Bucksport Salmon Farm
(Bucksport) – A firm that plans a quarter-billion dollar salmon farm in Bucksport has purchased a huge part of the former Verso paper mill where it plans to locate the facility. Whole Oceans closed on the deal yesterday for an undisclosed price. The Bangor Daily News reports Whole Oceans plans to begin construction later this year. The salmon farm is expected to add up to 200-jobs as the project continues. The paper mill closed more than 4-years ago, eliminating 570-jobs.
Freedom Recall
(Freedom) – Voters in Freedom will decide next month whether two of the town’s three Selectmen should remain in office. A recall petition has made the June 11th ballot. The Bangor Daily News reports petition signers are upset about dirt roads that became impassable for part of the spring, but that’s not the only reason for the recall. One of the Selectmen’s sons is the town’s public works director, which some have called a conflict of interest.
Measles
(Skowhegan) – The first Maine case of measles has shown up in Somerset County. It involved a school aged child in Madison. The child is fully recovered and was not severely ill, and had been vaccinated against measles. The Maine Center for Disease Control has posted a schedule of where the public may have been exposed to the measles because of potential contact with the child. It’s not clear how the child contracted the disease.
Keene Trial
(Ellsworth) – A Bar Harbor woman says her daughter’s alleged killer offered to help find her body the morning after her death. Testimony began yesterday in Ellsworth in Jalique Keene’s murder trail. The 21-year old from Bar Harbor is accused of raping and strangling 19-year old Mikaela Conley just about a year ago. Surveillance video from the Connors-Emerson school allegedly shows Keene dragging Conley’s lifeless body across the school property toward where searchers found her in the woods. Prosecutors say Keene’s DNA was found underneath Conley’s fingernails. Defense attorneys claim the state has only circumstantial evidence of who killed Conley.
Meth Bust
(Wells) State police say they seized 14 pounds of meth during a traffic stop on the Maine Turnpike. Court documents indicate a trooper pulled over a black Cadillac for a traffic violation on Sunday and that the federal Drug Enforcement Agency had been tipped off that a load of methamphetamine was coming into Maine from New York City. Police charged 55-year-old Robert Poliero, of Presque Isle, and 38-year-old Edward Barnes, of Easton, with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of meth. If convicted, Poliero and Barnes each face between 5 and 40 years in federal prison.
Dare Graduation
(Ellsworth) For the past 10 weeks, 5th graders at Ellsworth Middle School have discussed bullying, making responsible choices, and what resources they can rely on if they find themselves in a pressured situation. It’s all part of the DARE Program, which returned to EEMS 3 years ago. Corporal Shawn Merchant says about 80 students will celebrate their hard work with a DARE graduation ceremony. Friday’s guest speaker is retired Southwest Harbor police chief Dave Chapais who’s taught the DARE Program in other area schools for 25 years.
Route 3 Halt
(Bar Harbor) Workers will take a break on the Route 3 reconstruction project in Bar Harbor ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. The Maine Department of Transportation reports crews will wrap up work tomorrow afternoon (5/23), however, the one-way detour utilizing the Park Loop Road will continue until further notice. Once contractors resume working next Tuesday they’ll be placing loam at various locations along the project, preparing the roadway for paving from Pirates Cove Golf Course to the Acadia National Park entrance as well as paving driveways and sidewalks, and they’ll be landscaping from College of the Atlantic to Eagle Lake Road.
Vaccine Drama
(Augusta) A bill to end Maine’s religious and philosophical exemptions to vaccines needs to clear just one more hurdle before heading to the governor’s desk. The House voted 79-62 Tuesday to enact the legislation, which now heads to the Senate. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills’ administration has backed the bill to end non-medical vaccine opt-outs by 2021 for schoolchildren, as well as nursery school and health care facility employees.
Sports
- Toronto Blue Jays 10 Boston Red Sox 3
- Rick Porcello will start for the Sox tonight in Toronto
- The St. Louis Blues will meet the Bruins for the Stanley Cup finals. The last time the two teams met for the Stanley cup was in 1970 – long before any of the current players were born.
- The Patriots have reportedly signed receiver Julian Edelman to a contract extension
| High School Baseball
MDI 12 Bucksport 2 John Bapst 4 Foxcroft 1 George Stevens 17 Sumner 2 Central 6 Dexter 4 |
Softball
MDI 2 Bucksport 1 Bangor 6 Brewer 3 Ellsworth 18 Washington Academy 0 Sumner 16 George Stevens 0 |
