Mill Mall Shooting
(Ellsworth) – Police in Ellsworth are calling a shooting that left one person dead a suicide. Ellsworth police, the Sheriff’s Department and State Police rushed to the scene behind the Mill Mall after reports of gunshots shortly after 11 o’clock yesterday morning. The area is within view of the Ellsworth Elementary Middle School. Officer Shawn Willey reports to Star 97.7 that the public was never in danger. No name was released.
Bus Crash
(Belfast) – Police in Belfast say 4-people went to the hospital after a school bus and an SUV collided yesterday morning. It happened on Lincolnville Avenue. The SUV driver and a passenger in that vehicle were taken for treatment along with two students aboard the school bus. The rest of the 22-students on the bus ended up at a school where ambulance workers evaluated them for injuries. Authorities are investigating the crash.
Katahdin Deaths
(Baxter State Park) – Maine’s Medical Examiner say one of the hikers who died on Mt. Katahdin nearly 2-weeks ago died from blunt force trauma when she slid in boulder area near the summit and struck rocks. 28-year old Esther Keiderling’s body was recovered by searchers. Her father, Tim, also died on the mountain. The autopsy results on his death have yet to be released. Family members had said they died of exposure. The pair climbed Maine’s highest mountain when the weather turned bad with ice, snow, rain and heavy winds
Seawall Road
(Southwest Harbor) – The effort to rebuild Seawall Road that connects Southwest Harbor and Tremont through Acadia National Park will receive federal funding. The road badly washed out in storms in early 2024 and contractors voluntarily repaired it to make it passable. Bar Harbor Story reports that the Park has received supplemental funding and will work with the Maine DOT on the estimated 1-point-5 million dollar project.
Shore Path Reopens
(Bar Harbor) – A landmark on Bar Harbor’s waterfront has reopened nearly a year and a half after two storms wiped it out. The Shore Path wraps for a half mile along the shore in the MDI Town. The two storms in January 2024 destroyed about 400-feet of seawall. The Village Improvement Society and the Historical Society led efforts to raise nearly a million dollars to repair the damage as federal funding was not an option. Witham Family Hotels, which owns the Bar Harbor Inn that sits prominently on the path put in about a half million dollars.
Hartland Homicide Arrest
(Hartland) – A shooting in April that left a 78-year old Hartland woman dead has seen the victim’s sister arrested in connection. State Police charged 68-year old Bonnie Coombs of Garland in connection with Velma Withee’s death. Coombs is held without bail at the Somerset County Jail. Police have not released information about what led to the charges. Withee died from gunshot wounds and the medical examiner’s office determined it was a homicide.
Fentanyl Sentence
(Rockland) – A judge has sentenced a man from Puerto Rico to nearly 5-years in prison and another 5-years on supervised release after an undercover drug agent made arrangements to purchase nearly a kilogram of Fentanyl in Rockland. The Midcoast Villager reports that 44-year old Rafael Omar Ojeda Lopez had been staying at a hotel in Rockland in September 2023 when the bust went down. The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and homeland security worked the case.
Chelsea Homicides
(Chelsea) – Two people are dead and a teenager is in jail after an incident in the Central Maine town of Chelsea. State Police spokeswoman Shannon Moss reports to Star 97.7 that troopers responded to a home on the Windsor Road Wednesday evening. They found two men dead and arrested an under aged boy at the scene. Troopers say there is no danger to the public and the investigation is ongoing. Police have not yet released names.
Sports
- Softball Quarterfinals: MDI 8 Ellsworth 6
- Baseball Quarterfinals: Oxford Hills 4 Hampden 2
- Stanley Cup Playoffs: Edmonton Oilers 5 Florida Panthers 4 (Overtime) Series tied 2-2