KENNEBUNK

Driver blinded by sun hits girl trying to board bus

A 5-year-old Kennebunk girl was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland on Wednesday morning after being hit by a car as she was trying to get on a school bus.

The crash happened on Sea Road as the No. 2 bus stopped in the westbound lane at about 8 a.m. and waited for the girl to cross the road. Eastbound traffic was blinded by the glare of the sun and could not see the bus or the girl, witnesses told police.

The speed limit in that area is 35 mph and the car was traveling at about that speed as it approached the bus but apparently slowed quickly just before hitting the girl, said Kennebunk police Lt. Dan Jones.

“The girl was conscious, breathing and crying,” Jones said. He said he did not have the name of the girl.

School Superintendent Andrew Dolloff later said in an email that the girl’s injuries were not life-threatening.

“I am pleased to report that the child … appears to have escaped the accident with some bumps and bruises, but no broken bones or other severe injuries,” he said.

The driver, Gregory Peck, 24, of Kennebunk has not been charged.

School officials are making counseling available to the Kennebunk Elementary School and Sea Road School students who were on the bus and may have witnessed the crash.

BRUNSWICK

Clothing store in business since 1889 is up for sale

A clothing store in downtown Brunswick that has been in business since 1889 and owned by the same business partners for 41 years has been put on the market.

David Girardin and co-owner John Simonson have begun advertising for a new owner for Pennell’s clothing store on Maine Street.

Girardin told The Times Record that he’s seen Maine Street transition from a mix of clothing and shoe stores, hardware stores and pharmacies to restaurants and other service-based businesses over the decades. But Pennell’s has weathered the changes, even keeping the same storefront and hardwood floors.

Girardin says he and Simonson are looking to retire and have listed the store with a local broker.

AUGUSTA

Bill aims to get parents involved at kids’ schools

Lawmakers are considering a bill to get parents more involved in their children’s schools.

Assistant Senate Minority Leader Justin Alfond, D-Portland, is sponsoring a bill that would require every school board in the state to develop a plan to engage parents in their schools. Those plans would be posted online by the state Department of Education so parents could access them easily.

The Maine Education Association testified in favor of the bill during a public hearing before the Education Committee on Tuesday.

Teachers union President Chris Galgay said research regarding parental engagement has long shown that when parents are involved in the education of their children, their children succeed.

PORTLAND

Get Valentine’s Day special for ‘Stars on Ice’ tickets

If you’re looking for a Valentine’s Day gift, here’s an idea: Half-priced tickets to the upcoming “Stars on Ice” skating show at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

In a promotion announced this week, people can buy two tickets for the price of one to the March 16 ice show. The offer is good on tickets priced at $55 or less, and it ends on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, at 11:59 p.m.

People can buy the half-priced tickets at the civic center (Spring and Center streets) by phone at 775-3458 or online at Ticketmaster.com. Use the code word “Valentine.”

The 7:30 p.m. show on March 16 is part of the “Love ‘n’ Life Tour” and features Sarah Hughes, Kurt Browning, Sasha Cohen, Ekaterina Gordeeva, Todd Eldredge and others.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H.

Section of Memorial Bridge taken down, floated to Massachusetts

Workers have removed a 2 million-pound section of the historic Memorial Bridge linking Portsmouth to Kittery, Maine.

The removal had been scheduled for Tuesday, but prep work took longer than expected.

The lift span was lowered Wednesday and was positioned onto a barge around 10:30 p.m. The barge will float the span to a scrap yard in Everett, Mass.

Department of Transportation spokesman Bill Boynton says cutting through cables on the bridge “takes a while.”

The Coast Guard has shut down traffic on the Piscataqua River until Thursday morning.

A new bridge is expected to open next year.