FALMOUTH

Councilor seeks to undo work from closed session

Additional Photos

Sen. Olympia Snowe welcomes Marine Corps Capt. David J. Cote of Bangor to Washington in this undated photo. Cote has been named Military Times' 2011 Marine of the Year. Contributed photo

Town Councilor Bonny Rodden will try Monday to undo the council’s July 11 closed-door meeting with representatives of OceanView at Falmouth.

The council met with the retirement community’s operators to gauge their interest in buying all or part of the former Plummer-Motz and Lunt elementary school properties, which are next to OceanView.

The meeting followed a workshop discussion in which the council agreed to advertise a request for proposals for redevelopment or reuse of the properties. The town’s attorney said the executive session was legal as long as the council also met secretly with any other interested developers.

Rodden, who was unable to attend the last meeting, has offered a two-pronged order for Monday night: to block future secret meetings with would-be developers and to release any information from the executive session with OceanView.

Also at the 7 p.m. meeting, the council will consider language for a “call for offers” for the former school properties, to be administered by CBRE/The Boulos Co.

Crash involving school bus remains under investigation

An accident that occurred near the Falmouth-Cumberland line on Interstate 295 last week remains under investigation.

The accident on July 14 involving a sport utility vehicle, a car and a school bus carrying 30 children delayed traffic on the busy highway for more than two hours.

Rudolf Kaserman, 78, of Gorham crossed the median in a sport utility vehicle, went over a cable barrier and ran into the path of the northbound car of a Bar Harbor couple, Gary and Marilyn Stookey, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety. The car then spun into a northbound bus from Regional School Unit 5 carrying 30 elementary-age children and six staff members.

No one was injured on the bus, which was driven by Karen Sylvain, 56, of Freeport.

Kaserman sustained minor injuries, according to Maine State Police Trooper Marvin Hinkley. Gary Stookey, 72, and Marilyn Stookey, 79, were admitted to Maine Medical Center in Portland.

McCausland expects a final report on the accident to be complete within a week.

PORTLAND

Sanford man arraigned on child pornography charges

A Sanford man who is accused of exploiting a minor to produce child pornography entered a not-guilty plea in federal court Thursday.

Royce Breton, 31, was arraigned in U.S. District Court. He has been indicted on one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of possession of child pornography. He pleaded not guilty to both.

The first charge carries a prison term of 15 to 30 years. The second charge has a maximum penalty of 10 years. Both carry fines of as much as $250,000.

Breton allegedly had a minor engage in sexual conduct to produce pornography from around January 2008 to August 2010.

He was ordered to be detained pending a hearing and was put in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

FREEPORT

Work under way this week for planned movie theater

Work started this week on the planned Nordica movie theater at Freeport Village Station, said Sande Updegraph, executive director of the Freeport Economic Development Council.

Berenson Associates of Boston, L.L.Bean’s partner in developing the downtown retail complex, is doing interior demolition at night to minimize the impact of construction on residents and visitors, Updegraph said.

The six-screen cinema, with digital and 3D technology, is expected to open by Thanksgiving.

BANGOR

Marine Corps captain named 2011 Marine of the Year

Marine Corps Capt. David J. Cote of Bangor has been named Military Times’ 2011 Marine of the Year.

Cote was selected for his professionalism and dedication to advancing and caring for his fellow service members and his country. U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe met with Cote on Thursday at her Washington, D.C., office to commend his leadership and dedication.

“Capt. Cote’s dedication to our national defense, his family and his community exemplify the very best of our nation and inspire us all to give back however we can,” Snowe said.

The Military Times annually recognizes one member from each branch of the military and accepts nominations for the awards from its magazine and website readers.

MILBRIDGE

Company faces $118,000 fine for hiring illegal employees

Jasper Wyman & Son has been fined $118,000 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for hiring unlawful employees.

The company is one of 14 in New England that have been fined for various violations in an investigation and audit of Form I-9 documents by the agency’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Jasper Wyman & Son is the nation’s largest supplier of premium wild blueberry products.

The inspection of Form I-9 documents is part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s worksite enforcement strategy begun in 2009 to reduce the demand for illegal employment.

AUGUSTA

Old Orchard Beach tourist diagnosed with measles

A Canadian tourist who visited Old Orchard Beach last weekend has been diagnosed with measles.

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention warned of the potential for measles exposure in southern Maine after being contacted by the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services on Thursday. Quebec has had an increase in measles cases, and a Quebec resident who got sick this week had visited the Old Orchard Beach-Saco area from Friday through Monday, when the virus likely would have been contagious.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease. Symptoms usually begin one to two weeks after exposure and include high fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes and a rash. An infected person can transmit the virus to others — if they are not immune — from four days before their symptoms start until four days after the rash resolves. The virus is spread through the air by breathing, coughing or sneezing.

Most people in the United States have been vaccinated and are immune to measles.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H.

Maine man ordered held after swearing at prosecutor

A Maine man who is accused of robbing a bank in Portsmouth this week swore at a prosecutor after being ordered held on $75,000 bail.

Thomas Gould, 46, of Berwick is charged with robbing a Citizens Bank inside a supermarket Monday morning. Police say he told the teller that he had a bomb. He was arrested at gunpoint Tuesday night at a motel not far from the bank.

Prosecutors at his arraignment on a charge of armed robbery asked for $100,000 bail, citing Gould’s criminal past. Gould protested, saying the record referred to was his father’s and swearing at prosecutors.

BRUNSWICK

College to begin renovations at former Naval Air Station

Southern Maine Community College will start renovations next month at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, where the college is developing its new Midcoast Campus at Brunswick Landing.

The college will hold a ceremony at 11 a.m. Tuesday to mark the deed transfer from the Navy for two buildings, including one that will be the Maine Advanced Technology & Engineering Center.

When renovations are completed this fall, the building will include classrooms and labs and will be accessible to people with disabilities, according to a news release. Classes at the Midcoast campus will start in September and will be held temporarily in the second building, a future residence hall.

Deed transfers from the Navy to the college for three additional buildings will be completed later this year.

ORONO

Three-day conference aims to reduce school dropouts

More than 200 professionals who work with young people will gather at the University of Maine next week for a three-day conference geared toward keeping kids from dropping out of school.

The Maine Positive Youth Development Institute will be held Monday through Wednesday, with more than 30 interactive workshops offered by a range of presenters, including students.

The conference will highlight innovative research and practices to increase graduation rates, boost academic success and reduce dropout, expulsion and suspension rates.

About 20 percent of Maine’s high school students don’t graduate.

Among the speakers will be Tony Wagner, innovation education fellow at Harvard University’s Technology & Entrepreneurship Center.

SEARSMONT

Motorcycle driver dies from injuries after hitting deer

A man was killed in an early-morning accident Thursday.

Maine State Police said Richard L. Turner Jr., 45, of Montville hit a deer on his motorcycle, then skidded into a tree on Thompson Ridge Road, near the intersection of Borough Road. Turner died from his injuries en route via LifeFlight helicopter to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

The accident was reported shortly after 4:40 a.m. Trooper Jonah O’Roak said speed and alcohol are not considered factors in the crash.

SACO

Thornton Academy dorm named for headmaster, wife

A new dormitory at Thornton Academy was to be dedicated Thursday night in the name of the school’s Headmaster Carl Stasio and his wife, Barbara.

The Carl and Barbara Stasio Residence Hall is the second on campus and will house 42 female students.

Stasio plans to retire in July 2012. He has been headmaster for 25 years and has led the addition of an integrated-arts center, a middle school and a boarding program in recent years.

STOCKHOLM

Four charged with burglary of American Legion post

Police say four people have been charged with burglarizing an American Legion post, where eight ceremonial rifles were stolen.

Sgt. Brian Harris said three men and a 17-year-old boy were apprehended late Wednesday at a mobile home park in Caribou after being linked to Monday’s break-in at the post in Stockholm.

Steven Selander, 20, Daniel Ouellette, 18, and Daniel Ferranti, 21, all of Caribou, are charged with burglary, theft, theft of firearms and criminal mischief. So is the boy, whose name wasn’t released.

Police told the Bangor Daily News that the rifles have not been recovered. The building was severely damaged.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H.

Motorist driven by anger runs into vehicles, police say

Police say a man angry that a New Hampshire car dealer wouldn’t take back the van he bought returned to the dealership and deliberately crashed into six other vehicles.

David Cross of Salisbury, Mass., is facing six counts of criminal mischief. He’s been released on personal recognizance.

Police said Cross bought the van from the Portsmouth Used Car Superstore on Monday. After a mechanic found it had a host of problems, he tried to return it Tuesday, but was spurned by the dealer. The 42-year-old allegedly drove back to the dealership just before midnight Tuesday and rammed the van into the other vehicles, causing about $20,000 in damage.

Cross told The Portsmouth Herald the van was a “lemon” and he was driven by anger. 

— From staff and news services

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