BRADFORD

Police investigate death of Hudson contractor

State police are investigating the death of a construction company owner from Hudson.

The body of David Trask, 71, was found early Saturday afternoon near his pickup truck along Bear Road in Bradford, near land he owned, according to a Maine Department of Public Safety news release.

Results of an autopsy performed Sunday have not been released.

Investigators have been interviewing family, friends and nearby residents in hopes of learning more about the circumstances surrounding the death of Trask, owner of David P. Trask & Son Inc.

PORTLAND

Forest Avenue fire sends woman to the hospital

The Portland Fire Department is investigating a fire that started between a garage and an apartment building at 1109 Forest Ave. on Sunday night.

A woman who tried to put out the flames was taken to Maine Medical Center to be checked for possible smoke inhalation, according to Deputy Chief Bob Flynn.

Flynn said firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, which melted siding on the garage and the house and got into a wall of the house. The distance between the garage and house was less than 4 feet, he said.

“It could have been a different story if it happened at 2 in the morning instead of 8:30 (p.m.), when everyone could see it,” Flynn said.

The three-story apartment building is next to Portland Collision on the eastern side of Forest Avenue.

LEWISTON

Dozens of searchers fail to find missing woman

The Maine Warden Service coordinated a search of 20 locations in Androscoggin County on Sunday hoping to find any sign of 22-year-old Christiana Fesmire, a Lewiston resident last seen in July.

According to a news release from the Maine Department of Public Safety, the search included 60 volunteers, 18 tracking dogs and more than two dozen members of the warden service and state police. They looked in woods, fields and swampy areas of Lewiston, Auburn, Lisbon and Mechanic Falls until shortly before sundown.

Buddy Robinson, 30, of Lewiston is charged with murder in connection with the case. He entered a not-guilty plea at an arraignment Thursday.

A police affidavit said Fesmire was part of an online prostitution ring led by Robinson’s sister, who told police that her brother confessed to the killing.

AUGUSTA

Three Maine grocers named as Environmental Leaders

Three Maine grocers have gained recognition for efforts to reduce their impact on the environment.

The Department of Environmental Protection has certified Food City in Turner, Royal River Natural Foods in Freeport and Bathras Market in South Portland as Environmental Leaders.

The DEP’s Environmental Leader program encourages grocers, restaurants and lodging establishments to voluntarily minimize their impact on the environment. Points can be earned by things such as installing energy-efficient refrigeration equipment, having an anti-idle policy for trucks making deliveries or selling local and organic foods.

Thirteen grocers in Maine have now earned the certification.

PORTLAND

UMaine field house, gym head agenda for trustees

Renovations to the University of Maine Field House and Memorial Gym Complex are among the items on the agenda as the UMaine System trustees hold a two-day meeting.

The trustees were to meet at the University of Southern Maine in Portland on Sunday and today.

Besides the Orono campus renovations, the trustees will take up academic program proposals and discuss the university system’s audited financial report for fiscal 2011. Appointments that require trustee approval are also on the agenda.

ORONO

Ex-national security adviser to speak at UMaine Thursday

President Obama’s first national security adviser will speak at the University of Maine this week.

James Jones will be the speaker Thursday at this month’s William Cohen Lecture at the Orono campus. Tickets are free.

Jones, a retired Marine general and Vietnam veteran, became supreme allied commander for Europe in 2003. His term as national security adviser ran from January 2009 through October 2010.

 

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