YORK

Inmate asks to practice Satanism with others

A York man serving 30 years for murder is asking a federal judge to force the Maine State Prison to let him practice Satanism with other inmates.

In a complaint in U.S. District Court in Portland, Joshua Cookson says he’s allowed to practice Satanism in his cell, but that he wants to do so in the activities building where group practices of other religions take place.

Prison officials have denied his requests, saying Satanism espouses violence.

A magistrate judge this month filed a recommendation against Cookson’s request. Cookson has filed an objection, which will be considered when federal Judge John Woodcock makes a final decision.

Cookson was convicted of shooting and killing a friend, Robin Rainville of Portsmouth, N.H., in 1999 in Cookson’s mobile home in York.

AUGUSTA

Man acquitted of charges that he set house on fire

A 63-year-old Augusta man has been acquitted of charges that he set his own house on fire to collect insurance money.

A Kennebec County Superior Court jury Friday found Alan Crocker not guilty of two arson charges stemming from a Jan. 28, 2010, fire at his Federal Street home.

Prosecutors said Crocker was the only person at home at the time of the fire and that he had financial problems after filing for bankruptcy protection in 2009.

But Crocker’s attorney said Crocker was current on all his debts and is worse off now than before the fire, with no house or belongings.

The Kennebec Journal reported that Crocker broke down in tears when the verdict was announced.

PORTLAND

Great Backyard Bird Count invites more participants

Bird watchers across Maine are being asked to take part in the 15th annual Great Backyard Bird Count.

Tens of thousands of bird watchers across the United States and Canada participate each winter to create a snapshot of the whereabouts of more than 600 species of birds and provide a basis to study bird population trends. This year’s count takes place from Feb. 17-20.

Organizers are encouraging participants to count birds in their backyards, in parks and other locations and report their observations online. The event is organized by the National Audubon Society, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada.

In last year’s event, Mainers identified 99 species with more than 42,000 bird observations.

More information is available at www.birdsource.org.

BELFAST

Suspect to face sentencing for strangling his girlfriend

Prosecutors say a 41-year-old former Belfast man will be sentenced Monday for strangling his girlfriend in 2010.

Dennis Edgecomb will be sentenced for murder in Waldo County Superior Court in the death of 42-year-old Pamela Green of Morrill.

Assistant Attorney General Leane Zainea told the Bangor Daily News that Edgecomb will change his plea to guilty at Monday’s hearing. He initially pleaded not guilty to the charge.

According to an affidavit, Edgecomb told detectives that he and Green got into a fight when Green learned he wanted to move out of the home where they lived together in Morrill. Police said Edgecomb told them he pushed her onto a couch and choked her.

CONCORD, N.H.

Registered snowmobilers can explore new territory

Registered snowmobilers in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine can explore new territory this weekend during the first reciprocal weekend for the three states.

Any snowmobile legally registered in one of the participating states will be allowed on trails in all three during the weekend. All other host state regulations will apply, including speed limits, youth laws and Vermont’s mandatory liability insurance.

New Hampshire and Vermont have held an annual weekend opening up their trails to the other since 2010. Maine is a new addition after a law was passed in 2011 including it in the weekend.

HAMDEN, Conn.

Eighteen college seniors travel to Sundance festival

Eighteen seniors at Connecticut’s Quinnipiac University are rubbing elbows with directors, producers, writers and other film professionals at the Sundance Film Festival.

The 18 students from Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania are seniors enrolled in a seminar focusing on independent cinema. They are at the noted annual film festival in Park City, Utah, as part of that class with three professors.

Quinnipiac officials say the trip gives students a chance to learn from professionals, get ideas from watching the films and make connections they might be able to use when they have graduated and launched their own careers.

The university and its Student Government Association are funding the trip for the festival, which runs through today.

DURHAM, N.H.

Police investigate assaults on two UNH students

Police are investigating an assault in which one University of New Hampshire student was stabbed in the torso and another was hit over the head with a blunt object during an early morning brawl.

Police said the assault took place about 1:30 a.m. Saturday during a fight involving multiple people on Strafford Avenue on the edge of the UNH campus in Durham.

Officials identified the stabbing victim as 19-year-old Nathan Dignan of Hudson, who was in fair condition at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover. Philip Hurley, 20, of Hampton was treated for a head injury and released from the hospital.

Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspects.

— From news service reports