WINDHAM

Buxton man in worst shape of four in motorcycle crash

A Buxton man was listed in critical condition Sunday night at Maine Medical Center in Portland following a motorcycle accident Saturday in Windham during a benefit ride for breast cancer.

Windham Police said Ricky Morse, 28, was the most seriously hurt of four people injured when two motorcycles traveling in a group of about 120 other bikes collided on the River Road about 1 p.m. Saturday.

The motorcycles were traveling south side by side during the annual fundraiser. Police said the motorcycles were in slowing traffic when the accident took place.

Two drivers and their passengers were thrown to the pavement, police said.

Also injured was Morse’s passenger, Kaitlin Knight, 24, who was listed in satisfactory condition Sunday at Maine Medical Center. Motorcycle operator Jon Swan of Bethel, 54, and his wife and passenger, Debora, were in serious condition at the Portland hospital. Debora Swan, whose age was not available, was wearing a helmet, police said.

Windham police, who are still investigating the crash, said speed does not appear to be a factor but charges may be issued.

WINSLOW

Woman reports to police, says she discarded clothes

Police on Sunday located a young woman whose reported disappearance Saturday prompted an air, ground and water search of the Kennebec River.

The search by police, fire and rescue personnel and game wardens using an airplane and boats came after a cyclist reported finding clothing left on a bench on the riverside near the Two Cent Bridge in Winslow. He said he had seen a girl or young woman wearing the clothing 20 minutes earlier.

A blouse and bluejeans were folded up neatly on a bench along with boots she was wearing, but the woman was gone, police said.

The cyclist described the person as being in her teens or around 20. Police and rescue personnel feared the woman had gone into the river.

The woman, who police Officer Brandon Lund said is 24, reported to police on Sunday, Lund said.

“An adult female, escorted by her mother, has come to the Winslow police department that identified the clothes as hers,” Lund said in an email to the Morning Sentinel. “She identified herself as a transient. The female was wearing clothing under the clothes that she was seen wearing, which she discarded. She stated she discarded them thinking someone may be able to use them. The female has been located and is safe.”

Lund said he does not know why the woman was wearing two layers of clothing. He said her mother saw a picture of the clothing published Sunday and recognized them as belonging to her daughter.

LEWISTON

Bates College awards degrees to 452 graduates

Bates College awarded bachelor’s degrees to 452 graduates at an outdoor ceremony Sunday on the Lewiston campus.

The Bates commencement, its 148th, featured a speech by Isabel Alexis Wilkerson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author whose book “The Warmth of Other Suns” chronicles the migration of black citizens out of the rural South to Northern and Western cities.

Wilkerson received an honorary degree along with actress Glenn Close; Close’s husband, Idexx Laboratories founder David Shaw; and computer scientist John Seely Brown.

BANGOR

Unable to pay $5 in 1939, woman, 99, gets diploma

A 99-year-old Maine woman has graduated from college 75 years after a $5 fee kept her from getting her diploma on time.

Beal College in Bangor awarded Jessie White her degree during a special ceremony on Friday hosted by Alan Stehle, the college’s president.

White told ABC News the special ceremony was wonderful and a lot of fun.

White was supposed to graduate in 1939, but couldn’t afford the $5 transcript fee.

A friend who recently learned of her decades-old predicament called Stehle, who paid her balance and set up the ceremony.

White, a Maine native, received her degree in stenography and bookkeeping.

White suffered a disability from a polio infection, but she persisted until she landed a job and worked for years as a bookkeeper.

White said finally getting her degree made her feel “great.”

“Never give up learning. They say when you give up learning you grow old,” she said, according to ABC News. “So I don’t intend to give up learning.”

HARPSWELL

Emergency landing blamed on plane running out of gas

A single-engine aircraft made an emergency landing in Harpswell on Sunday evening off Birchmere Lane at Fryar Field, according to Cumberland County dispatch.

The plane ran out of gas and there did not appear to be any serious injuries, according to officials.

WASHINGTON

Twelve Maine airports share $3.3 million in FAA grants

A dozen Maine airports are sharing more than $3.3 million in Federal Aviation Administration grants.

Officials say Bangor International Airport is getting $1.4 million to install runway sensors, replace the public address system, rehab the taxiway and repave the apron.

Belfast is getting $138,000 and Pittsfield and Caribou $150,000 to update master plans. Northern Maine Regional Airport will get $300,000 to pave the runway. Hancock County-Bar Harbor is getting $300,000 to install lights and navigational aids.

Other grants are: Rangeley, $200,000 for approach path indicators and fencing; Greenville, $225,000 for environmental mitigation; Norridgewock, $150,000 for snow removal; Eastport, $150,000 for weather sensors; Sugarloaf, $130,000 for land; and Old Town, $50,000 for an environmental study.

U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud said the grants will create jobs and make the airports safer.

– From staff and news services