Hospital Arrests
(Ellsworth) – Three men face charges after they allegedly flashed a gun at a motorist in Ellsworth, then ran away from a police officer and into the local hospital. Officer Steven Mahon had stopped a truck on Main Street after getting a report about the weapon threat. Dirk Sawyer of Beals Island, Byron Grant of Harrington and Brighton Sawyer of Mercer were able to get inside Northern Light Maine Coast Hospital where police found them on the 2nd floor. After a scuffle, officers arrested the trio and took them to the Hancock County jail where they face numerous charges. Hospital officials put the facility on lockdown during the incident and had high praise for law enforcement. No patients or staff were injured.
Sullivan Fire
(Sullivan) – A Sullivan family lost their home during the weekend to fire. A neighbor reported the blaze on the Punkinville Road just before 11:30 Saturday night. The first firefighters on scene reported the house was engulfed in flames and had collapsed. Everyone in the house made it out safely, but some pets were reported inside. Firefighters from Hancock, Franklin and Sorrento assisted at the scene while several other fire departments stood by their stations in the heavy snow. No word on the fire’s cause.
Orrington Fire
(Orrington) – Two people are dead after a weekend fire in Orrington. The State Fire Marshal’s office reports to Star 97.7 that 55-year old Shelly Lynn Murphy and a middle aged man both died on the 2nd story of the Brewer Lake Road building. The blaze started on the first story early Saturday morning. Three others in the building survived with relatively minor injuries. Fire investigators have not determined how the fire started. The building was destroyed.
Storm
(SW Harbor) – Power company linemen are working to restore power to just over 5-dozen customers today after yesterday’s winter storm dumped a lot of snow and ice. The largest outage early this morning was in Southwest Harbor where just under 60-customers reported the power out. Snow plows have been clearing the snow and ice from the roads overnight, clearing up parking lots as well.
Robber Caught
(Augusta) – A 20-year old Augusta man faces robbery charges after a hold up at a Big Apple store in his home town. Augusta police tell Star 97.7 they arrested Justyn Wilson on Saturday for the robbery at the convenience store on Stone Street. Deputy Chief Kevin Lully says they got several tips from the community and there may be more than one person involved in the holdup. He says the case remains under investigation.
Bangor Mall Auction
(Bangor) – Want to buy the Bangor Mall? You’ll need at least 6-and-a-half million dollars in your pocket. Tex-X Commercial Real Estate is putting the partly vacant mall up for bid beginning on February 25th. Bidders will have to place a $50-thousand dollar deposit on the property that was once a booming retail destination but has fallen on tough times in the past few years. Anchor stores like Sears and Macy’s shut down over the past 3-years. JC Penney just renewed its lease, and Dick’s Sporting Goods remains an anchor store.
Jax Lab Lawsuit
(Ellsworth) Jackson Laboratory is suing the builder of its Kingsland Crossing facility in Ellsworth for defective work and failing to keep on schedule. The Bangor Daily News reports a complaint filed last Wednesday in US District Court alleges PC Construction Company of Vermont is over 6 months behind schedule and also poured substandard concrete floors. PCC was hired to renovate the former Lowe’s building into a mouse production facility for $47-million-dollars. The complaint also states that a subcontractor filed a mechanic’s lien against the project because PCC hadn’t paid it for work it performed at the site.
Snowmobile Fatal
(Roxbury) Game wardens say a snowmobile operator died in a crash in the town of Roxbury, becoming the second person killed in a snowmobile crash this season in Maine. Wardens say 46-year-old Gregory Simmons of Andover was thrown from his machine Thursday evening on a trail in the town north of Rumford.
Ex-teacher Pleads Not Guilty
(Deer Isle) A former high school teacher in Deer Isle has pled not guilty to charges that he had a physical relationship with another student. WABI-TV reports 25-year-old Izaak Bolduc was in court Thursday facing charges of unlawful sexual contact and unlawful sexual touching. Bolduc taught Phys Ed at Deer Isle-Stonington’s Middle and High schools and was a basketball coach when he was arrested last May. In June he was accused of the same crimes with a second student and pled not guilty in that case.
Teacher to Change Plea
(Freeport) A former teacher at a private Christian school in Maine accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old student is expected to change his plea to guilty. 37-year-old Derek Michael Boyce was arrested in September after police say the girl’s mother caught him at her Lisbon home with her daughter and called police. The Portland Press Herald reports he initially pleaded not guilty to numerous charges, but prosecutors confirm a change of plea and sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 30th. Boyce was a math teacher at Pine Tree Academy in Freeport, and has since been fired.
Unemployment
(Augusta) Maine labor officials say the state’s low unemployment rate held steady in December. The Maine Department of Labor reports that the 3.4 percent unemployment rate was unchanged from October and November. The rate was up from 3.1 percent a year ago, but remained at historic lows. The state’s unemployment rate has set a record for being lower than 4 percent for 37 months in a row.
Gun Theft Arrest
(Norway, ME) A Massachusetts man is charged with stealing a gun from a Maine State Police cruiser in Norway last summer. Months of investigating led troopers to arrest 23-year-old James Burns on Thursday with help from the Fall River police department in Massachusetts. Burns waived extradition and was transported to the Oxford County Jail. He’s charged with Theft of a Firearm, Theft, and Burglary of a Motor Vehicle.
Schools & Vaccinations
(Augusta) Maine Lawmakers will consider a bill designed to end non-medical exemptions from childhood vaccinations this year. Maine has one of the lowest vaccination rates for children entering kindergarten. It’s also home the country’s highest rate of whooping cough, a dangerous disease that can be limited with the use of an easily available vaccine.
Parks Record Attendance
(Maine) Maine saw a record number of visitors at its state parks last year. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Bureau of Parks and Lands says the parks system set new high numbers for camping, day use visits, and overall use of state parks in 2018. Overall visits to parks were up 11-percent over 2017 numbers.
Sports
- New England Patriots 37 Kansas City Chiefs 31 (overtime)
- L-A Rams 26 New Orleans Saints 23 (overtime)
- The Celtics host the Miami Heat tonight
High School Basketball (Saturday)
Boys
Woodland 60 Madawaska 42
Oceanside 72 Mt View 34
Caribou 84 Orono 60
Piscataquis 89 Bgr Christian 63
Girls
DI/Stonington 81 Machias 40
Calais 62 George Stevens 30
Central 52 Sumner 37
Shead 54 Ft. Fairfield 46
Mt. View 54 Oceanside 49
MCI 40 Belfast 28
Piscataquis 32 Bgr Christian 25
