PORTLAND

Man stabbed during fight with two women in Old Port

A 23-year-old man was stabbed during a fight in the Old Port early Friday morning, police said.

Officers responded to a call about a fight between two women and a man at Fore and Exchange streets at 12:30 a.m., said Sgt. Dean Goodale. They spoke to the women, who were uninjured, but the man had left before the officers arrived.

About 4:30 a.m., officers were called to Maine Medical Center, where the man had arrived with a stab wound in the torso, Goodale said. The man told police he had been in a fight at Fore and Exchange streets and did not realize he had been stabbed until he got home.

Goodale declined to identify the man, but said he remained hospitalized with an injury that is not life-threatening. Anyone with information is asked to call Portland police at 874-8533.

Scotia Prince ferry helping Indian citizens to flee Libya

The Scotia Prince, which made daily voyages for many years between Portland and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, is now helping to evacuate Indian citizens from Libya.

The government of India chartered the passenger ferry, which was based in the region and has a capacity of 1,200 passengers.

The Scotia Prince is already in Egypt, according to newsonair.com, an English-language Indian news website. The ship is carrying medical teams and is expected to reach Benghazi by Sunday to pick up passengers before returning to Alexandria, Egypt.

BATH

BIW will switch from oil to gas to fuel its boilers

Bath Iron Works has reached an agreement with Maine Natural Gas Corp. to bring a natural gas pipeline to the shipyard to fuel its boilers.

BIW President Jeff Geiger said Friday that changing from fuel oil to natural gas will produce significant savings and shield the company from oil’s volatile price fluctuations.

It will also eliminate the safety and environmental issues associated with handling large quantities of oil, while reducing BIW’s carbon footprint.

The switch from oil to gas will be completed later this year. 

Car fire, other evidence point to gas siphoning

Bath police believe that rising gas prices may be fueling a new crime wave — a ripple anyway.

Bath’s police and fire departments responded to call at 2:28 a.m. Thursday about a car fire at 667 Middle St.

The fire was directly below the fill pipe for the car’s gas tank. It was quickly put out, with minimal damage to the car. Left at the scene, however, were two gas cans.

Police say it’s unclear whether the fire was set deliberately or accidentally while someone tried to siphon fuel from the car’s gas tank.

Later Thursday morning, Bath police got another call from a neighbor, reporting that he had found a gas can, a garden hose and latex gloves outside his home. Police suspect that the items were related to the earlier incident, and that someone was trying to siphon gas from vehicles. Police are asking the public to be aware and report any similar suspicious activity.

FORT KENT

Hospital cuts four positions, imposes 2 percent pay cut

A medical facility that wants to cut costs because of declining business has eliminated four administrators, imposed a 2 percent pay cut on those remaining and restructured its operations.

Northern Maine Medical Center, a 49-bed facility in Fort Kent, hopes to save $733,000 over the next year by making the cuts. CEO Martin Bernstein, who confirmed the actions Thursday, told the Bangor Daily News that the changes were needed because of a decline in inpatient activity at the hospital. The employees were notified Feb. 18

SEARSPORT

Police arrest two men after stop yields Ecstacy

Police say a routine traffic stop led to the discovery of $1,800 worth of Ecstasy and the arrests of two men.

Police say a vehicle driven by Dalton Hines, 19, of Belfast was pulled over last week for a defect, and a backpack containing 96 pills was found.

Detective Merl Reed of the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office said Hines was arrested and charged with violating probation, driving after license suspension and illegal transportation of drugs by a minor.

His passenger, Nathan Johnson, 24, of Searsport, who was free on bail on a previous charge of trafficking drugs, was charged with a bail violation.

Reed told the Bangor Daily News that it’s unclear who owned the backpack and pills.

MILLINOCKET

Collins expresses optimism for future of Katahdin Mills

Sen. Susan Collins says she’s cautiously optimistic about new prospects for the closed Katahdin Mills in Millinocket and East Millinocket.

Collins told WCSH-TV that she hopes the mills will be bought and that the Millinocket one will be reopened.

She said they have had a turbulent past, but she hopes the proposed purchase could stabilize employment in the region.

The Republican senator said there may be federal and state funding to help the prospective owners install a biomass boiler at the Millinocket facility, which closed in 2008 after heating oil prices surpassed $4 per gallon.