SOUTH PORTLAND

Victim treated at Maine Med after early-morning shooting

A person was shot early Saturday morning near Broadway and Church Street.

South Portland police said in a statement that they received reports of a person being shot at 2:51 a.m., and of a victim being driven from the scene in a private vehicle.

A person with a gunshot wound later arrived at Maine Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Police have not released any names.

The statement said the victim and witnesses have not cooperated with investigators.

Police said they executed a search warrant at a home related to the case.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the South Portland Police Department at 799-5511. 

Robber threatens gas clerk with knife, flees with cash

A man wearing a ski mask robbed the Exit 7 Mr. Mike’s Mobil station at knifepoint at about 10:50 p.m. Friday.

The man entered the store at 697 Main St. behind a clerk, who had just taken out the trash. He then put a knife to the stomach of the clerk, the only employee on duty, and demanded she give him the safe bag, said store manager Amber Miles.

When the clerk hesitated, the assailant appeared to get agitated and talked louder, said Miles, who reviewed security camera images.

He then walked the clerk to the register, grabbed the safe bag and took off, Miles said. She would not say how much money was stolen.

Miles said the man wore a long-sleeve orange shirt and khaki pants, and had light brown hair and four letters tattooed on his neck. He was about 6 feet tall.

South Portland police said the suspect has a muscular build and is likely in his mid- to late 20s. The knees of his pants were stained.

Police Sgt. Joe Dell’Aquila said dogs tracked a scent, but officers did not find the suspect.

PORTLAND

City’s first Civil War victim honored at Eastern Cemetery

The sacrifice of the first Portland resident to die in the Civil War was recognized Saturday in a ceremony at a granite monument in Eastern Cemetery on Munjoy Hill.

Sgt. Alonzo P. Stinson of the 5th Maine Regiment was 19 when he died on July 21, 1861 in the Battle of Bull Run in Virginia.

It was the first major battle of the war and a serious defeat for the North, said Herb Adams, a local historian and former state representative who organized Saturday’s noontime event.

Stinson’s body was never recovered. In 1908, his surviving comrades erected a monument in his memory following a citywide parade and ceremonies that included the participation of Gen. Joshua Chamberlain.

The monument, carved to resemble a Civil War backpack and blanket roll, stands in the cemetery near Congress Street and Washington Avenue.

A few dozen people, including war re-enactors and veterans, attended the ceremony. Speakers included Adams, Maine state historian Earle Shettleworth and Kim MacIsaac, director of the 5th Maine Regiment Museum on Peaks Island.

Plenty of funds for another gay marriage battle in 2012

Despite other races on the ballot, both supporters and opponents of gay marriage say fundraising won’t be a problem if the issue goes to statewide referendum next November.

The 2012 campaign cycle will be awash with money, observers say, but many of those dollars will be going to the presidential campaign and other high-profile races. Nonetheless, both sides believe they’d be able to get what they need if another battle over gay marriage is waged in Maine.

Betsy Smith, executive director of EqualityMaine, which supports gay marriage, said her group would need $4 million to $5 million if the campaign was similar to the last one.

The National Organization for Marriage, which opposes gay marriage, isn’t saying how much money would be needed to get out its message. But Maggie Gallagher, NOM’s chairman and co-founder, said raising money for Maine wouldn’t be a problem. The organization plans to raise $20 million this year in U.S.

“We’ve won 31 out of 31 times when this has been taken to the state. We’d be optimistic about winning again if they want to put Maine through another campaign,” Gallagher said.

Maine voters in 2009 overturned a bill passed by the Legislature that would have legalized same-sex marriage. Thirty other states have passed amendments banning gay marriage.

Last month, gay marriage advocates announced that they’d be gathering signatures necessary to put the measure to a state vote again in Maine. Smith said she believes enough people have changed their minds that the outcome would be different in November 2012.

KITTERY

Couple settles suit against bankrupt mortgage firm

A Maine couple who lost an investment of about $850,000 through a failed New Hampshire mortgage firm have settled their claim for far less.

Al and Susan McIlvene of Kittery Point will receive $155,000 from the bankruptcy trustee of the estate of Meredith, N.H.-based Financial Resources Mortgage.

The McIlvenes, who sued on behalf of many investors who lost millions of dollars to the firm, said they plan to stay active in the case.

Investors loaned money to the firm led by Scott Farah. He admitted pooling their funds to pay off other expenses in what authorities called a Ponzi scheme. He’s serving a 15-year prison sentence.