PORTLAND

Deafness center, police will hold forum Thursday

Members of the city’s deaf community will meet with members of the Portland Police Department this week to discuss safety concerns and ways to improve relations.

The department and the Maine Center on Deafness will host the forum at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Deering Masonic Lodge, 102 Bishop St.

The forum will allow members of the deaf community, as well as their families and employers, to discuss ways police can create an inclusive and safe community, according to a news release issued by the city. American Sign Language interpreters will be available at the forum.

“I am committed to ensuring that all members of our community have a safe space to share their safety concerns, which is why I am so appreciative to members of the deaf community for reaching out to the department,” Portland Police Chief James Craig said in a news release announcing the event.

KITTERY

N.H. man will face charges of criminal threatening, OUI

A Portsmouth, N.H., man faces charges of criminal threatening and drunk driving following a series of confrontations in Kittery on Monday night.

Kittery police were called to the Badger’s Island section of Route 1 for a report that a man was threatening people at 8 p.m. They arrested Scott Reynolds, 30, and charged him with five counts of criminal threatening, drunk driving and carrying a concealed handgun without a permit.

Reynolds was armed with a .380 caliber pistol when he allegedly accosted a pedestrian on the sidewalk, then threatened workers at a take-out restaurant through the window, police said. Police have been able to determine no connection between Reynolds and his alleged victims. Nobody was injured, police said.

Reynolds is being held on $2,400 bail at York County Jail and is scheduled for arraignment in York District Court today.

CUMBERLAND

Fugitive caught after chase that ended in Brunswick

A man who is wanted in Florida for car theft was arrested Tuesday after a police chase that started in Cumberland and ended in Brunswick.

Cumberland Police Chief Joseph Charon said that John Elvis Fenn, 29, was driving very slowly north on Route 88 just after it crosses into Cumberland from Falmouth at 2:30 a.m. A Cumberland officer checked the license plate of the car Fenn was driving and it was unregistered, so he tried to pull him over.

Fenn continued north following Route 88 to Route 1 in Yarmouth, then into Freeport and finally into Brunswick. Yarmouth police deployed spike mats, which slowed him down, Charon said.

Once in Brunswick, officers set up a series of spike mats so Fenn could not avoid them, Charon said. When the car became disabled on Maine Street, Fenn ran, and officers were able to catch him behind some houses.

Police charged Fenn with eluding an officer, aggravated criminal mischief, assault on an officer and aggravated reckless conduct.

NORTH CONWAY, N.H.

Elderly man with dementia is found after hit-and-run

New Hampshire police say an elderly Maine man who had been reported missing was found after apparently being involved in a hit-and-run crash in North Conway.

A New Hampshire state trooper found 78-year-old Robert Burns of Alfred around 4:25 a.m. Tuesday in his pickup truck along Route 302 in Harts Location.

WMWV-FM of Conway said he was taken to a hospital for treatment of possible hypothermia.

Late Monday, a similar vehicle was involved in a hit-and-run crash that injured a Center Conway man.

Burns was reported missing from his Alfred home by the Maine State Police around 2 p.m. Monday.

Conway police said Burns suffers from a form of dementia.

AUGUSTA

Maine’s heating oil price averages $3.37, up 1 cent

Heating oil prices continue climbing in Maine.

According to the weekly survey by the Governor’s Office of Energy and Independence, the average price for home heating oil inched up by a penny a gallon last week to $3.37.

Director John Kerry said the petroleum market remains unstable and volatile with the political unrest and violence in Libya, combined with continuing cold weather and rising consumer demand.

The lowest prices are in southwestern Maine, while eastern Maine has the highest average price.

Kerosene is now selling for $3.77 a gallon on average, while propane is going for $2.91.

LePage’s IFW nominee faces committee hearing today

Gov. Paul LePage’s nominee to head Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife faces a legislative hearing today.

Chandler Woodcock’s name should have a familiar ring to Maine voters. The Farmington resident, a former state senator, ran as the Republican candidate for governor in 2006 but lost to Democratic incumbent John Baldacci.

Woodcock faces a confirmation hearing before the Legislature’s Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee, which will then make a recommendation to the Senate.

Woodcock was an English teacher for 27 years and is now executive director of the Maine Harness Horsemen’s Association. He says he’s a lifelong sportsman whose priorities include restoring the thinning deer herd in northern and eastern Maine.

If confirmed, he would replace Roland “Danny” Martin, who stepped down in January after eight years on the job.

State workers return to job after 17th shutdown day

Thousands of state employees are returning to work today after a four-day weekend after taking a day without pay Tuesday as part of a series of shutdown days to help the state budget.

Tuesday marks the 17th of 20 shutdown days that were ordered two years ago to save money. The shutdown affects most state employees, but not law enforcement and other personnel deemed essential.

The remaining shutdown days are scheduled in March, April and May.