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

July 7, 2012

Dispatches

NAPLES

Falmouth man dies in crash blamed on speed, alcohol

Police said a Maine man was killed and a Massachusetts man was hurt in a crash in which speed and alcohol were factors.

The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department said a woman out walking her dog came across the single-vehicle crash on Thompson Point Road around 4:30 a.m. Friday.

Investigators said a passenger, William Schneider, 22, of Falmouth, was pronounced dead at the scene and that the driver was taken away by LifeFlight helicopter. The sheriff’s department identified the driver as Richard Griffin, 51, of Peabody, Mass.

Investigators said speed and alcohol were factors in the crash in which the men’s sport utility vehicle left the road and struck a tree, crushing the vehicle.

ARUNDEL

Biddeford man is charged in accident that hurt two

Two people were injured and another was charged with a felony after an accident around 9:30 a.m. Friday on Limerick Road.

Police said Florien Turcotte, 63, an employee of Ray’s Small Engine Repair in Biddeford, was picking up a riding mower for repair near the Mildred Day School when the accident occurred.

Turcotte was loading the mower onto a trailer with help from Annette LaCourse, 67, who owns the mower, when they were hit from behind by a 1998 Chevrolet pickup truck.

Police said the impact pushed the mower forward, pinning Turcotte against the trailer and throwing LaCourse off the trailer. Both were taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where they underwent surgery.

Both were in fair condition Friday night.

The driver of the pickup was identified as Michael Whitmore, 27, of Biddeford, whom police said was driving with a suspended license.

He was charged with causing serious bodily harm while operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license. He was not injured in the crash.

WATERVILLE

Group petitions Teen Vogue to stop airbrushing photos

A group is targeting another magazine that’s popular with teenage girls after a 14-year-old from Waterville convinced Seventeen Magazine not to alter photos of models.

Two other members of SPARK, which is committed to ending sexualization of girls in the media, have launched an online petition asking Teen Vogue to make the same to commitment not to airbrush photos to make models appear thinner and blemish-free.

Julia Bluhm of Waterville originally asked Seventeen Magazine’s editor in early May to run at least one unaltered photo spread a month. Her online petition received more than 85,000 signatures.

Seventeen’s Editor-in-Chief Ann Shoket responded in the August issue by vowing never to alter girls’ bodies or faces, giving Bluhm more than she’d asked for.

AUGUSTA

Complaints about bears more than double this year

Maine wildlife officials said the number of complaints about bears has more than doubled so far this year.

Officials said that from Jan. 1 through July 3, the Maine Warden Service received 542 complaints from the public about bears. That was up from 252 complaints in the same period last year, and 292 complaints in 2010.

Bear biologist Jennifer Vashon said homeowners can avoid most encounters with bears by removing common backyard attractants, such as birdseed and trash, from their properties.

Wildlife officials said people should make loud noises if they encounter a bear to scare it off and then back away to give it an escape route.

Uncle of Ayla Reynolds convicted of assault

The uncle of Ayla Reynolds has been convicted of assaulting another one of the missing girl’s relatives in a dispute sparked in part by her disappearance.

Lance DiPietro pleaded no contest Thursday and was automatically found guilty by a judge in Kennebec County Superior Court. DiPietro was fined $300 as part of a plea deal.

(Continued on page 2)

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