WALDOBORO
Missing man found dead, hidden in Newcastle woods

The body of a Waldoboro man who had been missing for more than a month was found Tuesday afternoon inside his sport utility vehicle in a thickly wooded area off Route 1 in Newcastle.

Lt. Rand Maker of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department said a road crew doing guardrail work near Osprey Point Road discovered Peter J. Collins’ 1999 GMC Denali truck about 50 feet from the highway.

Collins, 47, a fisherman from Waldoboro, was last seen leaving his mother’s home in Waldoboro during the early morning hours Sept. 19.

Maker said it appears that Collins’ vehicle drove off Route 1 on a curve and landed in the heavily wooded area. Police believe the truck became airborne when it left the highway.

“It was as though the truck had been dropped in the middle of the woods,” Maker said.

Thick brush and trees hid Collins’ truck from view.

The state Medical Examiner’s Office is scheduled to examine the body today, but Maker said authorities are reasonably certain it is Collins.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Collins was wearing a seatbelt.

Route 1 traffic was disrupted for several hours while rescue crews removed the truck and body from the woods.

PORTLAND
Police probe death of man found hanging in park

Police are investigating the death of a man in his 30s who was found hanging in a tree in Fort Allen Park on the Eastern Prom.

There were no signs of foul play and police do not believe the death is suspicious but they are waiting for a ruling from the state medical examiner and confirmation of the man’s identity.

The body was found by two women walking at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, police said.

Police believe the man recently moved to Portland.

Water throwing helps earn 80-month fraud sentence

A Brunswick man who once heaved a water pitcher across a courtroom at a prosecutor who had called him a thief was sentenced Tuesday to more than six years in federal prison.

Charles D. Stergios was convicted in July of bank fraud, mail fraud and escape, said U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II.

Prosecutors said Stergios schemed to defraud Maine Bank and Trust by forging checks on its treasurer’s account and presenting them to banks in New York City.

Stergios had been convicted of fraud in 2005. During that sentencing hearing, Stergios hurled a water pitcher at Assistant U.S. Attorney Halsey Frank. Stergios was later sentenced to home confinement, but earlier this year he pleaded guilty to escape – from home confinement.

In U.S. District Court, Judge George Singal explained his 80-month sentence, citing Stergios’ lack of remorse and contemptuous behavior at his 2005 sentencing and during his current case.

Academic officer opens plan to public comment

David Galin, chief academic officer of the Portland Public Schools, is inviting the public to comment on the academic plan.

The plan, drafted by Galin, proposes goals for the district for the next five years. Each of Portland’s public schools will use the goals to create work plans detailing their individual goals for one year, three years and five years.

Galin was appointed as the district’s first chief academic officer in June and has since met with students, parents, teachers, support staff, administrators and community members to gather information about the district.

He reviewed the data and the community goals set during the Future Vision event last year to compile this plan.

The proposed plan includes goals such as continuing to develop the district’s leadership team, demonstrating improvement in student earning, communicating effectively with the schools, committees and community, and developing partnerships with community organizations.

Interested residents may send comments to [email protected] by Nov. 19.

Website shows pensions of retired state workers

A conservative think tank that launched a website publicizing the salaries of Maine state employees is now putting online the names of retired state workers and how much they’re collecting in pensions.

The Maine Heritage Policy Center said the information can be found at its MaineOpenGov.org website.

The pension information includes state retirees’ names, years of service, final employer and age.

The Portland-based group says the data include how much each employee contributed to the pension fund and how much they’re expected to receive over their lifetime.

The center says people now enrolled in the Maine Public Employees Retirement System will receive a projected $15.4 billion in benefits, while paying in less than $900 million.

AUGUSTA
Opponents of smart meters file a formal complaint

Opponents of Central Maine Power Co.’s current efforts to replace all its electric meters with “smart” meters have filed a formal complaint with the Maine Public Utilities Commission.

The complaint asks the PUC to order an immediate halt to installation and allow for new public input regarding the project.
 It also asks that customers who don’t want the meters installed be allowed to opt out of the program.

Smart meter opponents say the wireless radio-frequency equipment can affect human health and that the impact of installing the networks in neighborhoods needs further study. CMP and Maine’s public health agency said the technology is safe and similar to wireless routers used to connect computers.

The filing was led by Elisa Boxer-Cook of Scarborough. The action comes five days after Scarborough became Maine’s first town to pass a resolution asking CMP for a 90-day moratorium on installation.

State commission says economy slowly recovering
The economy in Maine and the nation is recovering, but at a slow rate.

That was one of the less-than-glowing points made Tuesday to the state’s Consensus Economic Forecasting Commission, which is trying to lay the groundwork as state officials look ahead to the next budget.

The State Planning Office told the commission that there are some positive signs in the economy. In August, Maine’s year-over-year economic activity index crossed into positive territory for the first time since April 2008. Personal income also showed signs of improvement during the first half of 2010 compared to 2009.

Public health officials focus on threat from lead
Maine public health officials are drawing attention to hazards posed by exposure to lead, especially in home-improvement projects.

National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week arrives just after the public water system serving 50,000 people in the Bangor area tested high for lead for the first time since testing began almost two decades ago. Officials say the health threat is not significant.

At the same time, state officials are focusing attention on a new statewide campaign to help prevent childhood lead poisoning from home improvement projects.

Stores in Maine that sell paint or paint removal supplies are displaying a poster with brochures that warn customers about the danger of lead paint dust that can result from home painting or repair projects in homes built before 1978.

BERWICK
Police say cell phone reach caused crash on Route 236

Two people were taken to the hospital Tuesday morning following a three-car crash on Route 236 caused by a driver reaching for her cell phone, police said.

A woman driving a Volvo station wagon was headed north about a half-mile from the South Berwick line at 7:30 a.m. when she crossed the center line on a curve while reaching for her phone, police said.

The driver of an oncoming pickup tried to avoid the car but they collided, and the pickup rolled over off the road, police said. The driver of the pickup was uninjured but a dog that was riding in the truck was taken to a veterinarian to be checked out, police said.

A Toyota Rav4 following the pickup also hit the Volvo, police said. The driver of that car and the Volvo were taken to Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, N.H., for treatment.

Police did not release the names of the drivers involved.

The road was closed for a couple of hours while police reconstructed the crash.

Police have not brought any charges yet in the crash.

SOUTH PARIS
Clergy members speak out against resort casino

Members of the clergy from western Maine are speaking against a proposal to bring a resort casino to Oxford County.

The men and women of various faiths held a rally Monday in South Paris to voice their opposition.

The clergymen say they aren’t just opposed to the proposed casino on moral grounds. Rather, they say they don’t believe a casino would bring the economic benefits to the region that have been promised.

HARRISON
Survivor of car crash remains in critical condition

A man who police said suffered life-threatening injuries in a fatal crash in Harrison last week was still hospitalized Monday night at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.

A hospital supervisor said Jacob Hill, 20, of Waterford was in critical condition following Thursday night’s single car crash in Harrison.

Investigators from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said Hill was a passenger in a 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer that veered off a curve on Waterford Road before striking several trees.

Thomas McLendon, 18, of Oxford died in the crash. The driver was a girl whose name has not been released. She is the subject of a criminal investigation, according to the sheriff’s office.

RICHMOND, Va.
Former member says gang president ordered shooting

A former Outlaws motorcycle gang member says he and another man ambushed and opened fire on a Hell’s Angels member on orders from the national president of the Outlaws.

Michael Pedini testified Tuesday in federal court in Richmond, where Outlaws president Jack Rosga of Milwaukee, Wis., and three other gang members are charged with racketeering and other crimes.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Pedini said Rosga told him to seek revenge for an assault on two Outlaws by either attacking Hell’s Angels and taking their biker vests or killing them. Pedini said he and fellow Outlaw Thomas Mayne fired at a Hell’s Angel member in Maine, leaving him partially paralyzed.

Mayne was killed in a shootout with federal agents at his Old Orchard Beach home on June 15.