PORTLAND

Minor injuries for sheriff in collision with pickup truck

Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion had some aches and pains but no serious injuries after a traffic accident Monday.

Dion was driving a county-owned 2008 Chevrolet from St. John Street across Brighton Avenue when it collided with a 2000 GMC pickup truck driven by Clement Voyer, 70.

Witnesses told police that Dion was stopped at the light at 4:30 p.m. and proceeded when the light turned green. Voyer drove through a red light and was issued a citation for it, police said.

Voyer was not injured. Dion had pain in his knee and was evaluated at the hospital but released, he said. He was at work Tuesday. Both men were wearing seat belts.

 

School board plans meeting with special ed consultants

The School Committee is scheduled to meet tonight with the authors of a controversial report on special education programs in the city’s public schools.

American Educational Consultants, of Beachwood, Ohio, recently reviewed the programs and concluded that the district could save $2.5 million on special education by restructuring administration, reducing staff and adjusting services to improve student performance.

The report was especially critical of Barbara Dee, special education director. The report also has been strongly criticized for containing apparent errors and contradictions.

The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. in Room 250 at Portland Arts and Technology High School.

 

Award-winning writer Hoose to speak at USM graduation

An award-winning Portland author will speak at the University of Southern Maine’s 130th graduation ceremony, on May 15 at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Phillip Hoose also will receive an honorary doctorate at the ceremony.

Hoose’s book ”Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice” recently received the National Book Award in the young readers category and the Newbery Honor for a prominent contribution to literature for young readers.

The book is about a black teenager who was arrested in 1955 in Montgomery, Ala., after refusing to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger. Colvin’s protest occurred nine months before a similar, more famous incident involving Rosa Parks.

 

Housing authority names new executive director

Mark Adelson has been named executive director of the Portland Housing Authority, the agency’s commissioners announced Tuesday.

Adelson has been the acting executive director since November, when Bruce Loring retired. Adelson joined the housing authority in 2004 as deputy executive director. He was responsible for daily operations and general management of the authority, which owns 992 rental apartments and issues 1,754 housing choice vouchers.

Adelson was chosen from among five final candidates, the agency said in a release.

Adelson, a graduate of the University of Maine at Farmington, was Portland’s director of housing and neighborhood services from 1987 to 2004.

RAYMOND

Gray resident identified as victim of diving accident

The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office has identified the man who died Monday while trying to recover an all-terrain vehicle that had gone through the ice on Sebago Lake.

WCSH-TV said Steven Viola, 53, of Gray was not breathing when he was pulled from the water by his support team around 1:30 p.m. Monday.

Officials say Viola may have had a medical problem that led to his death.

The sheriff’s office and the Maine Warden Service are both investigating the incident.

SOUTH PORTLAND

Freed from jail, man to face new charges in burglaries

A South Portland man who was released from jail recently after a burglary conviction is expected in court today to face new charges of breaking into homes and cars in the Lovell Street area.

A man awoke at 2:30 a.m. Monday and found Adam Black standing over him in his bedroom, police said. Black ran but was found nearby, hiding behind a car, police said. He had several items that had been stolen from cars and homes, police said.

Black pleaded guilty to burglary Feb. 2 and had been freed from jail so recently that he had not had time to see his probation officer, police said. He is being held without bail on charges of burglary and burglary to a motor vehicle, both felonies.

SOUTH BRISTOL

Deputy: Speed was factor in Route 129 rollover crash

A South Bristol man was injured Monday night when his car rolled several times and hit a tree on Route 129.

Lincoln County Sheriff’s Lt. Rand Maker identified the driver as Tony A. Eugley, 33.

Eugley, who was thrown from his Honda Accord, was taken to Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta before being transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

The crash forced police to close the road for more than two hours. Maker said speed appears to have been a factor. No one else was involved in the accident.

ELLSWORTH

Fisherman to serve half-year in jail for stealing lobsters

A Swan Island fisherman is going to jail for six months after pleading guilty to stealing more than $2,000 worth of lobsters from a seafood dealer.

Shaun G. Lemoine, 30, told a judge earlier this month that he was having financial problems because of the low price of lobster and a previous incarceration that had put him behind on his bills.

His wife was hospitalized in 2008, a few days before the theft of six crates of lobsters from a dealer’s float.

In addition to the jail time, a judge ordered Lemoine to pay $2,014 in restitution.

The Bangor Daily News said the judge delayed Lemoine’s sentence until Friday to give him time to help his brother with his fishing gear.

BANGOR

Mistakenly released inmate recaptured within hours

The Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department says an inmate who was mistakenly released during the weekend was recaptured within hours.

Chief Deputy Troy Morton said Peter McCaffrey, 38, of Bangor was released Saturday after a mistake with his paperwork. The Bangor Daily News said McCaffrey was found a short time later, working at a business in Bangor.

Morton said McCaffrey was not considered a high-risk inmate, and there was no danger to the public, so officials decided that a public notice wasn’t needed.

McCaffrey is being held for lack of $3,000 cash bail while awaiting trial on burglary charges.

TOPSHAM

Town weighs moratorium on medical-pot dispensaries

Topsham is the latest town in Maine to consider barring marijuana dispensaries until officials can adopt local regulations over them.

Voters in November approved a statewide ballot question to expand Maine’s medical marijuana law, including a provision that allows retail dispensaries where patients can legally buy pot with a doctor’s prescription.

Town Planner Rich Roedner told The Times Record that he has recommended that the selectmen ask voters at May’s town meeting to approve a moratorium to give officials time to create rules addressing questions such as where marijuana retailers will be allowed and how many there can be.

Other communities around the state have also approved moratoriums on dispensaries.

FALMOUTH

Public input to be sought on Ledgewood Drive fixes

The town is looking for input on fixing Ledgewood Drive.

On Thursday, the Parks and Public Works Department will hold a public hearing for residents to talk about the project, starting at 6 p.m. at Town Hall.

Potential subjects for discussion include new design options, drainage problems and the condition of driveways.

 

Copy the Story Link