Riverview patient shot by police sues cop

AUGUSTA (AP) — An outpatient at the Riverview Psychiatric Center who was shot by an Augusta police officer last year is suing the cop and the city, alleging his civil rights were violated.

Police said 37-year-old Jason Begin was shot last January inside the offices of an outpatient clinic, when Officer Laura Drouin responded to a request to help take Begin to the hospital.

The state attorney general ruled last month that Drouin was defending her life and others when she shot Begin. Authorities said Begin had a knife and threatened to harm himself.

A lawyer for Drouin and the city said he had just received the complaint and hadn’t yet met with his clients.

The Kennebec Journal reports Begin’s lawsuit was filed Feb. 16 in Bangor.

He seeks $2.5 million in damages.

Mom released from jail, fled with daughter

HAVERHILL, N.H. (AP) — A mother who fled the U.S. with her daughter to Central America more than a decade ago amid a custody dispute with her exhusband has been released from jail after five months.

Genevieve Kelley pleaded guilty in June to a misdemeanor charge of custodial interference for taking her then-8-year-old daughter out of the country in 2004. Felony custodial interference and witness tampering charges were dropped.

The 52-year-old Kelley began a 10-month sentence in September. The Caledonian Record reports she was released on Feb. 17 on pretrial confinement credit and good behavior.

Her current husband, Scott Kelley, pleaded guilty to the same charge and served a five-month sentence.

The Kelleys said they took the girl to protect her after accusing her father, Mark Nunes, of abuse. Nunes was investigated, but never charged.

United Way gives grants to 37 local nonprofits

KENNEBUNK — United Way of York County has awarded $640,000 in grants to various organizations throughout the community. A total of 37 nonprofits will receive investments during 2016 for 63 individual programs addressing a variety of critical needs in the county. These investments support United Way’s strategic priority areas of Bright Beginnings, Healthy Foods, Connected Youth and Supportive Services.

“These vital programs support the best start for our youngest citizens, provide healthy foods for children and seniors, engage youth in meaningful service, and meet basic needs, all critical components of our collective efforts to build an even stronger York County,” United Way of York County President and CEO Barb Wentworth said in a statement.

This year marks the United Way of York County’s 30th anniversary.

Sanford resident wins American Legion contest

SANFORD — Cherith Bell, a senior at Sanford Christian Academy, recently won the state American Legion Oratorical Championship after winning post and district championships.

She competed at Thomas College by making a nine-minute prepared speech on the founders’ belief in God as reflected in the U.S. Constitution.

She received a $1,500 scholarship to the school of her choice. In addition, she and a chaperon will receive an all-expense-paid trip to Indianapolis, where Bell will compete with 49 other state representatives for the American Legion National Oratorical Championship April 16-17. Since the competition began in 1938, no Maine student has won a National Championship.

Sanford bank earns award

Sanford Institution for Savings has received an A+ national financial health rating from DepositAccounts.com, one of the nation’s leading online bank healthmonitoring publications, through the end of the third quarter of 2015.

According to the rating firm’s spokesman Patrick Russo, the bank stood out in all of the primary evaluation categories, including Texas ratio, deposit growth and capitalization. The A+ rating also places Sanford in the highest tier – the top 10 percent – of the approximately 13,000 federally insured banks and credit unions nationwide in terms of financial health, Russo said in a statement.

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