NEW POLICE CHIEF
(Ellsworth) – The search for a police chief in Ellsworth is over – they’re hiring from within. City Manager David Cole confirms to Star 97-7 they’re promoting acting chief Glenn Moshier to become the permanent chief. Moshier is a 13-year veteran of the Ellsworth force and will officially get appointed a week from Friday.
Skowhegan Fire
(Skowhegan) – No injuries for residents of a 6-unit apartment building in Skowhegan are homeless following a fire last night. The first 9-1-1 calls to the Main Street building came in around 5-o’clock last evening. Numerous fire departments responded to the scene. All the tenants got out and firefighters rescued several cats from the building. The Red Cross assisted the displaced tenants with finding shelter for the night. No word yet on a cause.
Nurse Ruling – SCOTME
(Augusta) – A Steuben nurse has won his case before Maine’s Supreme Court after the State Nursing Board appealed a lower court ruling. The State wanted a 2-year license suspension for nurse John Zablotney after a 2008 incident in Machias where a man checked out of the hospital against medical advice and police found his body in a snowbank the next day. The license suspension was reduced to 90-days after an appeal. The nursing board claimed that Zablotney acted unprofessionally, even though he informed a doctor, the patient’s wife and police.
Drug Plea
(Bangor) – A Dexter man has pled guilty to drug charges stemming from a large cocaine operation. The US Attorney’s office reports to Star 97-7 Donald Vigue pled guilty to conspiring to distribute. Police say the 42-year-old Vigue played a role in a drug outfit ran by Roger Belanger and his daughter Kelli Mujo between 2002 and 2014. Belanger and Mujo were convicted last summer. Eight other people involved the cocaine ring have pleaded guilty to conspiring. Vigue faces a $1 million fine and up to 20 years in prison
$20 on the 20th
(Hancock Cty) A campaign by the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce encourages you to spend a little money locally next Monday. Chamber Executive Director Gretchen Wilson says spending just 20-dollars on the 20th of February helps keep local businesses afloat and workers employed.
Browntail Caterpillars
(Maine) Entomologists from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry say now is the time to eradicate browntail caterpillars in trees that are accessible. Browntail caterpillars cause a rash like poison ivy and the insects are spreading across more and more of Maine. Contact with caterpillar hairs can cause severe reactions for some individuals. The caterpillars spend the winter webbed in silken-wrapped leaves on the tips of oak and apple tree branches. Entomologists say if you see a web CLIP IT OUT and destroy the web by dropping it in a bucket of soapy water. For more information contact the Maine Forest Service or your local University of Maine Cooperative Extension Office.
Snowfall Record
(Bangor) The National Weather Service says Storm Orson that dumped 3-feef of snow in parts of Maine was the 3rd largest on record for total snowfall in Bangor. The Bangor Daily News reports the last record was set 40-years ago. Bangor set a new record with 21-and-a-half inches of snow in the 24-hour period Sunday into Monday. Mainers are advised to keep their shovels handy as more snow is headed our way Wednesday.
Crack Sentencing
(Bangor) An alleged crack dealer will spend just under 22 years in prison for his activities between January 2010 and August 2013. Trial evidence revealed 44-year-old Jermaine Mitchell of New Haven Connecticut was part of a conspiracy to acquire crack cocaine in his home state and distribute the drug through a network of dealers who would sell it in the Bangor area. Mitchell was convicted following a 6-day jury trial last June. His sentencing Tuesday also calls for 5 years of supervised release.
Drug Arrests
(Houlton) An erratic driving complaint on I-95 led to a drug arrest in Aroostook County. Houlton police waited for the red Subaru with Connecticut plates to approach and observed it still driving erratically last Friday. The car was pulled over on North Street where a search turned up several doses of heroin and Suboxone along with scales and packaging materials. 24-year-old Carisma Cachu of Connecticut is charged with 2 counts of Unlawful Possession of a Scheduled Drug. 24-year-old Joshua Wilcox, also of Connecticut, is charged with Failure to Give Correct Name and Address. The investigation is on-going and more charges are pending.
Armed Robbery
(Brewer) – Police say a woman who brandished a weapon held up a Brewer convenience store early yesterday morning. A State Police tracking dog tried to find her but came up empty. Brewer police tell Star 97-7 the heist took place at 12:40 in the morning at the Circle K on North Main Street. They’re not saying how much money she got.
Sword Robbery
(Sanford) Police have arrested a Sanford man who allegedly stole alcohol and cigarettes from a convenience store while flashing a sword to fend off employees. Clerks at the Airport Variety store approached Shamus Malone until he pulled out the weapon. Malone was found at a nearby apartment complex and arrested, the sword was found in a snowbank outside. WABI-TV reports earlier in the day, Malone was charged with another convenience store theft.
Insect Workshop Postponed
(Bar Harbor) A workshop at Acadia National Park headquarters to learn how to identify an invasive forest insect has been postponed. The National Park Service and Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry are hosting an ash tree bark peeling workshop to teach people how to find the emerald ash borer, an invasive insect pest. The event is free and will now be held on March 15th at the headquarters on McFarland Hill Drive in Bar Harbor.
Annual Food Drive
(Hancock County) March 1st is day one of a month-long food drive to benefit various food pantries, community meal sites, and school food programs across Hancock County. Healthy Acadia is looking for additional businesses, non-profits, schools, churches, and other organizations to serve as sponsors and collection sites for the 2017 Hancock County Food Drive. To become part of the Drive or to make a donation, contact Healthy Acadia in Ellsworth.
Food Pantries
(Maine) A new study finds that Mainers are increasingly relying on food pantries for survival, and not for emergencies. One in four respondents to a survey commissioned by hunger relief agencies reported being dropped from the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program in the past year. The hunger relief groups behind the study say those kicked off food stamps due to tough-on-welfare restrictions put in place by Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s administration are now relying on overworked charities.
Eel Permits
(Augusta) A public hearing on a plan to use a new lottery system to award baby eel fishing permits in Maine will likely take place later this month. The hearing was originally scheduled for Monday, but was postponed by snow. Representative Walter Kumiega, a Deer Isle Democrat, says the hearing will most likely happen on Feb. 27th.
Lobstering Hours
(Portland) The fishing day might get a little bit longer for Maine lobstermen in the fall. Legislators are considering a bill to extend the legal hours when lobsters can be harvested in the month of October.
Predicted Nursing Shortage
(Augusta) Nursing Leaders of Maine, the American Nursing Association of Maine, and the Maine Nursing Action Coalition say the state is going to face a shortage of about 3,200 registered nurses by 2025. They announced the results of the 2016 Maine Nursing Forecaster on Tuesday at the Statehouse.
Disabled Vets-Parks
(CONCORD, N.H.) New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Maine Sen. Susan Collins have introduced a bill to expand access to national parks for disabled veterans. The bill would make all veterans with a service-connected disability eligible for a free, lifetime pass allowing entry to the parks and other recreational lands and waters held by the United States.
Sports
High School Girls Basketball-Prelims
CLASS A: Gardiner 63, Brewer 50
Oceanside 48, Waterville 39
CLASS B: John Bapst 55, Ellsworth 39
MDI 50, MCI 32
Central 43, Washington Academy 32
Winslow 47, Mt. View 14
CLASS C: Calais 53, Penobscot Valley 42
Dexter 45, Schenck 28
Narraguagus 60, Fort Kent 41
Woodland 52, Fort Fairfield 38
CLASS C SOUTH: Monmouth 56, Searsport 25
CLASS D NORTH: Ashland 54, East Grand 38
Katahdin vs. Jonesport Beals – today, 1PM
• Celtics host Philadelphia tonight
• Maine Men play at New Hampshire, Women home against New Hampshire
• Former Bruins coach Claude Julien is the new coach for the Montreal Canadiens.
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