Eric Chan, right, plays video games in the game room of the exchange student dormitory on the Thornton Academy campus in Saco last week; friend Johnny Xu looks on. (JEFF LAGASSE/Journal Tribune)

BIDDEFORD — A Biddeford firefighter crouched low to make his way through a smoke-filled kitchen to a living room, scooped up a three-week-old baby, went back through the thick black smoke again, ran down a flight of stairs and outside. The rescue took place Saturday as firefighters fought a hot, smoky fire on Foss Street. […]

Chaoqiang Qi talks about his experiences as a foreign exchange student last week at the dormitory on the Thornton Academy campus in Saco. (JEFF LAGASSE/Journal Tribune)

BIDDEFORD — On Tuesday, Mayor Joanne Twomey publicly told the City Council that she had resigned from the Maine Energy Recovery Company task force. Last week she informed council by e-mail of her decision. Since then, the task force met one more time, and during that meeting, she confirmed her decision to task force members. […]

OLD ORCHARD BEACH — As the days get closer to a national baseball tournament, town officials are scrambling to get a management structure in place for The Ballpark. Town Manager Jack Turcotte said in a phone interview Tuesday that he has been frustrated with the lack of structure for The Ballpark project. However, he said, […]

Volunteer Paul Crossman fills up a kerosene heater Tuesday before painting the walls of the clubhouse at the baseball park in Old Orchard Beach. Crossman is one of several who have been donating their time to renovate and restore the ballpark for eventual use later this year. (JEFF LAGASSE/Journal Tribune)

Biddeford High School student Hannah Lariviere peruses shelves of books Monday prior to a teen book club meeting at MacArthur Library. (JEFF LAGASSE/Journal Tribune)

BIDDEFORD — On Jan. 17, eight young adults from Biddeford, along with their advisors, boarded the Downeaster at the Saco train station and headed to Boston. This wasn’t a mere pleasure trip for the teenagers. They were on a mission. Their voices were going to influence what books their peers will be most inclined to […]

Leonie Rodewald, right, and Tammy Wiese, both foreign exchange students from Germany, inside a conference room in the school’s library on Wednesday. (JEFF LAGASSE/Journal Tribune)

KENNEBUNK — It was love at first sight when 10-year-old Caleb and 7-year-old Elizabeth met Shannon, an active 1 1/2-year-old Rottweiller, on Saturday at the Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk. Shannon seemed to have no trouble adapting to her new family, despite her three month quarantine with no exposure to strangers. Shannon was one of […]