Missing Kayaker
(Milbridge) – A massive search off Milbridge for a kayaker in distress. The Coast Guard received three short radio mayday calls yesterday morning – they lasted a total of 10-seconds. The transmission came from a man who said he’d fallen into the water from his kayak near Bois Bubert Island near the Petit Menan peninsula. Two Coast Guard ships joined a plane from Cape Cod and a Canadian Air Force Plane and three marine patrol boats searching for the man. So far no sign of him.
Sedgwick Fatal
(Sedgwick) – Horrified motorists watched as a vehicle passed a line of cars on Route 15 in Sedgwick last evening, then slammed into an SUV that was turning into a driveway. 31-year old Samantha Hutchinson flew out of the car and died at the scene on Caterpillar Hill Road. The Hancock County Sheriff’s Department says two people in the SUV suffered minor injuries. The 9-1-1 calls about the crash came in around 6:30 last evening.
Lincoln Explosion Fatal
(Lincoln) – Neighbors in Lincoln heard an explosion around 7-o’clock last evening and called 9-1-1. Firefighters found a man’s body in the basement of the home where the explosion occurred. They called in the bomb squad and the fire marshal’s office and evacuated the neighborhood. Early this morning another explosion – this one was controlled, and the neighbors were allowed back home. Authorities expect to release the man’s name later today, but say he’d been experimenting with explosives.
Fire Lawsuit Dropped
(Belfast) – A Belfast man who served time following a fire at a convenience store he was in the process of purchasing has dropped a lawsuit against the insurance company that held a policy on the store. Village Soup dot-com reports the insurer did not release terms of the settlement. Kyle Skinner served time in connection with the fire, but the state dropped arson charges in a plea deal. Skinner sued Hanover Insurance who declined to pay Skinner because he did not own the store and was not named on the policy.
Car Fire Victim ID’d
(Orrington) The Maine State Police crime lab says the Orrington woman who’s body was found in a burned out car has been identified as 38-year-old Robin Davis. A passerby spotted the car ablaze off Swetts Pond Road on June 11th. The Maine Medical Examiner’s Office is still trying to determine Davis’s cause of death.
Driving Bill
(Augusta) Maine’s House and Senate have passed a bill to outlaw the use of hand-held cell phones and other devices while driving. Hancock County Sheriff’s Department Lieutenant Chris Thornton says as technology has advanced, so has the number of distracted driving complaint calls. Thornton says that can be as dangerous as driving drunk. The bill faces more votes in the House and Senate before it hits Governor Paul LePage’s desk.
Drug Arrests
(Sanford) Maine drug agents intercepted nearly 3-pounds of cocaine and heroin-fentanyl before dealers could sell it in York County. For several months, drug agents had watched 39-year-old Nathan Frechette of Sanford. Agents searched his Nason Street residence on Tuesday seizing drugs, a handgun, a sawed off shotgun, and over $35-thousand dollars in suspected drug proceeds. Agents waited as 3 Massachusetts men showed up at Frechette’s place that night with more drugs stowed in the engine compartment of their rental vehicle. All 4 men face Aggravated Drug Trafficking charges.
Trailer Fire
(Sidney) A trailer full of household items burst into flames while towed by a truck on Interstate-95 in Sidney. The fire shutdown both southbound lanes about 7AM Wednesday near where the new Sidney-Waterville exit is being built. State police say 45-year-old Curt Hopkins of Pittsfield was hauling the items to Florida for a client when another motorist alerted him to the fire. Hopkins pulled his truck into the breakdown lane and detached the 14-foot trailer. No injuries reported and police believe the fire may have started from a mechanical problem in the trailer’s axle.
Whoopie Pie Fest
(Dover-Foxcroft) Maine is known for lobster, blueberries and of course whoopie pies. Dover-Foxcroft is home to the annual Whoopie Pie Festival this Saturday. Activities include a morning fun-run, whoopie pie eating contests, baker awards, and the evening ends with magic show by interactive illusionist Joel Meyers. Details available at: Maine Whoopie Pie Festival dot Com.
Lawmakers
(Augusta) Maine lawmakers have voted to extend the legislative session by five days so they can hash out a budget deal. Lawmakers still must take up Governor Paul LePage’s $6.8 billion, two-year budget proposal. The budget is due June 30 to avoid a government shutdown, and negotiations have stalled over education funding.
Fallen Tree-Outage
(Bar Harbor) More than 25-hundred Emera Maine customers in Bar Harbor lost power yesterday when a large pine tree fell and brought down power lines shortly around 8:30 in the morning. Emera spokesman Bob Potts reports residences and businesses on Cottage, Eden and Main Streets and surrounding areas were impacted. It took crews about 2 hours to get power restored.
Bond Approved
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) – Maine voters have approved a special referendum election to invest $50 million in technology. The proposal asked voters if they wanted the Maine Technology Institute to distribute $45 million in grants for upgrades in aquaculture, marine technology, forestry and agriculture. The Small Enterprise Growth Fund would direct another $5 million to small businesses.
Poliquin’s Office
BANGOR, Maine (AP) – A group of disabled constituents represented by a Maine congressman say his Bangor office is inaccessible to them and others. WABI-TV reports a group of disabled people gathered at U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin’s office Tuesday to demonstrate the difficulty they have accessing his office. Rep. Poliquin’s press secretary Brendan Conley says the congressman has a policy where his staffers meet individuals with mobility disabilities at alternate locations.
Fish Permit Forfeiture
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – Maine’s congressional delegation says fishing permits forfeited by a fishing magnate dubbed “The Codfather” should be redistributed through the Northeastern states. Carlos Rafael was indicted on more than two dozen counts, including tax evasion and falsifying fishing quotas last year. The bipartisan group of legislators sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross asking that 13 groundfish permits forfeited by the New Bedford, Massachusetts, fisherman be redistributed beyond the city.
Sports
- The Red Sox blew a 2-run lead when Royals catcher Salvatore Perez hit a grand slam in the 8th inning. Kansas City beat the Sox 6-to-4, leaving Boston a half game behind the Yankees in the American League East. The Sox are off today.
- Portland Sea Dogs 4 Erie Sea Wolves 2
- The Celtics have the 3rd overall pick in today’s NBA draft. It’s not clear who Danny Ainge plans to choose with the pick – they traded the number one overall pick to Philadelphia.
- The Patriots have signed former Jets linebacker David Harris.
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