Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

September 19, 2012

Local & State Dispatches

From staff and news services

PORTLAND

Bangor Savings Bank gives $10,000 to Hall Elementary

Bangor Savings Bank donated $10,000 to the Hall Elementary School on Wednesday, to help teachers and students replace some of the items they lost in a fire early Monday that forced the school's closure.

The $10,000 check was presented to Hall teachers and staff at Deering High School. The teachers and staff have been using the high school as a temporary workplace until the Hall school reopens Monday.

Books and classroom supplies were destroyed by water and smoke, items that had taken teachers as long as a decade to acquire, said Superintendent Emmanuel Caulk.

Bangor Savings Bank's Brighton Avenue branch is a longtime business partner of Hall school.

"Hall school is our neighbor," said Jim MacLeod, the bank's senior vice president, in a statement. "We were shocked and saddened to learn of the fire at Hall Elementary School that damaged classrooms and displaced teachers and students. I am honored to present this check and hope it will help the teachers and students at Hall school recover from this loss."

 

Task force will hold forum on reuse of Clifford school

The future use of the former Nathan Clifford Elementary School will be the subject of a public forum on Oct. 2.

The Nathan Clifford Re-Use Advisory Task Force will hold the meeting at 5:30 p.m. in Room 209 at City Hall.

The City Council appointed the task force to gather information about the historic building and recommend preferred uses.

The task force will present information on the current condition of the building and seek ideas for reuse. It will report its findings to the council's Housing and Community Development Committee.

Opened in 1909, the school on Falmouth Street closed more than a year ago, when it was replaced by the Ocean Avenue Elementary School.

 

Man accused of defrauding friends faces federal charges

A Boothbay Harbor man who is accused of bilking friends out of more than $900,000 in an investment scheme faces federal charges of wire fraud.

The FBI said Garrett Denniston, 62, persuaded at least five victims, some of whom had known him for almost 30 years, to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in his business dealings, guaranteeing them high yields.

One couple gave him $300,000 from 2005 to 2008, and when they tried to get their money back, Denniston made excuses and then last year sent an email saying he had lost all of their money and apologized for his dishonesty, according to an FBI affidavit.

Special Agent David Ford, based in Connecticut, where Denniston lived and conducted his alleged scheme, said Denniston spent the money on country club memberships, a car loan, his mortgage, apartment rent, airfare, hotels, restaurants and furniture and gave thousands to family members. He also paid at least $75,000 to a Boothbay Harbor construction company that a witness said was remodeling Denniston's home there, the court papers said.

From 2009 to June of this year, Denniston continued to solicit investments from other people with similar promises, the court papers said. An arrest warrant for him was issued out of Connecticut on Tuesday.

Denniston faces a fine of up to $1 million and prison of up to 30 years. Prosecutors have asked that Denniston be held pending trial because they are afraid he might flee to avoid prosecution.

 

King campaign announces new set of endorsements

U.S. Senate candidate Angus King has a new set of endorsements.

The groups endorsing King include the Maine Credit Union League, New England Regional Council of Carpenters, American Nurse Association -- Maine, National Wildlife Federation, and the Professional Firefighters of Maine. The Sierra Club announced its endorsement earlier this week.

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