SACO

Two face charges in theft of gift cards from church

Two Biddeford men have been charged in connection with the theft of gift cards from Most Holy Trinity Church.

James Haines, 53, was arrested Wednesday by Saco police and charged with theft.

Duane Dennison, 50, was given a court summons Wednesday. He is accused of using stolen gift cards at a Hannaford supermarket in Biddeford.

The theft of about $200 worth of gift cards from the church was reported Dec. 13. Saco police are working with the York County Sheriff’s Office.

It’s not yet clear whether the theft from Most Holy Trinity Church is related to one that took place at St. Philip Church in Lyman.

WATERBORO

Pot seizure, arrests follow report of odor from home

Authorities seized more than 16 pounds of processed marijuana from a home that they said was being used for an indoor growing operation.

The York County Sheriff’s Office investigated at 181 Beaver Dam Road on Thursday after neighbors reported a strange odor coming from the home. Investigators learned that the homeowner did not live there but visited for several hours each week, according to the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office searched the home and took two men into custody. Graham Chitouras, 25, of Lexington, Mass., and David Rosen, 26, of Ashway, R.I., were charged with unlawful possession of scheduled drugs. Their arraignments in York County Superior Court are scheduled for Feb. 12.

Also seized from the home were nearly 25 plants with an estimated street value of more than $50,000, and more than $60,000 worth of growing equipment.

PORTLAND

Police arrest two juveniles in credit union robbery

Police arrested two juveniles Friday in connection with a credit union robbery earlier this week.

University Credit Union at 391 Forest Ave. was robbed Wednesday afternoon. Police said two males told a teller they had a weapon and demanded money. No one was hurt, and the two did not display a weapon.

Police would not say how much money was stolen.

The two juveniles, who are 14 and 15 years old, were taken into custody at their homes around 6:20 Friday morning. They were held at the Long Creek Youth Development Center pending court appearances.

Prosecutors: Topsham woman stole VA benefits

A Topsham woman is charged with misusing tens of thousands of dollars in veterans’ benefits that were intended for her brother-in-law.

Martha Jacobs, 64, was appointed in 2003 to manage benefits that her brother-in-law received from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Prosecutors say she used the money to build an addition to a home in Nobleboro, travel to Florida and Las Vegas on vacation, buy a time share, pay college tuition and pay personal living expenses. In all, she’s accused of taking $74,000 to $279,000 from 2003 to 2010.

The Bangor Daily News said Jacobs made her first court appearance this week in U.S. District Court in Portland. Court documents did not say why Jacobs’ brother-in-law qualified for benefits or why he couldn’t manage his own account.

BELFAST

Protection-suit company temporarily lays off workers

A company in Belfast has temporarily laid off about 70 workers because material used in one of its chemical-protection suits had to be reworked.

Little River Apparel gave notice to the employees Thursday. The company employs about 240 people, most of whom have a disability, who make chemical warfare protection uniforms for the military.

Richard Savage, the company’s manufacturing director, told the Bangor Daily News that he expects the laid-off workers to be back on the job by the end of January.

He said the company had to rework some of the tape material on some of the suits, and new test suits are being tested by the material manufacturer and the Defense Department.

NORRIDGEWOCK

N. Anson woman accused of heroin, pill possession

A North Anson woman who police say had 17 bags of heroin was arrested Thursday.

Somerset County sheriff’s Detective Lt. Carl E. Gottardi II said police had been investigating Jill Berryman, 45, for several months and executed a search during a traffic stop at 1 p.m. Thursday on Route 2.

In addition to the 17 bags of heroin, Gottardi said, officers seized four oxycodone pills and drug paraphernalia, including digital scales, from Berryman and her 1998 Hyundai. He estimated the street value of the heroin and oxycodone pills at $700.

Berryman faces a felony charge of trafficking heroin, which can carry a 10-year prison term and a $10,000 fine. She also faces felony charges of possession of the heroin and oxycodone, which can carry five-year prison terms and $5,000 fines.

She is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 8, in Somerset County Superior Court.

FARMINGTON

Student expelled, charged in high school bomb threat

A student at Mount Blue High School has been expelled and charged with making a bomb threat earlier this month.

Police said Andrew Coscia, 18, is charged with terrorizing in connection with the threat Dec. 9, which forced administrators to bus the more than 700 students who attend the school to other sites for the day. Coscia has been summoned to court Feb. 24.

The Morning Sentinel reported that the school board voted unanimously this week to expel an 18-year-old male student. Police confirmed that Coscia was the student.

Police and school officials are investigating two bomb threats that were received at the school last month. Coscia isn’t a suspect in those incidents.

BANGOR

State DOT reports progress on repairs to railroad line

A $10.5 million project to repair 233 miles of state-owned railroad line in northern Maine is progressing, but there is still plenty of work to be done.

About half of the 7,500 feet of rail replacement has been done, and 11,000 of the planned 50,000 ties have been replaced since August on the stretch of line between Millinocket and Madawaska, said Nate Moulton, director of the Maine Department of Transportation’s rail program.

The Bangor Daily News said work will resume next year when weather conditions permit. The project is expected to be complete by the fall.

The line’s previous owner sought federal approval in February 2010 to abandon the tracks, citing losses of $4 million to $5 million a year. The tracks were purchased by the state in January for $19.1 million.

AUGUSTA

CMP plans coal tar cleanup, containment effort in 2012

Central Maine Power Co. plans to clean up and contain toxic coal tar left next to, and likely underneath, Bond Brook at the site of the former Augusta Gas Works.

A spokesman for the utility said the cleanup planned for next summer is expected to cost $1.5 million to $2 million.

Coal tar is a potentially cancer-causing byproduct of the once-common gasification process. Coal was converted into gas to provide heat and light lamps and streetlights from the 1800s through the 1950s.

State environmental officials told the Kennebec Journal that some of the coal tar will be removed, but some will be contained with impermeable barriers and monitored so it doesn’t get into the groundwater.

Ski Maine group to offer free ski, snowboard classes

The Ski Maine Association is kicking off its third annual “Learn to Ski and Snowboard for Free Week.”

Nine ski areas will take part in the program, Jan. 8-13.

The ski areas are donating a total of 141 ski and snowboard packages to be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants get ski or snowboard equipment, lessons and limited beginner lift access.

In the past, the openings have filled up within days of the announcement.

The participating ski areas are Bigrock Ski Area, Black Mountain, Camden Snow Bowl, Lost Valley, Mount Abram, Saddleback, Shawnee Peak, Sugarloaf and Sunday River.

People can sign up on the Ski Maine website, www.skimaine.com.

— From staff and news services