Hospital Voice Mail Out
(Machias) – The hospital serving the Machias area says its voice mail system is down for now. Downeast Community Hospital callers during off hours are getting a recording explaining the voice mail outage. A Portland company is working to rebuild the system and should have it ready to go tomorrow.
Bus Driver – Rape
(Ellsworth) – A 49-year old bus driver from Orland faces gross sexual assault charges after he allegedly had sex with a developmentally disabled woman who was a bus passenger. The District Attorney’s office says 49-year old Van Stevens drove the bus for a social service agency and allegedly dropped off all the passengers except the victim. He said the sex was consensual. The DA’s office says because of the victim’s special needs, Stevens was not allowed to have relations with her.
Welfare Fraud
(Rockland) – A Knox County woman will serve 9-months in jail in the state’s largest ever welfare fraud case. Village Soup dot-com reports 46-year old Robin Snell of Warren admitted she swiped nearly $230-thousand dollars in welfare benefits she was not entitled to. Snell reached a plea agreement with prosecutors after the state lost audio taped interviews with her. The state says Snell received benefits between 2002 and 2013 in programs like food stamps and TANF, claiming she was the sole income earner in her house and that her husband did not live with her when he actually did.
Elver Season Ends Early
(Augusta) – As of this morning, the elver fishing season is over, and poachers are to blame. The Department of Marine Resources shut down the lucrative fishery after discovering that some elver dealers were paying a lower price for elvers sold but bypassing the state swipe card system. Commissioner Patrick Kelliher said if the illegally sold elvers were recorded, the state would have exceeded the nearly 10-thousand pound quota.
Coffee With A Cop
(Ellsworth) For the second month in a row members of the Ellsworth Police Department sat down with local residents in a casual setting to discuss anything on their minds. Police chief Glenn Moshier tells Star 97-7 that newly established Coffee with a Cop program will become a regular feature. Also in attendance at Flexit Cafe on Main Street yesterday were officers Jon Mahon, Rick Roberts and Sergeant Shawn Willey.
Workforce Discussion Follow-Up
(Ellsworth) A state senator who owns an Ellsworth restaurant is working with employers in many industries to identify workforce needs. Senator Brian Langley gathered leaders Wednesday morning to discuss the employee shortage. Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason also attended the discussion at Ellsworth City Hall. Mason says Maine could benefit from promoting itself. Mason says the Port of Eastport is the largest deepwater seaport in the US and is an opportunity to sell Maine’s products overseas.
Drug Bust Follow-Up
(Bangor) Police have made the final arrest in an Aroostook County drug roundup. Safety Department spokesman Steve McCausland reports to Star 97-7 that Bangor Police captured 41-year-old Fernando Vazquez of Springfield Massachusetts yesterday afternoon. Drug agents arrested nine people this week for selling heroin, crack cocaine and fentanyl. Two more were arrested early Wednesday and Vazquez was the last suspect police were after.
Robbery Sentence
(Harrington) The second man involved in a Thanksgiving Day robbery in Harrington will spend 4-months in jail. Prosecutors say 39-year-old Eric Fletcher provided the knife that another man used to rob the Irving Gas Station last November. Fletcher also drove the getaway car. WABI-TV reports he pled guilty and received the sentence this week. The other suspect involved, Cameron Reed, was sentenced in March to 3-years in prison.
Hunting & Fishing
(Portland) The Trump administration has announced plans to increase access to hunting and fishing on national wildlife refuges, including three in Maine – the Rachel Carson refuge in York, the Moosehorn refuge in Washington County and the Lake Umbagog refuge along the New Hampshire-Maine border. The Portland Press Herald reports the proposal announced Monday by U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke would open about 250-thousand acres to hunting and fishing.
Protecting Elders
(Portland) A bipartisan bill co-authored by Maine Sen. Susan Collins designed to protect older Americans from fraud is headed to President Donald Trump for his signature. Collins, a Republican, and Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri worked on the bill, which passed the House on Tuesday. A spokeswoman for Collins says the bill is expected to provide support for regulators, financial institutions and legal groups to train employees to identify and stop financial exploitation of senior citizens.
Justified Shooting
(Portland) An internal police review in Maine has found that a Portland police officer followed procedure in the fatal shooting of a man who was brandishing a pellet gun. The Portland Press Herald reports the review released in response to a Freedom of Access Act request says Sgt. Nicholas Goodman was trained properly to handle his confrontation with Chance David Baker, and no changes to police policy are needed. Goodman shot the 22-year-old in the parking lot of a strip mall in February 2017.
Sports
- Boston Celtics 96 Cleveland Cavaliers 83 (Celtics lead Eastern Conference finals 3-2)
- Boston Red Sox 4 Tampa Bay Rays 1 (Sox score 3 in the top of the 9th on an error and wild pitch. Rick Porcello starts against the Rays tonight)
- Washington Capitals 4 Tampa Bay Lightning 1 (Capitals advance to Stanley Cup finals against Vegas Golden Knights)
High School Baseball
Hampden 2 Skowhegan 1
MDI 3 Belfast 2
Calais 14 Washington Academy 0
Brewer 11 Winslow 0
Softball
Skowhegan 11 Hampden 2
MDI 11 Belfast 7
Brewer 17 Winslow 2
Calais 9 Washington Academy 5
