ALFRED — Julia Dochtermann beamed with pleasure as she played with a small toy, grinning at her parents, Jim and Junko. She looked uncertainly at two newcomers in the room, and then after a bit, burst into tears ”“ the signal for a much-needed nap, her father said. Her mother, Junko, bundled the 18-month-old off […]

Caroline Lowery, left, shares a laugh with other students in the RSU 21 school district Wednesday night during the spelling bee. The young “bees” had the job of taking down a team’s name card if they missed a word, and handing out trophies to the winners. (JEFF LAGASSE/Journal Tribune)

Meredith Gaanz of Federal Jack’s Brew Pub holds up her team’s correctly spelled word, “escargot,” Wednesday night during a spelling bee at the Sea Road School in Kennebunk. The bee was a contest among local businesses, schools and other organizations, and was hosted by the Education Foundation of the Kennebunks and Arundel. The Federal Jack’s […]

KENNEBUNK — Escargot. Facsimile. Zucchini. Vertebrae. The only thing these words have in common is that they’re hard to spell, and on Wednesday night, that was the point, as teams of local businesses, students, parents and residents descended on Kennebunk’s Sea Road School in swarms to take part in the 2011 Spelling Bee benefiting the […]

Stephen Sears, acting director of the Maine Center for Disease Control, said Tuesday there are no health risks associated with the radioactive iodine detected in the air that has made its way here from Japan. Radiation levels are routinely monitored at a few different sites across the state ”“ including Kittery, Augusta and Orono, said […]

BIDDEFORD — Last week, organizations that receive significant funding from the City of Biddeford made their case before the City Council about why their budgets for the new fiscal year should remain the same or increase slightly over the previous year. Tammy Ackerman, board president of the downtown revitalization organization Heart of Biddeford, told councilors […]

People across the state flooded sugar shacks and farms on Maine Maple Sunday, an annual rite of spring in Maine. At farms like Harris Farm in Dayton and Triple C Farm in Lyman, the lines wound far out the door for people who wanted to partake in the pancake breakfasts. “It’s been crazy,” said Camry […]

Cale Dyer gives a demonstration of a boiler used to make maple syrup in the sugar shack at Triple C Farm in Lyman, on Maine Maple Sunday. (LIZ GOTTHELF/Journal Tribune)

Reegan Hussey holds a 2-week-old goat, Ginger, at Harris Farm Sunday morning, as she invited those who were visiting the farm for Maple Sunday to pet the goat. (LIZ GOTTHELF/Journal Tribune)

Alex Goodwin, guitarist for The Study of Wumbo, practices with bandmates last Saturday. (JEFF LAGASSE/Journal Tribune)