BERWICK

Boys’ head coach at Noble accused of soliciting girl

The head coach of the boys’ varsity basketball team at Noble High School was arrested Friday and charged with five counts of indecent exposure and three counts of certain uses of a computer prohibited, said police in Portsmouth, N.H. All of the charges are felonies.

Kenneth P. Kimber, 34, of Portsmouth, N.H., is accused of attempting to solicit sexual activity from a girl younger than 16 and sending sexually explicit photos of himself to her, said Portsmouth police Cpt. Mike Schwartz. Schwartz said Kimber sent photos of his genitalia to the girl.

Kimber is also an employee of the Portsmouth School Department. The Portsmouth Herald reported that he had been fired from the information technology department.

Kimber was being held on $15,000 personal recognizance bail. Personal recognizance bail is a mechanism in New Hampshire that allows the accused to make bail without posting money. If Kimber were to violate the bail, he would owe $15,000.

Kimber is scheduled to appear in Portsmouth Circuit Court on Feb. 19. Nobody answered the phone at Noble High on Friday afternoon.

PORTLAND

Woman who was burned in house fire dies of injuries

A Portland woman who was badly burned in a fire at her home Sunday died at a hospital in Boston, the state Fire Marshal’s Office said Friday.

Julia Ball, 56, of 250 Burnside Ave. was flown by LifeFlight helicopter from Maine Medical Center to Massachusetts General Hospital with burns over 70 percent to 80 percent of her body.

The fire started in the living room. Investigators with the state Fire Marshal’s Office have said it may have started when smoking materials fell into the couch.

When Ball discovered the fire, she called her sister, then tried to put out the fire herself, investigators said. When her sister arrived, Ball was outside and on fire and her sister extinguished the flames on Ball.

The fire broke out just before noon and firefighters saved the building but the living room was extensively damaged.

SEBAGO

Ice-fishing derby is a go, but stay off Sebago Lake

Organizers say the ice fishing will go on at this weekend’s derby but Sebago Lake is not an option.

The Cumberland County Ice Fishing Derby will happen as planned on Saturday and Sunday at other lakes and ponds in the region.

Organizers say the recent storm has left conditions too variable on Sebago Lake, making the ice unsafe.

They say the big lake has almost no ice and there are numerous pressure ridges along Jordan Bay with open water on either side.

All prize pools from the Sebago Lake Derby have been shifted to the Cumberland County derby.

AUGUSTA

New state program aims to help parents teach driving

Maine’s secretary of state has launched a program to help teenagers and their parents during what can be a stressful time: when kids are learning to drive.

Secretary of State Mathew Dunlap said The Parent’s Supervised Driving Program aims to optimize the 35 hours of supervised driving teens are required to complete under parental supervision before receiving a license.

The program features a booklet with driving lessons parents can teach their children while they’re going through the supervised training period.

The program recommends that parents and teenagers practice specific skills in a methodical manner and drive in a variety of weather conditions and unfamiliar settings so the teens are prepared for the responsibility that comes with driving.

Information on the program can be found at www.theparentssuperviseddrivingprogram.com. 

Man gets three months in jail for threats to ex-wife, judge

A South China man has been sentenced to three months in jail for threatening to shoot his ex-wife and a judge.

Shawn Breton was sentenced this week after pleading guilty in Kennebec County Superior Court to a charge of terrorizing and domestic violence terrorizing.

Authorities say Breton, 37, made the threats while he was leaving court in August after being denied a protection from abuse order against his ex-wife. He was overheard by a court security officer.

He was arrested a short time later at the courthouse but did not have a gun.

The Kennebec Journal reports that Breton’s lawyer says his client was frustrated at Judge Beth Dobson’s decision denying the protection order and was just “blowing off steam.”

NORWICH, Conn.

Boy, 4, found in Maine after mother abducts him in Conn.

Police in Connecticut say a 4-year-old boy has been found safe in Maine after being abducted by his mother, who had recently lost custody of the child and is now under arrest.

Norwich, Conn., police say Yahquin Warren and his mother, Keyett McDonald, 35, were found at a home in Auburn, Maine, on Thursday night by Maine State Police and FBI agents. Maine child welfare officials took custody of the boy.

Authorities say Yahquin was in the care of his grandparents in Norwich when McDonald kidnapped him Wednesday.

McDonald is being detained in Maine as a fugitive from justice and is expected to be extradited back to Connecticut to face criminal charges.

Connecticut court records show McDonald has pending drug and motor vehicle cases and has a conviction for attempted larceny.From staff and news services