Snowmobile Fatalities
(Poland) – Two snowmobilers have died in separate crashes in Maine during the weekend. The Warden Service reports to Star 97.7 that 51-year old Gracie Onofrio of Norway died when she flew off her sled on Norway Lake and another snowmobile struck her. And near Thompson Lake in Poland, 17-year old Troy Marden of Amesbury Massachusetts died when his snowmobile failed to make a corner on a road and crashed. Both incidents remain under investigation.
Detour Starts Today
(Brooklin) – Some motorists in Brooklin will have to take the long way home beginning today. The state is slated to begin work on replacing a bridge over the Benjamin River. The project is expected to be complete in 3-months. The Department of Transportation says one detour will go around the Hales Hill Road, but a bridge on that road cannot handle heavy trucks. The other is a 20-mile detour through South Blue Hill. The new bridge will be higher and longer. The last time major work took place on the bridge was 54-years ago.
Fatal Crash
(Belfast) Route 3 in Belfast was shutdown Friday afternoon near the Belfast Curling Club for a fatal head-on accident. Belfast Police Chief Mike McFadden tells Village Soup that 3 people were involved in the crash, one was pronounced dead at the scene. Police believe weather conditions were a factor, sending one vehicle fishtailing into the opposite lane. No names have been released.
Smog Lawsuit
(Bar Harbor) A lawsuit by environmental groups alleges that a new EPA rule rolling back provisions of the Clean Air Act puts Northeastern communities at risk of more air pollution. The law firm Earth-justice filed the suit in federal District Court in Washington, D-C on behalf of the Appalachian Mountain Club and other groups. Appalachian Mountain Club staff scientist Georgia Murray says smog from power plants to the south travels as far north as Maine. The attorneys general of Massachusetts, New York and four other states, as well as New York City, have also filed a federal lawsuit against the E-P-A for failing to regulate interstate air pollution.
Drug Arrest
(Baileyville) Drug agents put a 35-year-old woman in the Washington County jail for trafficking heroin and violating bail conditions. The Baileyville Police Department reports the suspect was arrested at an apartment complex on Main Street a little before 10 Friday morning. More charges may be pending for the unnamed suspect.
Whooping Cough
(Hancock Cty) Maine saw 55 reported cases of whooping cough last month, that’s up from 24 cases in January 2018. The Bangor Daily News reports Hancock County has the highest number of infected people, logging 16 cases; York County had 13 and Waldo County reported 10 cases. In Hancock County, concern about the spread of pertussis last month prompted school officials with RSU 24 and at Ellsworth Elementary Middle School to send out notifications to parents.
Wind Turbines
(Augusta) Maine’s Democratic governor has repealed her Republican predecessor’s executive order that prohibits state agencies from permitting new wind energy projects in certain areas of Maine. Governor Janet Mills’ office says she signed an executive order Thursday repealing and replacing former Gov. Paul LePage’s 2018 order. Mills’ order explicitly says state agencies can consider wind turbine applications.
Graduation Gowns
(Dover-Foxcroft) The senior class at Foxcroft Academy will buck tradition at this year’s graduation ceremony. WVII-TV reports that for decades graduating boys at Foxcroft Academy wore burgundy gowns while the girls wore white ones. The school’s Civil Rights Team made a plea to the administration and trustees to de-gender the ceremony. School officials decided graduating students this year would all wear burgundy gowns, but then a petition circulated the community this week opposing the new rule. The school has since given seniors two choices, either to all wear burgundy or have their own choices of robes.
Sports
- Denny Hamlin wins the crash filled Daytona 500
- Team Lebron wins the NBA All-Star Game 178 to 164 over team Giannis
- Bruins play at San Jose tonight
Today: Class D North Quarterfinals
At Cross Center, Bangor
Girls
No. 3 Woodland (13-5) vs. No. 6 Katahdin (9-9), 9:30 a.m.
No. 2 Deer Isle-Stonington (16-0) vs. No. 7 Ashland (8-11), 11:05 a.m.
Boys
No. 4 Schenck (11-7) vs. No. 5 Easton (11-7), 2:05 p.m.
No. 1 Woodland (16-1) vs. No. 8 Van Buren (10-8), 3:35 p.m.
Girls
No. 4 Schenck (12-6) vs. No. 5 Shead (9-9), 7:05 p.m.
No. 1 Southern Aroostook (16-2) vs. No. 8 Washburn (9-10), 8:35 p.m.
Saturday’s Results
Boys Class “B”
No. 5 Maine Central Institute 58, No. 4 Oceanside 52
No. 1 Hermon 58, No. 8 Presque Isle 30
Girls Class “B”
No. 2 Hermon 67, No. 7 Presque Isle 32
No. 5 Winslow 36, No. 4 Old Town 29
No. 1 Mount Desert Island 42, No. 9 Maine Central Institute 27
Boys Class “D”
No. 3 Gr. Houlton Christian 54, No. 6 Southern Aroostook 44
No. 2 Jonesport-Beals 63, No. 7 Deer Isle-Stonington 45
