RAYMOND

Four-car crash on Route 302 sends two men to hospital

The driver of a car that caught fire after a four-car accident on Route 302 Friday was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, police said.

Capt. Jeff Davis of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s office said the accident occurred near the intersection of Route 302 and Hawthorne Road.

Davis said it appears the accident occurred when a Ford sedan driven by Steven Hazen, 62, was turning left into a driveway while headed east on Route 302. The car was hit from behind by a Coca-Cola pickup truck driven by Robert Boyle, 50, Davis said.

Hazen’s car was pushed into the westbound lane of Route 302, where it was hit by a Chevy pickup driven by Brian Clark, 64, Davis said. Clark’s truck then went off the road and into the woods, while Hazen’s car was pushed back into the eastbound lane, where it was hit by a Toyota SUV driven by Ellen DeLuca, 61, according to Davis.

Hazen’s car then caught fire.

Davis said Hazen was taken to Maine Medical Center for head and leg injuries that were considered serious, but not life-threatening. Clark was also taken to Maine Medical Center for possible head and neck injuries.

Davis said there was no information available on the condition of either man and he did not have the addresses or hometowns of any of the drivers.

The accident is under investigation, he said.

SOUTH HIRAM

Firefighters discover body of man, 83, in burned home

Firefighters said the body of an elderly man has been found inside a burned home in South Hiram.

Investigators are not releasing the name of the man, who was 83 years old and lived alone.

WMTW-TV reported that authorities don’t know if he died in the fire or before it.

The fire was reported at 2 p.m. on Friday on Tripptown Road. The cause is being investigated.

PORTLAND

Auburn man gets two years for lying about planes’ sale

A 66-year-old Auburn man is going to prison for lying about the sale of three airplanes in an attempt to hide nearly half a million dollars from his estate during bankruptcy proceedings.

Maurice Roundy of Auburn was sentenced in federal court Friday to two years in prison after being convicted of bankruptcy fraud in May.

According to court documents, Roundy claimed in bankruptcy filings in 2005 that he had sold three Lockheed Super Constellation Starliners for $20,000. At the time, only four of the piston-engined airliners were left in the world.

In fact, Roundy had sold the planes to a buyer for $500,000 and concealed the sale from his bankruptcy trustee and creditors. When the deception was revealed, the trustee recovered the planes and sold them at auction for $748,000.

Michaud bill applies law to footwear for troops

Maine Rep. Mike Michaud is sponsoring a bill to clarify that American troops should be issued training footwear made in the United States.

Michaud says current law requires the Department of Defense to buy clothing from American companies, but that the department recently began giving service members cash allowances to buy their own training footwear instead.

With a bill introduced Friday, Michaud wants to clarify that the law still applies to footwear. He’s also asking President Barack Obama to force the defense department to adhere to the law.

The issue came up during Michaud’s recent visit to the New Balance footwear facility in Skowhegan.

AUGUSTA

Maine to receive $13 million for small-business loans

State and federal officials said more than $13 million in small-business loan money is headed to Maine.

Gov. Paul LePage and the U.S. Treasury Department announced Friday that Maine’s State Small Business Credit Initiative application has been approved in Washington.

The money will come to the state Department of Economic and Community Development, which will make loans available through the Finance Authority of Maine to small businesses in need of capital.

LePage said Maine expects to leverage at least $10 in new private lending for every $1 in federal funding, meaning the $13.2 million allocation for Maine could result in $132 million in new private lending in the state.

LePage said Maine businesses need access to credit to expand and create jobs.

Flood damage from Irene totals at least $2.4 million

The Maine Emergency Management Agency said repairing damage from flooding after Tropical Storm Irene in the state will cost at least $2.4 million.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be reimbursing 75 percent of storm recovery costs in Franklin, Oxford and York counties, which were declared major disaster areas because of storm damage.

Emergency Management spokeswoman Lynette Miller said the Franklin County town of Carrabassett Valley suffered the most damage. She says the town is facing $490,000 worth of repairs. Damage in the entire county is estimated at $933,000.

Miller told the Morning Sentinel the damage estimates will probably increase as more recovery work is done.

ALFRED

Acton woman sentenced for embezzling $29,000

An Acton woman must complete 250 hours of community service for embezzling about $29,000 from the Acton Parent Teacher Group.

Shannon Winchell, 34, also received a suspended two-year prison sentence at a sentencing hearing Wednesday in which she apologized for the theft.

Three weeks ago, Winchell pleaded guilty to stealing the money over a three-year period, when she was treasurer of the organization.

Assistant District Attorney Kent Avery said Winchell has paid back $20,282. She now works 30 hours a week cleaning at a New Hampshire hospital.

SOUTHWEST HARBOR

Police determine remains likely those of missing man

Maine state police said partial human remains found in an area of Southwest Harbor in late August are likely those of 61-year-old Pete Peterson, who disappeared nearly a year ago.

The determination was made after additional items were recovered in a search in Southwest Harbor on Friday.

State and local police, wardens, Acadian National Park rangers and members of the state Medical Examiner’s Office focused their search near the Village Ocean’s End subdivision to look for additional remains and items to help determine the person’s identity.

Police would not say what was found. Authorities don’t know how Peterson died but they do not suspect foul play.

BIDDEFORD

Organizational meeting set for 2012’s Maine Bike Rally

Biddeford will host the Maine Bike Rally in 2012 and 2013 and planning has already begun.

An organizational meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 26, at the Heart of Biddeford office, at 205 Main St. The nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting Biddeford’s downtown is the local coordinator for the event.

The rally, held annually in July, is a family-friendly weekend of cycling events that is expected to draw as many as 400 people to the city. Volunteers are needed to help plan the event and staff it on the weekend of July 6-8 next year.

For more information, visit www.mainebikerally.org or call rally chairman Ken O’Brien at 415-0364.

KENNEBUNKPORT

Comedy show will benefit charity for sick children

Dream Factory of Maine, York Chapter, plans a benefit event that will be full of laughs for a serious cause.

A show featuring comedians Tom Hayes and Mitch Stinson begins at 8 p.m. on Sept. 24 at Nonantum Resort, 95 Ocean Ave, Kennebunkport. The evening’s host is Mike Smith.

Hayes has been a Showtime award winner and has a long career as a comedian, corporate speaker and salesman. Stinson is a Sierra Mist Next Great Comic finalist and has performed in New England and several other states.

Dream Factory is a nonprofit organization that grants “dreams” to critically and chronically ill children, ages 3 through 18, who have not already received a dream or wish through another organization. The York chapter covers southern Maine and has provided more than 100 “dreams” to a sick child since its start in 1987.

Tickets for the comedy show are $25 and are available by calling Virginia Avery at 646-3344. In addition to the show, The National Dream Factory Convention will be held at Nonantum during the weekend.

MONSON

St. Albans man killed in accident on Route 15

Police are investigating a fatal accident on a state highway in Piscataquis County.

Police say 37-year-old Travis Butler of St. Albans was fatally injured when his dump truck was struck by the trailer of a tractor-trailer that jackknifed on sharp curve on Route 15 in Monson, south of Greenville. The accident happened around 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

Guy Dow of the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department told the Bangor Daily News that the tractor-trailer’s empty trailer tipped sideways and collided with the dump truck, crushing the cab.

Butler died Thursday night at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

No charges have been filed.

WHITEFIELD

Local man faces charges of threatening neighbors

A Whitefield man has been charged with threatening his neighbors with a shotgun.

State police say 39-year-old Peter Poland entered his neighbors’ house early Friday morning, spent some time inside and then retreated to his own home next door. After his arrest, police seized the shotgun and an assortment of knives from the home.

Poland was charged with criminal threatening and illegal trafficking in dangerous knives.

No shots were fired and no one was injured.

ORONO

Fraternity house shuttered over numerous violations

Orono housing officials have closed a University of Maine fraternity after finding violations including an inoperable fire alarm system, a furnace that hadn’t been serviced and trash and clutter problems.

The 22 students who had lived in the Pi Kappa Alpha house were ordered to move out on Tuesday evening.

A university spokesman said 21 of the 22 students are now living in university housing.

Orono Code Enforcement Officer William Murphy said firefighters checked the house after a parent called to report an issue with the furnace.

Murphy told the Bangor Daily News he was called to the house and he and the chief inspected the house. He said there were so many violations the house was closed immediately for student safety.