AUGUSTA

Maine BEP vote will allow river’s dredging to proceed

A decision by Maine’s Board of Environmental Protection will allow a dredging project in the Kennebec River to go forward in August.

The board voted 6-1 Thursday to deny an appeal of the state-issued permit allowing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the Kennebec River in Phippsburg starting Aug. 1.

The dredging will enable a Navy destroyer, the USS Spruance, to leave the Bath Iron Works shipyard and get out to sea.

The Department of Environmental Protection welcomed the board’s decision. The agency said it is aware that the project will affect the Kennebec River in the area of the dredging, but the impact is within state standards and will not have an unreasonable effect on the environment.

DEXTER

Woman OK after car plunges into a hole, flips onto its roof

A Maine woman escaped injury Thursday when her car plunged into a hole obscured by grass.

Dexter Police Chief Jim Emerson said 62-year-old Tomasa Vincent had pulled off a road to look at some flowers and got back in the vehicle to drive away when the car plunged into the hole at the end of a culvert, flipping onto its roof.

The Farmington woman, who was wearing a seat belt, escaped injury, as did two dogs in the car. Emerson said the vehicle appeared to be damaged beyond repair.

JONESBORO

Blueberry growers hoping for some rain to help crop

Blueberry season in Maine is fast approaching, and growers are hoping for a little rain to help the crop.

Blueberry specialist David Yarborough at the University of Maine’s experimental blueberry farm in Jonesboro said there has been less than an inch of rain there this month.

A cool, wet spring helped keep pests away from the blueberry crop, but July’s hot and dry weather isn’t helping.

With some rain, the harvest could be about average, Yarborough said.

PORTLAND

Island Instiute launching $2 million innovation fund

The Island Institute is launching a $2 million economic-development program to help island and coastal entrepreneurs start or expand their businesses in Maine.

The Island and Coastal Innovation Fund is aimed at providing capital to boost waterfront businesses. In return, the institute takes an equity position.

The fund will continue to purchase and hold groundfish permits to help protect stocks, leasing them back to conservation-minded fishermen who are shifting from fishing to research.

ALTON

Trooper captures suspect after chase through woods

A man with outstanding warrants was captured after leading a Maine State Police trooper on a foot chase through the woods.

Police said 24-year-old Arthur Lloyd of LaGrange was charged with eluding an officer after the incident Thursday in Alton.

Trooper Chris Hashey said he came in contact with Lloyd after the car Lloyd was in broke down on Route 16. Lloyd gave a fake name, and when Hashey realized it was fake, Lloyd fled.

A second trooper and his police dog helped find Lloyd, who had outstanding warrants for burglary and two counts of theft. 

— From staff and news services