Weather
(Undated) – With virtually no traffic on the roads for Christmas Day, plow crews had a fairly easy job cleaning up roads along the Maine Coast. Inland, they had a lot more snow to push out of the way. Police report no serious accidents Christmas Day as between 5 and 16-inches of snow fell. The higher amounts were away from the coast. Emera Maine reported only a handful of scattered outages, only one needed fixing this morning. The roads are still ice covered in some areas as temperatures have turned cold enough that salt is not very effective at melting the road surfaces.
Government Closed
(Augusta) – State workers, for the most part, have the day off today as the Governor threw in an extra holiday thanks to charitable fund raising. State government offices closed Friday and through yesterday for the Christmas holiday. Today is also a state closure day as a reward for departments that raised money for state charities. State office will re-open tomorrow. Many town offices also remain closed today for a longer than planned holiday weekend for staff.
Unity Robbery
(Unity) – An armed robber who held up a Unity store at gunpoint Christmas Eve remains at large. The Waldo County Sheriff’s Department tells Star 97.7 the 9-1-1 call from the Family Dollar Store on School Street came in around 7:30 in the evening on Sunday night. Investigators called in help from the State Police right away and a tracking dog could not pick up the suspect’s trail. The robber showed a pistol to the store clerk and demanded cash. Police are not saying how much the robber took. No arrests yet.
Home Invasion Victim Dies
(Bangor) – A home invasion and double shooting in Millinocket a week ago has turned into a homicide. State Police say victim Wayne Lapierre died during the weekend at Eastern Maine Medical Center. His wife, Diem, continues to recover from her wounds. State Police say someone broke into the couple’s home last Tuesday night and shot them. Relatives say the Lapierre’s were going through a divorce, but police have not speculated why their home was targeted.
Drug Bust
(Gray) State police prevented drugs from hitting the streets in southern Maine after an aircraft detail along Interstate-95 netted cocaine and cash. A trooper pulled over a speeding car last Thursday morning and found a Massachusetts man in possession of 60 grams of cocaine and $22-hundred-dollars cash. 41-year-old Raymond Whittington is charged with Unlawful Trafficking in Scheduled Drugs and was transported to the Cumberland County Jail.
Crash-Outage
(Ellsworth) – Police report only minor injuries after a 51-year old man went off the Bucksport Road and hit a utility pole, knocking out power to a chunk of Ellsworth. The Ellsworth Police Department reports to Star 97.7 that Kenneth Grant of Ellsworth told them he heard a funny noise coming from the heater of a Subaru Baja and tried to adjust it, cross Route 1 and clipped the pole. It took about 5-hours to get the electricity restored last Friday.
Blood Donations
(Maine) It’s a busy time of year for most folks, therefore donating blood may not be top of mind. The American Red Cross aims to collect 14-thousand units of blood nationally every day to ensure an ample supply is readily available. Spokeswoman Mary Brant says Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont are responsible for collecting 700 units of blood daily.
Sports
- Philadelphia Eagles 19 Oakland Raiders 10
- Pittsburgh Steelers 34 Houston Texans 6
- Washington Wizards 111 Boston Celtics 103
- Bruins & Celtics both have today off.
