair Tried to Snatch Woman's Purse at Mall

BANGOR - Two men suspected in a botched purse-snatching attempt on an elderly woman at the Bangor Mall in February were indicted Monday by a Penobscot County grand jury. Jeremy Winn, 23, and Bryant Clyburn, 22, both of Waterville, each face charges of robbery and assault.

Syrup Run's Late Start Worrisome Producers Cite Snow, Hang Hopes On Temperatures

DOVER-FOXCROFT - Bob Moore of Bob's Sugar House was busy boiling sap Monday, in what normally would have been the middle of his sweet season. For Moore and many other producers, however, the season is off to a very late start and they are worried that warm weather could stop the season before it really gets under way. The weather this week will be key, but producers say the heavy snows this winter also are limiting production.

Egg Festival Volunteers Elect New President

PITTSFIELD - Someone forgot to unlock the town office doors Saturday morning so the Central Maine Egg Festival Committee had to scramble to meet in the parking lot. Despite the unusual meeting place, a small group of volunteers elected Steve Craig as president. Craig has worked tirelessly for the Egg Festival for more than 12 years and knows the requirements and duties intimately.

Sad 53 Drops Class Placement Proposal

PITTSFIELD - A controversial class placement proposal, endorsed by SAD 53 administrators as an attempt to provide more balance in class populations, was shot down in committee Monday night before it ever reached a full school board vote. The proposal was seen by parents as usurping their power to be guiding influences in teacher selection for their children. Thirty- two people attended Monday's curriculum committee meeting - 32 times the number of residents who normally attend school board me...

Town Eyes Solution to Declining Enrollment

HAMPDEN - Newburgh fourth- and fifth-graders will attend the George B. Weatherbee School in the fall if the SAD 22 board of directors endorses a proposal presented Monday night by the district's education subcommittee. The arrangement was designed to be temporary. The committee also recommended that each community within the district, which serves Hampden, Winterport and Newburgh, appoint one resident to serve and formulate, by January 2009, a permanent solution to declining enrollments that ...

Medway to Help Fund Slain Girl's Exhumation

MEDWAY - If a fresh forensic examination can be arranged, the town will donate its services to exhume the body of homicide victim Joyce McLain, the Board of Selectmen decided Monday. Following the recommendation of town groundskeeper Dusty Cramp and eager to help where they could, selectmen voted 5-0 to donate about $800 in services to a renewed effort to solve the nearly 28- year-old homicide.

Lincoln Man Indicted in Assault, Arson, Shooting at His Own Home

BANGOR - A Lincoln man who prosecutors said caused a tremendous amount of damage when he fired multiple gunshots inside his own home was among 46 people indicted Monday by a Penobscot County grand jury. Before the incident in late January, police believe that Eric H. Merrill, 42, was out of work, falling behind on his bills and drinking heavily.

Hermon Builders Club Packs Towels for Troops

What a wonderful Wednesday members of the Hermon Builders Club had last week. That was the day "we boxed up 20 boxes, full to the brim" of towels for the troops, wrote Hermon Middle School teacher Mark Fitzpatrick, of this special project that started with the Blue Star Mothers of America.

Pink Plate to Raise Breast Cancer Awareness

AUGUSTA - Gov. John Baldacci on Monday ceremonially signed a bill to create a specialty license plate to support breast cancer services in Maine. Surrounded by legislators and advocates, the governor congratulated Rep. Meredith Strang Burgess, R-Cumberland, who sponsored the bill and is a breast cancer survivor herself. The Pink Plate becomes available Oct. 1. According to Strang Burgess, proceeds from the sale of the plate will support the work of the Maine Cancer Foundation, the Maine Breas...

Group Pressures State to Ban Toxic Products

AUGUSTA - Representatives of environmental and health organizations said Monday that 20 of 24 common children's products they tested came back positive for a chemical increasingly under fire by health groups. Members of the groups used the report to keep the pressure on state legislators debating a bill that creates a system to identify and eventually ban potentially toxic chemicals from consumer products.

Brewer Woman Wins Public Service Award

BREWER - On few occasions in Gail Kelly's life has she been at a loss for words, and one of those times was last week when her boss, U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, called to say Kelly had been awarded the prestigious John Joseph Moakley Award for Exemplary Public Service. "I didn't even know what to say," Kelly said Friday, sniffling with symptoms from a cold. "It was quite a surprise. My co-workers and the senator did a good job of keeping it from me."

Allen Advocates for Broadband Plan

BANGOR - As part of U.S. Rep. Tom Allen's swing through the Bangor area on Sunday and Monday, he stopped Monday morning at Eastern Maine Community College to tout a bill he is introducing to help boost the development of high-speed Internet access throughout Maine. Allen said the bill, called the Rural America Communication Expansion for the Future Act, would give companies and municipalities tax incentives for broadband Internet deployment. Consumers could expense qualified broadband expendi...

Lawmakers Ok Alewives Bill

AUGUSTA - An amended bill to allow sea-run alewives back into a part of the St. Croix River received approval in both houses of the Legislature last week. On Friday, LD 1957 was headed for the governor's desk for a signature.

Brewer Awarded $400,000 for Mill Site Cleanup

BREWER - The brownfields grant funds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the city Monday will nearly finish off the final touches of an intensive cleanup of the former Eastern Fine Paper Co. mill site, city officials say. "With this additional $400,000 we'll be able to come close to completing the remediation of the site," D'arcy Main-Boyington, Brewer economic development director, said Monday afternoon.

Ellsworth Man Faces More Drug Charges

ELLSWORTH - A man who was arrested over the weekend when police discovered nearly 8 grams of cocaine concealed in his vehicle made his initial court appearance Monday. Steven J. Rowley, 34, was taken into custody Saturday by Ellsworth police Officer Shawn Willey on charges of unlawful possession of scheduled drugs and violating probation conditions.

Orland Residents to See School Budget at Hearing

ORLAND - The school committee is ready to present a budget to voters. Because of uncertainty about the school subsidy and the need for a budget validation vote, the committee had delayed setting the school budget for the coming year and did not present it during town meeting earlier this year.