Ellsworth Traffic Lights
(Ellsworth) – Ellsworth plans to install new cameras at its traffic lights soon in order to get traffic moving more efficiently. The Ellsworth American reports the cameras detect cars and control when lights should change to help eliminate long backups. City technology director Jason Ingalls says the so-called grid-smart cameras will replace detection loops buried under the pavement at each lane of the 12-intersections controlled by lights. He said those loops frequently fail and cost about $4-thousand dollars to replace.
Non-Profit Theft Charge
(Ellsworth) – A 42-year old Ellsworth woman stands accused of stealing money from a non-profit organization. The Ellsworth American reports Michelle Hamby is charged with using a debit card from the Little Eagles Wrestling Club to make personal purchases. Police chief Glenn Moshier said the alleged thefts took place over several years and exceeds $2-thousand dollars. The organization donates money to Maine colleges.
Benton Arrest
(Benton) – State police arrested a Massachusetts man after a Benton resident reported that two men were trying to break into her home. The home owner confronted the pair who fled in a car. Troopers stopped the vehicle about a mile away from the scene and charged 31-year old Tyrone Fleurimont with criminal threatening. State troopers also seized drugs and cash from the vehicle.
Lamoine Land Donation
(Lamoine) – Voters in Lamoine swiftly and unanimously accepted a donation of more than 30-acres of land at a special town meeting last night. Two sisters from Colorado and Alaska donated the land bordering Blunt’s Pond to the town in a deal that will be brokered by Frenchman Bay Conservancy. Aaron Dority of FBC tells Star 97.7 that the sisters were anxious to put protections in place for the undeveloped acreage. The sisters are also donating $5-thousand dollars to the town to help maintain the property in the future.
Cruise Ship Season
(Bar Harbor) One-hundred-77 ships are scheduled to drop anchor during Bar Harbor’s cruise ship season which began April 28th and runs through November 7th. Some of the larger ships carry up to 4-thousand passengers. Harbor master Charlie Phippen tells Star 97-7 there are passenger caps throughout the season. Phippen says about 275-thousand passengers are expected to come on-shore this season IF all ships arrive as scheduled.
Plastic Bags & Polystyrene Ban
(Mt. Desert Island) – This week’s town meeting in Tremont completed a sweep of Mt. Desert Island on plastic bag and Styrofoam container bans. Voters in that town approved the ban, joining the other three island towns. The Tremont ban will take effect on October 21st. Meanwhile the Legislature has approved a statewide ban on Styrofoam containers. Both plastic bags and foam containers end up as frequent litter and in oceans where they harm marine life.
Chamber Awards Night
(Ellsworth) This year’s Ellsworth Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Night is sold out! This evening’s venue is a pop-up event tent in the parking lot of Coastal Auto Parts Napa – the recipient of the Chamber’s Top Drawer Award. Chamber executive director Gretchen Wilson says they set up an additional 76 seats and it’s guaranteed to be a packed house. The social hour begins at 5 and awards start at 6:30 inside the tent at Napa on Downeast Highway in Ellsworth.
Overdose Leads to Arrest
(Farmington) Police responding to a possible drug overdose in Farmington wound-up arresting a couple for allegedly making meth. Farmington police went to a Knowlton Corner Road home about 1 AM Wednesday where first responders revived a man with Narcan. While in the home police noticed evidence of methamphetamine production and contacted the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency. 37-year-old Douglas Theriault and 28-year-old Katherine Theriault are charged with operating a meth lab and endangering the welfare of a child. NewsCenter reports three children, ages 7, 3, and 1 were present during the incident.
Nat’l Prevention Week – Thursday
(Local) Each year the third week in May is deemed National Substance Abuse Prevention Week. Today’s topic is Preventing Youth Tobacco Use. Healthy Acadia spokeswoman Tara Young says the number of minors using tobacco had been declining during the past decade and only began creeping up since the introduction of vaping. National Prevention Week is held each May because it’s near the start of summer. Statistically adolescents and full-time college students most often use substances for the first time during June or July.
Elver Fishing
(Augusta) Maine’s annual fishing season for baby eels is nearing the end, and prices have approached record highs. Fishermen in Maine harvest elvers from rivers so they can be sold to Asian aquaculture companies for use as seed stock. Maine’s fishermen are allowed a little less than 10,000 pounds of baby eels per year. They have less than 100 pounds of that remaining. The average price per pound for elvers has been close to $2,100. That’s third-highest price on record.
Police Budget Increase
(Ellsworth) The Ellsworth police department’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2020 is up 5.17-percent. Some of the increase is a direct reflection of the young officers on staff, requiring more money for training and uniforms. The Ellsworth American reports chief Glenn Moshier last week asked the Ellsworth City Council for more than $1-point-3-million dollars to run his department. That does not include the department’s proposed capital improvement budget, which is down half a percent from last year to roughly $106-thousand-dollars. That budget includes funding for two new police cruisers and dash-mounted cameras. Two more budget workshops are scheduled then councilors will hold a final budget overview on June 3rd.
Police Week
(Augusta) Today is the annual observance at the Maine Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Augusta. The granite memorial on State Street bears the names of 86 Maine police officers killed in the line of duty. The 86th name added this year is Somerset Sheriff’s Corporal Eugene Cole, who was shot to death last year in Norridgewock. Trooper Ben Campbell’s name will be added next year. Campbell died April 3rd when he was struck by a tractor trailer tire along Interstate 95 in Hampden. The ceremony begins this morning at 11.
Ayla – Father
(Portland) – A former Waterville man whose daughter disappeared years ago has told his lawyer he did not kill the little girl. Trista Reynolds filed a wrongful death suit against Justin DiPietro as the statute of limitations was expiring. DiPietro was the last person seen with Ayla Reynolds and police have declared her dead, though they’ve never found her body. The Morning Sentinel reports that DiPietro’s attorney says his client had nothing to do with the disappearance.
Sports
- Boston Red Sox 6 Colorado Rockies 5 (10 innings, Michael Chavis had a walk-off single to knock in the winning run.)
- The Sox have today off
- The Bruins can clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals tonight with a win over Carolina. Boston is up 3-0.
| High School Baseball
MDI 4 Belfast 2 Hampden 5 Bangor 4 Sumner 14 DI/Stonington 1 Orono 5 Bucksport 0 Jonesport Beals 11 Narraguagus 2 Searsport takes 2 from Stearns |
Softball
Bangor 2 Hampden 0 MDI 9 Belfast 0 DI/Stonington 20 Sumner 13 Narraguagus 18 Jonesport-Beals 0 Bucksport 17 Orono 4 Stearns sweeps Searsport |
