PORTLAND

Coast Guard comes to aid of vessel taking on water

The Coast Guard says it came to the rescue of a 55-foot recreational vessel that was taking on water about a mile from the mouth of the Kennebec River.

A Coast Guard boat and helicopter responded Sunday to a report from the two-person crew of the vessel Phoenix, who issued a distress call reporting their boat was flooding.

Coast Guard personnel arrived shortly after noon and boarded the Phoenix with a pump. The helicopter, which was diverted from a routine patrol in the area, lowered a second pump around 12:30 p.m.

The Coast Guard escorted the Phoenix to the Boothbay Harbor shipyard. There were no reports of injuries, and the cause of the flooding is unknown.

AUGUSTA

Lyme disease now occurs in all 16 Maine counties

Maine health officials say Lyme disease cases have increased over the last five years in Maine and occur in all 16 counties.

The bacterial infection, which is carried by the deer tick, is preventable. The four best ways to prevent infection are to wear protective clothing, use insect repellent, perform daily tick checks and use caution in tick habitats.

The most common early symptom of Lyme disease is an expanding red rash at the site of the tick bite within three to 32 days after being bitten. Fever, joint and muscle pains may also occur. Lyme disease is treatable.

According to state epidemiologist Stephen Sears, Lyme moved into Maine in 1987 and has been increasing ever since. It’s the second-most commonly reported disease in Maine.

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month. 

Three bills would impose new abortion restrictions

Three bills that would add new restrictions on abortion in Maine face legislative committee reviews.

The Judiciary Committee takes up the three bills Tuesday.

One of the bills would require a 24-hour waiting period prior to an abortion, except in the case of a medical emergency.

An “informed consent” bill would require that information about the risks of abortion be made available by a doctor to a woman seeking an abortion at least 24 hours before the procedure.

Also, state health officials would have to develop a brochure describing the risks of and alternatives to abortion.

A third bill seeks to repeal Maine’s current adult consent law. It would require notarized written consent of a parent or legal guardian before a minor could undergo an abortion, with some exceptions.

FARMINGTON

New York motorist killed in two-vehicle collision

A 59-year-old man from St. Regis Falls, N.Y., was killed Saturday afternoon in a two-car collision on Farmington Falls Road, police said Sunday.

Police said the man was driving a 1969 Volkswagen van east around 4:50 p.m. when another vehicle driven by Theresa White, 46, of Ashburnham, Mass., turned to cross Farmington Falls Road onto Mason Road, toward Croswell Road.

White, who was driving a 2006 GMC pickup truck, apparently was blinded by the sun as she pulled into the path of the Volkswagen, which struck the truck and went off the road, according to Farmington police.

When police arrived, they found the New York man dead at the scene. White was not injured.

The man will not be identified until Farmington police are able to notify his family.

Blood tests were taken and will be sent to the Maine Health and Environmental Testing Lab in Augusta for analysis, as is routine in a fatal accident.