BINGHAM

Police investigate after man is found dead in a driveway

Maine State Police cordoned off an area around Baker Street on Sunday after the body of a Massachusetts man was found in a driveway there.

State police Lt. Christopher Coleman said Ernest Sayers, 61, of Haverhill had been staying with his girlfriend in Bingham for about two weeks. He attended a gathering in town Saturday night, and Coleman said the man left alone on foot late in the evening.

It appeared that Sayers had cut through a snow-covered path leading from U.S. Route 201 to Baker Street on the way to his girlfriend’s house. Coleman said a resident in the neighborhood looked out a window Sunday morning, saw a man lying in a driveway and called police.

Detectives hope an autopsy today or Tuesday by the state Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause of death.

THORNDIKE

Man pinned while cutting trees dies from his injuries

A Unity man died Saturday shortly after he was extricated from beneath a tree that had fallen on him while he was cutting wood off Parsons Valley Road.

Thorndike Fire Chief Peter Quimby said Clair Lewis, 75, a well-known Unity businessman and Mason, had called his wife on his cellphone after the accident and she summoned help. Responders found Lewis pinned by branches, rather than by the 10-inch-diameter tree trunk, and he appeared to have injured his back and a leg, Quimby said.

Lewis, who was wearing protective gear, was conscious and talking with rescuers during the hour-long extrication. He succumbed to his injuries at MaineGeneral Medical Center’s Thayer Campus in Waterville, police said.

CAMBRIDGE

Man freed on bail as police probe shots, fire at house

A 43-year-old Harmony man accused of shooting at a Cambridge resident was freed Saturday after posting $20,000 cash bail.

Stacy L. Gourley was charged with aggravated reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon after a confrontation Thursday night, the same evening the alleged victim’s Dexter Road home was set on fire, said Detective Lt. Carl E. Gottardi II of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.

At 10:38 p.m. Thursday, Deputies Jeremy Leal and Don Avery, Maine State Police troopers and Cambridge firefighters responded to 614 Dexter Road after reports of gunshots and a fire at the home. The fire was extinguished, and Gourley was arrested later at a home in Harmony, Gottardi said.

Sgt. Ken Grimes of the state Fire Marshal’s Office said the fire, which caused extensive damage, was intentionally set outside near the back of the house. The investigation is ongoing.

Gourley is scheduled to appear March 7 in Somerset County Superior Court on the charge of aggravated reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.

TURNER

Missing snowmobiler’s body is spotted in river, recovered

Maine wardens have recovered the body of a snowmobiler who had been missing since leaving his home on Friday.

The Maine Warden Service said the body of 46-year-old Joey Mann of Dixfield was located Sunday after a volunteer searcher spotted what appeared to be a helmet in the Androscoggin River in Turner just below the Center Bridge Road Bridge. Wardens deployed an airboat and recovered Mann’s body late Sunday morning.

The body was being taken to the state Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta, and the warden service is continuing its investigation.

Officials say Mann was last seen at about 6:30 p.m. Friday in Greene, where witnesses said he appeared confused while asking for directions.

BRUNSWICK

Maine company builds record-setting bridge beam

A Maine company says it’s made a record-setting bridge beam that will go to Missouri.

Harbor Technologies LLC of Brunswick says the 105 foot, 7 inch beam is the world’s largest vehicular composite bridge beam. It’s 6 feet wide and 5 inches deep.

The so-called hybrid composite beam will be part of a Missouri Transportation Department project which is repairing and replacing 802 bridges over five years. The Maine-made beam is one of three Harbor Technologies is providing for the project.

The contractor for the bridge work says the Fiberglass-coated composite beams, which also are made of Styrofoam and some steel and concrete, have advantages over standard steel or concrete beam forms. They’re much lighter, just as strong and are corrosion resistant.

AUGUSTA

Head of the Guard in Maine to address a joint session

The head of the Maine National Guard, Adjutant Gen. John Libby, will address a joint session of the Legislature for the first time.

Libby’s speech on Thursday comes a week after the state’s chief justice, Leigh Saufley, also addressed a joint legislative session.

Libby is expected to address the state of defense, veterans and emergency management matters, and also recognize Maine’s National Guard families that have lost a loved one during deployments since 2001.

A bill last introduced year and signed by Gov. Paul LePage last week authorizes legislative leaders to invite the adjutant general to appear annually and address a joint session.

Maine’s National Guard began in 1893, when a revision of military law changed the designation from Maine Volunteer Militia to National Guard, State of Maine.

Drug agency invites tips via smartphone application

The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency has a new crime-fighting tool.

The agency says it now has a smartphone application to make it easy for people to contact and send information to MDEA.

The app includes features for submitting tips, feedback and questions, with users having the option of sending information anonymously. It can be downloaded for free by searching “MyPD” or “My Police Department.”

Director Roy McKinney says the goal is to increase the flow of information and provide the public with MDEA news and updates.

AUBURN

Film offers humorous take on expedition to meet King

A film with a humorous take on Stephen King will premiere in the horror writer’s home state of Maine in April.

“You Can’t Kill Stephen King” will be part of this year’s Lewiston Auburn Film Festival. The film will be shown on April 14 at the Community Little Theatre in Auburn.

The film follows a group of friends who visit Maine in hopes of meeting King, but come face-to-face with several eccentric characters. It’s already received national mainstream attention in cinema magazines.

Festival organizers and the film’s creators plan to send invitations to King, welcoming him to view the world premiere of the film. Co-director Monroe Mann says he hopes it will make King smile.

PROVIDENCE, R.I.

Rhode Island ticket buyer wins $336 million in lottery

Lottery officials say someone who played the Powerball in Rhode Island has won the $336.4 million jackpot.

The new multimillionaire has not stepped forward and the lottery has not said where the winning ticket was sold. To win, the player had to match all of Saturday’s five numbers, 1-10-37-52-57, and Powerball number 11.

Because of rising sales, the jackpot nearly doubled from $173.5 million on Feb. 1.

Powerball is played in 42 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

— From staff and news services