Katahdin Fatalities
(Baxter State Park) – The father and daughter from New York who died while climbing Mt. Katahdin last weekend faced extreme weather conditions. Searchers found Tim and Esther Keiderling’s bodies this week below the summit of Maine’s tallest mountain. Other hikers in the area say the weather included snow, ice, rain and high winds. Maine’s Medical Examiner is conducting autopsies to determine how the pair perished.
Hancock County – Sanctuary List
(Ellsworth) – No one in Hancock County’s government seems to know how the county got listed by the Trump Administration as being a sanctuary jurisdiction that is considered to be obstructing federal law. The Ellsworth American reports the issue came up at this week’s County Commissioners’ meeting. The list from the Department of Homeland Security said the counties listed were deliberately obstructing enforcement of federal immigration laws. Sheriff Scott Kane told commissioners the National Sheriff’s Association is trying to figure out how to get off the list.
Bucksport Poet Laureate Resigns
(Bucksport) – For the past 11 years, the town of Bucksport has been the only municipality in Maine to have an appointed Poet Laureate. Now, Patricia Ranzoni is stepping down from the post that few even knew existed. She started when the town’s paper mill closed for good, using her writing to highlight life in the Hancock County mill town. Ranzoni said she started out to be an early childhood educator, but a neuro muscular disease let her to write poetry and seek advice from other poets.
Bangor Drug Raid
(Bangor) – A drug raid in Bangor led to three arrests and seizure of meth, fentanyl and cocaine. WABI TV reports Bangor police also found lots of cash and a gun when they searched a home on Birch Avenue. 51-year-old Angelique Vetimiglia is charged with drug trafficking. Two others are charged with possessing illegal drugs.
Bar Harbor Irving
(Bar Harbor) – The Irving gas station and small convenience store next to the town office in Bar Harbor is coming down this fall. Bar Harbor Story reports the town’s Planning Board approved the proposal to replace the aging store which has two gas pumps with a larger convenience store with three gas pump islands and a canopy over the top. Demolition and construction should begin in the fall.
Whynott Obituary
(Lubec) – One of the best marksmen in Maine State Police history has passed away. John Whynott rose through the ranks to command troopers in Eastern Maine until his retirement. Whynott, who lived in Lubec, became the first commander of the former State Police Troop J in Washington County, and also was the head of the Northern Maine Criminal Investigation Division during his career. He passed away on Monday, a day after his 87th birthday.
Torch Run
(Bar Harbor) – The annual law enforcement torch run gets under way today in Hancock County. Officers from numerous agencies begin their trek from Town Hill in Bar harbor, making their way to the University of Maine in Orono. Police will take turns running legs of the roughly 60 mile route up Route 1-A, carrying a torch and raising funds to help with the Special Olympics games. A school bus will carry officers when others are jogging with the Flame of Hope.
Millionaire Tax
(Augusta) – Protestors held up signs in Augusta yesterday calling for a change in Maine’s income tax rate structure. They are advocating for a higher tax rate on the richest Maine residents. A so-called millionaire tax would raise 75-million dollars for the state budget. The proposal also calls for a guaranteed 55% funding from the state for local education budgets.