ORRINGTON

State probes logging death of Holden woodcutter, 38

Officials are investigating the death of a 38-year-old woodcutter that occurred when he got caught between a tree and a piece of logging equipment in central Maine.

Officials say William Jordan of Holden died Tuesday afternoon while working the woods in Orrington. He was working for Larry Eckert and Son, which had been hired to log the private land, according to The Bangor Daily News.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.

SOUTH PORTLAND, WELLS

Two Mainers among top two-year-college students

A student at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland and another at York County Community College in Wells have been named among the top 20 students at two-year colleges across the United States.

Rachel Champoux, an SMCC student who lives in Westbrook, and Diane Dense, a YCCC student who lives in Wells, are members of the 2011 All-USA Community College Academic Team.

The award recognizes outstanding intellectual achievement, leadership and service. It is presented by the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and USA Today, and is sponsored by Follett Higher Education Group.

Each student received a medal and a $2,500 scholarship, presented earlier this month during the annual convention of the American Association of Community Colleges in New Orleans.

Champoux and Dense were among 1,600 students nominated for the recognition. Both are set to graduate in May.

AUGUSTA

Budget revision that covers $65 million gap now law

A revised Maine state budget that covers a $65 million gap between revenues and spending is now law.

Gov. Paul LePage signed the bill last Thursday. The House and Senate approved it after the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee revised the governor’s proposal and gave it unanimous support.

Most of the $65 million gap resulted from overruns in the state Department of Health and Human Services. The budget addresses spending in fiscal 2011, which ends June 30. A two-year budget for the two years starting July 1 is still being deliberated.

The budget rewrite is the second supplemental appropriations package lawmakers have considered for the current budget cycle. 

State decrees diplomas for Vietnam War dead

Gov. Paul LePage has signed into law a bill to honor soldiers who served and died in the Vietnam War.

The legislation signed last Thursday will allow veterans who died in the war and never finished secondary school to receive posthumous high school diplomas. The law defines the Vietnam War era as Feb. 28, 1961, to May 7, 1975. The bill becomes law 90 days after this year’s session ends.

A separate bill, which remains tabled in the House, honors Vietnam veterans in a different way.

It would designate March 29 as Vietnam Veterans Day in Maine. March 29 was chosen because it was the date in 1973 that the last 2,500 American ground troops left Vietnam. 

Report: Asian population growing quickly in Maine

A liberal public policy research group says the Asian and Latino ethnic groups are the fastest growing in the U.S. population, and Maine’s population reflects that trend.

Citing U.S. Census figures, the Maine Center for Economic Policy says the state’s Asian population doubled in the 1990s and increased by 49 percent in the past decade.

The group plans to release a report today on Asians’ contributions to the Maine economy. In 2009, the group released a similar report on Latinos’ part in Maine’s economy.

BRUNSWICK

Man, 63, dies of injuries from fire in February

A Brunswick man who was burned in a fire in his apartment in February has died, according to the Maine Fire Marshal’s Office.

Richard Rugg, 63, was hospitalized on Feb. 16 after the fire that started while he was cooking swept through his apartment, officials said. Rugg suffered severe burns to more than half of his body.

He died Sunday at Maine Medical Center in Portland.

KITTERY

N.H. senator urges earlier deadline for shipyard project

New Hampshire U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte wants the Navy to consolidate workshops at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery earlier than planned.

The Republican senator says consolidating in 2012, instead of 2015, would save $8 million.

The Portsmouth shipyard employs thousands of people from Maine and New Hampshire.

Ayotte toured the shipyard on Tuesday. The visit was Ayotte’s first substantive tour since she was elected to the Senate last year, Foster’s Daily Democrat reported.

Ayotte says she’s using her position on the Senate Armed Services Committee to make sure maintenance and modernization projects are funded.

NEWPORT

Police: Sex offender hid for years before arrest Saturday

Police say a registered sex offender was in hiding for nearly three years before his arrest Saturday for failing to report his whereabouts to police.

Newport Police Chief Leonard Macdaid said Timothy Thomas, 30, was arrested after a 30-year-old woman and a 14-year-old girl reported that Thomas assaulted them in separate incidents.

Police say Thomas was living in a mobile home in Newport for the past year under the alias “A.J. Rush.”

Portland police told the Bangor Daily News that Thomas is required to report his whereabouts because he is a registered sex offender convicted of sex crimes in 2002 in Portland District Court and 2003 in Cumberland County Superior Court. A warrant was issued in June 2008 after Thomas failed to comply with the registry requirements.

Thomas has not been charged in the latest alleged assaults.

EASTPORT

Port welcomes 1,000th ship, envisions further growth

After being in business for 30 years, the Eastport Port Authority is marking a major milestone: welcoming the Down East port’s 1,000th ship.

WCSH-TV says the CEC Mirage gained that distinction when it arrived from Turkey on Tuesday, carrying empty cattle cars.

Officials say the port’s success plays a major role in the region’s economic development.

Officials also say the port has far exceeded expectations for economic growth. It’s looking to increase its cow and bulk cargo business in the future.