LePage hosting drug summit in Augusta

AUGUSTA (AP) — Nearly two dozen of Maine’s top law enforcement and health care officials are joining Republican Gov. Paul LePage to develop strategies for combating the state’s heroin epidemic.

Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Morris said the state “must identify specific problem areas and seek solutions before we lose more lives.”

Participants in the event Wednesday in Augusta include U.S. Attorney Thomas Delahanty; Chief Justice Leigh Saufley; Attorney General Janet Mills; and Dr. Matt Shool, medical director of state emergency medical services.

Democratic legislative leaders say the event is too focused on law enforcement. They say health care and drug abuse treatment are also necessary to eliminate drug overdose deaths.

Hillandale to keep management in place

TURNER (AP) — An egg producer says it’s going to keep the current management in place at Maine’s largest egg farm. Pennsylvania-based Hillandale Farms signed a lease to run the farms that were previously operated by a Land O’Lakes subsidiary. Hillandale says it’ll fully assume the farms’ payroll on Sept. 26. Hillandale Farms reached the agreement last month. The lease was signed by Hillandale President Orland Bethel, who in 2010 refused to answer questions when asked by a congressional committee to testify about a salmonella outbreak. Spokeswoman Melanie Witt says the company is committed to exceeding animal care and environmental standards and to being “excellent stewards of the hens and the environment, and being the kind of neighbors the residents of Maine can feel good about.”

Woman improving after fatal Casco crash

LEWISTON (AP) — The survivor of a crash that killed her 4-year-old son is improving at Central Maine Medical Center.

Crystal Petersen of Gray was critically injured in the crash in Casco on Aug. 11, but a hospital spokeswoman says her condition has improved to serious. Her son, Cameron Joseph Petersen, died at the scene. The driver, 28-year-old Michael Minson of Casco, was treated and released from a hospital.

The Portland Press Herald reports that officials said Minson never had a license to drive.

The newspaper also said a report by a sheriff ’s deputy indicated Minson was driving erratically and that his pupils were “pin pointed,” a potential sign of use of opiates.

Cats rescued from abandoned home

KITTERY (AP) — More than a dozen cats have been rescued from an abandoned home in southwestern Maine.

Kittery animal control officer Bill Hackett says there were 26 cats in the Kittery home originally. He says the tenant at the time took 13 of them to shelters, but that 13 still remained before this past weekend. Hackett and an agent from the Maine Animal Welfare department worked together at the site Monday afternoon to rescue the remaining cats.

Neighbors tell the Portsmouth Herald the property was condemned in late July. The building’s chimney was crumbling, roof shingles were peeling off and the front porch appeared close to falling apart.

They say the home was full of feces and trash and the cats were malnourished and lacked food, water and care.

Compostable lunch trays made in Maine

WATERVILLE (AP) — Officials say a Maine fiber plant is the first in the country to make compostable lunch trays, and it will sell the trays to six large school districts as an alternative to polystyrene foam. The Portland Press Herald reports U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine and U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Kevin Concannon toured the Huhtamaki plant in Waterville on Monday. The plant specializes in molded fiber products and employs 550 people. Pingree says it’s the first fiber plant in the U.S. to manufacture compostable lunch trays that are cost competitive. A Finnish company has owned the plant since the 1990s. The trays will be delivered for the start of the school year to districts in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Orlando and Dallas.

Motorcyclist hurt in crash with cruiser

BELFAST (AP) — Authorities are investigating a crash involving a police cruiser in Belfast.

The Waldo County Sheriff ’s office says Sgt. Matthew Cook of the Belfast Police Department was driving a marked police SUV Monday evening when he saw a car in the oncoming lane commit a traffic violation. Cook activated his emergency lights and tried to make a Uturn to pursue that car. A motorcycle that had been following the cruiser then crashed into the driver’s side of the cruiser as it was making the turn.

The driver, 58-year-old Mark Belleisle of Swanville, suffered broken bones and was hospitalized in stable condition.

8 rescued from powerful rip currents

SACO (AP) — Officials say several swimmers are safe after getting caught in particularly powerful rip currents off a Maine beach.

Deputy Fire Chief David Pendleton says Old Orchard Beach’s lifeguard captain told him at one point on Monday, there were eight people in the water being dragged out to sea.

Authorities received a call around 4 p.m. about several swimmers in distress. Saco firefighters and seven lifeguards responded to Kinney Shores. Bystanders who heard cries for help also went into the water.

One man who assisted in the rescue says he’s never seen such high waves at that beach.

Pendleton says a man was hospitalized after he went in to rescue his young daughter. He ingested a large amount of salt water, but his condition is not considered life threatening.