PORTLAND

Review: Diocese meets child protection standards

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland is in full compliance with nationally mandated child-protection policies and standards for the fifth consecutive year.

The diocese has failed to meet the standards only once since annual reviews were implemented in 2002 in response to the clergy abuse scandal, which brought to light many cases of abuse in Maine and elsewhere.

Bishop Richard Malone said Friday that “this sad and shameful episode of Church history will continue for as long as victims are in pain.”

The audit noted that accusations were made against seven priests in the reporting period. Two are under investigation, and one was removed from the ministry previously. Two priests are deceased, and two others weren’t identified by victims. The most recent claim was in 1982.

Sanford man, 22, sentenced to prison for robbing bank

A Sanford man will spend 32 months in prison for robbing a bank in Sanford.

Federal prosecutors said Dane Bosley, 22, was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Portland. Bosley pleaded guilty in August to robbing a Maine Bank and Trust branch in Sanford of $3,600 in cash in February.

According to court documents, Bosley displayed what appeared to be a gun and demanded that he be given $25,000 within 45 seconds or he would begin shooting.

Shopping in Old Port today can help the homeless

Shops in the Old Port will donate a portion of today’s sales to charity as part of Portland’s Downtown District’s annual Shop for a Cause Day.

The event promotes Portland’s local, independent businesses while supporting less fortunate people in the community, said Janis Beitzer, the business group’s executive director. This year’s donations will go to The Homeless Outreach and Mobile Engagement Team, a program led by Portland’s nonprofit Milestone Foundation.

HOME Team workers walk the streets of Portland, offering help to people with mental health problems and drug and alcohol dependency. The group also provides transportation for people who accept help.

Forty-five downtown shops will participate. Beitzer said shops will donate 5 to 10 percent of today’s receipts.

A different charity receives help every year. In 2009, about $4,500 was raised for Florence House, which houses homeless women.

Dean Cole, owner of D. Cole Jewelers on Exchange Street, said participating in the program is part of being a good member of the community, and customers like it.

Cole said the program may or may not drive additional sales.

But, he said, “If someone on the other end gets something, then we are happy.”

BIDDEFORD

Heart of Biddeford seeking new executive director

Ezekiel “Zeke” Callanan is no longer executive director for Heart of Biddeford.

His termination, announced Thursday, is effective immediately, said board President Megan Rochelo. She declined to give a reason for Callanan’s firing. “We wish him well in his future endeavors,” she said.

Callanan became executive director on Nov. 30, 2009. He replaced Rachael Weyand, who was executive director for five years. The nonprofit organization was formed in 2004 to revitalize the city’s downtown.

“I am very grateful to have been a part of this warm community for the past year,” Callanan wrote in an e-mail. “Being the director of a small community building and economic development organization presents many challenges. I wish my very best to the board of directors of the Heart of Biddeford, and hope they find a more appropriate fit for this position.”

He came to Heart of Biddeford with experience in the nonprofit sector. He founded Maine Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts in 2008. Callanan is still president of the board for that organization.

The Heart of Biddeford board plans to meet next week to discuss finding a replacement, Rochelo said.

FAIRFIELD

Man drives six miles in wrong direction on I-95

A 74-year-old Fairfield man drove the wrong way for six miles on Interstate 95 on Friday but there were no accidents, state police said.

Larry Ricker was charged with driving to endanger, said Trooper Rick Moody.

Ricker, driving a Ford pickup truck, told police that he was driving in Clinton when he was distracted by his small dog and mistakenly turned onto the on-ramp for I-95 north, at Exit 138, when he wanted to go south.

Ricker continued on, driving on the shoulder of the interstate, then turned onto a crossover so he could take Exit 132 for Fairfield, Moody said.

At about 2:30 p.m., motorists began reporting the wrong-way driver to police.

“He made it six miles unscathed,” Moody said. “He knew he was going the wrong way, but he didn’t know how to turn around. He’s very fortunate that an accident didn’t occur.”

Moody said he stopped Ricker on Lower Ridge Road in Fairfield about 10 minutes after the calls came in.

Almost exactly a month ago, a fire destroyed Ricker’s mobile home and detached garage on Norridgewock Road. Ricker said he put kerosene-soaked wood in his stove and a fireball ignited and consumed the structure. He and his small dog, Bubba, escaped without injury.

CASCO

Man arrested for allegedly challenging officer to fight

Police used a Taser stun gun early Friday morning against a man who allegedly challenged an officer to fight.

Travis Greenwood, 23, is charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Around 1:28 a.m. Friday, Cumberland County sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a dispute between a man and woman at the area of Poland Springs and Meadow roads, said Capt. Jeff Davis.

The woman said Greenwood had been driving her car with a 2-year-old as a passenger. Greenwood was outside the car when Sgt. Josh Potvin arrived, Davis said in a media release. Greenwood allegedly yelled several expletives at Potvin, took off his jacket and shirt and approached the officer.

Potvin used the Taser after Greenwood continued to approach him and ignored orders to stop, Davis said. Greenwood suffered a cut to the head when he fell to the pavement after being struck by the stun gun, Davis said. The woman refused to cooperate in the subsequent investigation.

FALMOUTH

Heavy trucks barred from Railroad Crossing Bridge

Trucks weighing more than 22 tons will be barred from Railroad Crossing Bridge starting Tuesday.

The state Department of Transportation is posting the weight limit because of the deterioration of the steel structure, which carries traffic from routes 26 and 100 over the Presumpscot River. Engineers wanted to keep the bridge open during construction of the replacement bridge.

Railroad Crossing Bridge was built in 1932. The replacement bridge downstream is expected to be completed within 11 months, after which the old bridge will be dismantled. The replacement cost is $10.5 million.

The weight limit on the bridge is expected to allow most vehicles, including pickup trucks, school buses and emergency vehicles, to continue using the bridge.

Trucks weighing more than 22 tons will be rerouted to the Washington Avenue Extension, Blackstrap, Brooks and Leighton roads — a detour that will add about 0.8 mile to the route. Heavy trucks can also use the Maine Turnpike. The Department of Transportation estimates that 350 trucks will use the detour each day.

AUGUSTA

Former Mainer donating command center to Maine

A businessman from Ohio hopes to donate a $150,000 mobile command center to the Maine Fire Marshal’s Office.

Maine native Gil Blais runs a business, La Boit Inc., outside Columbus, Ohio, that builds mobile dental clinics, and spay and neuter clinics for veterinarians. After the Sept. 11 attacks, the company branched out into specialized mobile command posts for law enforcement agencies.

Koni Wade, La Boit’s national sales manager, said Blais is excited to give back to his home state. She said the donation is in honor of the parents of Blais and his wife.

The 33-foot vehicle includes four work stations, a conference room, a bathroom, a galley and space for storing weapons and evidence. Blais hopes to give the keys to the fire marshal early next year.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H.

‘Modern’ lift span being designed for new bridge

Some people say they don’t like a proposed design for a new bridge from Portsmouth to Kittery because it looks just like the span it will replace.

But New Hampshire Department of Transportation project manager Robert Landry says he thought that was what the public wanted when he asked designers for a replacement to the aging Memorial Bridge across the Piscataqua River.

The bridge includes a section in the middle that is lifted to allow ships to pass.

Landry told the Portsmouth Herald that his designers are coming up with a different, “more modern” lift span.

He said time is critical because the goal is to begin demolition of the old bridge in 18 months.

DEDHAM

Slick road, bad tires blamed in crash that killed three

Officials are blaming a rain-slickened road and bad tires for a car crash that killed three people.

A member of the Coast Guard, his wife and her 4-year-old daughter were killed Sept. 14 when their car crossed into the oncoming lane and collided with a pickup truck on Route 1A in Dedham, outside Ellsworth.

More than 400 people attended the funeral for Carlos Tapia, 34, Rachelle Parker-Tapia, 23, and her daughter, Mackenzie Gray.

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Department told WABI-TV that the crash was caused by water on the road and inadequate tires on the victims’ car.

 

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