Washington ME Fire
(Washington) – Fire destroyed an auto body shop in the Knox County town of Washington. Firefighters from a half dozen communities responded to the Route 17 scene shortly after 4:30 Sunday morning, finding the building fully engulfed in flames. Moments after arrival the roof collapsed. Frigid temperatures made for an icy scene and the fire department closed the road between Rockland and Augusta for the morning hours. The fire marshal’s office will not investigate – there’s too much damage to determine a cause. The Pen Bay Pilot reports Richard French owned the building.
Wreaths Across America
(Ellsworth) – More than three dozen tractor trailer trucks stuffed to the roofs with wreaths are headed to Arlington National Cemetery on the annual Wreaths Across America convoy. The first stop after leaving Narraguagus High School yesterday morning was Ellsworth. The trucks were escorted by fire trucks from Washington and Hancock Counties and police cruisers from all over the State of Maine. Senator Susan Collins addressed the crowd that gathered in the extreme cold at the Maine Coast Mall. The convoy will wind its way through Maine and arrive at the cemetery next weekend.
Land Block Sold
(Ellsworth) – A Penobscot County forest management company is the high bidder for a huge block of land in Hancock County. H.C. Haynes bid more than 2-point-1 million dollars for more than 7-thousand acres of forest land that had belonged to forester Dale Henderson. The Ellsworth America reports the deal closing will come in the next few months. Henderson died a while back and his family put the land out for auction. One of the lots is 6-thousand acres in size, stretching from Fletcher’s Landing to Hancock.
Car Hits House
(Perham) – A teen-aged driver suffered non life-threatening injuries after the van she drove slammed into a house in Aroostook County. The Sheriff’s Department reports to Star 97.7 that the Nutting Road in Perham was extremely slippery Saturday, and the 16-year old driver went off the road as she slowed at an intersection. The homeowner was there when the crash occurred but was not badly hurt. The car driver was wearing her seat belt and went to the hospital after the crash.
Stockton Springs Town Office Flood
(Stockton Springs) – Public works crews are going to have to dig up part of the parking lot at the Stockton Springs town office after heavy rains and ice nearly caused the building to flood. Village Soup dot-com reports recent heavy rains came within a couple of inches of flooding the building. The public works director says children filled an exposed drainage pipe with rocks and that caused the water to back up in the parking lot. A temporary drainage fix is in place for the winter.
Peninsula Trash
(Sedgwick) – Selectmen in Brooklin, Sedgwick and Brooksville are still exploring trash disposal options. The three Hancock County communities currently send trash to the Blue Hill/Surry transfer station. That trash, in turn, will go to the Fiberight plant once it opens, presumably in April of 2019. Currently the trash is going to landfills. The Weekly Packet reports the three towns are concerned about the uncertainty of the Fiberight plant and recently met with the PERC incinerator in Orrington. If they choose that option, a new transfer station may be needed.
Sports
- Miami Dolphins 34 New England Patriots 33 (Dolphins score on a bizarre 69-yard pass play that involved 3-laterals on the last play of the game)
- The U-Maine football team will play Eastern Washington in the FCS semi-finals after Maine beat Weber State Friday night to advance.
- U-Maine women’s basketball beat Brown 102-96 in Overtime Saturday for their 5th straight win.
- Boston Bruins 2 Ottawa Senators 1 (OT)
- Celtics host the New Orleans Pelicans tonight.
