Weather
(Ellsworth) – School busses will stay put in most Hancock County school districts thanks to the snow that started falling overnight. Plow trucks hit the roads early in the morning. The snow is failing slowly but steadily. Visibility does not seem to be an issue and the road surfaces was cold enough that plowing is pretty easy. The quick cold snap on Saturday, though, caused some culverts to freeze up and water to flow over roads and create some ice patches which the snow will hide from time to time, so caution on rural roads is urged.
Bravery Award
(Bucksport) – A Bucksport police officer will receive a bravery award from the Maine Chiefs of Police association. Sergeant David Winchester rescued two people from a burning building last April on Central Street. Winchester was on patrol when the fire call came in and arrived at the scene ahead of the fire department. He saw a man entering a basement of the burning house and got him out, hit the flames with an extinguisher, heard another voice and got that person out. The Ellsworth American reports Winchester will receive the award next month in Portland.
Eddington Fire
(Eddington) – An Eddington home is a total loss after fire ripped through it last night. WABI-TV reports the homeowner called 9-1-1 from inside the house and said he was trapped. He got out OK, but a firefighter had to go to the hospital after he slipped on the icy driveway. Seven departments responded to the scene. They’ve not determined how the fire started.
Bar Harbor Port Authority
(Augusta) – Lawmakers in Augusta will consider a measure that would create a port authority in Bar Harbor. The Legislature put the bill on hold last session after opponents of a possible cruise ship pier lobbied against the measure. Voters in Bar Harbor approved purchase of the former Bay Ferries Limited terminal. If approved by state lawmakers, town councilors in Bar Harbor would still have to establish the port authority to manage whatever facility might go into place.
Escapee Caught
(Dover-Foxcroft) – Maine’s Department of Corrections say a man confined to his home was considered an escapee for a while yesterday. 46-year old Robert Berry left his home without getting approval from the corrections department yesterday afternoon. He was technically an inmate at the Mountain View Correction Facility in Charleston and serving time for theft. The Dover-Foxcroft police department posted on its Facebook page that Berry was recaptured last night.
Water Main Break
(Bangor) – A pair of water line breaks flooded a few Downtown Bangor businesses yesterday. City officials tell Star 97.7 the break came in a fire suppression system at 42-Main Street. Another water main also broke on Maine Avenue. The fire system break flooded several basements in the downtown area. The water department said it was able to restore water service to buildings yesterday afternoon and expected repairs to be complete last night.
Travel
(Maine) Some Mainers are saying “tah heck with the cold weather” and booking trips to warmer destinations. Maine Triple-A travel agent Mary Ellen Lessard says due to all the hurricanes last fall there are fewer destinations to choose from, but the most affordable places were not hit by storms. She says sections of the Florida Keys have recovered from Hurricane Irma that hit last September and are welcoming back tourists:
Court Appearance
(Bangor) State police say one of the 2 men wanted in the shooting death of a Millinocket man last month appeared in Bangor court yesterday. Authorities brought Christopher Murray to the Penobscot County Jail during the weekend from North Carolina, where he was arrested December 27th. He’s charged in connection with the shooting death of Wayne LaPierre inside LaPierre’s Massachusetts Avenue home on December 19th. A second man is still being sought. Police believe Tony Locklear is still in North Carolina.
Homicide Reward
(Bangor) The Bangor police department is offering a reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction for a Bangor man’s death. 51-year-old Israel Lewis was found dead in a Second Street apartment last Wednesday. An autopsy determined it was homicide. Detectives continue to follow up on leads and interview witnesses, but anyone with information on Lewis’s death is asked to come forward.
Stabbing Woman-Court
(Rockport) The woman charged with stabbing a Belmont man to death last year allegedly has a history of stabbing people and that information could be presented to a grand jury. Village Soup-dot Com reports the court-appointed attorney for Victoria Scott has motioned to block the state from using testimony from two people who Scott allegedly stabbed years ago, though no charges were filed. Scott is currently charged with manslaughter in the death of Edwin Littlefield, who was found dead outside a home in Waldo last February. Jury selection for the case is scheduled for April.
Robbery Arrests
(Jackson) The Waldo County Sheriff’s Office arrested 3 men for allegedly robbing and beating up a man in Jackson. Police met with the 27-year-old victim who claims he was visiting an ex-girlfriend at a Bog Road home when he was confronted by 3 men Sunday; one displayed a knife and another a handgun. The trio told the victim to hand over his wallet and he complied, but the men repeatedly punched him. The victim was warned he’d be assaulted if he contacted police. Arrested for Robbery and Criminal Threatening are 22-year-old Charles Haskins and 21-year-old Samuel Lear both of Jackson, and 25-year-old Joseph Balla of Auburn.
Dam Acquisition
(Sullivan) A conservation group has acquired about 7-acres in Down East Maine as part of a dam removal project. The Downeast Salmon Federation says it’s taken ownership of the parcel in Sullivan that surrounds the head of tide of Smelt Brook, which has been blocked by a stone dam for more than 50 years. The group says the acquisition is part of a “multi-faceted land conservation and habitat restoration project” designed to reconnect Smelt Brook to Smelt Cove.
Sports
- New Orleans Pelicans 116 Boston Celtics 113 (Overtime)
- Former Celtics great Jo Jo White has died after a battle with cancer. He was 71.
High School Basketball
Boys
Hampden Academy 66, Gardiner Area 50
Girls
Brewer 43, Gardiner Area 39
