A Casco man died this morning while swimming near his boat in Sebago Lake. Art Lester, an employee at the National Weather Service in Gray, was swimming back from his boat when he went under the water, witnesses told the Maine Warden Service. Divers from the Maine Warden Service found Lester’s body at around 11:30 […]

You may remember the hubbub surrounding Maine’s career centers and the possibility of a couple of them shutting down about a year ago. Many people thought it was a bad idea to close job centers at a time when the economy was beginning to show signs of faltering. I too thought Maine’s job centers were […]

As part of the Maine Community College System’s Rural Initiative, Southern Maine Community College will offer a course at Sacopee Valley Middle School in Hiram and a new certificate program in Bridgton this fall. An Introduction to Psychology class will be held weekly at Sacopee Valley Middle School, in partnership with School Administrative District 55, […]

Don’t expect too much “You have to have appropriate fiscal management to allow the state to do the rest of the work of the Legislature and the governor.” – David Lemoine, shortly before being sworn in as Maine state treasurer, Kennebec Journal, Jan. 4, 2005 “State Treasurer David Lemoine said the department will no longer […]

How to cut costs while dealing with aging elementary schools and an overcrowded high school and bus garage in School Administrative District 61 may be determined Monday. The SAD 61 Facilities Review Committee will meet for the fourth time, this time to determine recommendations for the Board of Directors. The meeting will take place at […]

Three teenagers arrested after a May 2006 burglary spree in Cumberland and York counties were indicted on dozens of charges by a Cumberland County grand jury Aug. 8. Andrew Legere, now 21, Derek Bean, now 20, and Derek Dunham, now 21, are accused with a youth who was a juvenile at the time of his […]

0815memories Route 302, before 1965, had room for cars to park on both sides of the road. And this view, heading toward Portland, is just before the intersection with routes 115 on the left and 35 on the right. Peck’s Country Store and the IGA (on the right) are long gone and one can see […]

Despite his denials that items found at his home were his, a Sebago man on probation was indicted on additional drug trafficking and weapons charges by a Cumberland County grand jury Aug. 8. Russell Coughlin Jr. of Peabody Pond Road was indicted for trafficking cocaine with a prior conviction and possession of a firearm as […]

Being a regular at a local hair salon proved the downfall for a Standish man indicted by a Cumberland County grand jury Aug. 8 on a charge of trying to rob the business in June. Charles Adams, 41, and his partner, Georgette Griffin, 35, of 33 Richville Road in Standish, had both recently had their […]

While it was Art Lester’s voice that made him a favorite of weather enthusiasts across the Northeast, it was his personality, affable and aware of what was important, that people will miss. Lester, of Raymond, the longtime voice of the National Weather Service’s radio broadcasts, drowned Aug. 7 as he swam near his boat in […]