Police searching for suspects in stabbing

PORTLAND (AP) — Police are searching for suspects after a stabbing outside a Denny’s restaurant in Portland left one man seriously injured.

The violence broke out in front of the Denny’s on Brighton Avenue around 1:15 a.m. Thursday. The restaurant is located close to PT’s Showclub, a strip club where police say a fight was started between two groups of people.

Lt. James Sweatt says the two groups then converged at the Denny’s, where a 31- year-old man was stabbed. The victim was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland in serious but stable condition. His identity wasn’t released.

Assistant Police Chief Vern Malloch says that the fight might have been racially motivated.

Denny’s manager Jim Clark says the people involved weren’t customers and that the restaurant has no outward-facing security cameras.

Priest’s sex abuse conviction is upheld

BANGOR (AP) — The Maine supreme court has rejected the appeal of a former Greek Orthodox priest convicted of sexually abusing a child.

The justices let the conviction of Adam Metropoulos stand on Thursday. The Bangor man is currently serving a 6 1/2-year sentence for four counts of sexual abuse of a minor.

The 53-year-old Metropoulos was convicted and sentenced a year ago.

A former altar boy at St. George Greek Orthodox Church said he was sexually assaulted by Metropoulos as a teenager. The man, now 23, testified that Metropoulos “stole my life.”

Metropoulos’s lawyer didn’t immediately return a message left at his office.

Augusta man pleads guilty to drug charges

PORTLAND (AP) — A 44-year-old Augusta man has admitted to federal drug distribution charges stemming from a 2015 traffic stop arrest at a southern Maine rest stop.

The Kennebec Journal reports Shawn Figoli pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Portland to a single charge of possessing and intending to distribute heroin and fentanyl.

Figoli was arrested at the Kennebunk rest area on Interstate 95 in May 2015 after state police received reports of a driver operating erratically.

A trooper’s search of Figoli’s pickup truck turned up 18 packages of drugs inside a fanny pack. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Joyce says a laboratory examination found that the packages contained heroin and fentanyl.

Figoli faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison at sentencing.

Maine small business grants awarded

AUGUSTA (AP) — A Lubec brewing company, a Greenville candle maker and a Sangerville cleaning service are among the businesses that will receive nearly $700,000 in Maine community development money.

The Maine Department of Economic and Community Development says the money will go to 27 small businesses around the state. The businesses are located in seven communities.

Four businesses in Lubec will get a total of $75,000. The businesses include Lubec Brewing Company, which will be able to expand two 80-gallon fermenters and its inventory.

Maine Mountain Soap and Candle is one of two Greenville businesses getting a total of $100,000. Martin’s Cleaning Service of Sangerville will get $50,000.

Sanford Kids’ Club scores grant

SANFORD — Sanford School Department’s Kids’ Club academic support after-school program was awarded $10,000 from the John T. Gorman Foundation for a Summer Learning Initiative grant to focus on early literacy to minimize summer learning loss.

This grant will support Summer Kids’ Club to further enhance summer programming in the area of literacy. Kids’ Club will add weekly public library trips with students, supply book giveaways for Title 1’s Jumpstart and Kids’ Club participants, provide parent trainings on book selections and how to read with your child, among others.

Summer Kids’ Club provides hands-on, projectbased activities in the areas of science, technology, engineering, math, literacy, wellness and the arts. The summer program will run 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday though Friday, July 5 to Aug. 5 for students entering grades first through sixth.

For more information, email Karen Roux at [email protected].

BHS senior semi-finalist in scholars program

BIDDEFORD — Lily Williams, a senior at Biddeford High School, has been named as one of 689 semifinalists in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. Semifinalists were selected from nearly 4,700 candidates expected to graduate from U.S. high schools this year.

Saco landscape architect feted by trade group

SACO — The American Society of Landscape Architects inducted local resident Todd Richardson into the ASLA Council of Fellows for 2016.

Fellowship is among the highest honors the ASLA bestows on members and recognizes the contributions of these individuals to their profession and society at large based on their works, leadership and management, knowledge, and service.

Richardson, of Richardson & Associates, received his nomination from the Boston chapter. Recognized regionally and nationally, his work spans the spectrum of project types and geographic locations with a balance of private, nonprofit and public projects.

Vacation Happiness has grand reopening in Saco

SACO — A ribbon cutting/ grand re-opening ceremony for Vacation Happiness – Dream Vacations was recently held at the Biddeford + Saco Chamber of Commerce + Industry Welcome Center on 28 Water St., Biddeford.

Vacation Happiness – Dream Vacations is an Independent Vacation Specialist in Saco. For more information or to contact them, call 747- 1584 or visit their website, VacationHappiness.com.

Local student inducted into Phi Beta Kappa

YORK — Erin E. Trainor, a member of Colby’s Class of 2016, was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa this spring.

Membership in the society is one of the highest academic honors an undergraduate student can achieve.

Trainor, who is majoring in global studies and anthropology, was one of 51 students inducted into Phi Beta Kappa at Colby. A graduate of Berwick Academy, she is the daughter of Brian and Elizabeth Trainor of York.