FARMINGTON

Canadian teen pleads guilty in Maine high-speed chase

An Ontario teenager who led police on a high-speed chase pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, passing a roadblock and criminal mischief in Maine before being returned to Canada.

A judge imposed a 30-day sentence on the 16-year-old boy Friday, giving him credit for time already served since his Oct. 15 arrest.

Judge Nancy Carlson told the teen she hopes he gets help and gets his act together.

“I don’t know what you were thinking. Thank God no one was killed,” Carlson said.

The Sun Journal reported that after the court appearance on Friday, the boy was returned to Canada, where he faces additional criminal charges.

Police said the teenager and a 13-year-old girl sped through a border crossing. They were eventually arrested in Kingfield after abandoning a stolen pickup and jumping into a river.

At one point, the teenager rammed a law enforcement vehicle, prompting a federal agent to fire at the truck. One of the bullets lodged in the driver’s side headrest, officials said.

The boy was identified in court proceedings but The Associated Press is withholding his identity because he’s a juvenile.

The boy from Eganville, Ontario, and the girl from Pembroke, Ontario, started the crime spree when they stole a car that was abandoned in Sherbrooke, Quebec, authorities said. They stole a truck that they used to cross the border into Maine and later stole a second pickup in Maine, officials said.

UMS trustees hope to entice more international students

University of Maine System trustees are meeting in Farmington to talk about a proposal for increasing recruitment of international students as enrollment continues to decline.

A fall enrollment report says the total head count at the seven campuses dropped 2.1 percent from 2012, with a 4.7 percent decline in graduate students and a 1.7 percent drop in undergraduate students.

All told, enrollment is down 9.4 percent since 2009.

Trustees, who began a two-day meeting Sunday at the University of Maine at Farmington, will discuss and vote Monday on a resolution supporting a program aimed at boosting enrollment of international students.

The resolution endorses International Study Centers at the University of Maine and the University of Southern Maine.

UMS Chancellor James Page said increasing the number of international students will improve diversity and create a new source of tuition revenue.

JAY

Police: Attempt to rob home foiled but truck is torched

Police say men wearing ski masks raided a home in western Maine and set a vehicle afire before leaving.

Police said the three men barged into the Jay home early Sunday and began gathering items to steal while the home’s occupant was forced to sit and watch.

Police said the men fled when they realized the woman who lived there had used a cellphone to call for help.

Before they left, they set fire to her husband’s truck.

OGUNQUIT

Movie theater seeks funds to purchase digital projector

A historic movie theater in southern Maine hopes to raise money to support the purchase of a digital projector.

The Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit has started a Kickstarter Campaign through Nov. 30 to try to raise $60,000 for the projector.

Owners of the theater told WMTW-TV that the theater is in danger of shutting down because movie studios are expected to stop distributing movies on film by the end of the year.

The movie industry will provide movies in digital format only.

The theater decided to start a campaign to raise money for the new projector after seeing it work at other historic theaters across the country.

Waterville

Police officers to sprout beards for charitable causes

If you happen to see a police officer in Oakland, Waterville or Winslow during the next two months sporting a beard, don’t be alarmed.

It’s for a good cause.

About four dozen officers in the three towns paid $20 each to give up their razors for November and December. The money will go to the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland and the United Way of Mid-Maine.

“The officers are pretty relieved that they can give their face a break,” said Chief Joseph Massey of the Waterville Police Department.