AUGUSTA
LePage asks for disaster aid for damage from ice storm
Gov. Paul LePage is asking for federal disaster relief for all 16 counties for damage from the December ice storm.
LePage said Monday that the request documents more than $1.8 million in damage from the ice storm that knocked out power to more than 160,000 homes and businesses and left many in the dark for a week. He said the state continues to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to verify additional damage.
LePage said the request is being made now because of “red tape.” He said he’s disappointed that under federal policy much of the cost of sanding and salting roads was deemed ineligible for assistance.
BUCKSPORT
Teacher left suicide note, jumped off bridge, police say
Authorities have retrieved the body of a Bucksport Middle School teacher who they believe committed suicide.
The body of Traci Merriam, 46, was recovered by Maine State Police troopers and the Maine Marine Patrol at 7 a.m. Sunday from the Penobscot River in Prospect, police said Monday.
Police say it appears Merriam jumped from the Penobscot Narrows Bridge during the night. Her car was found on the bridge at 4 a.m. and a suicide note was found inside, police said.
The state medical examiner planned to conduct an autopsy. Merriam was a fifth-grade teacher at the middle school.
BRUNSWICK
Planning Board will review 2 Bowdoin building projects
Brunswick’s Planning Board is scheduled to review two separate Bowdoin College building projects this week.
The board meets Tuesday to discuss a plan by the school to tear down a building on Maine Street and replace it with a new administrative office building, as well as a proposal to turn the former Stevens Retirement Home on Harpswell Road into student housing.
College officials say the new Maine Street building will cost about $2.4 million and fit in with the surrounding architecture. It would be home to about 30 college employees and would not require additional parking spaces.
College officials told The Times Record the Stevens building would be a “quiet, chemical-free” dormitory for about 35 students.
The Town Council in April approved a zoning change.
ROCKLAND
Man who murdered dealer will be sentenced Tuesday
A Maine man who was convicted of killing his drug supplier for cutting him off is due to be sentenced Tuesday.
Andrew Kierstead was convicted of murder in the September 2012 shotgun killing of Richard Mills outside Mills’ home in Cushing.
Prosecutors say Kierstead, 41, told them he shot Mills because Mills had hooked him on drugs but then shut him off for not paying a drug debt. Experts testified during the trial that Kierstead shot Mills once and then followed him and continuing firing with a 12-gauge shotgun.
Kierstead’s lawyer argued for a manslaughter verdict, saying his client was too intoxicated and suffering from opiate addiction to have known what he was doing.
GREENVILLE
Two missing snowmobilers found at alternate motel
Two snowmobilers who had been missing since Sunday morning have been located.
Lloyd M. Blanchard, 46, and Wendy C. Lainez-Blanchard, 54, both of Brewer, stayed the night at Northern Outdoors Lodge in The Forks Sunday night. The motel owner at Kineo View Motel in Greenville, where they had been staying, had thought they were coming back to the motel Sunday instead of Monday.
Family and friends saw news reports of the search and told the Maine Warden Service where they were.
AUBURN
Student, 14, killed in crash; father charged with OUI
Police say a middle school student from Auburn was killed in a three-car crash on New Hampshire’s Everett Turnpike on Friday night.
The Lewiston Sun Journal reported that Kobe Huynh, 14, a student at Auburn Middle School, was pronounced dead at the scene.
New Hampshire State Police charged the boy’s father, Nghia Huynh, 37, with felony aggravated drunken driving.
Police say the father lost control of the car in Merrimack and hit a concrete barrier. The car rolled into oncoming traffic and was struck by another vehicle, which was struck by a third car.
Auburn Middle School principle James Hand said the teen “will be sorely missed.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.