CAPE ELIZABETH

Lightning starts fires in day-care building, shed

Fires touched off by lightning hit a day-care center outbuilding and a shed at a home on Mitchell Road early Tuesday afternoon.

The fires were at the Ledgemere Country Day School, said Lauren Nicholson, whose family lives in the house that sits between the shed and the day-care building.

Nicholson said no one was hurt when the lightning hit. The day-care session had ended at noon, and the thunderstorm hit about 1 p.m.

Nicholson said the fires were quickly put out by Cape Elizabeth Fire Department crews. She said the day-care building was damaged and fire crews also broke windows to get into the structure.

FALMOUTH

Northbound lanes of I-295 closed after two crashes

A total of 13 vehicles were involved in two separate crashes on Interstate 295 Tuesday afternoon, forcing police to close both northbound lanes.

Shortly before 6 p.m., the lanes reopened, but traffic was still heavy and slow, witnesses said. The heavily traveled road was closed for about two hours.

State Trooper Doug Cropper, who investigated a four-car pileup near Exit 10 in Falmouth, said traffic was moving slowly and was backed up to the Forest Avenue exit in Portland.

A woman and her 7-year-old son had to be transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland. Cropper said their injuries were not life-threatening.

The second crash took place just north of the Johnson Road overpass and involved nine vehicles, Cropper said.

That crash was investigated by the Falmouth Police Department, but no other details were immediately available.

ORLAND

Man dies after car goes off road, strikes tree stump

Police say a 64-year-old man died after driving his car off U.S. Route 1 in Orland and slamming into a tree stump.

State police said Edward Sargent of Sullivan was alone when he crashed his car at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday.

Authorities say Sargent was taken to an Ellsworth hospital, where he later died.

MEXICO

Man who was shot in the head in grave condition

Police say a 30-year-old man is hospitalized in grave condition after being shot in the head inside a mobile home in the western Maine town of Mexico.

Investigators say three men were inside the home at the time of the shooting, which was reported about 4:20 a.m. Tuesday.

Officials say Thomas Joudry was shot in the head and taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland. Robert Terrill, 28, who lives in the home and fled after the shooting, is being sought for questioning.

The third man inside the home has been questioned.

The shooting is being investigated by state and Mexico police.

BANGOR

Canadian man who tried to smuggle pills sentenced

A federal judge has sentenced a 41-year-old Canadian man to 13 months in prison for trying to smuggle oxycodone into the United States.

Mario Levesque, who’s from New Brunswick, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Bangor.

Levesque pleaded guilty in February to trying to illegally bring oxycodone across the border at Limestone last December.

Prosecutors say that border agents found 200 oxycodone pills hidden in two baby bottle liners that were concealed in Levesque’s pants.

AUGUSTA

Maine Democratic Party looking for a new home

The Maine Democratic Party is selling its building in Augusta and plans to find a new headquarters closer to the State House.

Party Executive Director Mary-Erin Casale says the party’s under contract to sell its building to a business. She’s not giving the buyer’s name because the deal is not finalized.

The building is located near the Kennebec County Courthouse, where a major expansion is planned.

Democrats want to move to a site that’s handicapped-accessible and more efficient. Casale says the move will not affect party campaign organizations.

Former member of Charter School Commission dies

Don Mordecai, a former member of the Maine Charter School Commission and lifelong educator, died Monday at his home, according to a press release from Maine Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen.

Mordecai resigned from his seat on the commission earlier this month for health reasons. On Monday, members of the commission described Mordecai as a wizard when it came to analyzing financial data related to charter school applications.

“Don could take a quick look at a balance sheet and just dissect it very quickly,” said commission chairwoman Jana Lapoint.

Mordecai was a graduate of Colby College and received graduate degrees from Cornell University and Babson College.

The commission is seeking applications to fill Mordecai’s seat on the board. They are due Aug. 10.

LEWISTON

Crash witnesses manage to rescue injured teen

Quick work by three men may have saved the life of an Auburn teen after a car crash in Lewiston.

Authorities say 18-year-old Alexandria Shaw lost control of her 1991 Oldsmobile Toronado on Sabattus Street Monday night. The car struck a house, overturned and caught fire.

Police and fire officials told the Sun Journal that three men who were in another vehicle and witnessed the crash immediately stopped and managed to pull the teenager from the wreckage.

Shaw was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening.

WINSLOW

Man accused of driving drunk faces felony charges

A 20-year-old Waterville man is facing two felony charges after allegedly driving drunk during a car crash that seriously injured his passenger.

Kevin John-William Asher was driving his 1999 Pontiac Grand Am north on South Pond Road late Monday afternoon when he lost control of the car, which left the road and rolled over once in a ditch, Sgt. Haley Fleming said.

A 31-year-old man in the passenger seat, whom Fleming didn’t identify, suffered injuries that were serious but not life-threatening and was taken to a hospital.

The car was destroyed, Fleming said.

The crash is still under investigation, but speed and alcohol are likely factors. Asher, who wasn’t injured, failed a field sobriety test, according to Fleming.

Asher was charged with operating after suspension and operating under the influence, class C felonies; operating in violation of licensing conditions and restrictions, a class E misdemeanor; and being a minor consuming liquor, a civil violation.

BELMONT

Construction workers hurt after falling at least 18 feet

Three construction workers have been hurt after a boat storage structure they were building in Belmont collapsed around them and they fell at least 18 feet.

State police told the Bangor Daily News that the injuries resulting from Monday morning’s collapse were not considered life-threatening.

The accident happened at Belmont Boatworks Inc., on Route 3, where the construction crew from Warren & Warren Associates of Liberty was working on an addition to the business.

Workers had installed roof trusses for the new boat storage facility last week, and four or five construction workers were building the rest of the roof when trusses came down and took an end wall with them.