PRINCETON

Woman, 61, found near trail apparently died of exposure

State police say the death of a woman found in woods near a snowmobile trail does not appear to be suspicious.

State police Lt. Christopher Coleman said Donna Levi Bennett, 61, apparently succumbed to exposure. Her body was found Feb. 23, a day after she was reported missing.

Bennett’s boyfriend told state police that she often walked the snowmobile trail between Princeton and Baileyville. Coleman told the Bangor Daily News that investigators are awaiting the medical examiner’s report before closing the investigation.

BAR HARBOR

Jackson Laboratory, USF find alternate site for center

Jackson Laboratory and the University of South Florida plan to build a 120,000-square-foot research center in Sarasota County, Fla.

The Jackson Laboratory-Florida will focus on genetics-based treatments for heart disease, Alzheimer’s and diabetes. Other partners on the project are Sarasota Memorial Healthcare System, Sarasota County and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation.

Jackson and the university pulled the plug in January on a similar plan for Collier County, and announced they were looking elsewhere.

Jackson spokeswoman Joyce Peterson said Wednesday that the project’s scope will depend on the level of public funding and buy-in approved by Florida Gov. Rick Scott. She said Jackson will have a better idea of the number of jobs to be created after the funding picture becomes clear.

AUGUSTA

Commission to meet today to assess flood risk factors

Members of the River Flow Advisory Commission are scheduled to meet today to discuss the potential for spring flooding.

The commission meets annually to review statewide snow surveys and assess risk factors that could lead to major flooding, said Lynette Miller, a spokeswoman for the Maine Emergency Management Agency.

“In the ideal conditions, we have a gradual warm-up and that snow gradually and neatly melts away,” Miller said, but a sudden warm-up combined with large amounts of rain could mean a higher flood risk. “The amount of snow we have had has heightened awareness.”

Miller said the commission will be looking at snow levels at the headwaters of Maine’s major rivers, which could lead to high river levels. The snowpack in southern Maine is more likely to impact smaller streams and rivers, she said.

Today’s meeting is set for 10 a.m. at the Maine Emergency Management Agency offices, 45 Commerce Drive in Augusta.

Wildlife service declares Eastern cougar extinct

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday declared the Eastern cougar extinct, confirming a widely held belief among wildlife biologists that native populations of the big cat were wiped a century ago.

After a lengthy review, federal officials concluded there are no breeding populations of cougars in the Eastern United States. Researchers believe the Eastern cougar subspecies has probably been extinct since the 1930s.

Wednesday’s declaration paves the way for the Eastern cougar to be removed from the endangered species list, where it was placed in 1973.

Some hunters and outdoors enthusiasts have long insisted there’s a small breeding population of Eastern cougars, saying the secretive cats have simply eluded detection. The wildlife service said Wednesday it confirmed 108 sightings between 1900 and 2010, but that these animals either escaped or were released from captivity, or migrated from Western states to the Midwest.

Snowe co-sponsoring bill to recognize Civil Air Patrol

U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, is co-sponsoring a bill to honor World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol.

The bill aims to award a single Congressional Gold Medal to Civil Air Patrol in recognition of the men and women volunteers who used their own aircraft to conduct patrol operations and other emergency missions during the war.

In March 1942, members of the Civil Air Patrol conducted an anti-submarine patrol off the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and reported 173 submarines. Patrol crews flew about 750,000 hours during the war, most of those in their personal aircraft and often at risk.

WATERBORO

Blaze destroys house on Pheasant Run Road

At least one person was injured when a fire destroyed a two-story home in Waterboro on Wednesday night.

A dispatcher for York County would not disclose the severity of the person’s injuries, but did confirm that the American Red Cross and Salvation Army were sent to the home at 29 Pheasant Run Road.

State police sent an investigator from the state Fire Marshal’s Office to the fire scene.

WGME in Portland showed one person being carried out of the home. The TV station quoted neighbors as saying three people lived in the house.

The fire was reported just after 9 p.m. No other details were available.

Four small Maine hospitals to take part in test program

Four hospitals in Maine will participate in a test program aimed at increasing the amount Medicare reimburses the hospitals for care.

U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud said hospitals in Waterville, Ellsworth, Farmington and Damariscotta will participate in the program run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Program.

Michaud said the program will provide crucial funding to small hospitals that are struggling under the current Medicare reimbursement formula.

The program was originally authorized in 2003 in response to concerns of small, rural hospitals. The federal health care reform law reauthorized the program for an additional five years.

The Maine hospitals are among 19 facilities selected to participate in the demonstration in six states.

NEW GLOUCESTER

Two men seriously injured when pickups hit head-on

Two men were seriously injured in a head-on crash Wednesday morning, according to Maine State Police.

Police responded to the accident near 89 Lewiston Road, also known as Route 100, just before 7 a.m.

A pickup truck driven by Joshua Campbell veered into the opposite lane and struck a second pickup driven by Keith Rogers, said Trooper Christopher Farley. Campbell, 29, of Auburn, and Rogers, 42, of New Gloucester, were being treated at Central Maine Medical Center on Wednesday. Their injuries were considered serious, but both are expected to recover.

No one else was involved in the accident.

Authorities said speed was not a factor in the crash, which occurred on a straight stretch of Route 100. The accident shut down parts of the road for about an hour and a half.

SOUTH PORTLAND

Police department honors heroism by officers, citizens

Several city police officers, public safety dispatchers and private citizens were recognized for their actions under pressure Wednesday night at the South Portland Police Department’s awards ceremony.

All of the incidents they were involved in took place during 2010.

Sgt. Joe Dell’Aquila received a meritorious citation for helping rescue a woman who jumped off the Casco Bay Bridge during a suicide attempt in October.

Dell’Aquila jumped into the Fore River and waded out to where the woman had landed. He kept her head above water and helped organize her rescue. “If not for your actions, she would likely have drowned,” the citation says.

Officer John Bostwick received two awards, one for a routine traffic stop that led to the recovery of more than $48,000 in cash, as well as marijuana. Bostwick and Officer Steve Connors were also recognized for evacuating the Knight’s Inn on Main Street after a fire that caused several small gas explosions broke out last March.

HOUSE DISTRICT 11

GOP candidate defeats two opponents to win seat

Republican Beth Turner of Burlington defeated two opponents to win a special election for state House District 11 on Tuesday.

The election was held to replace Rep. Everett McLeod of Lee, who died in December.

Turner received 697 votes. Deanna House of Lee, a Democrat, received 557 votes and write-in Republican Phil Merletti of Lee received 106, according to unofficial tallies.

Republicans hold a 78-72 seat majority in the House, with one member unenrolled.

 

Copy the Story Link