PORTLAND

Cliff Island’s post office gets break after Pingree lobbies

The Cliff Island post office, which faced severe reductions in its hours of operation, will remain open for at least six hours a day.

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, announced Tuesday that the U.S. Postal Service has agreed to triple the post office’s hours from the previous plan.

Initially, the Postal Service put Cliff Island on its list of post offices to be closed. It later agreed to keep the post office open for two hours a day.

Pingree, who lives on the island of North Haven, said two hours wouldn’t be long enough to serve residents effectively. She lobbied the Postal Service to keep Cliff Island open for at least six hours a day.
“The Post Office is a critical part of island communities. I know that firsthand and I was glad we could get the Postal Service to keep Cliff Island open longer,” Pingree said in a prepared statement. “The Post Office in a small town is more than just a place for people to get their mail.”

Pingree is married to S. Donald Sussman, the majority share owner of MaineToday Media, which owns the Portland Press Herald.

Car that plunged into harbor had no defect, analysis finds

Police said Tuesday that an analysis of the car that barreled down India Street and plunged into Portland Harbor on Friday showed no mechanical defect that would have explained the accident.

Ursula Nixon, 84, of Portland was driving when the Nissan sped out of control down the street, crashed through two chain-link fences, went across a parking lot, crashed through a guardrail and plunged into the water.

Police, firefighters and some civilians jumped into the water to rescue Nixon. A civilian, Katie Nelson, helped pull the woman out of the driver’s seat to where a firefighter could grab her and get her to shore, city officials said.

The City Council plans to honor the people who helped in the rescue at its Oct. 15 meeting.

Police said the small sedan has an electronic throttle, so no cable stuck. They next will analyze the “black box,” a small computer that records information about the car’s performance, to determine whether that indicates a malfunction.

Homelessness task force will hold public hearing

The city’s Task Force on Homelessness will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Wednesday on a draft report to end homelessness.

The task force, created by the City Council last fall, recommends centralizing the intake process at shelters, building three 35-unit housing complexes with in-house supportive services for tenants, and expanding case management services to align with the clients’ needs, rather than what is reimbursable.

Wednesday’s public hearing will take place in the State of Maine room at City Hall.
The draft report is available on the city’s website. The report is expected to be presented to the council on Oct. 15.

The task force was led by former City Councilor Dory Waxman, Maine Red Claws President and General Manager Jon Jennings and United Way of Greater Portland President and Chief Executive Officer Suzanne McCormick.

FREEPORT

Part of Main Street to close as workers fix water main

A section of Main Street, between Bow and Mill streets, will be closed to traffic until 6 p.m. Wednesday while workers repair a water main break, town officials announced Tuesday afternoon.

Traffic will be routed around the closed area, which is in the heart of the village, near L.L. Bean.
The cast-iron main broke Tuesday morning and has been under repair since 9 a.m., according to a news release from town officials.

BIDDEFORD

Local police carrying Tasers after purchasing 41 of them

For the first time ever, Biddeford police hit the streets Monday carrying Tasers, the electronic disabling device that has grown increasingly popular in Maine police departments.

The city used $40,000 in federal grants and money seized from drug cases to buy 41 of the devices so each officer could have one, said Chief Roger Beaupre.

The department has had the weapon for about a month and a half but just completed the eight-hour training Monday.

Beaupre said he wanted to wait before purchasing the Tasers to make sure they did not lead to liability or other problems for the departments using them.

“Mace – OC spray – doesn’t work on everyone,” Beaupre said. “The mere fact you are threatening to use (the Taser) before you use it in a lot of cases ensures compliance by the person.”

PITTSFIELD

Bald eagle injured by truck released after stint in rehab

A bald eagle is flying again 10 days after being hit by a tractor-trailer on an interstate highway.
A truck driver stopped and called for assistance after hitting the eagle with his truck on Interstate 95 near Newport.

Carolyn Richens of Pittsfield said the bird was hanging by its neck on the truck’s mirror when she went to pick it up for Avian Haven, a bird rehabilitation center in Freedom.

After the eagle was nursed back to health at the center, Richens and her husband released the eagle Tuesday at their farm.

SCARBOROUGH

Emergency responders holding oil-spill exercise

State emergency environmental responders will hold a daylong oil-spill exercise Thursday at the Scarborough River.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has contracted with Moran Environmental Recovery, Boom Technologies Inc. and Nuka Research to assist with the boom deployment exercise.
The Coast Guard and the Scarborough Fire Department will participate.

The exercise will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mariners will be alerted to the drill. All facilities will be accessible and the channel will not be blocked.

The training will test the feasibility of response strategies in the event of a large marine oil spill offshore that would threaten the Scarborough River and the marsh. The exercise was developed after pre-deployment testing to measure tidal flow and velocity, and to evaluate potential float oil trajectories.
A similar training exercise was held last October in the Penobscot River in Bucksport.

The 3,100-acre Scarborough Marsh is the state’s largest salt marsh and is close to Portland Harbor, the second largest oil import port on the East Coast. Each year, about 130 million barrels of oil are delivered to seven licensed marine terminals.

UNITY

Police seek man who broke into pharmacy, stole drugs

Police in central Maine are looking for a burglar who cut his way into a pharmacy in Unity and stole a backpack full of drugs.

State police issued surveillance photos of the man and are seeking the public’s help in identifying him.
The burglary happened early Sunday morning. The man cut through an exterior wall to get inside. The time stamp on the security video says the man was in the pharmacy between 2:18 and 2:47 a.m.

The man is described as 5-foot-6, thin with dark hair. Police ask that anyone with information call 624-7076.

CARRABASSETT VALLEY

Ex-student’s family suing over ‘affair’ with ex-coach

A private school that specializes in educating promising young skiers and snowboarders has been sued by the family of a former student who had sex with a coach when she was 16.

The lawsuit against Carrabassett Valley Academy was filed last month.

The lawsuit alleges the school was aware that the 19-year-old coach had “an intimate affair” with another student and “kept him on as coach, rejecting efforts by coaches to dismiss him … as a danger to students.”

The lawsuit says the coach had sex with the girl while at a school competition in Colorado in April 2011.

Academy head Kate Punderson said the school responded appropriately and fired the coach as soon as it learned of the relationship.

TOWNSHIP 15 RANGE 6

Fort Kent woman, 34, killedin car crash with moose

Police say a Fort Kent woman died when the car she was riding in struck a moose.

The Aroostook County Sheriff’s Department said Cheryl Albert, 34, was a passenger in a car that struck a moose on Route 11 in Township 15 in an area known as Soucy Hill about 1:30 p.m. Monday.
Albert was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency personnel.

Police told the Bangor Daily News that the driver, Ronnie Pelletier, 41, could not avoid the bull moose after it stepped into the road.

Pelletier suffered minor injuries, but the car was a total loss. The accident remains under investigation.

HIRAM

Trooper breaks leg chasingtwo men wanted for assault

Authorities say a trooper is recovering after breaking a leg during a foot chase.

The Oxford County Sheriff’s Office said police tried to serve arrest warrants Monday at a home in Hiram when the suspects ran off.

Patrick Hargis, 18, and Robert Hargis, 21, were wanted on multiple charges, including assault.
Officials said the trooper broke his leg while chasing down the two men.

WGME-TV reported that authorities caught up with Patrick Hargis. Robert Hargis eventually turned himself in after a seven-hour search.

HARTFORD, Conn.

Navy will use spare parts to repair fire-damaged sub

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney says the Navy will use a submarine that was recently taken out of commission for spare parts as it repairs a fire-damaged sub at a Maine shipyard.

The Democratic congressman from eastern Connecticut received an update Tuesday on work to repair the USS Miami at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

He said workers from Groton, Conn.-based Electric Boat have been preparing for the rebuilding and the Navy is using the recently decommissioned Memphis for spare parts. The Miami is based in Groton.

The attack sub suffered $450 million in damage in a fire while docked in Kittery in May.

Courtney received briefings from shipyard employees who said they had not found evidence of hull weakness that could drive up repair costs.

CAMDEN

Woman rescued after falling 50 feet while hiking at park

A woman who fell about 50 feet while hiking at Camden Hills State Park Tuesday afternoon was rescued by members of the Camden first-responder team.

The Knox County Sheriff’s Department said the woman, whose name was not available, was taken by ambulance to a hospital. The extent of her injuries and her condition were not known Tuesday night.

She was believed to have been hiking in an area between Maiden Cliff and the summit of Mount Megunticook. The Maiden Cliff trail is accessible from Route 52, near Megunticook Lake.
The accident happened around 4 p.m.