AMHERST

ATV operator dies when machine rolls over on him

A man died in an ATV crash near his home Saturday, authorities said.

The Maine Warden Service said 46-year-old Kevin Clements was riding Saturday evening when the machine rolled over and pinned him beneath it. Clements was found by his wife a short time later.

PORTLAND

Library to host celebration of Sudanese community

Portland’s Public Library is hosting a book discussion and celebration of the city’s Sudanese community.

The library will discuss “The Good Braider” by author Terry Farish on Thursday as part of its “I’m Your Neighbor, Portland” event series.

“The Good Braider” is a free verse novel for teenagers about a mother and daughter who flee the war in South Sudan and arrive as refugees in Portland. It’s based on Farish’s conversations with people who came to Portland from Sudan.

The event will also feature a performance by South Sudanese rapper OD Bonny and a performance of a scene from the book by the theater group A Company of Girls.

“I’m Your Neighbor, Portland” is a series of city-wide events that are designed to bring together Portland’s diverse communities.

ORONO

Wild blueberries good for digestion, research shows

A research project out of the University of Maine says wild blueberries are good for digestion.

Professor Vivian Wu led a team of researchers that looked at how wild low-bush blueberries affected the digestive health in rats. For six weeks, they fed one group of rats a control diet and another group a blueberry-enriched diet.

They found that a plant fiber in the blueberries promotes the growth of good bacteria in the colon, thereby promoting healthy digestion. The findings were published last week in the online peer-reviewed scientific journal PLOS ONE.

Maine is the No. 1 wild blueberry state by far, with last year’s harvest topping 91 million pounds.

– From news service reports