Police Shooting
(Waldoboro) – A police shootout early yesterday morning in Waldoboro left a 57-year old gunman dead and an officer hit in his bullet-proof vest. Police say they responded to a domestic disturbance call on River Bend Road at about 1-o’clock in the morning. An exchange of gunfire between officer John Lash and Jon Alspaugh saw Lash hit in the vest and Alspaugh fatally wounded. The Attorney General’s office is investigating, which is protocol in all police related shootings.
Body Found
(Bucksport) – A body washed up along the banks of the Penobscot River in Bucksport during the weekend and the medical examiner’s office will try to positively identify whose it was. Bangor police tell Star 97-7 they’re working closely with the ME’s office in connection with an investigation in case the body is related to that. The only active missing person’s case in Bangor is that of Paul Francis who disappeared several weeks ago following a party. Searchers have been hunting for the 29-year old man who went by the street name June Bug.
Double Fatal
(Woolwich) – A Woolwich couple is dead after a weekend crash on Route 1 in their home town. The Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Department identified them a 70-year old Robert Martin and his 76-year old wife Carolyn. An SUV driven by 33-year old Danielle Ward of Rockport veered onto the wrong side of the road and collided with the Martins’ vehicle Saturday night. A third vehicle hit Ward’s vehicle which carried seven children. The crash remains under investigation.
Solar Farm
(Bar Harbor) – A community solar farm project in Bar Harbor will celebrate its completion at the end of this week. The project has placed solar collection panels on top of the public works barn on the Crooked Road in Bar Harbor. Electricity generated by the panels will go into the power grid. A private non-profit corporation owns the panels and is renting the rooftop space for just under $900-dollars a year.
New Proposal
(Swan’s Island) The Public Advocate’s office and the Swan’s Island Electric Co-op says they will not appeal the Public Utilities Commission’s decision ruling against having the islands’ electricity be supplied Emera Maine. Public Advocate Tim Schneider says representatives from Co-op and Emera will meet again to come up with a new proposal. Schneider says had the PUC approved their initial proposal for all Emera customers to absorb the islands’ 4-hundred-thousand-dollar annual operating costs, residential customers would’ve seen an increase of 20-cents per month.
Larger Cruise Ships
(Bar Harbor) Bar Harbor town councilors have approved 4 visits next year by cruise ships that will exceed the number of passengers normally allowed by the town. The Mt Desert Islander reports councilors voted 6 to 1 to allow the Freedom of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas on four dates in July and August 2018, each carrying more than 600 people over the number of passengers allowed those months. Town councilor Gary Friedman says cruise ships get blamed for over-crowding because they’re so visible, but work must be done to determine where the impacts on the town are coming from. Harbormaster Charlie Phippen will collect data this summer from each ship to track the actual number of passengers who come ashore, giving the town better info about how many people actually get off of ships.
EPA Fine
(Maine) A Hancock based blueberry processor has agreed to pay a more than 1-hundred-3-thousand-dollar settlement to resolve federal concerns over its handling of ammonia. The settlement agreed upon by Hancock Foods and the Environmental Protection Agency resolves questions surrounding the blueberry processor’s handling of anhydrous ammonia and its failure to timely report a release of the chemical. Anhydrous ammonia, which is used in refrigeration, is flammable, potentially explosive, and corrosive to the skin, eyes and lungs. The company did not immediately respond for comment. The EPA says the case is one of many brought to improve safety at companies that have industrial refrigeration systems.
Dogfish
(Portland) Fishing regulators are going to allow fishermen to catch more smooth dogfish, a species of increasing interest in commercial fisheries. The seafood industry has been trying to find new markets for dogfish in recent years. Catch of the sharks has been consistent, but they aren’t recognized by many U.S. consumers and are of low economic value.
Sports
AFC Championship: New England Patriots 33 Pittsburgh Steelers 17
NFC Championship: Atlanta Falcons 44 Green Bay Packers 21
NHL: Pittsburgh Penguins 5 Boston Bruins 1
College – Women’s: Maine 84 Albany 71
College – Men’s : Albany 81 Maine 63
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