DAYTON

Two-vehicle accident leaves seven people hospitalized

Additional Photos

Sgt. Roger Hicks of the York County Sheriff’s Office examines skid marks at the scene of a crash at Gould and New County roads in Dayton on Monday. Seven people were hospitalized with injuries that didn’t appear life-threatening, Hicks said. John Ewing/Staff Photographer

Seven people were hospitalized after a two-vehicle crash shortly before noon Monday at the intersection of Gould and New County roads.

A Dodge Stratus carrying five people turned left from Gould Road onto New County Road and collided head on with a Honda Pilot traveling east and carrying six people, authorities said.

One person was taken to Maine Medical Center and the other six were taken to Southern Maine Medical Center with injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening, according to Sgt. Roger Hicks of the York County Sheriff’s Office.

Rescue personnel from Saco, Arundel, Goodwins Mills, Hollis and Waterboro responded.

Traffic was delayed for about an hour.

PORTLAND

Portland hits record high for third consecutive day

Temperatures hit a record high Monday for the third day in a row in Portland.

The temperature hit 81 degrees at the Portland International Jetport, tying the old record for the date set in 1949.

The National Weather Service says Portland’s 85-degree high on Sunday broke the previous record of 79 degrees, set in 1942 and again in 1943.

The temperature reached 81 degrees Saturday, which tied the record for that date set in 1947.

Police looking for suspect in Sunday purse snatching

Portland police were still searching Monday for the man who stole a purse from a Portland woman a day earlier, and left a clue behind.

Lt. Scott Pelletier said the woman was walking behind a building at 218 State St. around 9 p.m. Sunday when a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt came up from behind her and yanked the purse from her shoulder.

Pelletier said the purse snatcher made off with cash and personal items. The 66-year-old victim was shaken up, but not injured.

Police were left with a clue. The man lost a shoe, which was taken into evidence.

BIDDEFORD

SMMC, caregivers planning forums on health topics

Southern Maine Medical Center and its physicians and caregivers will offer a series of community forums on various health topics. The first, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 19, is titled, “Do Supplements Really Improve Health?”

Nurse practitioner Merle Westbrook will discuss the effectiveness and safety of common supplements such as Omega 3 fatty acids, Vitamin D and multivitamins.

The other forums will cover:

• “Children and Technology: Keeping Kids Safe in the Cyber World,” 6 to 7 p.m. Nov. 2. Dr. Joan Pelletier will talk about Internet safety, cyberbullying and effects on the body and brain of an increasingly technological world.

• “The Diabetic Foot,” from 6 to 7 p.m. Nov. 9. Dr. Gregory Taggart will talk about how to prevent and care for foot and ankle complications in patients with diabetes.

• “How Care has Changed at SMMC’s New Center for Breast Care,” 6 to 7 p.m. Nov. 16. Breast cancer surgeon Dr. Catherine Share will team up with patient navigator Helene Langley to discuss the latest breast cancer treatments.

All presentations will be held at SMMC’s main campus and include light refreshments. Pre-registration is required by calling 283-7272. Seats are limited, and early registration is recommended.

SCARBOROUGH

Southbound turnpike traffic snarled by minor accident

State police say a vehicle rear-ended another near mile marker 42 on the Maine Turnpike, causing southbound traffic to back up for miles Monday afternoon.

State Trooper Lee Vanadestine said there were no serious injuries, but the volume of Columbus Day weekend traffic caused a major traffic jam.

The accident was reported at 4:15 p.m. Vanadestine said the accident scene was cleared by 5 p.m.

SOUTH PORTLAND

Presidential hopeful’s wife plans fundraising stop

The wife of Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is coming to Maine this week for a fundraiser for her husband.

Ann Romney will be at a fundraising reception on behalf of her husband Wednesday evening at the Marriott at Sable Oaks in South Portland. According to the invitation, those attending are being asked to contribute $500 to $1,000 to Romney’s campaign.

Romney is running to be the Republican nominee for next year’s presidential election.

LEWISTON

Two-day cycling event raises $1 million for cancer center

Television actor Patrick Dempsey’s bicycle run in western Maine to raise money for his cancer center has netted about $1 million.

About 4,000 people took part in the third annual effort to benefit the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope and Healing at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.

Hundreds of cyclists pedaled 10, 25, 50, 70 or 100 miles along roads in Androscoggin and Oxford counties during the two-day event, which ended Sunday. The roads were lined with spectators cheering the cyclists.

Dempsey, a native of Buckfield, plays Dr. Derek Shepherd on TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy.” He founded the Dempsey Center in 2008.

EASTPORT

Coast Guard saves man, kids after their sailboat overturns

Officials say a Coast Guard vessel rescued a Canadian man and children after their sailboat overturned in Canadian waters off eastern Maine.

Kenneth Stewart, a civilian Coast Guard search-and-rescue specialist, said the Coast Guard got a call at 11:24 a.m. Monday from Canadian authorities seeking help after the sailboat overturned in Passamaquoddy Bay.

Stewart said a 45-foot Coast Guard vessel based in Eastport was on routine patrol and was the first vessel on the scene, rescuing the man and two children from the water. He said they were cold, but otherwise fine. The three were wearing life jackets.

MATINICUS ISLAND

Survivor recalls plane crash in ocean off island in July

A survivor of a plane crash in July off Matinicus Island talked about her harrowing experience, days after another Penobscot Island Air crash on the island.

Pilot Don Campbell’s funeral Sunday in Waldoboro drew scores of friends and relatives. Campbell’s small airplane clipped a power line and crashed while landing on Matinicus on Wednesday.

A woman who attended his funeral told the Bangor Daily News that she survived a crash off the same island.

In July, Eva Murray, 47, was flying to the mainland when something went wrong after takeoff. The plane “ditched” into the ocean about 500 feet off the island.

When Murray came to, she was underwater in the downed plane. She had to grope her way to the pilot’s side to escape.

BERWICK

Suspects in home invasion focus of search by police

Police are searching for two men who broke into a condominium Monday morning and assaulted a couple in their 20s.

Berwick police Detective Bill Russell said the two men, who were known to the couple, entered the bedroom through an open window in the condominium off Route 236 at 4:50 a.m. Monday.

The men beat up the couple, who were in bed sleeping. The victims suffered bruises, but neither was hospitalized.

Russell said police cannot release the names of the suspects until arrest warrants are approved.

ELLSWORTH

Police officer rescues driver trapped in burning car

A police officer is being credited with saving a man trapped in a burning car.

Police say that around 6:35 a.m. Sunday, they received a report that a car had gone off Bayside Road and was beginning to burn with the driver trapped inside. Bystanders were unable to reach the driver.

But Officer Andrew Weatherbee used his collapsible baton to break the vehicle’s rear window.

Weatherbee then pulled the man from the car as the flames spread, according to the Bangor Daily News.

Sgt. Glenn Moshier said the driver of the car, Shaun Parsons, 33, of Tremont, was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

Moshier said there’s little doubt Parsons would have been severely burned or killed without Weatherbee’s action.

ADDISON

Mission schooner nearing completion Down East

Volunteers are building a 65-foot two-masted schooner on the Maine coast that will sail south and serve as a Christian mission ship.

Carpenters from Maine, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, Tennessee and the Bahamas are working on the vessel, named Beacon Won, on Pleasant River Bay in Addison.

Once the ship is completed, Bruce Dunham and his partner, Sheila Young, plan to sail it to the Bahamas, where it will take teenagers and church groups on weeklong excursions at sea.

A Florida man who moved to Maine began building the vessel as a mission ship in the 1980s. But construction stopped in 2003 when he died of cancer, according to the Bangor Daily News.

Dunham and Young purchased the unfinished schooner last year. They plan to launch the boat by winter.

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