Train Derail
(Brownville Jct) – A slow-speed derailment sent 10-railroad cars off the tracks in a remote part of Piscataquis County. The Bangor Daily News reports the cars belong to Eastern Maine Railways which is a subsidiary of J.D Irving. The train was moving at about 10-miles an hour at the time. A company spokeswoman declined to say what the cars were carrying. The train line was back in service Sunday night after the derailment Friday about 10-miles east of Brownville Junction.
Snowmobiles
(Augusta) – Slow down. That’s the word from Maine’s Warden Service after a deadly weekend on the snowmobile trails of the state. Two people died in separate crashes and several other mishaps injured others, some seriously. A spokesman tells Star 97.7 that speed seems to be the biggest factor in most of the snowmobile crashes. He advised snowmobilers to follow the laws and to wear the proper safety equipment.
Bucksport – Seminary Building Sold
(Bucksport) – The man who owns the popular Dairy Port ice cream shop in Bucksport is now the owner of a badly dilapidated historic building. The Bucksport Town Council voted to sell Wilson Hall to Larry Wahl for a dollar, and to make an interest fee $65-thousand dollar loan to Wahl to help fix up the building and turn it into apartments. The building on Franklin Street was a former seminary for the Methodist Church but is rotting away. The Bangor Daily News reports two councilors who voted against the sale said they would have preferred to see a request for proposals go out to entertain other ideas for saving Wilson Hall.
Portland Fatal Fire
(Portland) – A Portland apartment complex sat empty overnight after one person died in a fire. The Red Cross helped about 30-tenants at the Ocean Boulevard apartment units find other accommodations for the night. Firefighters responded to the scene shortly after 4-o’clock yesterday afternoon and found the unidentified victim inside the burning apartment. The Fire Marshal’s office has not released an identity and is investigating the cause of the fire.
ME Man – AK Killing
(Auburn) Nearly 26 years after a student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks was raped and murdered, an Auburn Maine man is charged with her death. WMTW-TV reports police arrested 44-year-old Steven Downs last week and charged him with the murder and sexual assault of Sophie Sergie. The 18-year-old woman was found dead in the residence hall where Downs lived while he attended college there in 1993. DNA evidence from relatives led authorities to Downs who is held at the Androscoggin County Jail and will appear in court on today for an extradition hearing.
Fatal Crash Update
(Belfast) Belfast police have released the name of the man who died in a 2-car crash on Route 3 last Friday. The accident happened around 1:30 that afternoon near the Belfast Curling Club. Police tell Village Soup that a Montville woman lost control of her car during a snowstorm and slid into the on-coming lane, hitting a vehicle driven by 61-year-old Terri Curtis of Belmont. The impact killed Curtis’s passenger, 38-year-old Billy Jo Sherman of Liberty. Route 3 was closed in both directions for two hours while emergency responders worked at the scene.
Acadia Nat’l Park Numbers
(Bar Harbor) Acadia National Park saw a record number of visitors last year for the 3rd year in a row. Annual visits to Acadia first surpassed the 3-million mark in 2016 during its 100th anniversary. The following year nearly 3-point-5 million visits were logged with Acadia being the 7th most visited national park in 2017. The Bangor Daily News reports the estimated number of visits to Acadia last year exceeded 3-point-5-million. The growing number of visitors prompted park officials to draft a traffic management plan that they hope will decrease congestion at certain areas within the park. Those plans are not expected to go into effect until next year.
Land Conservation
GREENVILLE, Maine (AP) – A pair of conservation groups says it is purchasing more than 26,000 acres of forestland in Maine’s remote North Woods. The Appalachian Mountain Club and The Conservation Fund say they’re working together on the acquisition. The Conservation Fund bought a tract called the Pleasant River Headwaters Forest in Piscataquis County for $18.5 million on Feb. 8.
Dog Reunited
(So. Paris) A dog that went missing in Massachusetts months ago has been reunited with his family after being found in Maine, 175 miles away. The Bangor Daily News reports 5-year-old shepherd Kaiser made his way from Ashby, Massachusetts, to South Paris, Maine, over a span of 8 months. The dog jumped a wall at the home of a woman who was caring for him before going missing. Kaiser’s owner, Tom Wollcott, and his children were reunited with the dog Sunday morning.
Sports
Star 97-7 Sports….
- Boston Bruins 6 San Jose Sharks 5 (Overtime)
Monday – Tournament Results
Girls Class D North Quarterfinals
No. 3 Woodland 59, No. 6 Katahdin 33
No. 2 Deer Isle-Stonington 57, No. 7 Ashland 28
No. 4 Schenck 56, No. 5 Shead 38
No. 1 Southern Aroostook 84, No. 8 Washburn 31
Boys Class “D” North Quarterfinals
No. 4 Schenck 69, No. 5 Easton 52
No. 1 Woodland 76, No. 8 Van Buren 29
Today
Class “C” Quarterfinals – Boys
No. 11 Calais (7-12) vs. No. 3 George Stevens Acad. (16-3), 9:30 a.m.
No. 2 Mattanawcook Acad. (15-3) vs. No. 7 Dexter (15-4), 11:05 a.m.
Girls
No. 4 Penobscot Valley (15-4) vs. No. 5 Narraguagus (18-1), 2:05 p.m.
No. 1 Central Aroostook (15-3) vs. No. 9 Stearns (15-4), 3:35 p.m.
Boys
No. 5 Penobscot Valley (17-2) vs. No. 4 Houlton (15-4), 7:05 p.m.
No. 1 Central Aroostook (15-3) vs. No. 8 Sumner (12-7), 8:35 p.m.
