STATEWIDE

Worst-road contest to raise awareness and assess cost

The worst road in Maine contest has begun.

Sponsored by the Maine Better Transportation Association, the contest attempts to raise awareness of the personal costs of bad roads.

Drivers are encouraged to write in or submit photographs of some of the state’s worst roads.

Drivers are being asked to consider the impact bad roads can have on drivers and their vehicles including vehicle maintenance costs, safety risks and lost travel time.

In some cases, the costs are measurable, according to Marie Fuentes, MBTA Executive Director.

Fuentes said a recent study showed that the average Mainer pays $250 a year in added vehicle maintenance costs.

Currently, 32 percent of major state highways are rated poor or unacceptable by the Maine Department of Transportation.

The contest ends May 15 at midnight. To enter, go to www.FixMaineRoads.org.

BRUNSWICK

Embezzler ordered to pay full restitution to credit union

A Topsham woman serving a prison sentence for embezzling more than $500,000 from the Brunswick credit union where she worked has been ordered by a federal judge to pay full restitution.

Marsha Richard had agreed with officials at Atlantic Regional Federal Credit Union to repay just $370,000 in restitution, but the Times Record reported that a judge ruled last month that she is obligated under the law to repay the full amount, or more than $468,000 remaining. She had already repaid $50,000.

Richard is serving a 33-month sentence after pleading guilty in September to felony theft.

Prosecutors said the 23-year employee stole the money by manipulating accounting entries for checks that credit union members had deposited but that had been returned for insufficient funds.

AUGUSTA

LePage holds meeting with soon-to-be-renamed panel

Gov. Paul LePage, who wants to boost work force training, has held what’s expected to be his last meeting with the Jobs Council of Maine.

A bill supported by LePage that’s nearing final enactment would rename the council as the State Workforce Investment Board. It’s comprised of business leaders and state and local officials, along with representatives from education, unions and service providers.

LePage, who met with the group Friday, said many employers in Maine have positions to fill but are not able to find qualified applicants.

He said the lack of qualified workers is holding the economy back, and two of his priorities are ensuring students have the skills they need to be productive when they graduate and providing training to existing workers so they can be competitive.

New law lets officers raise donations for ill relatives

A law that clears the way for members of Maine’s law enforcement community to raise money for officers and their family members who are struggling with a serious illness has been signed by Gov. Paul LePage.

The Republican governor signed the law Thursday after it received final passage in the House and Senate with unanimous consent.

The bill introduced by Republican state Rep. Andre Cushing was prompted by a situation in the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office, where deputies raised money for the wife of a colleague suffering from cancer. The effort drew donations from outside the department, which was against state law. The donations had to be returned.

The new law permits law enforcement agencies across the state to contribute to fundraisers being run by other agencies.

Pedestrian, 81, dies of injuries from out-of-control Jeep

An 81-year-old Augusta woman who was an avid walker has died after being hit — while walking on a sidewalk — by an out-of-control Jeep last week.

Ruth Epperson died Thursday afternoon at Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she had been listed in critical condition, according to her family.

Epperson was walking on the sidewalk along North Belfast Avenue when she was hit by a 1999 Jeep Cherokee driven by Joshua Erskine, 24, of Windsor, who was not injured. Police on Friday declined to discuss the case, saying it remains under investigation. Erskine has not been charged in connection with the crash.

Epperson’s son, Gerald Epperson of West Gardiner, said his mother walked up and down that road for 44 years without an incident.

The crash happened about 3:30 p.m. Erskine was driving east on North Belfast Avenue when his Jeep swerved across the westbound lane and hit a car parked in a driveway. His Jeep caromed off the parked car and hit Epperson, who was walking on the sidewalk.

Epperson was taken to Portland by a LifeFlight helicopter with extensive injuries.

Her husband, Clyde Epperson, said she never regained consciousness.

Clyde and Ruth Epperson have two children, Gerald Epperson and Ann Young, of Fayette; two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Two men receive lengthy sentences in home invasion

Two men who pleaded guilty to their roles in an armed home invasion in Manchester in which a woman was awakened by a man holding a knife to her throat have received lengthy prison sentences.

Michael Jo Ruth of Augusta was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison, with all but eight years suspended, and three years of probation.

Benjamin Pilsbury of Waterville was sentenced to 18 years in prison, with all but seven years suspended, and three years of probation.

Prosecutors said Ruth, Pilsbury and another man wanted money for drugs when they broke into the home Sept. 5.

The Kennebec Journal reported that Ruth was also ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution for stealing jewelry from his former mother-in-law days before.

HARRINGTON

Judgment against L.L. Bean in wreath case reduced

A judge has reduced the amount outdoors retailer L.L. Bean must pay a wreath-making company in a legal dispute over the production of wreaths and other goods for the 2008 holiday season.

A Maine Business and Consumer Court judge reduced the judgment on Friday from nearly $1 million to $657,000 after reviewing the numbers in the original lawsuit.

A judge had ordered Freeport-based L.L. Bean Inc. to pay Harrington-based Worcester Wreath Co. after finding L.L. Bean ordered more wreaths than it could sell. The judge said Worcester had to step up production on items that never sold.

L.L. Bean’s sales fell that year because of the recession. The company says it tried to resolve the dispute without litigation.

Worcester Wreaths owner Merrill Worcester tells the Bangor Daily News his attorneys are reviewing the new judgment.

YARMOUTH

Councilor to be honored for his ‘spirit of community’

The Town Council announced Thursday that it will award longtime Councilor Erving Bickford with the town’s prestigious Latchstring Award. Bickford was elected to the council in 1978 and has served on the council for about 26 years.

Town Manager Nat Tupper said that Bickford was selected to receive the award for embodying the spirit of the town motto, “Our Latchstring Always Out.”

“The purpose of the award is to recognize people who embody a spirit of (community) and no one does that more than Erv Bickford,” Tupper said. “Erv has led this community in all of his leadership endeavors on the town council, town committees, and through his personal and business affairs. He embodies the spirit of this community in the way he approaches people and how he makes people feel welcome and included.”

The council will vote to ratify the resolution at its meeting on April 19. Bickford will be formally recognized with the award at the annual town meeting on June 5.

BOSTON

Scallop dredgers now must use turtle-protecting gear

Federal regulators are now requiring boats that dredge for Atlantic scallops to use new gear that protects sea turtles by deflecting them out of the way.

On Friday, the National Marine Fisheries Service approved the new “turtle deflector dredge,” which scallopers must install within a year. Regional regulators approved the change late last year.

In the new dredge, the cutting bar, which runs along the sea floor, is moved forward so it looks like a train’s cowcatcher. That bumps turtles clear so they don’t get trapped or crushed by the dredge’s heavy chain bag.

The gear was tested to ensure it still effectively catches scallops.

CONCORD, N.H.

New England jobless rate remains basically unchanged

New England unemployment rates remained essentially unchanged for February, with New Hampshire and Vermont among the lowest rates in the nation.

The New England Regional Office of the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reports New Hampshire’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.2 percent – the fifth lowest in the nation. Vermont, at 4.9 percent, ranks fourth lowest.

The U.S. unemployment rate for February again posted at 8.3 percent. The New England unemployment rate averaged 7.1 percent – its lowest since January of 2009.

Rhode Island’s 11 percent unemployment rate places it second in the nation and significantly higher than the national average.

Connecticut, Vermont and Maine all came in markedly lower than their unemployment rates one year ago.

The Maine Labor Department said the state’s unemployment rate was 7.1 percent in February, up slightly from January and down from 7.9 percent a year ago.