Lewiston company to add up to 50 jobs

LEWISTON (AP) — A customer service and marketing company in Lewiston plans to expand and add up to 50 jobs.

Argo Marketing Group says it has acquired the former GCS call center in Pittsfield and plans to hire 20 customer care agents immediately, followed by 30 more within two months.

The company said Thursday that more growth is planned after that.

CEO Jason Levesque says the expansion will give the Pittsfield-Newport economy a local boost while allowing the company to tap into the area’s highly skilled and dedicated work force.

Graduation slated for 54 police officers

VASSALBORO ( AP) — Graduation ceremonies are set for Maine’s newest police officers.

Fifty-four new officers will graduate today from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in Vassalboro.

The guest speaker for the ceremony will be Maine Secretary of State Charles Summers.

The graduates have completed 18 weeks of study and training at the police academy. Many of the 54 new officers will be augmenting additional patrols starting next week looking for impaired drivers during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

Wreaths stolen from Winthrop memorial

WINTHROP (AP) — Police in Winthrop are investigating the theft of two wreaths from a veteran’s monument that has outraged veterans and their supporters.

Six wreaths were placed on the monument Saturday by Wreaths Across America volunteers. They had a red ribbon on top, an American flag on the bottom, adjacent to a flag representing the five service branches and the Merchant Marine service.

Navy veteran Al Godfrey discovered two of them missing on Tuesday when he went to work on the monument.

He alerted police, but so far there have been no arrests.

Convicted killer asks for new trial

LEWISTON ( AP) — A Sabattus man serving a 55- year prison sentence for killing his ex-girlfriend has asked a judge to either grant him a new trial or send his case back to the state’s highest court for a second look.

Lawyers for 42- year- old Daniel Roberts said during a post-conviction review hearing Thursday that his constitutional rights were violated because members of the public were kept out of the courtroom during testimonial portions of the trial and during the verdict reading.

The Sun Journal reports that his lawyers also questioned whether his constitutional rights were violated by having ineffective counsel at trial.

The judge did not immediately rule.

Roberts was convicted of fatally shooting 29-year-old Melissa Mendoza in August 2005. They were involved in a custody dispute over their 2- year-old daughter at the time.

L.L. Bean the dog coming to Maine

PORTLAND (AP) — A homeless dog in Wisconsin named L.L. Bean has found a new home in Maine, thanks to the company he’s named after.

The Dunn County Humane Society in Wisconsin received a call from an employee at L. L. Bean’s Freeport headquarters after a local TV station ran a story featuring an 80-pound Coonhound named L.L. Bean that had been in the shelter for more than a year.

The story of L.L. Bean the dog was shared on L.L. Bean’s company Intranet site, and a customer service representative was chosen to be the dog’s new owner.

After L.L. Bean employees later learned that transportation fees for the dog would be more than $800, they collected money to cover the cost.

L. L. Bean is expected to arrive in Maine in early January.

Bangor casino holds job fair for 2 days

BANGOR (AP) — Maine’s Hollywood Slots casino is looking for a few good blackjack dealers.

The Bangor casino is holding a job fair today and Saturday inviting people who are interested in joining its work force. The event is being held at Eastern Maine Community College.

The job fair will feature information about new positions that will soon open up following last month’s county wide referendum allowing for poker, black jack, craps and other table games at the casino. The new jobs include card dealers and table game supervisors.

Hollywood Slots plans to offer 14 table games beginning this spring. Company officials say the addition of table games will result in 89 new jobs paying $4 million in salaries and benefits.

Hannaford recalls ground beef

SCARBOROUGH ( AP) — The Hannaford Supermarket chain says it is recalling ground beef with a sell- by date of Dec. 17 or earlier because it may be contaminated with salmonella.

The Scarborough- based company says in a statement today it has received information indicating 10 people have become ill. All have indicated they purchased ground beef between Oct. 12 and Nov. 20.

Hannaford says it is confident in the safety of its products and that all ground beef affected by the recall has been removed from stores. The company says customers should return or dispose of ground beef with the Dec. 17 or earlier sell-by dates.

In addition to Maine, Hannaford also has stores in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont.

Maine land-use study draws relief, concern

AUGUSTA (AP) — Environmentalists are expressing a mixture of worry and relief as a study panel wraps up its review of possible changes in Maine’s Land Use Regulation Commission.

The panel on Thursday finished its work on a report that stemmed from a bill to abolish LURC.

RESTORE: The North Woods and the Natural Resources Council of Maine said they’re relieved the report does not recommend doing away with the agency, which regulates development in Maine’s vast unorganized lands.

But the council opposes giving agency oversight to county officials, saying they lack statewide perspective to properly manage development.

RESTORE says some of the recommendations could “emasculate” the agency and that they fail to increase public accountability for land-use decisions.

Occupy Maine told to sue or leave

PORTLAND ( AP) — The city of Portland has ordered Occupy Maine to leave Lincoln

Park by noon Monday unless the group files a lawsuit before then.

The “Notice to Vacate” was issued Thursday even as a lawyer for the demonstrators told the city he would meet the lawsuit deadline. If a lawsuit isn’t filed, the demonstrators would have to remove structures and belongings, and they’d be banned from the park between 10 p.m. and 6:30 a.m.

Occupy Maine posted on its Facebook page that the rumors of their eviction have been greatly exaggerated. The group said it was having a fondue party, followed by caroling.

The Portland City Council voted to banish Occupy Maine because of concerns about safety and sanitation. The group is protesting what it calls economic disparity and corporate greed.

Turnpike authority gets $430K in payout

PORTLAND ( AP) — The Maine Turnpike Authority will receive $430,000 to cover financial losses it suffered because of financial misconduct it blamed on former executive director Paul Violette, turnpike officials said Thursday.

The turnpike authority’s board of directors voted Thursday to accept the payout, bringing an end to its lawsuit against Violette. Violette resigned in March amid allegations of misspending and fraud.

The authority filed a lawsuit against Violette in July, accusing him of misusing nearly $500,000 in turnpike funds in the form of gift cards, credit card charges and vacation and sick leave pay to which he wasn’t entitled. The attorney general’s office is conducting a separate criminal investigation into the matter.

Two insurance companies, Travelers Casualty and CNS Surety, will pay the authority a combined $275,000. Violette will pay $155,000, which is his estimated net worth, the authority said.

Turnpike officials said the $430,000 represents full reimbursement for damages from Violette’s financial misconduct that could have been proven at trial.

“ We have recovered the money to which we are entitled and plan to reinvest it back into turnpike operations,” said MTA board chairman Daniel Wathen.