Shuttered paper mill to be sold, reopened next year
OLD TOWN, Maine (AP) — A shuttered Maine paper mill may reopen next year under new ownership.
ND Paper LLC, which also owns a paper mill in Rumford, said Wednesday it has an agreement to purchase the Old Town property from OTM Holdings LLC. ND Paper will pay an undisclosed amount and promises it will bring over 100 high-paying jobs to the area.
OTM Holdings bought the mill in January, also saying it would bring 100 jobs to the area as it aimed to attract tenants.
The University of Maine’s forest bioproducts research institute has a research center in the mill’s warehouse, which city officials say will remain on the property.
ND Paper says it expects the mill to restart in the first quarter of 2019.
Health centers in Maine get help for substance abuse service
EAGLE LAKE, Maine (AP) — Seventeen community health centers in Maine are going to get nearly $5 million from the federal government to better equip themselves to serve people with substance abuse disorders and mental health needs.
The money is from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, which provides awards through its Access to Quality Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Services program.
The 17 health centers are located all over the state, and many are in rural areas where access to health care can be difficult. Most of the grants are in the $200,000 to $300,000 range. The largest award is a $391,000 grant to HealthReach Community Health Centers in Waterville.
Man dies in rural Maine when truck flips
TOWNSHIP 34, Maine (AP) — State police in Maine are investigating a fatal crash in which a truck overturned in a rural part of the state.
Police say the crash took place in Township 34, in Hancock County, on Wednesday morning. The crash killed a man, who was operating the truck. Police have yet to identify the man, or a passenger who escaped with minor injuries.
The crash happened along a dirt road in a remote part of the township. Police say troopers and forest rangers also responded to the late morning crash.
New England shrimp population still depleted, board says
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A regulatory board says New England’s shrimp population remains depleted years after the fishery for the species was shut down.
Fishermen in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts used to harvest Northern shrimp in the winter, but regulators shut the fishery down in 2013 amid concerns about low population and warming waters.
An arm of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission says it has reviewed a new assessment of the shrimp population that says there are far fewer of the crustaceans off of New England than there used to be. The commission says the rising temperatures of the Gulf of Maine are a threat to the shrimp.
The board is scheduled to meet on Nov. 15 and 16 to determine whether a moratorium on fishing for shrimp will continue into 2019.
Environmental officials using compost for seal carcasses
YORK, Maine (AP) — Maine environmental officials are considering using composting to manage seal corpses left behind from mass die-offs.
The Portsmouth Herald reports over 600 dead seals have washed ashore along the coastline in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts since July. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said last month an outbreak of distemper caused the deaths.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has asked towns to create special composting bins for the seal carcasses. DEP environmental specialist Mark King says the leaf and mold compost areas are easy to create and maintain.
Towns including Ogunquit, Wells, Yarmouth and Kennebunkport have all devised protocols for corpse removal.
Marine Mammals of Maine Director Lynda Doughty says the state can’t stop the distemper virus but it can prepare for more deaths.
Woman charged in baseball field killing to be arraigned
YORK, Maine (AP) — A woman charged with driving onto a baseball field and killing a man with her car is scheduled to be arraigned next month.
A grand jury returned an indictment including manslaughter and aggravated assault against 51-year-old Carol Sharrow last week. The Sanford resident is charged with killing 68-year-old Douglas Parkhurst of West Newfield during a June 1 baseball game at Goodall Park in her hometown.
Officials with York County Superior Court say Sharrow’s arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 9.
A video of the baseball game showed Sharrow’s car circling bases as umpires and players ran from the scene.
Sharrow’s attorney did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Man killed in crash on I-95
PLYMOUTH, Maine (AP) — Maine State Police say a 63-year-old man has been killed in a late night crash in Plymouth.
Authorities say the crash happened around 11 p.m. Tuesday at the off-ramp at Exit 161 on Interstate 95.
Troopers say Michael Heath failed to get around the curve at the exit, went off the road and struck a rock wall.
Heath was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the car. He died at the scene.
Police say speed was the primary cause of the crash.
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