PERU

Car, logging truck collide, killing Peru woman, 37

A 37-year-old Peru woman was killed Friday morning when her car collided with a logging truck in Peru.

Jane Jacques was driving a silver Volkswagen Passat north on Route 108 when her car and the southbound logging truck collided, said Oxford County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Wyman. The truck was driven by Ryan Tupick, 52, of Gorham, N.H., Wyman said. He said Jacques died at the scene.

Icy roads appear to have contributed to the crash, which happened around 7:15 a.m., Wyman said.

He said the fully loaded logging truck, which was headed to the Verso paper mill in Jay, went down an embankment after the collision. Tupick walked away from the scene uninjured and the logs remained in the truck, Wyman said.

Route 108, also called Oxford Road, was closed until 4 p.m., he said.

PORTLAND

Robber at CVS store flees with ‘small amount’ of cash

The CVS drugstore at 449 Forest Ave. in Portland was robbed of a “small amount” of cash Friday night, Portland police said.

Police said a man entered the store shortly after 7 p.m. and handed a note to a cashier demanding money. Police said no weapon was displayed or mentioned in the note and no one was hurt.

After the man received the money, he ran from the store, police said.

Police said the robber is a black man, 30 to 40 years old, wearing a dark hoodie, a dark green jacket and sunglasses.

Police said the robbery was captured on a video surveillance camera and they expect to release still photos from that tape Saturday.

BINGHAM

Camden National Bank robbed by hammer wielder

Police are looking for a man who robbed Camden National Bank on Main Street Friday morning armed with a hammer.

No employees or customers were injured, but the robber got away with an undisclosed amount of cash, according to police.

Police said the robber is a white man, heavyset and about 6 feet tall. He was wearing a black ski mask and wielding a hammer, according to Chief Deputy Dale Lancaster of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department. Police are not saying if he made threats at the bank.

SPRINGVALE

House destroyed by fire; residents escape unhurt

A fast-moving fire destroyed a house in Springvale on Friday morning, killing a cat and forcing the residents to flee.

“They literally ran out without shoes on,” said Sanford Fire Capt. Gary Cushing.

The cause of the fire, which started in a first-floor bedroom, had not been determined, but appeared accidental, he said Friday afternoon.

Three of four people living at the 21 Witham St. house, which they rented, were inside when the fire started, he said. The other resident had left for work.

None of them was injured in the fire, Cushing said. A firefighter was treated at the scene, but Cushing wouldn’t say what the medical emergency was.

Firefighters from Sanford, Acton, Alfred, Wells, Lebanon and Kennebunk responded, as well as rescue workers from several towns.

The fire was under control by 8:21 a.m. and out by 9:48 a.m., Cushing said. He said all the residents have found places to stay.

He said the 2½-story house, valued at $95,000, was a total loss, as were its contents, which he estimated were worth $30,000.

Cushing reported minor damage to vinyl siding of a neighboring home.

KITTERY

Student faces terrorizing charge after home searched

A 17-year-old student at Traip Academy threatened to kill other students at the end of the year, Kittery police said.

The student’s home in Kittery was searched Thursday before the student was charged with terrorizing, said Police Chief Theodor Short.

He wouldn’t release the name or gender of the student.

Short said that while executing a search warrant, police seized evidence that is now being analyzed. He said no weapons were found.

The student has been suspended from Traip and is not allowed on school property, said Short.

He said the threat was general – not directed at certain students or specific about how they would be killed.

Police learned about the threat Tuesday from the school resource officer.

Short said the student was issued a summons and released to the custody of parents.

BATH

Former home aide accused of financial exploitation

A Brunswick woman has been charged with financially exploiting an elderly Bath man she had been hired to care for.

Bath police say 55-year-old Katherine McClellan turned herself in this week after a warrant for her arrest on theft charges was issued.

Police told The Times Record the man’s daughter hired McClellan as a home aide, leading McClellan to gain the elderly man’s trust and to take advantage of his medical condition.

Police allege McClellan persuaded the man to give her power of attorney, and had him write checks made out to her.

Police say the amount allegedly stolen was between $1,000 and $10,000.

McClellan is free on $1,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court March 11. It’s not clear if she has a lawyer.

BANGOR

Nebraska man convicted in 1990 sex abuse case

A Nebraska man has been convicted of sexually abusing an 8-year-old relative in Maine nearly a quarter century ago.

Clarence Cote of Nemaha, Neb., was found guilty Friday of two sexual assault counts.

He testified Thursday that he did not abuse the now 31-year-old woman when he lived in Lincoln in 1990. He said the pair had a good relationship and even kept in touch when he moved out of state.

WZON radio reported that Cote’s lawyer said he will appeal. He had questioned why the state took so long to prosecute when it knew of the allegations in 1994. He said the state had lost key evidence.

Prosecutors said they had trouble finding Cote after he moved to Nebraska.

PARIS

No jail for Buckfield man accused of shooting woman

A Buckfield man charged with shooting his girlfriend in the face during an alcohol-fueled argument has pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor reckless conduct charge and avoided jail time.

Scott Ackley received a suspended six-month sentence and one year of probation Thursday in Oxford County Superior Court.

The 41-year-old Ackley agreed to the deal while a jury was being selected for his trial.

Prosecutors told the Sun Journal that “inconsistent” evidence would have made successful prosecution difficult.

Ackley’s lawyer said the case against his client was weak but the plea deal was too generous to pass up.

AUGUSTA

Some scallop fishing areas closed to keep numbers up

Certain scallop fishing areas have been closed by the Maine Department of Marine Resources to prevent depletion of the stock.

“These are very small, targeted closures to take some vulnerable areas out of play,” said Trish DeGraaf, scallop resource management coordinate for the department. “There was (a) high amount of pressure on these areas. They were heavily fished last year. We want to keep the areas viable long-term.”

In 2012, fishermen hauled in 2.4 million pounds of whole scallops, or about 290,000 pounds of meat, making it the best harvest in a decade. The catch was worth $3.2 million. Last year, about 400 fishermen participated in the scallop fishery.

The closures, which are effective on Saturday, are located in Moosabec Reach, Inner Harbor/Deep Hole/Southeast Harbor, Muscle Ridge, Damariscotta River, Medomak River and Somes Harbor.

“Scallop populations throughout the state are at extremely low levels. The department is concerned that unrestricted harvesting during the remainder of the 2013-14 fishing season in these areas may deplete a severely diminished resource beyond its ability to recover,” the Department of Marine Resources said in a statement.

BRIDGTON

Town manager announces he’ll retire as of Oct. 2

Mitchell Berkowitz, Bridgton’s town manager, plans to retire in the fall.

Berkowitz, 65, sent a letter to the Board of Selectman this week saying that he intended to step down effective Oct. 2. He was hired in April 2006.

Berkowitz said the long lead time would to give the selectmen a chance to hire a new manager and to have “an orderly approach to the changing of the guard.”

– From staff and news services