SCARBOROUGH

Police looking for suspects who fled on foot after chase

Scarborough and Maine State Police were searching for two suspects who refused to stop for state police on the Maine Turnpike on Monday night.

A dispatcher for the Maine State Police said the chase began around 6 p.m. on the Maine Turnpike in Scarborough. The two suspects led police to First Street off Route 1 in Scarborough, where they abandoned their vehicle and fled on foot.

A police canine was brought in to help track the suspects.

PORTLAND

Two men hospitalized after police respond to knife fight

Portland police responded to a fight Sunday night in which two men, armed with knives, had injured each other.

Officers responded to 610 Congress St. at 7:34 p.m. and found Edward Keeley, 47, who lives there, fighting with William Hunt, 27, who has no home address.

Keeley was cut in the back of the head, and Hunt had stab injuries to his chest and thigh, police said.

Both had been drinking, both had knives and both were taken to Maine Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

The two men knew each other, police said. They had not been charged as of Monday morning.

 

Dog toy maker recognized for device used to throw balls

Planet Dog, a Portland-based maker of dog toys and accessories, has won an Editor’s Choice award from Dog Fancy magazine for a “ball-tossing device” called the “Wood Chuck.”

Dog owners who use the ladle-shaped Wood Chuck can pick up and fling dog balls — including the company’s RecycleBALL.

Unlike similar products made of plastic, the Wood Chuck is made from what the company says are sustainable products, including bamboo and reused cork. Planet Dog said bamboo is one of the world’s fastest-growing woody plants.

Dog Fancy magazine’s Editor Choice awards are given to innovative products, or products that give new life to existing ideas.

The Wood Chuck costs $19.95, or $24.95 with the company’s RecycleBALL.

 

Visit by Ghanaian dignitaries to mark new health alliance

Dignitaries from the Republic of Ghana will visit the University of New England to mark a new health partnership.

The public events will be held at UNE’s Portland campus Nov. 10-12.

UNE’s Center for Community and Public Health, the Ghana Health Service, the University of Cape Coast of Ghana and several U.S.-based health organizations have launched the Ghana Health Partnership to improve the health of the population of western Ghana.

UNE has organized health missions to the west African country since 2008.

 

Dentists offering free care in Portland area Friday

Adults who need dental care but have no insurance and can’t afford it can get help Friday during the second annual Dentists Who Care for ME event.

Participating dentists from the Greater Portland Dental Society will take patients on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 8 a.m. Services will include free cleanings, fillings and extractions.

Below is the list of dentists and their addresses:

Buxton, 440 Narragansett Trail: Dr. Jin Hwang, Dr. Wayne Lopez and Dr. Nicholas Roy.

Cumberland, 323 Main St.: Dr. Michael Frost.

Gorham, 347 Main St.: Dr. Meghann Dombroski and Dr. Jason Curtis.

Portland, 110 Auburn St.: Dr. Alan Chebuske and Dr. Catalina Atienza.

Portland, 1334 Washington Ave.: Dr. Denise Caron, Dr. Shane Bryant and Dr. David Bagdasarian.

Portland, 173 Ocean Ave.: Dr. Kathryn Horutz.

Scarborough, 40 Hannaford Drive: Dr. David R. Ravin.

Scarborough, 618 U.S. Route 1, Suite 4: Dr. Colette Sirois, Dr. Joseph Penna, Dr. Demi Kouzounas, Dr. Barry Saltz, Dr. Steve Morse, Dr. Nichol Penna, Dr. Denise Theriault, Dr. Andra Boak and Dr. Krisztina Sebok.

South Portland, 463 Cottage Road: Dr. James Ortengren and Dr. Steven Palmer.

Yarmouth, 70 Bayview St.: Dr. Amy Fuller, Dr. Robert Swan and Dr. Alex Hutcheon.

DAYTON

Fire that razed clubhouse of gang deemed accidental

A fire that destroyed the clubhouse of the Outlaws motorcycle gang Sunday night was accidental, according to a state Fire Marshal’s Office probe.

The fire marshal dispatched four investigators to the scene. They determined that the fire started near a propane water heater in a bathroom. The bathroom was in a mobile home attached to the building, the Fire Marshal’s Office said in a statement.

Investigators, working with deputies from the York County Sheriff’s Office, also determined that the building was locked when firefighters arrived.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland said it is not unusual to assign four investigators to determine the cause of a fire.

The Outlaws have been in the news in Maine recently as members have been convicted of federal crimes stemming from an ongoing feud with the Hells Angels motorcycle gang and affiliated groups.

ARUNDEL

Driver killed after swerving to avoid porcupine in road

A motorist was killed Monday when she swerved to avoid a porcupine and hit a utility pole on Route 1.

The York County Sheriff’s Office said Linda Binette, 56, of Arundel was driving her 2010 Honda Civic at 5 a.m. and hit a utility pole. Electricity was knocked out in the area, and Route 1 was closed for several hours.

Sgt. Anthony Clukey of the Kennebunk Police Department is reconstructing the accident. The dead porcupine was found in the road.

BANGOR

Election worker to stay home after denying entry to officer

A longtime Maine election warden has been asked to stay home on Election Day after refusing to let a uniformed, armed Bangor police officer vote because he wouldn’t hand over his gun in the polling place.

Bangor City Clerk Patti Dubois said Monday that Wayne Mallar won’t be working the polls today. According to the Bangor Daily News, Dubois also planned to apologize to Officer James Dearing and ensure that he has another chance to vote.

Officials said Mallar refused to let Dearing cast an early vote at the Bangor Civic Center on Friday unless he turned over his service revolver to another officer. Dearing refused and left without voting.

Police Chief Ron Gastia said officers have always been allowed to vote in uniform — armed or unarmed.

TOWNSHIP 8, RANGE 10

State working to reclaim home to rare fish species

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is working to reclaim a remote pond that is home to two rare species of fish.

Biologists say that Big Reed Pond in northern Piscataquis County is home to one of only 12 populations of native wild Arctic char in the continental United States.

Biologists recently used chemicals to kill all fish in the pond because it was in danger of being overrun by nonnative species such as rainbow smelt and creek chub, thought to have been accidentally introduced by ice fishermen.

Once the invasive species have been eliminated, the native species will be reintroduced.

EASTPORT

Survey of bay’s bottom exceeds speed expectations

Two underwater map makers for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are finishing a survey of the bottom of Cobscook Bay more quickly than expected.

The survey by Matt Andring and Nick Forfinski will provide a complete and accurate representation of the bottom of the bay off Eastport.

The mapping is part of an effort to learn why so many mariners have been lost in the bay in recent years. In the past five years, 16 fishermen have died in the bay, the Bangor Daily News reported.

Andring and Forfinski said they could not identify any single cause of all the deaths. Once they’re finished, the maps will be available online.