SHIN POND

Boy, 4, dies from injuries incurred in ATV flip-over

The Maine Warden Service says a 4-year-old boy injured while riding an ATV has died.

Investigators believe Tanner Morse was riding up an incline when the small all-terrain vehicle tumbled backward onto him Monday evening near his grandfather’s home in Shin Pond. He was seen wearing a helmet earlier but the helmet was off when he was found by his father.

The youngster from Searsport was flown via LifeFlight helicopter to a Bangor hospital. Cpl. John MacDonald, Warden Service spokesman, says the boy died Tuesday evening.

Maine law forbids children under 10 from operating an ATV but there’s an exception if they’re on land owned or leased by their parents. In this case, MacDonald says the boy was operating on land owned by the grandfather. The case remains under review.

NAPLES

ATV crash kills woman, 24; companion in ‘fair condition’

A woman was killed and a man suffered serious injuries in an ATV crash Wednesday morning.

The man and the woman were riding on an ATV on River Road just before 5 a.m. when the ATV left the road, flew into some trees, then flipped, coming to rest in the Crooked River, according to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.

Shanan Loud, 24, of Naples was pronounced dead at the scene. Johnathan Caswell, 28, of Naples was taken to Bridgton Hospital and then taken by LifeFlight helicopter to Central Maine Medical Center. He is in fair condition, a spokeswoman said.

A second ATV, also carrying a man and a woman, was not involved. Deputies interviewed the woman but the man had left the scene by the time authorities arrived, the sheriff’s office said.

Speed and alcohol appeared to contribute to the crash, the sheriff’s office said. Neither Loud nor Caswell was wearing a helmet.

Police said they have not determined who was driving.

Loud and Caswell recently moved to Naples. She is originally from Hiram and he is from Randolph.

SCARBOROUGH

Truck hits utility pole, cuts power to traffic lights

Police are investigating the cause of a tractor-trailer accident that knocked out electricity and traffic lights in a heavily traveled area near the Maine Mall on Wednesday.

Police said the truck hit a utility pole near the Lowe’s Home Improvement store at Gallery Boulevard and Mussey Road around 5 p.m.

A police dispatcher said the accident knocked out power to a set of traffic lights on Payne Road. Central Maine Power Co. reported that about 360 customers lost power.

PORTLAND

Democrats’ gay marriage plank pleases candidate

U.S. Senate candidate Cynthia Dill praised fellow Democrats on Wednesday for including support for gay marriage in the proposed national platform.

Dill, a longtime marriage equality supporter, said she will also work to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act if elected.

“For the first time, a sitting president has declared his support for gay marriage,” Dill said, according to a statement distributed following the event. “And for the first time a major political party — the Democratic Party — has decided to include marriage equality in its draft national platform. This is significant, this is important and it will have a positive impact on the lives of our children, and for the people of this country going forward.”

Dill’s major opponents are divided on the issue. Republican Charlie Summers, Maine’s secretary of state, opposes gay marriage; and independent Angus King, a former governor, supports it. Democrats will gather next month in Charlotte, N.C., to consider the party platform.

Dill was joined at the press conference at Portland City Hall by former Maine State Housing Authority Director Dale McCormick, state Sen. Phil Bartlett, D-Gorham, and state Reps. Diane Russell, D-Portland; Ben Chipman, independent, of Portland; Terry Morrison, D-South Portland; Peter Stuckey, D-Portland.

The Maine Republican Party issued a statement Wednesday criticizing Dill and other Democrats for being outside the mainstream.

“At a time when people can’t find work, Cynthia Dill, Barack Obama, and the Democratic Party have made homosexual marriage the most important part of their agenda,” said Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster. “I want to know what they’ve done about jobs lately.”

GORHAM

Council OKs new rules limiting fireworks use

The number of days per year that people can shoot off fireworks in town decreased from 365 to 56 on Tuesday.

The Town Council voted, 6-1, with Matt Mattingly opposed, to adopt an ordinance that restricts the use of fireworks to July 3 and 4, Dec. 31, Jan. 1 and Saturdays.

Several residents, who said the frequent use of fireworks in their neighborhoods has ruined their peace and quiet, asked the council to allow them only around the Fourth of July and New Year’s holidays.

But the council decided to allow them on Saturdays as well, as recommended by its Ordinance Committee.

The new ordinance, which takes effect in 30 days, also requires people using fireworks to get a permit from the town, and prohibits their use within 150 feet of any structure. Those with a permit can only use them on their own property, unless they have written permission from a property owner.

Violations carry fines of $200 to $500.

The Legislature voted last year to lift a longtime ban on the sale and use of consumer fireworks in Maine. The new law, which also allows municipalities to enact local regulations, took effect Jan. 1.

Dozens of towns and cities have adopted laws banning or restricting the sale and use of fireworks.

BANGOR

Pharmacist gets prison for taking drug-firm kickbacks

The former head pharmacist for the Penobscot Indian Nation’s closed mail-order pharmacy is going to prison for soliciting and taking kickbacks from Internet drug companies.

Reginald Gracie Jr., 40, who pleaded guilty to receiving kickbacks and filing false tax returns, was sentenced Wednesday to 3 years and 10 months in federal prison.

Gracie, of Bowdoin, was charged with receiving more than $120,000 from six online companies in 2006 in return for making sure the tribe’s mail-order pharmacy, known as PIN Rx, filled the prescriptions of the companies’ customers.

Prosecutors say Gracie also failed to report his illicit income on his income tax return and on a 2006 corporate income tax return for Gracie Enterprises Inc. 

After-school worker guilty of child porn possession

A Fort Fairfield man who worked with an after-school program in Aroostook County has pleaded guilty to child pornography possession charges.

Jake Rogeski, 24, was held without bail pending his sentencing after entering his plea Tuesday in federal court in Bangor. He faces as much as 10 years in prison.

Prosecutors say a search of Rogeski’s computer turned up more than 100 video files of child pornography, and more than 400 still images of children engaged in sex acts.

The Bangor Daily News reports that Rogeski was employed in a program that provided after-school homework help to third- through sixth-graders and provided healthful snacks and other activities.

School officials say he resigned after the investigation began.

FREEPORT

Searchers spot sailor, 79, reported missing Tuesday

A Freeport man who was reported missing by his wife after he did not return from a sailing trip on Casco Bay has been found.

The Coast Guard says Albert Kelsey, 79, was spotted early Wednesday morning. His 20-foot vessel had apparently run aground at low tide and got stuck in the mud. He appeared to be in good health.

The Coast Guard said Kelsey was last seen departing from a local marina about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and was scheduled to visit two Casco Bay islands. He was reported overdue by his wife at 10 p.m.

A 25-foot response boat from Coast Guard Station South Portland, a Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod, and a boat from the Maine Marine Patrol were used in the search.

FAIRFIELD

Car crash victim, 75, dies from injuries, family reports

A 75-year-old Waterville woman who was involved in a car crash last month in Fairfield has died.

Anne Gagnon’s daughter told the Kennebec Journal that Gagnon was pronounced dead Sunday.

Police say Gagnon drove into the path of a truck on July 26 at the Nye’s Corner intersection. They say she stopped at the intersection before pulling out. The truck driver also needed treatment at the hospital.

Police said her injuries were not life-threatening. But her daughter says Gagnon broke her neck in three places, and her family chose to withdraw life support Sunday after complications arose from surgery.

LIMESTONE

Maine company wins $40 million contract with National Guard

The Maine Military Authority has won a $40 million contract to refurbish vehicles for the National Guard Bureau, allowing it to recall 26 laid-off workers.

Sen. Susan Collins, who made the announcement Tuesday, says the award is a “testament to the talented work force and quality craftsmanship” of workers in Limestone. Rep. Mike Michaud called it “a shot in the arm for the local economy.”

The Maine Military Authority refurbishes Humvees for the National Guard and active-duty military.

Created in 1997, the company has refurbished more than 14,000 of the military vehicles at the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.

Tagging program approved for striped bass fishing

A mandatory commercial tagging program has been approved for striped bass fishing along the Atlantic coast.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission announced approval of the program on Wednesday. The commission says it was developed following an investigation of illegal fishing in Chesapeake Bay. The commission says 19 individuals and three corporations were fined more than $1.6 million for taking more than a million pounds of illegally caught fish.

The commission says the program includes increasing penalties for illegally caught fish and improvements over previous tagging programs.

States from Maine to Florida participate in the commission, which said all except Massachusetts and North Carolina must adopt the new program for the 2013 commercial fishing season. The two remaining states must implement their programs by the next year.

– From news service reports