PORTLAND

Arson investigators find duplex fire ‘suspicious’

A fire that broke out at 9 Freeman St. on Monday afternoon was considered suspicious by members of the city’s arson investigation team.

“We did find signs of a suspicious fire,” said Lt. Scott Pelletier, a spokesman for the Portland Police Department.

Pelletier said that members of the arson investigation team, which consists of firefighters and police officers, went to the apartment and found that fires had been set in a couple of locations in the duplex.

Pelletier said investigators interviewed one person who may have been involved with the fire. “I don’t think it’s a whodunit,” he said.

Firefighters responded to the report of the fire around 3:15 p.m. No injuries were reported. 

LEEDS

Police charge driver, 83, who hit, injured cyclist

Police say an 83-year-old man whose driving privileges had been revoked was charged after his minivan hit an 11-year-old bicyclist who was riding along a road in Leeds.

The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department said Milton Hill of Monmouth was driving on Bog Road about 9 a.m. Monday when he hit one of three boys who were riding together in single file on the edge of the pavement.

Officials said the boy was taken by medical helicopter to Maine Medical Center in Portland.

The sheriff’s department said Hill was charged because his license was revoked earlier this year because of a medical condition. The accident is under investigation.

PITTSFIELD

Officials: Woman’s cooking started fire that displaced 12

Fire investigators say a woman making a late night snack of french fries sparked a fire in a Pittsfield apartment building that left 12 people homeless.

The fire late Saturday night into Sunday morning started when a woman in a third-floor apartment left the kitchen briefly and the grease caught fire.

Everyone, including the building’s owner, made it out of the six-unit home safely, although one firefighter suffered a minor injury.

Firefighters from Pittsfield, Newport, Skowhegan, Burnham and St. Albans responded to the scene. Crews battled hotspots until about 6:30 a.m. Sunday.

Fire Chief Bernard Williams said the third floor is a total loss but the lower floors may be salvageable. He said the building’s owner did not have insurance.

The Red Cross is helping the displaced residents.

BREWER

Police meet bus, arrest man for two pharmacy robberies

A Brewer man who was wanted in connection with two pharmacy robberies late last month has been arrested.

Police said John Campbell, 35, was nabbed as he stepped off a bus Sunday.

Police told the Bangor Daily News that Campbell fled soon after the Sept. 29 robberies by boarding a Greyhound bus to New York. Brewer police learned Sunday that Campbell had bought a ticket to return to Bangor.

Police met the bus about 11 a.m. and Campbell was arrested on two counts of robbery and one count of theft.

Campbell has been charged in connection with an attempted robbery Sept. 29 at the Rite Aid in Brewer and the robbery of the Hannaford pharmacy in Bangor a little more than an hour later.

CARRABASSETT VALLEY

Group opening fourth hut of 12 planned on Dec. 21

An organization that’s developing a backcountry network of huts along 180 miles of trails in Maine’s western mountains is opening the fourth of 12 lodges that are planned for the trails.

Maine Huts and Trails said the Stratton Brook Hut is opening Dec. 21 in Carrabassett Valley, with views of both the valley and Sugarloaf Mountain. The hut will have 10 rooms and be able to sleep up to 44 people.

The planned 180-mile hut-to-hut trail is open for hikers, mountain bikers, cross-country skiers and other outdoor enthusiasts.

Each shelter has a main lodge, rooms with beds, hot showers and home-cooked meals.

So far, Maine Huts has developed 50 miles of trails with three huts.

MADAWASKA

Communities getting funds for economic development

Communities in the St. John Valley region of far northern Maine are getting $250,000 in grant funding to expand development and tourism opportunities.

The Northern Border Regional Commission grant will be used to expand recreational facilities in Madawaska, St. Agatha and Frenchville. They will be matched with state and local funds for a total project cost of $692,500.

In announcing the grant, Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe said the money will support job creation and infrastructure improvements while strengthening Maine’s rural economy.

The Northern Border Regional Commission provides competitive grants for economic development in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York.

FREEPORT

Bootmobile, Weinermobile, others plan ‘art car cookout’

L.L. Bean’s Bootmobile is about to get some company.

On Friday, the vehicle created to celebrate the outdoor retailer’s 100th anniversary will be joined by the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile and promotional vehicles from Lindt chocolates and Peeps marshmallow candies.

The four vehicles will cruise up the Maine Turnpike to Freeport for an event on Saturday.

L.L. Bean is calling it the “art car cookout,” since it includes several key elements: hot dogs, chocolate, marshmallows and L.L. Bean boots.