WINDHAM

Police look for truck driver who ran into 10-year-old

Windham police are looking for the driver of a truck that hit a Windham girl late Friday afternoon on Albion Road.

Police said 10-year-old Savanna Demmons was struck by a black Chevrolet pickup truck with a red, Boss-brand V-shaped plow on the front and a silver ladder rack behind the cab of the truck and at the rear of the bed. The truck was last seen heading toward Roosevelt Trail.

The girl, who was treated at and released from Maine Medical Center in Portland, was struck by the passenger-side mirror. Pieces of the mirror covering were collected at the scene.

Police are asking anyone with information about the truck to contact Officer Tricia Buck at 892-1919, ext. 4423.

POLAND

Double-wide mobile home destroyed by morning fire

A double-wide mobile home at 187 Cleve Tripp Road was destroyed by fire Saturday morning.

Fire Chief Mark Bosse said no people were hurt, although two dogs died in the fire and a third dog is missing.

The blaze may have started in a bedroom of the mobile home, said Bosse, who withheld the name of the homeowner at her request.

Bosse said the homeowner’s son and his two children were making breakfast around 10:30 a.m. when they smelled smoke. The son found a bedroom engulfed in flames.

About 35 firefighters from Poland and surrounding communities responded to the scene and provided backup during the fire.

Single-digit temperatures and the absence of hydrants hampered efforts to contain the blaze, said Bosse. Water had to be shuttled in. It took about two hours to extinguish the blaze, he said.

Bosse said the state Fire Marshal’s Office has been called in to help determine the cause of the fire.

The American Red Cross was providing shelter to the displaced family, the fire chief said.

ORONO

Two UMaine football players charged in pellet gun attack

Two University of Maine football players have been charged with assault and criminal threatening after a fight in which pellet guns were used.

The UMaine student newspaper reported Friday that Aamad Bush and Malik Walker, both 18-year-old freshman defensive backs, were charged in the incident Wednesday.

Police said the two entered a room in Somerset Hall uninvited when Bush allegedly shot another football team member in the side and arm with the pellet gun. Bush and the player got into a fight.

Police said Walker then allegedly shot one of the room’s residents in the arm with his own pellet gun.

Thirty-three pellets were recovered from the room, police said.

PORTLAND

Magazine names Maine bars to list of nation’s top 100

A national magazine devoted to beer has named three Maine bars to its list of the nation’s top 100 beer bars.

Draft magazine’s list features 100 spots that “any beer lover can call home.”

The three businesses from Maine that made the cut were Novare Res Bier Cafe in Portland, The Great Lost Bear in Portland and Ebenezer’s Pub in Lovell.

Elsewhere in northern New England, Three Penny Taproom in Montpelier, Vt., also made the list.

BAR HARBOR

Island Explorer bus system gets grant for improvements

The Island Explorer bus system that serves Maine’s Acadia National Park is getting a $1.3 million boost to make safety improvements at bus stops and increase ridership.

The Federal Transit Administration grant will go toward making improvements at six bus stops, including new boarding areas, passenger waiting areas and detailed signage.

A total of 58 projects nationwide are receiving nearly $41 million in “Transit in Parks” grants aimed at improving access for visitors to national parks, forests and wildlife refuges.

The Island Explorer, which also serves communities surrounding Acadia on Mount Desert Island, has carried more than 4 million passengers and eliminated nearly 1.4 million private motor vehicle trips since its inception in 1999.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H.

Coast Guard delays closing river for bridge removal

The Coast Guard has delayed the closure of the Piscataqua River near an old Maine-New Hampshire bridge that will soon be demolished to make way for a new one.

Maritime traffic is now scheduled to be closed from 7 a.m. Feb. 6 to 7 a.m. Feb. 9. The Coast Guard said that additional preparations need to be made for the removal of the nearly 90-year-old Memorial Bridge. The span will be placed on a barge and removed.

The Coast Guard said the demolition also is weather-dependent and could be delayed again.

Plans call for the bridge to be removed starting Jan. 30.

The bridge connects Portsmouth, N.H., to Kittery, Maine. A replacement is planned for July 2013.

WINTHROP

New plow truck catches fire during its first snowstorm

A new plow truck in this central Maine town went up in flames during its first snowstorm.

Fire Chief Dan Brooks said the truck driver plowed down a street Thursday, then saw smoke coming into the cab. He got out, and saw fire coming from under the hood.

No one was hurt. Brooks said the external plow equipment and the dumper appeared to be fine.

Town Manager Jeffrey Woolston told the Kennebec Journal that the town acquired the truck under a lease-purchase agreement, and it was insured. He didn’t immediately know the cost of the truck.

The town still has other plow trucks.